Our call to worship this morning is from 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 12 through 24. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves, and we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, and be patient with all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoicing always, pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you as faithful, he will surely do. Let's pray. The Lord our God, we praise you this morning that you are God and there is no other. We praise you that you are our God by covenant. And we praise you that you are forever faithful to your covenant. Even when we are faithless, you are faithful. And you are working faithfulness in all of your people. And so we come to give you praise. and worship this day, please come and meet with us by your spirit. Help us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Lord, we pray that you would bless the reading of your word, the preaching of it, the singing of it, the praying. Please be in our midst now for Jesus' sake and in his name we pray. Amen. Turn with me if you would in your hymns to hymn 32, Great is thy faithfulness, let us stand here you. Lord, in new mercies I sing. All I have need in thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness. their courses of love. Join with all nature in benevolent bliss. To life bring faithfulness, mercy, and love. I see. Oh, I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness. ♪ Cheer and to guide ♪ ♪ Strength for today ♪ ♪ And bright hope for tomorrow ♪ ♪ Blessings all mine ♪ ♪ With 10,000 beside ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ All I have been, I am, and who I am, great is thy name. Please remain standing and turn with me in the back of your hill to page 874. We'll continue looking at the short categorism of the Latino Commandments. And whoever does the bulletin failed to update the questions that will be made. We're actually on questions 65 and 66 today. Questions 65 and 66. Question 65. What is forbidden in the Fifth Commandment? The Fifth Commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongeth to everyone in their several places and relations. Question 66. What is the reason and The commandment is a promise of long life and prosperity as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good to all such as keep this commandment. Thank you and please be seated. I think particularly the leaders of our nation, but not just the national leaders, we need That's created in God's image. All of them are created in God's image. And the only thing that's different is maybe grace and mercy from the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we need to pray for them. And we were encouraged to do that last week. Thank you, Justin, for that reminder, that encouragement. We need to continue to do that. And let's go to the Lord in prayer right now. Lord our God, we praise you that we can come to you as your little children, that we can pray to you. You are the Lord of glory, the God of all the universe, and yet you will listen to us. How we praise you that you made a way for that in sending your son, our Lord Jesus, one mediator between you and us. And so we pray, we confess our faults, we confess our sins, specifically regarding this dish tonight, this morning. Lord, we know we haven't honored those around us and it's striking to remember that this addresses every human relationship. Every relationship that we have, Lord, everyone is due honor because they are made in your image. Help us to do that, Lord. Forgive us where we have failed, Lord, to honor those who are under our authority in whatever capacity, as well as who are on the same authority level and those who are over us in authority. Lord, give us great wisdom and grace. We need your help. We need your spirit to be able to do this, Lord. And we specifically ask that you would help us to honor those political leaders in their station. Lord, we may disagree with them and rightly so at many levels, but We need to remember that they are made in your image and we need to pray that your amazing grace would come upon them and that they would repent and trust in Christ along with us and continue to lead a life of repentance. Help us in this. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. The assurance of forgiveness this morning is from Romans chapter 10 verse 13. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And that's Paul quoting from an Old Testament passage in Joel chapter 2. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Amazing promise. Turn with me if you would in your hymnal to page 706, hymn 706. He shall raise me from the dust. Jesus is my hope. reign supreme, and His kingdom shall remain. I shall also be with Him, ever living, ever reigning. God has promised me, and thus Jesus is not and by his grace, victory, O my passions filling, I will cleanse my heart and ways, ever to his glory giving. He raises from the dust, Jesus is Jesus lives, I know full well, not from him my heart can serve. Life nor death, nor powers of hell, joy nor greatness, Jesus is my hope and trust. Jesus lives and death is now, but my entrance is now. Jesus. Lord, our God, we thank you and praise you for your mercies that you shower upon us in Christ Jesus. Lord, would you be our hope and trust, every single one of us, young and old, and Lord, would your glorious gospel go forth, not only advancing in our hearts, Lord, to better know and love and humbly serve you, but those around