Hang In There!

We're working our way through Galatians, and we're in chapter 6. And we're pretty close to the end here. And our thought is, unless you give us a better idea, we think we're going to go to 1 Corinthians next. And so in March we will have one Sunday where we do a recap of Galatians. And then the next Sunday we'll kind of do an overview of 1 Corinthians, and then we'll move on from it from there. So, starting today, let's talk a little bit about all of the verses that Roger meant, not to spend too much time on the ones we've already covered, but to put into focus the last two verses, 9 and 10.

So, in verse 6, the one who is taught the Word is to share or communicate all good things to the one who teaches him. And as we discovered, when you're taught, you get edified, hopefully, by the teacher. You receive from the Holy Spirit through the teaching of the teacher. And sometimes, and I would say most times, there's a circumstance where the Holy Spirit will reveal something to you that He didn't reveal to the teacher. Your obligation is to share that with the teacher.

It's a really important principle because I have experienced just over the last couple of months where someone will come up to me and say, well, did you ever think about, and it was in the context of either Sunday school or teaching up here, and I hadn't thought about it, and it was really good for me to listen and to hear what they had to say Because that is the center of fellowship in a body of believers. We share the Lord Jesus. We share what He teaches you and teaches me. And just because one of us is kind of standing up doing the teaching, it doesn't mean that He's not busy in the hearts of you.

And so your obligation, and it is an obligation, is to come and share with your teacher. If you don't have that kind of relationship, if we don't have that kind of relationship in our body of believers here, we really lose a lot in terms of fellowship. And this is one of those landmarks that I think we can't let go of. It's a privilege and an obligation for the taught to remember the teachers in love. This has nothing to do with financial support or anything like that, this verse. It has to do with spiritual sharing.

So the obligation is really as much on you as it is on the teacher to be correct. But you can only teach what the Lord shows you, even though I know Roger spends a lot of time, like I do, preparing, and it's a wonderful time because we're alone with the Lord, and we're going through these verses, and we're learning things, and we're looking up what other people have to say, but at the same time we're praying, and the Lord is showing us things. Oh, that's really good, and you put it in there. Well, He does the same thing with you, so share with us. And share with all your teachers. Verse 7, Don't be deceived, God isn't mocked for whatever a man sows, he will also reap.

Now this is a really interesting fact that is placed in the Word of God right here. We might call it the principle of giving and receiving. And the Holy Spirit directs our attention to this issue of sowing and reaping. What it means is that we not only are paying attention to what's going on right now, but we're looking to the future. We're looking to what we're sowing today will reap certain things out in the future. The facts and acts that I do today, that you do today, won't have a different outcome from what you did today. You either sow based on a full focus on the Lord Jesus and His Word, or you sow sparingly. And when you do that, if you're reckless, then for lack of a better way Say that you spew obnoxious seeds in the field. So what do you get back? You get indifference. You get a harvest that doesn't really edify anybody.

And this principle is shown up over and over and over again in the scriptures. Don't be deceived about this. God isn't mocked. So you'll receive. Let me show you a couple other places. Matthew 7, 16 and 17, the Lord Jesus said, you'll know them by their fruits.

Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Answer, obviously no, they're not. So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. The Lord also said, do men gather grapes from thorns and figs from thistles? He declares that every good tree brings forth good fruit. But the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. That's a principle that doesn't get changed or moved around.

Hosea 8.7, for they sow, and Hosea is talking about Israel. He says, for they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads. It yields no grain, and should it yield, strangers will swallow it up. Men who sow wickedness reap the same.

Eliphaz and Job 4.8, according to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble, that's what they harvest.

So, I think this is a pretty self-evident principle within the Word of God. And I think it's something that you don't need to overemphasize, but it's a really important principle. And we do forget it. We do forget it. We sometimes think, well, We hope that some strange or unnatural transformation of our sinful or emotional foolishness will in some way be overruled by God to produce something that's righteous. That's not going to happen.

But whether it be in the case of the unsaved person in the world or the carnal Christian, the inescapable fact is this. What we reap, we sow. And when he talks about God not being mocked, here's what he means. Because this divine principle God put into place, the principle can't be changed. God isn't going to modify it. This principle can't be violated. And the principle is always true. What is the divine principle?

So if God puts this principle in shape here, and we're talking in the context of Galatians, if you sow legalism, you're going to get corruption. If you sow anything to the flesh, you get corruption. Peter, Paul wishes to bring home to the Gentiles that it's hopeless that you think you can outwit God by reaping a harvest different from what you've sown. It's hopeless to think that you can. You cannot please God through legalism. And so if that's what you're sowing, you're going to reap corruption because it's to the flesh, verse 8. For the one who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, and the one who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life."

