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00:01 Good morning brothers and sisters. Today's scripture reading is taken from
00:06 the book of Galatians chapter 6 vers 6 to 10. Would you please stand with me
00:12 for the reading of the word
00:18 Galatians chapter 6 verse 6. Nevertheless, the one who receives
00:23 instruction in the word should share all good things with the instructor.
00:28 Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
00:35 Whoever sws to please the flesh from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sws
00:41 to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not
00:47 become weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we
00:54 do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
00:60 peoples, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. This is the
01:06 word of God. You may be seated.
01:22 Good morning FBC and greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus who lives in us
01:29 and who loves us. I'm just about to take out the phone and switch it off. So everybody please do the same if you have
01:36 not put it into silent mode. Well, okay. Um so next 3 weeks uh sermon
01:44 schedule is as follows. Dr. Peter will um complete the last part of uh Gala our
01:52 Galatian sermon series um entitled boasting in the cross and
01:57 then um Elder Arnold is going to start the series on um in the psalms the
02:03 blessed man and then um uh Dr. Peter will uh will do praying our confession
02:11 part one.
02:17 We're almost at the end of our Galatians sermon series continuing the flesh
02:23 versus spirit discourse in chapter 5 which John preached on last couple of
02:29 weeks. But is it is in this context of bearing each other's burdens which I'll
02:36 preach on last week. Now the anchor verse is of course
02:42 that was read to us. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows
02:48 that will he also reap. The principle or the law of reaping what
02:55 we sow is as old as time isn't it? and appears in various forms in other
03:02 cultures or religion. In Hinduism or Buddhism, for example, there's the concept of karma that teaches what
03:10 intentional actions whether good or bad lead to future consequences whether in
03:16 this or in future lifetime. In ancient Greek philosophy, you have the stoic
03:22 principle of logos that tells us that the moral fabric of the universe eventually responds to one's actions or
03:31 Heracitis character is destiny. What you habitually choose becomes your outcome.
03:39 Closer to our Chinese culture, we have Confucious, do not impose on others what
03:45 you do not wish for yourself. Of course, you know, in scripture, we have the the opposite. Do good, you know, uh, you
03:53 know, do do good to others, uh, if you want others to do good to to you,
03:58 implying ethical reciprocity or in our Chinese culture, there are
04:04 many proverbs, one of the proverbs, um, which I confirm this with John, um,
04:10 that it is it is valid. I'm going to try to say it in my my banana accent. Yeah.
04:17 Banana because yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Okay.
04:25 Correct.
04:31 My accent. All right. Which means plant melons and you get melons. Plant beans
04:40 and you get beans. In business, what do you have in business? You have you get out what you
04:46 put in or you pay for you get what you pay for. In science, Newton's third law
04:52 for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In psychology,
04:58 behavioral consequences shape future behavior. And the list goes on and on.
05:04 In almost every case, it's the universal principle of moral and physical cause
05:10 and effect. If you are a heavy chain smoker, you will risk getting a heart
05:16 attack or lung cancer. If you drink and drive, you may get fine if you get
05:22 caught or worse yet, be involved in a fatal accident. If you don't study hard,
05:27 you will not get the Ace. How is the Christian view different? That's
05:34 what the text that we're going to study uh is for today. Before we continue,
05:40 let's go to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we delve into your word today
05:45 that teaches us about what it means to sow and reap to the spirit, we ask that
05:50 you will speak to into our hearts even as we are guided by Christ who gave himself for us and sent us his spirit.
05:58 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, our rock and our
06:05 redeemer. Amen. I've entitled the sermon so what I think
06:12 the AV team asked me did you make a mistake I like the question mark there you know pun is intended so what now so
06:20 what so what matters living for the greater harvest so three
06:27 very simple points for today so with the end in mind verses 7 to8 walking by the
06:32 spirit so even when it's hard verse n persevering in welloing So into the
06:38 household of faith, investing in one another. Notice I've done this in a
06:44 sandwich style. I'll start with the heart, the meat of verse on verses 7 to9
06:51 dealing more with our personal responsibilities and then go back to the rapper verses in six and 10 that talks
06:59 about our corporate accountabilities. So first, so with the end in mind, walking by the spirit, do not be
07:05 deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also
07:10 reap. For the one who sws to his own flesh will reap
07:16 will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sws to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life.
