Children can be dismissed for Children's Church at this time. Bye, Ayla. Galatians chapter six. Galatians chapter six, and we'll begin reading in verse seven. Galatians chapter six, and we'll begin reading in verse seven.

Don't weary of doing good. Galatians chapter six and verse seven. Give you just a moment longer to find that. While you're doing that, I'm gonna find James one here and mark it. Alright.

Here we go. Galatians six seven. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing. For in due season, we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for this day, for your word. May you move in our hearts that it might conform us to the image of your son. In Jesus' precious name we do pray. Amen.

Here in this passage, we see several things. The first is the law of sowing and what? Reaping. You will reap what you sow. If you sow faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll reap what?

Everlasting life. If you choose to sow the righteousness of man or sinful pleasures or put your faith in the gods of this world are not really gods at all. That is sowing to the flesh and you shall love the flesh, reap what? Corruption and death. Sad to say, we sinful human beings are always trying to get away with something.

And we always seem to think that they'll get caught, but not who? Us. They'll they'll reap what they sow, but not who? Not me. It will not come back to haunt us, but God God tells us here bluntly not to be deceived into believing the lie of the devil.

God says, be sure your sin will, what, find you out. Now good has its reward also, even for the lost, though temporary it may be. But evil, sowing to the flesh, giving in to the lust of the flesh, doing the will of the flesh, the old nature, always produces more what? More evil, more sin, and rains down upon the head of the sinner dreadful consequences. In James chapter one, James writes this.

He says, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Some people blame God for their failures. Some people blame Satan for their failures. But most of our failures is just whose fault, ours and ours alone. The devil rarely has time to bother with you.

He set in motion something way back in the Garden of Eden, and he trusts your own lust to be enough temptation to trip you up. And though God does test us and allow us to get into some difficult situations, God allows those so that we might learn and succeed, not that we might fail. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. You can't do like Adam did in the Garden of Eden.

Doesn't work. Didn't work for him, won't work for you. What did Adam say when God came to him? God said, why did you do that? And he pointed over at the woman and said, it's the woman's fault.

That doesn't work. You can't blame the woman. You can't blame the friend. You can't blame the TV. You can't blame others for your sin.

It is our fault. And what we sow, we will what? We will reap. For those who reject the goodness, the righteousness of Christ, that consequence is eternal, sadly, in the lake of fire. In addition to the evil things which may befall them in this life, There is a greater judgment to worry about coming after death for as appointed under man wants to die, but after this the what?

The judgment. And those who do not accept the righteousness of Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. They will have to deal with that upon that day rather than the day they accepted him. But you child of God, you who have been saved from sin and hell, you are not called unto wickedness, but you are called to do what? What's the title?

You are called to do what? To do good. To sow of the spirit that which is good rather than the flesh that which is evil. In Ephesians two eight nine eight through 10, and we often quote verse eight and nine, for by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourselves, the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But we don't often quote verse 10, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto what?

Good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Why did God save you? Is the only reason God saved you is so that you wouldn't have to go to hell? No. God saved you that you might bring glory to your maker, to your creator, that you might do works and live a life to his glory, that you might be salt and light for him upon the earth, that you might do what?

Good works which God hath before established, ordained, and declared in his word that he expects of his children. Micah six eight, Old Testament. He hath showed thee, o man, what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly? What does that mean?

To do right, to be fair, to be honest, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Matthew five sixteen, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Titus two fourteen, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous unto good works, a strange people. And in the eyes of the world, we are strange people. But that's okay because we are the apple of God's eye.

We are a peculiar what? Treasure treasure in the eyes of our God. He has made us different that we might make a difference for him. It's okay to be peculiar for Jesus. You have been declared and made righteous in Christ Jesus.

Now choose to live like it. Who was Paul writing this letter to? The what we call the book of Galatians. Actually, it's a letter. Who was Paul writing?

