The Fruit of the Planting
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Galatians 6:1-18
Galatians 6:1-18
Pray
Remind people of the events that happened in Chapter 18 of Genesis.
Abraham asked the Lord to spare the righteous in Sodom.
He asks to spare the city if there are even 50 righteous.
Abraham goes down to only 10.
If there are 10 righteous spare the city.
We have not talked about the man named Lot for a little bit.
Remember Lot was Abraham’s nephew.
Lot chose to live in Sodom when Abraham and Lot parted ways.
Explain that I am not going to go verse by verse through this chapter.
Move through chapter quickly.
We are going pick out a few things to focus on.
I intend to focus the message on the verses we read from Galatians.
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
We have two angels sent by God to deliver a message to Lot.
The message that was to be delivered to Lot was that the city is going to be destroyed.
Apparently as the Lord surveyed the city, He was not able to find 10 righteous people.
Because of the depravity in the city, the Lord passes judgement because of the rampant sin of the people.
These two angels were sent to bring destruction.
“My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
Apparently these two angels intended to spend the night in the town square.
Lot encouraged them that they should stay in his house.
The language in verse 3 indicates that Lot was incessant that they stay with him.
I believe that Lot was worried about the perversion of the people of Sodom.
The question then is, why did the angels not just bring destruction upon arrival?
Why did they want to wait until dawn?
Later in this chapter we learn that the angels warn Lot and his family about the destruction about to befall the city.
It appears that the angels waited, by the Lord’s directive to allow Lot to prepare to flee the city.
Read V 4-5 from NASB
Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
I am using the NASB translation to read this verse aloud.
This translation is a bit more appropriate due to the fact that we have young ones in our congregation.
The men of Sodom came to the house of Lot.
Men young and old.
They were looking for these two angels.
They were desiring to have relations with the angels.
It is what it sounds like.
There are a number of speculations as to why the men of Sodom were lusting after the angels in this way.
I am not going to comment on the theories at this point.
Suffice it to say that these verses depict the total depravity of humanity if left unchecked.
This is a thought that I want to talk about for a moment.
We can see in out society a drive to eradicate tradition.
A drive to erase the past or to alter history.
Click #1 and #2
1. We see a push to redefine terms and what was once held as common understanding.
2. Christianity is being spoken about as a faith of the past.
It is something that is not in conformity to modern, WOKE thought.
WOKE is defined as being aware of social injustices.
It sounds noble.
Click #3
3. WOKE: an effort to embrace and change the injustices that are perceived, traditional, Biblical morality is replaced personal preferences.
The society wants to do this to further entice people to walk in sin.
Remove the standards and anything goes.
This is the attitude of some in our society.
Eric Zuck made the comment -
Click #4
4. Sin is celebrated as an identifier of individualism.
Therefore perameters to dictate how one should behave in a society are old fashioned and should be eliminated.
What do you think will be the result of a society that continues down this path?
Sodom
Click #5
5. Sodom is the end point of a society that rejects the Biblical standards of God.
Sodom is the result of a people who are given over to unfettered sin.
To allow a people to openly, without standards live life based on personal preferences, we get Sodom.
Our society is headed that way right now.
The rights of criminals and drug abusers is often elevated over the rights of law abiding citizens.
Look at some of the more liberally led cities.
Philadelphia and Kensington Ave.
This is considered the largest open air drug market in the U.S.
N.Y. Times article refers to Kensington Ave in Philly as the WalMart of Heroin.
Yet many of these cities provide resources to continue and even enhance drug abuse rather than developing ways to deliver people out of abuse.
Rather than standing on the Gospel.
The Gospel of deliverance, because it is only the Salvation of Jesus that can equip us to step out of sin.
This is just one aspect of our society.
Allowing sin to go unchecked, leads only to Sodom.
EXPLAIN Genesis 19:6-9
Not going to read the verses aloud.
For the sake of the younger ones in the congregation.
Not disrespectful to the Word.
The men of the city continue to try to break the door of Lots house down.
Lot offers an alternative to the plan of these men.
I have no answer for verses 8 other than to point to the vile sin that permeated the people.
This chapter is horrific if you think about what was taking place.
