Our Spiritual Life Is Sowing and Reaping

Aloha! Happy Sabbath! Are you still out there? I can't hear you. It is a Happy Sabbath, isn't it? Happy Sabbath! Alright, you know how to say, you know, Happy Sabbath but not Aloha, so anyway. Good to see you all. We had a wonderful trip over to Hawaii. We were able to visit with all of our brethren there and, you know, five new people, so had a very successful trip, very enjoyable as well, and so I'll say Aloha to the brethren. They're connected via webcast as well, some for the first time, which is pretty exciting to have people that are tuning in for the first time to our services here.

And here we are at a special YA activity, you know, where we can all dance as well if we want to, you know, and as the sermonette was talking about, it can be healthy for us to do that, you know, to actually express ourselves that way. And I hope that I know we do have probably some interesting program this evening with regard to a talent show. Or are you calling it a fun show, right?

A variety show, okay. Now, I see I've heard talent show, fun show, variety show, and so it'll be fun to see what happens. And I'm not sure we're going to have dancing this evening, but, you know, we perhaps might. A wonderful, by the way, job, Courtney, for your special music. We really appreciate that.

Your contribution to the local church here and the activity that is going on here today. Now, there was an expression used by John F. Kennedy. He put it this way. He says, What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you're saying.

I don't know if you've heard that expression before, but it deals with the character of a person and how they live when you, in fact, compare it to what they claim, how they claim to live. Well, Jesus Christ put it another way. You shall know them by their fruits. You know people by their fruits, their works, the things that they do in their life. Though, oftentimes in the church we have said that, you know, and I know that through the years this has been something that has been said by Mr.

Armstrong, or some of you remember Mr. Armstrong, he used to say that the only thing that God could not create was holy righteous character. He could not snap holy righteous character into existence. That has to take time. It has to involve the agreement of the person that is being called to allow God to build that character in them.

So it's not something he can create by instant fiat. It has to be a choice on the part of a person these calling. Now, what I'm saying here, all of this ties into what I'm going to talk to you about in the course of the sermon today. Let's go to Galatians 6. Galatians 6 and verse 1 over here, Galatians 6, you know, the Apostle Paul wrote this as a warning to the brethren in the Galatian area.

But over here in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1, he says, brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespasses, you who are spiritual, and you know, everybody pretty much claims to be spiritual. You know, you can talk to, in fact, most people and they feel they're spiritual even if they're not. But you who are spiritual restore such in one in the spirit of gentleness, he said, considering yourselves lest you also be tempted. And then he says, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. You know, some deception is the worst deception, isn't it, when we deceive ourselves.

But going on, he says, and let each one examine his own work. And then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. Now, I want you to think about this and evaluate, brethren, what are your works? What are your works broadcast? What do my works broadcast to other people?

You know, what kind of an example, in other words, are we? And that's what I mean when I was talking about John F. Kennedy saying, what you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying. Now, is it true that what we are is what we are not only on the outside, but what we are on the inside? What do our works broadcast to other people?

You know, all of us, brethren, no matter who we are, must prove our work. And then, by the way, when Paul says that, the word work in the Greek is ergon, and another word that would be used is efforts, whatever our efforts are. And it's in the context, by the way, of helping other people and returning to Jesus Christ, what Jesus Christ has given to each of us. We help other people because of what Christ did for us. And we do that in the form of our sacrifice because Christ gave Himself as a selfless sacrifice and because of the forgiveness that He gave us and because of the great blessings in our lives that He's given us.

Now, again, not that we earn salvation, but when God calls us and when He forgives us, brethren, we do owe something to God, don't we? All of us owe something to God. We owe something to Jesus Christ who laid His life on the line for us. And God's grace, by the way, is not free. It is not free.

But it's voluntary on our part. God doesn't make us do anything for what He has given us, but He expects us to do something. And God's grace, brethren, is so valuable that it does not merit a sloppy, sinful kind of life. It merits a life that is alive, that is made alive, that is quickened, in fact, as it says in the old King James. It's been made alive when it was once dead. Because God wants us, brethren, to not have a complacency as His people, but to be energized to do the work that we've been called to do. Another scripture says this, that the trying of your faith is much more precious than gold, although it be, of course, refined in the fire.

And that faith, brethren, is the building of holy, righteous character, that character that God cannot create by instant. Theod. You read the book of Galatians, by the way, and Galatians shows that the law does this. The law, of course, can't give us grace, but the law does point the way to obedience to God. And it shows us that only by God's Holy Spirit, it is by God's Spirit, that we can change. And it takes that. The law just points the way. It's by God's Spirit that we're changed from within, and that God, through His Spirit, etches His Holy Law in our inward parts, so that in that way, if we agree with Him, and most of us have that humble attitude when we're baptized, that God, you know, I made a mess of my life up to this point. Once we're baptized, or our sins are washed away, you have the rest, God. You have the rest of my life.

