maybe you are like me, and right now you desire to do more
with your life. and i believe that god gives us desires and
passions so that we will focus on preparing ourselves for
what God chooses to do with us today and tomorrow. if we
focus on seriously preparing (through prayer/study/etc)
ourselves for the ministries that God brings to us
tomorrow, think about how we could impact the people that
are in our lives today. a continual pursuit of righteousness
and knowledge won't only change us personally, it will
change how others view God through our lives and example.
a friend of mine and i have been talking about 'reaping and
sowing.' here are 4 principles of reaping and sowing that
she has shared with me.
- you WILL reap.
- you will reap WHAT you sow.
- you will reap LATER THAN you sow.
- you will reap MORE THAN you sow.
with keeping those principles in mind, lets look at Galatians
6:7-10.
"(7)Do not be decieved: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows. (8)The one who sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who
sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal
life. (9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the
proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(10)Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the family of
believers."
Exegetical Idea of this text: A Man Reaps What He Sows
Didactic Context: Written to the church in
Some Introductory Principles:
- God has ordained the principle of sowing and reaping to encourage us to be careful of what and how we sow.
- We are reminded in this text of the seriousness of how we live before God
- How does this apply to our lives? It reminds us of our personal responsibility before God.
Textual Divisions:
- You will reap in kind – A man reaps what he sows. V. 7,8
- Mukterizo – God will not let himself be mocked, God looks at the motive of our actions – the seriousness of how we live before God
- Reap - Every man will be rewarded according to his work, what is sown (2 Cor. 9:6-8) – the amount that you sow is important, if you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly
- Sown for the sinful nature leads to destruction (1 Cor. 6:9 – the wicked will not inherit the
- You must believe God’s promise that at the end of all things, whatever a man sows he shall reap
- Personal Application: God looks at the motive behind every action and the harvest that we reap will reflect what we sow
Main Idea: The type of seed you sow determines the type of harvest that you will reap.
- You will reap in season – It will come in when it comes in, it will not come in early and it will not come in late. V. 9
- Ekkakeso – (Greek) to be fainthearted in view or trial or due to fear
- The harvest comes at the proper time, it will not be early or late
- Constant perseverance until the end, encouragement to press on
- Only at the proper time will the harvest be revealed
- There is always lag-period between sowing and reaping, generally the better the type of harvest the longer it takes to develop
- Textual Argumentation: 1 Corinthians 15:58
- “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” John Wesley
- Application: Your labor for the Lord is never in vain
Main Idea: Your labor for the Lord is never in vain, so do not become weary in doing what God has called you to do.
- You will reap more than you sow. V. 10
- Ergazomai – (Greek) to work, labor – you must work at doing good
- Paul is reminding the believers that we must do this day what we can because the day will come when we will have no more opportunity for service
- Let us do good – you are to actively pursue a course of good for others
- All men – believers and non-believers
- But there is a special place for Christian service among believers - We must help one another, carry one another’s burdens
- Textual Argumentation: Proverbs 3:20
- Application: You are always in the process of becoming who God wants you to be, so you must remember that your spiritual harvest takes time to cultivate.
Main Idea: The harvest always reflects greatly what it is made of. You are always in the process of becoming who God wants you to be, and your spiritual harvest takes time to develop.
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as you can see, what we do today impacts our tomorrows.
the decisions and choices we make will play a part in what
happens later. just as i mentioned earlier: if we focus on
seriously preparing (through prayer/study/etc) ourselves for
the ministries that god brings to us tomorrow, think about
how we could impact the people that are in our lives today.
a continual pursuit of righteousness and knowledge won't
only change us personally, it will change how others view
God through our lives and example.
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