It is one of those chapters that would be easier to skip.
Click #6
6. The reason we have Genesis 19 in our Bible is to point to the depravity of the sinful heart.
God is showing us just how perverse the unrepentant heart can be.
He is showing us how evil we can be if we are allowed to go unchecked.
God is demonstrating to us how much there is a need to have a standard of morality.
Without this standard we regress to unbridled perversion.
Summarize Verses 11-13
These men of the city tried to break into Lots home.
The angels seeing what the men intended to do struck them with blindness.
The angel then warn Lot to prepare to escape the city because they have come to bring destruction.
Summarize verses 15-23
The angels instruct Lot and his family to flee because they are about to bring destruction
They encourage Lot and the family not to look back.
This is a vital reminder we will talk about in a moment.
Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Click for pic of Sodom
Click #7
7. God poured out judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah due to the depravity in the hearts of the people.
Lot and his family were able to escape the judgement, but in the process of fleeing, Lot’s wife turns back to look at Sodom.
Remember the angels specifically instructed them not to turn and look back.
Click #8 and 9 keep in question what is the lesson
What is the lesson here?
8. God has the power and the authority to deliver us from sin.
9. God also has the power and authority to destroy sin.
When we are delivered.
When we turn to God in faith and He instructs us to be rid of sin.
To escape its influence and grasp on our lives, we cannot look back.
We cannot turn to look at the place from which we were delivered, because we could be drawn back.
This was the folly of Lot’s wife.
She longed to return to the place that she had left.
She longed to be back in the place that was familiar.
What is the lesson with Lot’s wife?
When we are delivered from sin, don’t turn back.
Click #10
10. Don’t look back and long to return to that which you have been delivered.
Continue to press forward.
Continue to choose to walk Before God, as we talked about a few weeks ago.
Walk before God and He will make us blameless, whole, complete and lacking nothing.
Choose to set your eyes on things above, the promises and hope of God.
Rather than the depravity of this world.
Turn to Galatians
Galatians 6
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.
First thing that Paul addresses is correction in our sin.
If we fall victim to sin, we should be corrected.
We should immediately call out to God for help.
We are all sinners by nature, and we need the correction of God, not coddling.
It is the responsibility of the church to help correct and bring to restoration anyone who falls victim to sin.
This is to be done in gentleness, but with the authority of God.
We need to be confronted and restored.
We cannot be allowed to wallow in depravity.
We are called to be delivered from wickedness.
We are called to walk away from the perversion we see in our society.
We cannot to partake in it or look back upon it longing to participate.
We are to be different.
We as a society and I would also add the church in many ways, have completely flipped correction upside down.
Rather than correction and restoration we preach open acceptance and celebration of sin.
In repentance, we should restore a brother or sister in compassion remembering that we are just a choice away from falling victim to temptation ourselves.
Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
Stewardship.
Paul is talking about using the gifts that we have been given to serve God.
Look at verses 7-11
These are the verses that I want to focus on and tie back to Genesis.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 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. 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. See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
Paul states in verse 11, that he is writing in such large letters.
It is kind of like when we type in bold with all caps.
Meaning this is serious.
What Paul is trying to emphasize:
Click #11
11. What we sow in our heart, we will also reap a harvest.
It is very clear that in the city of Sodom, they chose to sow evil.
Because they sowed evil, they reaped the harvest of Judgement.
The sowed to please the flesh.
And they reaped destruction.
The same principal applies to us.
What we sow we will reap.
If we sow that which pleases the flesh.
If we sow seeds of sin and wickedness in our heart.
We will reap a harvest of sin and wickedness.
Ultimately the harvest that comes from an wicked heart is destruction.
On the other hand, if we sow seeds of truth.
If we sow seeds of faith in our heart, the Lord will cause us to reap a harvest of holiness and righteousness.
The hope of the Lord will pour forth from us so that we are a light and source of truth to this world.
To close out this chapter, we will just read the remainder.
Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
The emphasis in these verses is that we have hope in Jesus.
Paul states that our hope comes from the cross of Christ.
Click #12
12. Jesus is the hope of our Salvation.
Let us find confidence and boast in this truth.
Benediction: Hebrews 13:20-21
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.