And I want to live by Your laws, Your commandments, and I want my righteousness to be based on Your law, and that You build within me that Holy righteous character. We reject, in other words, our own fleshly desires. You know, Paul also says that living to the flesh produces this. It produces immorality. It produces enmity. Divisions, fits of anger, uncontrolled fits of anger, jealousy.

And those, Paul said, who do such things will not be in the kingdom of God.

And to think otherwise, brethren, if somehow we think that because we've received the grace of God, that we can continue in that way of life, we're fooling ourselves. We're deceiving ourselves. We're at risk, in fact, of Jesus Christ telling us, brethren, if we have that kind of mentality, you know, it's going to come to that point. He's going to say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never do you. You know, if we don't realize, again, that we have to make a change, a real change in our lives as God's people and live differently and practice the way of give. Now, let's go on here in Galatians 6. Now, down in verse 6, he said, let him who is taught in the Word share in all good things with him who teach us.

So, you know, God's Spirit, coupled with God's Word, causes us to be sharing people, giving people. It's like we've been taught so much, and there's only two ways, aren't there, in the world, the way of get and the way of give.

And people in the world practice the way of get, but God's way is a way of give, of outgoing, of sharing with others. And we ought to be willing and desire us to share with other people the good things that God has given to us. Going on, it says, do not be deceived. Again, the greatest form of deception is to deceive ourselves. He said, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he also shall reap. Whatever you sow in your life, you're going to reap it.

Just the way it goes. 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.

And let us not grow weary while doing good. You know, sometimes you can be obeying God's way of life for decades. And it seems like, in fact, whereas you may have thought that Christ was going to come back right away, that it seems like a bridge too far. But he's saying, don't get weary in well-doing.

He says, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart. We don't give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all. In other words, make sure you do the good works. You keep doing the good works, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

And so God wants us to keep on keeping on as his people. Now, my question, and the reason I want to talk about this and why I introduced it this way, is what are you sowing in your life? What are you sowing in your life? A truth, brethren, a law of life is that all physical and spiritual life is, in fact, sowing and reaping. That's what it is. Your life, my life, everybody's life, brethren, is sowing and reaping. Planting and then reaping a crop. And all of that, of course, while we're hopefully building the right kind of character. Now, you can do it the right way or you can do it the wrong way. You can sow good things, you know, in your life or you can sow bad things. But whatever you sow, that's what's going to come up in your life. That's what's going to happen. How many of you remember or are old enough to remember the show? I know it's probably still on television in one form or another, probably. The show with Monty Hall many years ago called Let's Make a Deal. How many of you remember that? Now, how many of you watched the show? I used to watch that, you know, and then they dressed up, you know, in funny outfits. But remember he had door number one?

And is this still on television, by the way? Okay, we don't get cable, so I don't know. But but door number one, door number two, and door number three. And Monty Hall would cause people, he would he'd have them if they they had, say, door number one, you know, he would he would cause them to he'd entice them to to give up that that door for another door. And sometimes, you know, they'd they'd, you know, have a have a nice something nice in door behind door number one. He said, he said, if you want, I will I will trade, I'll give you a, you know, couple hundred bucks, and you can have door number two. And, you know, the greed of human beings, the way that they are.

And usually, I'm going for door number two. You know what? I want something really nice. Maybe it's going to be a BMW or something like that, you know, behind the door. And, you know, he finally raised door number two, and there's a, you know, a manure on the floor, and of course, the bad music that comes about. But you know, people were shocked when they saw was behind door number two or three or whatever when the curtain finally rose. But it's what they chose. It's what they chose. You know, a bird in the head, as they say, is certainly much better than two in the bush. But some people are greedy, and they want something else.

Now, think about it. Is your life that way? You got door number one, door number two, and door number three, and you just wonder what's God going to give me? What's the reward going to be?

You know, he raises the door on one, and he thought, boy, I sure thought I worked harder.

Well, and I don't want certainly a pile of manure, you know, or something like that.

As an example, I'm saying, is life that way? You know, it's door number one, door number two, door number three. You might get something good, you may not. Is that the reward that God's going to give to his servants, his people? Is it sort of a guessing game? Is it what's going to be behind the door, behind the curtain? Or, brethren, is it not rather this, that you work hard, and you obey God, and you are laying away by doing good works all of your life?

