Joseph Prince - Expect A Harvest Of Blessings
Are y'all ready for God's Word? All right, let's go into God's Word straightaway. My sermon is this, praise God. 1 Thessalonians chapter... don't you just love the Lord? Come on, just love on him. Praise God. Give him praise for who he is. 1 Thessalonians 5, I said 4, didn't I? Chapter 5, "But let us who are of the day be sober", It's not referring to your drinking problem or whatever here. Be sober here is be awake, be present.
All right, some people are not awake even though their eyes are open, all right? Turn and jab your neighbor elbow, jab your neighbor and say, "Hey, wake up". Even though their eyes are open, all right, they are thinking about the financial problem in China. They are thinking about their investment, okay? So, you can be awake and not be sober, amen? The elevator don't go all the way to the top, so notify yourself. Be present, especially with your loved ones. Be present, ears open. Ears open like this, ears open listening to them, eyes also, amen?
Focus on them. "Putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation". Now, I want to call your attention to this phrase, "helmet the hope of salvation". We touched on this the last time I preached before I left for Hillsong Conference. I told you that the word "hope" is the Greek word "elpis," and elpis, just think about Elvis, you get elpis, right, the Greek word. And elpis is not the way we say, "I hope that will happen. I hope that will happen. I hope this will happen. You know, I hope so. I hope so".
Our hope is never certain, amen? But Bible hope is a positive certain expectation of good in your future. When you think of your future, you have a positive expectation of good. The Bible calls that, and because of salvation, because of the fact that you are saved and all that's wrapped up in the word "salvation," which is a very rich word that means not just rescue from hell, rescue from temporal dangers, amen, protection, preservation, wholeness, peace, health, amen? All that is found when Jesus said in the gospels, "Your faith has healed you," the word there is "sozo," salvation. Your faith has saved you.
So, the thing here is that it is a helmet. The hope that comes because we are saved. The world does not have this because they are not saved. They have not received salvation, even though Christ has died for them. But you who are saved, God wants you to have that positive confident expectation of good. When you hear the media saying this, what happens five out of ten Singaporeans will experience this by certain age or certain things or certain whatever it is, you gotta know your future is bright. Even when things are not going well, hey, you are going through the valley, amen, you're not gonna stay in the valley.
You know what is the word "through"? Through means you are going through, yes, you're experiencing the valley. You're not staying in it. You're coming out the other side. And when you go through it, the Lord is with you, amen. So here, this helmet is the positive confident expectation of good things that accompany salvation in the future. You gotta have this helmet and never take it off, even when you're sleeping, especially when you're sleeping. In the middle of the night when you wake up, you know, your mind is getting into all kind of crazy stuff, that's the time you need your helmet. And the point of just waking up also, just at the point of, at the brink of being fully awake, the devil put thoughts there, that's the time God speaks to me also, but the devil can put thoughts as well. You gotta have, "No, that will not happen," why? "I'm saved. I'm a child of God. I'm the righteousness of God in Christ," amen? "That will not happen. Good things will happen in the future," amen?
Now, by saying that, I'm not saying that Christians don't go through trials and all that. Some things we go through, I shared this with the people in Hillsong Conference, some of the things that Pastor Brian goes through, some of the things that I go through is because of the ministry. There are some trials that we ministers, worship leaders, those who are serving the Lord in a greater capacity by giving their whole life for the service, some things that they go through, they don't have to go through. Trials of life come to everybody but there are some things they don't have to go through. They go through because of the ministry so that there are riches that they can give after they have gone through the valley of the shadow. Are you listening?
So, I believe with all my heart just like Paul says, he was in chains and he says that, "What has happened to me is for the furtherance of the gospel". And that is true because he was captured and every time he was bound in chains to a Roman soldier, that Roman soldier got saved. After he got saved, he becomes redundant to the Roman armies so they replace him with somebody else and that person got saved. That was the testimony, amen? Paul was getting the Romans saved. Praise God. And he says, "The bonds has converted to my salvation".
Salvation here means what? For the furtherance of the gospel, amen? But the challenge we have, I want to address this, is that there's one big problem and I shared a little bit about this also during the Hillsong Conference, during the giving period when I was the one assigned to talk about giving that night. I shared a little bit of this, one of the biggest problems that we have in having this positive expectation of future is because we've heard so much teaching and preaching on what you sow, you will reap so much so there's fear that even though today you are flowing with God, you are concerned that the seeds that you have sown last year, last five years, last month, will one day come to fruition. There'll be a harvest of evil waiting for you.
How can you have positive expectation of good when you are believing that what you sow you will reap? "But Pastor Prince, that is in the Bible". It is in the Bible. It is in the Bible, all right? And I have seen instances, not just in the Bible, in the Bible we have instance like Haman, for example. Haman, for example, the guy the evil conspirator who hated the Jews, who planned for the extermination of the Jewish people, the ancient Hitler, you know, in the story of Esther, and how he hated Esther's uncle Mordecai. And he planned, because Mordecai didn't even bow to him and he was a man of rank. Of all the people that bowed to him, the fact that Mordecai didn't bow to him, he hated the Jews even more. And the Bible says that he erected about 75 feet, 75-foot tall gallows to hang Mordecai. And you know what happened to him, right? The end of the story of Esther, he hung on it, on the gallows that he built. Now, that is reaping what you sowed. Are you listening, people?
