BE A DO-GOODER
Galatians 6:6-10
S: Mission
Th: Grace-Full Living
Pr: WE ARE TO SHARE GOOD DEEDS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY.
?: How?
KW: Investments
TS: We will find in our study of Galatians 6:6-10, three investments we can make to fulfill our responsibility to share in good deeds.
The _____ investment we can make is in the…
I. SHEPHERDING (6)
II. SPIRITUAL (8)
III. SUPERIOR (9-10)
RMBC 10/1/00 AM
COMMUNION:
The world has always had men and women of charismatic, magnetic and commanding personality…Joan of Arc, Napoleon, Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.
But Jesus was the most magnetic person who ever lived.
He grabbed the attention of those around Him.
He did it not only by the miracles that He performed, but even more by what He said.
He said things like…
I am the Bread.
I am the Light of the World.
I am the Door.
I am the Good Shepherd.
I am the Resurrection and the Life.
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
He was different.
When Jesus was being executed on a cross, He had ordinary men hanging on each side of him.
But He was not just a man, martyr, prophet or teacher.
He was the God-Man, the sinless One—God.
As John testifies in his gospel:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When we come to this table, we recognize that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the incarnate life and the sacrificial death of Christ.
He was lifted up to the cross where He draws us.
He draws us to Himself.
So as we come to the table, we recognize that he draws us once again.
He draws us to remember that He victoriously accomplished the redemption of those drawn in faith.
As the familiar hymn says:
Lifted up was He to die,
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by _______________ let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
_________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Sowing/Reaping (radar trap)
Several years after inventing radar, Sir Robert Watson Watt was arrested in Canada for speeding. He’d been caught, ironically, in a radar trap. To commemorate this infamous event in his life, he wrote this poem about himself:
Pity Sir Robert Watson Watt,
Strange target of his radar plot,
And this, with others I could mention,
A victim of his own invention.
Have you ever been trapped by something of your own doing?
And although you wanted to blame someone else for this fine mess that you got yourself into, you knew that it was your own doing…there was really no one else to blame.
Don’t you just hate that?
TRANSITION:
Today, we come to the end of our official emphasis on discipleship that we have had this month.
At the same time, it must be said, it will not be the end of our emphasis on discipleship.
The topic of discipleship is too important to leave for just a month long emphasis for it is, in reality, to be a day to day emphasis in our lives.
But to review…this month…
1. We have learned that disciples…
1.1 serve one another in love;
True disciples of Jesus lovingly serve one another.
Second, disciples…
1.2 submit to the Spirit’s control;
True disciples of Jesus listen to and submit to the Spirit’s direction in our lives.
Third, disciples…
1.3 support one another.
True disciples of Jesus bear each other’s burdens.
They also tell the truth to each other while humbly remembering their own weaknesses.
The final principle of discipleship that we are covering during this discipleship emphasis is…
2. WE SHARE GOOD DEEDS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY.
True disciples of Christ are to be characterized by goodness.
We are to do good to all as our text says which we will be considering in a few moments.
When we are doing these things, we will truly be “keeping in step with the Spirit.”
But before we consider this, we need to understand that sharing good deeds is an outgrowth of a principle of life:
3. We live the principle of sowing and reaping (7).
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
The principle of reaping what we sow is the principle of consequences.
In short, there are consequences to what we do.
ILL Notebook: Consequence (worms)
I like Mortimer Zuckerman’s advice about consequences when he said:
Don’t open up a can of worms without knowing how to get the worms back inside.
There is another corresponding principle to this that we are also to be aware of.
For…
4. We are to recognize that quantity matters (II Corinthians 9:6).
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
We are called to sow generously.
So if we are to share in good deeds, we are to do that generously.
Our question we are asking ourselves in our study today is “How?”
How can we fulfill our responsibility to share in good deeds?
Well…
5. We will find in our study of Galatians 6:6-10, three investments we can make to fulfill our responsibility to share in good deeds.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first investment we can make is in the SHEPHERDING (6).
ILL internet
There is a story of a circuit-riding preacher whose attire revealed that he had little of this world’s riches. He, himself, was thin and in less than perfect health. His horse, on the other hand, was sleek and well kept. When a parishioner asked the preacher why he looked so poorly and his horse looked so good, the preacher’s response was, “I look after my horse, but you look after me.”
Our text tells us:
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
This verse that we just read tells us that…
1. We are to share (koinonia) in the ministry of the Word of God (I Corinthians 9:14).
Remembering our context last week about bearing burdens helps us to understand what Paul’s point is here.
In order for those who have been given the burden of the teaching of the Word, the body of Christ (the church) is to support them by bearing some of the burdens pertaining to providing for their material needs.
Sharing all good things with those who teach is bearing the burdens of teachers and enabling them to bear their own burden of teaching.
Paul describes this sharing as koinonia.
It means that there is fellowship going on here.
When you provide the means for those who teach you, it is a mutual participation, not a payment for services.
It is a demonstration of our unity and dependence on one another.
