Seeds On The Shelf

Galatians “The Heart of the Gospel” Series

A Message by Jim Hammond from Galatians 6:6-18

Life is like gardening. 

Jesus had much to say about seeds, and harvest.  He became the seed planted and buried so that we could produce a harvest.  We have an enemy constantly planting weed seeds.  We have an enemy trying to devour the good seed, or choke it out, or pluck away the tender good plant before there can be a harvest. 

There are many seeds on the shelf from which to choose to plant into our lives.  The seeds on the shelf represent opportunities and temptations.  There are good seeds to choose from and bad.  The good seeds are nothing but good intentions until we take them off the shelf and plant them.  Look at the word “Shelf.”  A simple word really.  A lot like a seed is a simple seed.  But watch as you unpack that word shelf.  It’s as complex as unpacking the potential of a seed.  In the word “Shelf” there are other words imbedded.  Can you see any?  You can find the word “Self” easily enough.  You can find the word “hel”.  O.K. it’s not quite spelled right.  You can also find the word “he”.  Twist it up a bit and you can find the word “Flesh”.   There are different ways to unpack the word shelf.  Don’t take the seeds of “hell” from the “shelf” and plant it in your “flesh” or you will reap destruction.  Instead take the seeds from “He” and plant those into “self” and you will reap eternal life.  Leave the bad ones on the shelf, and take the good ones down and plant them.

Today, we are going to discover that as we unpack an old truth we will discover more than we used to see in the well worn truth, “You Reap what you Sow”

Focus:  You reap what you sow.

Galatians 6:6-18

[6] Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.  [7] Do not be deceived: 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.

    [11] See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

    [12] Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. [13] Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. [14] May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. [15] Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. [16] Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

    [17] Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

    [18] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. 

The context of this universal principle (7), was the context of giving (6) and the support of those who do their jobs well in the area of spiritual instruction.  However, Paul then takes this powerful universal principle and applies it beyond the principle of giving, and broadens the scope to apply to just about everything (8).

I.               Seeds are little things

Seeds are little things.  Maybe this sounds self evident.  But sometimes we forget, whether good or bad, these seeds are the little things that produce bigger things in our lives. 

Immorality is the cumulative product of small indulgences and minuscule compromises, the immediate consequences of which were, at the time, indiscernible.[1]

A.  Plant, Water, and Cultivate Good Little Things

Here’s the hidden danger:  We must not neglect the little things because we are so focused on only big things.  I’m prone to this problem, preoccupied with “the big things” I can neglect the little seeds of common courtesies at home.  Preoccupied with work, I can forget to plant the little seeds of connections with my wife and kids. 

It is always faithfulness in the little things that lead to the really big pay off.  What are some of the good practical little seeds you can plant today?

Ø     Take 5 minutes and worship the Lord, pause and thank him

Ø     Send a card, or bake something and deliver it to someone whom you want to encourage

Ø     Do the dishes for your mother without being asked.

The main point is get the good seeds off the shelf and into your life.  They are nothing but good intentions until you do. 

John Newbern said, “People divide into three groups:  those who make things happen,  who watch things happen, and who wonder what happened.”

You can be a part of the first group—get the good seeds off the shelf.  Get off the sidelines and start living the life God provides.  Don’t allow your faith to be a spectator sport.

Do you ever get discouraged because there are so many problems in the world?  Do you ever feel like the problems are so pervasive and so large there’s nothing we can do?  When you start to be overwhelmed that way, here is what you do.  You concentrate on the little things.  Plant seeds.  Seeds are little things.  We must concentrate on eliminating the bad little things, and adding the good little things.  The cumulative effect of these little decisions is a huge harvest.

B.  Use “Roundup” Early and Often for those Bad Little Things (14)

I wasn’t familiar with Roundup until moving to Arizona.  Roundup is Arizona’s rock landscape care.  Roundup is made available through the Cross.  It is sprayed with the act of Repentance.  It literally kills the weeds in our lives.  This Roundup has some Pre-emerge mixed in with it also, killing the bad seeds before they take root.  Just keep going to the cross until you see less weeds.  Do this often and early before you see a bad harvest.

[14] May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

The world is full of enticements. Daily we are confronted with subtle cultural pressures and overt propaganda. The only way to escape these destructive influences is to ask God to help crucify our interest in them, just as Paul did. How much do the interests of this world matter to you? (See 2:20 and 5:24 for more on this concept.)[2]

II.  Plant the seeds you want to harvest

Plant What You Want to Harvest.  If you want grapes don’t plant turnips.  If you want tomatoes, don’t plant asparagus. To put it simply when it comes to gardening and farming, you should plant what you want.  People make life so difficult.  They want happy life-long marriages to grow out of seeds of another kind.  If you want a happily ever after marriage you ought to plant seeds that produce happy marriages.  There are many such seeds, but “living together to see if we are compatible” isn’t one of them.