Well, he's writing Christians in a province of what today is Turkey called Galatia. He's writing to those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ. He's writing those he assumes to be born again believers. And he reminds believers here not to be what? Deceived.

That what you reap, you will sow. But you say, but I'm a Christian. It's under the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God it is. And you will not face eternal judgment for your sin because that eternal judgment was faced by who?

By Jesus Christ when he died on the cross and nailed the handwriting of ordinances that was against you on his cross and paid the price and took the penalty for them. However, there are still consequences for sin. You are not immune to consequences here in this life for the things that you do. God doesn't want you to face the bad consequences. He wants you to be blessed with the good ones.

But you are warned when you choose otherwise. You still can and you may still suffer for those sinful choices. Suffer the same earthly consequences as the lost around you. Being a child of God does not exempt you from those consequences, even physical death. For instance, drinking, smoking, doing drugs can addict you, destroy your mind and your body, and maybe even take your what?

Take your life. So Christian, if you do heroin, you're just as likely to get addicted as the person standing beside you. And you will also face the same what? Consequences. For instance, sexual promiscuity can result in unwanted pregnancy, disease, and all kinds of other problems.

Speeding or driving carelessly can get you a ticket. You ever tried to pull out, hey, I'm a Christian when the policeman walks up? My sin is under the blood of Jesus Christ. You can't give me a ticket. Don't think that's going to fly.

No. And what's worse, you might end up in a bad accident. Who knows? Maybe because of your carelessness, someone else might die. Someone else whose soul is not secured in Christ as yours is.

You see, our actions still have what? Consequences. Even as a Christian, you can reap what you sow If you make the wrong choices, you can also suffer the chastening hand of God. God declares in Hebrews, he chastens, thus disciplines his children when they go astray as any loving parent would do or should do. And sometimes what God has to do to get our attention isn't what?

Pleasant. He says, now chasing for the moment is not pleasant, but it yields a good fruit. In other words, my child might not like it when I have to discipline them for trying to run out into traffic or put their hand on a burner or stick their finger in a light socket. However, that discipline, that punishment, that chastening is for their what? It's for their good.

And, hopefully, it will keep them from getting run over in the street. A God who loves us is a God who disciplines us when it is needed, who pulls us out of the mess that we have put ourselves in before we have to face the full brunt of the consequences, and it isn't always pleasant. But when you sow righteousness, good works to the spirit, walking in the spirit by God's grace and power, obeying your heavenly father, you will reap life, divine eternal life from above. Meaning, that which is good, that which is life giving, that which is life promoting, that which brings abundant life, and most importantly, treasure where? In heaven.

When you choose to put your faith in Christ and receive the righteousness that is only to be had in him and then you choose each day to walk in him. You not only reap the reward that was won for us by Christ on the cross that is eternal life and a home in heaven awaiting us but you reap blessings and you reap wonderful opportunities for service to Christ. And crowns one day in heaven. There is reward. There are blessings.

There are good consequences that follow when we do that which is right. Yes, it is only by the grace of God and righteousness of Christ that you have a place in heaven, but there are rewards for walking with the Lord both there and here. No. It is not a get rich scheme. There is a gospel, quote unquote, out there called the prosperity gospel.

It teaches if you give me money, God will give you what? More. And notice most of the time the guy's saying, if you will do good for me, right, if you'll if you'll give to our church, if you'll put in the offering plate, then God will bless you immensely is the one that's getting all the what? The all the money. Yeah.

So who gets rich in that scheme? The preacher does. The evangelist does. The TV personality. The charlatan in many cases gets the money and everybody else just gets what?

Horror. Because the fact is God's blessings don't rain down in dollars and cents and gold most of the time because there are many much greater blessings to be had than dollars in the bank. And God knows that. And we as Christians should too. It's not a get rich scream.

It's not a a get out of jail free card. Just do the right thing today and God will just overlook the bad stuff from yesterday. So I did something bad yesterday. I'll go mail I'll go mow my neighbor's grass and God will just overlook those sins I committed yesterday and the day before because I did something what? Good.

