We deal with laws of this country every day and so we are familiar with many of the laws of the land.
Even children have some understanding about laws and how important they are to us.
In fact, sometime children have a better understanding of the LAW OF GRAVITY than we adults do.
Illus: The story of the little boy who said, while running out of the house,
• “Mom, I am going to play baseball with God!”
• The mother said, “How are you going to play baseball with God?”
• The little boy said, “I throw the ball up and God throws it back down to me!”
America is a land of laws.
That is, we are governed by laws, not by feelings or popular opinion.
Years ago, America was blessed with politicians who understood this more than some of our present-day politicians.
Whatever happened to the politicians who looked at the laws on the books when a situation came up and said, “This is what the law states for everyone and this is the punishment due to the one who breaks those law!”
Then the law was enforced to the detail, regardless of whether the decision was popular or unpopular.
It is essential that we, as a nation, get back to be governing by the laws of the land, rather than what is popular with the people.
THE SAME THING APPLIES TO GOD’S CHURCH.
God’s church can not be guided by feelings or popular opinion.
This Bible that I preach from every Sunday is the inspired, infallible Word of God.
Because this book contains the Word of God we should treat it with reverence.
Illus: For example, in my office I have many books, but I have a special place where I keep God’s word, and I make sure not anything is ever piled on top of the Holy Bible.
This Bible does not contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God and in it are stated the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD which we are expected to obey seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year!
We are a nation of LAWS but also God is a God of laws!
For example, in our text today we see God has established laws you and I need to consider over the next few weeks.
I hope you will be here for every service. We are going to consider that...
1. WE REAP WHAT WE HAVE HAS BEEN SOWNED
2. WE REAP IN ANOTHER SEASON THAN WHEN WE HAVE SOWN
3. WE REAP MORE THAN WE HAVE SOWN
4. WE REAP IN PROPORTION TO WHAT WE HAVE SOWN
5. WE REAP ONLY IF WE PERSEVERE
These are the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD in our text that we wish to consider in this series.
Today, we want to consider...
I. WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWNED
Look at Gal. 6:7-8. We read, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
We live in an age when we are being told we are no longer responsible for our actions.
Do you realize we live in the age of excuse making!!!
Illus: Police and patrolman hear all kinds of excuses for speeding.
Such as:
We are told the most common excuses for speeding include:
• I didn’t realize I was speeding.
• I am late for work.
• I have a medical emergency.
• I have to use the bathroom.
• I was overtaking another vehicle
• I didn’t see the speed limit sign
• I wasn’t paying attention
• Everyone else was speeding.
I imagine policemen and patrolmen are like us pastors. We get together and swap some of the ridiculous excuses because people miss church.
People have an excuse for every evil thing they do.
Our society today makes me think of that crowd in in Luke 14:18 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse”.
For example...
• We are told that the evil actions of the child molester have to be excused because he, or she, was molested as a child.
• The person with a bad Temper must be excused because they inherited their bad temper from their dead grandpa.
• Some have to be excused because they said the devil made them do it
• Some must be excused because everybody else is doing it
• The abortionist has to be excused because their body is their body to do with as they please.
• The drunk has to be excused because they have a chemical imbalance.
• The homosexuals must be excused because God created them that way.
The world is in the mess it is today because everybody has an excuse to breaking the LAWS OF THE LAND and THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTYT GOD!!!
In Galatians 6:7 we see one of the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD which states clearly, “Be not deceived...for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Illus: Many cannot begin the day without reading the newspaper and looking at their “horrible Scope” to see what will happen to them.
This may be news to you, but the month you were born in does not determine your actions. YOU DETERMINE WHAT YOUR ACTIONS WILL BE.
Illus: That is like having faith in the fortunes you find in a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant.
Have you noticed that all of the fortunes are good?
DO YOU KNOW WHY?
Because if you opened one and it said, “You are a dummy and because you are a dummy a lot of bad things are going to happen to you today,” you would not ever go back to that Chinese restaurant.
And if that “horoscope” told you anything other than what you wanted to hear every day, you would not waste your time reading it.