You're doing good works, you're helping, you're sharing, you're giving, you are, you know, extending yourself, you're outgoing, you're loving, and you know that there's something good behind the curtain when God says, this is your reward. In fact, there's some fantastic things that are going to be behind it. You know, absolutely, are going to be behind the curtain when God gives his reward. You know, sowing and reaping is a farming metaphor which has a direct relationship to what Jesus Christ taught and what the Apostle Paul reinforced to the Galatians.

Let's go to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13 over here.

Now, we're all very familiar, you know, with the parables of Christ, or at least many of them, but here in chapter 13, and I just want to read a little bit regarding this particular parable, because Christ spent a lot of time about this talking to his disciples.

When he spoke, he says in verse 3, Matthew 13, that he spoke many things to them in parables.

Of course, they didn't understand oftentimes what Christ was even talking about, you know, when he was telling them these things. You probably have heard so-called professing Christians saying, well, the reason why Christ spoke in parables is so that, hey, he could use these things people were familiar with, and they would understand.

Well, the disciples didn't understand. You know, he could have spoken and used parables all along, and they wouldn't have understood. They didn't put it together. But in verse 3, he says, Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth. And they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. So not so good in terms of the sower, you'd go hungry, wouldn't you, if you were a farmer, and you sowed your seed this way.

But notice in verse 7, and some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

But notice verse 8, and others fell on good ground. This is what the farmer hopes for, right?

And yielded a crop, he says, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. And then Jesus Christ told his disciples, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Better listen up.

He's talking about, brethren, a law, maybe you want to put it this way, a law of the universe.

You're going to, if you sow bountifully, you're going to reap bountifully. You've got to make sure where you sow also the seed that you're going to throw on the ground, like a farmer does.

So, Christ has said, you better listen carefully to what I'm saying to you, because you're going to reap as you have sown. He was telling His disciples that, the apostles that. And, brethren, He's telling us that. Better listen up. Better hear what I'm saying, Christ says. Let's go to Romans 8, Romans chapter 8 over here. Romans chapter 8, you know, you and I live in a dog-eat-dog world, don't we? And everybody out there is sort of in a rat race, trying to get what they can get. The mentality is, I don't care about you, I care about me.

It's interesting, you know, the political race seems a lot like that, doesn't it?

But, Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8 and verse 1, it says, there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We have God's grace. We have His forgiveness. The world can't condemn us, because God does not condemn us. But it says, who do not walk according to the flesh. Now, read the rest of that.

No condemnation to those that are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. So, in other words, the grace of God, again, is not cheap. We cannot walk according to the flesh.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. The law, while it directs us to obedience to God, it also tells us if we disobey this, we die. And so, God has called us to direct us away from death and to point us toward life. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.

That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. You see, there has to be an attitude in us of wanting to obey God. We're all going to make mistakes. We're all going to fall down and we're going to commit sin.

But through Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins through His great sacrifice.

But let's go on. It says, for those who live according to flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. You know, how can they pamper the flesh? But those who live according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. He says again, because to be carly-minded is death.

But to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. You have a certain peace that comes in being spiritually-minded. Because the carl of mind is enmity against God. That's the way of the normal human being. Every Tom, Dick, or Harry that walks the streets in the world.

They've got that carl of mind and it's enmity against God. It doesn't want to submit to God's law. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So we can't have our head in our flesh, as it were. But we have to be looking to God. We have to be of a particular attitude where we have surrendered to Jesus Christ and we want to obey God. We're tired. We're surrendered in the flesh and given our lives over to God. So God wants us to realize that and to be spiritually-minded so we can have peace and we can have life. Christ said, I've come that you would have life and have it more abundantly. And we really can if we surrender to Jesus Christ. Going on, this is because the carl of mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. If you have the Spirit of God, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he's not not his. He doesn't belong to Christ. So you have to ask yourself the question, do you have God's Holy Spirit? If you don't, you don't belong to Christ.

And I guess the question remains is, will you surrender to him? Will you give up and surrender to God and give your life over to God and to his son Jesus Christ? But it says, and if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And so God wants us, brethren, to not deceive ourselves, so not allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking we're all right. We've already again shown that God cannot be mocked. You know, you're not going to play games with God. Human beings try to play games with one another. There used to be a song called the games people play every night and every day. But Christ said, you better listen up. You're going to reap what you sow in life. And to be carnally minded, if we are that way, we're going to reap death. If we're spiritually minded, we're going to reap life and peace in our lives. Like I said, brethren, our lives are sowing and reaping. That's what it's about. Sowing and reaping. It never changes. Every day that you live, brethren, on this planet, on this earth, you are sowing and you're going to reap. Maybe sometimes in the same day you're reaping. I'm going to say a little more about it as we go on. I want to talk about this. Also, in conjunction with sowing and reaping, and we've already covered this, is we reap what we sow. We reap what we sow.