us, family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, Lord, we pray that you would build your church as you promised to do and that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. Lord, this presumes an offensive. Lord, as we go forth and live our lives according to your gospel, as the sermon is, presenting today the sermon text that we reap what we sow. Would we sow good things? Would we sow righteousness? Would we reap the same in due time, Lord? I pray for this congregation to grow, Lord, in our spiritual lives, but also in number, that we might glorify you even more as you see fit, Lord. We pray for this campus, that you would stir up a revival. Lord, thank you for the encouraging things that we hear from Jackson and the FCA group. Lord, please continue to bless and would you bring many of these students and faculty to you to bow the knee to King Jesus. Lord, we pray that for this city and for the surrounding region and for our nation. Lord, we are In such polarizing times, particularly with the presidential election upcoming, Lord, you are the one who reigns on high. And you are the one who raises up and puts down kings and nations, and so help us to put our trust in you. Lord, day in and day out, help us to live according to your word, by your grace. Pray for those who aren't with us, those who might be ill, those who are with us, but need prayer. And when we think of Joe and his sister as they travel, please protect them and bless them. We pray for Marlise, that you would hold on to her and have your healing hand upon her and bless her. We pray for those of us in this room that are We are weak and needy, Lord, which really encompasses all of us. We are weak and need your strength. And so, Lord, would you help us to be strong in your strength and in your might, the power of your might. Help us to walk with you day in and day out. Lord, please bless us now as we continue to worship you. How we praise you for Pastor Mrs. Thornton and their labors Most every week, make your long trip here to Clarksville. Thank you for their zeal. Thank you for their love for you and for us. Please bless Pastor Horton as he opens your word to us this morning. Please bless us to not only hear, but to heed and to be doers of your word. Lord, thank you for your mercies in Christ, who you sent to save sinners like us. and it's in his name. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Hosea for our Old Testament reading. I'll be reading the first 15 verses. I think that's the entire chapter, actually. All 15 verses of this chapter in Hosea. Please follow along and pay careful attention to God's very word. Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more its fruit increased, the more altars he built. As his country improved, he improved his pillars. Their heart is false. Now they must bear the guilt, bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. For now, they will say, We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord. And a king, what can he do for us? They utter mere words with empty oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-Avon, its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests those who rejoice over it and over its glory, for it has departed from them. The thing itself shall be carried away to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol." I want you to pay attention to the concept of reaping what you have sown in this history, this account of Israel. in the surrounding area. I also want you to think about the agricultural analogies as I continue to read. Samaria's king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters. The high places of Aden, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us. From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel. There they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah? When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them, and they are bound up for their double iniquity. Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thrash, and I spared her fair neck. But I will put Ephraim to the yoke. Judah must plow. Jacob must harrow for himself. Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love, bring up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. You have plowed iniquity, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies, because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors. Therefore, the tumult of the war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed. As Sheldon destroyed Bethel on the day of battle, mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. Thus, it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn, the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off. That says the reading of God's great word. Not a pretty picture there at the end, but as we'll hear, we reap what we sow. So, may we follow verse 12, the admonition there, sow from yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love, break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. Please turn with me, if you would, to hymn 188, and stand with me for a moment. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art. Thou hast giv'n me gaze abounding, as Thy beauty fills my soul. For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole. Jesus, I am resting, resting me. Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved. Know that wealth of grace is Thine. Know Thy certainty of promise, and have faith in mine. