you do do you you Good morning to everyone. A very warm word of welcome this morning to our annual harvest services, and we trust that the Lord will meet with us and bless us as we give thanks unto the Lord for His bountiful provision. It has been an uncertain time throughout this year, and yet we can lift our Ebenezer unto the Lord and say, hitherto hath the Lord helped us, and He has provided for us for our temporal and physical needs thus far. We want to give him thanks for that and praise his name for his provision and learn the lessons from the harvest. We're going to commence by singing a hymn, Sing to the Lord of Harvest, sing songs of love and praise with joyful hearts and voices, your hallelujahs raise. We'll keep our seats while we sing this hymn unto the Lord. My voices will never be restrained. I am the glory of salvation, the pride of the world. Sing to the Lord above. ♪ Birds will have spring ♪ ♪ The hills will grow in gladness ♪ ♪ When the leaves have all sprung ♪ And I'm standing here with you. ♪ Stayed on me for me ♪ ♪ With heav'nly sweetly calling ♪ ♪ And with her eyes adoring ♪ ♪ Gave his life for all ♪ ♪ True mother, gracious mother ♪ is Now let us stand, those that can, let us stand to our feet and we will seek the Lord together in a word of prayer and commit our way and our service this morning and for the rest of the day unto the Lord. Our gracious and eternal Father in heaven, with all reverence of heart, we approach Thee, the triune God of heaven and earth. We approach Thee as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and we approach Thee understanding that Thou art God. Beside Thee, there is none else. Thou art the eternal Spirit who created all things. We recognize that without Thee was nothing made that was made. And Father, we come to Thee as creatures of Thine, created in Thine image, fallen in Adam, yet redeemed in Christ. And though in Adam all die, yet we thank You that all in Christ shall be made alive. We want to bless Thee and thank Thee for the work of our Redeemer, the eternal Son of God who became man, so was and continueth to be God and man in two distinct natures, but in one person forever. We thank You that He took a real human body and human nature. We thank You that He suffered there at the cross of Calvary, and He suffered to redeem us unto God. We thank You, Lord, for the drawing power of the Spirit of God that convicted us of our sin, that showed us the beauty and the glory and the work of Jesus Christ as the only means of saving our soul, and granted to us in salvation the gifts of repentance and faith. This morning, Lord, we thank Thee that on the basis of Christ's work, we can come before Thee to worship, to praise, to give Thee thanks, knowing that our worship is acceptable unto Thee through the Son of God, the only mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning, Lord, we want to give Thee thanks for the harvest. Thy Word tells us that He maketh the sun to shine on the evil and the good. And Lord, we praise Thee that Thou hast promised after the flood that seed time and harvest, summer and winter, cold and heat, would not cease while the earth remaineth. And we praise Thee, Lord, that while the earth remains, the promise of God stands true for all humanity. that there will be a provision on this earth for God's creation. And Lord, while many will not acknowledge that their food, their clothes, their provisions, their homes, these materials and blessings come from thee, yet today, Lord, we want to bow the knee and bow the heart and say, Lord, Every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. And so we say, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Lord, how quickly we confess our sins this morning. How quickly we are to forget that Lord, Blessings of life are from our Heavenly Father. Forgive us for our many and our oft sins. Forgive us for the sin of forgetfulness. Lord, I'm not giving thee the thanks and glory that thou art due for providing for us. Lord, we praise thee for our food, for our clothing, for our homes, for every good and perfect gift. And we pray, Lord, that our praise would be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our Redeemer. Do bless our service today. We thank you for thy servant who has come into our midst. We pray that thou will bless him as he proclaims the word of God this morning, as we gather again in thy house this evening for the gospel harvest service. We pray that thy presence will be known throughout the day. We pray again for those that are in need, those that have personal battles or illnesses or heartaches to endure. We pray that the God of peace will be with them and that that will comfort them in their trials at this time. We also pray for the unconverted. Lord, grant us tokens for good, signs and seals upon the ministry of thy word. Paul could say to the Corinthians, the seal of mine apostleship, are ye in the Lord. We pray that thou wilt seal the ministry here in Bethany with the salvation of precious souls. And what we pray for this congregation, we pray for every faithful witness to Jesus Christ, that thou wilt give truly a spiritual harvest. As we plant the seed, as others may water it, may God give the increase and precious souls be born again of the Spirit of God. Father, undertake for us, remember