Now, on the earth there's the flora and the fauna of creation. You have vegetables and animals.

You know, have you ever noticed about what God has created and put upon this blue marble called earth? It is a beautiful, beautiful earth that God has. He set certain laws in motion.

Have you ever noticed that whether you're talking about the greenery of the earth or you're talking about the animals, the insects, or whatever, that they reproduce after their kind? They always do.

They always do. You plant an apple seed, and what do you get? An apple tree. Now, we can learn a lot by just that one analogy right there. Planting an apple seed and you get an apple tree.

You can't sow a cucumber and get a tomato. You know, it just doesn't happen.

And we didn't used to understand that exactly. We didn't understand the mechanics of it.

But now, because we understand a little more in our time about genetic code, we understand what it is. You can't because it's genetically programmed that way. Well, you won't even sometimes, if you plant a tomato seed, get a cucumber. You know, it just won't happen.

It won't happen because of the genetic code that is pre-programmed into whatever the species is.

But, you know, brethren, the same law applies spiritually. The same law applies spiritually.

I think God put these things in the world in the physical sense so that we would understand spiritual concepts. So we would come to see and understand that what we do in the spiritual sense, that we're going to reap what we sow. You know, let me give an example of this.

Is that if you really are careful about your finances, in other words, you do the things that are right with your finances, you're faithful to God, and you know those things correctly, you're going to reap blessings from that. This is the law, just the way it goes.

I know Mr. Armstrong used to talk about how Colgate, who was the toothpaste manufacturer, didn't know the truth of God, but he tithed, and God blessed his company because he tithed.

Yes.

Because you see, there's a principle, there's a law, that we're going to reap what we sow.

But you know, it's amazing of the seven and a half billion people on the earth, brethren, that no matter what they experience in their life, the ups and the downs and the ebb and the flow in their life, it seems like they never learned that. They don't learn that. And I know there's some things you and I don't learn, you know, in our lives, that we should. You know what Albert Einstein said this, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It's like, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to plant this tomato seed and I will get a cucumber out of it. You see what I'm saying? This is what people do.

You know, I'm going to, I'm going to, you know, be topsy turvy on my finances and I am going to get my finances, you know, straightened out. You know, you know what happens when people, sometimes when people are poor is because they do things that poor people do.

And when they become rich, they do things that rich people do.

Now, now I know there are some rich people that maybe lie and all that sort of thing, but you don't have to do that. Abraham was very wealthy, wasn't a liar. You know, others, Job was apparently very wealthy, wasn't a liar, a very upright person. But sometimes people expect different results by doing the same things that have caused them the troubles, the problems they have. And they do, people do that in marriages, they do that in their finances, they do that in their spiritual life. Well, the world has tried eating from the tree of the knowledge of good evil for the last 6,000 years. Adam and Eve chose that in the garden for all of us.

And we have thought, somehow, if we could keep eating from that tree that we were going to be able to get it all together. How many times in the history of the world have there been those who have wanted one world government utopia, peace? You know, and yet, it's almost like it's sometimes close, but it's a bridge too far. Never get there. You never arrive. It's like almost a mirage, isn't it? You're out in the desert and you think there's a refreshing lake ahead, but it's just what you see in the desert. It's a mirage. Peace will not come in the world because man, as Paul said in Romans 2, doesn't know the way to peace. So the world has been trying for the last 6,000 years to eat from the wrong tree, brethren. The way that is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is the way of get, by the way.

Brethren, are you willing to try the tree of life? Are we willing to try the tree of life and the way of give, of outgoing concern, of love for others, of giving, of obedience to God?

Jesus Christ said He was the way, the truth, and the life.

You know, we as God's people, brethren, the more we focus, I mean really focus, I read a book one time called The Power of Focus. I was so impressed with it, I bought the book for my sons and I said, you read this book and apply it in your life. Learn to focus in your life. Focus on what you're doing, what you're trying to accomplish. I know it helped me a great deal. But, brethren, we need to focus, all of us need to focus on the right things in our lives. If we're going to grow, don't fixate in your life on the negative elements.

Try to get your mind off the negative elements of life and refrain from those things that hurt you and do not, you know, help you maintain a right attitude. The Spirit of God is a right attitude. Satan broadcasts and moods and attitudes, by the way. Sometimes when people get depressed and they're down, it's because they're picking up on Satan's wavelength.

But God's Spirit is a good attitude, by the way. It's a good attitude. It's a right attitude.

