This morning we want to read again Galatians chapter 6 verses 1 through 10 as we prepare to hear the Lord's Word. This is the Lord's Word and we should say this that people will say often times, well this the Bible was written by men. We say yes, God used the instrumentality of men to record His Word. But God, get this, God is so big, so powerful, so perfect, that he can use imperfect men to accomplish a perfect task, that the word of God is true, it's infallible, it's without error, everything it asserts will come to pass and can be and should be trusted in. This isn't like reading Homer's Iliad. This is not like reading Shakespeare. This is the living word of God. So we should hear it with that in mind. Listen again to our God's word. Brethren, if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. They are one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself, but each one must examine his own work and then He will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another, for each one will bear his own load. The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, this he will 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. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Amen. Please be seated. Again, O Lord, we thank you for your word and pray now that your blessing be upon it as we would break it open. I pray that you would bless this preacher to be faithful to handle your word. And we pray that you would bring application to the mind of your people, things in which I could never know, but that you know because you see all things. Father, we ask that you would advance your kingdom and your glory and that you would cause the kingdom of Satan great injury by granting that people's ears should be open and that people should be set free from the snare of the devil to do his bidding. We pray that you would bind the strong man and that you would plunder his house. that you would gather for yourself your people now. Give us ears, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. As we continue to make our way to the end of this epistle, the Apostle Paul continues to be concerned about the body life of the church. This is important for us because this is the problem that we have. And you will see this oftentimes or hear these things expressed. Oh, I like the sermons, or I like the Bible, and in fact, I will listen to sermons on the radio, and I'll find them on television, but I really want nothing to do with the church, because the church is full of people, and people let me down all the time. The problem is, friends, is that Jesus Christ came and died for the church. He didn't die for sermons. He died for the church. And in Christianity, if you are a believer, Christianity is to be lived out in the context of the church. And so you really can't sidestep this thing. It's terribly important that we function as a body and that we focus our attentions, as Paul is focusing our attention, on the body of Christ. Body life is always compromised and the health of the local church is always jeopardized when we move away from a proper understanding of the gospel. Remember that legalism and license are enemies of the gospel. What is the gospel? Here it is simply, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That's good news. That's what gospel means. It's good news. Christ came into the world to die for sinners. Paul would say in 1 Timothy 1.15, among whom I am the foremost, said Paul. Christ did not come into the world to make salvation possible, to enable you to improve yourself so that you could recommend yourself to God. That's the legalist. Jesus is a foothold, a footstep up towards heaven, but really you need to join with him to accomplish salvation. That's the doctrine of the Roman church. That's the doctrine of the Mormon religion. That is not the gospel according to Jesus. That is not the gospel according to his servant, the apostle Paul. That is not the gospel according to the scriptures. Christ did not come to make salvation possible. He came to accomplish salvation. We don't save ourselves, Jesus Christ saves sinners. As well, Jesus did not come to deliver us out from underneath sin's dominion and curse in order that we might turn right around to indulge in it. This is license. Both of these are a detriment to the body of Christ. Legalism and licentiousness, living out our flesh, using grace as a cheap excuse in order to indulge in my sin, these are both detrimental to the church, the body of Christ, the local congregation. For you were called to freedom, said Paul, You are called to freedom, brethren. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. As a church, rather than to destroy one another, we are called to love one another, which you might have noticed throughout this worship service, there's an ongoing theme. of what it means to love. Christ came and washed our feet and says, if I'm the master and I wash your feet, disciple, you are now to turn around and wash the feet of others. That's so un-American because we hire professionals to wash feet. I don't take up towels. I don't do feet. You better start getting used to doing feet, friends, because that's what our Lord has called us to do. and there's a lot of stinky feet in the local church. There needs to be a lot of foot washing taking place. So notice, after Paul has gone through all of this, he's winding down here in this little letter to the Galatian churches, and he is writing now that we are called to bless the body of Christ. Again, the gospel must never be separated from the local expression of it in the congregation of the Lord's people. You cannot say, I am a Christian in isolation of other people. Your Christianity is manifest, is shown by how you deal with one another. The two must never be separated. Doctrine was not meant to simply inform us of information It is meant to inform our discipleship of how we're called to love one another. And I don't know that I need to say