Well, the Salvadis just got back from a vacation, and it was great.
So we're refreshed, refocused, and I'm raring to go.
But I had this privilege of coming back to preaching a sermon this morning on giving.
And it's a really interesting situation because I started asking myself,
when was the last time I preached on giving and I couldn't remember?
And so I just want to make sure you are all understanding why I'm preaching this sermon on giving.
In fact, let me begin by saying why I'm not preaching this sermon on giving.
I'm not preaching this sermon on giving because we're behind in our giving.
If you look at our budget, we've got this little kind of layout where our budgeted, projected giving should be
and where our actual giving is, and we're a little bit behind right now.
We're aware of it, but we're not concerned about it.
We've got some great godly people who are paying attention to these things.
But that's not why I'm preaching this sermon.
It may help.
Nor am I preaching this sermon because I don't think I get paid enough.
So start off the new year, hey, jingle, jingle, help us out a little bit more.
No, Jenny and I, Billy and his family, Matt and his family, Mary, you take care of us so well.
So I'm not preaching this because I think I need to get paid more.
So here's why I'm preaching this sermon.
It's the next in line.
We're committed here at Christ the King Church to preach expository sermons,
to preach through books of the Bible as a whole.
And so we preach a section at a time, typically through the book of Galatians.
And today I'm to preach Galatians 6, 6 through 10, which is about giving.
And so what this is about is the health of this particular body,
that we exercise a spiritual grace of giving.
So this is about how we use our money and resources, which brings me to this point.
Classically, there are two groups of people when it comes to money and the using of money.
There are the spenders and then there are the savers.
And so if you're familiar with the old Miller Lite commercials that say,
taste great or less filling,
when it comes to money, most people are like,
spend more or save more.
That's kind of how it boils down to.
But this morning, what I want you to see through this passage is,
it's not so much whether you're a spender or a saver,
it's if you're a sower of your money to the Spirit for the good of others.
And so this morning, the Spirit is going to be seeking to grow us in our giving.
And speaking of the Holy Spirit,
I'm not sure if you've been following the book of Galatians,
but the beginning of the book of Galatians, chapters 1 through 4,
it's primarily about the gospel.
Christ died on the cross.
This offering of salvation to all people,
and we receive this gift by faith alone in Christ alone.
There's nothing we can add to that to earn our salvation.
And so chapters 1 through 4 of Galatians is primarily about the gospel,
what God has done for us in Christ.
And then we turn a corner into chapter 5 and 6.
And so there's a big emphasis on the Holy Spirit in chapters 5 and 6.
And so what we see here is what Christ has done for us,
our freedom in the gospel,
we live out by walking by the Spirit.
The Spirit of God has come to dwell in each of us
so that we could live out the freedom accomplished by Christ.
And if you're wondering where all this is coming from,
this is actually prophesied in the Old Testament.
This is the age of the new covenant established by Jesus.
Jeremiah 31 and 33 point to this.
Ezekiel 36 point to this age of the Spirit.
Joel 2 talked about this outpouring of the Spirit.
Pentecost and Acts 2.
It's the fulfillment of what was predicted in Joel 2.
We now, because of what Christ has done,
we live in the power of the Spirit.
We live out the freedom accomplished by Christ
in the power of the Spirit.
And again, I just want to clarify something here.
When we talk about the Holy Spirit,
we're not talking about a what.
We're talking about a who.
Just as God the Father is a person,
and just as God the Son is a person,
God the Holy Spirit is a person.
So He's personally active in each of our lives as believers
to bring about God's purposes.
And when Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit in John 16, 14,
He said of the Spirit,
He will glorify me.
So we can be assured of this,
that the person of the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in each one of us
so that ultimately we would glorify Christ with our lives.
Live out the freedom.
But I just want to make another observation for you too.
Do you remember who inspired people to write the Scriptures?
It was the Holy Spirit, 2 Peter 1.21.
The Holy Spirit moved men along to write down what God intended.
So here's how to think about walking by the Holy Spirit.
It's not some kind of mystical,
kind of trance-like state we get into.
It is rather being acted upon by the Holy Spirit,
trusting in Him.
