How Are You Going to Be Reaped?

Well, brethren, in Revelation 14, we find a very interesting, yet greatly sobering, account of what is to happen upon the earth in the days ahead.

I'm sure you've studied the Bible, you've read it, you've considered it, you've pondered upon it if you've been in the church very long at all. You've been fascinated by the book of Revelation and what it reveals, as well as other prophecies in Isaiah and Daniel and Ezekiel. But here in Revelation, we find a very interesting, sobering account of what is to happen upon the earth in the days ahead. It shows that God is going to reap the earth in the last days.

What does that mean? God is going to reap the earth. The wrath of God will fall upon human beings who have rebelled against him and his way of life in these very last days that we read about here in Revelation 14. So let's turn to verse 15. Let's read this together and consider what it's saying here to all of us. I don't know that any of us will be alive when Christ returns. I suppose that's a very good likelihood, but obviously we can't know for sure. God doesn't give us the day or the hour or the year. So we don't know when all this will actually come to pass, but certainly it will come to pass. So now in verse 14 of chapter 14, let's start in verse 14. Then I looked, this is what John is saying, then I looked and behold, he's on the island of Patmos and he says, I looked and behold a white cloud in vision and on the clouds sat one like the son of man, speaking of course of the Christ, having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud to Christ, thrust in your sickle and reaped for the time has come for you to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped. Then another angel, verse 17, came out of the temple, which is in heaven. He also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar who had power over fire and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle saying, thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe. In other words, this it's all coming to an end now. It's all coming to pass. Everything that the Bible talks about in reference to the return of our Savior Jesus Christ, it's all happening. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And we know that the last year of the great tribulation will be the day of God's wrath poured upon the earth and all the plagues that it talks about in Revelation will come to pass. And the wine press was trampled outside the city and blood came out of the wine press up to the horse's bridles. So up here for 1,600 furlongs. So if my calculations are correct, it's about 200 miles. If the furlong that they're talking about is the same as the furlong that I looked up on Wikipedia or whatever it was, it came out to 200 miles. So blood up to the bridles for 200 miles. Well, we know the Scripture does say that billions of people are going to die before Christ returns. So that is extremely sobering when we stop to consider what is going to happen in the very last days. So this is very gripping. It's again a very sobering dialogue of what is to happen in the days ahead.

So it's talking about reaping the earth and all the blood of all those who will be dying.

But you know there's another group that's also involved in the reaping.

And that is the group of people that you probably talked about last weekend on the day of Pentecost, the firstfruits. The firstfruits will also be reaped at that time at the return of Jesus Christ. The firstfruits who will rule and reign with Christ at His return. Those who are alive at Christ's return, we know, will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. But before that, those who have died in Christ will rise first. They'll come out of the graves and they'll rise to meet Christ in the air. And they also will be changed into spirit-borne children of God. So there are different outcomes when Christ returns. Some will be changed to spirit. Some, of course, will live on into the millennium as human beings, having survived the holocaust, you might say, having survived, gone into the millennium. Of course, I've already talked about those who would have died in Christ that will rise to meet Christ in the air, as well as those who will be changed because they're living in Christ. And then we know there are the dead in Christ that will still lie in the graves, or the dead that are not in Christ, who have not yet been called. They will wait for another resurrection after the thousand-year period. But what I'd like to focus on today is what's going to make the difference for you personally? Will you rise to meet Christ in the air? Maybe you'll die before Christ returns. If you die with God's Holy Spirit, you'll rise to meet Christ in the air. If you're alive and have God's Spirit, you'll be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. If you don't respond to the calling, maybe some of you that are not yet baptized, you don't have God's Holy Spirit, if you don't respond, perhaps you'll live on into the Kingdom, into the Millennium, and you'll see what that's all about. But no doubt it will be a very sobering, chaotic, disturbing, cataclysmic time that you would have survived and gone through. There will be a lot of trauma that will be involved in all of that. It will be very interesting to see how all this plays out that the Bible talks about. But we see different outcomes because of the way people have chosen to live their lives. So that's really what I'm going to talk about. The bottom line in all this is, at Christ's return, there will be some reaping that will happen. Those who will be reaped, that have not died in Christ or that are alive and yet not given over to Christ. Those who have died will obviously be like the 200 miles furlongs and so forth. But those who are changed into spirit won't have to be concerned about that as they will rule with Christ a thousand years. But the bottom line is, what are we doing now to make that difference? How are you going to be reaped? That's really the question that we're talking about today. So the title of the sermon is, You Will Reap What You Sow. And God will also have His time of reaping. Those whose blood will be shed by God's wrath are again among the billions of humans who have never yielded to God, who have rebelled against God, who have chosen to go a different direction, a different way.