07:24 Now this agricultural u metaphor of sowing and reaping is
07:29 certainly not new in the Bible and has widely been used in the Old Testament. In Job 4:8, for example, it says, "I
07:37 have seen those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same." In Hosea,
07:43 for they sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind. Jesus himself used
07:50 similar analogies in two of his parables. First, the parable of the swer. In the parable of the sewer, the
07:56 seed sown on good soil bears fruit and yields many fold. In the parable of the
08:02 wheats, there are the wheat planted by Jesus and the weeds planted by the devil
08:08 growing alongside each other. But at harvest time, the wheats, the one who live unrighteously, will be thrown into
08:14 the fiery furnace. But the wheat, the righteous ones, will enter his kingdom,
08:20 shining like the sun. So what does it tell us? Reaping or harvesting therefore
08:27 alludes to judgment day. Not not just what you get tomorrow.
08:33 That is what the endgame or the final destination is. The parable of the
08:38 wheats reminds us that the devil is the father of lies, the deceiver. That's why
08:45 in verse 7, it starts with a stern warning. Do not be deceived. Why?
08:51 Because earlier in chapter 5:14, Paul warns us against using our freedom as an
08:57 opportunity for the flesh. Which means there is a tendency for us to deceive
09:02 ourselves into misusing the context once saved always saved. So it doesn't matter
09:09 how I live, how we live, I am selfjustified.
09:14 But here in verse 7, Paul continues, God is not mocked. The Greek word for mock
09:20 is mktoiso which derives from the word nose. literally means
09:26 turn the nose up at like that, you know. Yeah. Of of course obviously we don't do
09:32 that in front of God, right? But but that's what the text says. When you are when you're being deceived, you are
09:38 mocking God when turning your nose up at him. When we do that, we treat God with
09:44 contempt because we think we can get away with it. Because we think we're so
09:50 clever that we have it under our belt. But who are we trying to kid? That's
09:55 what the text is saying. We're not deceived. God is not mocked. We can fool others, even ourselves, but not God.
10:03 Because he sees and judges every intention of every heart. It's like
10:09 trying to plant poison ivy and ex and expect roses. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked.
10:18 Because what we sow even in secret, God knows what the final outcome is.
10:24 In verse eight, um verse eight further then explains that there are only two
10:30 ways to sow. Nothing in between. We are either sowing to the flesh or to the
10:36 spirit. Very similar to Jesus's sermon on mount on the narrow and the wide gate. You are either you're entering one
10:43 or the other. So what does sowing to the flesh mean?
10:48 It is of course related to the earlier chapters the chapter 5 19-21 which John
10:55 would have covered in previous sermons. The works of the flesh are evident in sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
11:02 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife. I'm not going to read it all. It's the long
11:08 list of the works of the flesh. But how does it all happen? How does it
11:15 all happen? I mean, none of us would ever confess to wanting to go anywhere near those negative words, even claiming
11:24 we have nothing to do with them. The seed are our thoughts,
11:31 our sinful desires, whatever that happens in our hearts and in our minds.
11:37 And this is what the Bible says. uh for example in 2 Corinthians chapter 10:5 we
11:42 destroy arguments every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take cap every thought captive to obey
11:51 Christ in Romans 12 do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the
11:56 renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what the will of God is what is good Philippians 4:8 encourages to
12:04 think for whatever is true whatever is honorable Whatever is just, whatever is pure,
12:11 whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence and worthy of praise and worthy of
12:17 praise, think about these things. When David saw how beautiful Bath Sheba
12:25 was, thoughts must have fled. Curiosity kills
12:31 the cat and immediately launches an inquiry. Who is she? Is she that time?
