The following message is brought to you by Capital City Baptist Church of Port Mosby. We exist to bring glory to God by knowing Christ and making Him known. If you would like to visit our church, we hold multiple services on Sunday mornings, starting at 9am. We are located between Motukere Wharf and Edai Town. Pickups are available 7009-1000. Our scripture reading will be Galatians 6 verses 6 through 10 this pastor continues the series on Galatians Who's been helped by this series on Galatians? Have you been helped? No, just one or two of us. Okay This missionary has been helped Been helped and I trust this morning will be another one for us Galatians chapter 6 beginning in verse 6 through verse 10 The apostle writes, let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches in all good things. Being not deceived, God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary and 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." Thank the Lord for His word. panic there, my apologies as I completely lost all of my notes. I'm going to wing this one, all right? If you've got your Bibles, we're going to be in Galatians chapter 6 together this morning. We'll be staying in Galatians chapter 6. And I'm going to start our service, our sermon this morning a little bit different than what I normally do. When I was in grade 2, I read a story. It was part of my homework assignment. And I read that that homework assignment to my dad now my dad was Cleaning the bathroom at the school and church that he worked at much like here, and he was in the bathroom I'll never forget my dad was in the bathroom mopping the floor in the bathroom while I read this story and this story stuck with me from grade two until now so much so that I I told Becky early in the week as I was preparing for the sermon, I said, can you look through, because I used the same curriculum, the same curriculum we're teaching the children with here. I grew up with that same curriculum from transition prep all the way through to grade 12. I said, can you find that story for me? She went back and she found it. Turns out they no longer have grade two students read this, but instead it gets read to them. at five years old in the prep class. So I'm going to read to you the story that I read to my father when I was a lot younger. And I think hopefully it might pop out in your mind. You might remember this for a long time. It was spring. The day was sunny for a change, and Karen and Cody were all ready to go to the creek to fish. Cody cut new poles and hunted up hooks while Karen packed a lunch. In case you can't tell, it's a lot easier for me to read now than it was in grade two. They were out behind the barn digging for bait when father came around the corner and saw them. I've just been looking for you two, he said. I want you to take these pumpkin seeds down to the cornfield in the bottom pasture and plant them. It won't take long and when you're finished, you may go fishing. Karen and Cody were disappointed. This was the first good day for fishing all spring. It seemed awful to have to give it up now, even for an hour or two. With long faces, they started for the cornfield. Cody carried the poles and the bait. Karen took the lunch and the paper sack of pumpkin seeds. They arrived at the lower field and began to work, but the creek just a little further down the road looked too inviting. How could they think of work on a day like this? Are the worms still alive, asked Karen. I'll check, said Cody. What's the use of planting these old pumpkins anyway, said Karen. Father already planted some in the upper cornfield. "'I know what,' Cody said. "'See this old tree stump? "'Let's hide the sack of seeds there "'and come back tomorrow and plant the seeds.' "'Well,' said Karen, "'are you sure it would be all right?' "'Come on,' said Cody, "'I want to go fishing. "'No one will ever know.' They buried the bag of seeds in that old rotten tree stump. They covered it with soil and hurried away to the creek to fish. By late afternoon, the two had caught half a dozen fish, enough for the whole family. They carried them home and mother fried them for supper. By this time, everyone had forgotten about the pumpkin seeds. Karen remembered them that night as she lay in bed. I wish we had stayed and planted them, as father said, she thought. Oh well, Cody and I will do it first thing in the morning and then everything will be all right. But everything was not all right. When Karen woke up the next morning, it was raining and it rained all that day. And the next, and the next feels like this last week here in Morsby, right? By the time the rain stopped, Karen and Cody had both forgotten all about the pumpkin seeds again. One Saturday morning, several weeks later, Karen was practicing her Bible verse for Sunday school. She said it over and over to herself so that she would remember and suddenly the meaning of the verse came to her and she was surprised to find that it had something to do with her and this was the memory verse. The verse was, be sure your sin will find you out. I think you guys know where this story is going. The pumpkin seeds, Karen thought in a flash. We forgot about the pumpkin seeds. And that verse means that what we did is sure to be found out. That night, Karen couldn't sleep. She kept thinking how wrong it had been for her and Cody to