Sowing and Reaping | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the Billy Graham

classics

tonight I want to turn you to turn with

me to a very familiar passage of

scripture to all of you

and that is found in Romans the first

chapter

and the 17th verse and then I want us to

turn over to Galatians the sixth chapter

when the book of Galatians the Apostle

Paul is explaining what he meant in the

17th verse of the first chapter and this

was the verse That Shook all of Europe a

little over 500 years ago when it was

discovered and it was revealed to him in

a powerful way to Martin Luther

first chapter of Romans the 17th verse

and therein is the righteousness of God

revealed from Faith to Faith as it is

written the just

shall live by faith the just shall live

by faith not by our own goodness not by

our own works but by faith

by grace are ye saved through faith and

that none of yourselves it is the gift

of God not of Works lest any man should

boast then we turn over

to Galatians the sixth chapter what a

marvelous chapter this fifth chapter is

and the sixth chapter and the sixth

chapter has something I want to speak on

and I’ve never before preached a sermon

on this text

be beginning with verse seven be not

deceived God is Not mocked for

whatsoever man soweth that shall he also

reap for he that soweth to his flesh

shall of the flesh reap corruption but

he that saw to the spirit shall of the

spirit reap everlasting life

I want to speak tonight on sowing and

reaping I noticed as we came in the Lush

Farmland that’s here in this Red River

Valley I guess there’s nothing quite

like it in the United States I used to

come to Fargo quite often stop here at

Fargo Moorhead you couldn’t get to

Winnipeg without stopping on Northwest

Airlines here on a DC-3 back in the 40s

we used to go back and forth to Winnipeg

a lot and we stopped here a lot and I

would see this country and often Marvel

that it’s lushness and congratulate you

and your grandparents and parents that

came here and settled here because this

has become one of the great areas of the

entire United States I was born and read

on a farm and I’ve read about families

that have been losing their family farms

and I was read on a family farm

and I remember the days back in the 20s

and the 30s

back during the Depression when my

father would look for rain and we would

pray for rain and we raised wheat and

barley and grain we didn’t have sugar

beets but we did raise other things that

would be familiar to you then my father

had what he called A Truck Farm where he

raised vegetables and then we had dairy

cattle and we milked and every morning

from the time I was about seven or eight

I had to get up at three o’clock and go

milk cows and when I was in high school

I milked 20 cows every morning before I

went to school and milk those same 20

when I came home from school and so I

knew a little bit about farm work

now I believe that they’re in the Bible

there are five laws in sowing and

reaping first you must sow to reap in

China two thousand years old seed were

taken from an ancient tomb and they’re

sprouting today and growing tomatoes

even though they were sown two thousand

years ago but it wasn’t until they were

sown that they could produce a crop for

reaping we have to sow to reap now in

Hosea it says so to yourselves in

righteousness think of it so in goodness

so in righteousness

reap in Mercy if you sow in

righteousness living a good life

putting your faith in your confidence in

Christ you are going to reap the mercy

of God and the grace of God and

salvation

for it is time the scripture says to

seek the Lord till he come and Reign

righteousness upon you

has righteousness reigned upon you

because unless you are clothed in the

cloth of the righteousness of God you’ll

never out of heaven and that

suit of clothes or that dress of

righteousness was provided by the Lord

Jesus Christ who died on the cross for

you

we have a cross on all of our churches

whatever our denomination may be

we agree on one thing that the cross is

the central fact of Christianity and

it’s on the cross that Christ hung for

our sins and died for us and provided

for us a righteousness that you cannot

provide for yourself

in Psalm 126 5 it says David So in tears

shall reap in joy

our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross

in tears as it were so that we might

have the joy of salvation

now if you want to become a lawyer or a

doctor or a scientist or Professor you

have to spend years of study you still

you so study and you reap professionally

there was a hillbilly from the south who

felt lost at Times Square New York

so he asked a young fella with a long

bid how is the how do you get to

Carnegie Hall

and snapping his fingers the bearded man

replied practice man practice

and to be a great musician like

Pavarotti you have to practice

passionately and perpetually

you reap Excellence if you sow effort

but you have to sow in order to reap

have you been sowing in Good Deeds have

you been sowing in Repentance have you

been sowing in faith have you been

sowing in Bible reading and prayer and

church going Faithfully have you been

sowing so you can reap the grace and the

mercy of God

oh have you been sowing the Wild Oats

