What do you want out of life?
There’s a loaded question. Our culture is turning more fatalistic every day. People feel their lives are out of control, well I guess that’s just the way it is. I guess this is the best it can be!
What if I told you that is absolutely a bold faced lie that there is a promise of God, even a law of God that you can apply that can bring you to a place of fulfilled dreams or if applied incorrectly constant frustrate and even disaster.
Do you want to know what it is?
What God wants out of your life is for you to live in the fruit of the Spirit, to love one another and to love Him and for you to fulfill your destiny, what you were created for! Want that?
A very important plan and law of God that helps complete this is found in Galatians 6
Galatians 6:6-9
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Paul is talking to a struggling church. They are struggling particularly in trusting the Lord to come through for them financially. They have not been supporting properly, the teachers who have come to them and they are reaping their failure because of that. Paul is referring to that here
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
Have you ever trusted the Lord for something and felt that he had not come through for you?
You put some thought, study, prayer time into believing God would come through for you in some area only to feel like he let you down?
What is the result? You give up, get angry, become embittered, pessimistic, negative, depressed, hopeless…The saddest part if you never achieve what was birthed in your heart in the first place you lose your dream you settle for something less that what God has planned for you.
The Galatians had the same struggle they believed God would supply all of their needs, financially, emotionally, spiritually but instead of being consistent and pursuing what God had for them they stopped, giving up their dream and their future in the process.
How do I know this? Here is what Paul says to them
Do not be deceived!
The tense Paul uses here is a command he is saying “stop being deceived” apparently either false teachers had come in and were telling them to stop sowing seed, or they became frustrated with the results in the short-term and stopped pursuing God’s plan and began pursuing their own (we will see that in a moment)
God’s law of sowing and reaping was established early (Genesis 8:22 as long as the earth remains there will be seedtime and harvest) and today we live in a day where it has been abused and ridiculed, but it is a law of God that works.
I can see how it is easy in our culture to become disillusioned we want everything fast…we want our finances to turn around, our relationships to turn around, other people’s attitudes in general or toward us to turn around but it took time to get these things to sour and will take time to heal them so I can give you three guarantees
If you continue to be frustrated and give up whatever you are hoping will change, but for the worst I guarantee it!
I can also guarantee that if you sow bad seed, bitterness, fear, anxiety, anger, frustration you will reap that and so much more just like it.
I can also guarantee that if you continue to sow good seed, finances, love, hope, truth, time you will reap in return, finances, love, time and so much more.
More about these in a moment…The key is, don’t get frustrated don’t stop believing God is always faithful! Paul then says…
God is not mocked;
The word “mocked” means to sneer at to stick your nose up. It is to say “don’t be stupid you can’t possibly still believe that God will bless you financially if you give, you can’t possibly believe God will heal your marriage if you keep loving, you can’t possibly believe God will return time back to you if you volunteer…What a foolish belief.
It is never foolish to trust the Lord it is nearly always foolish to trust flesh.
Often what has happened to people is they have tried trusting the Lord and gave up too soon and they soured on the law of sowing and reaping saying “it doesn’t work” but a law of God must work because it is his law.
Paul doesn’t want this negative mentality to sneak into the life of the people of faith so he speaks loudly and firmly according to the text…
“For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
When Paul is saying “whatever” it literally means anything that you sow you will gain that in return…finances, love, time, grace anything is a seed to be sown and when you do you will reap…that being said
The tense Paul uses here describes a person who sows regularly, continuously, habitually. God promises that if you sow steadily, regularly he will come through.
I know this is used a lot for finances and it does apply to that but let’s say you are having a struggle with your boss or a series of clients or a neighbor or family member. Paul is saying if you regularly, habitually, steadily sow peace, patience, and love. If you continually go the extra mile, when you need it, God will do that for you.
Here is a way that part of the verse can be translated
“Stop letting people lead you astray from the truth! You might try to turn up your nose at the law of God, but it won’t change the law! It remains true that whatever you regularly and habitually sow — regardless of what it is — that is exactly what you will regularly and habitually reap.”
It is a law the Lord has established…some who have sown finances, time, love have gotten frustrated because they have given up too early that haven’t been faithful in the sowing and the result is God can’t bless or there is very little blessing!
Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 9:6
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
The challenge Paul presents to us is also that not only do we reap blessings but we can reap hassle. Let me give you a practical example
I hate getting jerked around or getting ripped off so when I feel as if someone is jerking me around this ARRRGGGHH rises up inside of me. There is a part of me that wants to fight for my rights, to push off the injustice of mistreatment but what I’ve learned is
I can be a jerk to the person, sowing jerky-ness into the situation and in return they generally will reap them being a jerk to me OR I can extend kindness and understanding into the situation and reap that in return.
Regardless whatever we sow and in what portion we sow it. God’s promise here is that we will definitely reap in proportion to our sowing.
I have made the choice to sow into my future. I have done it with bosses in the past treating them the way that I would want to be treated when I became someone’s boss. I have done it with people who didn’t have a clue, treating them with kindness and respect knowing that there will be times when I am clueless and I will need to be respected that way.
It does work for finances, we are doing well financially please don’t feel I am trying to trick you or manipulate you out of your money. I know from personal experience. When you learn to tithe first, then give offerings beyond that and then give to those in need beyond that you never have to worry about money, God will not be out done he will take care of…
– Our home
– Cars
– Kids college
– vacations
– investments
– peace of mind
– wisdom and insight
all because we have sown bountifully, consistently, steadily since I first earned any money.
But what do we do when it doesn’t seem like it is working?
Yes, there are some people even though you pour out love and kindness, patience, grace and mercy and in return, they are still jerks.
There are still may be times where you give and you don’t seem to see the blessing in your life
What do we do? Here is Paul’s answer
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
The idea of not growing weary is to not become slack so as to allow anything to be stolen from us. To keep up the good work know our reward is coming.
When Paul writes “in due season” means, just as it does in nature; “when the time is right” when the harvest is ready and plentiful. Paul is saying, at just the right time, when you will benefit the most. When His blessings will meet your need the best, you will reap!
God has a plan to bless all of us
So keep sowing love and you will gain love in return
Keep sowing patience and you will reap patience in return
Keep sowing forgiveness and you will receive forgiveness in return
Keep sowing financially and you will reap financially in return
Let me ask the question I asked at the start, “what do you want out of life?”
Paul has shown us that what we want, we need to sow and as we do continually, steadily, habitually, God, at just the right time, will pour back into us. Paul said it this way in
Ephesians 6:8
“knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord”
Matthew 6:14
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Mark 9:35
“If anyone desires to be first (the greatest), he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
God has a plan to bless you, to fulfill the dream He placed on your heart.
Start today choose to walk in forgiveness, love, grace kindness, in financial trouble or have financial worries start tithing, giving offerings and giving to the needs of others
Want to be a leader, start serving others
Wherever you want to get, what you want out of life is in your hands today.
Here is a simplistic way to look at this
God has placed a dream in your heart. To get there, you do things His way, sowing into your dream by sowing into others!