God doesn't keep keep score that way. You may, but God doesn't. For the believer, your sins are atoned for, but that doesn't mean there are not consequences for your bad choices. Sadly, many of the lost in this world who have yet to come to the savior think that the way to pleasing God is doing more good than what? Than bad.

As though the good just erases the what? Bad. Where do you find that in scripture? You don't. You don't find that in scripture.

Jesus Christ can erase the bad off the books of heaven. Jesus Christ can change your life and make you a child of God if you'll come to him. But no amount of good works is going to erase the bad off the books of heaven or the consequences of earth. Not by works of righteousness we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for without faith, it is impossible to please God.

And there is this word repentance. It's used sometimes synonymously with salvation. It emphasizes a genuine remorse and desire of a heart of the heart to turn from sin to Christ. Not just to continue in sin and confess it to a priest each week, and that'll fix it. So, hey, nothing wrong with getting drunk as long as you confess it on Saturday or Sunday, then you can do it again on what?

Friday or Monday. Because, hey, it's taken care of. I did the good work, I erased the bad work. Doesn't work that way. Doesn't work that way.

For those who come to Christ, they come with a heart of what? Repentance. Heart of repentance. So number one, there is the law of sowing and reaping. If you sow to the flesh and reject the savior, well, then you're going to sow and you're going to reap eternal death.

If you sow in faith by accepting Christ, you'll reap what? Everlasting life. Christian, believer, if we do those things in the will of God, by the grace of God, in the power of God, to the glory of God, to be salt and light on this earth, we will reap blessings of God. We will. And crowns in heaven.

But if you reap Christian to the flesh still, there are consequences that you will face. Don't be what? Don't be deceived. Number two, don't get discouraged in doing right. Don't get discouraged.

You say, well, the Bible says, sow in the spirit to the spirit and reap life ever live good reap good things in this life and the one to come. And I keep doing what's right and everything seems to just keep going what? Wrong. I've been I've been trying to talk to that friend, that neighbor, that loved one, and they just get mad at me. I try to do right and splat.

On my face, here I go. I'm just discouraged. You know something? I think God understands that sometimes we get what? We get discouraged because we are very shortsighted.

We are. It's part of the human experience. Our life is but a what? A vapor. It's here for a moment and it's gone.

It passes so quickly. And we we want to see those blessings today, now, tomorrow. We we don't want to wait for heaven. We don't want to wait for twenty years down the road. We want to see them today and they don't always come today, at least not in the way we we're looking for.

And so, we often get discouraged and Paul knows that. Do you think Paul ever got discouraged? Yeah. He did. I'm sure he did.

Say, well, I don't see that in scripture. Look, he did all this and he went I man, I know Paul got discouraged. Yeah, look, went to these cities. He went and preached the gospel. They threw him in prison.

When preached the gospel, they whipped him and left him. When preached the gospel, they stoned him and left him for dead. I'm sure he got a bit discouraged. And he knew that others do it too. So he said in verse nine, let us not be weary in well doing.

For in due season, in due time, we shall what? Reap if we faint not. In this life and the one to come. Sometimes, the blessings for doing what is right and God honoring are not immediately impair apparent. A matter of fact, sometimes it seems the opposite results.

God pleads with you, his child, do not give up or get discouraged in his service. Your reward will come and you will see the benefits of serving Christ and that doing right is worth it all. We sing a song in our hymn book. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ one glimpse of his dear face all sorrow will erase so bravely run the race till we see Christ.

And there is that little verse Romans eight twenty eight that says, all things work together for what? Good to them that love the Lord, to those who are the called according to his purpose. All things in the end work together for our what? Benefit in the Lord. God even takes some of the blunders we make and in the end, uses them for our good.

He's he's just that powerful, and he's just that merciful, and he's just that patient, and he's just that loving. But we have to not get discouraged and give up. I'm afraid too many Christians have kinda gotten a little bit discouraged and given up. They're not in church today. They're not actively serving the Lord because they tried.

