Galatians 6:6-10

Galatians 6:6–10 KJV (WS)

6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Introduction

Getting close to wrapping up this book.

There is one other person that we must include in our spirit-lead interactions. 6

Verse 6 goes along with the two aspects of spirit living that we looked at last week.

We are expected as Christians to walk in the spirit towards others within the church and broader Christian community.

We are expected to walk in the spirit when it comes to the relationship that we have with ourselves, as well.

There is one other individual that we must relate to in the spirit.

That’s the pastor.

Paul says that the one who is taught has a responsibility to the one who teaches.

You want me dance around this or give it to you plain?

You have a responsibility to care for and encourage your pastor.

Spirit-filled church members seek to be a blessing and to the teacher at their church.

This is just one of many NT passages that speak to this issue.

They don’t get dealt with very often because it is awkward for the pastor.

It is in God’s word.

To neglect mentioning it is to neglect our responsibility to teach the whole word.

The awkwardness of mentioning this and the power of the flesh leads to a poor relationship between members and pastors.

The flesh tells us that it is our job to keep the pastor poor.

The flesh tells us that it is our job to keep the pastor humble.

The flesh tells us that it is our job to point out any of the pastor’s mistakes.

The spirit though leads us, according to this verse, to communicate all good things to the one that teaches us.

What is a good thing that we would communicate or share with our pastor?

I don’t know, what are some good things you like to be communicated or shared with you.

Do you like it when someone pays you a compliment or writes you a note?

Do you like it when someone says thank you or makes you feel valued?

Do you like it when someone does something thoughtful for you or gives you a gift?

Do you like it when someone is nice to your spouse or your children?

If those things sound like good things to you, I bet your pastor would think they are good things too.

Whether we are talking about our relationship with other church members, ourselves, or the pastor-teacher of our congregation, there is a general principle that we should remember as a motivation.

The spirit-led life should be motivated by the law of sowing and reaping. 7-8

Let’s consider this in context.

This biblical principle gets shoehorned into all kinds of different applications.

When we consider it in it’s proper context we get a much more focused understanding.

You can deceive your fellow church members, your pastor, and yourself when it comes to your submission to the Spirit.

Everyone may think that you are a yielded individual following God wherever he leads.

You may even believe it yourself.

There is one person you cannot fool.

That’s God.

You cannot mock him by thinking you can pull the wool over his eyes by pretending to be something you are not.

God has established the inescapable law of sowing and reaping.

It is evidenced in nature that what you plant you can expect to harvest.

No farmer worries after planting his corn that he might end up with a crop of wheat.

If we sow seeds of the flesh, we will reap the fruits of the flesh.

Paul calls this a harvest of corruption.

He doesn’t define corruption, but we know based on the last several weeks what we can expect from a harvest of corrupt fruit.

If you live a life of fleshly behavior, you will reap the consequences of your own behavior.

I’ve said it before, but it needs to be repeated, “God doesn’t always HAVE to judge us for our sins, most of the time He just has to turn us over to the consequences of our own decisions.”

For an unsaved person, they are only capable of sowing to the flesh.

They do not have the Spirit of God living inside them.

The Bible even says that their own spirit is dead.

Only in Salvation is our Spirit quickened or made a live.

A Christian, though has another option.

The believer can sow to the Spirit.

This is accomplished by applying the things that we talked about previously.

Walk in the spirit towards others and yourself.

The Spiritual harvest, exclusive to believer, leads to a better and lasting harvest.

The first

What if you are tired of submitting to the spirit? 9

What if the reaping doesn’t seem to be happening?

Yielding to the Spirit is rarely easy.

We understand it is the better way, but the pull of the flesh is oftentimes very strong.

This would be enough by itself to wear you out, but this is not the only obstacle.

Spirit-living is further complicated by the fact that so many others around us are living according to the flesh.

Even other believers can try and convince you that giving into the flesh is actually fine.

Between the constant pull of the Spirit and the pressure of our peers, it may cause us whether the harvest will be worth the sacrifice.

Paul tells his readers not to give up.

Don’t grow weary in doing what is right.

Just as the consequences of the flesh are sure, so is the spiritual harvest.

Though the fruit of our spiritual harvest will last forever, the opportunity to plant will not.

Focus ourselves on doing good. 10

The time for planting will not last forever.

Someday, that person you were supposed to minister to will be gone from your life.

Someday, your own life will be over.

Someday, Jesus is going to come back and take God’s children to heaven.

We do not have an infinite window for walking in the spirit.

It is actually a very short window of time.

While we have time, we must seek to do good to all men.

How many opportunities are there throughout the day to do something good for someone else.

The ultimate act of kindness you could perform is to share the gospel with someone.

There are many other ways that we do good to others.

Some things will be unique to your context.

At home

At the office

In the warehouse

Out in the field

At school

We simply have to have in mind that we are going to look for opportunities to do good for someone else.

If you’re looking for it, you’ll find it.

It may require you to be inconvenienced.

It may cost you something.

Do not grow weary in well-doing.

We are especially encouraged to rally to those within the family of God.

I know that many have taken advantage of this.

We mustn’t let our goodness be cut off because of a few bad examples.

If we are yielding to the spirit we will show goodness to our brothers and sisters every chance we have.

I don’t need the law to hold me accountable to treat my fellow christians and my fellow men right when I am yielding to the spirit.

I want to challenge our church to commit to walking in the spirit.

Even to the pastor.

We will reap what we sow.

We must not grow weary in well-doing.

Our time is short.