The goal is to glorify Christ
according to the very words the Holy Spirit inspired authors to write.
So when we walk by the Holy Spirit,
when Galatians 5.16, we walk by the Spirit,
or 5.18, we are led by the Spirit,
or 5.26, we are to keep in step with the Spirit,
or Romans chapter 8, we are to set our minds on the Spirit.
We are actually, in doing so,
seeking to exalt Christ by living according to His Word,
and it will be a blessing to all around us,
because it will fulfill the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
And so when we get into the end of Galatians 5,
we are told those who live by the Spirit,
keep in step with the Spirit.
If you've been born again by the Spirit,
you will live in the power of the Spirit.
And then what we see in the early in chapter 6,
are examples of keeping in step with the Spirit.
Gently restoring a brother or sister caught in a trespass,
it's keeping in step with the Spirit.
Bearing one another's burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ,
it's keeping in step with the Spirit.
Soberly, accurately seeing yourself in relationship to others,
you're not thinking of yourself more highly,
you don't think of something when you're not,
judgment's in coming, that's walking by the Spirit.
And so now, as we turn to chapter 6, verses 6 through 10,
which is a passage about giving,
it's a way we live out the Spirit.
It's a way we live out our freedom in Christ.
The Spirit is at work in each of us,
leading us to so generously for the good of others.
Now, if you look at this passage,
chapter 6, 6 through 10,
there's no mention of money.
You don't see the word money.
It's not in there.
You might go, Jerry Maguire,
show me the money.
Show me the money.
Here's what I can show you.
The word good.
Let the one who's taught the word
share all good things with the one who teaches.
Paul is not telling the congregation
to compliment the pastor on a good sermon.
I would welcome that.
But he's saying something more significant than that.
So that word good then shows up in verse 9 again.
And let us not grow weary in doing good.
Look at verse 10.
As we have opportunity to let us do good to everyone.
This good is the good of loving people materially
with your possessions and with your finances.
That's the good you're to share
with those who teach God's Word.
That's the good you're to do to everyone,
especially the household of faith.
Now if you've got a question
about the sowing and reaping,
which is in verse 7 and 8,
that metaphor, sowing and reaping,
is an agricultural metaphor,
planting and harvesting.
It's used all throughout the Bible.
But the only other place Paul uses it
is in 2 Corinthians 9.
And you know what that section is about?
Giving.
A cheerful giver.
So what I want to lay out at the beginning is
this passage,
6, 6 through 10,
is about giving generously
of what we have to others.
So if I were to boil it down to 11 words,
it would be this.
Sow your money
to the Spirit
for the good of others.
That's what God wants of us.
To sow our money,
sow our material possessions,
to sow them to the Spirit
for the good of others.
And so, let's unpack this.
And the way we're going to unpack this,
there are four moves in this passage.
First, in verse 6,
you see the command to give.
Second, in verses 7 and 8,
there's a warning related to giving.
And then in verse 9,
there's some encouragement
when it comes to giving
because we can all get a little weary
and want to give up.
And then in verse 10,
we have conclusion.
To give generously.
Sow.
Sow your money to the Spirit
for the good of others.
Now let's look at this command
a little bit more
in detail.
Verse 6.
Let the one who has taught the word
share all good things
with the one who teaches.
That word share is a command.
In the original language,
in the Greek language
that this is written in,
verse 6 starts emphatically
with the word koinonia.
Share.
It's emphatic.
Now that word,
we get the word koinonia from.
If you're familiar with Greek,
that means it can be translated
fellowship or partnership.
If you flip over
a couple books to your right
to the book of Philippians,
Paul uses that word quite a bit
with the Philippian church.
If you look at Philippians chapter 1,
verses 3 through 5,
we read this.
I thank my God
in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine
for you,
all making my prayer with joy
because of your koinonia
in the gospel
from the first day until now.
Now if you flip over
a couple more pages
in the book of Philippians
to chapter 4,
in verse 14,
he says,
yet it was kind of you
to koinonia my trouble,
to share my trouble.