it, but I'll say it anyways. That's precisely why he has hammered home the gospel throughout this book, and now he continues to apply it. You must live these things out. You must live them out. And here he calls us to bless the body, to restore brothers who are caught in sin in a spirit of gentleness, bearing the burdens that are so weighty upon some of our brethren, but being very careful not to get caught ourselves in sin and not to think too highly of ourselves, knowing, friends, it is not what we are in comparison to one another that counts, but what we are before God. And for these things, we will give an account. Remember this? So in the church, you find people that you're more mature than. You don't look down your nose and say, well, why don't they get their life together? Why don't they straighten up? Rather, we understand we are what we are by the grace of God. And because I've received the grace of God and he's washed my feet, now I will turn and I will minister so that this brother or sister can also grow up in the Lord and walk faithfully before him. In this section, we are still dealing now in verses six through 10, we are still dealing with the body life of the church. This is this whole context, this whole section. And in particular, we are dealing with that which is good. Christians should embrace what is good and not let go of what is good. And so the question came, what is our duty towards one another? What is our duty towards one another in the church? And we come to verse six. And again, the bigger context is the body of Christ, how we're supposed to interact with one another. Verse six says this, the one who has taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Let me summarize it this way. Verse six, participate in the good together, participate in the good that is in the church participate in it together. This verse was a bit of a struggle to think through. At first glance, or even second or third glance, this verse might appear somewhat random, as if it's out of place and unrelated to the rest of the verses. It's as if he has broken away to say, oh, by the way, make sure you pay your pastors. But if you will notice, verses 1 and 2 state this of chapter 6, brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Then we come to verses 9 and 10. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Paul is speaking in these verses about how we are called to minister to one another. It doesn't seem to fit to say that verse six should be unrelated to the body of the church. Historically, this verse has been understood as being an exhortation to congregations to pay your pastor, and that's why I made that little quip. Because historically, that's what people have said that means. You should pay your pastors. I agree, you should pay your pastor. I don't agree that this is the passage that teaches that. If you want to turn over to 1 Corinthians 9, you can see this. And I'm doing this, friends, by way of explanation. I want you to see historically, because you should be very careful Whenever you start saying things that disagree with the Church of History, you better have a good reason to say, I don't think they quite got this right. I'm saying this very gingerly and tenderly, but I think I'm right, and I will show you why in a little bit. Verses 9 through 11 of 1 Corinthians 9 says, for it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. God is not concerned about oxen, is he? Or is he speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? Paul seems to be making the case here that, yes, you have an obligation to pay your pastor. Can I get an amen? Amen. However, as I said, I don't think that this verse is teaching that. That verse is not teaching this. And again, the reason I bring this up is because most of the ancient fathers, godly men, great commentators would state that this is what it's about. Sharing good things means paying them. Clearly it's taught in scripture. I don't believe it's taught here. It may mean, as he says, the one who has taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. It may mean that those things that are intrinsically good or valuable, perhaps financial supports included in this, maybe he's saying, give encouragement to them. Share with them how you've been blessed by the ministry of the word as he teaches. Hebrews 13, 17 says, obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Again, maybe, maybe he's saying something like that here. The strength of these two views that I've just espoused are, first of all, that our English translation seems to clearly allude to these sorts of things, and historically, paying your pastors was the way that this was translated. But again, contextually, I find it awkward. Why would Paul jump from sin and burdens and pride to, by the way, pay your pastor? The third option I want to suggest, and I believe is the correct one, is I'm indebted to the commentator Lenski. And I'm making use of his gifts, the gifts that the Lord has given him, that we might be blessed in it. He translated the verse from the Greek like this. Moreover, let him who is being instructed in the word be partaker with the one instructing him in all good things. The word koinoneo is the word we use for fellowship. The basic idea is that there's share equality or share equally. Paul is talking about mutuality, not of one party serving another or providing for another, but of both parties sharing together in good things. Both parties are sharing together. in good things. So in verse one, we were told about the brother who was caught in a trespass, that he is to be restored gently. Verse two, bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. And then in verse six, we would look at it this way, that the one who has been struggling is a partaker with the one who instructs him in all good things. So Lenski had this to say, yes, there are not only burdens in which we must fellowship and aid those who bear them, there