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS!
In Ephesians 5:15-16, we read Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
In other words, do not walk around FOOLING YOURSELF thinking you can sow bad seeds and have good things sprout from them.
God’s Word says, “...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
That is, WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWNED.
But we have people in our society today who think they can “sow” all kinds of EVIL “SEEDS” and from that lifestyle will come forth GOOD THINGS.
These folks do not know what they are doing. They are living in a dream world.
Illus: These remind me of a missionary in West Africa who was fascinated to see people wearing American T-shirts even when they did not know what the words meant.
Her biggest laugh came the day she saw a man wearing a pink T-shirt with an arrow pointing to his tummy with the words: “Baby on board.”
This man did not know what he was doing. If he had known, he probably would not have worn that T-shirt.
Likewise, the person who is sowing bad seeds does not know what he/she is doing. If he/she did, he/she would not do it.
Paul said, in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked...”
When a person thinks he can violate the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD and get away with it, he is MOCKING GOD.
Illus: They are doing what a lot of children do. You tell them to do something, and they will throw their nose up and walk away as if to say, “I do not have to listen to you. I do what I want to do!”
A lot of parents might let their children mock them, but the Bible says, “...God is not mocked!”
The fact is the kinds of seeds we sow are the kind of seeds we reap.
This is one of the SPIRITUAL LAWS THAT ALMIGHTY GOD HAS ESTABLISHED FOR EVERYONE!
And God is not going to send Mr. George Gallup and take a poll to see what you think about it - this is the LAW OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
Let us consider two things, such as:
A. The positive.
Everyone enjoys the COMMON BLESSINGS.
Look at Matthew 5:45. We read, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
These are considered to be the COMMON BLESSINGS of life. EVERYONE ENJOYS THESE BLESSINGS!!!
For the Word of God tells us “...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Let me illustrate…
Illus: You can have two farmers with farms side by side. One farmer is GODLY and the other UNGODLY, but God does not withhold the rain and sun from the ungodly. He sends His rain and sun on both.
Everyone enjoys the COMMON BLESSINGS of life!
BUT EVERYONE DOES NOT ENJOY THE SPECIAL BLESSINGS OF GOD.
That is, God has established HIS LAWS, and they apply to EVERYONE.
One of the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD that applies to every one of us, “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW!”
• Perhaps someone is saying, “I do not agree with it.” God did not ask if you agreed with it. IT IS HIS LAW!
• Perhaps someone is saying, “I do not like it.” God did not ask you if you liked it. IT IS HIS LAW!
A law is something that works every time. If it does not work every time, it is not a law.
A law is not a…
• Hypothesis (educated guess),
• Nor is it a theory (contains some facts).
Illus: Some call Evolution a theory. It is not a theory and the reason why it is not a theory because it has never been established as a law supported by the facts.
A law is an established fact.
For example...
Illus: It is like one of the scientific laws that God has established called the law of gravity which has proven to be a fact.
Let me illustrate…
Illus It a fact that I can throw something up into the air a hundred times and it will fall back down a hundred times.
Why?
Because the law of gravity says, “What goes up must come down!”
You may not:
• Agree with the law of gravity
• You may not like the law of gravity
But that is the law of gravity, and it works every time for everyone.
However, if I threw something up 100 times and it only came down 99 times, and then the law of gravity could not be a law.
Why?
Because a law says it works EVERY TIME and regardless of who throws it up it will come down every time.
Now for some reason some people think they are SPECIAL, and the LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD DOES NOT APPLY TO THEM.
Law of almighty God tells us we REAP WHAT WE SOW, but there are people who feel they can SOW EVIL AND REAP GOOD.
But they are wrong!!!
Because the law of almighty God tells us:
• We reap what we sow.
• We reap what we sow every time.
If it did not work for everyone every time it could not be a law.
I would like to go on record as saying, “IT IS A FAIR LAW.”
• It would be unfair for a person to sow bad seeds and reap good harvest.
• It would be unfair for a person to sow good seeds and reap a bad harvest.