deceive the father about the pumpkin seeds. We meant to go back and plant them, she told herself, but still we did wrong. When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed that the room was full of pumpkins with grinning faces. They laughed at her and came closer and closer until she awoke with a frightened cry. In the morning, Cody and Karen had a talk. We need to tell father right away. We did wrong and we need to tell the truth about it, Karen said. Cody finally agreed. It sounds to me like it took a little bit of persuasion. Cody finally agreed, and they decided to confess to father right after lunch. You can imagine how surprised they were at what happened next. At lunch, before they had told father anything, he made an announcement to the whole family. I have decided, he said, I have decided that Karen and Cody may have the pumpkins that they planted in the bottom cornfield. They can sell them for 50 cents a piece. Think of that, 50 cents a piece for all the pumpkins they had planted and they knew that there wouldn't be a single pumpkin. Karen looked across the table at Cody and his face was very red. When father left the table, they both followed him. They told him about the pumpkin seeds and how the Bible verse had started them thinking and that they were sorry now. Father listened without a word until they finished, and then he said, I've known for a long time what you did with the pumpkin seeds. I've just been waiting for you to come to me. I believe you have learned a lesson which you will not forget. But how did you find out, Father? Karen and Cody cried. Come with me, said Father. I have something to show you. They were wondering and without a word they followed father to the cornfield and straight to that old rotten tree stump. You already know what's coming. But when they got there, they could hardly see the stump. There were pumpkin vines all over it. Not big, strong vines, the ones that would grow in the fields, but these were thin, sickly vines crowding each other for space. And the soil in the stump had been so rich that the seeds had sprouted their way through the sack and up to the air and light. The vines told father where the pumpkin seeds were as plainly as if they had spoken out. And they did seem to speak to Karen and Cody and they said, be sure your sin will find you out. How glad they were then that they had confessed to father and that he had forgiven them. Grade two. I've never forgotten that story. I don't know why, but perhaps maybe on that day in grade two, maybe I had a little something that I was hiding from mom and dad. I don't remember what that was, but I do remember the story of the pumpkin seeds going inside of a tree stump. Be sure your sin will find you out or another way. And Paul says it in today's passage, you will reap what you sow. This is a biblical principle. It's repeated throughout scriptures. What you sow is what you will reap. The Apostle Paul in our previous passage up in Galatians 5, we saw that you have the decision, you have the ability to live the way you want to live. You can live walking after the flesh and you will reap the works of the flesh. Or you can live walking in the Spirit and you will reap the fruit of the Spirit. It is completely up to you. And don't be fooled that you can ever think that you will live walking after the Spirit and instead you will be able to sticky tape the fruit of the Spirit to your life. It will not work. You will reap what you sow. If I can draw your attention down to verses 7 to 9 this morning. I'm going to hone in on verses 7 to 9. There is an application that he draws out. We'll close with the application. But I'd like to look at the principle today. Verses 7 to verse 9. Galatians chapter 6 verse 7 says, 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 of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we Faint not. I see three very simple parts of this one principle. The principle is outlined in verse 7. It's reinforced in verses 8 and 9. And the principle very simply is, be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And so I'll just break them down. Very simple. Do not be deceived. Be not deceived. And as I look through the scriptures, the number one thing that will deceive a man is his very own heart. Jeremiah 17 verse 9, it says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. There is not another thing in this world that is more deceitful than your own heart. Your own heart will deceive you. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? You do not even know the depths of your own heart's deceitfulness. Your heart will do everything that it can to try to make you think that it's perfectly normal to walk after the flesh, and that somehow you will be able to reap after the Spirit. And it's impossible. Paul repeats here, be not deceived. Your heart will do its best. to deceive you and say to you things like, you are eternally secure as a believer, therefore you can do whatever you want. That's called license, and it is deceitful. Do not think that you will sow one thing and reap a different thing. Your heart will be deceitful and tell you that everybody else is doing it, so that's okay. We saw last week, you are foolish if you compare yourself against other believers. Our comparison is against God Almighty, and His measuring stick is too high and too holy. You