that so many people sow or been sowing

things for your own lust and your own

pleasures and you’re going to reap

someday that which you have sowed and

then the second thing

if you sow you will reap every person is

a sower and a reaper now the Bible

teaches that Satan is a deceiver and in

Galatians 6 it says be not deceived

many of you are already deceived

he that soweth to his flesh that is lust

drugs

wrong kinds of sex

too much drink

shall of the flesh reap corruption

in Proverbs 6 it says a wicked man

soweth Discord therefore shall his

Calamity come suddenly suddenly shall he

be broken without remedy

the Bible warns

that if we continue that kind of life we

will be broken

we’ll we’re going to reap what we sow

Henry woods with long fella and here’s

the reaper and the flowers says though

the Mills of God grind slowly yet they

grind exceedingly small

you remember Cain became jealous

of his brother Abel

and he killed his brother in a fit of

jealousy and rage and became the first

murderer and that was the first war and

that took place in Paradise many people

say oh if we only change society

if we make the world better if we spend

more money if everybody had everything

they wanted it would they would we would

produce a new man

this is what uh

Marx taught

this is what Lenin strongly believed

he had great ideals he believed that

they would ultimately produce a new man

but we’ve lived long enough now to know

that it has not produced a new man

the only person that can produce a new

man is the one that said you must be

born again it doesn’t mean really born

again it means born from above borne by

the spirit of God just as you were born

into the physical world and from your

mother’s womb you must be born into the

spiritual world

and so in one sense it’s being born the

second time

the third thing is you will reap what

you sow whatsoever man soweth that shall

he also reap in numbers 32 it says be

sure your sin will find you out

be sure

your sin and we’re all Sinners I’m a

sinner you’re a sinner

the Bible says all have sinned and come

short of the glory of God and sin means

the breaking of God’s law the breaking

of the Ten Commandments and the Bible

says if you break those Commandments in

one place you’re guilty of all

and we’re all Sinners and we’ve broken

all the Commandments we all need the

mercy and the grace and the love of God

be sure your sin will find you out every

sin that has ever been committed is

going to be found out either in this

life or at the judgment

somewhere sometime every little sin that

you committed and every big sin will

find you out

because you remember the tapes back in

Watergate days

and what they did to our president

God has tapes

far more sophisticated

not only does he record all of our

actions but all of our thoughts all of

our words all of our intents are

recorded

and you may deny it at the judgments say

God it just didn’t happen that way he’s

got it all that

he has every moral choice you faced and

he

has the road that you took

you’ll reap what you sow

in job 4 it says they that plow iniquity

and so wickedness reap the same

you’re going to reap

everything that you sow you’ll reap I

read in Time Magazine review of a book

entitled Wild Oats and some people lived

by the philosophy that you sow your Wild

Oats all week then go to church on

Sunday morning and pray for crop failure

it’s not going to be that way the crop

is going to come in and how many of us

go to church and we really don’t know

Christ I did I was real a presbyterian

and I was baptized I was confirmed in

the church

and I thought everything was all right I

thought the minister was a little bit

boring I didn’t particularly like going

to church but I went because my parents

told me to go

and if you knew my father you know you’d

go if he told you

but I really didn’t have Christ in my

heart I didn’t have Assurance I didn’t

know

that if I died I’d go to heaven I wasn’t

sure of that

I wasn’t certain that my sins had been

forgiven

so one day when they had an Evangelistic

meeting I went forward and received

Christ into my heart and recommitted my

life to Christ and I remember the things

that I promised those Elders when I met

with them at the time of confirmation

and I said Lord I’m going to recommit my

life to you I’m going to surrender to

you I’m not sure where I stand but I

want to be sure

and that simple decision changed my

entire life

but life doesn’t always work that way in

Proverbs 28 it says he that cover this

sin shall not Prosper but whosoever

confesseth and forsaketh them shall have

mercy God is willing to have mercy upon

you he’s willing to bestow his grace

upon you he’s willing to forgive you if

you’re willing to repent of your sin and

receive him you see the Bible says that

sin is no respecter of persons in James

1 it says every man is tempted when he’s

drawn away of his own lust and enticed

then when lust hath conceived it

bringeth forth sin and sin when it is

finished brings forth death and that

death is not only natural death when

your body dies but you can be dead right

now where you’re sitting spiritually

dead you’re dead toward God that’s the

reason people can’t find peace and joy

and happiness today they search for it