Hosea says, Hosea says, the Chinese word that goes Hosea, but it's the name of a prophet. "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind". That's true, what you sow is what you reap, amen. Amen? David sowed adultery. His sons committed adultery openly. David did it in secret, they did it openly. David had the husband of the wife killed, Bathsheba killed. His name was Uriah. David's favorite son was killed, killed in battle, killed in battle. What you sow is what you reap. "Pastor, David was a man of God. He's not like Haman". I know. But you see, all the illustrations I'm using and I'm giving to you is from the Old Testament, have you noticed that? I said, all the illustrations I just gave you is from the Old Testament, Hosea, amen, Haman's story, David, and also it still applies to the world like Rome and all that, in A.D. 70 and then the destruction of Pompeii.
Let me just tell you this, it still happens. The people without Christ what they sow is what they reap, good or bad. Are you listening, people? All right, but when I look at you, some years ago, I know because I've lived this, I'm wondering when will my sin. You know, say they that, you know, the rooster will come home to roost. Well, I'm here to tell you that Jesus, on the cross, fried that chicken. We reap, we are not gonna reap, we're gonna reap the good things that Jesus sowed at the cross. Now, that does not mean, I just said something very powerful here. I know that this message will be one of those that will be heavily criticized, all right, because they're not gonna listen to the entire sermon.
There are people who don't listen to the entire sermon and they say that, "Pastor Prince says there's no more what you sow is what you reap anymore". No, in the world it still goes on. I said, it still goes on. And another thing is this, you never, never reap exactly the same amount or portion that you sowed. Have you noticed that. It's always greater, amen? "Pastor Prince, the Bible in the New Testament also talk about what you sow is what you reap". I'm coming to it, hold your horses or your donkeys, which ever it is, just hang on first, okay? All right, we got a whole three hours to talk about this. Yeah, praise God. I'm just teasing, don't worry. All right, they sow the wind, they reap the whirlwind.
Now, that doesn't mean there are no consequence. Now, consequence and reaping a harvest are two different things. If you are smoking all the time and you have a lung disease, that is not reaping, that is consequence. All right, if you are inconsiderate of people and you treat them with disdain, all right, people shun you, you don't have good friends, amen, what is that? Consequence. You go to the, you go to a prostitute and now you have syphilis, you say, "Why didn't God protect me"? That's consequence, that's not reaping. Reaping is this idea you do not know when the harvest will come. How many know that what you sow, you don't reap immediately? Consequence almost immediate, at least you know in the next few days.
I remember when I was in the Navy, and I remember that we had R and R, rest and recreation over in Taiwan. And all my friends, they were looking forward to meet the ladies of the night. Some of them will park their bicycles saying, "Hello, hello," from the dock. Many of them were beautiful. So, I remember I went out and my friends were my friends, they were my friends. They went out there and then they spoke in Chinese and told each other, "Hey, how can we go there, you know? Our friend is here, and you know he's a Christian". So I said, "Hey guys, I'm going back to the ship, all right"? So, they were, of course, rejoicing. They didn't know I understood what they said.
So, I went back to the ship and all those who were on guard, you know, they're on duty, right, on the ship, they start saying, "You are stupid. Take my place, you can or not"? You know, I go. Some of them were doing their duty because they were being indicted for something or whatever, and they cannot understand me coming back so early on my R and R back to the port and back into the boat, back into the ship. They can't understand that. You know, crazy, you know? And then I just went back there, read my Bible. I don't want to sound spiritual, but that's what I did, read my Bible. And I had some good Christian books with me. I just spent time like that, okay?
I tell you something, on the journey back, one by one of my friends and I kid you not, at least three of them one by one came to me, "Hey, you think I got this pain when I go to the restroom, do you think I got it"? Another guy came to me, "I don't know what happened to me but it's no more the same". Another guy says, "You know, I don't know what will happen to me if I have this disease because I'm married, you know"? But for some strange reason, I never asked myself those questions. Think, all right, for some of you it's deep. You're thinking, "Why, why didn't he..."? All right, I don't have to.
Come on, come on, people, come on. I don't have to, why? I have lived the way the Lord wants me to live. I have said no to temporal pleasure, and now I'm enjoying constant pleasure, amen, amen? But they were worried, even those who went, who have no symptom were worried. That's called consequence, it's not reaping, all right? It's a matter of days you can tell whether you have it, you don't have it. But harvest can be when something bad happens, and I've seen this judgmentalism in the body of Christ.
When something happens, there are people that say, "Well, we do not know what happened, but you know you never know what she did, what he did in times past. The rooster came home to roost. What you sow is what you reap". You know, and there are, of course, some preachers who help, "Be not deceived. Whatever man soweth that shall he also reap". You must preach it in such a way, you know? So, there's this fearful expectation of evil in the future. How in the world are you gonna put on the helmet of the hope of salvation if this is what you believed?