It's living God's way of life. It's a way of give. You know, as I mentioned, two of us here, all of us together, you know, I'm in the same boat as you are.

You know, if bad things are happening, brethren, two is on the job or at school or marriages, you know, one of the things that a husband or wife can do, and you could do if you're working on a job that you feel like that, you know, things are going south, it doesn't seem like it's working very well for you, is trying to fixate on the good things that are happening. What are the good things on that job? What are the good things in the marriage that you have? What are the good things in your life? Focus on the good things, brethren, the positive things. You know, the, I thought Winston Churchill put it well.

You know, sometimes people can be entirely negative in their lives, but he said the pessimists seize difficulty in every opportunity. But the optimists seize the opportunity in every difficulty.

That's what we ought to be doing as God's people, as optimists seeing opportunity in every difficulty in our life, whatever it is. Having a hard time finding a job or having a hard time on the job. You know, look for opportunity and be positive, brethren.

Emerson said this, when it's dark enough, you can see the stars. I think that's a very positive way to look at it. Thomas Edison said this, good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets planning.

So we got a plan. If we don't plan, you know, to succeed, we're going to plan to what?

Fail. So we got a plan to succeed. You know, are you an optimist or a pessimist?

What are you, brethren? Do you tend to be very positive as a person?

There was a man one time that had two boys and they were really opposite. One was an optimist, and one was a pessimist. But with one of his boys, he put, in his room, he just loaded it with every kind of toy. Any kind of toy a young boy would want, he put it in his room. And this boy, by the way, was a pessimist. And so anyway, he went by the room, rooms of each of his sons. In the other son's room, by the way, he put a pile of manure. And anyway, he went by the rooms of his boys, and the first was the pessimist and then the optimist. And he went by the pessimist's son's room and he was sitting in the middle of the toys and he was crying.

And his dad said, why are you crying? He said, because these toys, you know, when the batteries run down, they're going to need batteries. And he said, the other kids are going to be in this because they have all these toys. And, you know, so this is the attitude of a pessimist.

And then the dad went to the room of the next boy and he looked in there and he saw his son and he was playing in the manure. And, you know, he was digging it out and throwing it out in the air. And he said, what are you so happy for? He said, well, dad, with all of this manure in there, there's got to be a pony in here somewhere. So are you an optimist or a pessimist, brother? So, brethren, there's a pony somewhere in this for all of us. But if we're positive, if we keep our minds fixated on the positive, good things will happen to us.

And I'm not talking about doing stupid stuff in our life. I'm talking about thinking through, doing, you know, what, in fact, Edison said that we plan. We plan for success.

Again, it's not going to be like, let's make a deal here and you don't know what's going to be behind door number one or two or whatever. You know what's going to be beyond it.

And it's going to be greater than, you know, you can even imagine.

I want to give you three points here, brethren. Number one, number one, avoid pessimism.

Don't be crying over your toys, you know. Proverbs 24 verse 10 says that if we're discouraged in a time of trouble, our strength is very weak.

Now, that's what life is about. That's sowing and reaping. We're going to have trouble.

The story of every man's life, isn't it? Every woman's life is, you're going to have problems. Murphy's law. So, avoid negativism and pessimism. Number two, focus on the positive.

Focus on the positive. Be optimistic.

Proverbs 15 verse 15 says, all the days of the afflicted are bad, but the one with a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

I like that verse. The one with a cheerful heart. Somebody that is positive and optimistic about the future is going to have a continual feast in their life. And number three, brethren, do things for other people.

One of the things that Jesus Christ has said himself, and in the book of Acts, we see this in Acts 20 verse 35, is far better to give than to receive. You know, it's more of a blessing. You're going to be happier if you are giving rather than getting and receiving.

Well, make a practice of giving far more than you have to receive.

Now, brethren, what does it mean to sow to the Spirit? What does it mean to sow to the Spirit?

Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1 over here.

Now, Paul over here, once again admonishing his spiritual son, Timothy.

But in chapter 1 in verse 1, it says, for God has not given us a Spirit. His Holy Spirit is not a Spirit of fear, not a Spirit of negativism, pessimism, but of power. It is a power that God gives us and of love, see, love, outgoing, concern, rather than incoming, you know, inward in its way. And it says of a sound mind, a sound mind. That's what God's Spirit is. So the Holy Spirit, brethren, when it talks about sowing to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit leads to a sound mind. And that word, by the way, you look in the Greek for this particular word sound, from the Greek it's discipline, a disciplined mind. Or it's rendered also self-control, self-control. In other words, we ought to be in control of what we say and what we do. The Bible says that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

In other words, your attitude, my attitude, is subject to us through the Spirit of God. We can control ourselves. You know, we can live a certain way. We can make a choice to do it. So sowing to the Spirit means we, brethren, are in control of ourselves. Well, it seems like that when you hear people talk about how they made the mistakes that they make, you probably have talked to people to tell you how they got in the predicament that they're in. Well, oftentimes you hear this, they'll say, well, first one thing happened and then another. Never heard that before? First one thing happened and then another.