they want it but they can’t find it you

can’t find it in drugs you can’t find it

an extramarital affair you can’t find it

any other place or you can have a

temporary time you can get drunk and go

out with some girl and have a good time

for a while but it soon wears off

it’s gone

I had a bishop we’ve had a number of

Bishops but one Bishop in particular

who came forward in our meeting

an Anglican Bishop in England

and later

I saw him privately

and I said Bishop why did you have to

come forward

he said you know I’ve been to the

university I’ve gotten my degrees and

I’ve been to the theological school and

all the rest and he said I’m I’m now in

my 50s and I’m a bishop but he said I am

not sure where I stand before God and I

just wanted to make sure

do you feel that way you can make sure

tonight before you leave here

and then the fourth thing the ignorance

of what you are sowing will keep you

from reaping Leviticus 19 19 says Thou

shalt not sow thy field with mingle seed

the Bible teaches that when The Good

Seed of the word of God is sown the

Devil comes along and sows tares Jesus

said you can sow are allowed to be sowed

in your life to the devil and you’ll

repel

the devil for thousands of years has

been issuing an invitation to hell to

all of those who sow to the sins of the

flesh to those who permit Satan to sow

Tears in their lives

come to Christ now

give him your life

on the cross

Jesus Christ conquered Satan

and hell and sin

and in First John 3 8 it says he that

committeth sin is of the devil for this

purpose the Son of God was manifested

that he might destroy the works of the

devil so that we might live the life

after Christ

first John 4 4 says greater is he that

is in you than he that is in the world

Christ comes to live within you and

gives you a new power

to live a life that you never dreamed

you could live and he produces within

you love and joy and peace and

satisfaction and fulfillment that you

never knew before

and he put you on the right road because

Jesus said there are two roads of Life

the broad road that leads to destruction

and the narrow road that leads

to life Everlasting

and then fifthly and lastly

you will reap more than you serve Hosea

8 7 says they have sown the wind and

they shall reap the Whirlwind John 4 36

says he receiveth wages that reaps

Charles Reed wrote a century ago

so an act in euripa habit saw a habit in

Europa character saw a character in

euripa Destiny Lord Macaulay the great

historian once wrote old men reap

someone was showing a clergyman through

one of the prisons the other day in the

east

and they saw an old man sitting there

weeping

and they asked the warden what is he

doing and the warden replied he’s

reaping

and that’s where many of us are going

we’re going to a place where we’re going

to reap we’ve been sowing all these

weeks and months and years and we think

we’re getting by with it

our conscience no longer bothers us why

because the Bible teaches that you can

Harden your conscience you can cause it

to become dead it no longer speaks it’s

no longer an accurate guide for you

come to Christ and he’ll re-sensitize

your conscience

a hundred million people die every year

270 million die every day

ten thousand people die every hour 180

die every minute three die every second

and you will be one of those statistics

one of these days are you ready to meet

God the Bible says prepare to meet God

Jesus said the dead shall come forth

they that have done good unto the

resurrection of life and they that have

done evil unto the resurrection of

damnation too crowds

crowd you say well Billy what do I have

to do to make sure to make certain

many people want to be sure but they

don’t know what to do

first you must repent of sin the word

repent means to turn to change to change

the direction of your life to change

your mind you change your mind about God

you change your mind about yourself and

your need of God

and you go home ready to change the way

you treat your wife or your husband or

your parents or your children or your

neighbors or the people you work with

you’re ready for a change

second you put your total confidence and

your total faith in Christ alone you’re

not depending on anything else for your

future salvation except the cross and

the resurrection of Christ

for by the grace of God are you saved

the word Grace means unmerited favor

something I don’t deserve Billy Graham

doesn’t deserve to go to heaven I

deserve to

go to the Judgment I deserve hell

but I’m going to Heaven by the grace of

God

by Christ who died on the cross

and said my God my God why hast Thou

forsaken me and in that terrible moment

something happened that none of us

really understands God laid on him the

sins of us all Jesus became the great

sin Bearer

he died for us

then he comes into our hearts and he

gives us a power to do good works

and we go out with a burden for our

neighbors a burden for peace in the

world

for a burden to Help the Hungry to feed

the poor

to help the poor

that’s our responsibility as Believers

but we don’t have the power to do the

things we ought to do it to live the

life we ought to do but Jesus Christ

gives it to you

he rose again

and we reap eternal life forgiveness

peace Joy love the power of the Holy