And you Philippians yourselves
know that in the beginning
of the gospel,
when I left Macedonia,
no church entered
into koinonia with me
in giving and receiving,
except you only.
this command to share
is a command to partner,
to work together
to a particular end.
Notice who this command is to
in Galatians 6.
Let the one who's taught the word,
the one who's taught the word,
the one who receives God's word,
they are to share
all good things.
So all of you
who regularly benefit
from the preaching
of the word
on Sunday morning,
this is specifically
aimed at you.
Share all good things.
Share of your financial resources.
Share of your material possessions.
Partner.
With who?
Well, it's right there
in the text.
Let the one who's taught
the word share
all good things
with the one who teaches.
The preacher.
The person proclaiming the word.
And so what we have here
is a very interesting relationship
within the body of Christ.
We have a congregation
who is receiving
and benefiting
from the work,
from the word
that the preacher's preaching.
And corresponding to that,
the congregation
is sharing in all
their good possessions
to help that preacher
keep preaching faithfully.
Have you heard the phrase
sharing is caring?
It has all kinds of nuances
in this passage.
Now it's a little awkward
to talk about this.
It's pretty awkward
to preach about it.
But we have nothing
to be ashamed of
because this is the way
that God has designed it.
He's designed the body
to work together
for a reason.
It's right here
in Holy Rich.
So if you want to get
crass about it,
make sure you're
paying your pastor.
Make sure you're
freeing up his time
so that he can be
preaching the word.
In Christ the King Church,
you do that faithfully.
But I want to point
to something else
that may not be obvious.
It's why.
Now remember,
back in the day,
the Galatians,
if you remember the history
of what's going on here,
Paul is writing this letter
because there's been
some false teachers
that have gotten
into the Galatian churches
and they're preaching
a false doctrine
and it's resulting
in great discord
and confusion
and hurt
to the churches.
And so the reason
why Paul is saying this
to these churches
in Galatia,
hey, make sure
you're paying your pastor.
It's for the health
of the church
because there's this threat
of false doctrine.
And so when we read here,
you make sure
you must share
all good things
with the one
who is teaching the word,
those who receive the word.
It's the word
of the gospel
revealed in the Bible.
Ultimately,
this is incredibly pragmatic.
God is very concerned
about the health
of His church,
the doctrinal health
of His church.
And so He wants churches
to be freeing up
their preachers
to be able to invest
the sweetest time
of their weeks
in order to providing
faithful,
wholesome sermons
that feed the flock,
inform the flock,
so that the flock
lives in freedom.
I have a nephew.
His name is Benton.
We call him Biebs.
Biebs likes to pepper me
with questions
about what I do.
How long do you preach?
40 minutes.
How long does it take you
to prepare a 40-minute sermon?
15 to 20 hours?
When I think about
if I were holding down
a 40 to 50-hour job,
trying to prepare
a faithful sermon
for this congregation,
I can't tell you
the kind of gratitude
I have
to be able to have
my sweetest hours
of the week
freed up
to pour myself
into preparing sermons
to feed you all
so that you can live
in the good
of the freedom
of what Christ has done.
Ultimately,
behind this command
to share
and for us
to partner
is the health
of the church.
Sharing is caring.
Not just for me,
not just for the other pastors,
not just for you,
but for the health,
the spiritual health
of this congregation.
Sow your money
to the Spirit
for the good of others.
Now let me point you
to the warning
in verses 7 and 8.
We read,
Do not be deceived.
God is not mocked.
For whatever one sows,
that will he also reap.
Now when you initially
read that,
you're kind of like,
well this is coming
out of nowhere.
In fact,
if you're reading
out of the NIV,
the NIV makes
verse 6
its own paragraph
and then 7 through 10
its own paragraph.
It kind of disconnects it to.
But it's all related
because remember
in verse 6
we have this speaking
of sharing in good things
with the preacher.
And then in verses 9 and 10
we come back
to doing good
to everyone,
especially those
of the household of faith.
And so the sowing
and reaping,
don't mock God,
is in the middle of that.
It's got everything
to do with our giving.
And we learn
from verse 3
in Galatians 6
that it's already possible
to deceive yourself
as a Christian.