12:38 No chat GPT or agentic AI only his messengers. So he sent his messengers to
12:44 go check her out. One thing led to another. What started as a thought, a
12:51 desire turned into grievious sins of adultery, deception,
12:57 of murder, abuse of power, hypocrisy and so on. The consequences were
13:05 farreaching. As we know in the Old Testament, the late John Star puts it
13:10 well. To sow to the flesh is to pander to it, to cosette, to cuddle, to stroke
13:19 it instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds.
13:26 Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure
13:34 fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sewing to the flesh. Every time we
13:40 linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist.
13:45 Every time we lie in bed, when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read
13:51 pornographic literature, I'm not reading now. He's watching right a lot. Every
13:56 time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing,
14:02 sowing to the flesh, give the flesh an inch, it wants amount.
14:09 On the contrary, what does sowing to the spirit mean? Again, this is directly relating to Galatians 5. I'm not going
14:17 to read all the verses, but you see how spiritled, living or sowing means
14:22 walking by the spirit, being led by the spirit, bearing the fruit of the spirit,
14:28 living by the spirit and keeping in step with the spirit. And all these verbs as
14:34 used here are continuous actions, not one-time action. Yeah, it is a continuous process of following and
14:40 obeying the spirit, putting on the rope of Christ, so to speak. whilst making no
14:46 provision or starving the flesh. Romans 13. So John's thought says it the other
14:54 way. To sow the spirit is the same as to set the mind on the spirit and to walk
14:60 by the spirit. Again, the seeds we sow our thoughts and deeds. We are to seek
15:06 and to set our minds on things of God, things that are above, not things that are on earth.
15:12 The books we read, the company we keep, the leisure occupations we pursue, all
15:18 this can be sewing to the spirit. Then we are to foster disciplined habits of
15:23 devotion in private and in public, in daily prayer and in Bible reading and in
15:28 worship with the Lord's people on the Lord's day. All this is sewing to the spirit. Without it, there can be no
15:35 harvest of the spirit, no fruit of the spirit.
15:41 In the summit order, the well-known adage summarizes it well. So a thought,
15:47 reap an action. So an action, reap a habit.
15:52 So a habit, reap a character, so a character, reap a destiny.
15:58 The destiny of the one who continues to sow to the flesh is corruption.
16:04 The word is ptor, which means decay leading to destruction. compared to the
16:10 one who continues to sow to the spirit eternal life. This confirms the famous
16:16 memory verse in Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
16:24 our Lord. So what makes the Christian view of reaping what we sow and sowing to the
16:31 spirit unique? Number one, it is not just moral cause
16:37 and effect. It's spiritual and it's eternal.
16:42 Second, redemption is possible even for those who have sown to the flesh.
16:50 David, despite his sin with Beth Sheeba, was called the man after God's own
16:55 heart. Peter, who denied Jesus, was instrumental in found in the founding of
17:02 early churches. Paul who persecuted the church became the missionary theologian
17:07 who spread the gospel to the gentile world. Thirdly,
17:14 the spirit empowers sowing. We don't sow alone. The spirit leads and strengthens.
17:21 Later we will learn it is also with the community of faith. And lastly, last but not least, grace is central. We reap
17:29 blessings we didn't sow. After all, we are all here only by grace through
17:36 faith. Second point is so even when it's hard,
17:44 persevering in welloing. And the verse says, let us not grow weary of doing
17:49 good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.
17:56 Although very few of us are farmers having all grown up in concrete jungles,
18:03 some of us uh who are older may have come from kungs or at least have
18:09 ancestors who make their living uh farming. What about my my exposure? My
18:15 exposure to farming were limited to uh our backyard in Taman Malawati where I
18:21 grew up. As far as I can remember, there were only two types of fruit plant or
18:28 trees we've had. Okay, so here we are. One is the chili patty or chili broom
18:36 plant. Second is a huge apple mango
18:41 tree. I wasn't the gardener. My late father was. My brother and I only assisted in
18:48 harvesting the chilies and the mangoes. Both were very hard to grow and
18:54 maintain. First, the chili patty. Many in my family have tried to grow them, but to
19:00 no avail. Somehow, the chilies at our home thrived for many years. So, we were
19:07 the go-to for chili supplies, much to a lot of our family members envy. But even
19:14 in those years, there were countless of challenges. Anyone have grown chili patty before?