cannot measure yourself against others and think, well, everybody else is doing it, so therefore I must be okay. Your heart will tell you that nobody will ever find out. And so you'll continue to go on sowing sin in your life thinking that it will be perfectly fine because nobody will ever know and your heart is deceitful. You cannot trust your own heart. Your heart will deceitfully tell you that just a little sin is not so bad. That there are bigger sins that are out there. You're not raping, you're not murdering, you're not molesting children, and therefore your little sin is okay. Your heart is deceitful, friend. John Calvin, a 16th century theologian, made this statement. He said the human heart is a factory that mass produces idols. I don't know if you heard that. The human heart is a factory that mass produces idols. Your heart is continuously producing things that you can worship other than God. You hear things like, oh, just follow after your heart. Oh, please, brother and sister, do not follow after your heart, for your heart is deceitful above all things. And here Paul says, do not be deceived. Be very careful. Trusting self would be equivalent with walking after the flesh. If we said walking after the Spirit is the same as trusting God's promises, well, the opposite is also true. If I'm trusting myself and my own heart, then I am walking after the flesh. And that is the exact opposite of what we've been called to do. Walk after the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, so do not be deceived. And this gets repeated many times throughout Paul's epistles. He makes a statement to this effect. If you walk after the flesh, you do not have place in the inheritance of the kingdom of God. We saw it back in chapter 5. Let me draw your attention back to it. Look to Galatians 5, verses 19 to 20. This is the works that come out of the flesh. Verse 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, revelings, you will have sexual immorality, you will have wrecked relationships, your religion will be perverted, and you will have a lack of self-control as a result of your walking after the flesh. But then look at the phrase he makes at the end of verse 21. Guys, as much as the book of Romans is inspired, so also the book of Galatians is inspired. Here he makes this statement in verse 21. That they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't let your heart tell you, I can live the way I want to live and I'm still going to be okay because I prayed a prayer once and I asked Jesus to come into my heart. The question is, what's the fruit in your life? The fruit is showing out that you're walking after the flesh. Paul's saying here, I question whether you are even really a believer. And this is not the only place he says it. He says it in many other places. We saw one last week in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 5. I'll put it on the board for you this morning. This is Ephesians 5 and verse 5. He says this, For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. He said it again in 1 Corinthians 6. I don't want you to think that I'm just pulling one verse. He says it again and again and again. 1 Corinthians 6 verses 9 and 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." And how easy it is for us to say, well, I don't fit into the first five in that list, therefore I'm okay. You don't get to pick and choose in this list, guys, if you fall into any of them. And boy, when we start talking about thieves and even covetousness, I don't know about you, but covetousness grabs the heart of a lot of people. The heart is deceitful. Do not be deceived. You look back here at Galatians chapter 6, and the principle is very clear. Be not deceived. Open your eyes, pay attention, because there's a deceitfulness that's coming from within you that is going to draw you away from Him. And if you sow after this manner, you will reap after this manner. So look at verse 7 again. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. The second part of this principle. I might even call this, I say principle, I might even call it a law. It's a law. A law. God placed laws in place in the universe. Things like water rolls downhill. Right? Gravity is in place. That's why the moon Moves around the earth and tides happen the way they do because of gravity and we don't wake up one morning and say well today I decided that I don't like gravity to be the way it is So I'm gonna just get rid of it and we'll just do away with great. You don't get to choose that You don't get to say, well, I don't like what I've sowed, instead I would... Could you imagine, could you imagine a coffee farmer, that one year he plants all of his coffee, and this year the coffee price plummets, and the vanilla price goes out the roof, and instead he says, you know what, I don't want coffee this year out of these coffee trees, I want vanilla. It's just ludicrous. Because there's a law that God has placed, what you sow is what you reap. So don't be deceived, God is not mocked. And oh how easy it is for us to say an atheist tries to mock God. But I'll be honest with you this morning, I think a lot more than atheists mocking God, carnal Christians walk about through their lives thinking that they're going to mock God. Do you remember Ananias and Sapphira, Acts chapter 5? You remember Ananias and