Part “A” + Part “B” = Nitroglycerin = BOOM – What did you expect?

"John Jones was in New York City. He wanted to go to Boston, so he went to the airport and bought a ticket. Having a few minutes to spare, he walked over to some scales, stepped on them, inserted a coin and down came his fortune:  Your name is John Jones, you weigh 188 pounds and you are going to catch the 2:20 to Boston.'

He was astounded because all of the information was correct. He figured this must be a trick, so he stepped back on the scales, inserted another coin and down came his fortune: `Your name is still John Jones, you still weigh 188 pounds and you are still going to catch the 2:20 to Boston.' 

Now he was more puzzled than ever. Sensing a trick, he decided to `fool'

whoever or whatever was responsible. He went into the men's room and changed clothes.

Once again he stepped on the scales, inserted his coin and down came

his fortune: `Your name is still John Jones, you still weigh 188 pounds -- but you just missed the 2:20 to Boston!'"

Many times our focus is not where it should be. We forget that certain principles remain constant, even if we do not remain conscious! Sowing and reaping is one of those constants, and we need to keep our focus on what we are doing, because we will receive the consequences of what we do…whether we meant to do something or not. The actions we sow our life will reap!

Judges 9:46-57 When the leading citizens who lived in the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they ran and hid in the temple of Baal-berith. Someone reported to Abimelech that the citizens had gathered in the temple, so he led his forces to Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and chopped some branches from a tree, then put them on his shoulder. “Quick, do as I have done!” he told his men. So each of them cut down some branches, following Abimelech’s example. They piled the branches against the walls of the temple and set them on fire. So all the people who had lived in the tower of Shechem died—about 1,000 men and women. Then Abimelech attacked the town of Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower inside the town, and all the men and women—the entire population—fled to it. They barricaded themselves in and climbed up to the roof of the tower. 

Abimelech followed them to attack the tower. But as he prepared to set fire to the entrance, a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. He quickly said to his young armor bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!” So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died. When Abimelech’s men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes. In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled.

As we come to the end of a very disheartening story, there are quite a few lessons we can learn from this tragedy.

First: God truly works with the sow & reap principle, no matter who He is working with. Whether from without – the Midianites, or from within – Abimelech, if you practice that which is evil you will reap the same!  The very destruction the Midianites had dealt out to Israel, God, through Gideon, allowed the Midianites to reap. The same evil Abimelech gave to his own brothers, God gave back through Jotham’s curse and the people of Shechem, who also did their own reaping for the evil they participated in. There is no way of getting around the sow/reap principle that Scripture speaks of. It can be good, when you do what is right, God honors that! If, on the other hand you choose the wrong actions, unless God is merciful…which He is so many times…you will reap the consequences of your actions.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

 

I have a great concern for the Body of Christ today based on this principle. This same principle expands to every area of life. If the Church goes the way of the world the only real fruit that will be produced is that which the world produces! We have employed many of the world's techniques in our ways of doing things; throwing money at things; entertainment instead of worship; politics instead of prayer; we identify ourselves with the world in music, dress, lifestyles, etc. If you know me, you know I believe in bridging to where the world is, that is essential. So I believe we need to adapt how we approach the world, I have no problem with that. However, it has also affected our message to the point that we have moved from the Word of God as the standard, to what is popular and convenient. That does not help the world move toward God, instead it assures the world of destruction. You say, “but Nate if we hold to what the Bible calls sin, many in the world will ridicule us and even hate us.” DUH!!! What do you think the world did to Jesus? We cannot have it both ways, either we represent God in love to those that don’t know Him, or we represent ourselves. For example, I don’t care who has sex with who, or marries who or what gender they are. If it were up to me I would let each person do what he or she want and just make sure my life was where I believed God wanted it to be. BUT…is that love??? If I know the bridge ahead is gone and you are driving straight toward it, if I love you, should I not at least offer you information about the path ahead? If you choose to continue, that is your decision, but how can I say I really care if, because I do not want to make you feel uncomfortable, I just remain quiet and smile at you as I say, “Have a nice trip.” That is NOT love! 

Just because you want to get to the other side of the mountain, even though the bridge is gone, should I change the truth that you will die if you continue so I do not make you “feel” uncomfortable? What nonsense! You have every right to say thanks for the info, but not interested. What you do not have a right to do is to demand I change the truth just so you can feel better about yourself. If you want me to “just shut up” too bad, God has produced in me a love for you that even I do not understand. I want you to have the truth so you can at least make the decision for yourself. Many think me a fool for my beliefs, I accept their opinion as their opinion and move on, I am not so insecure that I need their approval. We need to “grow up” people! Stop demanding that everyone think like you. Be mature, stand on what you believe, even share it in love, and then allow others to answer to God for their own convictions. I have heard others share their ideas about love, relationships, marriage and life. Unless it is in line with Scripture, I disagree, but I don’t get in a “hissy” and demand they think like me! If we sow compromise for the sake of “being liked”, or “political correctness” we will reap the reality that we, not only dishonored God and His Truth, but we prove that our love is not genuine. Love is never silent, if that silence leads people toward destruction.

The Body of Christ must, in love, speak the Truth and we will reap what God desires. He will build His church, not us building our church.

The other lesson from this passage is the danger of following someone based on his or her influence instead of God’s conviction on your heart! As soon as Abimelech was dead, his followers left and went home. They were not convicted he was right, if they were they would continued the battle! In this day of “superstar” leaders, in and out of the Church, people seem to easily fall into a “mop” or “gang” mentality. The sad part is God will still hold them responsible for their part in whatever happened. So we should be very meditative, prayerful and deliberate in what causes we join and become a part of. If it is from God we will reap what He plans for us as a reward for being obedient, but if it is based on the charisma of a human leader, we may find ourselves on the wrong side of “right!”

Meditation Questions: What is your understanding of sowing and reaping? How have you seen this in your own life? Is it always negative? Explain. How can you affect the sow and reap principle? If you sin, what is the wise thing to do? Even if you do the wise thing, will that always negate the principle of Sow and Reap? What would be the top three things you would do to impact this principle in your life?