And I guess that's about the only way they can express it. In other words, it's like their lust, their desires are leading them around by the nose. And so that first one thing happened and then another. Well, God's Spirit gives us self-control, brethren. Galatians 5. Let's go to Galatians chapter 5 over here. Galatians chapter 5. It used to be in the book. Galatians 5 verse 17. But here it says, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit.

Well, your flesh will cry out that it does not want to obey God. It does not want to walk in God's way of life. Your flesh will cry out. Better be negative. You better be pessimistic.

Your flesh will do that. You know, I've told you before, I think, that when I sometimes go out to I go work out, I don't know if you go through this or not, but when I'm going to go work out, oftentimes I'm trying to talk myself out of doing it. On the way!

And would you raise your... Somehow I think I'm crazy. Would you raise your hands if you do that, too? Okay. I'm glad I'm among humans. But it's like I'm trying to talk myself out of, oh, you don't need to do that today. You don't feel good.

And really, sometimes you feel crazy. You're having an argument with yourself in your brain, you know. But anyway, the lust, doesn't it? You know, the physical flesh wars against the Spirit.

The things we ought to do, our flesh does everything it can do to keep us from doing it. But going on here, and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. You know, most of the time, by the way, I talk myself into going ahead and working out.

But it says, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now, the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and things like it, and things like it, Paul says, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I've told you in the times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

And he said, but the fruit of the Spirit is this. So, if we want to know what it means to walk in the Spirit, brethren, or a soul to the Spirit, he goes on to tell us. But the fruit of the Spirit is love.

Outgoing concern. Joy. Joy, brethren, is happiness, brim-folded and running over.

Peace. Now, there is a peace of mind we can have that does pass human understanding, as Paul talked about. Long-suffering. Being patient. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Being gentle with people. Self-control. There's the word again we read earlier. Against such, there is no law. No law in the entire universe that is against these things, brethren. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. So, if we're walking in God's Spirit, if we're following the lead of God's Spirit, these are the things we're producing. We're sowing in our lives. If we have joy in our life, we're sowing joy in the lives of other people.

If we have love in our lives, we sow love in other people's lives. If we've learned patience, we strive to sow patience in people. And so forth. You go through the whole thing, brethren. That's what it means, is sow in the Spirit. And what happens, brethren, is when we start sowing in the Spirit, we start planting spiritual seeds in people.

And somebody's going to tell a story someday about the love that you showed them. Somebody's going to tell the story of the joy that you showed them how to have, even when there's difficult times.

You see, you sowed that seed in your life, and you helped other people in the process.

The sowing in the Spirit is humility and self-control. No, we're not going on binges of doing this or that, brethren, but control of our lives. And, brethren, as we do sow in our lives, and we go through the difficulties and the problems of our life, keep in mind, brethren, the harvest that is ahead. And what's going to be behind the curtain when God lifts that curtain up and He shows you what your reward is going to be?

You know, what we're going to reap in the time of the harvest, brethren, should keep us on the path of sowing in the Spirit to think about those things, to dwell on those things as God's people.

And what's going to happen in the harvest that is just ahead of us? Another principle, brethren, of reaping as sowing is we will actually reap more than we sow. We are going to receive far more than we've actually sown. You know, if you plant an apple seed, you know, you plant that apple seed, what is going to come up? An apple tree. And you have a lot of apples on the apple tree.

So, in other words, your fruits are going to multiply every seed that you plant.

And God wants us to, again, keep that in mind. There's the multiplying effect.

Jesus Christ said a sower sows on good ground, and some are going to reap a hundred-fold, sixty-fold, or thirty-fold, depending, I guess, on how fertile the ground is going to be.

It's kind of interesting. When I was a kid, I remember hearing about Johnny Appleseed.

Remember the legend of Johnny Appleseed? His name was actually John Chapman, by the way.

And he sowed apple trees throughout the northeast and parts, you know, the midwest, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Now, one of the reasons why he did it, and the story, I had to review it a little bit to myself, but if he planted, I think, fifty trees on a piece of property, the government would give it to him. And so, through this means of sowing these apple trees, Johnny Appleseed himself, you know, accumulated twelve hundred acres, which is a big parcel of land. You're talking about two square miles of land that he had. But, you know, he gained his legend after he died, actually. People started calling him Johnny Appleseed because he planted so many apple trees. He would plant the trees, by the way, so that when settlers came in, you know, he would sell the apples to the settlers when they came in.

