This evening after the services,
there will be a few minutes to get some things set up and we'll
have a wedding. Delta Scrub and Chong Rose are
going to be married after the service. And I will be preaching
upon this subject. Who does God love? I believe this to be a very important
message. Who is it that God loves? I'm going to preach this morning
on this subject, the law of sowing and reaping. The law of sowing and reaping. You know, this life is a continual
sowing and reaping, isn't it? If you sow corn, you're not going
to reap potatoes, are you? If you sow corn, you'll reap
corn. You will reap what you sow. This
is a spiritual law. Galatians 6, verse 7, Be not
deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And then we read in 2 Corinthians
9, verse 6, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. And he that soweth bountifully
shall also reap bountifully. Sowing and reaping. Now here are two things that
you and I must believe and must get a hold of. First is that
God is absolutely sovereign. You can't take that too far.
God is absolutely sovereign. And the second thing that I must
get a hold of is you'll reap what you sow. Both of those things
are absolutely true. Now, what is meant by God is
absolutely sovereign? Well, it means that God is in
absolute control of all things, and He Himself is the first cause
behind everything. And I did say behind everything. He controls everything. To say God is sovereign is to
say God is God. He's all-powerful. He's got the power to make whatsoever
He wills to come to pass, and that's what He always does do. He's the first cause behind all
events. I was thinking of David. He felt at the bottom. And Shimei
is cursing him. And Joab says, you want me to
go take off his head? David said, no. The Lord said,
curse David. Anything that happens to me or
you is because the Lord said for it to happen. Don't you find
some comfort there? Even in the, quote, bad things
and the misunderstandings, the Lord is in control of it all. Samuel comes to Eli and tells
him, God's going to kill both your boys. How did Eli reply? It's the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth him good. Job said, The Lord giveth. And
the Lord taketh away after he lost everything. The Lord giveth,
and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. This
is the song of Hannah. I love this song. Verse 1 of
1 Samuel chapter 2. And Hannah prayed and said, My
heart rejoiceth in the Lord. 1 Samuel chapter 2. My heart
rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine
enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none
holy as the Lord. For there is none beside thee,
neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more exceeding
proudly. Let not arrogance come out of
your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions
are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are
broken. Who broke them? God did. And
they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were
full have hired themselves after bread. And they that were hungry
cease, so that the barren hath borne seven, and she that hath
many children is wax feeble." Now listen to this. The Lord
killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth
down to the grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and
maketh rich. He bringeth low, and lifteth
up. He raises up the poor out of
the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set him
among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory."
These beggars, they inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars
of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon
them. He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall
be silenced in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces out of heaven, shall he thunder upon them. The
Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give
strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. Our
God is absolutely sovereign." I sure am glad. You see, everything,
now you listen real carefully, everything is fixed by his determinant
counsel and decrees. There's no such thing as bad
luck. There's no such thing as good luck. There's no such thing
as chance. There's no such thing as happenstance.
Everything that takes place, he is in control of. Everything. The wise man said
the lot is cast in the lap, but the whole disposing thereof. is of the Lord. When we think
of the casting of the lock, we think of chance, luck, happenstance,
but he controls it all. That's what is meant by God being
sovereign. It means he's God. It means he
rules. It means he reigns. And the most glorious illustration
of this is the cross. The Lord is called, in Revelation
13.8, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Before
the creation Christ was the lamb slain. Why was the lamb slain? Because the sins of the elect
were his in the mind and purpose of God before time began. And
he was the lamb slain before time began. Now, this death of
Christ was prophesied in Psalm 22, talked about they'll pierce
his hands and feet and so on, 700 or 1000 years before it took
place. Isaiah 53 told exactly how he would die. But I want
you to turn to Acts chapter two to see how the apostles preached
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the cross. And this is Peter preaching on
the day of Pentecost. And he says in verse 22, you
men of Israel, Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him in the midst of you. As you yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Why was he nailed to that cross? Because God determined for it
to take place. That's why. Him being delivered
by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, that doesn't
get you guys off the hooks. You have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. You're responsible for your actions,
but the reason he was on that cross was not because of you.