are also good things, spiritually and morally beneficial things in which we should delight to have fellowship with those who possess these good things. The burdens are painful. The good things are conducive to salvation, delightful. With those who have the burdens and with those who have these good things, we should keep fellowship, making ourselves fellow with them." And you're saying, now, what'd you just say? The one who's taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches them. He's to partake of the same good things. We have a brother, a sister, who is struggling with sin. They're caught in a sin. And our goal is to mend the relationship, to restore them to that prior condition. We bear this burden with them. And it's as if the first half, Paul is talking about we're gonna deal with the sin, and it's a lot of hard work. In verse six he's saying, don't only correct the things that have gone awry, but enjoy the good things as well. It's possible for people to be so overwhelmed with their sin that they never stop to enjoy the good things that the Lord has given, to see the blessing, the positive, the upshot of what there is to be found in blessing in being delivered. Paul says elsewhere, Friends, in Romans 12, let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Listen, cling to that which is good. What would you say to somebody who is struggling with sin? Let's turn away from this sin. Let's get out of there and let's come over here. and we're going to start enjoying the good things that the Lord has given. It would seem then, most fitting here, that the apostle is exhorting those who have and are struggling against sin and temptation not to cut themselves off, nor should they be cut off by the rest of us, from the good things that will bring relief, that will bring comfort and encouragement to them in their walks before the Lord. What might that be? The fellowship with believers. Any of you struggling so much so this morning that you said, I don't know that I want to go to church today? Of course there are. When you're depressed, you want to climb under a rock. You don't want to go be around people. If you're struggling with some sin, the temptation is, I got to get my act together before I go around all those people. Isn't that what we do? It is what we do. And Paul says, don't cut yourself off. You need to be a partaker in the good things. Those who are teaching those good things, you need those good things together. You need to be partakers. You need to fellowship in those good things. So we fellowship with other believers. We bring ourselves in to be exposed to the word of God, to pray, to have times of worship. Listen, what better to help you out of the mire than to get your eyes off yourself and onto the one who has risen victoriously? I'm serious, I know you don't feel like it, but we do it, and we encourage one another to do it, because it's what is needed. Some of you, you're in darkness, and I was talking to somebody recently, and they said, you know what they like to do? They put on Christian music. They put on Christian music, and you know what it does? It lifts their minds to things above. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. That's a very proper and right thing to do because it points us to Christ who is greater than our struggles. We partake in the things that are good. Hebrews 10, 23 through 25 says, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering For he who promised is faithful and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near." You see what he is saying here? How do we handle sin? How do we handle struggles in the body of Christ? What we like to do is either distance ourselves or we say, don't bother coming around until you get your life in order. Both of those are sinful responses according to the Word of God. You need to partake of the good things. You need to focus on the Lord Jesus. We need to be in the Word of God, being reminded, not that there's something superstitious or mechanical, or I read my Bible there, now I should feel better. It's walking with the Lord, do you understand? It's knowing the Lord and what He has done for us. That's where our battles are fought. That's how it is when we sit at the foot of the cross and we remember what Jesus Christ has done and who He is, and we recount the stories of the Bible again and again and again, and are reminded that even righteous lot wasn't forsaken by the Lord. We can get awfully dark. Paul says, first of all, participate in the good together, partake of the good together. Secondly, he points out in verses seven and eight, promote what is good, so to the spirit. How do we help each other? What is our duty here to one another? Participate or partake of that which is good. Secondly, promote what is good. sow to the spirit. Verses seven and eight state this. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows this he will 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. It's a warning he gives. Paul gives a warning to us. Often, friends, we are tempted to think that we are the exception to things. Again, he's in the context of the body life of the church. And you have people coming in and people going out, and some will say, I'll come in, I'll do my hour and a half, and then I'll go out. And it doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter what I say. It doesn't matter how I live. What I do is inconsequential to the rest of the people in that church. I can do whatever I want. I know that the Bible says this and the Bible says that, but really, I can do anything I want. And so you end up neglecting the good things, the good things, the means of grace, the fellowship, the Lord's Supper, the preaching of the word, the singing of praises. We push all of that aside because our lives are in order. What should I need? What do I need? And so Paul gives this warning. He gives a warning. You are not going to get away with it. You cannot act with