God has many laws by which He rules the universe. Today we're going to discuss one of the most important of God's laws. This is a law that will not fail. You can absolutely count on the law. I'm sure you've heard of this law. Someone who understands this law and chooses righteously will be greatly blessed. Someone who doesn't really fully understand this law and chooses wrongly will be under a certain immediate curse. And this is a law that we experience firsthand every day of our lives. I dare say that this is a law that we experience every second of our lives. Even now, as you sit listening, in a sense, you experience this because it's the law of sowing and reaping. There is a certain law of sowing and reaping, and it's mentioned in Galatians chapter 6. So let's go there for a moment and consider Galatians 6.

Galatians chapter 6 verse 7.

Galatians 6 and verse 7.

This is talking about how God will not be mocked, but that God will certainly prevail, and God will not be mocked no matter what people think of God, no matter whether or not they believe in God or not. God will show His power and His might before it's all said and done. In Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, we read here, Galatians chapter 6 verse 7.

Must be in the... Oh, I'm in Ephesians. No wonder that didn't look right.

Galatians. All right. Let me find the right place here. Galatians chapter 6. Okay, verse 7. Do not be deceived. Do not be deceived, brethren. God is not mocked. This is Paul, the Apostle Paul, saying this. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 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. So there will be a reaping that will happen at Christ's return, and those who have learned to walk in the Spirit will reap everlasting life, and those who have turned against God and have refused God or have not ever accepted God and Christ as their Savior, then they will also be reaping what they have sown. They will reap corruption. It goes on to say, And let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. And I know many of you have been in the church a long time, and it is fairly easy to start neglecting certain things if we are not careful because we can become weary in well-doing. Maybe we slack on prayer, or maybe slack in fasting and other things that we do. We have to be careful that we don't become too slack, because it says that we should not grow weary while doing good. For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. So you are all a part of the household of faith. Here in Nashville, you are a brotherhood, a sisterhood of brothers and sisters in Christ. You should get to know each other, and you should look out for each other. Take care of each other. Be there for each other. As you have opportunity, it says especially to those who are of the household of faith.

So good seed that you might reap good seed, that you might be a good example to one another. Now that's what this is really talking about. Learning to walk in the Spirit so that when Christ returns, we will reap eternal life. We'll be given the gift of eternal life. 2 Corinthians 9 verse 6, Paul again writing about this law, he says, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And primarily this is talking about those who are generous. If you sow sparingly, if you're not a cheerful giver and you give begrudgingly, then you're not going to have the same reward as someone who will sow bountifully. And then God will also allow you to reap bountifully. So God's law of sowing and reaping is a law that is absolute. The Bible says a lot about it. How well do you understand God's law of sowing and reaping? This is a law that will affect you quite a bit, so it's important that you understand it.

A person doesn't even have to believe in God to see and admit that this law is indeed active in the universe. The law of sowing and reaping. We see it all the time. Depending on the decisions people make, there are certain outcomes. If someone has a great idea and follows through with it, they might be greatly blessed financially. For example, Jeff Bezos. He had a good idea called Amazon. He's done quite well. I hope all of you invested heavily in Amazon about 15 years ago like I didn't. I hope you did because you'd be doing pretty well. He's been reaping pretty bountifully for quite a few years now. But that's true in all aspects of life, in some respects, that certain decisions lead to certain outcomes. If we look at the Bible, we see Adam and Eve in the garden and things are beautiful, idyllic, until they decide to disobey God. Then things go downhill very quickly because they were beginning to reap what they had sown. They sowed disobedience and so they were punished. They were cast out of the garden for that. It wasn't long before Cain killed his brother Abel. So Cain sinned in a very selfish, hateful manner against his own brother. He set up another consequence. He was cast out. He was marked.

