I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. I've entitled this message, The
Law of Sowing and Reaping. In Galatians chapter 6, verse
6, Paul said, Let him that is taught in the word communicate
unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived,
God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
That shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the spirit
shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be
weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap
if we faint not." Sowing and reaping. How many times have
you heard you'll reap what you sow and you felt very uneasy
thinking of some of the things that you've sown and wondered
if they'd come back to haunt you? I know we've all felt that
way before. So what is meant by this law
of sowing and reaping? Paul said, don't be deceived.
God is not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall
he also reap. If you sow corn, you will not
reap wheat. You will reap corn. You reap
what you sow. If you sow sparingly and not
bountifully, if you just put out a few seeds here and there,
you will not have a large harvest. You'll reap what you sow. Now, this is just a physical
law. you'll reap what you sow. You
sow corn, you'll reap corn. You sow sparingly, you'll reap
sparingly. You'll reap what you sow. But this is also a spiritual
law, like a law of gravity, this is a spiritual law regarding
sowing and reaping. You will reap what you sow spiritually. Now what led Paul to make this
statement? Look in verse 6, let him that's
taught in the Word communicate to him that teacheth in all good
things. Now what a blessing it is to
be taught in the Word. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant
Word of God. Now I realize a lot of people
have trouble believing that. They think how could there be,
how could it be mistake free if men wrote it? How can you
believe it's actually, how can you prove it's the Word of God?
If God is all-powerful, and He is, if God is all-powerful, it's
very easy for Him to keep the Word preserved. And the Bible
is the inerrant Word of God, and it's the Word that tells
us of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us how
a holy God can accept a sinful man for Christ's sake. It tells
us how Christ put away sin. It tells us how salvation is
by grace. It's the Word of God. What a
blessing it is to be taught in the Word. Do you know, most of
the world's population has never even seen a Bible. And many people
don't really have the Word of God taught in the religious institutions
they're in. It'll be error and so on. What
a blessing of God's grace to be taught in the Word. Now, if
you're taught in the Word, that means somebody's taught you.
Now, anything you've actually learned, God taught you, but
he worked through a man. If you know the gospel, God sent
a preacher and crossed your path with him, and you heard the gospel
through that man. You've been taught the Word.
I think of what the Ethiopian eunuch said to Philip after Philip
said, do you understand what you're reading? He said, how
can I except some man should guide me? God uses the preaching
of the Word to teach His people. It's pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. That's what the Scripture
says. God has manifested His Word through preaching, Titus
1-3. Now, what a blessing to be taught
in the Word. Let him that's taught in the
Word communicate. What that means is share with,
encourage, give to him that teacheth in all good things. Now, what
that's talking about is the support of the gospel ministry. Now,
I want to be real careful when I say this because any time I
hear a preacher, particularly a TV preacher or any kind of
preacher begging for money, I know that they're not of God. They're just not of God. A true
preacher would never beg people for money or try to stir up support. And that's just the way it is. But that being said, if a man
preaches the Word, he's to give himself completely to that. He's
going to give himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
It's a full-time job. It's not something you can really
give yourself to if you're working in another job. So he says to
the one who's taught in the Word, you share with that one who teaches
in all good things. Look what he says next in verse
7. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Now what Paul is saying
in the context to fail to communicate, to fail to give, to fail to seek
to support the gospel is to mock God. Don't be deceived about
this. This is how God views the failure
to communicate, mocking. Treating with contempt this great
blessing He's given you in being taught in the Word. Don't be
deceived. God will not be mocked. You'll
reap what you sow. And He's talking about the hearing
of the Gospel. You'll reap what you sow. Now if my attitude is
like that toward the one who preaches the Gospel, God takes
it personal. It's a mocking of God, a treating
Him with contempt. Don't deceive yourselves. God
will not be mocked regarding this. You will reap what you
sow. Now, that's what it means in the context, but this has
a much broader application. You reap what you sow. In Luke chapter 6, We read in
the last part of verse 38, for with the same measure that you
meet, with all that shall be measured to you again. You'll
reap what you sow. God will give you the blessings
of His in the basket you bring. You bring a little basket, you'll
get small blessings. You bring a big basket, you'll
get big blessings. reap what you sow." Now, what