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art. I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart. Behold thee as thou art, and thy love so pure, so changeless, satisfies my heart. Satisfies its deepest longing. Jesus supplies his every need. Compassion feed round with blessings. Mine is love indeed. I am finding now the greatness of thy loving heart. Ever lift thy face upon me, as thy Word am great for thee. Resting beneath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth's dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father's glory, sunshine of my Father's face, keep me ever trusting, resting, filled with Thy grace. I am what Thou art. I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart. Amen. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap. If we do not give up, so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. And, uh... Okay, I want to just talk for a couple of minutes before I start preaching. So, one thing I wanted to say was, I was listening to this preacher, Joel Beeky, and he said that he was recommending this book, Precious Remedies Against Sickness and Losses, and he was talking about a preacher who invites the young people over to his house, I think on Sunday night, And he reads a paragraph to a page and a half of this book by Thomas Brooks, the Puritan, who, by the way, was a Navy chaplain on the seas. So precious remedies against Satan's devices. So he reads half a page, page and a half at most. There's so many kids sitting in there who can't even tell what color the carpet is. And I thought, you know, this is so apropos to what I've been thinking about. And, you know, my job is to give you the whole counsel of God. And I think I've told you recently that I've been burdened that y'all know how to fight the devil. Because the devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking and he may be found. The devil works full-time to mess us up, okay? And so I think I told you about an old man, and you know he's old, if I call it old. I'm 72, as if you didn't know. But this guy, quite a bit older than me, his wife is divorcing him now in his old age because they couldn't stop bickering. He was praying that they would stop bickering. Well, you've got to know how to fight yourself. Okay? Now, you know, if you're following the news, it's been, I think, wisely speculated that in the world there in Israel that Israel has wonderful intelligence and they know what their enemies are going to do and where they're going to be. In other words, it's speculated that the Israeli intelligence has a plant or a mole in his wallet. Satan's got a mole in us. Do you realize this? Satan has a mole in us because the scripture tells us that we can deceive ourselves. That's everybody in here. Of course, myself included, because I need to even say that, but Satan has an ally in our own nature. All the more reason we've got to be careful and prepared. So, I was going to, I forgot where you're having a picnic today. I was going to ask you all to take your seats, and I was going to read you half a page, page and a half, I don't know, from this old Navy chaplain. And I hope that you all will tolerate me taking you through this whole book, eventually. Just a little bit at a time. On Sundays, for meetings. So, I want to say that. And the other thing I wanted to remind you of was evangelism next Saturday. Austin Peay is having their homecoming the 26th. We will meet, those of us who are interested, at 1.30, interested in Abel, at 1.30 over here at Old Football Stadium, and we'll work till three. That's just nine minutes. We have hundreds, I've got a package of more than 200 tracts right here that says, do you know Jesus Christ? And Ophelia has stamped our information on another, I think, 200 tracts. She's probably got a sore hand. and uh just verses from Jesus when he says and um so, you know, there's going to be a lot of people who are going on this campus next Saturday for homecoming and so, let's let's go fishing. You know, Jesus said, follow me and I'll make you a And I'm looking forward to it, because I'm ready to do this. Okay, now, having said all that, am I leaving anything out? Okay. I hope everyone here can join us. You know, I'm actually thinking about, you know, if the conditions are right, I may agree to half a page at the picnic. Hey, and discussion. Discussion. I'm going to reward the first young person that will ask a question about this material. How am I going to reward my students? I will reward them. I'm a teacher. I like to get it going. I like to get the flow of it. We're going to need somebody to break the ice with the first question. It can even be an adult. Young people have reward. Now, it's got to be a serious question. Don't you have any questions? OK? Serious question. All right. So, we are here in Galatians chapter six and the scripture has been read, this passage has been read, right? Galatians six. Okay, let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together again. and bless our time together. Open our ears, our minds, our hearts, so that we can receive from Your Word things that we need not only to hear and learn, but to do. We thank You in Jesus' name. Amen. I was doing what I usually do. When we drove by the National Airport, I was looking up in the sky for a big airplane. And I asked Melissa, I said, why do I always want to see a big airplane when we come by here? And she says, because you fly in the snowbox. And I said, I actually don't like to fly, and I find airplanes very uncomfortable at my size. And so I began to think, what is it that makes me