"Pastor Prince, it is in the New Testament". In the New Testament I'm gonna tell you right now because of time, it only appears, all right, in two applications, one is sowing and reaping. There's actually a third one but two are the main ones. One is for sowing and reaping money, all right? Let's look here in 2 Corinthians 9, "This I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver".
The whole context is on finances, all right? Finances, yes. God says, "Hey, you might be a Christian, the Lord Jesus Christ was made poor that you, through his grace, might be rich". That was the chapter before this. The whole context is finances and God says, "Now, how rich you want? You decide. If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. You sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully". Stingy Christians don't prosper, amen? Are you listening, people? All right, and there are people who are sinners but they're generous and they prosper. So, it is the principle of what you sow is what you reap. I said, it is the principle of what you sow is what you reap, amen? So, it applies to giving and I can show you more than one place here but because of time.
And the other area is to sow the Word of God, all right? Mark 4, Jesus said, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows," the what? The sower, what am I doing right now? I'm sowing the Word into your life and I'm believing God for a great produce. I'm believing God for a bountiful harvest. I'm believing God for great good in your future, amen? Because I'm sowing the Word of God in you. The other one is actually 1 Corinthians 15, which is your body. "The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption," talking about the Rapture, talking about when Christ comes again, we'll have a new body.
But notice the body in harvest is different from the body being sown? Your body is sown in corruption, raised in incorruption. Sown in dishonor, raised in glory. Sown in weakness, raised in power. Sown in natural, raised as spiritual body, okay? That's the only place where it applies. "But Pastor Prince, 'Be not deceived.'" God is not... it's Galatians 6. All right, let's look at that verse, stand alone this verse. It sounds like do not be deceived, that's Galatians, all right? It's Galatians. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap". Sounds like, wow, you know? Really, it sounds like it still applies to Christians because it's the Book of Galatians. Am I right? Hello?
Now once again, please, because my broadcast is always every 20 minutes, I'll repeat a few things again and again because every 20 minutes, all right, the next day audience might not have heard the previous 20 minutes. So, I'll repeat myself sometimes because when they don't hear it, they say that I say there's no such thing as what you sow is what you reap. There are consequences. There was a guy 38 years he was suffering. He could not walk. Now, we do not know what was the reason he could not walk and the Bible does not tell us, but when Jesus healed him at the pool of Bethesda.
Isn't it wonderful there are a lot, you know, the rich, and the famous, and the powerful, when they make, when they enter into a city, they make a beeline for the rich and other people who are famous and wealthy, light attracts light. Jesus, he is truly wealthy. He is truly powerful. He's truly a King of all kings and Lord of lords. When he enters Jerusalem, he makes a beeline straight to Bethesda wherein they lay people who are sick, impotent, maimed. I love you, Lord. That's our Jesus, amen? So, over there, he saw this man who had been lame for 38 years. Jesus says, "Rise, take up your bed and walk". And he walked, amen?
Later on, Jesus saw him in the temple and this is what Jesus said to him, all right, sin, see, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worst thing come upon you or happen to you," all right? N-I-V, N-A-S-B all say, "happened to you". Sin no more, lest a worse thing. In the Greek, genomai, happen to you. Sin no more. Now, straightaway you start saying, "Well, isn't this what you sow is what you reap"? No, read carefully. All right, the word "sin" there in the Greek is "hamartano," which means a certain deed of sin, the verb. It is not hamartema, which is the noun, which means there is a certain sin that Jesus is telling him, "Don't do it again. You have been made well. Don't do it again".
So, we don't know why this guy can't walk, but I'm not saying this is the reason but I know that syphilis, a STD, a venereal, a sexual, sexually transmitted disease, syphilis can cause a man to lose mobility of his limbs in the worst case, which means he can't walk, okay? It could be that, I don't know. I'm not judging this person because the Bible does not reveal and where the Bible is silent, I'm silent. But when Jesus said "hamartano," he was referring to a verb, an action, all right? "You've been made well, don't go back to this sin". There are consequences to sin, how we understand that? All right, in Galatians 6, "Do not be deceived". Let's look at the context, all right? This is the context. Verse 6 to verse 10 I thought it's best for you to see the Bible for yourself, all right? This is the Bible, all right.
Now, the context of that verse, verse 7, we read verse 7 just now, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked". But let's look at verse 6 before that. And, you know, everything must be interpreted in its context. I said everything must be interpreted in its context. So, in verse 6, "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches". You know, the Book of Galatians, this book where these verses come up, all right, it's all about the people of God, Christians, believers in Galatia, they are living grace. Either that or they are actually combining and mixing law and grace. That was the problem in Galatia.
Paul, do you know that Paul never called the Galatians holy? In all the other letters, even Corinthian saints, he called them holy, sanctified. He never calls the Galatians that, why? Because they introduced the law. They are trying to be perfected by the law. He never calls them holy or saints. You don't find this in Galatians, interesting. Okay, nevermind. It is interesting to me, all right? It's like, you know, he never had the preliminary greetings like, "Hey guys, all things are yours". Even Corinthians, so carnal. Corinthians was so carnal yet he says all things are yours, whether Paul, Apollos, all things are yours because you belong to Christ.
