Don't Give Up!

Conrad Hertzler

Galatians: Getting the Gospel Right • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Galatians 6:6–10 ESV

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 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. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

So, we are almost at the end of this wonderful epistle.

I trust that you have been challenged by this book and have enjoyed our study of it.

As Paul is wrapping up his teaching and instructions to the churches in Galatia,

He leaves them with some last words of encouragement and also some warning.

So common for Paul. He has such an intense passion for those to whom he ministers. He encourages and warns and instructs all in the same breath

Here is the overall message:

Don’t Give Up!

This is a much-needed encouragement now more than ever.

DON’T GIVE UP!

It’s not unusual to open up new articles and read of yet another person who has abandoned the faith

You look around us, you hear the news..

yet another ministry leader has abandoned the faith that he spent many years upholding and professing

I recently came across the name C. Pearson

Pearson was an extremely high-profile preacher in Tulsa, OK. Preaching to thousands of people weekly in his church and hundreds of thousands of people in a TV audience

He counseled and had the ear of presidents.

But he gave up one day. He stopped preaching the Gospel as we find it in Scripture.

And today he preaches at a Unitarian church.

Whether people are falling away from the faith or falling into sin, the message is the same:

DON’T GIVE UP!

The proclamation and the living out of the Gospel of Freedom is something that takes faith, stedfastness, perseverance, courage.

Being careful and intentional about how we live

Walking according to the Spirit

Setting our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith

Share with those who teach you

Galatians 6:6 “6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.”

It’s kind of interesting reading commentaries on this. They all talk about supporting your pastors…those who teach.

I think that we at Fairview know that it’s a good thing to support those who serve as pastors of the church

I know that there is probably some disagreement as to whether a pastor should be “paid” as full-time or not

But even if when we gave our pastors “love offerings”, it was still because of this passage and other passages that speak to supporting your pastors

So, I think it’s OK to talk about the financial support of our pastors

But as I studied this passage, it occurred to me that Paul doesn’t specifically mention pastors or elders as he does in other passages

It seems kind of broad. “those who teach the word”

So the question came to mind: as we think about our context today, is this passage only talking about pastors, or are there others who teach the word?

What about moms and dads who are trying to teach their children about Jesus

What about Sunday School teachers who faithfully prepare their lessons every week?

What about mentors who meet one on one with young people whom they are discipling?

And is this passage only talking about supporting pastors and teachers financially, or are there other ways?

There are other passages that speak more directly to supporting pastors with money

But this passage doesn’t say that. Instead, we are told, “Share all good things”.

That’s pretty broad.

Might I make a suggestion that when we read this verse in Galatians that we think a little farther than just making sure our pastors have enough on the table to eat and that they can buy clothes for their kids

I think that we should consider that it’s not just pastors who teach the word

I believe that we should consider that actively teaching the Word is an extremely difficult job

And I don’t say that in order to get anyone’s sympathy. It’s just the way it is.

Those of you who have been pastors or who need to prepare weekly for Sunday School know this to be absolutely true

Those dad’s and mom’s who have struggled to find time to teach their children and find time to pray with them also know this to be true

Even if you enjoy teaching (and I do), it is still hard work

Not only is there the preparation of studying the Word and trying to understand it to an extent that you are ready to teach it to someone else,

The weight and burden of making sure that you communicate clearly and correctly what the Word is saying

There is a reason that the apostle James admonishes us not to jump into a teaching position lightly

James 3:1 “1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

It’s a great responsibility and can be a heavy burden

don’t forget, there is also the spiritual warfare that goes with it

Do you think that our enemy is excited and happy about folks being taught about things like having abundant life, living in freedom, or walking in the Spirit, or loving each other, or about the futility and danger of walking according to the flesh?

I don’t think so

So there is spiritual warfare when it comes to teaching the word

Teaching the word can also be very risky when it comes to the social life of the teacher.

If the teacher is to be faithful to the Word, he/she has to teach things that are difficult to hear and many times difficult to accept

And it can cause people to hold them at arms length

Maybe be friendly to their face on Sunday morning, or at the supermarket, but not really want to associate with them

I mean, who knows, a guy who teaches the Bible for a living, how could he be any fun to be around?

I can’t be myself around a guy like that. I might get preached at.

I say all this, again, not to garner sympathy, but to make the point that I think that there is a reason that Paul states it like he does: “If you are taught the Word, share all good things with those who teach.”

Don’t just give them money, but share ALL good things

Things like

Share Encouragement:

This is something that quite honestly I could do a lot better on.

A teacher can put a lot of time and effort into preparing a lesson or a sermon and then come away wondering if it was worth it

Did anyone actually hear what I said? did it make sense?

Teachers need encouragement sometimes.

And some of you are really good at doing that. From my heart, I thank you for that. It means so much

Sunday School teachers, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for taking the time to study and lead the classes on Sunday morning

It’s a big and serious committment to teach Sunday School. But some of you do it faithfully and I thank you for it

Hang in there!

Share friendship

Share your time and your heart with your teachers

They are real people and need that deep connection with people

They need relationships that are safe…Where they can just be people.

