Living by Grace Pt 3

Good morning. Would y'all stand?

I want to welcome you to Calvary Chapel this morning, and all of you who have joined us online, we welcome you. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity this Sunday morning to come in and begin to worship in song and study your word and fellowship with you and one another. We thank you for who you are, the God of the universe, Lord.

That, Father God, you sent your only begotten Son to die on that cross for us, and whoever would believe would not perish but have eternal life. And we thank you for that, Lord. We give you praise.

Treasures of faith are never how satisfied.

Lord, you seem them all, and you still may be seated. Father, we thank you that you are the one who is in total control. When it seems like chaos is abounding, because of the power of God, we thank you that you are the one who is in total control. Because of the world and its system, you still, behind the scenes, are doing your work and have a plan, and it all come out just like you planned, Lord.

May we rest in that, Lord. We're yours, Lord.

Because your blood shed for us, Lord.

Your word says without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin. God, we know you're just. Sin had to be, the penalty of sin had to be paid for, and you did it, Lord Jesus. We praise you and thank you for that perfect sacrifice. You took them on the form, the God-man took them on the form.

Canvas and the clay. Work together on the canvas and the clay. And I know nothing has been wasted. Father, we thank you, Lord, as long as we have breath, you're not finished with us. Yours. And we give you praise for that, Lord Jesus. Batchless King, the saints adore. The angels see sufferings. This passing time, peace like water.

Oh, that you would love a wretch as we.

Thank you, Lord. I thank you for being up there at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us, Lord. As falling as you went to your knees, Lord, be your will. Let this cup pass, but not mine.

And we thank you. We give you praise.

Would you all stand? Let the earth rejoice in itself.

And we give you thanks. And now as we have some fellowship and Ryan comes up and teaches your word, Lord, anointing by the power of your Holy Spirit and anoint us to have ears to hear what you have today from your word. And then as you speak to us individually through your word, and that's so awesome and amazing to think how you do that. You meet us right where we are.

It's your word. It's a living word. And you move. And you. Speak. And so, Lord, may we have open ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to perceive, and that willingness to yield to you and obey that which you show us, Lord. And that ability just to let go and let you live in us and that reminding us that we're in Christ. And we thank you for that, Lord. And we thank you how you do supernatural things through just natural daily living as you move in our hearts, Lord.

And we thank you for that. In Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Let's have some fellowship. Let's have some fellowship.

One more time. Good morning. If you could begin the process of locating your seat. Grab your bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad you're here with us this morning. Over on the left-hand side of your bulletin are the things that are going on throughout the week. So if you're not plugged in anywhere, I want to highly encourage you to be plugged in somewhere besides just Sunday morning because it's really important for our walks to continue to pour into each other throughout the week.

So those are listed over there on the side. So locate one of those. Middle section of your bulletin, a handful of things to take note of. First of all, just remember this coming Saturday is Alive in the Park, our worship afternoon at Wilson Park. So come join us. Bring a chair. Because if you want to sit down, you're going to have to have a chair. And if you don't bring one, there's not going to be one there.

So but come join us. It's going to be a great time. June the 3rd, which is the following Saturday, is the Servants Conference up at Grace Calvary Fellowship in Wellington from 830 to 430. A lot of us from a lot of us pastors from Kansas will be speaking at that one. And then also June 8th through the 10th is the Prophecy Conference in Emporia. Both of those conferences.

Are free. The Prophecy Conference. You will have to provide your own lodging. Although I sleep in your car, which doesn't sound awesome. But if that's what you want to do, that's what you want to do. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 111.

Psalm 111. We're looking at the New American Standard for the responsive reading just so that we all sound the same. If you need a copy, there should be one in a row. Or. One in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 111, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's word. I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses.

Psalm 111. Praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart in the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who delight. Enlighten them. Splendid and majestic is his work and his righteousness endures forever. He has made his wonders to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and compassionate.

He has given food to those who fear him. He will remember his covenant forever. He has made known to his people the power of his works in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and justice. All his precepts. Are sure they are upheld forever and ever. They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to his people.

He has ordained his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. And father, we do praise you for who you are. We praise you for your power. We praise you for your power and your might. And Lord, we praise you that you see fit to reach down and love on people like us.

And so, father, as we spend time in your word this morning, I ask that you would move in our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit. I pray that you would move through your word by the power of your Holy Spirit. And father, do the work that only you can do. May we see you more clearly today. In Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the.

Book of Galatians. Chapter six.

Galatians chapter six. Today, we come to part three in our series of living by grace. Paul has taught us exactly what grace means that that grace sets us free from the law. It sets us free from our own standards. It sets us free from the things we can't do. And it enables us to be who God has called for us to be. After all, having begun in grace, we must continue in grace.

But now he's been teaching us. What it means after we've been saved by grace to live by the power of God's grace. And so he's shown us two things so far. He's told us, first of all, that grace means freedom. And as he told us that grace means freedom, he told us to stand firm in liberty. He told us to think about the consequences of legalism. And he told us that standing in liberty means to live in love.

