True Spirituality | Tyrone P Jones | No Other Gospel | Full Service

sheís one of the biggest names in the gaming industry ñ the World Peer ñ she laddered to槌 becomes one of the biggest names in the gaming industry ñ the World Peer ñ she ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For endless days we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong and true in robes of white ♪ ♪ The blazing sun shall pierce the night ♪ ♪ And I will rise among the saints ♪ ♪ My gaze transfixed on Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For endless days we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For endless days we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ Come on, we just invite the Holy Spirit this morning as we continue to worship. Let's sing it out. ♪ Lord, let my life be an altar ♪ ♪ I humb my lungs with Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ I humb my lungs with Your praise ♪ ♪ I can't breathe until You breathe ♪ ♪ So breathe on me and my life be an altar ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, halfway down ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, halfway down ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, halfway down ♪ ♪ Lord, let my life be an altar ♪ ♪ I humb my lungs with Your praise ♪ ♪ I can't breathe until You breathe ♪ ♪ So breathe on me and my life be an altar ♪ ♪ And my life be an altar ♪ ♪ This is the moment when wind meets fire ♪ ♪ Come on in, our hearts are burning ♪ ♪ The brethren by the broken ♪ ♪ This is the moment when wind meets fire ♪ ♪ Come on in, our hearts are burning ♪ ♪ The brethren by the broken ♪ ♪ Our God is consuming fire ♪ Our God is a holy way. Whatever you speak is there. Whatever you touch will end. Our God is consuming for us. Our God is a holy way. Whatever you speak is there. Whatever you touch will end. Come on, we prophesy today. So come on in, come on in. Whatever you touch will end. Come on in, come on in. Whatever you touch will end. Come on in, come on in. Whatever you touch will end. Come on in, come on in. Whatever you touch will end. Come on in, come on in. Whatever you touch will end. Come on in, come on in. This is the moment when the wind meets the fire. Come on in. Our hearts are burning for the treasury. My love will overgain. Our God is consuming for us. Our God is a holy way. Whatever you speak is there. Whatever you touch will end. Our God is consuming for us. Our God is a holy way. Whatever you speak is there. Whatever you touch will end. Come on, just sing out His praise today in this moment. The love of the Lord and having the praise of His people. Oh, we lift You up. Oh, we sing this song. And all the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. We pray for You, Lord. And all the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. We pray for You, Lord. Have Your way, have Your way. And all the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. We pray for You, Lord.

And all the earth will shout Your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. We pray for You, Lord. It's Your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to You, Lord. It's Your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. It's Your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to You, Lord. We sing great are You, Lord. We sing great are You, Lord. Come on, just accept the name of Jesus in this place today. Come on, just lift up his name on the count of three. One, two, three, Jesus! The name above every other name. All right, church, before we prepare for the message, just go ahead and greet your neighbor next to you. Tell them your thanks for being here in the house today. All right, well, good morning to you. Welcome indeed to Church for the City where we'll teach the word of God, we'll encounter the presence of the Lord as we just did, and we'll spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're so, so thankful that you're in the house and you're part of this journey with us. Thank you for being in the house of God this morning. So good, so good. So just a few things before we jump into the message. Last week was a life group fair. After each service, some of you that were not part of a life group or maybe were looking to get into another one, touch base out there, and I'm grateful that you did. I want to just give a brief reminder of some of the discipleship classes that are happening on Sunday morning in case you weren't here last week, didn't have a chance to jump into a group. There are four discipleship groups that are going on on Sunday morning in the property, the discipleship center, and also the community outreach building. At 1130 is our foundations class. That class is designed to help you know the basic truths of the scripture just to dive

