Life Choice Series
Not growing weary
Galatians 6:1-10
Good morning church, we are glad that you are joining us and we pray the Lord speaks to you in a powerful way as we gather to hear his word.
Prayer-
We have been in a series called Life Choices-
We’ve looked at the most important choice and that is your accepting or rejecting Jesus offer of salvation and heaven.
The People who are in our lives that will either draw us closer or farther away from the Lord.
Last week, the value of community- The church and the encouragement we offer to each other, making sure we leave no wounded soldiers left behind in the battlefield of life.
This week, to look at not growing weary- The choice to finish the race strong.
Anyone tired at times?
Life is a journey not a sprint.
Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be like athletes and train for a marathon not a sprint, to be able to know what it will take to not only finish but to finish strong. We cannot all finish first but we can all finish strong.
For people that come shooting out of the gate of life and don’t know it is a long haul to the finish line will find themselves growing weary.
If you are not getting the right people around you, or not joining with the local church to get some good teachings and instructions. You will grow weary!
We must realize the freedom we have in Christ is determined by how close we are walking with Jesus
The freedom we have and the wisdom we gain as a believer is found in Jesus Christ!
In Paul’s writing to the church in Galatians 5 He talks about the freedom we have in Christ.
That as believers, we have a freedom that allows us to be set free from the bondage of sin and the Holy Spirit empowering us to live a life for Christ.
Two key issues of a mature Christian (1) set free from bondage of sin and (2) Holy Spirit of God empowering us with His strength and wisdom.
One of the things lacking in most believers lives is knowing who they are in Christ and the power that is available for us to live victorious and purposeful lives.
How can you do what is needed when most do not even know what they are up against!
He tells mature Christians in numerous writings to the churches that once we understand the freedom we have in Christ that we must not abuse it.
That the flesh must be controlled by the Spirit of God and not by our fleshly desires that pull us away from our relationship with God.
Galatians 5 also tells us that we must walk in the Spirit of God and by walking in the Spirit of God that we will not gratify our fleshly desires and do things contrary to the Spirit of God.
To the church at Corinth, Paul really admits his failings and says that what he desires to do are the things he does not do and the things that he does not want to do is what he does when he is not lead by the spirit of God.
Anyone relate to that? Sometimes we fall short and we just cannot understand why we keep stumbling.
Our text is Galatians chapter 6- After we understand and are reminded that we cannot do the things of God without the Lord being in our lives and working in our lives, we see in the text that he gives instruction to the church.
You would think these words would be to unbelievers but it is the church that he speaks words of encouragement that need to be written on our hearts and active in our lives.
Gal. 6:1-10 Read from Bible to the church
Paul knew the problems that can come up in a believer’s life.
The best of people mess up.
The word Paul uses (Paratoma)- They slip up, take false steps) does not mean a deliberate sin; but a slip as might come to a man on an icy road or a dangerous path.
Now, the danger of those who are really trying to live the Christian life is that they could be unsympathetic. But Paul says that if a man does make a slip, the real Christian duty is to get him on his feet again.
The word he uses is used for executing a repair and also for the work of a surgeon in removing some growth from a man's body or in setting a broken limb.
The whole atmosphere of the word lays the stress not on punishment but on the cure; the correction is thought of not as a penalty but as an amendment.
Paul goes on to say that when we see a man fall into a fault we do well to say, "There but for the grace of God go I.'" (William Barclay)
Bear one another's burdens - Have sympathy; feel for each other; and consider the case of a distressed brother as your own. (Adam Clarke)
There is a fine line today with being compassionate and standing on the principals that the Lord has laid out. The key is how we enforce them- we stand our ground where needed and we show compassion when we can. To hate the sin and love the sinner and the end game is always to bring healing and restoration and a relationship with the Lord.
Gal. 6:3
“If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Sometimes we forget where we came from- that we are the result of a process that the Lord has been involved in our lives. Some live like they have always followed the Lord and never made any mistakes or ever been disobedient.