The second thing that he talked to us about is that grace produces fruit. That's what we talked about last week. And we talked about our walk. That we need to. We walk in the spirit because as we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. After all, the lusts of the flesh are the works that we produce and the fruit that the spirit produces in us are all of those wonderful things that we talked about.

And it's all the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. But today we come to part three and part three's subheading is this grace cares for others. Grace cares for others. By God's grace, we have each been placed within the body of Christ. And as grace places us within the body of Christ, there's a wonderful aspect of the body. And that's that we all care for each other.

God has put us all together because we are stronger together than we are on our own. Last night was kind of a cool evening. And I decided I would sit out on my back patio to do my preparation for this morning's service. And I had just cut up a bunch of limbs in my. Yard and some I hold off and some I decided I would save for a campfire. I've got this little fire bowl that I keep on my back patio.

I thought, man, what a great night to have a campfire. And so I took some of the stuff and some old bills I didn't want to pay anyway. And I threw them all in this campfire. It's not true. It's just the old shredded credit card things that I don't want anymore. Anyway, so I threw it all in the campfire and in this wonderful fire was there. And so I'm doing my studying and the fire is going.

And every now and then I had to stoke the fire and to stoke the fire. You got to push everything closer together, right? Because. Because you know that if things start to separate in a fire, the fire diminishes. As a matter of fact, when I got ready to go to bed last night, there was nothing left but some really strong burning embers inside of this big metal bowl.

And I thought, I don't want to run into any issues. I want this fire to make sure that it goes out. So I took a large stick and I spread all of the embers out. You know why I spread all of the embers out? Because together those embers make a strong glowing fire. But as I spread them out, each of those embers, each of those embers on their own will eventually fizzle out and turn cold.

It's a way to protect my yard from catching on fire. But you know, the same is true of us as the body of Christ. God puts us all together because together we are a strong glowing fire. We are a fire burning with the power of the Holy Spirit. We're a fire that supports each other. And we are a force to be reckoned with as far as the world is concerned. But if you begin to separate us out.

Sure. We may glow a little bit, but eventually we'll grow cold because grace has put us into a body because grace causes us to care for each other. Well, with that as a backdrop, we come to chapter six, verse one, and this is what it says. It says, 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 therefore, or 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 has 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 faith. So as we look at this aspect of grace, caring for each other, I believe that in these first 10 verses, Paul gave us six principles for what it looks like to allow grace, to work in our hearts, to care for each other.

Six principles that I want us to go over one by one. The first principle is this number one, restore. Notice what it says in verse one, it says, brethren, if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. He says, even if someone is caught up in a trespass.

Now, if you look back in chapter five, you know that Paul told us of the works of the flesh. And he told us that whoever is habitually living in those works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. So we know that when he talks about someone who is caught up in a trespass, he talks about someone who is caught up in a trespass. We're not talking about someone who has made it their life to live according to the things of the flesh.

The idea of being caught up in a trespass is this, you were running from sin, but sin ran faster. I found that to be an interesting quote from one of the commentators that I read. You were in a life trying to run from the things of sin, but sin ran a little bit faster and you got caught up in a trespass. You got caught up in the things of the world. You got caught up in the.

Sinful aspects of our flesh and brothers and sisters, there's not one of us that at some point in time has not found ourselves caught up in a trespass who has not found ourselves caught in the things of sin. One thing led to another and all of a sudden you find yourself going, I don't know what happened, but here I am. And in the body of Christ, when we find ourselves caught up in a trespass, you know, it's our tendency to do. It is our tendency to withdraw from God.

It is our tendency to withdraw from everyone else around us because we failed. And when we do that, we become like that ember in the fire that gets drawn away from the rest of the fire. And all of a sudden it finds that now it's growing cold and it's fizzling out because it's been removed. Paul says, when you see someone who is caught up in a trespass, brethren, you should restore that person.

You should restore them. The word restore means to mend what has been broken. Picture, if you will, someone who has a broken arm. A few years ago, my youngest daughter was at my oldest daughter's gymnastics gym. And while my oldest daughter is out there doing like back tucks and back handsprings, the things that could really get you injured, my youngest daughter decided she would play.

And so she was running through the gym and she jumped over something. And because she's a nickel, she couldn't. So I landed. And so she tripped over something. And when she did, she stiff armed the floor and it caused two major issues. Number one, there was a small fracture. Number two, there was a dislocation. If you will, her arm got caught up in a trespass.

She was trying to run. Her clumsiness ran faster. She gets it from her father. And so we had to do something. And so what we had to do is we had to go see a doctor. As a matter of fact, we had to go see an orthopedic surgeon. And that orthopedic surgeon. The orthopedic surgeon diagnosed the problem. And then he set about the process of mending it, of restoring it.

He put the dislocated joint back into place. He made sure that the break did not need reset. And then he put a cast on her arm. And he said, make sure that cast stays on here. And she's very careful with it for this amount of time. And so for that amount of time, her mother and I went about the process of making sure that she didn't do anything else crazy, like jump on trampolines or ride bicycles.