Important that we walk carefully. Important that we pay attention to this kind of thing. And really not giving ourselves license or permission to be functioning as one who professes to have the knowledge of Christ, but we don't sell Christ. You know, we didn't earn our salvation by our behavior. We received it as a gift. And we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and so we're saved.

John 3.36 says, He who believes in the Son has already eternal life. But he who does not obey or believe the Son will not even see life. But the wrath of God abides on him.

Principle. So we have eternal life in a dying body. That's the ultimate contrast in an oxymoron. We've got eternal life in a dying body, and in a scene where this whole world that we live in is indifferent about it. They don't care. Everywhere you look, there's newly divine implanted nature in dying body people. We're called Christians.

The one sowing in the field of the flesh in the interest of his own flesh, the one is also reaping out of the very same field he sowed in, and that's his own flesh. So when you get to the harvest time and you start looking at the crop, what do you got? You check the crop and you discover that I actually reaped exactly what I sowed. If I sowed anger, that's what I reaped, anger.

If I sowed Selfishness. I reap selfishness. If I sowed negligence or I was neglectful towards the Lord, that's what I reaped. Neglect. If I sow anything that's not of Christ, I get to reap plenty of what is not of Christ. That's the principle. All of this reaping is summed up in one word in this verse, and that verse is corruption. And corruption is a really simple definition. It means being brought into a worse condition than when you first started. So you're sowing, hoping for something better, and what you reap is something worse than what you started with.

Now, harvest time again. And I've been sowing, and you've been sowing to the Spirit. Check the crop. What do you got? You've reaped exactly what you've sown. You have been walking by faith. Christ is the object of your walk and your abiding. You've been beholding Christ through the Word, and now you have an intimacy with Him. You're being led by the Holy Spirit. You're being filled with and by the Spirit. You've been walking in the Spirit. That's the reaping. You have reaped out of the Spirit. What do you have? Love, joy, peace. long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and inner control. That's what you have because you've sown.

So you can sum it up as we summed up the other day as to what is eternal life. Eternal life is a really important part of this whole thing. And eternal life in John 17, 2 and 3 is that the Lord Jesus said, and when he was praying to the Father, and you gave him authority over all flesh. and to whom you have given him, he may give eternal life." And then he tells us what it is.

This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life isn't in a jar in your kitchen. It's not a feeling. It's an intimate, personal fellowship with the God of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what eternal life is. And that's what you get sowing to the Spirit. So the idea of sowing and reaping continues now as we go into verse 9.

But 9 is a caution. He says, Let us not lose heart in doing good. For in due time we will reap if we don't grow weary. The King James says, let us not be weary in well-doing, and in due season we shall reap if we don't faint. We're apt to have begun in the Spirit and seek to finish in the flesh, just like these Galatians have done.

They began in the Spirit, and now they're going to finish it up with legalism. But only that which is of the Spirit will be rewarded in the day of reaping. That's the only thing. That which is of the flesh, even though it might seemingly be religious, will produce only corruption, and it'll bring a lot of disappointment at the end.

In the presence of opposition and conflict, we might faint. We might have a tough time. We don't see results quick, and like Courtney likes to tell us, that we live in a fast food society. You know, we think we can drive into the lane, order what we want, get it, and pay for it, and we got it. Well, spiritual growth doesn't work like that. It takes time. It takes a lot of time. And we might be weary about that. We might grow weary.

But we are encouraged to press on. We're encouraged to be involved in God's due season. Psalm 126 says, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. that he goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with the rejoicing, bringing in his sheaves with him." So in verse 8, Paul is exhorting the Galatians and us to govern your lives with a view towards the Spirit being in control of them. And he exhorts them not to become weary in that course of action.

Weariness is really, you see it everywhere. You know, one of the problems Not problems, but one of the discussions you have a lot of times with other believers is really they're talking about weariness. Boy, you know, I've been at this a long time and it just doesn't seem to be working out like I was hoping it would. A farmer can be tempted to slacken of the exertion by reason of the weariness caused by just working all the time, working every day. and he might faint, which was used of reapers overcoming heat and toil. If you've ever worked outside, especially on a farm, it's tedious work and you get tired. And sometimes you sort of slack a little bit because you're exhausted, you're tired.

So the incentive to keep working is that at the right time, There's going to be a harvest. A spiritual harvest, like I said, doesn't happen overnight. Anything that takes time also introduces a possibility of discouragement. All of us have been in circumstances where we wonder, is this trial ever going to end? Am I ever going to see...

I can make it as simple as running in a 10K race. I ran in a jillion of those things. The joy of the race was coming over the hill and seeing that big sign that said, finish. You know, finish. And picked up your step. Well, sometimes you keep coming over the hill and you don't see the sign. Where's the finish line? So, it's easy to grow weary waiting and maybe give up. And maybe give up.