19:21 here. Oh god, a few chili patty. Anybody? Oh yeah, chili patty. Sometimes
19:26 they call it chili burong. So, but I was checking. I thought they they are one about the same. Huh? It's just uh you
19:32 know which version you're you're referring to or which which uh uh type.
19:38 So you know right chili patty requires the right combination of temperature sensitivity needs plenty of sunlight
19:45 well drained soil moist but not water locked not too much
19:50 water. Uh they were at constant threats from pests, diseases and pollination
19:57 issues among others. The apple mango tree face less challenges to grow but um
20:05 longer time to bear fruit. Correct. Yeah. And much harder to harvest
20:11 uh given its size and height birds. Okay. Who who has also grown
20:16 apple mango tree? Also pastor Raymond maybe live in the same place or you live
20:22 in Taba Malawati. Okay. So also quite easier to grow if you make it. If the
20:29 tree has grown already then it's okay, right? But it's harder to harvest, isn't
20:35 it? Yeah. Why? because it's so high, right? And birds love the sweet mangoes,
20:41 right? So to protect the fruits, we had to wrap each one of the mango, even if
20:48 you can find it. Um with either old newspapers or plastic bags those days
20:54 got old newspapers. Now I don't think we have newspapers anymore. Okay. But try
20:59 doing that 15 to 20 feet up. Yeah. with
21:04 among thick uh you know foliage. If farming was difficult in my time, it
21:12 was even harder during biblical times. It was manual and unpredictable. No
21:18 irrigation systems, no pesticides, no tractors. Farmers depended entirely on
21:23 seasonal rains. And if the rains didn't come, crops failed. Threshing, sewing,
21:29 harvesting were long and exhaust and were exhausting task. Imagine sewing seeds under the hot middle eastern sun
21:37 like the picture here. Unsure whether it would ever rain. So it is with our
21:43 Christian living and service. If you have been a Christian long enough
21:49 and actively serving in church and the community doing really good work, we
21:56 will invariably encounter all kinds of challenges, don't we?
22:04 Some of us could be facing a time of drought, of dryness, and that could come
22:10 in a form of emotional or spiritual burnout,
22:16 unanswered prayers or seemingly unanswered prayers because of silence from God. Some of us are just flooded
22:23 with so many things,
22:28 overwhelmed by grief, by illnesses.
22:33 Some of us are facing job losses too.
22:38 And some of us are being attacked by pests, by temptations, by criticism, relational
22:47 conflicts that threatens our well-being, destroying the good work that God has
22:54 started in us. Yet some of us are on poor soil, on
22:60 rocky and shallow ground. And these are our hearts that's that are being
23:06 hardened by discouraging environment by toxic cultures.
23:12 And yet others are being choked by weeds around us. This could come in a form of
23:18 distractions, busyiness at work, social media, and all
23:24 our other worldly desires. And the list goes on and on and on. So much so that
23:30 we are often just so overwhelmed that we just want to throw in the towel, call it
23:36 a day and give up. Which is what verse 9 honestly tells us.
23:41 But what keeps us going? Then verse 9 continues, for in due season we will
23:49 reap. In due season we will reap. The word for season is chyros like the
23:56 ministry. It means fitting season. appointed opportune time in God's plan.
24:05 And a tense for we will reap slightly technical in Greek is future active
24:11 indicative. Such a such a tense indicates or denotes certainty not
24:17 possibility and that that means a promise. So in verse in Hebrews 10 we
24:24 read, "Therefore do not throw away your confidence which has a great reward.
24:29 For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you
24:35 will and you may receive what is promised in his time in his chyros."
24:42 And do you know at that at at at at steady state as we continue to sow good works in
24:49 trust and anticipation that God will bring them into fruition, somebody else is at the same time
24:55 benefiting and reaping from what their earlier forefathers have sown before their time. Isn't it? Jesus himself says
25:03 one sws and another reap. But both the swer and reaper will rejoice together.