those that are out of Christ. Save them, we pray. We take a moment too to pray for those that mourn. We pray for the Lutton and Venard homes and households this morning. We ask especially for our sister Shirley. She mourns the passing of her mother, that thou will give grace and help at this time. Lord, we felt for every family that has mourned from this time of shutdown and lockdown. For Lord, the circumstances make the pain even more difficult. We pray that thou will stand with this family and as they, Lord, say farewell or bury their loved one tomorrow. We pray that thou will be with them to comfort and bless. Thank you that Mrs. Lutton is with the Lord. Thank you that she left a sound testimony to the grace of God in her life. And Lord, we pray that this might be a comfort to her loved ones now and in the time to come. Continue with us this morning as we worship thee. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. And as we Take our seats this morning, can we turn in God's Word to the book of Galatians and the sixth chapter, Galatians chapter six, and reading together from verse one. Galatians chapter six, and reading together from the opening verse. Galatians chapter 6 and the verse 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest I also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word Communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall off the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Let us not be weary in well-doing, For in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. You see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised. Only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me. and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them and mercy upon the Israel of God. From henceforth, let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the mark of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Amen and may the Lord bless the public reading of his inspired and infallible word to our hearts this morning. We want to bid each one a very warm word of welcome. It's lovely to see you in the Lord's house this morning and we trust that God will indeed bless you as we worship him at this season of the year. Let me give a very special welcome to our guest preacher this morning, the Reverend James Porter. He's no stranger to us. He ministered in Market Hill for many years, but in recent times, just a couple of years now, he has been ministering in Bethel and in Iskillen, and we trust the Lord will bless his ministry there. And as he's come this morning to preach God's Word here, that the Lord will help him. Now do please remember that the first Sabbath of the month is the monthly offering for the missionary council. And let me just remind you again, sometimes I feel like I'm the pirate or the broken record, but it's just to keep things clear. The general church offerings are placed in the blue offering bags. Those are the bags that normally would have been passed round but due to COVID-19 we have no offering in the service. So the general church offerings are in the blue bags in the hallways and then the special monthly offerings are in the wooden boxes and the wooden box is there this morning and any money placed in the wooden boxes this morning are for the Missionary Council of the Free Presbyterian Church. Tonight at seven o'clock is our evening gospel service, and we will be here in the church this evening. Our drive-in services have come to a conclusion, and for those who helped, supported, and attended those services, we want to give a word of thanks. This evening, we have our evening gospel harvest service here in the church. God willing, I will be the preacher, and Mr. James Gailey will be the soloist. Now, usually we had a Monday night Harvest Thanksgiving service and I had the Reverend McClung from Newton Abbey and the Newton Abbey Male Voice Choir booked for that tomorrow night, but we felt with the circumstances, trying to cut down on the number of meetings, we would forego that meeting and we've rolled that over to next year. So there's no Harvest service tomorrow evening. However, the Ladies' Fellowship tomorrow night at 8 p.m. are going to meet for a trial meeting and the ladies if you have any questions about that if you see contact or sister Pauline and she will give you any details or any help with that meeting and the speaker tomorrow night for the ladies is Mrs. Gillian Gamble. Tuesday at 7.30 there is a meeting in the Dr. Eliot Memorial Hall for the session and committee and if the office bearers could take note of that. Wednesday night at 8 p.m. here in the main church for our weekly prayer meeting and I will lead and conduct that service. And then on Friday night at 8 p.m. Back in the Dr. Elliott Hall, the bi-weekly youth meeting. Just a note for the parents and young children, the meetings now are bi-weekly, so there's no children's meeting in Sunday school on Friday night, but it will be the bi-weekly youth service at 8 p.m. Services next Lord's Day, 11.30 a.m. and 7 p.m., and I will be the preacher at both services. The final announcement that we have to make, as I mentioned in prayer as a congregation, we want to express our deepest Christian sympathy to Mrs. Shirley Venard on the passing of her mother, Mrs. Dorothy Lutton. Dorothy was also a communicant member here although she hadn't been to the services in quite a number of years and sadly Dorothy passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning. To Shirley and to the family we extend our sympathies. The funeral service is here in the church tomorrow. at 1pm. Social distancing will be observed but you are welcome to attend that funeral service tomorrow. The grave will be private but the service here is an open service. These are all the announcements and they're made subject to the will of the Lord. Our brother Michael Briggs consented at short notice to bring a message in song and we'll ask him to come now. Thank you for doing that and Michael is going to do that now. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'm on, am I? Yes. Listen, here to give thanks today for the harvest and the fact that we're even here and that we have our health and strength. As we verse in Psalm 100 and the verse number four, be thankful unto him and bless his name. And that's what we're here to do today. So I want to sing a wee song, and it just says, give thanks. Give thanks with a grateful heart Give thanks to the Holy One Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son Give thanks the grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son. And now let the weak say, I am strong. Let the poor say, I am raised because of what the Lord has done. Let the weak say, I am strong. Let the poor say, I am rich. Because of what the Lord has done. Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son. Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son. Let the weak say, I am strong. Let the poor say, I am rich because of what the Lord has done. Let the weak say, I am strong. Let the poor say, I am rich. Because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thines. Give thines. things. Well we thank Michael for ministering to us in song and may the Lord give to us a thankful spirit and may we come before his presence with singing in our hearts and with thanks from our hearts and our lips. We do welcome again most sincerely to our pulpit the Reverend James Porter. I'm going to ask him to come now and bring to us the message that the Lord has laid upon his heart for this morning. I'd ask you to turn again, please, in God's Word to that passage of Scripture that our brother read for us earlier, to the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter number 6. Just while you're looking that passage up, I'd like to thank your minister for the kind and warm words of welcome to come along here this Lord's Day morning. and to share in your harvest Thanksgiving weekend. It's nice to renew fellowship with her brother and with you as a congregation here, and our prayer is the Lord will richly bless you as a church and as a congregation in all your endeavors for the Lord. Certainly things have maybe been different and maybe more difficult in recent times to do the work of the Lord, but every extremity of man is an opportunity for us to prove the grace and the power of God. And we pray the Lord will bless you today here, if you're a believer, that you'll be encouraged afresh in the Lord. And if you're here today and you're not saved, most importantly of all, that even today you'd come and put your faith and trust in the Lord for salvation. Now, the text of Scripture that the Lord has laid upon my heart for this harvest meeting this morning is the verse number nine of Galatians chapter number six. I'll just maybe read that verse with you again. And it says, and let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. We'll just bow our heads in a wee word of prayer and ask for God's help and blessing. in His Word today. Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee, Lord, for Thy presence with us already, Lord, in this meetinghouse today. Lord, we thank Thee that we can praise Thee for the harvest and Thy bounty and Thy care toward us. Every good and every perfect gift comes down alone from Thee. We thank Thee for the ministry and song and the reading of Thy Word. And Lord, help us to be thankful unto the Lord for every blessing in life. We do thank the Lord for this congregation. Bless thy servant here who labors, and every office bearer and member and friend of the congregation. May the hand of the Lord's blessing be upon them, even in this autumn season of the work of God. We thank thee, O God, that thou art the Lord of the harvest, and though one may sow, and another may reap. It is God and God alone that gives the increase. Bless thy servant. Bless every aspect of the work of God here. May pray that in days that lie ahead, they'll see seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. And that even, Lord, in these difficult days in which we live and seek to labor, Lord, for thee, that we'll see many precious souls saved by the grace and power of God. and thy people blessed and built up in the ways of the Lord. Do us good now, we pray, as we consider thy word. Lord, open up our hearts like Lydia of old to attend to thy word. Lord, write thy word upon our hearts. Write it, O God, upon our souls, O God, we pray. And Lord, our prayer is that each and every one of our lives today would be affected and changed by the word of God. Bless all who have gathered today, Lord. We thank Thee for every boy and girl and young