in with, we call it the six Cs of commitment, communion, community, character, conduct, and commission. That class happens at 1130 in the outreach building. And then at 10 a.m. is the purple book, also a deeper dive in some of the foundational stuff that we teach. That one is also in the outreach building. And then at 10 a.m. also in the discipleship building is our rooted class, which really helps you get established in your faith. It's like a Christianity 201. And though you're here at the 830 class, if you want to go through financial peace, that class is at 830 a.m., and you can always come to 10 a.m. or 1130 service if you want any guidance biblically on your finances establishing what that looks like scripturally and spiritually. I also want to thank you for your generosity every time you come into the building. There's opportunities to give, but I'm thankful for those of you that do your giving in automatic ways, set it up however you've set it up and have been faithful and been committed. It certainly helps us in the work that we're doing in the kingdom of God. And I'm thankful for those of you who are coming more and more to understanding what it means to support God's kingdom. So thank you for doing that. All right, I'm going to pray, and I'm going to dive right on into this. This Sunday, in a lot of churches, they do what's called Sanctity of Life Sunday, and that's where they bring messages and remind people that every one of us was created in the image of God and should be safe, even those in the womb. And so many times, people may bring a message on the value of life. They may speak about the principles of caring for a child that's even in the womb. But also, some churches, because tomorrow is MLK Junior Day,

so there's probably a lot of you that are off tomorrow, and hopefully, you know why you're off tomorrow. And so... Here's a bottom line for me. Every person that God has given life to is valuable, should be dignified, should be looked at in a manner of dignity, and given all God-given rights that God gives every one of us. And I think if we could practice that as a community of faith and lead the world in having a dignity and value and treating people with what they deserve, I think we can make a big impact in our community, certainly in the world. You agree with me on that? Some of you do. Just got a golf clap. I feel like I just finally made a par on 18 before I walked off the course. It's like, good job, Tyrone. Good job. Good job. But it's a real truth. Let's stand. I want you to turn, if you would, to Galatians. Take your Bible. Let's go to Galatians chapter 6. And we're going to... I'm going to actually start in verse 26, chapter 5, and we're going to go down to verse 10. Galatians 5, 26 down through verse 10 of chapter 6. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. And then 6, 1, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, as so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows his own flesh, sorry, to his own flesh, will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity,

let us do good to everyone, and especially to those of the household of faith. So far the reading of the word, let's pray. Father, I thank you. It's a wonderful thing to be in your house. It's a wonderful thing to be with your people. And Lord, to be able to share in the word. And Father, to minister to what I believe you've given me to share with CTC this morning and those who may be watching and listening, I pray for wisdom. I pray for your anointing. I pray for your grace. I pray, Lord God, that what I speak, though truth and will, affect the minds and hearts of people. I pray that the spirit of the Lord and the word of God will be even more pronounced and more profound. Let each of us, Lord God, embrace what it is that you have for us personally. And Lord, we pray, Lord, of course, for our country, our land. We pray for the safety of people in locations, certainly around through our nation and actually around the world. We pray for those that are serving on the front lines, whether they be Border Patrol, whether they be ICE, whether they be our military servicemen, firefighters, PD, Sheriff Departments. Lord, we pray your protection, preservation upon them. Give them grace, give them strength, help them. And Lord, we also pray for their families, as many of them may have anxiety for various situations that they may know that their loved one is engaged in. So we pray for just the trust, the peace, the confidence in you. We pray for the leaders of our nation, the President and Vice President, those that are surrounding them, that the decisions that they make are of morality. And Lord, that they will embrace a biblical worldview in all that they do. And Lord God, that we, as a nation, Lord, would certainly be a people that have a real recognition of other people's lives, have value, to have dignity, to treat mankind in a manner that we'd like to be treated. And Lord, I pray that the church will just lead... the way on all of this, Lord, we just need you. There may be some among us this morning also, Lord,