It was because of God. Look in Acts chapter 4. This
is the prayer of the early church. Verse 26, the kings of the earth
stood up. And the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against His Christ, for the truth
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of
Israel, were gathered together. And what did they do when they
gathered themselves together? They drove nails in His hands
and His feet. They pierced spear in his side. They put a crown of thorns on
him. So he was in all the horrible things that took place. But look
what it says. For the truth against the holy
child, Jesus, whom thou has anointed both head and Pontius Pilate,
when the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. Now, that's what happens. Everything
that happens is whatever God's hand and counsel determined before
to be done. There's no wiggle room. No wiggle
room. God controls everything because
God is absolutely sovereign. And if you don't believe that,
you might as well be an atheist. Because really, that's what you
are. The only difference, I mean, you either
believe God's God Or you believe in no God at all, when it comes
right down to it. Such a God who doesn't control
everything, doesn't even deserve to be called a God. God is God. Absolutely sovereign. Let me
show you another scripture, Isaiah 46. You see what all this means is
salvation is of the Lord. That's what all this means. It
means salvation really is all of grace. It means salvation
is what God does for you, not what you do for God, but what
God does for you. That is the God of the Bible.
That's God's salvation, His sovereign salvation. Look in Isaiah 46,
verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there's none else. I am God and there's
none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from
ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have
purposed it. I will also do it." Now that
is who God is. God is absolutely sovereign. I'm glad he is, aren't you? I cringe at anything different
to think that he doesn't control everything, because if he doesn't
control everything, somebody else does. Either men or demons
or the devil, and I can't even stand to think about that, but
thank God he is in control. Now, it's equally true and just
as important that you and I understand that we will reap what we sow. Yes, God is sovereign and we
will reap what we sow. If I live a life of sinful extremes,
drunkenness, gluttony, sexual immorality, I will reap what
I sow. How many have lost their health?
How many people are in prison right now? How many people have
destroyed their homes and their families and themselves through
their lifestyle? And they have reaped exactly
what they sowed. It's equally true. You do what's
right. And you'll reap what you sow.
You really will. Whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. You work hard and something good's
going to happen. You'll reap what you sow. You
sow much love, for instance, in your family, in your marriage.
You sow much love, much effort in your marriage and in your
home. You'll reap what you sow. You'll see the returns. You see,
you get out of things what you put into them. Now, you know
that so, don't you? You found that true regarding
yourself. You sow sparingly. you'll reap sparingly, won't
you? You sow just a little bit, a little bit of effort, you'll
get your return. You sow bountifully, you'll reap
bountifully. And we always sow with some hope
of some kind of return. I mean, this is what life, this
is life. You reap, we sow something with the hope of some kind of
return in it. Men have a hope of return for
the sin they committed. They take some kind of drugs,
they hope for some kind of euphoria that they're going to experience
out of that, or some kind of numbing of the conscience to
make them feel it. They're looking for a return. In faith, listen
to this scripture, Hebrews 11, 6, he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he's a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. If you or I diligently seek Him,
we're going to reap what we've sown, and He will reward that
diligent seeking. The Lord says, Ask, and what? You shall receive. Seek, and
you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
to you. Remember when James said, You
have not because you ask not. You reap what you sow. He that soweth to the flesh,
Paul said, shall of the flesh reap corruption. If that's what
you're sowing for, that's what you're going to get. He that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Now, it's true. God is absolutely
sovereign. You can't take that too far.
You can't be too extreme there. And it's equally true. We will
reap what we sow. We should never look at God's
sovereignty as a reason to not so. It's all determined anyway. God's already fixed every event.
Have you ever heard of a farmer who said, well, God's already
determined whether or not I'm going to have a harvest. Therefore,
I'm not going to sow anything. No farmer's ever done anything
that stupid, have they? I mean, in regular things, men
won't do anything like that. But yet, spiritually, men will
do that. God sovereign, therefore, there's
no point in seeking him. He's already determined whether
or not I'll be saved. So why seek him? Why believe?
Why do anything? Let me show you something. That's
a willful twisting of the truth to justify sin. Look with me
to Luke chapter 19 for a moment. Luke 19. Let's begin in verse 20. Now, this is the fellow who kept
his talent and pound, and he hid it and didn't try to gain
anything with it. And we read in verse 20, and
another came saying, Lord, behold, here's thy pound, which I kept
laid up in a napkin. I didn't try to trade with it,
for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man, a harsh man. He shows what he thinks about
the Lord. You take up where you lay not down, and you reap that
which you didn't sow. And he said unto him, Out of
thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. He
comes to him on the ground, he came. You knew that I was an
austere man taking up that I lay not down and reaping where I
didn't sow. Wherefore then gavest thou not my money into the bank
that my coming I might have required mine own with usury. And he said
unto him that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give
it to him that hath ten pounds. Now, this fellow, he says, I
know you're sovereign. I knew there wasn't any point
in me trying to trade my pound. So I just laid it up in a napkin.