Word due time means that an exact certain specific time It's not a moving target. God has an exact time and it's guaranteed It's the time of harvests is unrevealed and here's the thing my brother-in-law owns a vineyard up in the state of Washington and And it's really interesting that the day of the harvest, we went up there this year, and we happened to hit it on the day that they were harvesting. And they keep watching these grapes, you know, they watch, well, no, not today, maybe another day or two, and then watch them tomorrow.

And then when the wine master or the vineyard master says, today, we get them out of the field today because they're just perfect. It's the way the Lord works. There comes that day that it's just perfect. We'll get it out of the field and we'll get it to the processor right away.

But if you go three days too early or three days too late, it totally influences how the wine is going to taste in the end, plus or minus. So if we live, therefore, in the light of a guaranteed harvest, however long it takes, soon our Lord will return. Now there's two aspects to this. There's the return of the Lord in which we go to be with Him, and we have this wonderful thing called the Bema Judgment, and that's the day of harvesting. But there's also a daily, a weekly, a monthly, a yearly harvesting, and that is what we just talked about in eternal life.

If I'm working, or I'm sowing, And I'm in a position where I am walking with the Lord, the burden is a lot easier. Because most of my burden I've slid over to Him. And I'm His servant, and I just do what He has called me to do. I don't take on any extra, and I don't slack. But I trust Him, and He encourages me.

There are people in our lives that we really love who encourage us, but there's nothing like the encouragement of the Lord. We don't lose heart. We don't even look at it as being tiring. We can't wait to serve Him because we live under His grace. He never grows weary in showering His grace on us. We don't grow weary in receiving that grace. If you live for the Lord, which we do, then we will receive a rich reward not only today, but in that day.

Those who yield now to the impulses of the flesh, though, are occupied with the things that don't glorify God. Not only do you suffer loss today, but you'll suffer loss then. But I have this vision of what the beam of judgment is going to be like. The reward is the Lord Jesus himself.

And you and I are vessels. And so it isn't that we're going to pin merit badges on us or give us something that we didn't have before. Vessels have capacity. And I have a different capacity than you do and say I'm standing there next to Nick. Nick has great capacity. He's filled with overflowing of Christ and I standing next to him with lesser capacity is filled with overflowing of Christ. I look at him, I'm overjoyed for him. He looks at me, he's overjoyed for me. Every one of us has a God who is creating a greater and greater capacity so that when he can reward us, he can reward us to filling overflowing.

And from that day forward, for all eternity, our capacities will increase. That's a pretty cool deal. That kind of understanding is the kind of thing that will keep us from wearying and knowing that God has an exact due time when he's going to fill us to capacity.

So let us not retreat from the battle nor give up the heat of the day, for in our own For in his own time the harvest will come. James 5, 7, and 8 says, Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until he gets an early and late rain. You too be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. There's an expectancy, and I talk to all believers I talk to, Think that yeah, I think the Lord's coming soon. They have this expectancy in their hearts So God gave a promise to Noah That in the earth there would be an unending possession of seasons and times that's what he told Noah God in Genesis 8 22 while the earth remains seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease and So there's always a sowing time and always a harvesting time. Even so, for believers who faithfully sow to the Spirit, continually a living witness, working and praying and giving, the harvest will come just as certain as the Lord Himself is going to come.

In John 17.3, knowing Christ, and 2 Corinthians 3.18, those are the two verses that I pulled out that sustain us, knowing Christ and beholding His glory in the Word, being able to see Him in the Word.

And there's a resulting, a result of that, and that is the harvesting. I and you are continually being conformed into His very image, into His very image. And He's the one that has sustaining power. He's the one that has that. So an expanded translation of this verse is, let us not slacken our exertions by reason of weariness that come with prolonged effort in habitually doing that which is good. For in the season which in its character is appropriate, we shall reap if we don't become enfeebled through the exhaustion and faint. Verse 10. So then, while we have opportunity, This is the opportune time. Let us do good to all people, and especially to those of the household of faith. We should seek to embrace every opportunity to do good all the time.

Because I don't know if you realize it or not, and some of you are younger than others, and you think, gee, I'm going to live forever. No, you're not. When you get a little older, you begin to think, wow, you know, I may not have that much time left, but what am I going to do with my time? I'm here for one purpose only, and that's to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He's called me to do. And I only get to do it for a specific amount of time. And as you get older, you realize, ooh, time's running out. Because from here, I go to eternity, and there isn't any time, and it never runs out. It's just great.