It didn't go as they planned and then they just kinda what? They got discouraged and they kinda gave up and they haven't made much effort since then. Who's missing out? They are. They're missing out because God Jesus didn't just die to give you a place in heaven.

Jesus died to change your life and bless you here on earth. Think about Joseph for a minute. Joseph in the Old Testament. Here's Joseph. He obeys his father, does his best.

His brothers who are a little bit mischievous, they get jealous of their brother because, well, he is the teacher's pet or the parent's pet. And eventually, they get so jealous and envious that they throw him in a pit and leave him for dead. So here, Joshua I mean, Joseph is doing what's right and he sowed to the spirit, so to speak. He did the right thing and what what's the result? Well, what's the result?

He ends up in a what? In a pit. And then his brothers decide, well, he's worth more money if we sell him than leave him in the pit. So they sold him. So then he ends up in Potiphar's house.

And again, he does what's right. He rejects, rebuffs the advances of Potiphar's wife. He is a good servant. And what happens? What's the result?

He ends up in jail. Was he in jail for just a few days, a few weeks? No. He was in jail for a few years of his life. Several years he's been in jail.

Again, he was a model prisoner. And still, for years, there he was stuck in jail. Just doesn't seem like the sowing and the reaping is happening the way it's supposed to. But then, the butler and the baker, and he interprets their dreams. And the butler tells him, as soon as I get back to service, I'll let the pharaoh know and of course, the butler forgets.

Until pharaoh has a dream and then pharaoh has a dream. Oh, the butler remembers. Joseph. And so Pharaoh pulls him out. God gives Joseph the interpretation of the dream.

Joseph becomes the second highest ruler in all the land of Egypt. Did he reap what he sowed? Yes, he did. It took a while. It took a while.

And we too often get discouraged because, well, it's just not going according to plan. Whose plan? Your plan. But maybe it's just going according to God's plan. And you know something?

If Joseph at any point had jumped up and down and said, God, I'm done. I'm not you know, if Joseph had followed his plan, then he'd have missed out on something far far better. Sometimes in the ministry in particular, one can get discouraged or in trying to witness to a coworker, a friend, or relative who doesn't seem to care. Do not get weary and give up. Keep praying for them and going out of your way to show them the love of Christ.

Several times in the ministry, I have seen God do amazing things but it didn't happen what? It doesn't happen immediately. There's a a fellow that came to our church when I was youth pastor in Georgia. His name was Jerry Brooks. He got saved at a revival.

And some things changed overnight, but some things took somewhat some time. Jerry Brooks became our bus driver to pick up kids for about ten years. He looked like a bouncer at a big group of a guy. Super soft heart. A young man came to my a boy, really, junior high when he came to my youth group in Georgia.

His name was Jason Councilman. His dad died shortly after he was coming through a blood clot in the hospital and was gone. His mother literally went crazy. He had to basically raise himself and his younger sister. One day, he was sitting in his room with a gun to his head in high school and one of his friends from the youth group just happened to call and saved his life.

Jason went to camp one year in high school and he got saved. And boy, did God change his life. Now he owns a couple of Chick fil A's in Savannah, Georgia. I got to stop and talk to him when I was there. And he loves the Lord who changed his life.

I could tell you about Stephen Smith, Ricky Smith, Patrick Scarborough. A young fella on the back room named Faya, who I've had he was a hard one. No. I'm just kidding. A guy that used to live across the street, his name was Pedro.

I got to lead Pedro to the Lord about ten years ago and God made a difference in his life. Sadly, he had to move out of the house. And then there's somebody sitting on the second row here. Her name's Ashley. You know, don't be weary in what?

Well doing, for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not. We get easily discouraged, so thus God has to remind us. The rewards that you're looking for don't always come in the package that you expect, and the rewards that you are looking for don't always come at the time you expect. But if you sow to the spirit, you follow the Lord, you will reap rewards. Sometimes you may not even see them, But one day you'll get to heaven, you'll look back and go, yeah, how did I miss that?