So everything is yours, he says. You know, you come behind in no gift, utterance gift. What gift is it? Whatever it is, you come behind in no gift. He's actually encouraging them, calling them all the saints. Many people know 1 John 1:9. Do they know 1 Corinthian 1:9? God is faithful who called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ. It was a carnal church. I said it was a carnal church. But Galatians, Paul start off chapter 1 pronouncing the double curse on anyone who preaching any other gospel. So, I'm not gonna go into that, but just let you know that the problem is that they are deceived. Some teachers came in and deceived them.
So, keep that in mind, they are deceived. Say, "deceived". Paul used the word "bewitched," same word, bewitched, deceived, amen? Bewitched is like cast an evil spell on you. That means after that, what happens? You are deceived. Okay, so here it says, "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches". Talking about giving here, still on giving, all right?
Now, that let's jump right to verse 9. "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart". It cannot be referring to reaping bad things or else, "Hey, guys, don't grow weary while doing good for in due season, you'll reap bad things". No, good things if we don't faint, we don't lose heart. In due course, whatever seeds you plant financially, amen, will come back as a harvest to you. And obviously, he's talking about let him who has taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
The teaching here is referring to people were teaching grace in the Book of grace Galatians, because there were other false teachers coming in teaching, they are trying to Judaize the people, all right, and people are giving them money. Many a times it's motivated by money and Paul is saying, "Guys, you must share with the one who teaches in all good things," amen? Or here it says, "Who share in all good things with him who teaches. The King James says who teaches in all good things, okay? So here, do not be deceived, God is not mocked. That's the context here. By the way verse 10, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith".
So, verse 6, verse 9 and 10, they're all related. It's talking about giving. Therefore I submit to you the verses in between must be referring to giving. Hey, people, listen. I'm talking about context. You take a verse out of context, verse 7, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap," all right? It sounds like wow, it applies generally to anything, but it's not. They were being deceived. The Galatians were being deceived. They were sowing to their flesh, they were sowing to their fleshly efforts, and they were trying their best by their effort to produce holiness. And Paul is saying, if you do that, you will reap corruption.
When Israel said, "We will obey God's law. Whatever God brings, hey, God, bring it on. We are able to". They said that in their strength, they sowed to their flesh because of their energy and strength. The result is not holiness, the result is a golden calf. But sowing to the Spirit is grace, the whole context here, okay? So, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 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 life everlasting or everlasting life.
Now, do you know that your seed can be called corrupted seed, seed or uncorrupted seed. Let me show you this corruption. And in other words, in the context, he was sowed to the flesh is someone stingy. He who sowed to the Spirit is someone generous. And yet, we have this word, "will reap everlasting life," but we all know everlasting life cannot be bought by you're giving. Everlasting life is a gift. So, what does this mean? Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 6, same thing, all right, 1 Timothy 6, "Command those who are rich in this present age, not to be haughty not to be proud, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy".
Okay, I command you all, ah. I know many of you. All right, so command those who are rich. Don't be proud. Don't be haughty. Don't trust in uncertain riches, uncertain notice the word. "Uncertain". But in the living God, watch this, who gives us what? Richly. Come on, all things for what? To enjoy. What a deal, amen? Yes, it's for his glory, amen, but here it doesn't say give us richly all things for his glory. Here it says all things to enjoy. When you enjoy his good things, it's for his glory. "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come".
In other words, there are bad days ahead financially, financially bad days, or financial crisis days, you know, ahead. Now, you are storing up for yourself in your sowing that you will reap in those days, amen? Then that they may lay hold on eternal life. You see that word there? Is it saying that when you are generous, you have eternal life? No, no, eternal life cannot be bought. Eternal Life is what Christ has done for us in the finished work. So, what does it mean here? And a lot of our translators in the New International Version, NASB and that, they do their best because the word there, "lay hold on eternal life".
So, they tried to say, for example, N.I.V. will say true life indeed, lay hold on true life. NASB will say, lay hold on life indeed, you know? When you're generous, then you're laying a hold of life indeed. In other words, it's real life. But let me tell you this, we got a problem here. The word "eternal life" is literally aionios zoe, aionios zoe, which aionios is eternal, zoe is life. So, everywhere else, it's translated eternal life. So, you can see the translators have a problem? If we put eternal life, people will start thinking giving leads to eternal life. No, the answer is very simple. It's found in the words lay hold, lay hold, lay hold. You know, you can lay hold of something inside you?
Hey, look up here, how many of you have had this experience? You know someone is in need, okay, and secretly you bless the person. The person don't even know you bless him. You bless the person, you see the person from a distance, smiling, happy, sharing his testimony, all right, and all the while you are the secret giver. Does that mean that you are robbed of your chance for joy? No, I tell you when you give like this, I said when you give like this, many of you experience this, there is a feeling even of life flowing out of you. You know what you just did? You just reaped what is already sown.