all does that mean? Well, let's look at it in the
context of this passage of Scripture. The Lord says beginning in verse
27, Luke chapter 6, and this is one of my favorite passages
in all the Word, I've got a lot of favorites. But I just love
what the Lord says here. He says, "'I say unto you which
hear, not everybody hears. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. I say unto you that hear, love your enemies Do good
to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you. And pray for them which despitefully
use you. This is not the way of the world,
is it? Everybody wants to get even, get back. The Lord says
don't do that. He says in verse 29, and unto him that smiteth
thee on the one cheek, offer also the other. And to him that
taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Give
to every man that asks of thee, and of him that taketh away thy
goods, ask them not again. And as you would that men should
do to you, do you also to them likewise." And when our Lord
says this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 He
says, this is the Law and the Prophets. How is it that you
want to be treated? That's the way you are to treat
everybody else. He says in verse 32, If you love
them that love you, what thank have you? And that word thank
is the word that's generally translated grace. Where's their
grace there? For sinners also love those that
love them. And if you do good to them which do good to you,
what thank have you? Where's their grace there? For
sinners also do even the same. And if you lend to them of whom
you hope to receive, what thank have you? For sinners also lend
to sinners to receive as much again. But love your enemies
and do good. and lend, hoping for nothing
again. And your reward shall be great, and you shall be the
children of the Highest. For He is kind unto the unthankful
and to the evil." Aren't you thankful for that? Now, here's
reaping and sowing. "'Be ye therefore merciful, as
your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not
be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.
it shall be given to you. This is all reaping and sowing.
Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over
shall be given to your bosom. For with what measure you meet
it shall be measured to you again." Now I want you to think about
what the Lord says. Judge not and you won't be judged. Now,
I don't think that that's, you know, when the Lord says, with
the same judgment you judge, you shall be judged. That's not
talking about if you ever judge somebody, that means you won't
be in Heaven. If that's the case, none of us will be in Heaven.
We're all far too guilty of judging people. But just even on a human
level, if you're not a judgmental person, if you're not a critical
person, if you don't look at people with scrutinizing eyes,
you're going to be loved. People are going to like you.
But if you're a judgmental person, People are going to scrutinize
every fault you have. You can just write that down.
You'll reap what you sow. If you're a judgmental, critical,
fault-finding person, you're going to find everybody judgmental
and critical and fault-finding of you. But if you're someone
who doesn't judge, you know that you don't have any business judging
anybody. You've got too much sin of your own to sit in judgment
on somebody else. You know you have that beam in
your own eye, and you're not able to get the splinter out
of your brother's eye. You have this nonjudgmental attitude towards
other people. not be judged. Condemn not, and
you won't be condemned. But if you condemn people, you
will be condemned. What he says next, he says, forgive,
and you shall be forgiven. You'll reap what you sow. You
forgive, you'll be forgiven. You know the Lord also said,
if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses. You'll reap what
you sow. You forgive from the heart of You understand something
about forgiveness. You understand how freely God
has forgiven you for Christ's sake. And you'll forgive anybody.
It comes from the heart. But if you fail to forgive, you
won't be forgiven, and you prove you know nothing of forgiveness.
You'll reap what you sow. He says, give, and it shall be
given to you. Oh, you can't outgive God. Give,
and it shall be given to you. God loveth a cheerful giver.
It's more blessed to give than to receive. But you know, I've
seen this. Most people who have financial problems, this is pretty
general, most people who have financial problems, you'll find
out they don't give. They think, well, I can't afford to give.
That's where you're at. Give, and it shall be given to
you. And then the Lord says, with
the same measure you meet, it'll be measured to you again. So we see God blesses us in the
basket we bring. This is even true regarding hearing
the Gospel preached. You come with a hungry heart.
You come with a big cup to fill and you're empty in yourself.
God's not going to let you go away hungry. He's going to feed
you. But if I come with a critical spirit, I won't get anything
out of it. You get out of it. Here's what this means. You get
out of it what you put into it. You'll reap what you sow. Now, here's a big question. Is
this law always in place? The answer is yes. Now, how can
you say that? How can you say that? Because
I can see where somebody would think, if I reap what I sow,
I can't possibly be saved. I mean, if God pays me back for
what I've done, I will not be saved. So, is this true, even
with regard to the Gospel, you reap what you sow? Yes, it is.