who's suffered a loss, who may be grieving someone that they love, maybe have had services, maybe preparing services. Maybe they have a family member, Lord, that might be terminal and still with us, but it's impending. I pray for those, Lord, who need your comfort this morning in the midst of sorrow, in the midst of grief, in the midst of loss. I pray for the healing of broken relationships. And Lord, I pray that every one of us, Lord God, know what it means to have a faith in you in good times and in difficult times. Let us acknowledge you as our God and our Savior, the Lord that's up on the throne, that's sovereign over all things. Father, we pray for every church in this county. We want the gospel to be preached. We want lives to be saved. We want people to be transformed, and we're believing you to do it. In Christ's name we pray. May the people of God say amen. Amen. You may be seated. Now, we're coming to kind of toward the end of Galatians, and this particular section, you know, last couple of weeks, two weeks, three weeks maybe, we dealt with verses 16 through 25, and addressing the conflict between the flesh and the spirit,

and how strong that is and how constant that is, and how each one of us have to walk through that battle. Paul, you very much can tell that he's bringing the letter to a close because he does this so often in all of his writings. He'll go from a lot of biblical principles, and truth, and doctrinal stuff, set in stage for theology, and then he starts to close out with some practical stuff. It's like he has a agenda of what he wants to teach, or yeah, through the writings, and then says, okay, now that you got that, remember this, remember this, do this, do that, be like this, and that's kind of what he does here. He, after telling us what it means to walk by the spirit and be led by the spirit, he now just kind of brings out some stuff that's really just kind of personal holiness, that this is what it means to be a Christian. John Stott said it this way. He said, Galatians six shows us the social consequences of the gospel, the social consequences. So if we have the gospel, understand the gospel, what is the social consequences of that? How does that affect us in everyday life? And I titled this message True Spirituality because it brings out some things that I think are truly spiritual indeed. And so the first one,

and I will read the first five verses again, but true spirituality restores one another and carries each other's burdens. This all operates from love. It all operates from the law of Christ that we read about in verse number two. And so just hear this again. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you or ye who are spiritual, it's very seldom that I use the old King James version, but I broke it out, had to dust it off, but here it is. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. I want you to hear this. Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself, but let every man put to the proof of his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not another. And then watch this, for every man shall bear his own burden. And so in this discourse of principles, he starts out with saying, listen, here's what we do as people. We restore people.

Paul absolutely assumes that Christians will sin. That's not permission, and don't take that as permission. That's just the reality of life. And if anybody's sitting in here that tells me you don't sin, you just lied right there. And so Christians do sin. But what Paul is saying here, the issue is not so much that. The issue more so is how does the spirit-led community respond to that? And he really does put an onus on us in a couple of ways. First of all, if we see someone doing wrong and they're part of the spiritual community, or if they're caught doing something wrong, Paul is basically saying, basically saying none of us should just stand by and do nothing. If we know someone is doing some sinful stuff and they're confessing Christians, we shouldn't just do nothing about it and take the pretext that it's not our business or that we just, you know, stand by and with the idea, well, I just don't want to get involved. Paula said, no, no, that does not help the Christian community. And if it affects that person, then it affects us all. Because remember, we're all one family, we're all one community. He says, what we should do is restore that person. We don't reject them, we restore them. The word he used here, charizo, it means to put them back in order, back to their former condition. So if we see them in acts of sin that we know is not Christ-like, not godly,

based on their confession of faith, Paul says, listen, the mission here is to restore those folks, to reset them, to help get them back in the right place, just like a doctor would reset a bone. It would be, what would you think of a doctor if you went and you know your bone is broken, collar is broken, arm is broken, leg is broken, and he looked up on it and said, man, I don't know, I really don't think this is something I need to get involved with. You wouldn't go back to that doctor, would you? It's the same mindset for us with Christianity and the faith, that we don't look up on a person and say, I know they're broke, I know they're doing the wrong things, I know they're jacking up their lives, but you know what? It ain't my business. No, we don't do that. We don't despise them, we don't condemn them, and we don't gossip about them. And we certainly don't judge them. Luke 18, 11 says, the Pharisee, this is when Jesus was using the illustration of two different people. One guy went in and he was totally broken. He went before the Lord in Luke 18 and he said, I know I'm a sinner. I know I'm a sinner. He went in the temple and he prayed and he said, I know I'm a sinner. But then there was a Pharisee who was standing right next to him and the Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer, I thank you, God, that I'm not like other people, cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I'm certainly not like this tax collector. And so, we don't have that kind of mindset, true spiritual people we restore. We help people get back on the right path. You see a very good illustration of this with Jesus and with the woman that was caught in adultery in John 8, verses 1 through 4, I think,