Times when they can take off the teacher hat and just be ordinary people

Share prayer

If you are being taught the Word by someone, don’t be scared to go to them and say, “Hey, how can I pray for you?” or “Hey, let’s meet regularly to pray together”

Or just let them know “I’ve been praying for you!”

Sow good seed

I know that we’ve talked about this a lot and that living in an agricultural society, we know this to be absolutely true

In order to reap good crops, you have to sow good seed. In order to reap corn, you have to sow corn seed. And it can’t be mouldy, rotten seed

We know that whether it’s seed that you plant or actions that you take, there are results that come from that

But it’s also something that we tend to forget.

As a society in America, it’s definitely something that we are not considering

For decades, we have sown rejection of God

We have sown the seeds of serving the god of self above anything else

We have sown increasingly big fields of sensuality and violence

And boy, are we reaping!

My heart breaks for those whose lives were shattered by gun violence again this weekend

My heart breaks for the young man, and those like him whose lives have been so destroyed by sin and rebellion that they do things like these

My heart breaks for our young people who can’t even figure out what gender they are anymore

And our society stands around and we wring our hands and cry out, “Why?! What is happening to us?”

We are reaping. We are reaping a bountiful harvest of corruption and death. Because that is what we have sown

But Paul is talking to the church here. Specifically speaking to the relationship between those who are taught the Word and those who teach the Word

The laws of sowing and reaping are at work in life of the church as well.

Caring for those who have the responsibility to teach the word is important because the laws of sowing and reaping are at work there too

Paul says, “Don’t be deceived. God cannot be mocked”. God has put this law into place and it’s foolish to think that we can get around it.

What was going on with the teachers of the Word in the Galatian church to make Paul give this kind of stern warning, I’m not sure exactly

Perhaps they saw the danger of what the Judaizers were trying to teach, and were warning against it, yet they weren’t being listened to

I don’t know.

But Paul is clear that in relationship between those who are taught the word and those who teach the word, the law of sowing and reaping is in full effect

Those who teach the Word must sow good seed

Preparing well

Teaching correctly

But those who are taught the Word must also sow good seed

Responding to what was taught

Encouraging those who teach (those things that we talked about earlier)

In the American church today, the attrition rate of pastors is extremely high.

According to studies

50% of pastors drop out of ministry within the first 5 years

According to Duke University study, 85% of seminary graduates drop out in first 5 years

90% of pastors don’t stay until retirement

Why? There are all kinds of reasons, and none seem to land on the exact reason why

Perhaps it’s the huge organizations that churches feel compelled to build

The soaring edifaces,

The staff teams, the committees, the pressure to perform and fill the pews

I don’t know why. I can only speculate.

And maybe I raise more questions this morning than I am prepared to answer.

But it’s worth our time to consider that the laws of sowing and reaping

I do believe that churches and ministries reap what they sow, whether good or bad

Those who sow to the Spirit and follow the Spirit reap the things of the Spirit

But many churches also sow to the flesh and they reap heartache and destruction

I can say these things because I won’t be your pastor forever. At some point I will be too old or not alive or maybe God has something else for me. You never know

And this is an encouragement to continue to care for each other

Care for you pastors and teachers, those who serve as elders

Let’s identify the good seed that is being sown and encourage more of that seed

Let’s identify the bad seed that is being sown and be honest with each other about it.

Don’t become weary of doing good

so the last point was a stern warning

But this is an encouragement. Paul has talked about some tough things in this letter. Said some hard things.

But at heart, Paul is an encourager. Don’t give up!

Hey, don’t become weary of doing good! Don’t give up and fall by the wayside.

At every opportunity, keep doing good,

Continue to seek for ways to care for and serve your community

Continue to be on the mission that Jesus gave us

To go into all the world and preach the Gospel

Again, you may not see the results right away, but don’t give up

But there will be a harvest

There will be results. If not in this life, in the next

Even if the harvest seems a long time in coming and you aren’t see God move like you would like to see Him move, don’t give up! Persevere!

Keep doing good! Keep walking in by the Spirit. Because you will reap whether in this life or the next, if you don’t give up.

Even if you look around you and you see people falling by the wayside, don’t be discouraged. Keep goign!

You know, our farmers can’t just put their seed in the ground and then just say, “Well, I guess whatever happens, I just have to live with it.”

No, they continue to spray the weeds, cultivate, do what they can to encourage the harvest.

No, they don’t know what the fall will bring exactly, but as they have opportunity they continue to do good. They continue to work to bring the best harvest possible.

but especially keep doing good to those who are of the household of faith

That’s you brothers and sisters in the church. Do good to everyone. But especially do good, take care of your brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ

Paul says, “As you have opportunity”. I think this is such a key statement

Especially for some of you older ones. The other Sunday John expressed in sharing time about how he struggles to know what exactly his place is or what his role is in this stage of life

But there are opportunities that God will give you. We saw John responding to a family in need and bringing them to church

What are the opportunities that you have?

Is it praying for your brothers and sisters? Is it a phone call? Is it a card in the mail? Is it a financial gift to someone in need?

Continue to do good!

so church, I know that at times the going gets tough.

But I want to encourage you, and let’s encourage each other

Don’t give up!

Don't Give Up!

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