To think of yourself
more highly than you ought.
Well, it's very possible
to deceive yourself
when it comes
to your giving.
Don't be deceived.
God is not mocked.
Here's some ways
that we can deceive ourselves
when in terms of our giving.
One way is to say this.
It's to think,
I just have so little to give.
It really doesn't matter.
Nobody will notice
you're deceiving yourself.
Because God notices.
another version of this is,
I can't afford to give.
I don't have any money to give.
I don't have anything to give.
What we're about to read
is that you can't afford
not to give.
Another version of this
kind of deception
of ourselves
is this idea,
especially for younger folks,
it's, hey,
I'm just starting out.
I just got out of school.
I got all this debt.
When I get into
a better place
of financial health,
then I'll start giving.
The question is,
is that what God's word
calls you to?
And if you look at a passage
like Proverbs 3, 9 and 10,
we are to honor God
with our wealth,
to give him
of the first fruits
of what we receive.
Don't deceive.
Don't deceive yourself.
Even if it means
starting little,
start.
Another deception is this.
I'll give whatever is left
at the end of the month.
And again,
Proverbs 3, 9, 10
talks about
trusting the Lord,
honoring him with our wealth,
giving of our first fruit,
not leftovers.
others.
Another deception
is thinking,
hey, you know what?
God will provide
for this church.
They don't need me.
But what we're seeing here
is that God
has actually called
those who benefit
from the word,
the ministry of the word
of a particular church,
to commit to that
particular church
financially.
God is not mocked.
That word,
mocked,
in the original language,
carries the sense
of turning your nose
up to somebody.
When we dismiss God
in terms of our giving,
we're turning our nose
up to him.
Another way to say it is,
you're not taking God
seriously.
You're not taking
God seriously.
We must be taking
God seriously
because he has built
into this world
an undeniable principle
of sowing and reaping.
Don't be deceived.
God is not mocked.
For whatever one sows,
that will he also reap.
All throughout the Bible,
when we read about reaping,
read about harvesting,
oftentimes,
more often than not,
it has to do with
God's judgment.
Now, if you don't know
what sowing and reaping is,
it's another way of talking
about planting
and harvesting.
And what the principle is,
is what you plant,
you will harvest.
It's a cause and effect
relationship.
It's actions and consequences.
And generally speaking,
it's at work in all of our lives
because if you sow gossip,
you will reap discord.
If you sow junk food
into your body,
you will reap unhealth
of your body.
If you sow lies,
you will reap mistrust.
If you sow laziness,
you will reap
being unreliable.
So generally speaking,
this law of sowing and reaping
is a law of cause and effect
relationship.
But what I've been trying
to argue is this cause
and effect relationship,
Paul is specifically applying it
to our giving,
our generosity.
God is not mocked.
This principle of cause and effect,
of sowing and reaping,
is in effect right now
in your life.
If you are sowing your money
to greed,
you will reap
Ebenezer Scroogeism.
the isolation,
the misery
of being a humbug.
It's not what the Spirit
is seeking to do.
God is not mocked.
In verse 8,
Paul develops this
sowing and reaping
even more fully.
And he drills down
on the motivational level.
Do you remember in Galatians 5,
16 and 17,
Matt preached this
a couple weeks ago.
What essentially Paul says there
is that your person,
if you're a Christian,
your person
is an incarnate war zone
between the desires
of the flesh
and the desires
of the Spirit.
Because both simultaneously
indwell you.
The desires of the Spirit
oppose the desires
of the flesh
and vice versa.
The desires of the flesh
are marked by selfishness.
me.
The desires of the flesh
are relationally destructive.
If you were to raise a banner
over the desires of the flesh,
it wouldn't be
love your neighbor,
it would be
use your neighbor.
The desires of the Spirit
are not self-oriented,
but others-oriented.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
The desires of the Spirit
do not destroy relationships,
they strengthen relationships.
I mean,
if you look
at the fruit of the Spirit,
the majority of the fruit
of the Spirit
has to do with
one another.
Strengthening the body
of Christ.