person and older person in the meeting. Encourage and strengthen every believer in the Lord. For any, Lord, that might be cold at heart, Lord, give restoring grace that comes alone, O God, from Thee. And for any with us today as still outside of Christ, still on sea of lost and undone, Lord, speak to them today, O God, we ask. and may this day be the day of their salvation. Fill me afresh with the Holy Ghost, with the power of God. Cleanse me from all sin. Let the word of the Lord have free course. And bless thy word and thy truth to every heart and soul in this meeting, we pray. For we ask these things for Jesus' sake and for thine eternal glory and praise. Amen and amen. Now, as a result of the Lord's goodness, the harvest season is upon us. Yes, favorable weather in recent weeks, especially during the month of September. has meant that the harvest has been safely gathered in. I know around where we live in Fermanagh, there's not much left in the fields. Now, farmers have been busy in recent weeks gathering in the last crop of silage, and there's very little left in the fields. And the fields are dry and in good order, and we thank the Lord for that. Indeed, once again, yes, as a nation, We have witnessed the fulfillment of God's great promise that, while earth remaineth, there shall be seed time and a harvest time. Yes, this weekend here as a congregation, you're publicly giving thanks to the Lord for another harvest. Indeed, the psalmist says it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It is a witness to the Lord for His goodness and His mercies, and a witness for the Lord's honor and glory to the community here and to those outside the church. But friends, this morning here in the words of our text in Galatians chapter 6 and the verse number 9, we find words that relate to another harvest. And this harvest really concerns the believer, the child of God, and in particular, their work for the Lord. In the early chapters here of this book of Galatians, the apostle Paul is really highlighting and promoting the great doctrine of justification by faith alone in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. If you turn back to Galatians chapter number 6, or Galatians chapter 2 rather, in the verse number 16, you'll see there how he makes reference to that. He says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, But by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And there in that verse, Paul makes reference to this great word, a great gospel word. The word justified, or if you like, the word justification. What does it mean for a person to be justified, or to know the blessing of justification in their heart and in their soul? Well, justification really means a sinner, whoever he is, whoever she is, knowing the forgiveness of all of their sins, past, present, and future through Christ. Justification, yes, means a sinner, whoever they are, whatever their background is, wherever they come from in life. It means them knowing acceptance with God, their Maker and their Creator. It means them being brought into a state of standing of righteousness before God and declared righteous in the sight of a holy God. The righteousness of Christ is put to their account. And they are accepted before God, the great God of eternity who is infinitely holy. through Christ, through the righteousness of Christ, accepted before God here on earth and then one day accepted into God's immediate presence in heaven itself. Maybe I'm speaking to one in the meeting this morning and you're not saved. You know not the Lord as your Savior. You've never known the forgiveness of your sins. As you sit in this meeting today, you have no assurance of heaven in your soul, no assurance of everlasting life, no assurance in your heart and soul that things are right between you and God, between you and your Maker. Well, dear friend, I would say to you today, praise God through Christ. through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world and died for guilty sinners upon the cross through faith in Him and in His shed blood that He shed for sinners upon the cross of Calvary. No matter who you are, no matter what your sin is, no matter what your sin has been, you can know the forgiveness of all of your sins before Almighty God today. You can know that blessed assurance of eternal life and a home in heaven. And as the hymn writer says, that all is well with your soul between you and God. But dear friend, to know that blessing, you must come to Christ. Come as a repentant sinner unto Christ and put your faith and trust in Him alone and rest upon Him alone. for your salvation. If you're not saved today, that would be our prayer today. The Bible says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, that is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. There's nothing more important, I tell you, in this life, in this sight of eternity, than for you to have that assurance in your heart and in your soul that your sins are blotted out, blotted out by the blood of the cross, by the blood of the eternal Son of God, and that you are accepted before God, not through anything of yourself or of man or through a church or man's self-righteousness, but through the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He who is none other than Jehovah