will be on the screen. It's actually verse 5 that actually has more implication. But as you're reading that on the screen, you'll see this Jesus' teaching. There's a big crowd gathering as he's speaking. Some teachers of the religious law who knew what the word said, they come to him and they bring this woman and they say, this woman was caught in adultery. You say this in front of a crowd. And they said to Jesus, this one was caught in adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her, but what do you say? Now, Jesus could have said, well, you know what the law says, stone her. But that's not what he did. You know the story, he bent down, he'd done some writing. He said, though, he without sin cast the first stone. He'd done all of those various things. But it's the ending of that. Of course, everybody walked away. Jesus had all right to really embarrass this woman, condemn this woman, and commit her to execution. But then when Jesus looked up after everybody left, he says, is there anybody here that condemns you? She says, no, there's no one. And Jesus says, I don't condemn you either. But watch this, because sometimes we leave it right there. But I don't condemn you either. I'm not the one that's going to be judging you. But Jesus did judge her. He did judge her. He says, but I don't condemn you either. Condemnation is not judgment.

But here's where he did judge her. He says, now go and sin no more. Now, catch that. What did he say? Woman, you sinned. You sinned. But I want to restore you. Go and sin no more. So the message there is clear. Jesus saw the opportunity and said, no, no, no. No, I don't want you to do this anymore. That's not what you should do. So go and sin no more. This is what I know. When people are in sin, and there's times when discipline is needed. I don't have the time. I was very tempted to go into what takes place when someone is caught in sin and don't repent, but don't need to do that now. You're smart people. You won't get this. I won't have to worry about it no more. Somebody say amen. I'm going to get this. I won't. Amen. Here we go with the golf claps again. Okay, so some people Taught in sin may need discipline, but I tell you what people don't need. They don't need amputation.

They don't need isolation. They need restoration. We need to restore people back into the community and back into fellowship. Martin Luther said this, talking about people that are in sin. He says, you run unto him. You reach out your hand. You raise him up again. You comfort him with sweet words and embrace him with motherly arms. That's what we do. We don't just stand idly by. We don't act like it ain't our business. We don't judge them in a matter where they're so condemned and they're isolated, but we actually gently, and I like what Paul said, watchfully. He said this very carefully. He says, we need to be careful to watch ourselves in the process because every one of us is susceptible, susceptible, susceptible. Oh, y'all wanna remark with that? I'm preaching the gospel, and then when I mess up words, you wanna say something, but each of us are susceptible to sin and to stumbling and to falling. And so he says, now you be careful in the process of that. You watch yourselves.

It's, I mean, we hear the stories all the time. Doctors that are treating their patients get themselves in a mess. Pastors that are counseling people get themselves in a mess. Watch yourself as you're restoring people so that you don't stumble. You just gotta keep in mind that the church is, it's not a courtroom where we're trying to seek convictions. We're a hospital trying to heal people, a hospital trying to heal people, and for them to be fully committed and to love people and to enter restoration. So he gives that principle. And then he gives another principle. He says, carry each other's burdens, fulfilling the law of Christ. Chris, if you can help me with this. He says, carry one another's burdens. And in this case, he's not talking, yeah, the big one first. He's not talking about sin. Just lift that up so I can pop that off. Let's see, did we do that right? He's not talking about sin. In this particular case, he's talking about the burdens of life that people carry. Now, I don't know how much this pack can hold. I don't know, this, I don't know,

probably 150, 200, but I'm pretty strong. But so I don't know how much it can hold. But this is what I know. Some people in life, it's not necessarily sin that weighs them down. It's anxieties of life. It's fears. It's doubt. Some people can get just so overwhelmed with a lot of grief that they just can't even bring their head up because of death and loss and passing. The scripture says people in that nature, they need our help to carry them. Now, we can, I guess, at times, probably can look up on them and say, man, I got my own stuff to carry. I'm sorry you're going through that, but you just gotta do the best you can. That's not how the Christian community replies. Because what I've learned about all of us, every one of us are wounded healers. Every one of us are carrying our own stuff. And yet, we know because we're in the family of God, we still, even with what we are carrying, wanna help other people carry theirs. Because we're trusting while we're doing that, people are helping us carry ours. That's community. That's what the Christian family does.