If you were to raise
a banner over the desires
of the Spirit,
it would be
love your neighbor.
That's the picture
in 5, 16, and 17.
You are a war zone.
But that's not the picture
in verse 8.
The picture
that Paul paints
is that you,
Christian,
are a living field
waiting to be
sowed and harvested.
And there are
two furrows
in that field.
Do you know
what a furrow is?
You know when you're
driving out of the county
in May
and you see
those rows of corn
but they're just
rows of dirt?
That's a furrow.
And every Christian
you have two furrows
that every financial decision
you are planting
into one of those furrows.
A furrow of the flesh
and a furrow of the Spirit.
And when you put
a financial choice
into the furrow
of the flesh,
do you know
what from that flesh
you will reap?
Corruption.
rottenness.
How do you like that
for a harvest?
But if
by faith
you decide
to sow
your resources
into the furrow
of the Spirit,
do you know
what you reap
from the Spirit?
You will reap
eternal life.
Fruit of the Spirit.
It's future
too.
It's judgment.
you will reap.
The one who sows
to his own flesh
will from his flesh
reap corruption
but the one
who sows
to the Spirit
who is
walking by the Spirit
when it comes
to their finances.
Who are being led
by the Spirit
when they come
to their finances.
Who are keeping
in step with the Spirit
in their finances.
Who set their mind
on the Spirit
when it comes
to their finances.
That person
they're investing
in the Spirit
and doing good
to others.
That's what we're aiming
at Christ the King Church.
Trusting in the Spirit
sowing generously
to Him
for the good
of others.
what you do
with your money
reveals
who you are
ultimately trusting.
And if you've been
freed by Christ
you've been freed
from living
for cash.
Freed to live
for Christ.
So if you are
sowing to the Spirit
if you're
giving
to the support
of this church
if you're
giving
to help
everyone
you come
into contact
and need
especially
the household
of faith
what that
evidence is
is that
you belong
to God.
You've been
born again.
You've been
set free
and eternity
with God
awaits.
But it works
both ways.
If our sowing
to the Spirit
will from the Spirit
reap eternal life
then if we're
sowing to the flesh
from the flesh
we will reap
eternal corruption.
it evidences
who your ultimate
trust is
and whether
you've been
converted or not.
So this warning
is this
don't deceive
yourself
God's not
mocked
hey
he's going to
judge
someday.
This reaping
is an illusion
to judgment
that's why
God is not
mocked.
He sees
where you're
sowing.
He knows
who you're
ultimately
trusting.
That's why
when you
reap
it will
be just.
Our giving
matters to
God.
Martin Luther
talked about it
this way
every Christian
experiences
three conversions
the conversion
of his heart
the conversion
of his mind
and the conversion
of his wallet.
it evidences
who you
trust.
Who you're
living for.
So be
warned.
Sow your
money to
the spirit
not to
the flesh
for the
good of
others
not for
your own
gain.
Now
let's look
at some
encouragement.
Encouragement
in our
giving.
We see
this in
verse 9
and let us
not grow
weary of
doing good
for in due
season we
will reap
if we
do not
give up.
Don't
give up
in your
giving.
Don't
give up.
Now
sometimes
giving
faithfully
and sacrificially
gets wearying
and discouraging.
Here's
something that
I'm not
sure if
you face.
I know
I am
challenged
by this
from time
to time.
You're
giving
faithfully
you're
giving
sacrificially
and you
start looking
around and
you realize
that other
people with
the same
kind of
income as
you have
they're able
to do all
sorts of
fun stuff
but you're
not able to
do that
fun stuff
because
you're
giving
sacrificially
and so
what happens
as soon as
you start
looking around
you start
comparing
yourself to
others
and the
lifestyles
people are
living
and you
start to
go
fleshly.
comparison
can quickly
result in
envy
and covetousness
and in
gratitude
and in
discontent.
Weariness
discouragement
leads to
giving up.
I mean if
you've started
some kind of
exercise
regiment with
a new year
and you're
not seeing
the results
you're going
to get
discouraged
and you're
going to be
like forget
about it.