As much as she tried to, we wouldn't let her do it because we knew that her arm was in the process of being restored. And brothers and sisters, that same process that I just described that took place in my seven-year-old daughter's life is the same process that needs to take place in our own lives that we as the body need to do for each other. When we see someone caught up in a trespass, we need to take the time, diagnose the problem, help them reset the joint, help them reset the bone, and then care for them and protect them until it's restored. Amen.

Until it's healed. Do you know what? We usually have two wrong responses in the body of Christ when it comes to people falling in sin. Number one, we tend to ignore. Someone gets caught up in sin and we just ignore them. Yeah, they've kind of fallen off the wagon. They've kind of fallen away from Jesus. They've kind of fallen into some sinful things and I don't want anything to do with them

anymore until they decide they're done. I'm not going to go after them. Well, right here, that doesn't seem to be what he said to do. He said we're to restore them. And brothers and sisters, sometimes. I think we need to get off our rear ends and go after somebody that has separated themselves from the body of Christ because they've fallen into sin. So the first thing we tend to do is we tend to ignore.

But the second thing that we tend to do, and this is what the legalistic people approaching the church of Galatia was trying to do, we tend to condemn. And that condemnation can either take place face to face where we let them know that they're no longer welcome here because of their sin, or that condemnation takes place behind their back, which is usually what happens. And we all talk about them. We may cloak it with the idea of calling it a prayer request, but we all know what it is.

It's gossip. And we talk about them behind their back. And brothers and sisters, that's not what God wants. You who are spiritual, you who are walking in the things of the spirit, you who are habitually ordering your life according to the things of the Holy Spirit, you are to restore them. Diagnose. The problem helped them set the bone and then listen, protect them until it's completely

healed because notice what he says. We're supposed to do it. And we're supposed to do this in a spirit of gentleness. I loved, I think it was David Guzik in his commentary that said this, not in superiority and not in self-righteousness, but gentleness. I'm here to tell you right now, I've worked with lots of people that have had injuries and you know what you always have to do when you come up to them?

Be really gentle. Listen, you ever come up to somebody that's had a really bad sunburn and I don't know what it is, but anytime you have a sunburn on your back, everybody in the world wants to give you the biggest slap on the back they've ever given you in your entire life. And you think, does this happen every time? And I just don't notice it because they don't have a sunburn or is it because I have a sunburn and they know it and they want to be rough with me.

But when you see someone that's injured and you realize where the injury is, what do we do? Oh gosh, I don't want to, I don't want to hurt that. We're always really gentle with them, right? Because we realize I don't want to hurt them. We don't want to bring any more harm to that situation. But sometimes in the body of Christ, we see somebody that's fallen into sin and you know

what we say? I knew it. I knew you weren't as good as me. I knew you had weaknesses in the flesh. Let me show you how it's to be done. No, that's not the way we're supposed to be with each other. There should be that spirit of gentleness, not superiority, not self-righteousness, but a tenderness. And then notice the warning that he gives. Taking heed to yourself so that you too will not be tempted.

So that you too will not be tempted. I'm reminded of what Paul told us in the book of first Corinthians, where he says, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Because we have to understand that no sin has overtaken you except such as is common to all of us. And so brothers and sisters, we need to restore. Number two is bear burdens, bear burdens.

And notice what it says. It just simply says that right there in verse two, it says, bear one another's burdens and therefore, or thereby fulfill the law of Christ. The word bear means to take up with hands or to carry, to take up with hands or to carry. Perhaps you can paint the picture in your mind of seeing somebody. Struggling under the load of something per perhaps you're, you're at the grocery store

and you see somebody trying to carry all of their bags of groceries out to the car and they're sort of failing because one bag starting to fall, maybe one bag bursts open and you see them and you say, let me help you. And you take your hands and you scoop, scoop up and help them carry the things that are difficult for them. The word to bear carries with it the idea of a very personal involvement with the burdens of another. Because I'm going to take up with hands.

Hands and carry. Well, brothers and sisters, many of the people in the body of Christ are bearing burdens on their own. The word burden literally means a heavy weight. It means a heavy weight. Something that an individual is unable to carry on their own. I don't know what those burdens are for the body of Christ, but we can begin to identify them. Perhaps we know someone that bears the burden of the struggle with sin that they have.

And it's too much for them to carry on their own. And they need other brothers and sisters in Christ to come alongside them to not only hold them accountable, but to support them and hold them up, to keep them away from the things that might cause them sin. If you know somebody that has just come out of the party lifestyle, perhaps you need to come alongside them and invite them to do other things. If you know somebody that's just coming out of a relationship that was very damaging, perhaps you know someone that just came out of a broken, very damaged, perhaps abusive relationship, you come alongside them and you remind them of the love that Jesus Christ has for them.

There are kids that are bearing the burdens of abusive parents, and they need to see what a real male, what a real man looks like to come alongside and love someone, to come alongside and be tender with someone, to show them exactly what a father figure is supposed to look like in their life, to show them exactly what a mother figure is supposed to look like in their life. And in so doing, you bear the burdens of someone else. Perhaps you see that someone's load that they've taken upon themselves is just too heavy, and they need help carrying it. Perhaps their emotional burden is too heavy, and they need help carrying it.