Sekenyu. And that's the great truth that Paul is promoting. and presenting and proclaiming in the early chapters of this book of Galatians. But whenever we come to Galatians chapter number six, the final chapter in the book, you see here that Paul is dealing with a matter of good works in the life of the Christian, in the life of the person who is justified through Christ before Almighty God. Yes, the life of every believer is to be marked by good works. The Bible says that the believer is saved unto good works. James, speaking to the Christian in his epistle, says, I will show thee my faith by my works, and faith without works, says James, is dead. It's a dead faith. No life in that faith. But he says that when a person is saved by the grace of God, their life is marked by good works. before the Lord. And in verse 9 here in particular of Galatians chapter 6 here, Paul is speaking about the work of well-doing in the Christian life. He says, Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. He speaks here of the life of the Christian being marked by well-doing. But as well as reminding the Christian here that his life is to be marked by good works or well-doing, These words, they also tell the Christian about harvest time and God's work. Yes, Paul here was telling the Galatian believers that if they faithfully lived for Christ and faithfully labored for the Lord, then they would reap a spiritual harvest. Then they would see and know harvest times in the work of God in their day and generation in which they lived and sought to serve the Lord. No doubt he was seeking to encourage them through this thought as he writes here in his day and generation. You know, these words not only were an encouragement to the believers in the day of the apostle Paul, I believe also that these very same words, they serve as a great encouragement to every child of God today. They serve as an encouragement to every branch of the church of Christ today. Why do we say that? Well, we say it because of God's law of the harvest. You see, because of God's unalterable law of the harvest, faithfulness in God's work, it leads to blessing. My, it leads to spiritual fruit and reaping in the work of God and the cause of Christ. Yes, Galatians 6, verse 9, yes, reminds the Christian about harvest time in the work of God. And that's really the theme of our message today, harvest times in the work of God. We'd consider then these words of Galatians 6 verse 9. There are three things I want you to notice here in relation to harvest times in the work of God. Notice first of all with me here, notice the believer's duty. It says there, "'Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.'" And there you see that the life of every believer is to be noted and marked by this well-doing as is mentioned by Paul in our text. What does this mean? What was Paul getting at when he spoke here of the believer's life being marked by well-doing? This well-doing really concerns the believer, yes, worshiping the Lord. It concerns the believer living for the glory of God. It concerns the believer turning his back upon sin and the ungodly ways of this world. The psalmist speaking to God's people says, give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. You think of what the first statement in a shorter catechism says, it says, man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Paul writing to the church at Corinth says, whatsoever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God. Dear believer in Christ in our meeting this morning, let me say this, that this work of well-doing, yes, it means you and I. seeking to live for God's honor and glory. Yes, it means you and I turning our backs upon sin and the ungodly ways of this world. It means you and I seeking to worship the Lord, and in particular in these days in which we live, keeping the Lord's Day, the Sabbath Day, set apart for the worship of our God and the worship of our Savior. We can say also further this morning that this work of well-doing, I believe it also relates to the believer living in fellowship with God, and surely that involves prayer. The Bible says that men ought always to pray and not to faint. And it also means in the life of the believer, the reading of God's Word and meditating upon the Word of God and heeding the Word of God. Remember what Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. Dear people of God, if our lives are to be marked by well-doing, then we must give place to prayer in our lives. How important it is in the age in which we're living, how important it is, Christian, there's a time in your life day by day for prayer, for feeding your soul upon the Word of God. How important it is, dear believer, that you make it your business to be at the public prayer meeting in your church. If ever there was a day when God's people needed to pray and intercede for God and for our land and the work of God, I tell you, it is today in this generation in which we live. How important it is that we seek by God's grace to live out the Word of God in our lives. The Bible says, you and I who are saved, but be ye doers of the Word. But we can say further this morning that this work of well-doing, it also entails the believer loving his neighbor. You remember what Christ said in the gospel of Mark to God's people? He says, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And in the passage of Scripture here before us, Paul shows us something of what this means for the believer to love their neighbor as themselves. Yes, it means you and I as Christians doing good to those who are saved and indeed unsaved alike. Look at what he says in verse 10 of the chapter there. He says, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. It means it's also doing all we can to seek the restoration of the backslider of that believer that has gone away from the Lord and into bypass meadow. And look what he says there in verse 1 of the chapter. He says, "'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest they also be tempted.'" And in this work of loving our neighbor, it also means you and I, when opportunity comes our way, doing all we can to help those that are burdened down in life. Look at what he says in verse 2 of the chapter. He says, There ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. And it means us also doing all we can as God's people, as Christians. to support God's faithful servants in the work of God, be it here or be it in some far-off mission field. But look at what he says there in verse 6 of the chapter. He says, Let him that is taught in the word communicate, in other words, give unto him that teacheth in all good things. People of God, this is how our lives are to be marked, by this well-doing. But we can say further that this well-doing, it also involves the believer sharing and spreading the good news of the gospel. You remember the words of Christ in the Great Commission to His disciples. He says, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The Hemrider says, sound the gospel of grace abroad. There is life in the risen Lord. That's what we are saved to do, to sound forth the gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember what the Lord said to his disciples before he went up into heaven. He says, ye shall be witnesses unto me. And dear believer, you know, yes, we are to be a witness for Christ. We are to be a witness of the glorious gospel. of our only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, before others in society. Yes, by our words and by our deeds, you and I are to do all we can to spread the message that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, giving out a gospel tract, giving someone a copy of the Scriptures, a New Testament, whatever. My seeking to bring somebody to the meeting, inviting them along to the gospel service where the Word of God is preached. Maybe helping out with children's meetings when they're up and running again, helping out in open air work, supporting missionaries at home and abroad, witnessing believer in your home, in your family circle, in your workplace where God and His providence has placed you on a daily basis. This is what you and I are to do when we're saved, when we're justified by the blood of Christ. Brethren and sisters in Christ, this is something of what it means for our lives to be marked by this well-doing. And you know the motivating factor for such a testimony ought always to be the crosswork of Christ in our salvation. This was the great motivating factor in the life of the Apostle Paul that so spurred him on as an ambassador for Christ. Look at what he says in verse 14 of this chapter. He says, But his whole boast was in the Lord, and Paul never lost sight of this in his whole Christian life. The glory of Christ, the glory of the crosswork of Christ, for him the chief of sinners. Turn with me in your Bible back to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, look at what Paul says in verse 14 of 2 Corinthians chapter 5. He says there, for the love of Christ, constrain of us. When he talks there about the love of Christ, he's not talking about his love for Christ, but rather about Christ's love for him, an eternal love, a sacrificial love, a forgiving love, and Christ dying for him upon the cross, and it constrained him. That speaks of a force upon Paul, motivating him, spurning him on, stirring him up. in this great work of well-doing. Look at what he says there in verse 15 of 2 Corinthians 5, and that of Christ. He says that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that's living unto Christ, which died for them and rose again. And Paul was spurred on as he thought of what Christ had done for him in this great work of well-doing. O child of God, in light of all that Christ has done for you and I in salvation, by His sacrifice for guilty sinners such as you and I upon the cross, may our testimony also be one that is marked by well-doing. Think of the words of the hymn writer Isaac Watts speaking of Christ. He said, Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul my life, my all, as He surveyed the cross, Christ coming and dying for Him, paying the debt of a sin, the penalty of a sin. He says, that demands my soul, my life, my all. The chalice of God, as that how it is with you and I this morning as we think of Christ, our Beloved, His sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, coming into this world. Is that the response of our hearts today before God in the light of His Word? That Christ's sacrifice demands our soul, our life, our all for Christ. Yes, we see here the believer's duty. But notice just in