And so God will not be mocked. Remember Galatians 6, do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows. That he will also reap. We need to understand that. Humankind continually turned against God. It says at the time of Noah that every thought of the hearts of man was evil continually. They had so corrupted themselves upon the earth by following the ways of the flesh rather than the ways of the spirit of God. God's spirit is powerful. It is there if a person will yield to God and yield to his spirit. But if they do not do that, they will pay the consequences for it. So these people became so corrupt that God decided he had to start over. So he picks the one righteous man, evidently, that was on the face of the earth named Noah. And through Noah, mankind was saved.

So Noah reaped what he had sown. He had sown good seed, righteous seed. He was protected and his family along with him. I don't know that they were so righteous, but they were part of Noah's family. So they went along with the blessings. So what I'd like to do now, brethren, is share with you basically three principles or three aspects of this law of sowing and reaping. And the first one is that God intended that his chosen people would be greatly blessed if they would sow the good seed of keeping his laws and ways. This is what God intends. He intends to give you tremendous blessings if you will obey him. Genesis chapter 26 bears this out. Here we see God talking to Isaac. Isaac, of course, is Abraham's son. We know that God began to work through Abraham.

This was after the flood. You know, quite a few years he begins to work with Abraham. And then in Genesis chapter 26, in speaking to Isaac, Abraham's son, notice what God says.

Verse 2, Then the Eternal appeared to him, appeared to Isaac, and said, Do not go down to Egypt, live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father, and I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. That's primarily talking about the seed of Abraham that became the Christ. Christ came from the seed of Abraham. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my voice, kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. So God was directly blessing Abraham because he was an obedient person. He was one who humbled himself before God and began to obey God and serve God, keep his commandments, his laws, his statutes. And so God was pouring out blessings on Abraham and his family. And God began to work with the children of Israel. And God called them to be a holy nation. They were to be holy as God is holy. But we know they fell far short. The children of Israel fell far short. And so instead of reaping all the blessings that the Bible tells us about in Leviticus chapter 26 and also Deuteronomy 28, the blessings and the cursings chapters, instead of reaping all the blessings, they began to reap all the curses. And eventually they went into captivity. First to the Assyrians and then to the Babylonians. And so such heartache and suffering came because of the disobedience of the children of Israel. They did not follow their father Abraham. They were breaking this wonderful law of faithfulness and obedience and being blessed for it. And again, the law of sowing and reaping. They were reaping something bad because they had been sowing something bad. They turned to idolatry. They turned to Sabbath breaking. Most of the kings of Israel and Judah were evil kings. They weren't godly kings. They weren't righteous kings. Some were. And when they had righteous kings, they were blessed. And God was with them. So we read the history of the Bible and it's true that this law of sowing and reaping has always been in existence. It's always been there. And had they instead turned to obedience and faithfulness, it would be a far different outcome than what we've seen. But God hasn't given up. He hasn't given up on His people. God still loves the children of Israel. He loves all people. We are now one in Christ. All people of all nations, of all colors, of all races, of all creeds, we're all one in Christ. At this point, we all have an opportunity to be among the firstfruits. If God is calling us now, then we have an opportunity to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years at Christ's return.

So in the book of Leviticus, it shows that had the children of Israel done what they were supposed to do. It says in Leviticus 26 verse 5, your threshing shall last till the time of the vintage. In other words, if you will obey me, then the harvesting of grain will last until you harvest the grapes. And then that will last until you start sowing seed again. And all year long, you will be blessed. And there will be abundance. And it's a very blessed land. In Deuteronomy 11, it talks about how wonderful the land of Israel would have been had they been obedient, had they been faithful. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 11, and let's look at what it would have been like. And think for a moment what Israel would be like today had they been obedient and faithful. Deuteronomy 11 verse 8. God says, to the children of Israel, as they're about to go into the Promised Land, He says, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. And that's what would have happened. The children of Israel would have got rain in dew season, year after year after year.