25:11 Although at different times, I'm going to give you an example closer to home. I grew up in both a Methodist
25:21 church and a Methodist school. Show of hands. Anyone here are Methodist boys or
25:29 Methodist girls? You know, miss there. You are Methodist. Almost everywhere I go, I can always find a Methodist uh a
25:37 boy or a girl, right? or or anyone from ex Methodist church members.
25:43 Yeah. As well when you study in Methodist school, you likely end up in Methodist church also, right? Had not
25:50 for missionaries like William Fitz James Odum, who is a
25:56 British American bishop. ODM swed the seeds of founding schools
26:04 like Anglo-Chinese schools in Singapore in 1886 and later ACS Ginang in 1891 and
26:10 the Methodist boy school boys Methodist MBSSKL where I studied in 1897
26:16 and Methodist churches in both Singapore and Malaysia. Had not been for ODM I wouldn't be where I am today. Did Odum
26:24 face challenges? Yes, he did. He faced cultural barriers. He was initially
26:30 denied entry into Chinese societies but turned that into opportunity for by
26:35 offering lectures and English tutoring planting seeds of trust. He faced health struggles. He returned to the US in 1889
26:43 due to ill health. But yet his groundwork continued to flourish with local leadership. He faced financial
26:50 uncertainties as well. The mission began as largely self-supporting relying on tuition and local support. no steady
26:57 funding from the mission board. At first, he faced many harassment and opposition. His street preaching
27:05 sometimes met with hostility, even rotten. Yet, he persisted in sharing the
27:10 gospel publicly. Why didn't he grow weary?
27:16 Because of he had a vision beyond then. He had a vision beyond then. ODM saw
27:23 education and evangelism as a combined long-term investment, not instant
27:28 results. He was empowering others. He prioritized raised up local leaders and sustainable
27:35 structures, whether it's schools, publishing or even Malay clergy that would flourish beyond his tenure.
27:47 He had a self-sustaining model by establishing schools that charged tuition teachers. that became self-supported and that allowed him
27:54 mission that allowed the mission to continue even with limited external funding and he was committed to social
28:01 re relevance. He tackled social ills of the time, education for girls, opium
28:07 relief, social welfare, demonstrating persistent love amid cultural
28:12 resistance. And the result was that the harvest that he the the the seed that he
28:18 swn caused the harvest that grew. Today, Methodist schools and churches across
28:23 Malaysia and Singapore trace their roots back to Odum's planting. What began as
28:30 13 students in a tiny classroom like a mustard seed grew into a legacy in
28:36 Anglo-Chinese schools, Methodist schools and thriving congregations such as Wesley Methodist Church, EO Pinang KL.
28:44 In fact, the Methodist Church in Malaysia just celebrated its 140th
28:49 anniversary. The church has not only grown in numbers but also in its mission in social
28:56 justice, in education, in interfaith dialogue, initiatives such as uh uh you
29:02 know addressing poverty, refugee assistance and environmental concerns continues to demonstrate the church's
29:09 commitment to holistic service. If we so well in doing good and what is
29:17 right before God, it will stand the test of time.
29:23 It will stand the test of time. In our recent trip to Korea,
29:29 we visited the Bijarim Forest. Has anyone been to this Bjarim forest in Ju?
29:40 Okay. Oh yes, Arnold has not as many as those who have been to Methodist
29:45 schools. All right. Um it is home to more than two 2,800 bija or nutmeck
29:53 trees. The oldest tree in the forest is named the new millennium. The one on the
29:59 left um was born in the year 1189,
30:04 which means it's about 836 years old and counting. Not the oldest tree in the world, but there we were reaping its
30:12 beauty, its wonder and majesty alongside many other aruck visitors. So it is with
30:20 the kingdom of God like the mustard seed that grows into
30:25 um a big tree where birds um would preside. That's the kingdom of God.
30:34 And last and the final point is sewing into the household of faith.