Spirit comes within

eternity in heaven we sang the song a

moment ago Amazing Grace

do you know the story of that song

it was written by a slaver

a man by the name of John Newton

and John Newton became the slave of a

slave in West Africa

and one day when he was coming back to

England on the slave ship and treating

the slaves miserable and terrible

they had a thunderstorm

and he fell on his face and he

remembered some scriptures that his

mother taught him when he was a boy

and he received Christ into his heart

and it changed his life and he went back

to England

and became a great friend

of those who were to someday lead the

fight against slavery in Parliament and

did more to help probably than any other

person motivate the British people

toward outlawing slavery he himself

became the minister of an Anglican

Church he himself wrote many hymns

and that was one of the hymns he wrote

Amazing Grace

How Sweet the Sound

I don’t deserve it John Newton said I

don’t deserve it and when he was an old

man

and he could barely get up into the

pulpit and he was in his middle 80s he

held on to the pulpit and he said I

don’t know much

but he said I do know this that I’m a

great Sinner and I have a great savior

and John Newton left his Mark for God

after being a terrible sinner

you can be forgiven of any sin any

failure it may be hypocrisy whatever it

is but tonight you’d like to make sure

I’m going to ask you to do something

that I’ve asked Africans but the

thousands to do Asians but the thousands

Europeans but the thousands Americans by

the thousands and I’ve seen them do it

to the thousands

I’m going to ask you to get up out of

your seat where you’re sitting right now

and come and stand in front on this

beautiful turf

and stand there for a moment or two

quietly

and say you know I want to be sure about

this I want to be sure my sins are

forgiven I want to know I’m going to

heaven I want this Supernatural peace

and joy and fulfillment that Christ can

give me and I want to settle it I would

like to rededicate myself to my

confirmation vows

what my baptism meant

whatever the reason whatever your need

I’m going to ask you to get up and come

and stand and after you’ve all come and

stood there I’m going to have a prayer

with you and give you some literature to

help you in your Christian Life if

you’re with friends or relatives they’ll

wait

oh you may be the only one from your

area to come but get up and come

I’m going to ask that no one leave the

stadium now at this holy moment and

everyone in an attitude of Prayer you

get up and come you may be a member of

the church you may not be a member of

any church I don’t know who you are but

you need Christ you come right now we’re

going to wait on just come and stand

here quietly young and old whatever

whoever you are

we’re going to wait Catholic or

Protestant Jewish whatever you come and

stand here

say yes and make sure of your

relationship to Christ

you may be in the choir

are you me

just be somebody that wandered in but

God is speaking to you you come just

stand here in front behind those cameras

that are around here on or right in here

we’re going to wait on you quickly bring

somebody with you

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hello

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and as these many hundreds make their

personal decision for Christ here in

Fargo North Dakota

to wherever you are can make that

decision call the number on your

television screen right now

the line is busy wait a few moments and

call again

says

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good morning

words this song

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I want to say a word to you that have

been watching on television

you’ve been watching from other parts of

the country and other parts of other

countries and you see people coming here

and Fargo Moorhead City

Fargo North Dakota Morehead City

Minnesota and other parts of this great

Midwestern area on Northern Plains area

whatever area we want to call it

and you see them coming to make their

commitment you can make your commitment

where you are in your hotel room

or in your bedroom or in your living

room or with your family

make your surrender to Christ now and

say Lord I need you come into my heart

forgive my sin give me Assurance of my

own faith

I’m going to pray that you’ll make that

commitment now if you just prayed that

prayer with my father or if you have any

questions about a relationship with

Jesus Christ I’ll just call that number

that is on the screen there’ll be

someone there to talk with you pray with

you and answer those questions and

remember

God loves you

if you would like to commit your life to

Jesus Christ please call us right now

toll-free at

1-877-772-4559 that’s 1-877-772-4559

or you can write to us at Billy Graham

One Billy Graham Parkway Department C

Charlotte North Carolina

28201 or you can contact us on the web

24 7 at

peacewithgod.tv we’ll get the same helps

to you that we give to everyone who

responds at the invitation

on behalf of Franklin Graham and the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

thank you for watching and thank you for

your prayers

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