"Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reaps.
" Galatians 6:7 The following principle is so powerful that if it is applied to your life, it will change the destiny of your entire family.
A principle is a truth from God's Word that is universal and therefore, holds true for every generation.
A principle is like a key, when it is placed into the key hole of a locked door the door will unlock and open.
The principle found in Galatians 6:7 is the principle of sowing and reaping.
This principle affects every aspect of our life, because with every action there is a definite opposite and equal reaction.
Any area where you are experiencing defeat can be turned into a full harvest of blessing.
Just as an empty barren field can be turned into a field of wheat in one season, areas of defeat in your life can be turned into a harvest of blessing in one season.
God works in seasons as the seeds that are sown come up.
God's will for your life and your family is that you will be blessed with all spiritual blessings.
He blesses you through the choices you make and the seeds you plant.
God's word will actually activate the blessings of heaven right here on earth.
Jesus prayed, "Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
" Jesus came to establish God's kingdom and His will on earth.
So from the time that Jesus walked on the earth until the present the blessings of kingdom living is available for all believers.
Paul said in Ephesians 1:3 that through Christ we have access to "all spiritual blessings.
" Family Blessing God established the family as the vehicle that blessings would flow through.
There is a built in blessing for honoring parents.
Deuteronomy 5:16, "Honor thy father and mother, as the Lord they God hath commanded thee that thy days may be prolonged and that it may go well with thee...
" According to this verse we are due to reap the blessing of a long life if we honor the life that our parents have lived before us.
In other words, by honoring your parents you are planting a seed that you will reap later in your own life.
The Multiplication of Blessings The principle of sowing and reaping was first established by God as a means for multiplying blessings.
God first started sowing and reaping at creation.
God established the principle into the very DNA of every plant and animal.
Every seed reproduces after its own kind; God established it into the seed itself.
An apple seed produces an apple tree; a cornel of corn produces a stalk of corn.
God was the Master Gardener that started all sowing and reaping, He sowed all the plants and animals into the earth with His spoken word.
After He had created the plants and the animals He said they were good.
So He planted and blessed the seeds and therefore gave them permission to multiply.
Then God created Adam and Eve and said to Adam, "be fruitful and multiply.
" The process of reaping blessings continued as Adam sowed good seeds, but when Adam and Eve sinned they started reaping the consequence of their sin.
This activated the reaping for all mankind.
Remember a principle affects every generation.
Adam and Eve reaped what they sowed; they were separated from God.
God told them the day they ate from the tree they would die and they died spiritually that day.
God covered them in the blood and sent them out of the garden; they would live out their life but not experience the blessings of the Garden of Eden.
The principle of sowing and reaping is just a powerful today as it was at creation.
Galatians 6:7 say's, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reaps.
" God established this principle and He will not be mocked, we will reap what we sow whether we believe it or not.
It is a principle that operates in the entire universe.
Many people think they can live their life any way they so choose but every sin has a built in consequence.
God knew that wages of sin is death, and that is why God sent Jesus.
Jesus reaped death (the consequence of sin) when He died our death on the cross.
As a believer we will not reap that consequence because Jesus reaped it for us.
But we will still be held accountable for those things God had shown us in his word that is sin.
When He convicts us of a sin and we repent, the punishment we were due to reap is minimized and even some times is completely eliminated.
The key is repentance, acknowledging and turning from that sinful way.
However, many people continue doing the same things and continue reaping the same consequences throughout their life.
The cycle of sowing and reaping continues as long as they continue to plant the same seeds.
When a person has continued planting the same seeds, or doing the same thing for many years he or she finally comes to a point of reaping a full harvest.
We refer to this as reaping a whirlwind.
The Prophet Hosea said, "For they have sown the wind and they will reap a whirlwind.
" (Hosea 8:7) A vegetable gardener knows that every seed that is planted will increase in harvest time.
If he plants one cornel of corn he will harvest a stalk with hundreds of cornels.
Because of the law of increase the gardener knows he can count on reaping a greater harvest than what he has sown.
This principle works great as long as you plant good seeds, you will reap a good harvest.
Harvest Time "To everything there is a season...
A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;" Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 What are you harvesting right now in your life? Do you need to pluck up those seeds that have been planted that are still producing a bad harvest? A good tree brings forth good fruit.
We will reap a harvest after a period of time from the seeds we have sown.
If good seeds are sown then we will reap a good harvest.
The same is also true if bad seeds are sown then a bad harvest will be experienced.
Early in our marriage my husband and I were having marriage problems.
We were constantly arguing over the most insignificant things.
We knew we needed help, the Lord lead us to a couple for marriage counseling.
They began to teach us the principle of sowing and reaping.
It was a simple principle but it was so profound it changed the destiny of our entire family.
We began to look at what we were saying to each other and realized why we were having so many problems.
I was critical and questioned all my husband's decisions and I was then reaping the same from him, he was not respecting me.
We were each reaping what we were sowing.
We were getting so angry with each other for the lack of respect.
This continued for many years, eventually all the bad seeds began to produce a harvest of bitterness.
The couple counseling us helped us to see the pattern of sowing bad seeds was now creating a harvest of bitterness.
Once we saw the pattern and began to understand the powerful principle of sowing and reaping we had a task ahead of us.
We needed to dig up as many of the seeds that had been planted as the Lord brought to our remembrance.
As we each took ownership of the critical things we had spoken we were digging up the old seeds.
We recalled as many critical comments as we could remember and ask each others forgiveness.
Immediately we began to see a change in our marriage, our conversations turned from criticism to affirmation.
We began to speak blessing over one another and encouraging one another.
As we dug up the old seeds we then began to plant new ones.
Look at your harvest Look at you own life, what are you harvesting? Are you in a time of harvesting a crop of blessings or a crop of curses? Since we reap what we sow it is really easy to find out what you have sown, you just look at what you are reaping.
The only way to stop the reaping is to repent to each other and to repent to the Lord.
Repentance brings an end to the reaping.
The destiny of a family is largely based on the seeds that are sown.
To change the destiny, you must change what is being sewn.