NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Bible verse “GALATIAN 6:6~10”

Sermon title "The Harvesting by Planting“

The three major Christian holidays are Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving (Feast of Ingathering). Many people observe Thanksgiving to express gratitude to God for His protection, provision, and blessings over the past year. However, Thanksgiving was not instituted solely for this reason. Nor is it observed simply because the Pilgrims in early America initiated it. In the Bible, Thanksgiving is referred to as the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) or the Feast of Ingathering.

The first mention of the Feast of Ingathering is in Deuteronomy 16:13–17, which says, "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days, after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat." When God gave this command, the Israelites were living in the wilderness, where farming was impossible. The barren desert produced no crops for gathering or storing. For 40 years in the wilderness, they survived on manna in the mornings and quail in the evenings. What could they possibly “gather”? The command to observe the Feast of Ingathering implied that the Israelites would eventually enter a land where farming was possible—a land where they could plant, harvest, and store crops. God instructed them to celebrate the Feast of Ingathering once they entered this promised land. But was this feast meant to give thanks merely for the harvest? Or was it a celebration of the fact that they had been brought into a land where they could farm and harvest in the first place? While being thankful for the harvest is important, the real cause for gratitude lies in the fact that they were no longer slaves. When the Israelites were in Egypt, harvest days were not joyful. As slaves, they toiled harder during the harvest, only to see the fruits of their labor stored in the Egyptians' barns, not their own. Even in a year of abundance, they had no reason to rejoice because all they did was work harder to benefit their oppressors. But God brought them to the land of Canaan, a land where they could be masters of their own labor. It was not a land they could enter by their own effort or live in by their own choice. In Canaan, whether the harvest was abundant or scarce, it belonged to them. God brought them to a land where they were free, where their labor was their own, and where their harvests were theirs to keep. Imagine the joy and gratitude they must have felt when they observed their very first Feast of Ingathering in Canaan! After 430 years of slavery, they were finally celebrating their first harvest in their own land.

However, as years passed, the Israelites forgot the joy and gratitude of that first Feast of Ingathering. They forgot that they had once been slaves in Egypt. That’s why the Bible records the Israelites observing the Feast of Ingathering only four times throughout their history: during Solomon’s reign, in the time of Ezra, in Zechariah’s day, and during Joel’s era. For two thousand years, they celebrated the feast only four times. They completely forgot why they were in the land of Canaan and what God had done to bring them there.

The Israelites had adapted so well to their new environment that they behaved as though they had always been in Canaan. They forgot why they were supposed to celebrate the Feast of Ingathering. They forgot the significance of this festival, the reason behind it, and the God who redeemed them from Egypt with great power and sacrifice. The issue wasn’t just that they didn’t observe the Feast of Ingathering; it was that they had forgotten the joy of salvation.  Christians today are no different. Many observe Thanksgiving merely to thank God for protecting and providing for them over the past year, for meeting their physical needs, and for blessing their material lives. But Thanksgiving isn’t just about these things. It’s about celebrating the fact that God saved us from slavery to sin, from a life of sowing to the flesh and reaping only corruption.

Through a tremendous sacrifice, He has brought us into the true Promised Land—a land where Jesus is Lord, where God’s eyes are upon us from the beginning to the end of the year, where the truth sets us free, where we sow to the Spirit and reap eternal life. That is why we celebrate the Feast of Ingathering—with gratitude for the salvation, freedom, and new life we have in Christ.

Some say, “It’s easy to give thanks when you have reasons to be thankful, but true gratitude is giving thanks even when you don’t have reasons. If you do so, God will give you reasons to be thankful.” Therefore, they claim we should give thanks whether we have reasons or not.

But that’s not the reason Christians give thanks to God. We don’t give thanks because we have reasons, nor because being thankful without reasons will somehow lead to receiving blessings. We give thanks because God has brought us into Canaan—a place where we live by faith in Jesus, a place where we can sow for the Spirit and reap eternal life from the Spirit. That’s the essence of why we observe Thanksgiving and why we must give thanks.

Both non-believers and Christians eat three meals a day and live 24 hours in a day. But while some sow for the flesh and reap only what is perishable, others sow for the Spirit and reap eternal life. This is not just a matter of whether or not someone gives thanks—it’s a fundamental difference in the nature of their lives. God established the law of sowing and reaping, making it a natural law. You reap what you sow: plant beans, and you’ll harvest beans; plant peas, and you’ll harvest peas.

However, believers often misunderstand this principle. Many think that if they sow spiritual seeds—praying fervently, reading the Bible, or being active in church—then they will reap material blessings as well as spiritual rewards. They believe that sowing spiritually will bring both spiritual and physical prosperity. But this is not true. The principles for reaping spiritual fruit and physical fruit are entirely different.

To reap physical blessings, you must sow in worldly ways. If you desire worldly success, wealth, and comfort, you must follow worldly methods. There is no bargain where God does your work in return for you doing His. Praying and doing spiritual work does not guarantee physical blessings. Each type of sowing yields its corresponding harvest.

Those who sow to the flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. Those who sow to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. As Christians, we have been brought to a place where we can choose what to sow. Without the faith that God grants, no matter who a person is—even a pastor, elder, or missionary—they will only sow to the flesh and reap corruption.

As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit, you will recognize them.” The fruit reveals whether someone has sown to the flesh or to the Spirit. Christians can also sow to the flesh, even as they believe they are sowing to the Spirit. They may sincerely think they are sowing spiritually, but later find they are reaping only perishable things from the flesh. This realization often comes as a shock, just as it did for Paul, who lamented, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:24).

Why does this happen? Because even after sowing to the Spirit, they fail to wait patiently for the spiritual harvest and instead sow other things in the meantime. People often forget that there’s a time gap between sowing and reaping. They want instant results. But there’s no such thing as immediate harvests—not even for a single leaf of a plant. Even a sesame seed takes two to three months to grow.

Sowing to the Spirit and reaping eternal life means seeking God’s will, practicing it, and being trained to reach the level God desires. While the Holy Spirit sometimes intervenes in a believer’s life and gives unearned blessings, those instances are temporary and exceptional. They are not the norm.

Those in Egypt cannot sow to the Spirit. In Egypt, all they can do is sow to the flesh and reap corruption. But God, through the price of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, has brought us to a place where we can sow to the Spirit. We are no longer in Egypt, fixated on sowing to the flesh and reaping perishable things. Instead, we are in Canaan, called to sow to the Spirit and reap eternal life.

So, what does it mean to sow to the Spirit? Galatians 6:9-10 gives us examples: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Doing good is sowing to the Spirit. But why do people often feel weary and discouraged even when doing good? Because they hope for recognition and praise from others. When no one acknowledges their good deeds, they feel fatigued and stop doing good. The Bible tells us not to be weary or discouraged because God sees and remembers everything. In due time, God will ensure that we reap a harvest from the Spirit—eternal life.

Verse 10 encourages us to take every opportunity to do good to all people, especially to fellow believers. A lack of mutual care and interest can break relationships among believers. Instead, we must support, love, and do good to one another without becoming discouraged or weary. When the time is right, we will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Acts of kindness and service require intentional effort, practice, and perseverance. On this Thanksgiving, let us be grateful that we are no longer living in Egypt, sowing to the flesh and reaping only perishable things. Let us thank God for bringing us into Canaan—the church, where Christ is the head, and where we can sow to the Spirit and reap eternal life. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I bless you to have a Thanksgiving full of gratitude for this calling. A-men