Sapphira? That's the chapter of giving and living, or lying and dying. Those two, they sold their land, just like a lot of other people in the church had done. There's nothing, by the way, there's nothing in the scripture that says, thou shalt sell thy land and give it to the church. There's nothing that says that. Ananias and Sapphira sold their land, they kept back a portion of it, and there still is nothing wrong in that moment. It's your land, it's your decision, you do with what you want to do. Here's where they went wrong. They came to church, husband came first, later the wife came. Husband came first and he said to the church, we sold our land and my wife and I are bringing everything that we got and we're going to give it to God. Why would they do that? has everything to do with elevating themselves, making themselves look good, and in so doing, they acted as if God did not exist. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. And if you remember the story from Acts 5, Ananias brought that offering in, and Peter said, Are you sure that you're telling the truth about this? And Ananias said, Oh yeah, of course. I would never tell a lie before the church. God smote him dead. They carried him outside, dug a hole, and buried him, and his wife came in shortly after. I don't know why they never informed her. The wife comes in, and when she walks in, she says, oh, by the way, I've got the rest of the money from the sale of our land. I've got the rest of the money, and Peter stops and says, excuse me, hold on a second, just a moment. Are you sure you're telling the truth? She said, why would I lie in front of the church? And Peter's words were, the guys that just buried your husband are walking in the back door now, and they're going to go bury you too, and God smote her dead as well. You see, God is not mocked, and He will pour out His wrath upon our sin. Friend, do not think that you can do what you want to, live after the deeds of the flesh, and somehow you're going to reap the fruit of the Spirit. It does not work that way. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, and He will pour out His wrath upon sin. He does it again and again, and we see it all throughout the Scriptures. You might remember Pharaoh, as God sends Moses before Pharaoh and says, let my people go. And do you remember what happened? Pharaoh hardened his heart. God sends ten plagues that include taking Pharaoh's own son along with the firstborn sons throughout the land. Then God parts the Red Sea. And I would say, not only did He let the people across, to escape from Egypt, but he also drew Pharaoh and his army into it, so that God could do the ultimate in crushing a nation and destroy their army. God is not mocked. You might remember Korah. That's a lesser known story in the book of Numbers. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the three of them, they questioned whether or not Moses had really truly been called by God. God had called Moses to lead the people, but Korah and his friends decided, no, wait, we could do a better job of leading this nation. And so they questioned, and before the people, they stirred up an uprising within the people. We're going to get rid of this Moses guy. All he ever does is lead us around in the desert. And God, if you remember the story, God opened the ground beneath them, they fell down inside of the hole, and God swallowed it back up, and then after that, sent a fire down from heaven. We don't pay attention to that one very often. Sent a fire down from heaven to burn up 250 people that were a part of it. You see, God does not play games. God will not be mocked. We have the ability to follow Him or to walk away. He did it at Sodom and Gomorrah. He did it in multiple places. I would say the greatest example of Him pouring out His wrath is at the cross. And there's Jesus, God in the flesh, hanging on the cross as the entire earth goes dark. for three hours as God poured out His wrath upon His Son, Jesus Christ. Please don't think that you can live after the flesh and reap something different. Please don't think that you can somehow turn your back on what Christ has done on the cross and that somehow you'll be fine. Oh, no. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. If we're apart from Him, we have no hope. His wrath abides upon us. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. And when you turn your back on the cross, that is not cheap, and that is very personal for God. Don't be deceived. God is not mocked. I think of Romans chapter 1, verses 18 to 20. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. I don't know if you've seen the wording there. God's wrath abides upon sinful men, especially sinful men who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness. I wonder if that might apply to you this morning. I have the Word of God, I have the truth of God, and yet I walk in unrighteousness. And His wrath abides upon that type of man. He continues on in verses 19 and 20, "...because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of Him from the Creator of the world are also seen, being understood by the things which are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Friend, if you have heard the gospel clearly, and you have not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, His wrath abides upon your sin, but it is even, yes, heaping up, because you are holding the truth in unrighteousness. Don't be deceived. God is not mocked. And then the third part of that principle, verse number 7, For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In computer science, we have a term that's called G-I-G-O. Garbage in, garbage out. And in computer science, it's very simple. The computer cannot do computations apart from what you give it to do. So in other words, you can't come to the computer and just ask it. We've had that happen in Cotidonga. People come to us and say, could you ask the internet if this story is true? Well, if the internet has never heard of that story before, namely your Tambuna story that has to do with Cargocult, if we ask the computer about it, the computer doesn't know anything about it. The computer will only know what we tell it, and then it will repeat what it's been told. For math computations, if you teach the computer that 2 times 3 equals 7, every time for the rest of its life, it will give the wrong answer, all right? You need to put in the proper information to get out the proper information. Your life is the same way. This doesn't just apply to diet and health and lifestyle. This has everything to do with your spiritual life as well. You put in garbage, you're going to get back out garbage. So that which you sow, you will reap. It will happen. This is a biblical law. From our pumpkin story, we saw the verse from Numbers 32, verse 23. Be sure your sins will find you out. You cannot sow weeds and expect wheat. It does not happen. Do not be deceived. Friend, this morning I want to encourage you that there are three possibilities. If you're living in sin this morning, there are three possible things that will happen. One, God might just give you over to your sin. That's a Roman's one mentality. That you love your sin and you turn your back on God for so long, you don't listen, You don't repent, and God just says, fine, I'll give you over to it. And friend, the works of the flesh will bring destruction to your soul. We'll see it in verse 8. You will reap corruption. It will be awful. That's one option. That's one thing that might happen. You follow after the flesh, God might just give you over to it completely. Or second, on the other extreme, God might draw you to repentance. He might convict your heart and bring you towards repentance. The book of Hebrews says that if you are a child of God, He will chastise you, and He will, we would say, He'll spank you, get your attention, He'll make things really awful in your life, and I hope that if you're at that point in your life, and I hope that if God's... Bringing down punishment upon you, I hope that you're listening and that you're repenting. That's the other option. Or the third option is that God might just expose you for the fraud you are. And that's one that terrifies me. As, oh, so many people will go through life, and yeah, I'm a believer, and yeah, I've put my trust in Christ, and yeah, I've seen Him bring wrath upon my sin, but I love my sin more than I love my Savior, and God will just expose it. And then that moment, it is an action of His grace upon your life. As He again, in punishment, exposes your sin so that you will come to Him. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. He is in control. And whatever you sow, you will reap. I might encourage you this morning, stop trying to look like you love Him, but acting like He doesn't exist. He knows every intimate detail of your life. What you sow is what you'll reap and there is a harvest coming. So look at verse eight with me. This is the principle and he redefines it, says it in a different way. Verse eight, he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. So I love the wording that's used here, sowing and reaping. And there's a picture here that's associated directly with the fruit. And if you sow, then there's going to be a reaping and the reaping will be fruit. So this is an agricultural thing. We understand this. You plant Kaukau, you're going to get back Kaukau. Plant tapioca, you're going to get back tapioca. Plant taro, you're going to get taro. We understand that. Plant ibekai, you're going to get your ibekai. whatever you want. You put it in the ground, that's what you're gonna get back. And if you plant or you sow in your life, if you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. The word corruption, don't think, oh, that's a government official who just got rid of some money. No, this is corruption. The word corruption literally means rottenness. And you can even think, within the picture of agriculture, it's like fruit or vegetables that are rotting. And you know what that smells like. Nobody wants that. Just a couple of days ago, I went down to, I won't say which store, because I don't want to cast shade on them. I went down to a store, and I picked up a watermelon, not too many days ago. And if you know anything about me, I love watermelons, and I love mangoes. Remember, I'm your preacher. I love you, and you can love me too. Love watermelons, and I love mangoes. And I got a watermelon. And I brought it home, and I was so excited. I told Becky, it's almost the end of watermelon season, and I love watermelons. And I got that watermelon home. I got it home, put it on the counter. This is a weakness of mine. I will cut it open and eat until