Diligently Working Together

"Diligently Working Together"

Author: Dr. Neal Gray

Passage: Galatians 6:6-10

Purpose: Don’t lose heart. I know that sorrows

come. But don’t be weary in well-doing. Share.

Do Good. You will reap God’s good promises in

due time. God says it is true! And I believe

Him and His promises. Do you?

INTRODUCTION

Opening

When you stop to look back at the lessons

that your parents taught you, don’t you now

just thank God for their wisdom? At the

time, you might have thought that your Mom

and Dad were just trying to make your life

miserable. But now, those key lessons help

keep you steady.

One lesson that comes to mind for me is

that my parents wouldn’t let me sell any of

my tools, toys, or other goodies to my

brothers. Why would I want to sell what I no

longer needed? For profit, of course. Why

did my parents stop the transaction? Here is

what they said, "WE ARE FAMILY."

==> A simple statement of truth, "We are

family." A lesson that keeps on keeping me

steady, even now that I am older.

Scripture

Our Scripture is near the end of Paul’s

letter to the Galatian church: chapter six,

verses 6-10.

SHARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE WORD

Introduction

The lesson about family was a good lesson to

learn as a child. Indeed, we lived together

as a family.

It is A GREAT LESSON TO LIVE BY as a

Christian leader and follower. In our

church, we, too, live together as a family.

As a family, WE MUST LEARN THE CHRISTIAN

ETHIC OF DILIGENTLY WORKING TOGETHER.

Share Among Family Members

The first thing to learn in diligently

working together is TO SHARE.

Those of you who have the spiritual gift

of giving are right now saying, "Well, yes,

of course. Share. Give, for all blessings

from God are given to you." I’ve known a few

people who are severely blessed with the

spiritual gift of giving. They are amazing

people to be around.

You may not be one of those "giving-

gifted" people, but every Christian must

know that SHARING IS SO VERY NATURAL in the

Christian family life.

Teacher-to-Learner Sharing

In this passage, we learn a very basic

avenue for sharing: teaching others.

Consider those who teach in your church.

The teachers share with you all that God is

giving to them. Your teachers...

* STUDY HARD, that they would handle

"accurately the word of truth," (cf.

2 Timothy 2:15)

* PRAY HARD, that they "may be filled

with the knowledge of His will in

all spiritual wisdom and

understanding," (cf. Colossians

1:9), and,

* LOVE. "The goal of [their]

instruction is love from a pure

heart and a good conscience and a

sincere faith," (cf. 1 Timothy 1:5).

==> Those who accept the responsibility to

teach you in Sunday School practice the

Christian ethic of sharing--IN THE HIGHEST

DEGREE AND IMPORTANCE!

Learner-to-Teacher Sharing

Now what about those who are of the

"household of the faith" that are physically

able to sit and hear and learn the teachings

from their Christian brothers and sisters?

HOW CAN YOU SHARE, TOO?

You can share these "good things"...

* GIVE THEM, (i.e., the teachers),

YOUR ATTENTION for one hour. If you

aren’t at Sunday School, sharing

your attention...well, you know.

When you show up late...well, you

know.

You give your secular employer more

respect and attention than you give

to those who teach you the Word of

God. At least you show up at work on

time. Or, do you?

* SHARE YOUR COMMITMENT with those who

teach. The teachers must be

committed to study and pray. Share

your commitment.

* And SHARE YOUR SUPPORT. Get involved

in your small class. Make it

something grand.

==> We are so very fortunate to have the God-

given teachers we have. Amen? Well, if you

believe that God has indeed given them to

you, then please SHARE YOURSELF WITH THEM.

Okay? All right.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Attitudes are the Father of Actions

I hope you will follow the Christian

teaching of sharing yourself, because your

life reflects your inner heart. Consider

this set of truths, for example:

==> * Your true beliefs set your

priorities.

* Your priorities set your attitudes.

* Your attitudes determine your

actions.

One of my seminary professors stated in

class, "ATTITUDES ARE THE FATHER OF

ACTIONS." Though I wasn’t sure exactly what

he meant--not then--I wrote it down for

later meditation.

Grow Up Spiritually

Just like my parent’s lessons seeming

strange when I was a child, but have become

valuable as an adult; similarly, my

professor’s words are helping me now.

Sometimes we simply must "grow up" before we

understand.

==> So friend, perhaps you can see inside of

yourself that YOU NEED TO GROW UP