The Law Of Sowing And Reaping

III. WE REAP AFTER WE SOW

A. We Reap After Our Service.

1. The harvest comes to those willing to wait.

Eccl. 11:1 “Cast thy bred upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”

Gal. 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

NOTE: The fact is, fruit must be cultivated, and therefore takes time to develop. Patience is always involved in reaping the harvest.

The Waiting Soul

Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord,

And cheer me from the north;

Blow on the treasures of thy word,

And call the spices forth!

I wish, Thou knowest, to be resign’d,

And wait with patient hope;

But hope delay’d fatigues the mind,

And drinks the spirits up.

Help me to reach the distant goal’

Confirm my feeble knee;

Pity the sickness of a soul

That faints for love of Thee!

Cold as I feel this heart of mine,

Yet, since I feel it so,

It yields some hope of life divine

Within, however low.

I seem forsaken and alone,

I hear the lion roar;

And every door is shut but one,

And that is Mercy’s door.

There, till the dear Deliverer come,

I’ll wait with humble prayer;

And when He calls His exile home,

The Lord shall find him there.26

2. Sometimes the harvest is realized in the midst of personal want.

2 Cor. 8:14 “But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality.”

B. We Reap After Our Sin.

1. Just because sin isn’t judged immediately doesn’t mean one has escaped scot-free.

Eccl. 8:11 “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

2. Without fail, God always judges sin.

Num. 32:23b “…and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Theme: This law involves a principle, which says:

I. WE REAP ACCORDING TO WHAT WE SOW

II. WE REAP IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE SOW

III. WE REAP AFTER WE SOW

End Notes:

1. Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations, 1998.

2. W.E. Vine, M.A., An Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, published by Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey; Vol. II, pg. 125.

3. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 607.

4. Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Galatians In The Greek New Testament, pg. 157.

5. Oscar Wilde, quoted by Wm. Barclay, Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 100.

6. Ibid, pg. 157.

7. Taken from a brochure for “The Church Around The World,” a magazine published by Tyndale House Publishers.

8. Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Galatians In The Greek New Testament, pg. 158.