And the Lord said, you wicked servant, you're going to reap
what you sow. Now, while in some measure, this
is scary to think that you'll reap what you sow. It's also
encouraging to me. Yes, I believe God is absolutely
sovereign and the end has already been determined. I'm not going
to change anything. Everything is decreed according
to God's purpose and counsel, but I also am encouraged to sow
and to sow bountifully with this promise. I'll reap what I sow.
This doesn't cause me to say, well, I won't do anything just
to be in indifference. No, we're giving this promise
in due season you. shall reap if you faint not. This is encouraging. You sow
bountifully, you'll reap bountifully. May God give us grace to be bountiful
sowers. Now what happens if I don't sow?
Turn to John chapter 12 for a moment. You know, regarding what we're
talking about, God's absolute sovereignty, and yet you reap
what you sow. Somebody says, how do you bring
those things together? I don't know. I have no idea, and I don't
feel a need to. They're both true. They're both
absolutely true, and we're to act accordingly. But that doesn't
make sense. That's because we don't have
enough sense to see that it makes sense. That's the problem with us. Problems
aren't with the Word of God. It's not with the truth. Problems
with us. I can't bring everything together like this. I don't understand
how everything's decreed and determined and set and fixed,
but I believe with all my heart it is the Bible teaches it. And
I also believe that we reap what we sow, and we're given every
encouragement to reap bountifully and to expect a bountiful return
in whatever we do. You reap what you sow. This is
true in every... This is what we live. We might
not be conscious of it, but this is the way we live, continually
reaping, expecting some kind of Continually sowing, expecting
some kind of reaping. Now look in John chapter 12.
What happens if we don't sow? Verse 24, John chapter 12. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abides alone. If you don't sow it, it's still
in your hand. It doesn't produce any fruit,
does it? If you don't sow, You can be guaranteed to this. You're
not going to reap anything. You're to sow, I'm to sow. But
if it die, if it's sown, if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Now, the Lord is talking about
his own death, how he had to die. Now, he was purposed to
die. But did that mean he said, well,
since it's decreed, I don't need to come in time and do it. I
mean, because it's already been purposed. No, he didn't say anything like
that. He had to come and die. And out of his death, when he
was sown in death, much fruit comes. He saved all of the elect
by what he did. Oh, the fruit that came from
his death. Let's go on reading. Verse 25.
He that loveth his life shall lose it. You'll reap what you
sow. If you invest all your time to
this life, you're going to lose it in the world to come. And
he that hates his life in this world shall keep it in the life
eternal. You'll reap what you sow. If
any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there also
will my servant be. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor. You'll reap what you sow. You
serve him, you're going to be honored by God. You reap what
you sow. Now, don't let anything prevent
you from sowing. Would you turn to Ecclesiastes
chapter 11? Don't let your belief in the
absolute sovereignty of God prevent you from sowing in any way, to
any degree. What it says in verse 4 of Ecclesiastes
chapter 11. He that observeth the wind shall
not sow. What's too windy to sow? I mean,
the wind will blow it all away. It's too windy to sow. He that
observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the
clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the
way of the Spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of
her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the works
of God, who maketh all in the morning, so thy seed. Sow it,
and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not
whether thou shalt prosper, either this or that, or whether they
shall be alike good. Sow. Sow. Don't let anything
prevent you from sowing. Turn to Galatians chapter 6,
verse 6. 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. 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. Now, in the context,
he's talking about our attitude toward the preacher, communicating
them to him. And I'm not talking about how
much you give it. Don't even look at it that way. But this,
what he's saying is, if your attitude toward the preacher
and the gospel he preaches is one of indifference, and you're
not thinking about this thing of communicating, you're going
to reap what you sow. You're not going to be here from
the Lord for that man. You're going to get what you
sow for. You're not going to be blessed. God's not going to
speak to you. If you go in that direction, you'll have, you'll
reap what you sow. But if you sow to the spirit,
you'll reap what you sow. In the context, he's talking
about that. Now turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. But this I say, verse 6. But
this I say, he which soweth sparingly, what's the promise? He shall
reap also sparingly. And he that soweth bountifully,
shall reap also bountifully. You will reap what you sow, and
if you sow just a little bit, you'll just reap a little bit.