And listen, you have a choice to make. You can either look at the person in need and say, sure hope that goes okay for you and walks away, or you can decide to get personally. You see, grace prompts us to care for others, and it prompts us to get personally involved in the lives of each other. We have to understand something about the body of Christ. We have to understand something about church.

We can try to make it look as pretty as we want to, but sometimes when it comes right down to it, life is really messy, and we have to get involved in the mess with each other. Sometimes we have to get involved in the mess with each other. Sometimes church is really messy, and we have to get involved in the mess with each other. Sometimes life is really ugly, and we have to be willing to get involved in it with each other.

Because I believe personally that the days of the pristine looking churches where everything is perfect need to go away, and the days where the church is a hospital for sinners have arrived. Because brothers and sisters, whether it's the people of the world, or whether it's all of the people sitting in here right now, we're all bearing burdens, and sometimes those burdens are too heavy for us to carry, and we need to start getting personally involved in the lives of each other. I've started listening to a book by David Jeremiah. It's called Where Do We Go From Here?

He's been doing a series on this the past few weeks in his radio program, and so either A, you should go back and listen to his series on this, or B, you should go back and listen to his series on this, or C, you should buy the book. I like to listen to him on Audible, because then I can do other things while I'm listening. I'm very auditory. I'm kind of weird like that.

But anyway, I'm listening to it, and one of the things that he talked about is the fact that one of the things that we need to invest in as churches, which is what we've been trying to do here, is we need to invest in small groups. He said churches need to be investing in their small groups because we need each other. Whether it's the fact that we need to invest in each other, or whether it's the fact that we need to invest in each other, or whether it's the fact that we need to invest in each We don't know what's going to happen in the future with the church, or whether it's just the fact that you can't be an isolated person that shows up to church on Sunday morning

and then disappears for the rest of the week because you'll become like that coal that eventually gets separated and fizzles out. Whatever it is, you need to be involved in a group. You need to be involved in a small group where you can get involved in each other's lives, where you can start sharing the nasty, nitty-gritty things of life with each other, where you can confess to each other the transgressions that you have, where you can be held accountable with each other to the transgressions that you have, where you can bear your heart when the burden is too much for you to the people that are around you so that they can support you not only through prayer, but through phone calls and text messages and Bible verses and

just sometimes plain old being involved in your life because we are called to bear each other's burdens. And you know why we're called to bear each other's burdens? He says, because thereby you fulfill the law of Christ. What does he mean when he says that? Well, if you remember the very end of Jesus's life, when he was in the upper room with the disciples, he says, a new law I give to you, that you love each other as I have loved you.

This is how they'll know you're my disciples when you have love for each other. And so brothers and sisters, as we bear each other's burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ because ultimately we begin to love each other the way that Jesus has called for. And so the second principle that he gives us is to bear each other's burdens. The third principle that he gives us is kind of an interesting one, but let me explain why it's important.

Number three, examine yourself. Examine yourself. Notice what he says in verse three. He says, 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 bears his own load. So let's discuss what we mean by this, because there's an importance of examining ourselves.

He starts off by saying, if anyone thinks he is something, then he has deceived himself because he is actually nothing. Why does he say that? Well, because there's two types of people in the world. Number one, there's two types of people in the world. Number two, there's two types of people in the world. Number one, the types of people that won't ask for help.

Number two, the type of people that won't help. Have you ever noticed that? There's some people in the world that won't ask anybody in the world for help because by golly, it's my burden to bear. Nobody else is going to help me with it. I'm going to be a self-made person. Listen, I can tend to be that kind of a person, okay? I don't like asking people for help because in my mind, I'm putting somebody else out.

And ultimately, as much as I hate to admit it, there's pride involved, right? Because there's the pride that says, I can do it myself. When I first started dating my wife, she was a nanny for a family. And there was a little girl. Her name was Peyton. Peyton was about three or four years old when I first started dating Aaron. And the thing that she would always say is, I want to do it my own big girl self.

And listen, that's kind of who we are as human beings, right? I want to do it my own big boy self because nobody's going to help me. But then there's other people in the world who aren't going to go out of their way to help anybody. Because it would be stooping too low for them to do it. Now, sometimes it's cloaked with laziness. But can we all just be honest and understand that at the heart of it all, there's actually pride?

Because I'm not going to stop what I'm doing to help you. And so he says, if anyone thinks he is something, someone who doesn't need help, or someone who's not willing to help bear the burden of another, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. So how do we realize what we're really like? Well, each must examine his own work. Everybody needs to examine themselves.