Eternal life is already in you, now you are reaping it in your emotions. Now, you are laying hold of eternal life. How many of you have experienced that? I know that is not a stingy church. I said, I know this is not a stingy church. Many of you, you bless people and when you away, how do you feel? That is laying hold of eternal life, okay? Go back to Galatians 6. So, in other words, same thing, "He who is stingy sows to his flesh, reap corruption". What's corruption? Corrupted harvest? He who sows to the Spirit will reap everlasting life, reap from where? From within you, amen? You are experiencing eternal life in your emotions, hey, even in your body. And that's why Jesus says when you are generous, the light of the body is the eye.
When you are generous, your eye is single. And, you know, Hebraism, single eye and it's found in Proverbs. He that has a bountiful eye is generous, same thing. If you have a single eye, that means you're generous. Your whole body, soma, body, is full of light. I think there's something there. Generous people are healthy. Okay? "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are the household of faith".
So, in your giving, prioritize believers. In our giving to Israel, we prioritize believers. We will send our pastors there to do a search to go around to make sure believers are getting the receiving end 'cause many, many of the groups there, they are doing. But we have a portion, especially means focused on, priority. That doesn't mean we don't do good to people who are non-believers. Even in our nation here, we have been involved in blessing children that have no money to even go to the canteen to eat, amen. We help them, we bless them. We bless many committed projects, but especially, especially those who are the household of faith. They receive so much more. I said, they receive so much more, amen?
And I'm telling you, you want a high, you want a high that never goes dry. You want a high? Be a giver. You want even a greater fix? You get addicted to this giving. You want a greater fix than that high, go higher, you want to go higher? When you give, don't let anyone know. I know it's hard. We all want to give and hang around. "Yeah, yeah, it's okay. It's okay. It's all right. God spoke to me to give to you". You know. Jesus says what? "When you give, don't let your"? Mother-in-law knows, Oh sorry, he didn't say that. He said, "Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing", right, okay? So, you understand this so far, the context? And I said, if you're stingy, you will reap corruption.
Look at 1 Peter now. "We are all born again, not of corruptible seed, people, but incorruptible". So, seed can be corruptible. Same word, by the way, this is a here the Greek word here is a adjective, it's an adjective. Just now in Galatians, it is a feminine noun. So, you can see the difference, but it's the same root word in the Greek. So, a seed can be corruptible, a seed can be incorruptible. And guys, if the doctors diagnose you as someone with no seed or corruptible seed, let me tell you this, the Word of God can give you incorruptible seed.
And don't be shocked, the word "seed" here is sperma. The word seed here is sperma so that's why I'm saying what I just said just now. And the rest of you who are younger, I don't think you are that innocent. "What does he mean, pastor"? So, the Word of God can affect you in the most intimate places. "The Word of God which lives and abides forever". You keep on reading it's saying, "And this word is the gospel preached to you, it is the gospel," amen? Because even the Ten Commandments is the Word of God, but it was the word of God then, all right? Grace, the gospel is the Word of God now, amen? Are y'all learning so far?
So, the thing is this, people, there are even people, you know, why am I sharing all this? Because I see people that I care for, I love. I see the body of Christ and I look at the audience and one of the things I love to do is, look at the audience, whether it's on television, Christian television or whatever, I look at the audience faces and all that, and I'm hearing preaching that is hard sometimes and preaching that's not really meeting needs, not giving them hope. And the person listening is actually feeling condemned, feeling down, feeling bad. And all the while, this is not God's will. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. What you sow, you will reap," and now they are flowing with God, you know? They regret what they did. They have repented, in other words of what they did last year, but they're afraid that one day it will just poom.
So, there is no have evil harvest in your future. I'm sorry if you're looking for it. Blame it on the One who love you. When he died on the cross, he let you reap what he sowed, amen. But he reaped what you sowed. No, the whirlwind is not coming. Did you see the whirlwind at the cross? There was darkness for three hours, and there was a whirlwind of judgment? The Messiah said, the messianic psalm, waves after waves, and we have portrayed that in our animation, all right, so you all know that that's the whirlwind that he reaped. When the Bible says he was wounded for our transgressions, you can actually say he was wounded for our sowing. He reaped what we sowed, so that you can reap what he sowed.
"Well, Pastor Prince, this is shaking responsibility". No, it's gospel. We are enjoying what another has sowed. "Where do you have a Bible verse for this"? I'm gonna give you a verse that a lot of people don't even know where it came from. Ready? John chapter 4. Now, "For in this the saying is true, one sows, another reaps". Have you read that before? One source, another reaps. Who is the speaker? I told you a lot of people don't know this verse. They read through the verse. Is it possible that one sows, another reaps?
We all know, "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. What you sow, you will reap, not your mother-in-law, not your father-in-law, but you, you will reap it. Not your boss, not the enemy that you hate, but you, you will reap". But really, have you heard this? One sows, another reap. You know who said this? Jesus. Cool? Now, he was referring to all the gospel seed, the Word of God that has been sown in some area, all right, context. He who reaps receive wages. Have you ever thought that he who reaps receive wages, that this generation after Christ came, they are actually reapers generation. It's a reaping generation. They are reaping what the prophets of Israel have all sown.