the second place here from our text, notice the mention here of the believer's danger. It says there in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 9, it says, And let us not be weary and well-doing, For in due season we shall reap if we faint not." I want you to notice there in particular the word weary and the word faint. What does that word weary there mean? As Paul pens it in the verse, it really means to lose heart. It really means to lose interest. The word fainter really means someone failing to complete, or if you like, to coordinate an action or endeavor in their life through weakness. Here Paul is writing to God's people, and he's speaking to them about the danger of spiritual weariness. He is speaking to them here about the danger of spiritual faintness. My, the spiritual weariness and faintness that Paul speaks of, it really means the believer losing heart in the work of God and in the cause of Christ and in their witness for the Savior. My, this is a danger that faces every Christian, whether a person is saved recently or whether a person is saved for many a year. It is something that really means the believer, the child of God, ceasing to live and to witness for their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, as He once did in their life on a bygone day. It was Thomas Watson who said that despair cuts the sinew of endeavor, and my, the sinew of endeavor in the life of the believer, yes, it can be cut, so to speak. So the believer becomes weary, the believer becomes faint. in the work of God and in the cause of Christ. And my, whenever the Christian becomes weary and faint, his endeavor for Christ really comes to a halt, grinds to a halt. Satan gets the upper hand in their life, and that believer doesn't stand for the Lord or live for Christ as they should or as they once did. Dear people of God, this is a reality we must face and be aware of. This is something that happened to ancient Israel. Turn with me in your Bible back to Psalm number 78, and you'll see that in the Word of God. Psalm number 78. Look at what we read in verse 9 of the chapter of the Psalm, and also verse number 41. Verse 9 of Psalm 78 says, "'The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows.'" Notice it, "'Turn back in the day of battle, Again, in verse 41, you have similar words. It says, yea, they turned back and tempted God and unlimited the Holy One of Israel. Notice there, there was a turning back. They were armed. They had bows. They had all that they needed for the battle. But weariness and faintness took over them for some reason, and there was a turning back. in the day of battle. O child of God, let me say to you this morning that if you and I, yes, if we succumb to spiritual weariness and spiritual faintness, then we too will turn back as Christians in the day of battle. We will turn back from following the Lord. Yes, our witness for Christ will be hindered. Our witness for Christ will be impeded and will not be living for our Savior as once we lived in former times. Dear Christian, can I say this is a danger we must all be warned about. This is a danger that we all must be aware of. You'll notice there in our text in verse 9 how Paul here, the great apostle, the great missionary, the great theologian of the New Testament, he includes himself in this, for he uses the word us, and he uses the word we here. He's not dispelling this thing happening in his own life as a Christian. He says, and let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And what does that tell you and I as Christians? It means that none of us are immune from spiritual weariness and spiritual faintness. In the book of Isaiah, it says, even the youth shall faint and be weary. In other words, those that are noted for their strength can become weak and weary. It says in the book of Corinthians, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. I remember hearing of missionaries laboring for the Lord in a certain part of God's vineyard. And because of weariness and faintness, they turned back from serving the Lord in that part of the vineyard where the Lord had called them and placed them in. I believe in the causes, yes, of spiritual faintness are many. It can be caused by physical exhaustion in our life. This was the case with Elijah. After the great contest on the Mount Carmel, when he slew the prophets of Baal, he became physically tired, and the result was he became spiritually faint. The Bible tells us how he ran away from Jezebel, wishing that he might die. The Lord says to you and I as believers, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest. Oh, I were to rest in fellowship with the Lord. Also, it can be caused by spiritual exhaustion. Paul talks about weariness. He talks about the care of all the churches being upon him. And there are many cares, yes, there are many worries in the work of God and the cause of Christ, but as believers, we must learn to cast every care in the work of God, every burden upon the Lord in prayer. Then it can be caused by barrenness in the age in which we live. Remember how Paul warned Timothy about that? He said, Timothy, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No matter how barren the time is, no matter how hard the age is, you and I, we are to preach the Word, the Bible says, in season