If you're
more aware
of what
you're giving
up than
what you're
giving to
you're going
to be
discouraged
and you're
going to
want to
give up.
You know
what you
need a
healthy dose
of?
Look where
Paul goes.
And let us
not grow
weary of
doing good.
Antidote
for in
due season
we will
reap
judgment.
Paul's
antidote
to
discouragement
to encourage
you is to
say
judgment's
coming.
Everybody's
going to
stand before
God someday.
He's going
to hold us
accountable to
what we do
with our
finances.
He's going
to hold us
accountable to
what we do
with what
he gives
us.
So Paul
says don't
grow weary
in doing
good.
Don't give
up on your
giving because
in due
season we
will reap.
And what we've
just talked
about this
reaping is
this harvesting
judgment.
You remember
the parable of
the talents
in Matthew
25?
A landowner
entrusts
servants,
three of
his servants
with some
money and
he leaves
and he
comes back
holds them
accountable
and two
of them get
a big return
one of them
just kind of
throws it in
the ground
and doesn't
get anything
for it.
And for
those who
invested their
talents wisely
do you remember
what the
master said
to them?
Well done
good and
faithful servant
enter the joy
of your master.
Could you
imagine this
someday?
If you're
growing weary
in your giving
imagine this
someday.
You're standing
before the
Lord and
he says
well done
good and
faithful giver.
Enter the
joy of your
master.
That will
help your
weariness.
That will
help your
discouragement.
It will put
strength in
your heart to
say I am
not going to
get sidetracked
by the
pleasures and
joys everybody
else is living
with their
extra money.
I'm going to
keep giving it
to what I know
is most important.
The advancement
of God's
word.
This due
season is
God's judgment
and it is
the antidote
for
discouragement.
At the
judgment God
will reward us.
We may see a
return now but
we'll definitely
see a reward
then.
That's what we
aim at.
So don't give
up in your
giving.
Be encouraged.
God's not
mocked.
You're
reward in
due time.
Keep giving.
And now the
conclusion.
Give generously.
Verse 10.
So then as we
have opportunity
let us do good
to everyone
especially to
those who are
of the household
of heaven.
There's the
do-gooding
again.
When Paul uses
the word so
then in verse
10 he's kind
of wrapping
this up.
He's bringing
it to a
close.
And as he
says as we
have opportunity
that's very
helpful because
that informs
us that we're
just not to go
give money to
everybody everywhere
as we have
opportunity.
As opportunities
present themselves.
Be generous.
Now I just want
to help you think
about something
right now.
This as we
have opportunity
is actually
a limited
window.
It's in
between where
we're at
right now
and when
we stand
before our
God to give
an account.
In this
in-between
time we
have a
window of
opportunity to
be generous.
And Paul
focuses our
generosity on
two groups of
people.
See in verse
10 he starts
by saying as
we have
opportunity let
us do good
to everyone.
That's
anyone.
Anyone who
comes to
you in
need.
Especially
non-Christians.
It includes
your extended
family.
If people are
coming to you
and they're
asking for some
kind of help
this passage
compels us to
help them
materially.
Now we've
got to be wise
and loving.
It's because
sometimes the
best thing for
you to do
for somebody
is not to
give them
cash.
So for
example we
have a policy
here at the
church.
We don't
hand cash to
people.
If someone
needs gas we
bring them
right over
here to the
station on the
corner and
fill them up.
If somebody
needs food we
bring them to
the grocery
store.
If someone
needs clothes
we bring them
to a clothes
store.
We go with
them and help
them meet their
material needs.
So we need to
exercise discretion
because when you
hand cash out
that can be
challenging for
some people.
But don't lose
sight of the
main point.
Because we've
been set free
by Christ and
we're walking
by the Spirit
we're to be
generous with
all people.
It's to mark
us.
So the first
group of people
here is everyone.
The second
group of people
is a subset of
the first.
especially those
of the household
of faith.
In New
Testament terms
a household
is a family.
And that word
especially think
of that as
prioritizing.
Do good to
everyone and
give priority to
your family of
faith.