Somewhere, somehow, there will be someone who will represent, isn't it? Jesus says you are the reaping generation, and he who reaps receive wages. I like that. When the Lord says wages, he means wages. Sometimes your wages don't come from your church, it comes from the Lord. God can raise somebody else to give you wages. I want a pastor who is serving somewhere. You think that the world has forgotten you, you know, the body of Christ has forgotten you. You're serving those people faithfully. Those people don't have the financial means to bless you but hey, God can raise someone. We have seen it. Somewhere, somewhere to bless you. And I've seen that happen, it's amazing, all right?
So, "He gathers fruit for eternal life that both he was sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true, one sows, another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored, but others have labored", He's referring to all the prophets of Israel and it's very gracious of Jesus to mention them. Others have labored, he noticed their labor. Love the Lord. "And you have entered into their labors". He's telling them, "You know, you are reaping, you're reaping what others have sown".
Sometimes you keep on sharing the gospel with your colleagues and all that, all right, no response. Few months later, wow, the harvest, they're in church. So and so is in church? Yeah, man, I'm telling you when he was, I was talking to him, he was, you know, so anti Christ. He's in church now. How many times I've heard this testimony? I personally have met more than one person who's not attending our church. When I talked to the person about Christ, it was almost like a stone wall. Now, they're in church so the thing is that sometimes you sow but another reap. Are you hearing? So, the thing is this, the saying it true, one sows, another reap, but the Lord was actually drawing a principle to one big sowing. It's all the sins of the world and then one big reaping at the cross. One sows, another reaps, and there'll be people who are like Job's comforters who will come to you.
Look here, look up here. You know Job's comforters? Job had three comforters, all right? Bildad, Zophar, Eliphaz. Now, Zophar argues from legalistic point of view, all right? He's very legalistic. He does not know that God is not a legalistic exactor. He's a beneficent giver, he's a liberal giver. God is not against you, God is for you. So, he was a lousy friend. Keep on telling him, you know, God, God wants this, God exact this. Okay, the next one is Bildad. Bildad argues about dads, the tradition of the fathers. Well, according to the tradition of the fathers, in other words, Job, you must have violated the traditions of the fathers. The last guy, Eliphaz, all right, Eliphaz argues from what he has seen from experience, what he has seen, from what he has seen, from what he has experienced.
You know of friends like that? You know what he had the audacity to tell Job? This is what he told Job, "Remember now, whoever perish being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same". So, in other words, "Job, you pull out some stupid iniquity somewhere, now you're reaping it. You are, you sowed trouble somewhere, Job. I have seen it". It's so easy to see all these things in others, until it happens to you. Then someone come and say, "Did you sow some trouble somewhere"? How does it feel? I said, how does it feel?
You know, we all seem conscious, even Jesus's disciples. They saw a man born blind, born blind, okay? "Did this man sin," they asked Jesus, "that he was born blind, or did his parents sin"? The first part is really intelligent. He sinned so he was born blind, must be in the mother's womb. He kicked too hard. The next one is that or his parents sinned? I love the Lord's answer, "Neither. I'm not here for that. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world". Love it. I Love it, love it, love it, love it. You know what's the answer? The answer is always point people like this to Jesus. "I am the light of the world". The question is that, "There's darkness and I'm the light of the world".
Let's not ask how it came about. I don't know why these people like to search all these things until the spotlight is on them. Now, there are people against... never mind, it's okay. I won't go into that, no time. No time for that, those folks. Just listen to this, all right? It's possible to believe in sowing and reaping and use it in a way that's condemning people, robbing them of their helmet, knocking their helmet off. Hey listen, I don't care what you did in the past, today can be a brand-new day for you, amen? If you have never received Jesus, when you receive Jesus, I promise you a crop failure. And I promise you another crop, a bumper crop, a heavenly crop, a crop that the world cannot touch because it's incorruptible. It comes from incorruptible seed.
The blessings are all incorruptible, cool? It's coming your way. It's coming your way. It's coming your way. Upstairs are being quiet, so it's coming your way. It's coming your way. There's repentance, hallelujah. All those up at the top, it's coming your way. Oh, the top sounds heavenly. They are nearer to heaven. The Bible says, "Paul was caught up to the third heaven". That's your row right there, yeah, the third-row seat. Let me bring this to a close, all right? This argument about whatever you sow, you sow tomatoes, you get tomatoes, is true, but you must also preach the other one. Even in the Old Testament they have that. How 'bout this verse? Psalms 126: "Those who sows in tears reap in joy".
Have you heard of that? That doesn't sound like, "What you sow is what you reap". You sow tears, what do you have? Waterfall. Am I right? Come on, talk to me. You always reap much more, isn't it? But here, the Lord is saying, big why? Why is this happening? Because of verse 1 of Psalms 126: "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Our mouth was filled with laughter, our tongue with singing. 'The Lord has done great things'", it's referring to Jesus turning the captivity by being a captive. The moment they took Jesus in captivity in the garden, he set us free. He became a captive, he who is truly free. There's no indictment against him. He knew no sin. He did no sin. In him is no sin. Became a captive to set us free.
