"Sowing and Reaping"

In 1999, Kevin Stephan of Lancaster, New York, was a bat boy for his younger brother's little-league baseball team. During one game, a player who was warming up accidentally hit Kevin in the chest with a bat. Kevin fell to the ground, unconscious. His heart stopped beating.

"All I remember," Kevin says, "is that, all of a sudden, I got hit in the chest with something, and I turned around and passed out."

Fortunately, a nurse whose son played on the team was able to revive him. Kevin and his family later learned that the nurse, Penny Brown, was supposed to be at work that night but had been given the day off at the last minute.

The story doesn't stop there, however.

Seven years later, in January of 2006, Penny Brown was eating at the Hillview Restaurant in Depew, New York, when she began to choke on her food.

"The food wasn't going anywhere, and I totally couldn't breathe," said Penny. "It was very frightening."

Patrons began screaming for someone to help. One of the restaurant employees—a volunteer firefighter—ran out from the back. He wrapped his arms around the victim, applied the Heimlich maneuver, and saved the woman's life.

When the emergency was over, the patron and employee recognized each other. The person who saved Penny's life was 17-year-old Kevin Stephan, the same boy whom Penny had saved seven years earlier.

Sometimes doing unto others as we would have them do to us has greater implications than we might think.

Galatians 6:6–10 NLT

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

I. Teachers and the Taught

- Responsibility of the teachers and receivers.

A. First of all, teachers. Those of us who teach and those of us who desire to teach one day. We are katecheo. Those who are taught are katechoumenos. Instruct and to be instructed. Why are these greek words important? It is where we get our english word...Catechism.

B. According to John Stott… it is understood to be taught in something specific. A body of doctrine. What the scriptures say and what we believe the scriptures say. The Bible and Theology. Since the early church there have been these things that are so helpful, but has been grossly neglected by this generation. Its called catechisms.

C. We are instructed to teach what is in accordance to the body of doctrine of Christianity. We teach the scriptures and we teach what we believe the scriptures say about a topic. The scriptures. Theology. Not getting a lot of this these days.

D. David Platt - “The role of a Pastor or a teacher is not to entertain or use gimmicks to attract people to watch a performance. They are called to teach the truths of scripture.” Why? We are commanded to do so.

2 Timothy 4:2 NLT

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

E. We are commanded to preach and teach the Word. And we are commanded to do it well.

F. In our day and age it is super important to do this because this is what we need to hear. So much lying, so much deceptions, to much of the philosophy of the world to be ignorant of the truths of scripture. We need faithful Bible teachers today who will not tell people what their itching ears what to hear.

G. In the early church. The time of real gospel power and community. They never said or thought or belittled the words of Scripture in any way.

Acts 2:42 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

H. Are we devoted to the apostles teaching today? Remember the context. False teachers were there and they were not teaching the fundamentals of the faith.

I. And what of the catechized? Paul exhorts the instructed to be supportive of their teachers. To share with them… koinoneo. Share what? “All good things.” It is commonly used to signify financial support.

J. Reformer Martin Luther was a bit squeamish about preaching on this particular verse: “I do not like to interpret such passages, for they seem to commend us [i.e., pastors], as in fact they do.”

Reformer Martin Luther was a bit squeamish about preaching on this particular verse: “I do not like to interpret such passages, for they seem to commend us [i.e., pastors], as in fact they do.

K. But remember that the word koinoneo shows that payment to the pastor is not to be understood as a salary here, but more as a fellowship. A partnership. I will work hard in the ministry and share the fruits with you and you share the fruits of your hard work “all good things” with your pastor. Mutual sharing. Fellowship relationship.

Wilson, T. (2013). Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 215). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

II. Reap What You Sow

- The law of great returns.

A. Paul now switches to a stern warning. Paul here uses one of the most familiar experiences of human history. The agricultural process of sowing and reaping.

Galatians 6:7 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

B. One of the most used scriptures in Bible college. We see in horticulture this is an absolute principle and Paul wants us to see 2 different aspects to it. Whatever it is we sow that is what you will reap. If you sow tomato seeds you should not expect to get okra or corn no matter how much of it you want corn to grow. And whatever you sow that is what you will reap. No matter what, no matter how long it takes… it may take a while but it will come up. The reaping does not determine the harvest it is the sowing.

C. This law is true not just in farming, but Paul is telling us that it is also true in spirituality. With the warning God is not mocked. Do not treat the Lord lightly. If you are sowing to please the sinful nature, that fruit is what we will reap. The fruits of the sinful nature.

Galatians 5:19–21 NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

D. The imagery here is not to say that God is upstairs taking note and watching what we are doing waiting to give us what we deserve. Waht Paul wants us to see that moral consequences is natural and organic. Morality has a natural process. Natural consequences. If you sow an insult to someone why should you not think that you will not reap retribution. If you sow/eat fatty foods, why would we not think that eventually we will reap a heart attack? If you sow seeds of sin then you will reap destruction. Sin makes things fall apart.

E. If we sow dishonesty will it not reap broken relationships and bring loneliness? If we sow envy and jealousy will we not reap discontentment and begin the roots of bitterness that will rot our bones?

III. Sowing Well

- How do we sow to please the Spirit?

Galatians 6:8 NLT

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

A.

A. Continued obedience out of grateful joy because we know who we are…children of God. With this is mind, do what is good. Like Paul says that our sins will find us out, because that is what we sowed. In the same way, we will reap the blessings of the good that we sowed.

B. That is why we should not give up. Just because we don’t see immediate fruit, you will in time.

C. Do good to all, especially those of the household of faith.