Now, hear me carefully. Hear me carefully. This is so
very, very important. If you come to God on the footing
of pure, free, sheer grace, God will meet you right there. You'll
reap what you sow. But if you come on the footing
of your works in any way to any degree, you'll reap what you
sow. You won't have anything from
God. Because if you come on the footing of works, God is going
to deal with you on the footing of works. And there's no hope
for anyone. By the law shall no man be justified in his sight,
for by the law is the knowledge of sin. If we're going to deal
with your works, if you come to God that way, He can't possibly
accept you. But if you come pleading nothing
but Christ, nothing but His blood, looking to Christ only, knowing
that the only way you can come is if it's grace. God will meet
you right there. And that's the Gospel. That's
the law of sowing and reaping. You'll reap what you sow. You come by grace, you'll reap
what you sow. You come on the footing of your
works, you will reap what you sow. You come like the leopard
did, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. You'll be made
clean. If you come like the publican
in the temple did, God be merciful to me, the sinner. You're going
to hear the same thing he did. He went down to his house justified,
justified by God. You'll reap what you sow. I think
of John 6.37, that passage of Scripture where the Lord says,
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Now, if you come to
him, you'll reap what you sow, you won't be cast out. If you
come to Him as an empty handed sinner, He says, I'll for no
reason at all cast you away, you'll be received, you'll reap
what you sow. When the Lord said in Matthew
chapter 11 verse 28, Come unto me all ye that labor, and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me, for I'm meek and lowly in heart. And you'll
find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Now, if you come to Him as an
empty-handed, weary, weary with your sin, weary with the burden
of your sin, that's the burden, that's the heavy laden, my sin.
I come to Him as a sinner looking for rest. Oh, that's what I need,
rest. Don't tell me what to do. I can't
do anything. want to rest. They which have
believed do enter into a rest, the rest of not working, the
rest of knowing that what Christ did is enough. Now you reap what
you sow. You come like that, you'll be
received. You come on the footing of your
works, you'll be rejected. You reap what you sow. Now this is a Gospel principle.
I think of that scripture in Hebrews chapter 4, let us come
boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. You come boldly believing
what God says to the throne of grace and if you're coming to
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, you're
going to reap what you sow. You're going to have that which
you come after. But let me warn you, believe
that your works have anything to do with your acceptance before
God on any level you're going to reap what you sow. You're
going to be cast away. God will not accept anyone who
comes on the footing of their own works. Now understand we're
not called upon in this thing of reaping and sowing, we're
not called upon to figure out whether we're saved, or whether
we're elect, or whether we're regenerated, or whether Christ
died for us, we're called upon to do this, do what God says
to do, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You believe, you reap what you
sow, you shall be saved. I love that scripture. Sirs,
what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. You believe He's the Lord, You
believe he's the one who's in charge, who's in control of everything.
That's what you believe. You know, people say, make Jesus
the Lord of your life. You can't do that. He already is Lord,
and you're in his hands. He's not in yours. Believe on
the Lord Jesus. Thou shalt call his name Jesus.
It means Savior. He shall save his people from
their sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's his offices as God's prophet, God's priest, and God's king.
You believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will reap what
you sow, you will be saved. It's the Gospel of sowing and
reaping. You come on the ground of pure
free grace and you will reap what you sow. You will be accepted
by God Himself. And you know this has a whole
lot wider application than this. We see it in God will measure
out our blessings in the basket we bring, we'll reap what we
sow. We see that God will meet us on the ground we come. If
we come on the footing of pure, free grace, we'll reap what we
sow. We'll receive grace. If we come
on the footing of our works, we'll reap what we sow and we'll
be damned. That's all there is to it. No one can be saved by
their works. But this is true in everything. You get out of it what you put
into it. For instance, in a marriage. Take your spouse for granted
and see what happens. You'll reap what you sow. In
child rearing the scripture says train up a child in the way he
would go and in the end he won't depart. Now a lot of people think
that means well if you raise your child right everything will
be fine and they'll end up being in good shape and they'll end
up being believers and they'll end up being good people. Now that
scripture is not saying that. It says train up because look
at I know many people who had a good raising that ended up
being really bad. What he's saying is train up a child in the way
he would go. Don't restrain him. Let him do
what he wants to do, and that's the direction he's going to go.
It's always going to be bad. On your job, you work hard, you'll
reap what you sow. You'll be blessed in your job.