And that's why I love him. That's why I love to lift his name up everywhere I go, amen. So when that happened, "When the Lord turned back captivity of Zion," Zion always refers to the people of grace, not Sinai, "our mouth was filled with laugher, and with singing". The same psalm says these people, even when they cry, they don't reap what they cry. They reap something positive, something good, something joyful in their future. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy". The Bible said, "That's precious seed". Now, because of time, we are going faster, all right? Are you with me so far? All right, now, the thing is this, the Sermon on the Mount, what is it? Jesus says, "Blessed," okay?
Now, watch this. A lot of people know the Sermon on the Mount from the perspective of Matthew chapter 5. I'm gonna show you from another Gospel writer, okay? And both are inspired, by the way, just let you know. But watch this and see what we can understand. It's still the same Sermon on the Mount. Luke chapter 6: "Jesus lifted up his eyes towards his disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you poor,'" and it's referring, the context there, now, "for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh". "Those who sow in tears", Why? He has come. I said, "He has come".
And he says, "Hey, hey, those of you who are hungry, you'll be filled. Those who are hungry now, he's not saying, "Continue to be hungry". Even in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, he says, "Blessed are they who will hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled". The word "filled" is "satisfied, satiated, satisfied". Do we keep on hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Why do you keep on hungering and thirsting for something you already have? But for them at that time he's saying, "You know what? You shall be satisfied". Because he's about to provide the gift of righteousness.
Come on, people. Or else you shall be satisfied. When? So it's always like, "Keep on hungering. Keep on thirsting for righteousness". No, we have it. At that time he's telling them. So, in Luke, Luke gives you the now. If you're crying now, "Blessed are you, you that are crying now," you know why? "You'll laugh". Are you suffering? "Blessed are you who are suffering now, you shall be liberated". Why? He has come. He has come. He has come. He has come. The Lord has come. And because he has come everything changed.
Let me close with this. Again, you know, a lot of people, I understand, they depend on this to help people. They mean well. They use this verse, "Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap," to try to produce a holy life. But a holy life cannot be produced by fear. A holy life can only be produced by a revelation of the love of Christ. You pray for them that they know the length, the depth, the breadth, the height of the love of Christ, that they might be filled with all the fullness of God.
When war broke out in the early '90s in the Gulf, the Gulf war, you know, people flocked to churches in America. They flocked to churches. Every church had attendance boosted. But after the war was over, people left. You cannot hold a group of people by fear. There's gotta be a revelation of Christ and of his love, amen? I'll close with this. You know, we all know that famous announcement. "Behold," God says in Jeremiah, "I make a new covenant". Say, "New". "Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers when I brought them out of Egypt. No more the legalistic. No more the Mosaic covenant, but a new covenant". And the whole stipulation ends up with, "Because I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness," right?
That new covenant is repeated more than once in the book of Hebrews. But where did he come from? At first, when he first appeared, where did he come from? Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so now I will,'" he's saying, "'so I will watch over them to build and to plant,' says the Lord". Next verse, "In those days they shall say no more".
In other words, up to that point they were still saying, "The fathers have", "They will say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,'" say, "Sour grapes," "and the children's teeth are set on edge". You ever tried vinegar by itself? You feel your teeth is set on edge, right? Except for wasabi. Ooh, that's good, anyway, back to this. "'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But everyone shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge". In other words, your children will not reap, mmm, wow.
Now, don't forget, I said before there are consequences. If you are smoking in front of your children, chances are they will smoke. If they see you drinking, chances are they will drink, all right? They see you watching porn, chances are they will be exposed at a young age, consequence. I'm talkin' about harvest here. I'm not talkin' about consequence. There are consequences. If you just tuned in, there are consequences, y'all, okay? So don't go out here and just, you know, say that "Pastor Prince says there's no such thing as", I never said there's no such, it still goes on. "What you sow is what you reap," still goes on in the world, all right, in terms of the bad things. But for the believer, you use it to your advantage. What is left is only positive. God says, "The deck is clear". It's no more a seed you owe. It's a seed you sow. You don't owe God anymore. Jesus cleared the deck.
Now, how much you wanna put down there? How much you want to? You wanna reap bountifully? Sow bountifully, amen. So, when will this happen? The saying, "They shall say no more: 'The fathers eaten sour grapes, the children suffers.'" When will it happen? "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant.'" This is where it's quoted from. The first time it appears is here, where it ends up by saying, "I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more". Hmm?
Now, one last portion, we will close at the cross. It's always great to end at the cross. I don't know why. My ministry usually ends up at the cross, amen? The cross changed everything. "After this, Jesus," on the cross now, "knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!'" He purposely said, "I thirst"! because he's fulfilling Scripture. He knew that Scripture must be fulfilled. Something, the last thing he fulfilled, you tell me, what was the last thing he fulfilled? "Now a vessel full of sour wine," hmm, mmm-mmm-mmm. What did we read just now? "Sour grapes". Now we see, "Sour wine," okay? This is a extreme form of sin. Sour grapes is still fresh.