And then finally, verse 10. And let us, as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. As you now have opportunity, one day this opportunity will pass. One day some things that you can do today, you might not be able to do tomorrow. You know, it kinda works that way.

There are some people you have an opportunity to minister to today that you won't have an opportunity next week. They may be gone forever or they may move out of state. One day, this life will be over, and the opportunities that we had here will be gone. So Paul says, let us not be worried in well doing. Let us therefore, as we have opportunity, do good unto all men before we miss that opportunity.

Finally and especially be looking for opportunities to do good, to be helpful to others, and a testimony for the Lord. Don't wait for them don't wait for it to drop in your lap. Be looking. Don't wait for someone to come up and ask. It means a lot more when you notice before they ask.

Open your eyes to those whose paths you cross and look for ways to show them God's love, to share a little bit of love and kindness. Help them in their time of need. Encourage them when they are down. Share a word from God with them and give them most of all the gospel. In times like these, opportunities abound.

They are all around us. We we we live surrounded by the lost who need Jesus. We are surrounded by people whose hearts are broken. We are surrounded by people who are without hope. That's why the suicide rate last year or the year before was about the highest it's ever been in The United States and around the world.

That's why they open up clinic after clinic after clinic in Canada so people can go to a clinic and end their life. People need the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ need encouragement and a kind word and a prayer and some love and patience. In times like these, opportunities abound if we're looking for them rather than allowing fear to paralyze us or failure to discourage us. The person sitting beside you on the plane or the bus is a what?

An opportunity. The coworker who is a bit aggravating at work, they are an opportunity. The neighbor, the homeless person camped outside the door of the church, they are an opportunity. The waiter or waitress who starts up a conversation, they are an opportunity. The teenager who is acting like a rebellious teenager, they are an opportunity.

Your family member who is coming to visit, they are a what? An opportunity. Your friend who is discouraged, your fellow church member, and brother or sister in Christ who you shook hands with today is an opportunity. We need to be looking not to get upset or frustrated or discouraged or hurt, but looking as those hurts even as an opportunity. I was amazed when a fellow named Steve used to wheel down the aisle in his wheelchair every Sunday morning with a smile on his face, wanting to talk about the Lord and how good the Lord was to him.

When he was just married and going to bible college, he caught a an illness, a virus that damaged his heart. And eventually, at about my age, caused a stroke that took away his ability to walk. And then his wife passed away. And then he was all by himself. It would take him three hours on Sunday morning to get up and get ready for church.

But he looked at it as a what? An opportunity to do good. And I don't know about you, but it did good for me, and I'm sure it did for others. We have that same opportunity, one way or another this week, very likely this day, to do good, to sow good, to be good, to be a testimony for Christ, let us not be weary in well doing. Let us sow to the spirit and reap the blessings of life.

Let's not forget that people need the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ need encouragement, gratitude, and a smiling face and a kind word. Some need a little money or food or ride. Don't say, well, somebody else will do it. You do it if you can.

They will be blessed and you will be blessed also. And if you're here today and you have yet to receive the greatest blessing of all, salvation in Jesus Christ. As we sing a hymn of invitation in just a moment, would you please come? I would love to show you from God's word how you can be saved today in Noah. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, that you took the opportunity to make a difference in our lives, both here and in eternity. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities you have given us. Lord, open our eyes. Help us to see those. Help us, Lord, to take advantage of those opportunities to do good, to sow to the spirit, to bring glory to the savior, to be salt and light upon the earth.

Lord, thank you. Help us, Lord, not to be discouraged in well doing. And, Lord, help us to sow what is good and righteous and God honoring and not the lust of the flesh, to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh this week. Lord, thank you for all that you've done for us. Lord, give us opportunities this week to do something for you, we pray, and help us to see it and to do it.

In Jesus' name, do pray. Amen.