want to see these big airplanes flying by? And the only thing I could think of was how they defy gravity. So I looked up the weight. And some airplanes weigh a lot. In other words, I forgot exactly how much they weigh, but they weigh a lot. I mean, a lot. You know, I like to see these big airplanes flying dinner by the National Airport. And I guess, you know, my dad took me to the airport when I was just a little boy. And we just pulled up to the airport. We got out of the car. We walked out there on the runway. And we walked onto a big passenger airplane. Nobody questioned us. Nobody stopped us. Nobody searched us. You know, it was back in the day, probably the 50s, maybe the 60s. I don't know. My dad really liked airplanes. He was a World War II veteran. I don't know if that had anything to do with it. He served on an aircraft carrier. But anyway, the whole point of this introduction is the law of gravity. Isn't that fascinating? The law of gravity. And it's a law, right? It's always there. I just read somewhere that the military has figured out a way to defy it without airplanes. I don't know what it's all about. But, you know, normally down here on the planet, you know, if I drop this bomb, it's going to fall at 32 feet per second. It's not that 32 feet, but it's going to hit the floor, right? Law of gravity. Can you imagine if the law of gravity just stopped? I mean, we all just be floating around. Who knows where we end up? I would say we would miss a lot of the gravity pretty quickly. It's down there, right? But there's another law that we're looking at this morning. And I would say it's even more dependable than the law of gravity. That is the law of sowing and reaping. The law of sowing and reaping that he mentions here in Galatians chapter six. Listen to what he says. Might help if I get out of Romans and get to Galatians. the law of sowing and reaping. It is a law. He says, listen, verse seven, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows that he will also reap. You wanna know what's coming for you? What are you sowing? You wanna know what your future looks like, what are you sowing? Now we know about sowing, right? We plant things on the farms. And I heard of one boy, his parent told him to go out and plant corn. He gave him a whole bunch of corn to go out and plant in a field. So he went out and he dug one hole in the center of the field and put all that corn in and covered it up. Later he was called, of course, at harvest time. That's not the way you plant corn, right? You spread it out. But sowing and planting, you know, our thoughts and actions are sowing. and it says here, we can sow to the spirit or we can sow to the flesh. Now, in in this context here, we have back in chapter five, we have both the fruit of the spirit and the works of the flesh and we all know what the fruit of the spirit is, right? But he says in verse 16 of chapter 5, when I say, walk by the Spirit. In other words, sow to the Spirit. And you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, the Spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, enmity, jerkiness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things, those who make a lifestyle of such things, will not inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, they're not going to heaven unless there's a repentance and faith. But the fruit of the Spirit, in other words, if you sow to the Spirit, here's what comes up. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. That's the fruit of the Spirit. And so, what are we sowing? We're going to reap it. Whatever it is we're sowing, we're going to reap that. That is the law, like the law of gravity. So what are we sowing? Well, how do we know what we're sowing? What are we thinking about? You know, the scripture warns against idle thinking, vain thinking. Our actions start with our thinking. It may be a split second, it may be days, months, years of thinking. What are we thinking? What thoughts are we entertaining? It says in the scripture, how long will you indulge this idle thinking? What did I do with that book I had a minute ago? It's up here? Well, anyway, there's a passage in Jeremiah, and that's the question the Lord is asking us. How long? Are you going to put up with this idle thinking, this vain thinking? So, you know, you're thinking, and I love what one of my preacher friends preaches on the street. He says, God knows what your mama doesn't know. Your mother may not know what you're thinking. Your dad may not know what you're thinking. I'll tell you what, God knows what you're thinking. God, who has the very hairs on your head numbers, knows your thoughts. You know, when you bear a grudge, God knows it. And God says we are to forgive, lest we not be forgiven. God expects and enables us to forgive other people. Melissa often says it takes two good forgivers to be married. And every married couple in here knows that. It takes two good forgivers. Some desires are wrong. And if we entertain these desires in our thinking, we're about ready to reap disaster. And here's the amazing thing is that Paul says, and I want you to think about this, and it's very important. He says, do not be deceived. Do not be deceived. Verse 7. We can easily be deceived. We have a propensity to be deceived. Do we realize that? Well, the Scripture makes it very clear. I want to share some of the verses that make this very clear. Now, as I was talking about Satan having a mold in us, or an informant, or a spy, listen to this. Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is more deceitful than all else. In other words, that heart that we all have a remnant left of, all of us Christians, is extremely deceitful. People will find a way to do what they want to do if they entertain these vain thoughts, these deceitful thoughts. People will find a way to practice sin and justify it. The heart is more deceitful than all else. Now, James, in chapter one, specifically talks about temptation and deceit. Listen to what he says. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth Death, do not be deceived, it says. The very next thing, do not be deceived. You see, Satan, like he did with Eve, he'll say, he'll try to make you think, you know, it's okay, it's a matter of seeing God who's leading you down this path. That's a lie. But that's what he'll say. But James clears that up real fast. He says, God cannot be tempted by evil. He himself does not tempt anyone. But where's that temptation coming from? Each one is tempted when he's carried away and enticed by his own lust. And now he goes into this figurative language, kind of like a pregnancy. When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. That's the reaping and the sowing right there. Someone's sowing this. Oh, here's the lust. We'll just let it go. Here's my evil desire. It may be vengeance. It may, you know, some people just send the steel for the sake of stealing, you know, just for the very little stealing. are just hating on somebody, you know, they have this desire to hate on somebody, to fool somebody, to make a fool out of somebody, to hurt somebody. All these things are in the human heart. And so, this is a process that if, you know, Paul talked about bringing every thought captive, so you get a thought. I'm not saying where that thought comes from. I think it could come from the devil himself. Fiery dart, the scripture talks about. So a fiery dart lands in the brain and it says, wouldn't it be nice, wouldn't it be pleasurable to get some revenge on soul and soul? You know, think of Haman in the book of Esther. Haman couldn't stand it that Mordecai didn't practically worship him. And so although Haman has all this respect, one person, Mordecai, Esther's uncle, doesn't show him the reverence that he feels like he deserves. And so he starts going down this path. You see, his desire is conceived, and then he gives birth to sin, and he starts planning, how can I destroy Mordecai, the Jew? How can I harm him? How can I get rid of him? So he cooks up this plot to have all the Jews killed. I think Satan's been working on that one for a long time, up until right now. And he gave birth to sin, and then sin is accomplished. He gets the decree to have Mordecai and all the Jews killed. And then it brings forth his own death. All just because one man didn't feed his desire for honor. We all like honor and respect, but if that becomes a point of where we're going to destroy somebody or even mistreat somebody because we're not getting what we want from them, it's gone way too far. You know, we ought to humble ourselves and think if we got what we deserved, we'd be in the flames. Deceived! Timus 110, for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. Deceivers, these false teachers, these teachers who were telling the Galatians, oh, you've got to be circumcised. Faith alone, no, no, you've got to be circumcised now. Deceivers, the false teachers who turn away from the gospel are deceitful. loose talkers. James 126, if anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, that man's religion is worthless. What's coming out of your mouth? You say that's worthless. What's in your wallet? What's coming out of your mouth? You know, the scripture says, let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth. How are we talking? It says if we don't bridle our tongue. So, you know, you farmers here, you know about bridling. I guess most of us know about the bridle, right? We put the bridle in the mouth, and we control the animal with the bridle. Well, are we letting God control our tongue that has the power of life and death in the tongue? The power of life and death in the tongue. Think about that. How powerful is your tongue? It's like a weapon of mass destruction. Power of life and death. It's a deadly weapon, your tongue. You know, you can build people up or we can tear people down with our tongue. We need to put a bridle on that tongue or our religion is worthless. You know, we come to church, we take Lord's Supper, we read the Bible. If we don't broil our tongue, our religion is worthless. The scripture says, we are deceived. Now, see, that's how easy we're deceived. Now, another deceiving element is self-righteousness. It says in 1 John 1.8, if we say that we have no sin, We are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We say we have no sin. We're deceiving ourselves. How's that even happen? Well, we start comparing ourselves to other people. Well, look what so-and-so did. I'm not doing that. But we have sinned. We may not sin like the world. If we're Christians, we don't sin like the world. We don't make a lifestyle out of it. At the same time, we're not perfect yet. Thankfully, that's coming. You know, we're perfect in justification by faith. We receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Wonderful. But that personal righteousness, as far as sanctification goes, is not completed till we step On to the shore of the promised land, so to speak, we enter heaven. Oh, won't it be wonderful, no more temptation, no more vain thoughts. Oh, it's gonna be wonderful, wonderful. Even in this book here, Galatians, Chapter three, verse one, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ will publicly portray his first blood. Notice that word bewitched. Notice that word foolish. They have been deceived by these smooth talking false teachers. Have you ever noticed how far smooth talkers can go in the world? Man. Some of them have run for president and won. Smooth talkers. Oh, they're such good talkers, you could just listen to them, you know? But they spout out such nonsense. Marxism, socialism, things that were ruining this country. And are ruining it. Now, 1 Corinthians 3, 18, let me circle back around here and remind you all of something. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. Who's doing the deceiving? The man himself is deceiving himself by claiming to be wise. You know, we've got wisdom. We've got the mind of Christ, but we need to give him the glory. We need to look at what he says. What does he say? That's wisdom right there. Obadiah 3 in the Old Testament says, the arrogance of your heart has deceived you. The arrogance of your heart has deceived you. You see, there it is. There's that inward mold. There's the one who's leaking the intelligence. There's the one who's going along with Satan. The unhark, our unhark. The arrogance, the pride. You know, we start thinking we're better than everybody else or we're wiser than everybody else. We're only wise to the extent that we know what God says. And we're putting it into practice. You know, the Scripture warns against being a hearer of the Word and not a doer. If we're just content, I believe this is one of the most deceptive things in the world. I remember I was correcting a guy one time who was in grievous sin, and I was telling him what the Scripture says. He says, I know that. As if that was the end of it. I know that. Oh, okay. You know it? Well, what about doing it, you know? The scripture says, if we are doers of the word, we deceive ourselves. We need to do the work. You know, one thing we need to be doing right now is helping the people in Western North Carolina with, you know, we could take up a collection here, but we could just give money to Samaritan's Purse individually, which is, I hope, what we're all doing. Even if it's just $10, you know, whatever you can do, It helps. We need to be helping these, you know, there's, there's Christians up there and there's non-Christians who are suddenly sober, very sober about reality. What's the reality? You can lose your life a minute in this world. You know, who in Western North Carolina would ever think, oh, her man coming? I mean, they got what's there, no big deal. What's for supper? You know? And then, you know, if heavy rains come, you'll be like, well, you know, no big deal. Just heavy rain. It'll be over soon. And then before you knew it, floods and houses being swept away. And people being swept away. And it reminds me of the Judgment Day that's coming. So many people are going to be caught off guard because of their arrogance. as Obadiah says, the arrogance of your heart has deceived you. You who live in the cliffs of the rock, in the loftiness of your dwelling places, who say in your heart, who will bring me down to earth? Who will bring me down to earth? I'm up here in the cliff of the rock. I'm up here in this lofty, this high dwelling place like the mountains of western North Carolina. Oh, I'm up here on high. What can happen to me? The arrogance of your heart has deceived you. You know, it's no wonder the psalmist prayed, oh lord, search me and know me. The psalmist admitted that he didn't even know himself completely. And that's very true of all of us. I don't think anybody here knows themselves completely. I don't think anybody anywhere We need to beg God to search our hearts and our minds and reveal to us what we need to repent of. And Melissa likes to quote our old pastor. He used to say, it hurts so good. And I was thinking about that when I read something on a Puritan saying, you know, first comes grief and then comes joy over grief. How's the joy over the grief? Because we've suddenly realized. Man, I've been wrong here. Well, praise God. We're finding out that we've been wrong, okay? Finding out that we've been going about this the wrong way. Praise God. So it hurts. But then there's joy about finding out the truth and being able to repent. That's joyous. Listen to 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11. Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be deceived! Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor feminine, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you that you were washed, that you were sanctified, that you were justified by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. and the spirit of our God. I remember one time I was preaching down in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and I was up on this log by this high, and this drunk walked up to me. I said, what do you know, three-year-old monkey? And I said, well, I'll get him to walk. And I said, do you realize the Bible says drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God? He said, look, I'm all right with you. We're all right. Well, the Bible says you're not all right. You're not all right. Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do you not know? Do not be deceived, the scripture says. And it gives that list. And then 1 Corinthians 15, 33, do not be deceived. Bad company. Corrupts good morals. Who are your friends? Who are you hanging out with? Bad company corrupts good morals. Do not be deceived. You think you can hang out with just anybody and be okay? Be careful who your friends are. Well, the Puritan said, if you'll sit with the drug, you'll soon be sipping with the drug. And then you'll be drunk. I remember a pastor that got into all this friendship evangelism, you know. And he started going over to this one house, and they were all sitting on the back porch smoking pot every day. And after a year or two, they got him to try a joint. And he smoked pot. He came home and he was out of it. His wife took him to the hospital. He lost his pastor. If you sit with a drunk, you'll be sipping with a drunk, and pretty soon you'll be drunk. Now, I'm not saying that'll evangelize the drunk. Yes, it do. Bad company corrupts good morals. Now, there's troublemakers in the church. Romans 16, 17. Now, I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause distinctions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learn and turn away from them. And finally, Ephesians 5, 6. Let no one deceive you with empty words. for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Let me tell you, if you're sowing disobedience right now, nobody else may know about it right now, but the scripture says, be sure your sins will find you there. God already knows what you're thinking. God already knows what you're either planning or soon will be planning. Don't think you're gonna get away with it. God is not mocked. God is not outwitted. God is not fooled. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. And it's corruption. There will be consequences. Walk in the Spirit. Sow to the Spirit of God. How do you do that? Spend time in the Lord. Spend time in prayer. Spend time in repentance. True repentance. We should be sorry for our sins and realize we've sinned against the holy God. We've sinned his sons and died on the cross for us. We're sinning against love. Tremendous love. Unparalleled love. I don't want to drive another nail in Jesus. Corruption. If we sow to the flesh, we reap corruption. Do we understand this? If you hold grudge or grievance, if you linger in bad company, if you lie in bed when you ought to be up and praying, you're sowing to the flesh. But the good news here is it says if we sow to the Spirit, we reap eternal life. And you know eternal life, you know when it starts when you become a Christian? That's when it starts. And what does it mean? It means reaping the fruit of the Spirit and seeing God answer prayer. And, you know, Having the peace, you know, there's so many things that bother us in the world. I mean, you look at this, the wars and rumors of wars. You look at the natural disasters. Does God have anything to do with that? Yes, he does. Some people are grieving what they saw. And here's the other thing. Those of us who are so-called innocent bystanders, If God puts his judgment down on America, guess who's gonna suffer? The Christians and the unbelievers are gonna suffer, and already are. We've got a cancel culture. We've got certain sinful ideologies being forced on us. It's the judgment of God. You know, we have a populace now that has been dumbed down that doesn't hardly know how to think. Praise the Lord for you homeschoolers, and Christians going into education, like myself, already there. We're being sought by, but you know, it's so sad that the culture has been dumbed down. They don't even know how to think. For instance, I told Melissa, I said, I love this story. I've probably told it to him several times, but I'm going to tell it again. It's so good. It's very great. I was preaching in that state, and this girl walks up to me and says, there is no certainty. I said, are you certain? And I busted out laughing. I couldn't contain myself. And I said, oh, I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't offend you with my laughter. But I mean, it's such nonsense. And I was able to smooth it over, I think. What nonsense to tell me with a certainty that there is no certainty. What kind of nonsense is that? That's utter nonsense. You know, like a professional philosopher saying the truth is there is no truth, that's a self-contradictory statement of nonsense. If there's no truth, that statement's not true. And this guy's a professional philosopher. sowing to the flesh. Now, you talk about how could they think of it? That's the power of this deceit that I'm warning you about, that Paul is warning you about right here, about reaping what you sow. Okay, now I just have a couple minutes left. Now, if we look at the text here, and I encourage you to look at the text. It says in verse six, the one who has taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. I don't preach, hardly ever, about giving. Because preachers who preach about giving will be accused of doing it for their own sake. However, this is what the Bible says. Not me. And my job is to preach the whole counsel of God. The one who is taught the Word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, it says. And then it talks about ripping what you sow. In other words, the church is to be supported. The minister is to be supported. Now, I'm just saying it because it's here. That's the end of it for me right now. But I wanted to end with something else. But basically, it says here, in due time, speaking of time, In due time, the scripture says here, we will reap if we do not become weary. And actually, there's