When a grape become wine, it's already a process. It's extreme, it's fermented already. So the worst kind of sin. "A vessel full of sour wine," picture that, "was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said," the last act, "he said," in one word in the Greek, "Tetelestai"! In the Hebrew, "Kalah"! In English, "Finished"! What was the last act? No more children reaping what their fathers sowed. No more generational curse, no more. He redeemed us. "Finished"! that was the last thing, the last thing. And he knew when he hung there, "One more, one more thing I need to do, stop this, 'Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap.' Stop this generational curse". And he knew that all Scripture must be fulfilled. "When he took the wine, the sour wine, he cried, 'Finished!' And bowing his head".
Now, there's an earlier part where they gave him myrrh with vinegar, which he refused because that was going to soothe him of pain. That was actually a painkiller. He refused it. He went through the full brunt of all the sufferings for you and I. But towards the end, pure sour wine, he received because it was the last act to free us from generational curse. You're not getting what your papa did. You're not getting what your grandfather did. It ends here because of the cross. There is no bad harvest coming your way, because of what Jesus said, "'Finished!' And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit".
And I always love this. I keep on telling people all the time. Have you noticed that? "Bowing his head, he gave up his spirit". Usually, someone dies first. Their spirit departs, then their head drops. That means they have no power. This is power. He positioned himself for death. He positioned himself, then he, he breathed. "No man takes my life from me. I lay it down". Give him praise, hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place.
Friend, I do not know whether you know this wonderful Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. If you meet me and you walk away, you have missed nothing. But if you met Jesus, like you met him just now through a preaching of the Word, and you walk away, you have lost everything. Everything, every blessing, every good is found in him. God ordained it to be so because God so loved the world that, even though the world had sinned against him, rebelled against him, he loved the world. And the Bible says, "He sent his Son". He gave us his only begotten Son, who came into this world as a Divine Stranger, who breathed the atmosphere of heaven, and the people took this perfect Gift, and they nailed him. And yet, no one could touch him. No one could nail him without his permission. Even death cannot fasten on him without his permission.
So, why did he allow himself to be crucified? Because God ordained, "The soul that sins must die". "Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap". And Jesus, on that cross, bore your sins and my sins. He reaped what you and I have sowed. He bore the judgment that was supposed to be falling on the head of your children, that was coming your way. He received it instead and cried, "Finished"! No more curse coming your way. No more judgment, no more punishment, but there's a great harvest of blessings, of good things coming your way. "And even when you go through the valley of the shadow of death, even at that time, the blessing is the Lord is with you. His rod and his staff will comfort", "He will never leave you nor forsake you". And you're going through, you're not going to stay there. From this day forth, you can have the Lord's constant presence.
Friend, if that is you, wherever you are, the Bible says, "You confess with your mouth Jesus is your Lord, believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved". If that is you, pray this prayer with me right now. Say this from your heart:
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world. I believe that all my sins that he bore have all been put away by his blood. I believe there is no more judgment for me. I believe when you raised him from the dead, it was a proclamation that all my sins have been put away. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. And, Father, from this day forth, I face life no longer alone, no longer in my own resources that are limited, but with Jesus by my side, who will never leave me, whose resources are inexhaustible. Thank you, Father, in Jesus's name, Jesus Christ is my Lord now and forever, amen, amen, amen, amen.
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Have you been blessed? Stand to your feet. Thank you, Jesus. Now, remember, when you share with your friends, your Christian friends, please don't sabotage me. I don't say that "Pastor Prince says there's no more sowing and reaping," all right? Don't say that. These are truths that you need to sit down and show the context. There are consequences. "Pastor Prince said there are consequences". But there is no harvest for the believer. I said, "There's no harvest of bad for the believer". And there is still sowing and reaping by sowing God's Word. It's sowing finances, and reaping bountifully.
Learn to take advantage of that. That is for you, child of God. But when you look at the world, there will be a lot of reaping going on still. Some nations are reaping the consequences of bad sowing. The earth is rebelling with earthquakes and all kinds of hurricanes. The earth is rebelling against man's rebellion. Yes, there are consequences, even on earth. But, child of God, for you, God wants you to make you an example of a blessed man, a blessed woman, to provoke many others. Even those who cannot be won by preaching, they'll be won by envying you.
And that's in the Word of God. "Provoke them to jealousy by the blessings of God on you," especially the Jewish people. The Bible says, "They need to see the blessings on the Gentiles". Lift your hands all across this place. This week, the Lord bless you with the blessings of Father Abraham. The Lord bless your coming in, your going out. Everything you set your hand to will prosper. No weapon formed against you will prosper. Every tongue that rises against you, their words will fall to the ground, completely defeated. The Lord cause your enemies to come against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
The Lord keep you, preserve you, protect you and your loved ones, your families, from all harm, from all danger throughout this week, from every infection, from every contagion, from Ebola, from MERS. The Lord protect and preserve you and your family as they travel. The Lord put you at the right place at the right time. The Lord make his face shine on you, be favorable to you. May you be marked by the believers and unbelievers, may you be marked by them as someone with the favor of God, someone charismatic, someone who has good things happening to them and for them. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and your loved ones, and grant to you and your families his shalom, wellbeing, health, and peace. In the name of Yeshua Hamashiach, the one that he love because he first loved us, amen.