Listen, one of the best things we can do as believers in Jesus Christ is every now and then take a little self-examination. Lord, let's look at my heart right now. Where am I not asking for help from people when I really need it? Where am I not willing to bear the burdens of others? Where is their pride in my heart? Where is their sin in my heart? Because giving ourselves a little...

little bit of a self-exam is a really good thing to do because as we examine ourselves, God is really good to point out those things to us. And he says, that's, that's where you're not doing a very good job of things right there. That's why the word of God is so important because the word of God helps us to examine ourselves. It's like a, it's like a mirror that we hold up to ourselves and go, well, that doesn't look good. And then we have to do something about it. That's why when I

stand up here after I've studied for three or four days to put together a message, I tell you about all my failures. You know why? Because this forced me to examine myself and see the things that are wrong. He said, each one must examine his own work. And then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone. Now, the idea behind this reason for boasting has nothing to do with selfish self-exaltation. It has everything to do with

boasting and what God doesn't mean. It has everything about to do with boasting about what God is doing in my heart. And then he gives us one last statement when it comes to examining ourselves. He says, for each one will bear his own load. Now, I'm going to be honest. When I first started studying that, I thought, well, that's an odd statement because he just told us to do what? Bear each

other's burdens. And yet right here, he says, each must bear his own load. So which one is it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we going to do it? Are we to bear each other's burdens or do we bear our own load? And you know what my answer to you

is? Yes. It's both. The first thing we have to understand, there's two different Greek words that are used here. The Greek word that's used in verse two is the Greek word for a heavy load, a heavy weight that we carry. The word that's used in verse five is the word for a backpack that a soldier would carry. In other words, it's someone's individual calling. And so let me tell you what it

means to this is why we have to examine ourselves, because when it comes right down to it, I will stand before God based on who I am and what I've done. You can help me bear my burden. But when it comes right down to it, I carry my load because my walk is not dependent upon you. My relationship with Jesus Christ is not dependent upon you. What God has called me to do is not dependent upon you.

Ultimately, I'm the one that will stand before God for it. Sometimes we as believers in Jesus, have a tendency to make our problems, everybody else's problems. We have a tendency to make my issue, everybody else's issue. And while the body needs to come around believers to bear us up, we must examine ourselves and say, what do I actually need help with? And what's my own load

to carry? What am I putting off on people? That's actually my responsibility because when it comes right down to it, I'll be the one that stands before God. And so he tells us, first of all, that we are to restore. Second of all, that we are to bear burdens. Third, to examine ourselves. And then number four, he says, you reap what you sow. Verse six, he says, the one who has 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 flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. He tells us that we will reap what we sow. Now he starts off this section in what I consider an embarrassing, at least for

those of us as pastors sort of way, because he starts off by saying the one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Now, the idea here is that those that teach the word should be cared for both materially and spiritually. But I want to tell you what word he uses to indicate that. He says, those who are the teachers or those who are the learners should share with the teachers. That word share is the

word koinonia. The word koinonia means to have all things in common. We would also translate it communion. In other words, we're all, the body of Christ. And while one of the ways that we sow is to sow to the works of the Lord with our finances, one of the greatest ways that we can sow to the works of the Lord is to simply have communion with those who teach us, is to simply have communion with those

who lead us. I'm going to share something with you that not a lot of pastors will, but I always say things I shouldn't say. Pastors are oftentimes very lonely people. Now, it's partly because that's who we are by nature. God made us that way because he knew that we would have to stand alone in a lot of ways. But oftentimes being a pastor can be a lonely place. And I'm just going to be honest, and I'm not just speaking for me here.

I'm speaking for every pastor I've ever been around in my entire life. And brothers and sisters, I have multiple pastors in my family, and I am friends with lots and lots of pastors. I remember when I got married, Pastor Rick, my old pastor, from Calvary Johnson County, when everybody starts showing up, he goes, I think there's more clergy here than anyone else. Because I just have a lot of pastors in my friends and family. So I've been around a lot throughout my entire life. And it's a lonely place to be

sometimes, partly because you have to stand up in front of people and teach them the truth. And sometimes that makes you unpopular. Sometimes people say, well, we don't want to talk about that because the pastor's around. And so the pastor shows up and everybody goes, hey, pastor. Listen, those that lead, whether it's myself, Pastor Allen, or any of the elders or deacons here,

those that lead, we need communion just as much as everybody else does. But it also means that a pastor is not better than anyone else. A pastor is not above anyone else. They need communion too. They need cared for as well. I think I've shared this with you before, but when I was in Bible college, I was a dorm steward. And some Bible colleges called them the dorm dork. We were the ones that were in charge of our

particular room, made sure everybody followed the rules, did the cleaning, and took showers and all that kind of stuff. So when we would have these dorm steward meetings, and I remember Mark Schwartz, the guy that was the head of all of the, he was a dean of men and in charge of all of us as dorm stewards. At our very first dorm steward meeting, he looks at all of us and says, some of you have been chosen for this job. Because of your great leadership skills, responsibility, and ability. Some of you

are here because I don't trust you. And I'm never going to let you know which one you are. And that's the way it is with pastors, right? Like, it's like some of us are here because God has blessed us. And then there's me and God didn't trust me. He's like, I need to put him in a place where I can watch him more closely. And we need communion. But not only do we sow