my heart's content. I love a watermelon. And I've put it on the counter, and I cut it open two sides, and I started cutting the sides off, and I, oh, no. The inside of this watermelon has gone bad. And here's what I did. I thought to myself, well, maybe it's just the inside, inside that's gone bad. And so maybe, you know, like some parts of the outside might still be OK, you know? And so I got the knife, and I'm cutting away the parts that don't look bad yet. And I cut those and made them into bite-sized pieces, and I had them. off to the side, and the really bad, bad part, like I had, you know what I mean, it was like all jello-y, like, and I carried it outside, it was disgusting, gelatin-style, and off into the rubbish it went. And then I've got all these little pieces that came from the outside, and I took one of those little pieces, and I thought, I'm just going to enjoy this one, and I put it in my mouth, and I spit it right back out. It was disgusting, corruption. So to the flesh, you will of the flesh reap Corruption. Notice where the fruit comes from. It comes from where you sowed it. Sow to the flesh, the flesh will give you back corruption. But if you sow to the Spirit, notice what it is that gives the fruit. The Spirit gives the fruit. Look at it in verse 8. He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Look, sinful living has its consequences. And I don't think that we have to drill down very far to see those. How many times do we bury a young person because they decided it was just too fun to go drinking with their friends? How often do you see adultery bringing home HIV and AIDS and other STIs? And how often do you see jealousy turning a home upside down and bringing turmoil into the home? How often do we see kids being used like pawns between the parents to the point where the children lose their own self-esteem and then they turn to their peers for self-esteem and we wonder why is it that their peers have such an influence in their lives? Friend, you sow to the flesh, you will of the flesh reap corruption. I might say it again this way. There is a harvest coming. What have you been sowing? There is a harvest coming. Hear me well, friend. There is a harvest coming. You sow to the flesh, you will of the flesh reap corruption. But if you sow to the Spirit, and I love the fact that Psalm 51 even exists at all in the Bible. For Psalm 51 teaches us that a man can come broken and contrite to God. That's what David did in the sin with Bathsheba, one of the most blazing sins in the Old Testament. David comes to the Lord and the words are, a broken and contrite spirit you will not cast out. I come with a brokenness. So friend, it is possible. Don't lean on this and keep sowing, but it is possible that you have sowed to the flesh. It is possible to come to the heavenly Father and beg for forgiveness and in repentance start doing right. And yes, there will still be consequences, but oh, you will have a heavenly Father who will take care of His own. And you can begin to sow to the Spirit. You sow to the Spirit, you will of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Notice, you do not reap by going to the grocery store. You don't go to the supermarket to reap. Reaping from the Spirit comes from inside. I'm walking after the Spirit, and of the Spirit I am reaping. This fruit of the Spirit is coming out of me. I'm not putting it on. It's coming out of me. And His words here are, you'll reap life everlasting. Don't just think eternity for that one. This is going to be the best life you can have in this lifetime. You say, Pastor, I don't understand that. Well, how about a life that is filled with love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness? It doesn't get better than that. There are so many people in this world who think that their life will be the best life if they just get a nicer car, or maybe if they can get some nicer stuff. Maybe they get a better-paying job. And all the time, their life is filled with turmoil. That's not a life everlasting. Life everlasting comes because of the fruit of the Spirit coming out. And so verse number nine, he makes this statement, gives a word of encouragement. Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap. You will reap what you sow. So if you're sowing to the Spirit, don't give up. Don't quit. That's what he says in verse nine. Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Don't act like a child. A child expects an immediate harvest. You take a child out to plant something in the garden, the child wants this afternoon for the fruit to be there. Don't be a child. Be mature in your thinking. There's a harvest that is to come. and it will take time, and it will take patience, and sometimes it will take frustration, but you will continue to sow after the Spirit, and there will be a harvest. He said in verse 9, Do not be weary in well-doing, for you will reap. If you keep on sowing, you will reap, and if you faint not. So don't be weary in well-doing. Don't be weak or faltering. Don't quit. Hang in there, keep doing right, for there is a harvest coming. Keep trusting God's promises and walking in the Spirit. Keep letting God lead you and keep waiting on the Lord, for there is a harvest coming. There will be a day when He will call you home, and His words that day will be, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. And in the meantime, draw an eye to Him and resist the devil. Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And don't quit or faint along the way, because there is a harvest coming. I see in the scriptures two different times that the Apostle Paul speaks about the rapture in length. One's in 1 Thessalonians 4 and the other one's in 1 Corinthians 15. Now let me just give you an overview here and I'm going somewhere so hang with me for just a minute. In 1 Thessalonians 4 he talks about the rapture, the day that Jesus will come. And friend, on that day, oh yeah, life everlasting forevermore. So 1 Thessalonians 4, the context of 1 Thessalonians, Paul's writing to believers who are struggling because they're being persecuted from outsiders. And some of them are even dying as a result of that persecution. And in that, Paul says, hang in there. There's coming a day when Jesus is going to come back and take us all to go be with Him forever. And he ends that with 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 18. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. That's the practical outflowing of knowing there's a rapture to come. That happens in 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Corinthians 15. Same teaching. There's a rapture coming. Jesus is going to come back. He's going to raise those who are dead in Christ. Those who are asleep in Christ, He will raise them. He teaches that in 1 Corinthians 15. But the context of 1 Corinthians is very different than the context of 1 Thessalonians. Remember, they're being persecuted. 1 Corinthians, you know what they're doing in 1 Corinthians? They're walking after the flesh. They're taking each other to court. There's open adultery in the church. They're having little groups that like their own favorite preachers. They've got a lot of problems of after the flesh in 1 Corinthians. So Paul writes this whole chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, writes the whole chapter and says, Jesus is coming back. And then he ends it with one practical exhortation that is a result and a flowing out of Jesus is coming back, so there's a practical flowing out. Here it is, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. This is what he has to say. He says, therefore, because Jesus is coming, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." In other words, don't quit. There's a harvest coming. Don't give up. The Lord Jesus sees every bit of your work. He sees your struggles and knows what you're going through. He is faithful. He is just. His heart is kind. He is meek and He is lowly. He will not be mocked. And He will reward your labor in the Lord. So stand fast. Don't quit. There's a harvest coming. And so I have no idea this morning who needed to be reminded of that principle. I hope that it has solidified in your mind this morning. Stand fast. Don't let your heart deceive you. God is not mocked. What you sow, you will reap. And there's still time to start sowing differently. Let me give you the practical outflowing that he has in this passage. How do we take that and apply it to our lives? And I'm gonna admit, as I look at the passage, I didn't see coming what he gives. So I will say it like this. The principle is three verses. That's verses seven, eight, and nine. and the application wraps it. That's verse 6 and verse 10 are the application for the principle of verses 7 and 9. So let me read verse 6 and verse 10 and we'll see how do we practically apply sowing and reaping this morning. Look at verse 6. But him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. In other words, the congregation takes care of the preacher. Verse 10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. In other words, be generous in taking care of others, especially taking care of other believers. Those are the two very practical ways of seeing this principle of sowing and reaping played out. I will admit, as we come to the end of the sermon, I will admit that it is difficult for me as your pastor to speak to you as a congregation about taking care of the preacher. And yet it's a part of the whole counsel of God. And I know that the day will come when I am not your pastor. And I pray that day is a long ways away from now. But I know that it's my duty to prepare you for when I'm not here. So look again at verse number six, and we'll see what he has to say. Let him that is taught in the word, that is, those of you that are sitting in the chair, communicate unto him, that's distribute or share or take part in with him that teacheth all good things. That's the one that's standing behind the pulpit teaching the word of God to you. So those who are in the chair are to take care of those who are preaching the word. And this is not new for Paul. Jesus made the same statement when he sent his disciples out. He said this, Luke chapter 10, verses 5 to 7, Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall return to you again. And in the same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give. And here's the principle, For the laborer is worthy of his hire. So it's the responsibility of the church to take care of its pastor. And I have no problem with saying that I've been taken care of well. I'm thankful for the way that you as a church continually gift me with many hours every week. The idea behind this is so