So Paul says, listen, there's some folks that's got some big, heavy burdens that they're carrying. As a community, we come alongside them. And at CTC, I can tell you, the church, of course, is rather large, and I'm sure there can be people that are missed. But that's why we set up our care and discipleship. That's why we set up our care and support. And Pastor OJ and Candy do a great job with that, along with their teams, to help people go through this tough stuff of life. Paul says, we gotta help them carry those burdens. And why do we do this? We do this out of the law of Christ, which is love. John 15, 12 says this, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. So he's saying to us, love is helping people carry those burdens. First Peter 4, 8 says, most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other. Love covers a multitude of sins. We don't do this with a feeling of superiority because we can look down on other people and see them carrying their burdens and say, and I've heard this kind of foolishness even growing up in Christianity. Man, they've gone through so much stuff, they must be sinning.

Anybody ever heard that? They must be sinning. They've gone through so much stuff, something in their life must not be right. No, no, no, that ain't the case. I can absolutely tell you personally, that ain't the case. Life is just life and life can just weigh you down. Am I talking to the right church? You may be worried about job, you may be concerned about relationship, you may be concerned about how you're doing with your children and parenting, you may be concerned about finance. I mean, there's just so many things that can take place. And once you allow these things to get on you, then they can pile on. So he said, listen, he said this, don't be conceited about it and don't provoke people when they're going through these kinds of things. Don't think too highly of yourself. As a matter of fact, he used the term scopiest. He says, you better observe yourself, Chris, you can take this. You better observe yourself while you're going through that and don't think too highly of yourself. Instead of provoking people with your inferiority, which honestly, or making them feel inferior with your superiority. Honestly, what usually happens in cases like that is you poison a relationship.

I don't go back to folks who I'm going to talk to about issues. And when I walk away, they just made me feel like I'm condemned and going to hell. I don't call them back. Matter of fact, I very often defriend people, but I did somebody last week. I thought, I'm done. Okay, let me just move on here. But you poison a relationship. You poison a relationship. Remember what the words in that hymn, the hymn is called Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, but it uses that word, that line, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Every one of us can get to that place. So we don't want to feel like we're superior over others who are going through issues, who are burdened by things, who may be stumbling with what they're carrying. We find a way to come alongside and hold them up and carry some of that burden. In Romans 12, three says this, because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning. Don't think you're better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of others. Measuring yourselves by faith that God has given you. Measuring yourselves by faith that God has given you. Now then he does this third thing.

And it's in verse number five. He says, in so doing, we help carry one another's, we help them carry their own burdens. Sorry, Chris, if you don't mind. This one I actually might be able to do myself. Remember, I'm strong. I got it. So, you may look at this and you may say, okay, you just told us that we gotta help carry people's burdens. But then he turns around in verse number five, and he says, by doing this, you help them carry their own burdens. It's so wonderful. I love reading and studying the Bible because sometimes you see words and you think, that's the same thing, I'm confused. But actually, no, in the Greek, it's not. That first word, burden, or load, that we read in verse number two is barrows. That word means heavy load that can overwhelm anyone. But this word in verse number five is the word fortion, and it actually means backpack that anybody can carry. So, on the one hand, Paul says this. Fellow Christian brothers and sisters can have on a barrow, such a heavy, heavy load, and if we have an eye out for people and love people and care for people, we can see that they're carrying that heavy load, and we wanna come alongside and help them.

