You Reap What You Sow
Galatians 6: 6-10
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Paul has been telling the Galatians that they need to keep in step with the Holy Spirit in their lives and that with regard to relationships, that they will be responsible for their own behavior and also helping with the burdens that others have as well.
Well, if you are bearing a burden, then it’s easy to see getting tired right? So, here Paul says to not grow weary in doing good. Be aware of the weariness issue and focus on what you are investing in in your life!
Because, in life
- You Reap What You Sow
An agricultural analogy. And an obvious reality
- Sow what you want to reap
Start with what you want to see produced in your own life. Love, joy, peace, kindness etc.
Meditate on what those characteristics look like.
Apply Matthew 6:19-34 to the issue of peace.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Do Not Be Anxious
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In faith, act in accordance with the traits of the Spirit, trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to meet you and give you the strength to do it in the moment.
Do not get ahead of yourself.
Act in the moment for good!
Act in faith trusting in God to act on your behalf!!
And do not give up. Because this is a process. Sowing and reaping take time!
You will not fall away from faith in Christ all at once either.
Your morality will dictate your theology?
- This explains the issue of immediacy
v.9 In due season we will reap
Faith is necessary and faith is a decision to trust God rather than feelings! He is and is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
- God will not be mocked
You will reap what you sow.
He is patient, and gracious and you will reap what you sow.
- Sow to the Spirit Not the Flesh
- Sowing is work not mystery
We pursue attitudes and actions. This is sowing.
We can be more intentional.
We can learn to speak to our soul like the Psalmist. (opportunity)
We can set our minds on Scripture (command)
We can set our hearts on God’s will (command)
We can choose to not walk into temptation (prayer)
- The flesh produces a worse state of being
From the flesh we reap corruption!
The word here signifies being brought into an inferior or worse state of being, a destruction or corruption. Romans 8:21 statement about creation: Creation will be set free from its bondage to corruption. Tornadoes, earthquakes, lightning fires, hurricanes, floods, drought, early or late freezes etc. Or sowing to the flesh. Addiction, conflict, fits of anger, driven by sensual desire…
Corruption is the opposite of eternal life.
Sowing to the Spirit is our grand opportunity for life. But our flesh does not like to die. There is a battle. Living sacrifices crawl away and must be constantly offered!
- The Spirit produces eternal life
We are not just talking about heaven here. We are talking about how to live on earth. God’s kingdom life done in our lives here on earth, as it will be in heaven. This is what we are after!
III. Let Us Do Good to Everyone
- Do not grow weary of doing good
Because it is work! Lol. If you are bearing someone else’s burdens, you can get tired! How can Jesus’ yoke be easy and burden light? The Holy Spirit will empower us to do God’s will!
Let’s look at Romans 8 for some encouragement!
Romans 8: 17 We suffer with Christ This is the problem! This is what will make us weary.
- We are equal heirs of the things of God with Christ! Act like it!
- All of creation suffers too. Your difficulties are not unique.
- We have the Holy Spirit that indicates that we are children of God. Trust Him.
- And the Holy Spirit prays for us. Pray.
- God will cause all things in our life to work for good as long as we are loving Him and acting in His will. Believe
- God is powerful and will not allow your suffering to be empty. Believe and praise
- You will never be separated from God’s love because He will not allow it! Look for the love of God and be grateful!!
- Do good to believers and non-believers
Especially to believers. I think this is because we have higher expectations for believers and their flesh causes us greater disappointment. Judases of the world. But the biblical emphasis by Jesus was on the evil man in Matt 5: love your enemies because God loves His enemies. Why would we grow weary of this? Who will give us strength?
Here is the proper application of Philippians 4:13. I can do all things (all good things) through Christ who gives me strength!!!
Are you tired of being patient? You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Are you tired of loving people who do not love you in return? You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Are you tired of picking up other people’s messes? You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Are you tired of not grumbling and complaining? You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!
Remember, you do not owe any of this to others, and you are not doing it for them. You are doing this because you owe it to God. And God is worth serving!!!
- Everyone who endures wins
There is a process here. We are committed to an outcome that we will not see immediately!
Psalms 126:
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
You do not eat your seed grain, even if you are really hungry. Hungry people plant grain they could eat, but if they do they are sure to starve in the future!
What do we win? We win the fruit of the Spirit in our actions. We win the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
We win the experience of God’s power, God’s presence and God’s pleasure!
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