Sow In Tears Reap In Joy

SOW IN TEARS REAP IN JOY

Ps. 126:5-6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Ark Riddles

1. Q: What kind of lights did Noah install on the Ark? A: Flood lights.

2. Q: Where did Noah put the bees? A: He kept them in the Ark hives.

3. Q: What did Noah say to himself as he was loading up the Ark with the much larger animals? A: "Now I've herd everything."

B. TEXT

5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. Ps. 126:1-6

C. THESIS

1. The Bible is so accurate, so faithful to life. It doesn’t give us a rosy, false picture of what life is like. It shows us both the dark and the light, the evil and the good, the hard and the enjoyable, the bitter and the sweet. [Derek Prince]

2. Life is like a painting. To be really beautiful, it needs dark colors as well as bright ones. Joseph & Moses had some of the greatest lives in the Bible, but also some of the darkest times. So did Job, who wisely said, “Shall we accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” Job 2:10, AMP. Job’s end was better than his previous time.

3. Yes, there will be tears. But don’t forget, the joy that will follow will be so great as to blot out the tears forever... throughout all eternity! The title of this message is “Sow in Tears Reap In Joy!”

I. THE NECESSITY OF SOWING/WORKING

A. THE DIFFICULTY OF SOWING

1. If we want to reap we’re going to have to sow. That’s a law of life; it’s a law of the universe. Sowing will usually be done with tears, but the reaping will come with joy.

2. The backstory of this passage is the Israelites had just returned from the 70 years captivity and the land had lain untilled. The fruit trees had been cut down and the houses burned or ruined.

3. Then they began the difficult job of breaking up the fallow ground: busting the hard earth apart with hoes or plows. Their hands became calloused and blistered, their backs ached, the sun burned their skin. Day after day they worked. Their hope was that rain would fall and the seed would grow.

4. At last, the day came when they got out their sack of precious seed. It was all they had. If it failed to grow, they might starve or become slaves. They looked for the best spots to plant each precious grain of seed, and as they covered them with dirt, they breathed a prayer to God that He would help them grow.

B. THE REWARD OF SOWING

1. That’s what a life of faith is like too. You must do good, witness, sacrifice, give to others, and be willing to wait upon God to bring forth a harvest. The Bible promises, “He that goes out weeping carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with him.”

2. Within those earthly seeds was the power of new life, the power of multiplication. How many kernels are on one ear of corn? The average is 800. How many ears are on one corn plant? The average is 3. So one kernel =2,400 potential corn plants with 5,760,000 kernels! From one to 5.7 million!

3. But the seed WE plant is the Word of God! It has the power to create and multiply in ways that dwarf all earthly seeds. The Lord Jesus was the original Sower and look at how His seeds have multiplied – 2.4 billion people are believers! We too are called to be sowers and God will bless us with a harvest.

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF TEARS

A. THE MEANING OF TEARS

1. You never know what may cause tears. The sight of the ocean can do it, or a song, or a face that reminds you of someone. People often shed tears during a movie or when a particular situation arises. You can never be sure, but of this you can be sure – whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it’s good to pay the closest attention.

2. They’re not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but often God’s speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you’ve come from and where He’s taking you next. [Frederick Buechner]

B. THE BENEFITS OF TEARS

1. We all cried when we were babies, but now that we're adults, many of us try to hold back our tears in the belief that crying is a sign of weakness. But experts tell us that shedding tears is actually healthy! It lets off stress and restores the body to a state of balance; it lifts the mood!