You sow a whole lot, you'll reap a whole lot. That's the promise
of the scripture. Now, you'll reap what you sow
in faith. And what do I mean by that? You reap, or you sow, Looking
to Christ only. This is what you're sowing. This
is what you're sowing. Christ is my only hope. I'm not
looking anywhere else. That's what I'm sowing. Right
now, Christ, who He is and what He did is all I'm relying on. Now, if you sow that in your
faith, you'll reap what you sow. All you'll have is Christ. Is
that a bad thing? No, that's the best thing there
can be. If you look to Christ only, you're going to reap what
you sow. You're going to have Christ only,
and all God is going to see is Jesus Christ. That's where I
want to be. You'll reap what you sow in faith.
God is going to meet you in the place you come to Him. You come
looking to Christ only, and He'll deal with you thusly. You'll
reap what you sow. If you come on the footing of
your own works, God will meet you there if that's what you
want. You'll reap what you sow. And let me tell you something,
God always pays his debts. And if you come in the basis
of your own works in any way, to any degree, you'll reap what
you sow. That's how God will deal with
you. And that's something that you can't deal with. You will
reap what you sow. Turn with me for a moment to
Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6. Beginning in verse 27. But I say unto you which hear.
Love your enemies. Do good to them which hate you.
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you. And to him that smiteth thee
on the one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh
away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asks of
thee, and to him that takes away thy goods, ask them not again,
as you would that men should do to you. do you also to them
likewise? For if you love them which love
you, what thank have you? For sinners also love those that
love them. And if you do good to them which do good to you,
what thank have you? 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. You'll reap what you sow. And
you shall be children of the highest, for he is kind unto
the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as
your Father also is merciful. Now, look at this, this reaping.
Judge not, and you'll not be judged. Now, if you judge not,
if that's what you sow, I'm not going to be critical and harsh.
I'm not going to be a judge. You know what's going to happen?
You're not going to be judged. You're going to reap what you
sow. And turn it around. If you're a harsh, critical judge,
you know what? You're going to be judged. You
will reap what you sow. He says next in verse 37, Condemn
not, and you shall not be condemned. Oh, isn't that wonderful? To
not be condemned. There's therefore now no condemnation
of him that are in Christ Jesus. When this passage of Christmas
promises me, if I don't condemn, I won't be condemned. But if
I condemn, I will be condemned. You reap what you sow. Look what it says next. Forgive,
verse 37. Forgive and you shall be forgiven. If you forgive, You're going
to be forgiven. You're going to reap what you
sow. And if you fail to forgive, you
know what? You will not be forgiven. You
will reap what you sow. This is a spiritual law. It's
always true. You reap what you sow. Look what he says in verse 38. Give, and it shall be given unto
you. Good measure, pressed down and
shaken together and running over shall mean giving to your bosom.
You give and it's going to be given to you. You cannot give
the Lord. You fail to give and it won't
be given to you. I've seen this so wherever there's
financial problems with people, you can you can just write this
down somewhere along the line. They're not giving. People who
give, the Lord blesses. Now, somebody says that's making
things dependent on us. No, it's not. No, it's not. It's
just the way it is as far as you reap what you sow. And he lets us know this very
clearly. Look what he says in the latter
part of verse 38. For with the same measure that
you meet, with all that shall be measured to you again, God's
going to measure out your blessings in the basket you bring. Now,
that's a promise. You will reap what you sow. Yes, God is absolutely sovereign
and you will reap what you sow. He that soweth sparingly shall
reap sparingly. He that sows bountifully shall
reap bountifully. You get out of something what
you put in it. Reap little. I mean, sow little.