Paul reinforces this in I Corinthians 9:14:
In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
This means that…
2. We heighten the responsibility of teaching by giving freedom to study, meditate and pray.
I admit I am a recipient of your good will.
You share in the burden I bear by giving me the freedom to prepare and pray, meditate and research, and study and write.
It is a task that begins every Tuesday.
And it is a task that I carry with me every day of the week.
This brings us to…
II. The second investment we can make is in the SPIRITUAL (7-8).
(7) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (8) The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
1. We cannot ignore God to no peril.
The immediate command is to not be deceived.
The word deceived literally means “to be led astray.”
Deception is as old as the creation story, for it is there the serpent argued against the goodness of God.
The argument of the serpent in the Garden was, “When God pronounces consequences, he’s wrong. He’s unable to do what he says, so you can get around him.”
The argument that you can ignore God to no peril, that you can have it your way and he’ll do nothing, and that there are no consequences of your choices is the first and last lie.
We are not to be deceived into thinking that we will not reap what we sow.
The devil and false teachers would like us to think that we can do certain things and not reap the consequences of those things that we do.
The devil would like us to think that we can do evil, that we can sin, that we can live a wicked life, and still reap good instead of evil.
He would like us to think that we can break God’s commandments and still be blessed by Him.
But there are consequences!
God will not be mocked.
The word “mock” in our text means “to turn up the nose or sneer at.”
It is the description of one laughing at God.
But Paul warns that such thinking misunderstands God’s patience with each one of us.
If we laugh at God, we will reap the consequences of such outrageous behavior.
ILL internet
A man was speaking to his friend Kraig for Kraig knew a lot about gardening. And he said to Kraig, “I have a question for you. I like corn on the cob, so six weeks ago I planted some seeds. I have been watering and taking care of them, and every night I pray and trust the Lord to give me some nice corn. But I have a problem. Nancy, my wife, looked at the little plants sprouting out of the ground and she says they are do not look like corn plants at all. She says that they are carrots.” Kraig answered, “Carrots? Did they look like corn seeds when you put them in the ground?” “Well, I don’t know. They were in a package and, come to think of it, there may have been a picture of some carrots on the outside. But, I figured if I prayed for corn, that is what I would get.” Kraig answered his friend, “I am afraid you figured wrong! The only way you are going to get corn is to plant some corn seeds. You get what you plant! If you plant carrot seeds, you will end up with carrots. That is one rule of gardening that is not going to change.”
You reap what you sow.
And this is Paul’s point as well.
2. If we invest in the flesh, the eventual payoff is destruction (Luke 12:2-3).
Jesus says in Luke:
(2) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. (3) What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
I will probably never again read those verses without thinking about the Starr report.
Four hundred plus pages of shouting from the rooftops what was spoken in the inner rooms, what was done in secret, trumpeted in mind-numbing detail, revealing tawdriness, selfishness, and arrogance.
What was done in secret will become public.
And we need to remember this as well.
Our lives will have an accounting.
Not just for the things that we intend, but for everything.
If we invest in the flesh, that is, a sinful lifestyle, the result will be corruption.
Sowing to the flesh is like buying truckloads of potatoes and putting them in a bank vault, hoping to prosper from them in ten years time.
After ten years time, you will have nothing but a stinking, rotting mess.
You may remember the context of this letter to the Galatians, that Paul is refuting the heresy of the Judaizers.
They taught a salvation through works which logically equated to the works of the flesh.
And the results were staggering.
The fruit of “salvation-through-works-of-Law” turned out to be selfishness and individualism.
The Galatians were biting and devouring each other and were producing the bitter fruit of the flesh: hatred, strife, jealousy, selfishness, party spirit, and so forth.
Instead of working for each other, supporting one another and sharing in good deeds, they were in competition with one another.
But…
3. If we invest in the spiritual and choose to trust God, the payment is eternal joy (Galatians 5:22-23).
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
When we choose to trust God, we become more like him.
In the verses we just read demonstrate the results of when we listen to and are shaped by the mind of God.
Over time, we become somebody more and more like Him.
And the result is beauty of character, security of emotions, and confidence in life.
But the investment is not for this time alone.
The joy is eternal.
When we sow in the eternal, the eternal begins for us now.
Eternal life becomes our possession, not later, but now.
So let us invest in the eternal, and know the joy God has for us.
ILL Notebook: Excellence (out standing)
A salesman was in the country visiting clients and over a couple of days he had to drive down the same dusty road. Each time he drove down the road he noticed that a farmer on one farm was standing in his front pasture with his hands in his pockets looking up at the sky. The salesman did not think much of it the first time, but every time he went down the road, the farmer was always there. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him so he pulled into the farm to find out what was going on. As he got out of the car he was met by the farmer’s wife. "Ma’am," began the salesman, "our country is in dire economic straits and our farmers need to be working hard. But this past few days I have noticed the farmer in your front pasture standing around doing nothing. Can you please explain to me what is going on?" "Well", replied the farmer’s wife, "the man in the front pasture is my husband." "Yes, but why is he not working?" demanded the salesman. "He wants to get himself a Nobel Peace Prize" came the reply.