The number of "unmarried-couple households" has increased from 523,000 in 1970 to 4,236,000 in 1998. Professor Roger Rubin, a University of Maryland specialist in family studies, says, "We estimate that by the year 2000, half of all American adults will have had a cohabiting experience by the age of 30."

The Houston Chronicle reports that couples who live together have an 80 percent greater chance of divorce than those who don't cohabit.

A Washington State researcher discovered that women who cohabit are twice as likely to experience domestic violence than married women. The National Center for Mental Health revealed that cohabiting women's incidence of depression is four times greater than that of married women, and two times greater than unmarried women.

In a survey of over 100 couples who lived together, 71 percent of the women said they would not live-in again.

Citation: Christian Single (September 1999), pp. 9, 29

So one needs to determine what he wants and begin planting that.

It would certainly be a surprise if you planted corn and pumpkins came up. It’s a natural law to reap what we sow. It’s true in other areas, too. If you gossip about your friends, you will lose their friendship. Every action has results. If you plant to please your own desires, you’ll reap a crop of sorrow and evil. If you plant to please God, you’ll reap joy and everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you sowing? [3]

Farmers don’t sow just for the fun of it.  They are sowing with the harvest in mind.  We need to do the same. 

In our personal lives, most of us sow for the fun of sowing, without ever giving a thought about the harvest.

In contrast, think about the Apostle Paul. It would have seemed smarter for Paul to have remained just a Jew, because he had prestige & honor among them. He was a respected teacher & leader in Jewish circles.  But when Paul became a Christian, he started suffering. He was beaten & imprisoned & finally killed because he believed in Jesus. But, you see, Paul was sowing with the harvest he wanted in mind.  He wasn’t sowing for fun, but sowing for a harvest!

[15] Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.  [16] Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.   [17] Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Paul was saying,  “You want to talk about marks in the flesh (circumcision).  I’ll show you marks in the flesh.  Marks of Jesus, I’ll call them.  These are marks I bear in my body out of love for Christ.  Let no one trouble me about marks.”

Paul was not sowing for the fun of sowing, He was sowing for the harvest.  It was work, it wasn’t easy.  He grew weary.  Others grew weary.  He was encouraging others to keep the harvest in mind. 

[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.

A.  We reap more than what we sow.

[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.

You see, the great principle of sowing & reaping not only tells us that we will reap what we sow, but also that we will reap more than we sow.  Farmers always expect to reap more than they sow.  We should also.  This works with both good and bad seeds.

Destruction is always bigger than the seeds of destruction! Eternal life is always bigger than the seeds sown that lead to that grace. Harvests are always bigger than the seeds planted.

ILL.   There are a lot of people today beginning to reap the seed they sowed in their youth. And they’re crying, "I didn’t do anything to deserve this."

I’m glad that the principle works both ways. There have been many times that I have thought, "Lord, what did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful wife, and family”

If we forget this truth we buy into one of Satan’s well worn lies.  Satan mixes a little truth in the lie to make the lie powerful.   It goes something like this: God will always forgive no matter what, so it really doesn't make much difference how we live.

It is true that God can forgive you.  It is a lie that there are no consequences when you are forgiven.  Aren’t there?

Galatians 6:7  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

There are earthly consequences for sowing wrong seeds even for those who are saved.  There are many harvests, not just the great harvest.  WE are harvesting now what we sowed years ago. 

Nevertheless, thinking these things through to the great harvest makes this verse either chilling or thrilling.

THIS VERSE IS EITHER CHILLING OR THRILLING: 

• FIRST DAY IN HELL:   "We didn’t do anything to deserve this. We weren’t that bad."
• FIRST DAY IN HEAVEN, "We didn’t do anything to deserve all this."

• CHILLING OR THRILLING TRUTH (DEPENDS) [GRACE OR JUSTICE]

Other People Are Affected by what we sow

If we’re sowing seeds of dishonesty & greed though you can’t see it happening, these seeds are being sown into the hearts & lives of our children, they aren’t sowing the seeds, but they will reap the harvest.  This principle is as old as Adam and Eve.  We are still reaping what they sowed.

If we’re sowing seeds of loving kindness, joy & peace in the hearts of our children, they will reap that harvest even though they didn’t sow the seeds.  Young parents, if you want to do a great job of being a mom or a dad, make sure you have a happy marriage.  If you want to have a happy marriage, make sure you have a happy relationship with God.  Whole individuals, make healthy marriages, and healthy marriages make whole and emotionally healthy children.