You know, because God would have poured that rain out upon them, because there would have been blessings for obedience. That's what the Bible clearly promised them. And it shall be that if you earnestly obey my commandments in verse 13, which I command you today to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all of your heart, with all of your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil, and I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled. Take heed to yourselves lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Now we know that's exactly what they did do. They turned to idolatry and Sabbath-breaking. Lest the Lord's anger be aroused against you, and He shuts up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yields no produce, and you perish quickly from the land which the Lord is giving you. Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hands, and so forth. So the blessings were to be the children of Israel's. But unfortunately, they decided to disobey God, and so they did not have these blessings. In Matthew 26, as we go to the New Testament, now we see the Christ is on the scene. The Savior, the Son of God, is now on the scene. And He talks about these very things Himself in Matthew 6, as He gives instruction to His disciples. Matthew 6, verse 25.

Matthew 6, verse 25. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body which you put on. Now this is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and Christ is giving the words of life, telling the people there to lay up their treasures in heaven. And to set the right example, and there's so much in the Sermon on the Mount, He says, I say to you, do not worry about your life, nor about your body what you'll put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. God takes care of them. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Certainly God loves us far more than He loves birds of the air and beasts of the field. He loves us far more than that, and yet He takes care of them. How much more will He take care of His own children, especially if they are obedient to Him? Faithful, good children. We as parents, we love our children regardless, but we're much happier when they're obedient, aren't we? And when they're respectful to us as parents and grandparents. We appreciate children who are faithful, who will listen, who are respectful, who are honest, and who are really trying to do the right thing. And God's the same way. That's what He's looking for in all of us, because we are His children. So we need not worry about God providing for us. He's promised all of that. We need not give that a second thought. God will take care of you. God will bless you. God will do whatever He needs to do as He sees fit according to His will. And we just simply need to submit to His will and know that God knows best. Father does know best, and He will take care of us.

This reminds me of a story I read about some years ago. It was about a man named Walter Swords. His nickname was Buck. And for every day, for about seven years, he would go into his favorite restaurant, Luby's Cafeteria. That was his favorite. He would go in there every day for seven years. He would curse and stomp his feet and set a horrible example and be mean and mean-spirited.

Demanding things. Everyone cringed when they saw him coming.

Every day, for close to seven years, his preferred waitress, a young lady named Melina Salazar, offered a patient smile and did whatever she could to help her most stubborn customer. My guess, he was not a very big tipper either. He probably did not tip much, and he just was not a very nice guy. After years of thankless service, Salazar was rewarded. When Buck's swords died at age 89, he left her, in his will, $50,000 cash. He also left her a nice Buick, a car, and $50,000. Now, that is a pretty good tip. That was probably worth waiting for. Obviously, we don't do things just so we will reap those blessings, but God does oftentimes bless those who do have a right attitude and approach, even when someone isn't very deserving of it, and yet they still try to treat them with kindness and show them a good example regardless. So, in some cases, it does pay off. You've probably heard of other stories similar to that where sometimes God rewards those who are patient and just try to do the right thing. Some of you have probably heard of Bruce Barton. He was an author. He wrote the book, The Man Nobody Knows, which a lot of people have heard about. It's about Christ. He was also a politician. He died in 1967. He said this, he said, Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I'm tempted to think that there are no little things. There are no little things. And I tend to agree with him because every decision has a consequence, whatever it is. There's some consequence. It may be a small one, but there's a consequence, and it moves us in a certain direction as we go throughout our day and throughout our lives. So, we should think about each decision that we make. I'm sure you've read it. I doubt if you've read it. I have not read it. But I'm quoting from it. He said this, If you were doomed to live the same life over and over again for eternity, would you choose the life that you're living right now? If you were going to live forever, like you have been, would you choose it?

He says the question is interesting enough, but I've always thought the point of asking it is really the unspoken, potentially devastating follow-up question. That is, if the answer is no, then why are you living the life you're living now? Why aren't you making changes, doing something different? If this isn't the life that you want to live now, we understand there's more to life than this. So, none of us are living the life we want to live for eternity, right?

We're looking for a better age. We're looking for a better time. So, we have a better grasp on something like this. But the point he was making is stop making excuses and do something about your life. Make some changes. Make some differences. Don't make excuses, but make some differences in your life. The first point, again, on this law of sowing and reaping is that God intends His chosen people to be greatly blessed if they just sow the good seed of keeping His laws and His ways.