Help everybody
but especially
your brothers and
sisters in Christ
which includes
your pastor.
as Christians
united together
as a family
walking by the
Spirit means
sowing to the
Spirit for the
good of one
another.
We have a
benevolence fund
as a church.
It literally
means a do
good fund to
the members of
our church.
But you
don't need to
wait for the
church to act
for you to do
good to others.
I want you
to notice that
this is not an
either or
proposition.
Either help
non-Christians
or help your
brothers and
sisters in Christ.
It's both
and.
Sow to the
Spirit for the
good of all
others but
prioritize your
brothers and
sisters in
Christ.
That's how
we're to live.
The conclusion
he draws is
be generous
to all.
So we've
seen the
command.
We've seen
the warning.
We've seen
some encouragement
and now the
conclusion.
Sow your money
to the Spirit
for the good
of others.
Now some
diagnostic
questions.
Have you
forgotten how
generous God
has been to
you?
have you
forgotten
that God
is the
giver of
all things?
He's the
greatest of
all givers
and he's
given the
greatest gift
at the
greatest expense
so that
you could
be in
relationship
with him.
Never
forget that.
That is a
tremendous
source of
joy in
your giving.
It's a
source of
gratitude.
God loves
a cheerful
giver.
Second
question.
How can
you get
these
categories of
sowing to
the flesh
and sowing to
the Spirit
on your
mind when
you're using
your debit
card?
So wouldn't
it be good
if you
cruise over
to some
kind of
store and
you're like
I got a
hankering to
buy something
and you're
about to
kind of
put your
credit card
through the
swiper thing
or the
click thing
and you're
like hmm
I wonder
is what I'm
about to do
is this
sowing to
my flesh
or sowing
to the
Spirit?
Now that's
maturity.
That's walking
by the Spirit.
That's growth.
That's taking
steps.
That's health.
One of the
ways you can
do that is
by just
simply memorizing
Galatians 6,
7, and 8.
Get it on
your mind
so that the
Spirit can
use it
in your
mind.
Directing
your steps.
Here's a
third diagnostic
question.
Have you
been presuming
have you
been presuming
on others
to be
financially
responsible
for the
gospel ministry
of this
church?
Have you
been assuming
other people
will take
care of it?
What would
you call
that?
If you
have been
what would
be a
wise and
good
next step?
of repentance
and faith.
For any
change to
take place,
it starts
with godly
sorrow,
godly
repentance.
Lasting
change only
happens when
it begins
with godly
repentance.
And so that
might just
mean for you
saying,
all right,
I haven't
been giving
as I ought,
I'll take
a step.
Now,
I was going
to include
some practical
steps.
If you'd
like some
practical steps,
please,
talk to
me after
the service.
But there's
one more
diagnostic
question that
I want to
ask.
Let's say
that you
have been
faithfully
giving and
sacrificially
giving here
at Christ
the King
Church.
And you're
tempted to
look around
you and
say,
huh,
I wonder
if they're
giving.
Huh,
I wonder
what they're
doing with
their money.
if you're
being tempted
out of
some kind
of position
of arrival
of what
other people
are giving,
let me just
redirect your
gaze to
the first
question.
Have you
forgotten
of what God
has done
for you?
What he's
given for
you?
we're all
going to
give an
account
someday.
So,
let's
sow
to the
Spirit.
Sow
what
means
we have
to the
Spirit
for the
good of
others
starting
with this
church
and moving
out.
God be
praised
and may
God be
exalted.
Let's pray.
God in
heaven,
we thank
you so
much for
the money
you've
entrusted
to us.
You do
say in
your word
that we're
to be
faithful with
a little
and then
you will
entrust us
more.
God,
would you
help us
to be
faithful,
to walk
by your
Spirit in
our generosity
with others.
God,
thank you so
much that we
as a people
can do this
together,
walking
together in
the power
of your
Spirit,
to be
generous
to all.
God,
thank you so
much for the
faithful givers
in this
congregation
already.
Would you
help us
to excel
still more?
God,
to give
freely and
sacrificially
to what you
are doing
for the glory
of your name
and the good
of others.
It's in Jesus'
name we pray.
Amen.