30:41 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. So then as we have the
30:46 opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. So this so we have
30:53 just done verse seven and n which is sandwiched between verse six and verse 10. And now I'm going to address this
31:02 um uh this this this these two verses each of which encourages
31:08 symbiotic relationships. First in verse six we see a teacher a
31:14 full-time minister of the word likely a pastor sewing the seed of God's word to
31:21 his student who reciprocates by sharing all good things with the teacher. Most
31:28 commentators agree that all good things here refer to financial support. But
31:35 notice notice the key word here is share
31:40 and and the the word in Greek is coonia which means fellowship or partnership
31:47 rather than payment of a salary to the pastor which is of course necessary. So
31:52 the right reading of the sewing reaping relationship in this verse is that the
31:58 teacher shares spiritual things with the students who in turn share co material
32:06 things with him. And then sec in in verse 10, the closing verse of this passage, we see an so deep
32:13 relationship being expanded to everyone especially to the household of faith.
32:20 That is the family of believers locally and globally.
32:26 Especially uh not only especially so don't just you know be giang only serve
32:34 FBC right we are to do good to do what's best for others believers and
32:39 non-believers alike to the end of loving them being salt and light so that as
32:46 Jesus said in the sermon on the mount that they may see your good works and
32:52 give glory to your father who is in heaven. The word opportunity here is once again
32:59 chyros. So there was the season that is chyros. There is the opportunity that is
33:04 also kyros. The same root word that we saw earlier. What does this mean? This
33:10 means that both sowing and reaping is done in accordance with his appointed
33:15 time. What a wonderful reminder that we belong
33:22 to the same household of faith. United in Christian Coonia fellowship,
33:28 co-arming in the same mission field, sewing and reaping, sharing and caring,
33:35 bearing one another's burdens. This verse reminds me of one of my favorite
33:41 old songs, the household of faith. Anyone remember this song?
33:46 He says, "Here we are at a start committing to each other by his word and
33:52 from our hearts. We will be a family in a house that will be a home and with
33:58 faith we'll build it strong. We'll build a household of faith that together we can make and when the strong winds blow,
34:05 it won't fall down. As one in him will grow and the whole world will know we
34:12 are a household of faith. To be a family, we've got to love each other at
34:17 any cost unselfishly. And our home must be a place that fully abounds with grace, a reflection of his
34:25 face. We have been seeding the idea of
34:30 starting a marketplace ministry with the exact intentions to build the household
34:36 of faith supporting one another in our calling at the marketplace by sheer by
34:43 God's sheer providence. We kicked off Delta uh the Delta marketplace ministry
34:49 with our inaugural meeting last Sunday and reached close to what is considered
34:55 I don't know I hear this from Anel what is considered a bumper crop by FBC standard with about 60 plus members
35:02 turning up and now the community group the WhatsApp group uh has grown to about
35:07 90 and counting we are merely starting up and there's much to be planned for in
35:14 the coming weeks. So we seek your prayers as much as we seek also your participation in this
35:21 ministry. So not too late to join just scan and the QR and fill in the
35:26 registration. This will be one of the newest addition to all the ministries that we have in
35:32 FBC. So what I I I asked Kaisen Ken do we have a list of all our ministries in
35:38 the church? Wow. I think I hit the right person. So she said as a matter of fact Alex I got this cheat sheet you know you
35:44 know she's very very good at this she has been compiling over the years all
35:50 the ministries in our church right last I counted was already close to 40 I'm
35:56 quite sure I was sleepy yesterday I missed a few of them and I'm quite sure
36:01 okay you find your logo and your pictures there and I'm quite sure she may have missed a few so if you don't
36:09 see your logo or your photos there, the ministries
36:14 that you have started or have been running. Let Kaisen know.
36:19 Okay. Many ministries in our church building the household of faith. Amen to that. In
36:27 closing, let us recap what we have learned about sewing to the spirit.