The second principle is, He who sows bad seed will, on the other hand, reap the consequences and bring upon Himself an automatic curse of varying degrees. We don't know when it may catch up with us. Even the Bible says, Be sure your sins will find you out. They may not find you out right away, but eventually there are consequences for the sins that we commit. We may think we're getting away with something, but we're really not. Because God isn't mocked. Remember? God is not mocked. He knows what's going on. The wages of sin is death, and if we don't repent of our sins, then that's exactly what we're going to get. We won't live for eternity. We will be cast in the lake of fire. Thankfully, we won't ride in hell forever and ever either. We won't burn in hell forever and ever, but we also won't live forever and ever. Now, I'm sure you remember the name Uzzah. Remember Uzzah in the Old Testament? The one who got struck down by God? The reason he got struck down is because there were explicit instructions on how to handle the sacred Ark of the Covenant. He should have known better. He should have been more careful. It was to be carried by the priesthood on rods, not by cart. It was never to be touched. Uzzah touched the Ark, and God struck him dead.

Now, David was not happy with God because of that, but David was not thinking clearly.

He got what he deserved. He disobeyed God, and the wages of sin is death. So, Uzzah got what he deserved. So, we shouldn't blame God for this. We should be thankful that God doesn't always give us what we deserve. I mean, we should all be grateful. I believe this is an example for us in the Old Testament, just like God gave us an example in the New Testament. Do you remember that example? Where God struck not just one person down, but two. And, right at the very beginning of the early church in the book of Acts, He struck down Ananias and Sapphira. They lied to God. They lied to the Holy Spirit. They had not told the truth about a piece of property that they had sold. All they had to do was say, we sold it for this much, and we're going to give you this much. That would have been just fine. They weren't required to give everything. That wasn't it. But they acted like they had given it all. They were dishonest. And so God struck them down. I'm sure that opened wide the eyes of those new converts. You know, those 3,000 that had been baptized right away, and the 5,000 that the church was growing by leaps and bounds. And God was showing them that, don't take me lightly. Don't take my laws lightly. Be careful how you live your life. So they reaped some bad seed. Ananias and Sapphira, they lied, and God struck them down for it. Again, it's something that we all deserve. I deserve it. No, I'm no better. We've all lied, haven't we? We've all broken God's law at one time or another. So the wages of sin is death, and that's what we deserve. But thankfully, God doesn't require that of us. You know, God's very merciful, and he continues to be very gracious and merciful to us on a daily basis. So I'm truly grateful to God for his mercy and for his love.

And it's just important, though, that we realize that, again, God isn't someone who takes sin lightly, and he isn't mocked. And the scriptures say a lot about sowing and reaping. Let me just read a few comments here. First of all, from the book of Job, and I'm going to go through these quickly, and you don't have to turn here because they're one-liners, basically. Job 4, verse 8, those who sow wickedness reap the same. If you sow wickedness, then wickedness is going to come back upon you. You know, if you treat other people in wicked ways, you're going to be treated in wicked ways. You know, it's going to come back on you. Those who sow wickedness reap the same. Proverbs 6, verse 14 says, "... perversity is in his heart. He devises evil continually. He sows discord." So there are certain people who think they can say whatever they want to say, and it doesn't matter. They can be disrespectful of authority. They become a law to themselves. They think there are no consequences. But God says there's perversity in that man's heart.

He devises evil. He sows discord. You know, God says that he hates discord. You know, he hates it when people talk against him and his truth and his way of life and his ministers and his children, his people. You know, God doesn't appreciate that kind of approach.

Proverbs 6, verse 19 says that God hates the action of one who sows discord among brethren. And that's why, you know, in my job, I tell our ministers, you shouldn't allow people to sow discord in the congregation. The scripture is pretty clear that those who sow discord, God hates that. So they should be talked to if they're sowing discord. If they're, you know, it's not that they can come to us privately. They can come and talk to us and tell us whatever it is they believe. And we as ministers should listen carefully because we're going to be held accountable in the same way. If we're the ones, if we are the ones that are off base, then we should pray that God will help us see that and admit it and make the changes that we need to make. On the other hand, if a person continues to sow discord and starts to hurt other people in the congregation, that isn't something that God wants to see within his fellowship. Again, we are supposed to love each other and you don't love people. You're not loving people when you're sowing discord among the brethren. That's why God says he hates it so much. That's one of the things that God hates. Look it up. Sowing discord among brethren. Another proverb, Proverbs 11 verse 18, the wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. He who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. So those who are righteous, then they're going to be rewarded accordingly. On the other hand, the wicked man is the one who does deceptive work, and he will also eventually be deceived in all that he does. Proverbs 16, 28 says, a perverse man sows strife and a whisperer separates the best of friends. That sometimes happens when people begin to gossip about other people.