But imagine yourself, brethren, Johnny Appleseed, and someday you're going to reap a harvest.

And for him, of course, it was a very big one.

You know, the law of sowing, brethren, applies to planting good things or bad things in life, which is why some people have countless woes in their life.

Hosea in verse 7 says, they that sow to the wind, they reap the whirlwind. You know, if you sow to the wind—in other words, you just throw it out there willy-nilly—you're going to reap a tornado in your life. It's going to tear through your life, and it's going to make your life miserable. But if you sow good things, brethren, in your life, the butterfly effect begins to take place. Like you say, planting one apple seed turns into a tree that produces many apples, potentially many other trees, for that matter. You know, I call it the butterfly effect. It's used, of course, in science, that basically the concept that if a butterfly flaps its wings, that eventually that error created by the flapping of the wings of the butterfly creates a hurricane.

But think about, brethren, when we do small things, oftentimes it leads to something that is tremendous, just by doing small things. They can be very, very productive. On the other hand, if we do bad things, it can turn out disastrous for us, can it? So it works both ways, and certainly you want to make sure that you're sowing good things, that are going to result in great blessings for you in your life.

Then also in reaping, brethren, is the cumulative effect of sowing.

There is a cumulative effect of sowing for a farmer as he increases the size of his farm.

Maybe he starts with a few acres, and because he is diligent with his farm, he eventually makes it a bunny, can buy, you know, 100 acres. And if he does well with that, he expands his farm. The more he expands, the more he reaps. And so it is for us, brethren. We don't start out that way in terms of someone that becomes highly productive, where the crops that are coming in are big, but we start out small. And our goal from a spiritual perspective, brethren, is that there would be a great reward for us when Jesus Christ returns. I gave a sermon many years ago on, will you settle for salvation? Because God is calling us, brethren, not to settle just for salvation. He's calling us to receive a reward.

You know, in the kingdom, God is going to be handing out responsibility. And Jesus spoke parables that show that some are going to rule over, you know, five cities or ten cities or, who knows, maybe some will be over provinces. You know, we know that, in fact, the apostles are going to be over the tribes of Israel, which are going to be great nations, you know, in the world tomorrow. So are we thinking in those terms, brethren, the cumulative effect of what we're doing?

You know, a businessman oftentimes can do very well with one business, and if he does very well with it, he might decide he's going to open another business. I've met people who have done that, and in fact, sometimes they open not just one type of business, but a number of businesses.

And they have multiple strains of income coming into their business that becomes sort of a conglomerate of different businesses. Well, think of yourself in that way, in manner as well, brethren. If we sow in many areas of our life, we reap also in many areas of our life. We're sowing good things, and so that the harvest is much greater for us. You know, God has not called you or me to be isolated. He's not called us to sort of, you know, it's between us and God, in other words. Just being God, I remember when I first was being called, I thought it was just being God, you know? And then, like many of you, of course, I always wondered who could afford all these booklets I was getting back in the 60s. I go down and I mail off a letter for booklets, and I would get 50 booklets in the mail until they started limiting how many booklets you could get.

But I would go down and I thought it was, you know, me and God and Mr. Armstrong, maybe, when we started getting those. But then I began to realize that, no, it was bigger than that, much bigger than that. But, brethren, we, as God's people, again, need to realize that God wants us to not be isolated, that we are a church. If God didn't need a church, He wouldn't have called a church.

If you didn't need, who sits in front of you or besides you, they wouldn't be there. If you could be in the kingdom, and I could be in the kingdom without the church, don't you think? Why would God have a church? The fact of the matter is, He needs a church, and we all need each other. We grow off of each other. We help each other. We develop as a result of knowing each other. You know, since my wife and I have been here, you've taught me a lot.

Each of you have taught me a lot. Taught us a lot. We've learned a lot. By being here, you know, having to come to know you, it's just the way it is. You learn from every church area that you're in, and you just keep adding, too. But there is the cumulative effect of sewing, brethren. And we want to sew, in other words, in multiple ways in the church.

We want to sew, and not isolate ourselves, but to be involved with one another.