You're going to reap little. You sow bountifully. you will
reap bountifully. Now, in your work, in what you're
doing, you work hard, God will bless it. If you're lazy, God's not going
to bless it. It really is that simple. You'll
reap what you sow. In your relationships with others,
you'll reap what you sow. If you're really interested in
them, oh, you're going to gain a friend. If you're just trying
to get them to be interested in you, well, you'll reap what
you sow. You'll not make much of a friend. It just doesn't
work that way. In our marriages, I have no doubt you'll reap what
you sow. You invest much love, much time
in your marriage. You invest yourself. You'll reap
what you sow. You'll have great returns. And
if you put little effort and if you're just indifferent, you'll
reap what you've sown in relationships. We reap what we sow. Now, if
I sow bountifully, I'm going to reap bountifully. And if I
sow sparingly, I'll reap sparingly. That's what the Bible says. Now,
somebody says, well, what if I sow bountifully and I don't
get a good return? That's in the Lord's hands. That's
in the Lord's hands. And you will. It might not be
the way you thought it would be, but it'll be better than
you ever thought. And that is in the Lord's hands. You can't
say, well, I'm afraid if I invest this time or this effort in this,
I'm afraid I won't get a good return. That's in the Lord's
hands. And your responsibility is to
reap bountifully in all ways, waiting on the Lord to do his
will. Now, don't forget the promise
in due season. It says this twice, in 2 Thessalonians
and in Galatians. in due season, we shall reap. And that's God's promise. Somebody
said, I'm not reaping and you haven't been sowing. Because
God said in due season, we shall reap. If we faint not. Now would you turn to Psalm 125.
This is what we're going to end with Psalm 125. That Psalm I
read at the beginning of this service. I'm sorry, 126. Verse 5. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing
his sheaves with him. Now, anybody that knows anything
about sewing and I'm just talking about living because this whole
life is a life of sewing and reaping it as far as our experience
goes. Well, there's tears. There's
tears. Dealing with yourself. Your sinfulness,
your unbelief. All the bad attitudes that you
can espouse. I know something I'm sure about
every one of them. You sow in tears. But in sowing, even though
you sow in tears, anybody who sows, you shall reap with joy. That is God's promise. And I think what this is, this
has got a wide application. There's no doubt about it. But
I think the main thing that he's talking about is the preaching
of the gospel. He that soweth in tears, and I'm not one who weeps before people. I just I
can't. I wish I could, but it just something
stops me. I don't. Don't want to draw attention
to myself, you know, but you're looking and crying. I just don't
want to do that. That doesn't mean I don't weep
in my closet before God. There must be true weeping. You weep over yourself, your
sinfulness. You weep over others, their hardness
toward the gospel. You weep. You weep. There's such
passion involved in this. Your whole soul is into it. And
you're sowing in tears. That person who sows in tears
shall reap in joy. That's God's promise. Look at
what it says in verse 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed. Notice it doesn't say seeds,
but seed. See, that's the gospel. As a
matter of fact, if you look in Deuteronomy, when it talks about
sowing, there's a law regarding sowing. You're not allowed to
sow mingled seed. Just one seed. One seed. This
is the gospel. Now, the promise of coming back
with this return is only for preaching the seed, the gospel,
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel of God's grace,
the truth, how God saves sinners by Christ. Salvation is of the
Lord. He does it all. Somebody that
goes with that message, the precious seed, and indeed it is precious,
isn't it? The preciousness of the gospel,
it begins life. Here's the promise. He that goeth
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless. I love that word. Doubtless. I ain't no doubt about this.
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaths
with him. Men and women will be saved by
the gospel that is preached, and this is doubtless, it's always
true. So with regard to this thing
of sowing and reaping, first, understand in your sowing and
reaping that your sowing or your lack thereof, God's will is going to be done. God's will is going to be done.
You can just be sure of that. God is absolutely sovereign. And God's will is always done. And whatever takes place is nothing
more or less. I don't care what it is. Whatever
takes place is neither more nor less than His will being done. That's just so. And it's equally
true You will reap what you sow. And this ought to encourage every
one of us to sow bountifully. Don't be fatalistic. Don't say,
well, God's already determined everything. There's no point
in me doing anything. No, you give all your effort in whatever you're
doing. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. Whatever it may be, whatever
you do, do to the glory of God and you will reap what you sow. That is God's promise. Yes, we
don't have any control over anything. God has all control. I like it
being that way, don't you? Everything's determined. And
I'm also equally given this encouragement. If I sow bountifully, I'll reap
bountifully. If I sow sparingly, I will reap
sparingly. You reap what you sow. So these
two things are they go together. And I'm thankful for this spiritual
law. In the word of God, you will
reap what you sow. May God enable us to do some
good sowing and some bountiful sowing for the glory of his name. With this promise, we'll reap
what we sow. And may we begin by sowing, looking
to Christ only. That's where I want to begin.
Here's what I'm sowing. The only hope I have is who he
is and what he did. And if that's what I sow, I'm
going to reap what I've sown. Let's pray.