And then the last verse, Proverbs 22, 8, he who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rot of his anger will fail. If we sow iniquity, we're going to reap sorrow. That's what's going to come upon us. So the second principle, again, was those who choose to disobey God, who sow bad seed are going to reap those consequences. They will bring upon themselves an automatic curse of varying degrees, depending upon God's will and how patient he may be, or how angry he may become, and decide to intervene. So that's the second point. And the third one, the last principle, is God's most important seed is you. God's most important seed is you. He's also sowing seed.

God is sowing seed, and he's already sown you, and he's going to reap what he sown, one way or the other. If the seed that he has sown continues on that good path, he will give them eternal life. On the other hand, if the seed that he has sown… And now, in this case, God only sows… The analogies always break down somewhere, and this is where it breaks down. God sows good seed. All human beings are created in God's image. They all have an opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior eventually and enter into eternal life. But some will choose to disobey God. Some will evidently be cast into the lake of fire, because they will not humble themselves before God. They won't choose to obey God, but they will choose to disobey. In Proverbs 24, there's a very interesting parable about a vineyard. In a sense, God is a wonderful artist, and he has a lot of masterpieces out there. I mean, I think God's creation is beautiful. And I've seen some very beautiful vineyards. I've been to Italy. I've seen just acre after acre after acre of beautiful vineyards. But it talks about a different kind of vineyard that was not taken care of. It was neglected. And let's read what God says about that in Proverbs. Proverbs 24, verse 30. Proverbs 24, verse 30. I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding. And there it was, all overgrown with thorns. Its surface was covered with metals. Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well. I looked on it, and I received instruction. In other words, I noticed it and I decided, you know, that's not how I want to be. A little sleep and a little slumber, a little folding of the hand to rest. So shall your poverty come like a prowler and your need like an armed man. Poverty follows the person who refuses to work faithfully and diligently. On the other hand, someone who applies himself, and especially someone who obeys God and applies himself, will reap tremendous blessings. He will have a very fruitful, productive vineyard.

That's talking about his life or her life. Your life is like a vineyard. It can be really messy, or it can be a lot more productive. It can be a better vineyard, perhaps, than it is already. God wants to see a fruitful, productive vineyard. Again, God is a very merciful, loving God, and none of us are anywhere near perfect. We all fall far short, and there have been times when I'm sure my vineyard was very messy. It looked messy. It was messy. But I'm thankful that God is the master. He's the master painter, and He hasn't given up on me. And I know He hasn't given up on you. And God loves all of us. And God will give us all His kingdom if we have a desire to paint a beautiful picture of our lives, have that beautiful vineyard in a sense.

The writer of Proverbs says essentially that He was going past this vineyard, and there it was. It was a mess. There were thorns all over the place. The grounds were covered with weeds. The walls were falling down. There was tremendous neglect here. And so there's a great deal of angst in this kind of proverb, because in the Middle East, a piece of land capable of growing crops is one of the most valuable things in the world. It's the same thing I believe is still true here in the United States. Someone who has a beautiful piece of land and takes good care of it, and is a good husbandman of the garden that God has given him, people appreciate that. You know, even those who go out and plant flowers around their home and make their home more beautiful, that's a good thing, to add something to this world that's beautiful and right and good. So I would encourage all of us to spend more of our time doing that, and not waste so much time. The Bible talks about redeeming the time. How many countless hours do we waste on activities, movies, games? How many countless hours? I'm not saying we can't play some, because I like to play myself. I'm not a workaholic. I enjoy a good time. That's why I like to go to all these camps. You know, they're fun. I enjoy them. I like getting together with the kids. And we should all do that.