We judge our lives by how many people are worse than we are instead of the standard being that we are matched against a sinless God and all of us has fallen short of the mark and missed the target.
Proverbs 16:18-19 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall”
Someone who is haughty is arrogant and full of pride.
When you're haughty, you have a big attitude and act like you're better than other people.
A haughty person acts superior and looks down on others.
Haughty people are overbearing, prideful, and obnoxious.
James 1:22- “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”
Two important things the apostle Paul highlights here: Listening and doing.
Let’s me say this another way- “For if anyone thinks he is something [special] when [in fact] he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Gal. 6:4
“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Preacher Luther Sexton Customize this sermon
But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another.
If you are taking notes- Test your own actions and make sure that pride does not cause you to be deceived.
II. (7) “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked
A man reaps what he sows! The world may not see it but God is not going to be mocked, we will pay the price for our pride and disobedience.
I think of John Lennon saying that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ- I would never want to make that statement.
This is a familiar verse and most hear that verse and they think of a God in heaven mad at us and just waiting for us to mess up so He can lower the hammer on us. God will one day make all things right-
We will be rewarded for our good deeds and we will get our just punishment if we do not accept His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This definition of deception is to be lead astray.
Do not allow others to lead you astray by their bad influence and bad decisions that does not line up with God’s word.
Illustration-
At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who seemed to know her well. Lady Diana’s failing eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest, until she peered more closely at the magnificent diamonds and realized she was talking to Queen Elizabeth! Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana curtsied and stammered, “Ma’am, oh, ma’am, I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t recognize you without your crown!” “It was so much Sir Robert’s evening,” the queen replied, “that I decided to leave it behind.”
Pride vanity can take us off track
In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”
“A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
What are you sowing?
To sow is to be intentionally planting seed in something and making sure that it grows- what is that in your life?
To sow is to desire that something small now becomes bigger later because you have invested into it.
There are many things! To many to list but I guarantee this- you won’t grow something you didn’t plant. You will never plant beets and grow corn- it will not happen.
You will not see a harvest without planting.
Now more than ever we have to be intentional- there are so many distractions, so many good things that can be a distraction for us when our lives are not in balance and our lives are not centered around what God wants for our life.
Sowing and reaping is a law of God. On the third day of creation, God commanded the earth to bring forth living plants “bearing seed” and fruit (Genesis 1:12).
Ever since the beginning, man has understood the process of sowing and reaping and has applied it for his benefit.
God uses the law of sowing and reaping to bestow His blessing.
God’s blessing comes generally to the whole world as He sends sun and rain to the just and the unjust.
God is God and has the freedom to bless whoever He wants whenever He wants.
Sowing and reaping is also a law of the spiritual world.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” There are natural consequences to our actions. The world operates under the law of cause and effect. There is no way around it: every time we choose an action, we also choose the consequences of that action.
Sowing and reaping implies a wait. Nothing good grows overnight.
The farmer must be patient in order to see the fruit of his labors.
When the Bible likens the ministry to planting, watering and reaping (1 Corinthians 3:6), it suggests a length of time. God will bring forth fruit to His glory in His time. Until then, we faithfully labor in His field (Matthew 9:38), knowing that “at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9; see also Psalm 126:5).
We reap in kind to what we sow. Those who plant apple seeds should expect to harvest apples. Those who sow anger should expect to receive what anger naturally produces. Galatians 6:8 says, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Living a life of carnality and sin and expecting to inherit heaven is akin to planting watermelons and waiting for roses.
Closing (verse 9-10)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
There is a sermon just in this last verse- let us not grow weary-
God sees what we are up against.
He sees the heart of those who are trying to do kingdom work.
Don’t give up- we will see a harvest! These days are challenging but they are also exciting! We are all here for a reason and a season to do what God has for each of us to do.
As this world get more chaotic and away from God, we will see some come to Christ-
As this world persecutes believers for their faith, He reminds us to be a blessing to those who are like minded faith and bless those in the family of God.
Prayer-