And as we help them out of love, what they end up carrying on their back is just a backpack, which Paul is saying every one of us can carry, and honestly, he's saying every one of us should have because the burden that we do carry, our burden. which are everyday also life stuff, burdens that we learn how to take to the Lord. So there's some things some people can help us with, come alongside us, help lift that. If they're going through grief, sometimes it's just being present. Sometimes it's a meal train, whatever. You know the various things that the Lord leads you and guides you and instructs us to do that just kind of helps that. But then, every one of us have our own issues that, honestly, the Lord ain't asking people to help us. The Lord is actually teaching us to take those things to Him, to take those things to Him. Because some burdens that we carry, we need the Lord to help us and guide us. Here it is, the Lord helps us. Psalm 55, 22 says, give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall, meaning you carry. We've helped Him do it. Now, there's a lovely thing about this. Because, honestly, sometimes even when we're carrying a load that we know we can, sometimes we let that thing just weigh us down and we start lagging. We start falling back, start slipping up, not going to our small groups, hitting and miss with church, just carrying the normal things of life. And instead of going to the Lord, we just let that stuff take us farther and farther back out of community, out of fellowship, etc. I've seen a marvelous thing happen, especially in our community with Marines, when people are running, when doing their PT and they're carrying their loads on them. I've seen this, and I'll probably use an illustration of what I see in football that's a little bit better. I've seen the leader come from the back, from the top, and go around behind the one who's lagging. Now, we do something like this similar in football. I think it is called crazy train, I think.

Let's call it crazy train right now. For the sake of the name, it could be, you know, Rhett's pretty colorful with his language. So, we'll just go with crazy train. But it's when the whole team has to run, and it's inevitable. They're all running, they're chanting, they're doing their thing, etc., etc. And the idea is you go so far, the leader does. And it's inevitable there's going to be somebody in the back that's lagging. Everybody's in the tight-knit place, but sure enough, there's always one, sometimes two, that's in the back that's lagging. Here's what the leader does. After so long, he leaves the front of the pack and he runs back there where the guy that's lagging, and he gets behind him. Now, when he gets behind him, he can't carry him. That's not his job. His job is not to say, man, we got to finish this, just get on my back. No, no. His job is to get behind him and say, come on, Elias, you can do this. We all can do this. We've been trained, we've been prepped, we're in shape, we're in condition, let's get up there. We got to catch the rest of the team. And eventually, that guy who never was carried, eventually he runs quick enough till he gets right up there with the rest of the group. That's what the Christian church should do. When we see people lagging, we don't come, what's wrong with you? You ain't coming to church, you ain't going to Bible study, you ain't in fellowship. No, no, you get behind and say, come on, Janice, we all in this together. We are family, we are community, we can do this together. And eventually, you end up with the rest of the group. So Paul says, we teach them, we help them carry their own burden. Now, verses 6 through 8, he gives us this wonderful principle of sowing and reaping. He says, true spirituality, or my line here, true spirituality is proven in sowing and reaping. Listen to this, verse 6 through 8. Let one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher. Don't be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows, don't miss this, he will also reap. Because the one who sows to the flesh will reap to destruction from the flesh. But the one who sows to the spirit will reap

eternal life from the spirit. You know this principle, it's a universal principle. Whatever you sow, you're going to reap. That's a universal principle. Every farmer can tell you that if you want to harvest, you got to put seed in the ground. You got to sow it. If you sow wild oats, you're not going to end up with strawberries. That's just not where it's going to happen. Job 4.8 says this, my experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate... that evil will harvest the same. That's a principle. If you plant trouble, if you cultivate evil, it's coming back to you. There's a passage in Proverbs, I think it's 1723, somewhere in that area. It says this, if you do evil to people, if you cheat people, evil is coming to live with you. I'll tell you, boy, I've said this to folks. When they've done me wrong, I said, you better add on to your house because evil is coming to live with you. Not so pastoral, I guess, but it's a Bible principle. So the more you sow, the more you harvest. The principle works in every arena of life. Here it is, of course, when it comes to generosity. 2 Corinthians 9, 6, the point is this, the person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. And so, he picks up, and a lot of commentators are not so sure why Paul went this route. I got my thoughts, but I'll just leave it at that. First, he says, sowing and reaping, he's talking to those who are ministering the gospel in verse 6. And basically, he says, if you sow good seed, if you sow the word of God to those that you have responsibility for, that you've been assigned to, if you share the gospel with them, then good is provided for you. Simply put what he's saying, if people who invest their life in Christian ministry, Christian pastorate, who give their life to sowing good seed, the preaching and teaching, they'll also reap a livelihood, that they shouldn't be concerned about how they're going to live because they're sowing good seed. 1 Corinthians 9, 11, he says this, since we've planted a spiritual seed among you,