that he who teaches can give himself to the Word and prayer. Those of you that are around here during the week would know I carve out all day Tuesday. My phone's on Do Not Disturb. If you've ever tried to call me on a Tuesday, now you know why I don't answer the phone. And Tuesdays, I turn everything off, and I give myself entirely to the desk, and I'm there at my desk all day long preparing the sermon that will take less than an hour to deliver. I'll spend somewhere between 10 to 12 hours every week preparing the delivery of the sermon like this. And a gift that I receive from you as a church is the ability to do that. If I had to go and work a job, whereby it took away that time, it would eat into my ability to bring the Word of God week by week. And yet I do think that it's important that we could take this, especially on a missions Sunday like this is, and take this and apply it beyond our doors, so that folks like Pastor Konus at Anita does not have to work a full-time job and look after marketing things and try to run a trade store so that he can meet the needs of his home, but instead so that we can help take care of him as a missionary, so that he can focus on ministering to the needs of the people. And I know very well that pastoring a people is much more than standing in the pulpit and preaching the Word. There are hospital visits and funerals and house cries and counseling sessions that all come along as part of the job. And so our ability to send finances to help someone else is very important. Then look down at verse number 10. He also brings it home. For more than just financially helping the preachers, It also comes to others, verse 10, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men. Don't think that word opportunity means like, oh, this looks like a good chance, so let's do it. The word opportunity literally is a season, and this season is between the time I got saved until the time I go to heaven. So this is my opportunity. So before I got saved, I sowed to my flesh with everything I had, including my finances. And now that I'm a believer and I'm walking after the Spirit, I've got an opportunity for the rest of my life. Until I'm glorified and I'm in heaven, I have the opportunity to use my finances as a way to help other people. So as we have opportunity, His Word in verse 10, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men especially unto them who are of the household of faith. So Jesus made a statement in Matthew 5. He said, Let your lights shine before men, so they might see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. So in other words, when other people see you being generous with your money, and you're helping other people, when they see that, they're going to see your good works, and because of your good works, they're going to glorify your Father which is in heaven. In other words, this one's not my God. Money's not my God. I'm going to use money instead as a way to serve my God. And then Jesus in another place made a statement about what happens with the treasures that are in your heart. Matthew 6, 19, lay not treasure upon earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." And so I might challenge you this morning, walk in the Spirit. If you walk after the flesh with your finances, there are certain things you will do with your finances. You'll build bigger barns, get nicer cars, maybe look after a whole bunch of extra pigs so that you can get a second wife. There's a lot of things that you'll do with your finances if you're walking after the flesh. Or you walk after the Spirit, even with your finances. Walk after the Spirit. And Lord, I'm going to give you my tithes, because I'm going to trust you for everything that I do. And what you've given me is not mine. Instead, I'm a steward. I look after the things you've given me. And so I'm going to return to you my tithes. And then I'm not just going to stop there. I'm going to look after, communicate, share with, those who take care of me from the Word. And then I'm going to, as I have opportunity, being namely the rest of my life, I'm going to distribute and share with others, brothers and sisters, especially those of the house of faith. I'm going to take care of other people, because I want people to know that this temporary thing is going to be used to glorify His eternal things. So you have the option this morning. walk after the flesh or walk after the spirit. Whichever one you do, you will sow and you will reap. Father, thank you for your grace in our lives. I pray that you would help us this morning to grasp the principle of sowing and reaping. And Lord, I pray that we would not be deceived and we would never think we could mock God. but instead that we would grasp and hold on to this concept, this principle, this law, that what I sow, I will reap. So Lord, I pray that you would help us to put that into action in our day-to-day life, but then also, Lord, help us to put it into action in our finances in our day-to-day life. Thank you for your grace upon our lives. May your name be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to this message by Pastor Matt Allen of Capital City Baptist Church of Port Mosby. We would love to have you join us for service if you are in the area. If you need help with transportation, please give us a call on 7009-1000. Again, it's 7009-1000.