36:35 We learned that we need to sow with eternity in mind because our ultimate
36:40 reward. The treasure, our treasure is not on earth but is in heaven. It is
36:48 God's heavenly kingdom that we are building here on earth. Second, sowing to the spirit is hard and
36:55 we may not see immediate results, but God promises to reward in his perfect
37:00 time. As much as we reap what others have sown, we sow even if we don't reap
37:07 in the same lifetime. So the seeds of welloing and love to
37:13 everyone, especially to the spiritual family, bearing one another's burden in
37:19 this journey of faith. It would seem impossible for any one of
37:24 us to achieve any of these criteria. But we do not lose heart or grow weary
37:30 because at the cross at the cross of Christ
37:36 who is both the swer and the seed Jesus gave up his own life so that we
37:44 may have life eternal and life abundantly. John 12:24 says, "Truly, truly, I say to
37:51 you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
37:59 But if it dies, it bears much fruit, and that is the greatest harvest." Let us
38:06 close in prayer. Gracious Lord, our heavenly father, judge of all men,
38:13 we thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in
38:19 ourstead, so that by his death and resurrection, we may have life and life
38:24 eternal. Forgive us, Lord, for the times that we sow to the flesh instead of to the
38:31 spirit. For the times we have grown weary of doing good. Help us Lord to hold fast to
38:39 our faith walking by the spirit in obedience to your word because in due
38:45 season in due chairos you promise a harvest if we do not give up.
38:52 Stir in us a deeper hunger to sew what matters to leave not just for today but
38:58 for eternity. teach us to sew with the end in mind, to
39:04 keep sowing even when it's hard, and to pour our lives into the household of faith, our brothers and sisters around
39:11 us. Take our lives, Lord, our hands and feet, our voice and lips, our silver and
39:19 gold, our intellect, our will, our hearts, and all that is within us. and
39:27 use it for your kingdom purposes, for the glory of your son Jesus Christ, in
39:32 whose name we pray and for his name's sake. Amen. Let us all rise and respond
39:39 in the song, take my life and let it be.
39:44 we move into as we continue to respond let's move into the Lord's supper
39:51 the time of communion of coonia
39:58 beloved brothers and sisters in Christ we have heard today the call to sow what
40:04 matters to live for the greater harvest to sew even when it's hard to pour our
40:11 lives into the household of faith. Now as a family of God, we come to the
40:18 table of the Lord. This is the table of remembrance, a table of fellowship,
40:24 Coonia, where we share in the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
40:30 table reminds us that the ultimate seed was sown when Jesus, the son of God,
40:36 gave his life for us. His body broken, his blood poured out so that we might
40:43 reap the harvest of forgiveness, of new life, of eternal fellowship with him.
40:51 Here from the scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, the cup of blessing that we
40:57 bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is
41:04 it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there's one bread. We who are many are one body. For we all
41:13 partake of one bread. This is coonia, true sharing, not just in ritual, but in
41:20 relationship with Christ and with one another. And it is this fellowship that
41:26 we celebrate as we come to the table. As we prepare to partake the Lord's
41:32 supper, let us pause and reflect. Have we been sowing to the spirit
41:41 or to the flesh? Have we been generous in doing good,
41:48 especially to those in the household of faith? Have we grown weary or are we holding
41:55 fast to the hope of the coming harvest? Let us come before God in silent
42:01 confession before we take the elements. asking him to search our hearts and
42:07 renew us in his grace. Let us take a moment of silence.
42:37 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on
42:42 the night he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for
42:50 you. Do this in remembrance of me." Shall we all, brothers and sisters, this is the body of Christ broken for you.
42:57 Let us eat this together with thanksgiving in our hearts.
43:11 In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new
43:17 covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
43:24 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. This is the blood
43:31 of Christ shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Let us drink this together in
43:37 remembrance of him.
43:54 Shall we all stand? As we rise from this table, may we be strengthened to live as
44:00 sown people. Christ's life planted in us. His spirit
44:06 empowering us, his church walking with us until the great harvest at the end of
44:12 the age. Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due chairos we shall reap if
44:19 we do not give up. Amen. And now let's receive the benediction. In closing,
44:26 this is adapted from Colossians 3:23 and 24. Whatever you do, work heartily as
44:33 for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are
44:41 serving the Lord Christ. So go now, sow what matters, serve with joy, and live
44:48 for the greater harvest that is to come. Amen. Please be seated. The service is
44:54 over. And after a time of silent meditation, feel free to fellowship over
44:59 coffee. For those who require prayer, the pastors and the elders are here to pray with you.
45:07 Have a good