aren't we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? So, he's saying, listen, fellows, if you're sowing good seed, don't worry, don't worry, you'll reap a harvest. Martin Luther did make a statement that I thought was pretty good. He said, it is impossible for one man both to labor day and night to get a living and at the same time give himself to the study of sacred scripture as preaching the gospel requires. It's a great statement and it's a truth. 1 Timothy 5, 17 and 18 says this, elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, you must not muzzle the ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain. And another place says, those who deserve, they deserve their pay. And so, what Paul is reminding them of is this, listen, sowing the gospel into people's lives and reaping the benefit of that is not charity, but it's partnership. It's partnership. Well, then, in verse number 7 and 8, he brings that to everyday life and how that is for people. And he talked to the Christian minister about sowing and reaping. Now, he's talking to us about Christian holiness and that our character is shaped by our conduct. So, he's already said, we are to walk by the spirit. Now, he's saying, we are so to the spirit. It's a sober warning. Spiritual laws are as real as physical laws. If you sow to the flesh, you're going to receive corruption. That's as real as any physical law. If you sow to the spirit, you're going to reap eternal life. And he makes this so strong in verse number 7, he says this, don't be misled. You cannot mock the justice of God. He's saying, don't fool yourself. Don't think you can mock God in such a way that this will not come true. Don't be misled. Don't mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. We got so many examples in the Scripture of people mocking God and reap destruction. You can read in 1 Samuel 17, Goliath was mocking God and he reaped destruction. You can read it in Acts 12, where Herod sat up on the throne in Acts 12 and mocked God. And he reaped destruction right before the eyes of the people. They saw worms come and eat him up because he mocked God. We were in Cuba a few years ago, 2019, which was a historical event

when we went down to Cuba. We went to the place of Ernest Hemingway, the place where he would hang out. And I didn't know as much about Ernest Hemingway then. Of course, I knew his name and knew... some of his writings, but I didn't know his attitude toward God. But Ernest Hemingway snubbed his nose at God and basically said to people, and wrote some of this stuff, that there's no consequences for life no matter what you do. He said the Bible was an antiquated and outdated book. It has no appeal to the modern man and restricted the pleasure of modern man. He said that moral laws have no relevance. They're just a bunch of superstition. He wrote a parody of the Lord's Prayer, and this is how Ernest Hemingway started it out. Our nada, instead of God the Father, who art in nada, instead of in heaven. Those of you that don't know multiple languages like me and Spanish, nada means nothing. So he says, there are nothing who is nowhere, nothing. How did that work out for him? He ended up in drunkenness, hopelessness, and a bullet in his head, his own, by his own hand. You don't mock God. You don't mock God. People mock God by showing to the flesh, whether it's indulging in pride or gossip or bitterness or sexual sin. All of that usually leads up to just broken relationships and spiritual dryness. Sometimes it's lingering with bad company, company that you know has a bad influence, or reading bad literature, or watching or listening to garbage that just brings corruption within you, and evil, and dishonesty. John Brown, in his commentary on Galatians, he said this, it is a lie that a man may attain ultimate happiness without living a spiritual life. I love that statement. It's a lie that a man can attain ultimate happiness without living a spiritual life. Romans 2, 6, and 8 says this, he will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory, and honor, and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out anger, wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth, and instead live lives of wickedness. That's sowing to the flesh.