God is FAIR and HIS LAWS REFLECT HE IS THAT KIND OF A GOD!
This is a good law.
This means that every time we sow good seeds, it is the LAW OF GOD that something good will come from that seed.
Look at James 1:17. We read, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
God tells us of His established law, WHAT YOU SOW IS WHAT YOU REAP!
Perhaps someone is saying preacher how can you call it fair when we reap from the life of others.
This is true…
(1) Sometime we reap the good from others.
Look at John 4:38. We read, “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labors.”
For example, we see this:
A. FROM THE LIFE GODLY PARENTS LIVED.
Godly parents are constantly taking their children to church and planting good “seeds.” Because of that, many children have reaped good their parents having sown good seeds. Also, we reap...
B. FROM COURAGEOUS MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN WHO PLANTED GOOD SEEDS IN DYING FOR THIS COUNTRY.
We live in a land of freedom today that is the envy of the rest of the world, but all the blessings we enjoy in this great land have not come by accident.
They have come because of courageous men and women, who believed in what this country stands for, planted good seeds and we are the beneficiaries of those seeds.
We have reaped the special blessings of God because of His law of SOWING AND REAPING.
This is the POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS LAW.
But look at the NEGATIVE.
(1) Sometimes we reap the BAD from others.
The law of sowing can work FOR US and also it can work AGAINST US.
When THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD have been violated by others in our life, we reap the bad because of them.
Let me illustrate…
1. We reap punishment from our parents violating laws of almighty God.
Preacher, that is not fair. A child should not have to suffer as a result of the sins of their parents.
Listen, LIFE IS NOT FAIR because we live in a world where their life affects our life.
Do not blame God for this unfairness, blame those whose life has affected us.
Any time we choose to sin we have to consider two things:
(1) There is an old saying that teaches “no man is an island unto himself.”
Illus: That is, if I lived on an island alone my life would not affect anyone, but none of us live on an island unto ourselves.
What I do AFFECTS others.
• There are children today who would have it made financially if their parents had not wasted their income.
• There are children today who will suffer serious health problems because their parents did not eat right nor did they provide for their children nutritious food.
• There are those who will suffer their entire life because of someone who drove a wreckless car drunk.
Every day of our lives, much of the suffering we go through is because of the sins of OTHERS that affects us.
And since NO MAN IS AN ISLAND UNTO HIMESELF we suffer the consequences of their sins.
also...
2. We reap punishment because of our personal sins.
What a price we pay for violating THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
Some have lost their...
B. Families.
C. Friends.
D. Jobs
E. Careers.
F. Wealth.
G. Health.
H. Life.
Illus: Dr. E. J. Daniels tells the story of a man who was convicted of murder and was going to be executed in the electric chair. Dr. Daniels was holding a revival in the area, and he was asked if he was given the opportunity, would he be willing to go to the execution. Dr. Daniels had never seen an execution and never desired to see one, but he thought this might be something he should go and see because it might be something that would help his ministry. He explained that when he arrived with his friend who had gotten him in. They were taken to a rather small room. There were perhaps 15 to 25 people there to see the execution take place. He tells of how quiet it was as each one sitting there knew that in a few minutes this man was going to be executed before them. Finally, the time came, and he could hear some noise down the hall. It was the man screaming, “Please do not do this to me! Please do not do this to me! I promise I will never hurt another person in my life! Please do not do this to me!”
Then the door of the room was opened, and the guards had the man by the arms pulling him, and some were pushing him.
Dr. Daniel said that when the door was opened the man’s eyes glanced across everyone in that room as if to say, “Will somebody help me!”
People in the room began to cry and Dr. Daniels could not stand it any longer as he stood up and said, “My God, young man, what a price you are paying for your sins!”
I tell you; THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD are always carried out.
• People may cry on your behalf.
• People may want to help you.
But when THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD ARE BROKEN, THE PRICE HAS TO BE PAID EVERY TIME!
Not sometimes, BUT EVERY TIME.
Conclusion:
I. WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN. (1 of 6)
A. THE POSITIVE.
B. THE PUNISHMENT.