to the leaders in our lives, but we sow in our own lives. Because notice what it says, do not be deceived. Verse seven, God is not mocked for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. I love this because he says, don't be deceived. You know why? Because we tend to deceive ourselves. And we tend to think we can pull it over on God. We forget that there's a principle in life that

cannot be changed. Whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap. A couple of weeks ago, my great pride and joy right now is that I've got baby grass. Coming up in my yard. Thank you, Jesus. Anyway, so a couple of weeks ago, my yard has just been destroyed over the past couple of years, right? Between army worms and it's not raining and like intense heat and all this kind of stuff. My yard has just been destroyed. So I thought, you know

what? I'm just going to bite the bullet. It may cost an arm and a leg to water things in Ark City, but I'm just going to do it. So I went and I rented the verticutter. So I go over my yard with a verticutter and I seed and I... Brothers and sisters, I don't work like that anymore, okay? I don't do manual labor anymore. I was so physically destroyed when that was done. I'm like, I am so old. This is not awesome.

Anyway, so I do all that and I sowed tall fescue seed. And so I watched and went to bed and I watched and went to bed and I watched. And I've been watching it. Last week I went, baby grasses, baby grasses coming up. Every day I'm like, hey Aaron, you see that? Baby grasses. Look out more baby grasses. Every day I walk out and I'm like, oh, baby grasses coming up here. Look at you guys. You're growing. You know

why baby grass is growing up? Because I planted grass seed. Now, if I planted grass seed and a fruit tree came up, I would be like, what was that? You know why? Because what you sow is what you reap. You're going to get what you put in. Well, as believers in Jesus Christ, we oftentimes think I can live how I want to live and I can still grow in Jesus. No, whatever you sow, that's what you're going to reap. What you invest in is what you'll

get in return. He explains it a little bit more clearly when he says, for the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. The one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. I go over this a lot. It's as much for me as it is for you guys. But what do you spend your time listening to? What do you spend your time watching? Who do you spend your time talking to? What do you

put into your mind on a consistent basis? Because that's like sowing. You're planting things in your mind. I want you to know something. What you put in is what you're going to get out. What you put in are the things that are going to come out of you. If you continually put in all of the filth of the world, then what's going to come out of you is all of the filth of the world. Now

listen, there's some things that you can't help. You can't help the people that you work with in the way that they talk. You just can't, right? I dealt with this when I worked construction. I remember the summer that I don't struggle a lot anymore with my language. I did it one time in my life. I don't as much anymore. But there was one time that I was struggling with my language.

I worked seven days a week the entire summer because we were remodeling a school and they kept changing the plans. And so seven days a week from the beginning of July till the end of August, I was around for 10 hours a day. I was around guys who only knew the F word. I'm pretty sure that's all. As a matter of fact, they created ways to use bad language. There was one particular guy

and I love him dearly. He's a good friend of mine. But I told my wife the other day, I said, that guy actually made me blush a few times with the things that he said. And I was like, it took a lot by that point in time. I'm like, you win. You're the winner. And that summer I struggled with my language. Every now and then I would let something out and I had to apologize to the guys that I worked with. Like, hey guys, I'm sorry. I did not mean

to let that out of my mouth. And they're like, come on, Ryan, nobody cares. I'm like, I care. That's my witness. And I'm a believer and I shouldn't do that in front of you. But you know why? Because every day for 10 hours a day, you know what I took in? All of the garbage of the world. So when I'd come home, you know what? I didn't want to watch. I didn't want to watch a movie, a movie with a lot of profanity in it.

And so my daughter asks me now, why is it a big deal that we listen to music that doesn't have all the garbage in it? I've heard all those words before. And I say, just because you've heard them before, doesn't mean you should fill your mind with it all the time. Doesn't mean that those things should be what's going into your ears all the time, because what you put in is what you're going to get out. And brothers and sisters, if you're filling yourself with the filth of the

world, then what's going to get you out? And I said, well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't either through your words, your thoughts or your actions are all the things of the world. So be careful little eyes, what you see, right? And so he goes on to say, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life.

The one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. Listen, if you are putting the good things of God's word into your mind, then what's going to come out is God's word. you are putting all of the praise of God into your mind, then what's going to come out is the praise is praise to God. If you are putting Bible teaching into your mind, then what's going to come out are biblical principles, because what you put in is what you will ultimately get out. But many of us

as believers feel like we can pull one over on God. Lord, I know that there's a lot of people that can't do that. I'm strong enough to handle it. I'm strong enough to take all those things in. You know what I learned over and over again? I'm not. I'm not strong enough to handle it, right? I'm a sucker for a good crime-solving show. I can't help it. I love the aspect of trying to

figure out who did it. But eventually some of those shows I just have to turn off because I'm like, man, I just can't put that in anymore. I think I've shared this with you before. I used to watch Criminal Minds all the time. Y'all ever watch Criminal Minds? Stop it. Don't watch it. It's a bad show. Anyway, so I used to watch Criminal Minds all the time. And I remember having a dream one time that I was being

chased by a serial killer in a basement. And I was like, probably time for me to stop watching that show now. I think that that's what's happening. I think maybe I'm filling my mind with too much stuff. And so he says, what you reap, that's what you're going to sow. Number five, and when caring for others, this is so important. Do not lose heart. Do not lose heart.