It ends bad. It ends bad. But then there's sowing to the spirit. There's prayer. There's repentance. There's the word. There's fellowship. All that leads to joy. It leads to holiness. It leads to endurance in the faith. If you sow truth, you sow love, you sow care, you sow generosity, you sow service, it leads to friendship. It leads to community. It leads to a positive outlook on life. If you honor the marriage bed, if you deny your own ambitions, reconcile with your brothers and sisters in Christ, that's sowing to the spirit. Yeah, team, you can come. And here's the last thing, reaping and sowing, don't mock God. Sow to the flesh, you get the flesh. Sow to the spirit, you're going to reap eternal life. And he closes this section out by saying this, just keep on doing good. I love this verse 9 and 10. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we'll reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone. We should do good to everyone. We should do good to everyone. Do I got to keep creating my own amens? We should do good to everyone, especially to those in the household of faith. And I know faithfulness sometimes can be exhausting. It can be exhausting, and especially when the results seem slow. Paul is saying, listen, the harvest will come. Just keep doing good. Look at a farmer, they wait. The farmer doesn't abandon the field because the seed is underground. They wait. And so should we. 2 Thessalonians 3, 13 says, don't grow weary in doing good. Don't grow weary in doing good. The Christian life is marked by perseverance, so we got to keep on sowing. Keep on doing good. Keep on giving. Keep on serving. Keep on caring. Keep on showing up. The harvest will come. And if you get tired, Isaiah 40, 29 through 31 tells us this. He gives power to the weak. I love this passage. And strength to the powerless. Listen to this. Even the youth will become weak and tired. The young men will fail in exhaustion. But hear this, but those who trust in the

Lord will find new strength. soar high on the wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. That's what happens when we keep doing good. When we're a spiritual-shaped community, we restore the fallen with gentleness, we support those who teach the word, and we sow faithfully, patiently, and lovingly, knowing the Lord will bring a harvest. And speaking of harvest, you're going to witness the life of someone who gave their life to Jesus Christ and the good harvest that the Lord has produced in them through this baptism. My name is Paola. Before Christ, I was full of hate. I would spend my time drinking alcohol, depressed in my room. I relapsed after being clean for 15 years, then my mother died, my daughter passed away, and I thought I was going crazy. This last November, I fell on my knees and cried to the Lord to save me. I threw away the drugs and alcohol, the hate left my heart, and I could feel myself being happy like when I was a little girl. Yes, I am. Since giving my life to the Christ, I want to tell everyone about Jesus. I want everyone to know that God is the only way that he is the one that loves us all, regardless, and knows our needs, always. I know I'm not perfect, but I love God and I love everyone. Now I'm grateful for the people the Lord has put in my life. Thank you, Candy. Today, I'm going public with my faith. I love Brian, too. Awesome. Paola, Jesus said every disciple should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And because of your confession of faith, today, I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and according to Scripture, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Come on. Come on. Come on. Let's stand to our feet. We're going to worship the Lord. We're going to thank God for a harvest that was reaped because of somebody doing good, somebody sharing their faith, somebody continuing to care, somebody continuing to love, somebody helping somebody carry their burden, somebody encouraging them that they may do the walk of faith. Our God will do what he promises. If you sow to the Spirit, you'll reap to the Spirit. And our God is a God that keeps his faithful promises.

Father, I thank you for this opportunity to share your word, to rejoice in you, to celebrate the life of Paola. And Lord, we trust that you will be glorified. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Come on. Let's give God a hand of praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will say, Great are you, Lord. All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will say, Great are you, Lord. It's your breath in our lungs. Till we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. Till we pour out our praise to you only. It's your breath in our lungs. Till we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. Till we pour out our praise to you only. Great are you, Lord. Great are you, Lord. Well, church, there's people still at the altar available if you need prayer. But other than that, we love you. Be blessed. Have a good Sunday. We'll see you next week. Thank you for watching!