So there's a certainty. Hamilton Smith put it this way. Let us then seek to embrace every opportunity to do good to all men, especially to them who are the household of faith. There is a certainty of a harvest. The word opportunity here means that in due season. It means that it's a seasonable time right now to do it. It's an appropriate time to be doing something right now. The word have Means that let us be having a seasonable time what it means is it's going on all the time.

Let's just be doing it Do the word do here emphasizes a process of the action and continuity and repetition It means to labor to be active to perform continually and the word good the word good is preceded by the definite article and you know if I Some of you Greek geeks know that when you have the definite article in front of like the word good or faith or one of those, there's talking about specificity.

If I'm talking about houses, I can say, well, there's a bunch of houses on the street out there. I'm just talking about houses. But if I say the house, I'm talking about something specific. I'm talking about the good. I'm talking about something specific. It's spoken in the context of good, which is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit through you. That's the good work.

The fruit of the Spirit and the life of the believer will be communicated to all men with whom we come in contact. We don't live in isolation. Unto means to combine, combines the sense of direction with that action in relation to it. So, none of us, like I said, lives isolated. Somewhere we're all in fellowship with other human beings no matter where we go.

I think we call it today a sphere of influence we all have influences of people that are around us all the time and Believers are bound together in a group in Christ Jesus, but we also have Certain obligations socially and culturally in our sphere of influence.

So, the household of God. The household acquired in connection with the one in the verse is a general sense of pertaining to belonging. And this also has the household of the faith. When I use the word the faith, or the words the faith, I'm not talking about your personal faith, Whether you believe or not, I'm not talking about how faith functions. I'm talking about the whole doctrine of the Word of God. Those who are of that household, the faith, we believe the same thing. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died on a cross for our sins. He was buried and resurrected and He was seen by many. That puts us in this company of those who are of the faith. And what hit me about this is that we as believers should hang out with each other.

We should spend time with each other whenever possible. Before we can go out and show benevolence to people who are not of the household of faith, We've got to become familiar with what it's like to be functioning in an environment of the household of faith. By doing that, we'll be manifesting the blessed Lord Jesus to those who aren't. We learn it in here, though. We learn it by fellowshipping with one another. And if we're going to prove that the Lord Jesus loves us and loves someone who isn't a believer, it shows up in the fellowship of the household of faith. So, expanded translation, and so in like manner let us be having opportunity. Let us be working that which is good to all. The good is the work of the Spirit through us, but especially to those in the household of faith, to believers. So, to close out this section, The Apostle reverts to the general principle in verse 6 and now extending it to include all men everywhere.

The spiritual man is one who seeks things from God's standpoint. The spiritual man who is to restore such a one who's sinning. Therefore he'll not be an inward looking, he won't be self-centered, he won't be indifferent to the needs of other people. So He's the one that understands that as opportunity, let us do good to other people.

And what happens in all of this process? The Spirit of God is in the process, and I was looking for the right word, and I don't think I still have found it, to replicate, and that's the word I came up with, in us, the Lord Jesus, to reproduce in us, the Lord Jesus Himself.

He spent His entire life doing good. That's all he ever did was good, both to those who were thankful and those who didn't care. He was always good. So as we seek by the power of the Spirit to maintain the same attitude towards our fellow men as the Lord Jesus, whether he's a sinner or a saint, we fulfill the righteousness that we have in Christ and the righteousness of the principle of law, that you love your neighbor as yourself. You don't need to pull yourself under law in order to do this. You can only do this under grace.

We only need to recognize our relationship to the glorified Lord Jesus who is our head and He is our very life. And the head of that new creation to which by grace we already belong to it. So we should watch. We should ever be watchful for opportunities to manifest the goodness of God to those whom we come in contact with, and consequently we can magnify the Lord Jesus, who we belong to, who we are, and who we serve. Having been so wonderfully dealt with ourselves, the Spirit of God, how can we do other than to seek to exemplify our dealings with others in mercy and loving kindness which have been shown to us?

I think this is indeed living on a higher plane. Only believers can live there. In this liberty of grace of which the Holy Spirit gives us to all who are at home with eternal life, as we know the Lord Jesus, live under grace, we're at home there. That's who we are. So, John 17, to repeat three, this is eternal life, that we might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

And then Paul in Philippians 3.10 said, that I may know him. Not that he didn't, he wanted to know him more and more all the time. In the power of his resurrection, and in the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed unto his death.

So let's pray. Dear Father, how we thank you for your grace, and what you've done, and what we should, by your grace, seek to know your Son, the Lord Jesus, more and more all the time, which would allow the things that you've asked us to do as your servants will take place, just because we live under your grace and your love. And we thank you for just the opportunity and the privilege of knowing you now. We pray in your son's precious name. Amen.