That's what it says in verse nine. Let us not lose heart in doing good. For in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. In the New King James version, it says, let us not grow weary in doing good. Let us not grow weary in doing good. The word weary carries with the idea of exhaustion. As a matter of fact, two different commentators that I read gave me two different options for what,

that word weary was used for in the ancient Greek language. And I have to believe it was probably used for both if people came up with both. The first commentator that I read said that it was often used of a farmer who would grow weary before the crop came up because of all of the work he kept putting into it, all of the exhaustion that he kept putting into his crop. It was just not seeing the fruits of his labor. But the second one is the one that stuck out to me the most. And

I believe it was David Guzik and his commentator. And I believe it was David Guzik and his commentator. that mentioned this. He says it was actually a Greek medical term, this word weary. It's a Greek medical term that was used of a woman who was in labor, who had been in labor for hours and had continued pushing and wanted to give up right before the baby was born. She was considered at

that point in time to be, whatever the Greek word was therefore, weary. Now I'm going to be honest with you. This world, will wear you out. Doing good for other people will wear you out. It will make you weary. It will bring that exhaustion to you. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that there's many of us in this room this morning, the guy on the stage included, that often feel weary in the

things that we do. You're just exhausted from it. And so I've really been praying about this a lot this week, especially the past two weeks. I've been praying about this a lot this week, especially the past two weeks. And I've been praying about this a lot this week, especially the past two weeks. I've been praying, Lord, so when somebody finds themselves weary, what do we do? Because I have

to believe that the reason why Paul wrote, don't grow weary in well-doing, is because he had a tendency to grow weary in well-doing. I think it's something he'd been through himself and is now writing to exhort them, don't allow this to happen to yourself. And so I thought, okay, that's a great exhortation. Don't grow weary in well-doing, but how do we do? How do we do that? How do we get to a place where we're no longer weary in our well-doing?

Because brothers and sisters, it gets tiring, does it not? It gets tiring to fight battles on every single end of life sometimes, to where every day you wake up and you think, well, who's it going to be today? Who's going to be mad at me today, right? Or who's not going to appreciate what I do for them today? Is it going to be my kids? Maybe. Probably. Is it going to be my co-workers? Who's

it going to be? So how do we not grow weary in well-doing? Well, as I prayed about it, I feel like the Lord gave me three things that I think we need to pay attention to, to not grow weary. Number one, we have to remember our calling. Let me emphasize a word here. You have to remember your calling. And I'm going to tell you why I think it's really important to do that. It's because the calling on your calling

your life is different than the calling on everybody else's life. And sometimes the reason why we've grown weary is because we're trying to live out somebody else's calling. And we're trying to live it out either, A, because we saw somebody else doing it and we think, that's what I should be doing too. Because honestly, that's the issue with social media right now, is we see somebody else doing something and we think, oh, shoot, I should be doing that too. Why am I not doing that?

I, that's something I should be doing. We see somebody, something example for us, which is really good. And that's really great that they're doing that because that's what God's called them to do. And they're living out their calling in their life. But then you take their calling and you make it yours. And now you're worn out because you've forgotten what your calling is. And you're too busy trying to live everybody else's. Sometimes

we do that because we see somebody else doing something. We see the example, but sometimes we try to live out other people's callings. Listen, because somebody told you you're supposed to. Because somebody said, this is what you are supposed to do. This is what it looks like to raise your kids. This is what it looks like to educate your kids. This is what it looks like to

be a good Christian. This is what it looks like to serve God. And you have to do it this way.

And now you're trying to live out somebody else's calling. And because of that, you're worn out. And you're worn out because that's not what you were ever called to do. I've shared with you before, and I'll do it again because it's the best illustration that I can come up with. A few years ago, I ran in a half marathon, the only one I've ever run in, probably the only one

I'll ever run in. But when you signed up, you had to sign up for a goal time. The goal time I signed up for was two hours. Now, the goal times were all over the map. I think the guy that won it did it like an hour and 20 minutes. Friends, that ain't my race. That's not my calling. But listen, if I looked at the guy that was going to run it in an hour and 20 minutes, and I thought, gosh, that's

what he's doing. And if he said, listen, everybody should be able to run it this fast. And I tried to do that. You know what would happen to me? I'd have a heart attack in about the first half a mile because I can't keep that pace because that's not who I am. And that's not my calling. That's not my race. My race was back here with the people that could do it in two hours.

And many of us are weary right now because you've forgotten your calling. I think the first thing that we need to do is remember what God has called you to do. Number two, rest in the Lord. Now, I think resting in the Lord takes on two forms. I think, first of all, resting in the Lord means sometimes, brothers and sisters, you need to take yourself a nap. We live in a world right now that says if you're not

going nonstop all day long, you're doing it wrong. That if you stop, it means you're failing. That if you take a break, it means you're failing. And you know what we find Jesus doing all the time? That dude was always taking him a nap. Don't get me wrong. I think Jesus worked harder than anybody else that ever lived on earth. But when he got tired, he didn't let anything stop him from taking a rest.