"A Nobel Peace Prize?!!" exclaimed the salesman.
"Yes." replied the farmer’s wife. "The other day on the news they said that were going to give a Nobel Peace Prize to some one outstanding in their field!"
Well, this leads us to…
III. The third investment we can make is in the SUPERIOR (9-10).
Paul wants us to have an emphasis on that which is outstanding and excellent.
The matters that are good and best are to be the matters we are to be concerned with.
Our text says:
(9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
In June of 1955, Sir Winston Churchill, who was the near the end of his life, was asked to give a commencement address at a British university. At this time he was physically weak and he had to be helped to the podium. Then he held on to the podium for what seemed an endless amount of time. He stood with his head bowed down but finally looked up. Then the voice that years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction sounded publicly for the last time in history: "Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." With that, Churchill turned and went back to his seat. For the longest moment, there was silence, and then, as if one person, the whole audience rose to applaud him. They rose to applaud him because here was a man whose life and words were together. During the darkest days of World War II when country after country was being swallowed by the Nazis, when German planes were bombing English cities into piles of rubble, when the threat of invasion seemed imminent, when even the hardiest of souls was giving up hope, Churchill never lost hope and never gave up. Also, again and again throughout his political career, Churchill had known setbacks. Three times, his career apparently over, he was sent off to oblivion. Three times he came back to lead his country. Here was a man who never gave up.
And so it is with us…
1. We are not to be discouraged and give up.
We are to keep on with excellence.
We are not to give up.
For when the time comes, in God’s good timing, you will get what you planted.
We are not to get weary in doing what is right.
We are not to be discouraged in holding on to that which is excellent, even if others with lesser goals succeed before we do.
We hold on to the good principles that we find in God’s Word.
So…
2. We are to do good to all people, including those that we would not naturally flow toward.
We help those who don’t look like us.
We serve those who don’t measure up to our qualifications.
We assist those who have needed our help for too long.
We support those who can’t pay us back.
We befriend those who don’t understand the concept of our mission and ministry.
It doesn’t matter.
We do good by following the example of Christ, who healed the disabled, the lame, the deaf, and the blind.
And just like He did, we embrace the outcasts, the lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors and their equivalent in today’s culture.
We too are to make time for widows, orphans, and children.
We also are to take the side of the poor, the little guy, and the underdog against those who are rich, powerful, and influential.
Jesus fed the hungry.
He befriended the lonely.
He went out of His way to minister to the sick.
He lived compassion.
So every time we do good, we are simply following in the steps of our Master.
And we work on, for…
3. We are to work hard and plant generously (I Corinthians 15:58).
For we have this promise…
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
There is an urgency of task all about us.
We are called on to endure, regardless of what our present reaping looks like now.
If we sow good, we will eventually reap what is good.
So work hard.
Plant and invest generously.
ILL internet
Someone has written:
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest pride.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway!
APPLICATION:
I was reminded this week of a statement that I have shared with you before and I share with you again.
It is…
1. We are to keep the main thing the main thing.
Our main thing is the emphasis we have had this past month and that will carry on into this month.
2. Our purpose is to “make disciples.”
As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I want you to know that I am absolutely driven to be His disciple, and in turn, to follow His command to “make disciples.”
So when I come before you in this pulpit, I am compelled to preach the gospel because I believe in making disciples.
And when I meet with different committees in the church, it is because I believe that the organizational structure must follow the heartbeat of making disciples.
When I visit people in their homes or in the hospital, it is because I believe Jesus made disciples by showing compassion.
When I confront someone about sin, it is because Jesus made disciples by saying, “Go and sin no more.”
When I ask the leadership of the church to take on the task of rewriting the constitution, it is not to soothe my ego, but it is so that our structure would be free to follow the creativity of the Spirit so that we may keep in step with the Spirit.
When we as a church take on projects to repair or improve the facilities, it is not to maintain the reputation of Randall, but rather it is in recognition that God has blessed us with a building that is a tool for making disciples.
When we talk about our mission in the world, it is in recognition that we have a responsibility to make disciples of all nations, not just the people of western New York.
God would have us keep our feet moving and touch the entire world.
So the question is…
3. Will we invest in the plan God has for us?
I read this week that the difference between mediocrity and greatness is vision.
But to see the vision, we need to be people of faith, with a willingness to do good at every opportunity.
The needs seem staggering, but the resources of the Lord are greater still.
The possibilities that are before us are endless.
All that is needed is a people that are willing to “keep in step with the Spirit.”
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Keep in step with the Spirit…and count it a joy to serve one another in love;
Keep in step with the Spirit…and realize it is a privilege to submit to the Spirit’s control;
Keep in step with the Spirit…and bear each other’s burden by supporting one another;
Keep in step with the Spirit…sharing good deeds at every opportunity, for it our privilege to reap what we sow, for we can have this confidence—if we invest generously and work hard, God will bless.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