sin implied right here in becoming weary. Why should we become weary when God has made promises? That our labor is not in vain. That we will reap. We will reap. Don't grow weary in being a doer of the Word. You know, I didn't have to think. There was a terrible fall last night. We woke up this morning. We saw it. I mean, it's one of the thickest falls I've ever seen. And I kept thinking about that passage that your life is like a fall. And many times I said the sun comes up and burns it off, and your life is that short when we're really going to be reaping. We're reaping now, but we're really going to be reaping then on the Judgment Day. Life is short. It took three hours for that fog to burn off this morning. I watched. Three hours. And that's kind of like our life. And it says here why we have the opportunity. Verse 10. So, uh, why do you have opportunity? Let us do good. What's the opportunity? It's not a minute. It's not a day. It's an age. It's that your, your lifetime. This is your opportunity to do good. I don't know how long your life is going to be, or mine. But right now, you have the opportunity, this little bit of time, you know, on your tombstone, there's that dash between the date you were born and the date you died. That dash is your opportunity in there to do good. And let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are the household of faith. Christians first. Other people second. You know, let's just say there's two brothers over here starving to death. One's a Christian, one's a non-Christian. I'm hoping there's enough food for both of them, but if there's just enough for one person, I'm giving it to the Christian. That's what the Bible says. Do good, first of all, to the household of faith. While we have opportunity, now's the time. In due time, that's God's time. In due time, we will reap. Now, you know there's some things we're not going to reap for a while. You know, sometimes we're like children, we want to reap as soon as we suffer, right? We need to be patient. Patient. You know, one thing I've learned about evangelism over the years is to be patient. You know, sometimes I don't see any fruit, and sometimes I see wonderful fruit. Patience, you know, you go out to evangelize, you may not see any fruit. It doesn't mean it wasn't there. I remember one guy contacted me one time. He said, I heard this guy preaching at App State, and he probably has no idea about being a Christian. And I knew the guy, so I asked him. No, he had no idea. But the guy became a Christian, and he went into missions. And both of those guys are dead now. But you know, are we going to trust the devil? The devil says, you're out here wasting your time. I remember one time when I was preaching on campus, and this girl came to me. She said, you're wasting your time. Nobody is listening. And all of a sudden, here comes this guy. And I didn't even sit with him. I was sitting on the ground with fountains. After I prayed, I sat down. This guy went over here and bowed down and started praying and asked for a Bible. And later, I saw him asking for a Bible. I didn't even believe he was sincere. You know, some people want a Bible to tear it up. Then I saw the video and saw that he had gone right in front of everybody. And he wasn't walking. He was dead serious. Our labor is not in vain. We will reap in due time, in God's time. We're going to reap. You know, there may be people in heaven who just encountered you at one time, and they knew you were a Christian, and they saw how you handled yourself in a Godly way. Maybe there was trouble, and you were at peace, and you were trusting, or maybe just your kindness. And you don't even know it, but it got their attention. And the Lord used it. And they became a Christian. Our labor is not in vain. We're going to reap in due time, in God's time. So what have I told you? I've told you that there's a law, like the law of gravity, the law of sowing and reaping, that cannot be violated. Let's just say before you were a Christian, you were sowing all kinds of terrible stuff. Well, salvation is going to keep you from reaping a lot of that, okay? But I've told you about this law of sowing and reaping. I've told you that there's a difference between sowing to the flesh and sowing to the Spirit. And I've told you the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. And I've asked you, what are you sowing? What's your future looking like? And then I told you that it's a sin to become discouraged and to give up. For in due time, we shall reap. So while we have the opportunity, let's be doing good. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this word that you've given to us. Lord, we thank you that there's no uncertainty about sowing and reaping. We will reap what we sow. May we be sowing to the Spirit. May we be sowing prayer, sowing obedience, sowing faithfulness, sowing casting our cares off on you and operating in your resurrection power courageously against the ways that the devil comes against us in the world, in the flesh. Lord, thank you that we are more than conquerors through him who has loved us and given himself for us. Keep us trusting, O Lord. And when we're down and out, may we turn to you and just seek you. And so to you, so to the Spirit, to be revived personally again, because we do fight the temptation to be weary in well-doing. Help us, Lord. Thank you for the resurrection power, the strength that you give us, the rest that you give us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.