SUM: The seed that we sow affects many more people than just ourselves.

III.  Don’t Leave Good Seeds On the Shelf

[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.

   Karole Shirley, Ordinary Hero

   It's nice when your boss notices your work. It's even better when the CEO of your company notices. And it's even better still when the CEO raves about your work to the President of the United States.

   Karole Shirley garnered that kind of attention.

   Shirley, 26, started working for Manpower, Inc., a temporary-services firm that is the nation's largest private-sector employer, in September 1995. Originally hired as a service representative assistant, she became an ardent advocate for welfare recipients who wanted to work.

   The Milwaukee central office is in a less-than-ritzy area on the outskirts of the downtown business district. The office had been looking to hire university students, but Shirley took a chance on the area's down-and-outers. As she interacted with men and women, young and old, she saw people struggling to survive. That's when something began to stir within this daughter of affluent Milwaukee parents.

   "I got convicted of the Holy Spirit and I wanted to do something no matter what the consequences," she says.

   Along with Manpower's effective training techniques, Shirley added a personal touch. She spent serious time with each client, helping them develop "soft skills"--the etiquette needed in the business world. She wrote resumes and lent needy clients money from her own pocket, activities that run counter to Manpower's official policies. At times, she borrowed from her parents to cover the personal loans she made to clients. She even invited some of them to her church, Christian Faith Fellowship.

   Her compassion paid off, literally. People started coming in droves, and her office's net profits rose by 300 percent in one year. She recruited 80 clients from her own congregation alone, where she is referred to as "Sister Karole." Many of Shirley's recruits found full-time employment and became self-sufficient.

   She worked hard, sometimes from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next morning, with no overtime pay. Late at night, Shirley would walk around the office and pray for her clients. In fact, she prayed all the time, asking God for wisdom. Romans 8:28--Shirley's favorite verse--was a constant reminder that "all things work together for good to them that love God." Her computer screensavers, customized with blended biblical phrases like, "I am more than a conqueror" and "All things are possible," also helped her focus on God's strength. ...

   As a result of Shirley's success, Manpower will begin opening new offices around the country, focused on inner-city residents. Shirley's new role--along with a well-deserved promotion--is to help market the new locations and form strategic alliances with businesses.

   Although she'll be moving on, Shirley will be taking great memories of her work at Milwaukee's central office with her. Take the story of James, for example. James moved to Milwaukee to live with his brother, but his brother's new girlfriend felt three was a crowd, so James went to a shelter. Eventually, he ended up on the streets, sleeping on a vent near Shirley's office. When Shirley learned about James, she quickly found him a job at a food-processing firm.

   A few days later, on her desk, Shirley found a paper bag with a note. The bag contained raisins and candy bars. The note read, "I didn't have any money to buy you a card. I didn't have any money for flowers. But I gave you what I have. I just wanted to thank you."

   Shirley says for her, "That was three years' worth of salary in two seconds."

   -- Randy Bishop, from Christian Reader, "Ordinary Heroes."

·       Don’t Give Up When You are Tired

·       Don’t Give Up When you don’t see results right away

It is discouraging to continue to do right and receive no word of thanks or see no tangible results. But Paul challenged the Galatians, and he challenges us to keep on doing good and to trust God for the results. In due time, we will reap a harvest of blessing.[4]

Conclusion: 

Paul’s advise boils down to one point that is expressed in many ways:

“live by the Spirit” (5:16)

“be led by the Spirit” (5:18)

“keep in step with the Spirit” (5:25)

“Sow to the Spirit” (6:8)

Then you will be “Spiritual people” (6:1)

With the result that you will be Spiritual people who

Serve one another through love (5:13)

Bear Fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)

Restore others entrapped by oppressive burdens (6:1-2)

And generally do good to all people, particularly fellow believers (6:10)

Nothing can be accomplished by “the works of the law” or “the works of the flesh”, but only be reliance on “the Spirit”.

Paul said, "Do not be deceived." How many are deceived this morning? Maybe our actions this past week, weeks, or months, reflected some self deception.  We thought we were getting by with something. We were thinking only about the fun of sowing, & never about the harvest to come.  We may have lived out Satan’s lie thinking we could actually live according to the world without consequences since we are under grace.  Paul says, "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked."

The good news is that God has given us everything we need to maintain a life with a good harvest to look forward to.   As long as we are living under grace, and in the Spirit, using the roundup (repentance) for the weed seeds, you can maintain a lush garden with good harvests to look forward to. 

That is the Lord’s invitation. If you have the weeds, Jesus is the answer.  I pray that you will respond to him today.