impunity towards the things that the Lord has stated in his word and get away with it. Let me just remind you, did King David get away with it? He did not. Did King Solomon get away with it? Well, kings shouldn't have many wives, but I'm the exception. I can have lots of wives and lots of concubines. It won't affect me. Did it affect him? You bet it did. Did it affect the nation? It did. How about King Uzziah? Though I'm a king, I can do the functions of a priest. And so he races into the temple to offer sacrifice. And those priests said, oh, no, you don't. And you remember what happened? And he was a great king. But pride became his undoing. I can do different. I'm the exception to what the scripture says. And King Uzziah was struck with leprosy. The man who was at the center of everything is now pushed to the outskirts, isolated, apart from the Lord's people. How about Miriam, Moses's sister? Did she get away with her bad-mouthing? She did not. What about Ananias and Sapphira? Did they get away with their sin? Do you remember what happened? They were both struck dead. and serves as an example to this day to the Lord's people. Can you turn your nose up at God? That's what the word mach means. Can you turn your nose up at God and get away with it? No, you can't. You think you can come into the church and sow to the flesh and get away with it? No, you can't. Paul here is giving a very stern warning Don't be deceived. Don't think that you can disregard what the Lord has said and what he has commanded. He will not be mocked. It's a warning. And so you must, friends, you must consider what are you promoting in the church? This is a very personal lesson for all of us. Each of you must ask yourself this question. What am I promoting in the church? What kinds of things do I encourage in the church? What do my words encourage? What do my actions encourage? What does my lifestyle encourage? Let me ask you this. What did our little children walk away from church thinking about the church? You ever thought about that? What's the lesson they learned? Do they know that the church is the body of Christ and that it's a special blessing to be a part of the church? Or do they think of it as, I gotta do this. What a bunch of lousy people. What do they hear from your mouth? What do they see in your behaviors? What is it you promote? Do you promote that which the Lord has instructed and ought to be done? Or do you treat lightly what he says? Do you belittle what he says? Do you take lightly what he says? This is weighty. This is very weighty. I hear this said sometimes and it makes me sad. Well, I'm going to go do this anyway. Friend, it's not my law. It's God's law. What are you doing with God? turning her nose up at him. Paul cautions this. He cautions it because there are people who think, well, I can be a blessing to the body of Christ without having to obey the Lord. You see how that destroys the body life of the church? He says it here, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. It's a law that's written. into the universe, what God has created. If I plant corn, guess what's going to grow? Corn. You are awake. And if I blow on a dandelion seed head, what do you think's going to grow in your yard? Dandelions. I have much experience with dandelions. This is true, my friends, for all humanity. Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Now, he takes it one step further, 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. If I plant according to the flesh, what do you think will be the end result of planting the flesh? What do you think will become of Grace Reform Fellowship if we plant flesh seeds? Corruption. You know, I have a theory. We hear of how many of our college students are leaving the church once they get out of their parents' homes. You know what I think the biggest reason for that is? I think it's fathers not delighting in the Lord's church and not delighting in the Lord. That's what I believe it is. We go home and we roast the pastor. We shred his words. We make little of the teachings. We say, oh, and we come up with every exception in the book. to what he was saying. We minimalize. We call them legalists if they're striving to obey the Lord's word. We call them lustoids if they're resting in the Lord's grace. We do all sorts of things. And we plant these seeds in our children. And guess what comes about of it when they come time for college age? Weeds. Flesh weeds grow up and they start repeating and taking on the attitudes that have been planted and cultivated for years. And you find this in the church and Paul is saying, I'm concerned for the church to be healthy and what you guys do is you plant flesh. You come and you bite and you devour one another. And you're actually fighting against the very thing you don't want to fight against. You're sowing things that are ungodly because you're taking the attitude of, well, it might affect everyone else, but it'll never affect me because I'm exempt. And Paul says, no, you're not. Do not be deceived. Whatever a man sows is what he reaps. That's universally true for every one of us in this room. What you are promoting is what you're going to get. What you promote, what you prompt is going to come about. There are those who give disregard to the things of the Lord and that they will get away with it and they won't. Again, Paul says, if you plant to the flesh, if you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. Listen again to Galatians 5, 19 through 21. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who sow to the flesh, indulge their sinful nature, will reap destruction and will reap death. Do I need to say it, friends? that the Lord has redeemed us, and the one who is the Holy One of Israel says to his people, I am holy, therefore you should be holy too. We are not supposed to be indulging in sowing seeds of the flesh. This destroys the church. people coming into the church to take, to use, to pray upon, and to indulge their own flesh, promote an evil in the church, and harm the Lord's church, and ultimately will lead to them being judged by the Lord. Jesus said it in Matthew 7, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, Depart from me you who practice lawlessness. What are you promoting in the body of Christ? You're promoting your flesh and fleshly desires. Or are you sowing to the spirit? Are you sowing to the spirit? Again, 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. We've said this before, friends. If we are united to Christ by faith, we have his Spirit living within us. We're now, because we are sons of God, we cry out, Abba, Father. We have an intimacy and a closeness to the Father because of what Jesus Christ has done. His Spirit now living in our hearts. If we live by the Spirit, said Paul, let us also walk by the Spirit. To be in behavior, in heart, in attitude, what Christ has set us free to be, living as a man or a woman in the fear of the Lord. Paul said the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Which do you promote? I'm thankful for this congregation because you've never told me to preach shorter. All kidding aside, you've never told me to preach shorter. You've been very encouraging about just preach the word. When you sing, you sing. When it's time for prayer, you're quiet or you're praying yourselves. You bring your children to church, that's excellent. And you children sit and you listen, because that's hard sometimes. We are promoting the things of the spirit when we engage in these things. There are churches who got their rock bands and they're full of entertainment and they're wildly exciting. Do not preach and do not promote the things of the spirit, but the things of the flesh. Our world frowns upon these things that I'm talking about. They frown upon sermons and reading the Bible and worshiping the Lord in our homes and speaking of the things of the Lord. They poo-poo the whole idea of loving each other and obedience to God, being patient and trust in the Lord and prayer and encouragement. But these are the things we ought to be promoting in the church and ought not to be denigrating we ought not to denigrate these things, but rather should promote them. He gives this warning to the people not to be deceived because there are those who promote the things of the flesh and think that they are not harming anyone nor themselves, but in the end, they will bear their consequences for indulging in their flesh. So that's the question I have for you. What are you promoting with your lifestyle, with your words, in your behaviors given Sundays? What is your attitude after you leave this place? You know, you're gonna reap what you sow. I hope that outside of church, you're promoting good things as well. Promoting obedience and not belittling the things that the Lord has called us to do. Again, and friends, please don't belittle the things of the Lord. like the Ten Commandments, nothing drives me nuttier than people who roll their eyes and go, oh, you're one of those people. Oh, you mean one of those people who wants to obey the Lord. Don't be like that. Don't discourage people from obeying the Lord. Here, then, lastly, again, we want to partake of the good things that are given to us. We want to promote the things of the Spirit. We want to promote, sow the things of the Spirit in the life of the church. And last, we want to persevere in doing these things, doing good. We want to persevere in doing good. He anticipates here another argument, and that argument would be this. Well, I have promoted those things of the Lord. I have promoted. I've encouraged people to go to church. I pray for people. I talk to them about the Lord, and nothing ever happens. I see no fruit. What I say falls on deaf ears. The things I do go unnoticed. I quit." That's in the church. It was in the church then. It's in our church today. He says in verse 9 and 10, let us not lose heart in doing good for in time, in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. He deals with the problem of being fainthearted. The love of the church is a lot of work. Being a part of a congregation is not easy. Everyone you see, you can look around you, here are things that are universally true. We're all sinners. We're all struggling with different things. We all have our insecurities, our dispositions. We have our propensities, the things we like, the things we dislike. And we are in different places in our faith. There are young Christians and there are old Christians. And on top of that, every one of us has to deal with our own sin in dealing with other people and their sin. So you try and you try to do right, and it doesn't seem as though you're gaining a foothold, that you're gaining any ground. Something kind of funny happened this week. Last week, during the sermon, I exhorted people about coming to church Sunday morning and Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. And Sunday night we actually had less people than what is usually happens on a Sunday night. And one of you came up to me kind of tongue in cheek saying, well, I guess they listened to the sermon this morning. And I'm laughing because during the week, some of you did more, more came to prayer. And it was a huge blessing to me. Promoting good things. We're called to promote good things and we're called to persevere in promoting good things. We might take the attitude, well, since there was less people tonight after you exhorted, maybe we ought to just can Sunday nights all together and let's just go home. Let me say, The chance of us canning Sunday nights, if it's left up me, it'd be easier for Chick-fil-A to start selling hamburgers. We're not giving up the Lord's Day. It's not going to happen. We're going to persevere until this whole congregation starts seeing the Lord's Day as the Lord's Day. And you know why that is, friends? Because it's the Lord's Day, not the Lord's morning. it's