Matter of fact, there's a story about Elijah. And Elijah was worn out. He was weary. He was weary in what God had called him to do. And God reminded him of his calling. And then God gave him a snack. And then Elijah just took a nap for a really long time. And after that, he was able to run for 40 days. Brothers and sisters, you cannot overestimate the importance of resting physically.

But the other aspect of resting in the Lord is exactly that. You rest in the Lord. All you, can do is all you can do. Everything else is up to Jesus. If God calls you to give someone the truth, give them the truth. Let him change their heart. If God calls you to change someone's tire, change their tire. Let him do all the rest of everything else that needs done. If all God

calls you to do is make a phone call, make a phone call. Let Jesus do everything else. We need to rest in God's ability to take our insufficiency and make it completely sufficient because that's who he is. Friends, we need to rest in the Lord. And then number three, we need to understand that it's his battle, not yours. I'm really good at doing this. No, I'm really bad at doing that. I'm really

good at doing this. I'm really good at taking all of the problems and making them my own and saying, that's something I need to solve. That's something I need to do. And God's like, no, it's not. I'm just letting you know what's going on so that you can be praying about it because I already have a plan. I used to work for a guy and he'd come out and he'd lay out all these things that needed

to be done. And I'd get really overwhelmed and I would go, I don't know how to do any of that. And he'd look at me and say, well, I'm not asking you to do any of that. I'm just letting you know what needs to be done. These are the things that we're working on. And I was like, thank God. So I had to learn to ask myself and him a question. I had to learn to say,

what do you want me to do? And then he would tell me what he wanted me to do. And it was usually achievable because the overall battle wasn't mine. It was his. The overarching weight of the business was not mine. It was his. And it's the same in my walk with Jesus Christ. Sometimes God will allow us to see all of the issues and we need to learn to ask, so what do you want me to do? And he'll

say, just do this because the battle's mine. You do what I call you to do. Let me deal with everything else. Brothers and sisters, don't grow weary to the point of exhaustion. Why? Because in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. Friends, the results are coming. They may come on this side of eternity. They may come on the other side of eternity, but they will be there in exactly

God's timing. Number six, this is the last one. Take advantage of every opportunity. Verse 10, it says, so then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Take advantage of every opportunity. He says, so then while we have an opportunity. Now, according to Kenneth Wiest and his word studies,

the idea of the Greek structure of this language is this. Not only is it while we have opportunity, but the idea also is to look for opportunity. Look for opportunities. Look for opportunities to do good for other people. Look for those things. In other words, pay attention to the needs that are around us. If grace allows us to care for other people, then we need to pay attention to the needs of the people that are around us.

How many of us have a tendency to walk through life looking straight down, forgetting everybody else that's around me because I'm only focused on what I'm focused on right now. And we stop looking for opportunities. Brothers and sisters, opportunities are all around us. Opportunities to do good for people are all around us. We have to look for them. We have to take advantage of them as God calls us to.

But I want you to notice that the two groups of people that he tells us that we're to do good to. Number one, he says, do good to all people. Now, I'm sure you've heard this little joke before, because we as pastors like to tell it, but the word all in the Greek literally means all. In other words, do good to all people. But Lord, what about the people I don't like?

All people. But Lord, what about the homosexuals? All people. Lord, what about the Muslims? All people. But Lord, what about the people that are having a drag show? All people. Look to do good to all people. And listen, brothers and sisters, if we had any question what that meant, Jesus gave us a really good illustration of it. Because somebody came to him and they said,

what's the greatest commandment? He said, well, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And a lawyer looking to trip him up said, but who's my neighbor? And that was when he told the story of the good Samaritan. Now, Samaritans and Jews hated each other. And quite frankly, they believed false doctrine and followed idolatrous practices. And yet the Samaritan

was the one who stopped and helped the Jew. It wasn't the priest. It wasn't the scribe. It was the Samaritan. And so Jesus looked at the lawyer and he said, so who acted like his neighbor? And he said, well, the one who stopped and helped. He said, then you go and do likewise. In other words, your neighbor, is the one who's in need. Brothers and sisters, we should look to do good to all, but notice what he says next, but especially

those of the household of faith. In other words, but in particular, be looking to help. Be looking to bear the burdens of those who are in the household of faith. Friends, grace means caring for others. Because grace has been at work, our hearts, and that same grace is shed abroad to the people that are around us. It's all His work. It's not mine, but He does want us to be involved. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me.

Father, we come to You, and we thank You for what Your Word has to say. And Lord, I pray that You would just continue to minister that Word to our hearts and lives. Father, may we not grow weary. And Lord, if there are any in here this morning that feel that weariness, they feel worn down, they feel beat down. And Lord, they feel like things are never going to change. I just pray for that strength for them right now, for that overflowing power

of Your Holy Spirit to bring the encouragement that only Your Holy Spirit can bring. Father, move in their lives, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Lord bless you. Have a great week. God bless you all.