If you're a lazy deadbeat, you'll reap what you sow, and you'll
never really do well on that job or never be contributing. In friendships,
You reap what you sow. He that would have friends must
first show himself friendly. You're not interested in other
people, they'll not be interested in you. You reap what you sow.
What about health? Now, I realize I can practice
perfect health practices and still die of cancer the next
day. I realize that. I mean, there's no promise of
but it's still true if you eat right, if you take care of yourself
you'll reap what you sow. You'll have a better well-being.
If you don't take care of yourself in any way you'll not be as well. Now I'm not saying that you can
extend your life. God's got the day of your death
determined and there's nothing you can do to change it. But
still with regard to health practices we will reap what we sow. Now let's go back to Galatians
chapter 6 Paul said, What a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Now the Lord said,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these other things shall be added to you. For he that
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. That's
all you'll get. but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting." Verse 9, and let us not be weary in
well-doing. For in due season we shall reap
if we faint not. Now Charles Spurgeon a preacher
from the 1800's said that this word well-doing is a summary
of the life of the believer. He says, don't be weary in this
thing of well-doing, living by faith, loving his people, hearing
the Gospel, the ability to be generous, manifesting the fruit
of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
doing what we do for His glory, seeking to set a good example
to others. Oh, that's the life of well-doing. What if everybody was just like
me? What would things be like? Oh, don't be weary in well-doing. Now what is meant by being weary
in well-doing? How does one get weary in well-doing? Well, spiritual indifference
sets in. The neglect of the means of grace
sets in. You no longer thirst to read
the Word. You no longer want to hear the
Gospel. Prayer becomes such a chore because you feel so indifferent. losing our first love, losing
our early enthusiasm, no concern for souls, no longer interested
in other believers or other churches. You're just weary of these things.
You're weary. And Paul says, don't be weary
in well-doing. Now, what would cause this weariness?
I could say a lot of things about that. And every believer fears
this. I don't want to become weary
in well-doing, but what would cause weariness in well-doing?
That's one thing, the flesh. This sinful flesh that every
believer is carrying around all the time. The world, the lust of the world,
the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. Somebody can become
intoxicated with those things. Satan, nobody's a match for him. He goes about as a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour. I think of what Paul said, evil
communications corrupt good manners. If a believer makes an unbeliever
his friend, that unbeliever will always bring the believer down.
The believer will never bring him up to his level. The unbeliever
will always bring him down. They'll start thinking like an
unbeliever and they'll start becoming weary in well-doing. I suppose
that's seen most in growing weary of hearing the Gospel. It's no
longer good news to you. It's just doctrine. It's just
what the preacher is saying. It doesn't really speak to your
heart in power. You hear it and it means nothing. That's becoming weary in well-doing. The Gospel no longer comes as
good news. Now, listen to this promise.
He says, let us not be weary in well-doing. Not be weary in
hearing the Gospel. Not be weary in walking by faith. not be weary in serving His people,
not be weary in loving His people, not be weary in all the things
that are associated with the life of faith. Let us not be
weary in well-doing for, He gives us this promise, in due season,
in due season we shall reap. if we faint not, if we don't
quit. Our Lord said, he that endureth
to the end, the same shall be saved. It's not those who begin,
it's those who end in the life of faith. Now, somebody's saying,
are you saying a believer can fall away? No, I'm not saying
that at all. I'm saying every believer will
endure all the way to the end, and they will not become weary
in well-doing. God's grace is going to keep
them walking with Christ. If someone falls away, it's because
they never really had grace in the first place. 1 John 2, 19
says, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For
if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued
with us. perseverance. Oh, may God give
me the grace to persevere all the way to the end and not become
weary in this thing of well-doing. And you know where this begins?
Look to Christ. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the
finisher of our faith. If I'm by grace and able to continually
look to Him as the author and finisher of my faith, I won't
grow weary in well-doing. I'll continue in the faith grounded
and settled and be not moved from the hope, the blessed hope
of the gospel. Now, here's a promise. you reap
what you sow. And thank God if you come on
the ground of grace you'll reap that, you'll reap what you sow. Don't be weary in well-doing
for this is the promise, in due season we shall reap if we faint
not. Now we have this message on DVD,
CD, if you call the church right or email we'll send you a copy.
This is Todd Kniper, praying that God will be pleased to make
Himself known to you. That's our prayer. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.