At the same time, we have to strive to have the right balance and make sure that whatever we do is pleasing to God. And as long as it's pleasing to God, then great. I mean, you know, I don't think God wants a bunch of workaholics. No, I don't see God in that. Anything that ends with a holic is probably a bad thing. Alcoholics, workaholics, whatever it is. Sleepaholics. You know, whatever it is, if it's got a holic at the end of it, it's probably not a good thing. God wants us to be balanced. That's how He wants us to live our lives. So in Hosea 10, verse 12, God says, "...so for yourselves righteousness." Hosea 10, verse 12, "...so for yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy. Break up your foul ground, for it is time to seek the Lord till He comes and reigns righteousness on you." God will reign righteousness on you if we are patient, if we do our part, even though the vineyard looks a bit messy at times. All of us have some messy vineyards at times. But in the final analysis, God is going to reign righteousness upon us. So even though we've struggled, we've battled, as long as we keep fighting the good fight, Paul talks about that. I fought the good fight, and now there's a crown of righteousness that's laid up for me. Paul actually killed some of God's people, thinking he was doing God a service. He struck them down. He felt really badly about that. His life was messy at times. And yet God is giving him the kingdom. He's giving him a crown of righteousness. And God has a crown of righteousness laid up for you. In John 10, verse 28 and 29, it speaks of how no one will ever grab you out of God's hand. God planted you as one of His seed. If it is growing and you are striving to cultivate it, to work on your life, then God is going to reap righteousness upon you.

Now in John 10, let's see that no one, including Satan, is able to pluck you out of God's hands. God will keep you as His child faithfully until Christ returns. John 10, verse 28 and 29. John 10, verse 28. Here it says, And I give them eternal life. Christ is saying this. I give them eternal life. And they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, talking to His disciples, is greater than all.

And no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. So we don't have just one person or one being. We have two beings united together who will not allow anyone or anything to snatch us away from God, who loves us.

As long as we want to be in His family, as long as we desire to be there and we're striving to do our best and we're faithful and repentant, then we need not worry because God will give us the kingdom. 2 Peter 3, 9 says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So that's what God is looking for, but He wants a committed, convicted person. Not someone who just goes on in life without making decisions. Decisions that will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life.

So, brethren, God's law of sowing and reaping is a very powerful law. What kind of seed are you going to be sowing from now on? The Father is sending His Son to reap the earth in the days ahead. We have no idea what it's going to get like. This last year, to me, should have been a huge wake-up call. It just shows how weak we are, humanly. It just underscores the fact that we really don't know what's around the corner, what's going to happen next. I mean, I'm 66 years old and I never saw anything like this past year.

And who knows what next year will bring? Or the year after that, or the year after that. Now is the time to turn to God. Now is our day of salvation as God's people. This is a high and a holy calling that God has called you to. So, please, embrace this calling. What type of harvest will you reap? The choice really is yours. This law, this law of God's law of sowing and reaping is in effect.

So, please sow righteousness and enjoy the blessings of a godly lifestyle today, for one thing, because there are blessings in this life as well. And many of you have enjoyed many, many blessings because you haven't applied yourself well. You know, you have kept God's commandments. You have kept His Sabbath. You have kept His holy days.

Frankly, I would think that God's likely more pleased with us as a people than in almost any other time in history. Because you can look at the Bible and very... You can't find places where God's people have kept the holy days and the Sabbath faithfully for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years running. I mean, you can't show me in the Bible where this happened. It's not there. But I know it's been happening for the last 70 years, because I've been a part of it.

Not that I'm quite that old, but it started a little before my time. So, I have to think that God is probably a lot more pleased than we realize as His children. God loves His children. So, I would encourage you to keep up the good work. You started a wonderful vineyard. You have a wonderful vineyard. Continue to take care of that vineyard. Make it better than it's ever been before.

God will be surely pleased. If you sow righteousness, you will indeed reap eternal, abundant life. My desire is to see all of us in God's kingdom together. I would not want anyone in this room to not make it into the kingdom of God. I hope one day we'll look back and we can talk about the sermon that was given here today about the law of sowing and reaping, and that every single one of us, everyone in this room, will be there.

All of us together as the children of God. To me, that would be more than wonderful.