the Lord's day. And it's easy to become discouraged when we're trying to promote good things and then we quit. And if we quit, we never see the fruit of our labors. You never see a harvest if you quit. And this is the problem in the church. It's not that many of you aren't doing the right things, it's that you need to be not fainthearted, but persevere in the things the Lord has called you to. And the reason we don't understand, we don't understand what these good things are, we don't appreciate true treasures. Really, I'm serious when I say this, we don't appreciate preaching. Good, bad, or indifferent, the Word is preached here. It is preached. It's a good thing. The Word is taught. That is a good thing. Bring your children. Bring your family members, make it a point to set aside the Lord's day so that you would sit under good things and partake of these good things. But we become discouraged and then we throw in the towel because there are no immediate results. Listen friends, if we don't persevere in promoting what is good, we will not reap the harvest. If we quit trying to introduce others to Jesus Christ, guess how many people will not come to Jesus Christ? But it's so hard. They look at me funny, and they reject me, and they call me names. Persevere. Persevere in telling them of the Lord. If we throw our hands up in desperation and disciplining our children, well, they're just not getting it. Guess what? They'll be 100 times a bigger cretin than they are right now. You've got to discipline them. It's a lot of work. Don't throw up your hands and quit. Lead them in the things of the Lord. If we finally lose all patience with that troubling co-worker, I'm through. How will you ever gain him? If we say no more Sunday evening study or no more prayer meetings because people aren't responding, you see, Satan will have won. We persevere in promoting the good things that the Lord has called us to. That's how we benefit one another. That's our duty to one another. to say, come on, and to promote things that are good, not the things of the flesh, not what I'm feeling and throwing up and complaining and bittering and grumbling and mumbling like the Israelites of old, but pointing people to Jesus Christ, His faithfulness, His undying love for His people, the fact that He will never abandon us. These are the things we do. Struggling? Brother, let's pray about this. It's what we do. And then we persevere in these things. If we say, I'm done in regard to pouring my life into others who are ingrates, I'm through loving the unlovely, there will be no harvest, no growth, no deliverance, no freedom, and no more witness. Americans, we give up. How long do we do this? Again, friends, in God's timing, Until he gives a harvest, we keep after it. We must persevere in promoting that which is of the spirit to this final conclusion. So then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Again, Jesus Christ has come to wash our feet that we might wash the feet of others. Jesus Christ has come to bless us that we in turn might be a blessing to those around us. Jesus Christ has come and done good to us that we would do good to others. And as he provides opportunities, says the apostle, and when needs present themselves to us from neighbors and friends and enemies, hear me? Yes, even enemies. That is what you once were to the Lord. When these things come, we meet those pressing needs and we step into their lives. Plenty of catastrophes and economic hardships already in our country and in our world. You have watched the floods in Louisiana, the fires in California. You have seen of the Hurricane Hermine that has just smacked northern Florida. You've heard of the earthquakes going on that have happened, rather, in Italy, 63 towns completely leveled. You know of the refugee crisis. You know of the tent camps and Christians who have been pushed out of their homes and struggling. And that's not to mention all of the needs that are here in our own country and around our own region. As the Lord provides opportunity, Paul is saying, while we have these opportunities, let us do good to all people. Don't quit. don't let your love grow cold because of the things that are going on around us. We are called to love them, to promote what is good, and to persevere in doing good. And then he says that we are supposed to especially, not exclusively, but especially meet the needs of those who are of the household of faith. That is your brothers and sisters in the Lord. The deeds of the flesh that we sow, are wrapped up in ourselves and being self-gratified in my comforts and my ease and what fits my schedule. To sow the seeds of the Spirit, to sow to the Spirit in order to please the Spirit, we walk in obedience to the Lord and we look after one another. This is what Jesus Christ has done for us in this Lord's Supper. We see this very plainly. Not convenient, not easy. He leaves glory, leaves the the glory of heaven that is positioned next to the Father in glory and takes on human flesh. For our understanding, he takes up a basin and a towel in order that he might come, in order that he might do good to his people. It's the very same thing we are called to do with one another, to do good. to leave your comforts, to leave the desires of your flesh behind, and walk after the way the Lord has called us to walk. And as we walk in the manner that the Lord has called us to walk, guess what happens? The body is built and encouraged and strengthened in grace. We begin to shine in a supernatural way in the world around us. Because we're not just another flesh fest. We're actually pursuing the glory of Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us by his own blood. It's a weighty chapter, and not one we should toss off or cast off lightly. We need each other. And God uses the body to bless the body, to bless each other through these means of grace. Would you bow with me and we will ask the Lord's blessing on this supper.