and out of season. And sometimes it can be caused by discouragement, even through other believers, through other professing Christians. I remember years ago speaking to a lady in the door, wherever we were doing outreach, and she admitted that she had grown cold, that she had went into Bypass Meadows, she was away from the Lord. And she says, because my eyes were on someone else, and they were not on the Lord. Christian, keep your eyes upon the Lord. Be ever looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Isaiah speaking to God's people says, O Zion, behold your God. And notice one final thing here in this verse. Notice the believer's delight. It says, and let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, he says, we shall reap if we faint not. Here we see how the believer's delight is in harvest time, in God's work of well-doing. Notice there that the harvest is certain. He says there, we shall reap. God cannot deny His Word. You notice there the harvest is at God's appointed season. It says there, in due season. My, whenever the farmer sows his seed in spring, he must wait for the harvest time. The crop just doesn't come up immediately. He must wait until the appointed season. And dear believer in God's work, you and I also must be patient as well. The Bible says, cast thy bread upon the waters and thou shalt find it after many days, says the Bible. Robert Moffat labored as a missionary in Africa. It was said that it was 10 years before he saw one soul converted to Christ, but he kept laboring on. The Bible says, wait on the Lord. It says, let patience have our perfect work. The Bible speaks of creation waiting upon God, and it says, these all wait upon thee that thou givest them their meat in due season. You notice there that this wonderful promise of the certainty of blessing is all linked to God's promise connected with the harvest. Look at what he says there in verse 7 and the latter part of verse 8. He says, Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. But he that soweth, notice it, to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Child of God, believer in Christ are meeting. This morning in your work, in your witness for Christ, this text is God's promise for you. Lean upon this promise today. Plead it at the throne of grace and prayer. I may encourage you here in Portadown or wherever you're from as a believer to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. May God write His Word today upon every heart and soul, for Jesus' sake. Amen. We hand back now to your minister. Thank you. I do thank the Reverend Porter for bringing God's Word this morning, a very challenging and encouraging message to us to continue in the work of the Lord, looking for and praying for a blessed spiritual harvest. We're going to close with singing the hymn, Sowing in the Morning, Sowing Seeds of Kindness, Sowing in the Noontide and the Dewey Eves, Waiting for the Harvest and the Time of Reaping. We shall come rejoicing. bringing in the sheaves. And truly, we labor on looking for that blessed harvest. 734. we shall ♪ Showing in the shadow ♪ ♪ They never thought for us to be pleased ♪ ♪ I am one of ours ♪ ♪ I'm the neighbor and we ♪ ♪ We shall come rejoicing ♪ ♪ Bringing in the cheese ♪ ♪ Bringing in the cheese ♪ ♪ Bringing in the cheese ♪ ♪ We shall come rejoicing ♪ bringing in the Jews, bringing in the Jews, bringing in the Jews, we shall not rejoice it's over we shall come rejoicing bringing new machines just before we close in prayer let me remind you again that the balcony will exit first and the back doors will remain closed until the balcony folk there have exited the church. This door to my right will be opened and this section can start to make their way out through there. We would encourage you again just to keep in mind the social distancing aspect as we leave the church and we do appreciate your help in this matter. Our eternal and gracious God, we give thee thanks today for our attendance in the house of the Lord. And we bless thee for the praise and song come before his presence with singing. And we thank you, Lord, for the hymns that have giving thee thanks for thy provision to us another year. We thank you, Lord, for prayer that has been offered, and we ask that thou wilt answer prayer. As we have asked, Lord, grant our petitions to us. Then, Lord, we thank you for the reading and especially the preaching of thy word. Thank you for that great book of Galatians, setting forth the truth. that a sinner is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. But we thank you for the exhortations to the Christian. We praise the Lord for the ability to live a life of well-doing for Christ through the Spirit of God. Help us not to be weary in well-doing. Help us, Lord, to see the great danger afar off and to live a life that is constant and consistent in doing good for the Lord. and all that that entails. We pray, Father, that soon there will come a great spiritual harvest where many souls shall be gathered into the kingdom and added to the church of Jesus Christ. Part us with Thy blessing, bring us back to the house of the Lord tonight in safety and with Thy blessing. Gather in those that are out of Christ And we pray that God's presence and salvation will be present in this house, even tonight, for Jesus' sake. Amen.