So God wants us to, again, realize that there is that cumulative effect of the work that we're doing. And another thing is, brethren, so daily, and look for the harvest in others around you. Again, as you sew to the spirit, the fruits of the spirit, you sew in your life, you're doing the good things in your life. Look for the harvest in other people. Because it does happen. It's there. Eventually, you see it. It's like a seed. If you plant a seed, you never planted a bean when you were a kid, and you water this thing, and finally, after a while, a little green comes up. Well, in a lot of ways, that's the way we are, as well. You could sew something, and you're waiting, and you're waiting for some good thing to come of it. It's like that being that eventually, you know, the green begins to come above the soil, and you begin to see it.

I know through the years we've seen young men here, you know, that have developed and grown. It's just gratifying to see that. Now, think about young men going from, you know, growing up in the church to where they can actually teach within the church. That's quite an accomplishment, and it is exciting to see that in our young men and young ladies, and those that, frankly, are the future of the church, the growth that is there. But you've had a part in sewing, rather, of being that little cocoon around them through their lives, sewing and helping them to grow and develop and increase. You know, God wants us, again, realize we need us so daily and look for harvesting each other. Don't hide your light. Don't put it under a bushel basket, but put it on a hill that others may see, brethren. Use the power of influence when you have an opportunity.

Look at Jesus Christ. I mentioned to this that Jesus Christ had no monument to himself.

You know, I mentioned this when I was talking about the monuments of Egypt, you know, that all these vast monuments, a lot of people don't even know who these people are.

But Christ didn't have any monument. But look at how many people in the world know what Jesus Christ did. You know, they're aware of his sacrifice, know his name. But there's no structure on the planet that you can go to and point to, and that is what he built. Because his example, his goodness, the things he did, the good works, brethren, are his monument. And that's our monument, brethren, as well as God's people. Don't hide your light, brethren. Don't be ashamed of the light that you have. Share it not only with your brethren, but share it on the job in a right, balanced way. Don't cram your religion down other people's throats. But be an example of love, a charity, and the way the fruits of God's Spirit, for that matter. And as you have opportunity, as Paul said, do good for everyone, especially with regard to the church.

Now, if we have a new person that walks through the door, brethren, extend yourself to them. And again, so good things for them. Don't judge them. We have one judge, and that's God. And who are we to judge another man's servant, even as Paul said? So if somebody's new in the faith, receive them without, as Romans says, without doubtful disputations. But receive them, brethren, with an opportunity to so good in, again, a right way and a balanced way. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Second Corinthians chapter 9. So again, your life, brethren, is sowing and reaping.

And hopefully, brethren, we're sowing, you know, such that we're going to reap a bumper crop in the future. But in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 7, Paul said, so let each of us give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity.

You're going to provide outgoing concern for other people, brethren, and love for other people. Don't do it grudgingly or out of necessity. Do it because you want to, brethren. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always, having all sufficiency and all things, may have an abundance for every good work. You know, you will be able to do whatever you set your heart to do. Again, within balance here. But going on, verse 9, as it is written, he is dispersed abroad, he is given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Hopefully that describes you and me, brethren. Now may he who supplies seed to the sower, that's you and me, brethren, and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you're enriched in everything for all liberality which causes thanksgiving through us to God. And, you know, God says, again here, if we sow sparingly, we're going to reap sparingly. But if we sow bountifully, brethren, we're going to reap bountifully. You know, again, God will allow us, brethren, to reap if we do not faint in due season. That word faint, by the way, is kind of interesting in the Greek. It comes from the Greek word ekluel. You know what it means? Relax. The word relax.

It means also this, I think is rather interesting, to loose as in a bowstring.

No, again, brethren, picture yourself like an archer when you're sowing good seed, and you've always got, you know, the arrow in the bow, and you're shooting. You're shooting the good works, in that words. You're putting those good works out in the form of what you do and what you say. And, of course, look at it from the standpoint of, too, this, that a Christian has to hit the bullseye of the target. You know, sin is the transgression of the law of God, and sin means this, missing the mark, missing the bullseye, as it were. So we want to be right on when it comes to obedience to God, and we want to be right on when it comes to doing good works for other people. You certainly don't want to miss the mark, do we?

Brethren, make no mistake about it. There is a law of sowing and reaping. Jesus warned us again to remember that. And, brethren, we are closer than ever to the great heart of God. We are to the great harvest. We are a year closer to the harvest. And, brethren, indeed, our entire life is sowing and reaping. That's what we do. That's what life is about. And what we reap, the ultimate blessing, brethren, is going to be in the kingdom of God, and to receive eternal life, and whatever God gives to us, and the reward that we have, you know, for whatever reason, God is going to give to us when He returns for the good things that we've done in our lives.

So let's learn, brethren, to sow bountifully so that we can reap a bumper crop, harvest, when the time comes that Jesus returns and the world tomorrow begins.