Let The Dream Come True Pt.3: Sowing & Reaping

January 26, 2022 / Pastor Richard Donald / Galatians 6:7 / Open Heart Church

Let The Dream Come True

Pt.3: Sowing & Reaping Your Truth

Galatians 6:7: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap

When you plant something, you expect it to grow into what you planted. You don’t plant tomatoes expecting cucumbers. You plant what you expect to grow. A seed can only produce what its intended to produce, nothing more, nothing less.

Whatever you sow, you will reap both the good and the bad. Paul states that we should not grow weary in doing good things because we will reap what we have sown. We know that well reap what we sow, but we may not understand that we’re sowing every day. We must be careful what we sow and where.

1. Sow Where You Want to Go

The story of Elisha and the widow’s oil is a beautiful picture of God’s generosity. The widow has no money to pay a creditor, and he has threatened to take her two sons to be his slaves. Can you imagine the desperation she must have felt? Elisha tells her to find as many jars that she can find and use her one jar of oil to fill them – and the oil lasted and lasted, filling many jars that she could sell to pay off her debts and save her sons.

SEVEN LESSONS FROM THE WIDOW WITH THE OIL
1. Seek Wisdom
  1. 2 Kings 4:1 NKJV 1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2. USE WHAT YOU HAVE TO GET WHAT YOU NEED
  1. 2 Kings 4:2 NKJV So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3. IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH
  1. 2 Kings 4:6-7 NKJV 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
4. RESOURCES ARE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK
  1. 2 Kings 4: 3 NKJV 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.
5. GOD WILL MAKE YOU A PROVIDER
6. YOUR PROBLEM CAN MAKE YOU THE SOLUTION
  1. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When planting a garden, you have an opportunity to prepare the soil. Sometimes, our spiritual walk is different. We let the seeds fall where they may. Do you know what’s amazing?

2. Our seeds produce a return regardless of the soil.

Matthew 13:3-7
When we sow seeds some fall on different types of soil and may not grow. We may not see results from those seeds, but because we were willing to sow, God will bring us a return
1. sometimes from seeds, someone else has sown.
2. Matthew 13:18-23
3. Jesus compares the different seeds with what happens when the Word goes out.
  1. Sometimes it falls on ears that receive willingly
  2. sometimes it falls on ears that don’t want to hear at all.
  3. The one who received the word in verse 23 is the one bearing fruit, not the one who actually sowed it. Did you get that?
Once you have sown your seeds, you release them to the soil that has received them you turn it over to the soil.
1. The one who receives the seed is responsible for producing something with it. We spread the seeds, God blesses us because were sowing ¡we don’t have to worry about the return.
2. Matthew 25:14-30 is the parable about the man with the talents.
3. John 4:34-38, Jesus explains another principle that applies to reaping.
4. Your return is not based on where you sow, but on your attitude while sowing.
  1. If you’re sowing what you believe God has directed you to sow, God will bless it. If you’re planting a seed into something that you know God is not in or approves of, you’ll also receive. Whenever you sow, you will receive a return on what you sow the harvest will come.
  2. 1 Corinthians 3:6-8
    1. Our responsibility is to sow and produce with the seeds that are sown within us. Don¡¦t worry about the seeds you sow, just continue sowing.
    2. Galatians 6:7
  3. One of the key principles that we talked about last week was that we couldn’t control what happens to the seeds that we sow, but that it is our responsibility to grow. Another responsibility is to do something with the seeds that others sow within us. This is where our responsibility comes in. While you are sowing your seeds, others are sowing their seeds, some falling within your grasp, on your soil. So, how do we recognize a seed? What are the different types of seeds?

3. Understanding Seeds

All seeds must leave their parents before they can produce something. The seeds fall to the ground where they are picked up or transported to a place where they can be fertilized and grow.
1. Seeds are fertilized during the process of fertilization. This process starts the seed¡¦s growth into what it is to become.
2. The next thing that all seeds share is their viability. Some seeds are viable (able to remain alive and grow into something after separating from the parent) for only a few days like those of a willow tree, while other seeds are able to remain viable for thousands of years like the Oriental lotus. Seeds that are sown after their best time can produce weak plants or not grow at all.
3. Another trait that seeds share is their ability to go dormant (so-called resting periods ¡V time of sleeping). Some seeds continue to mature during these resting periods while other seeds get ready for what is called the germination phase. So there are times when the seeds must rest before they are ready to start producing.
4. The next phase is the fertilization phase. This is very similar to human body fertilization. The seeds cannot produce anything until they are fertilized.
5. The last phase is the germination phase. During this phase, the seed comes out of its dormant phase and begins to start growing. This does not take place until the seed is transported to a favorable environment, which contains adequate water, oxygen, and a suitable temperature. During germination, the seed begins to grow into what it was ordained to be.
Sometimes seeds get mixed up in the same bag
1. There are both good seeds and bad seeds. When you are receiving seeds that are being sown in your life, you must be able to tell the difference.
Spiritual Seeds
1. Spiritual seeds go through the same process as natural seeds, hey separate from their parent (person sowing the seeds),
2. lie dormant, sometimes for years, go through a phase of waking, getting fertilize and start producing fruit.
3. They can also get mixed up, sometimes you receive seeds that were not meant for you and there are both good and bad seeds.
Two things I want you to understand out the seeds that are sown in our lives:

1. Seeds can get mixed up.
  1. Numbers 13. They went out with 10 other spies to see the Promised Land. When they returned, the 10 other spies gave a negative report sowed bad seeds, against Joshua and Caleb¡¦s positive report. The bad seeds won out and Joshua and Caleb lived with the results of those seeds for 40 years.
  2. Sometimes your seeds can get mixed up with some bad seeds.
2. The second thing to remember is that there are good and bad seeds being sown daily everywhere.
  1. Good and Bad Seeds:
    1. Matthew 13: 24-26 about the enemy sowing tares among the wheat.
    2. Good seeds produce life within you, bad seeds will try to kill the life that is within you.
    3. Good seeds will push you onward, bad seeds will try to hold you back by focusing on the negative.
    4. Good seeds encourages, bad seeds depresses.
    5. Sometimes the bad seeds are very hard to recognize. Regardless, only we can determine what those seeds, both the good and the bad will do in our lives.

How the seeds actually start growing.
1. Look at this scripture in 2 Timothy 1:5.
  1. The first step is that the seeds must separate from their parents.
  2. The second step is when the seeds lay dormant.
  3. The next step is that the seeds must be transported to a positive environment where they can be fertilized.
    1. 2 Timothy 2:2.
  4. The fourth step is that the seeds must be fertilized.
    1. 1 Tim. 1:3-5; 18-19.
  5. The final stage is the germination stage. This is the phase where the seed begins to grow. In order for this to happen, the environment must be right.

Conclusion

Seeds are seeds. We sow them and we receive them. Once we sow them, we release them, once we receive them we must determine what to do with those seeds. How will they grow, what fruit will they try and produce? Are they good or bad seeds? How can we tell the difference? We must turn everything over to God ¡V trusting that He is able to keep us from falling and He is able to help us recognize the differences between the seeds in our lives.

Remember that seeds are viable for a certain amount of time. If you do not allow your seed to grow in its time, the fruit may be weak or you may not receive any fruit at all. The Godly seeds that are sown in your life will produce what God would have it to produce, but it is still up to you how that happens.

What are you doing with the seeds that are being sown in you?

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