Dear Beloved Congregation in Christ at KCPC,
God has been so good to us the past few years as we have grown together in Him. It is easy to rejoice in Jesus when times are good, but when difficulties come with their challenges to our families, it is easy to grow weary in doing good. This short letter is intended to be seed sown with confidence in God’s promises that KCPC will reap a great harvest!
We grow weary because the results that we had hoped for, the answers to prayers and the harvest that we rightly expect to be enjoyed, are delayed, or not noticed as easily at the moment, and so we are tempted to weariness.
We are tempted to give up, and/or to grumble and complain and lose our spirits and attitudes of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving to God for Christ! We are tempted to think that our labor in the Lord is in vain; but it never is! (read 1 Corinthians 15:58). We grow weary ultimately because we fail to believe God’s promises made to us in Christ. And unbelief it not a “respectable sin†that everyone does; unbelief is at the heart of all of our problems.
If you are feeling a weariness, let me remind you of Jesus Christ who never grew weary in securing your salvation; let me remind you of Christ who never grew weary of giving up His life for you when beaten, spit upon, crucified and reviled by unbelieving, hostile enemies; let me remind you of Christ who lives to ever intercede for you at God’s right hand, and never grows weary of praying for you; let me remind you of Christ that continually tells us to continue to follow him, not growing weary, knowing that He is faithful!
As a congregation, in the next few weeks, I encourage you to focus on Galatians 6:6-10. I encourage you to prayerfully meditate upon this Scripture as an individual, as families.
In Galatians 6, there is a promise if we do not grow weary.
God promises this: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up†(Gal. 6:9). What does the Apostle Paul mean specifically by “doing good†in his inspired admonition to “let us not grow weary in doing good?†Read the context:
ESV Galatians 6:6-10: One who is taught the word must 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.
Three things I would encourage you with; we are specifically to do good in:
1)Â Â Â Sowing the Word of God in teaching (Gal. 6:6).
2)Â Â Â Sowing the Word of God in our personal holiness and growth in Jesus (Gal. 6:7-9).
3)Â Â Â Sowing the Word of God within our community and to reach out to our neighbors (Gal. 6:10).
1)     Let us continue to sow the Word of God in our teaching (Gal. 6:6) here at KCPC. The implication of verse 6 is that the one who teaches shares, or sows all good things to the congregation and the congregation is to grow in this. The congregation then loves and serves in response to God’s Word and so shares with the one who teaches them. God uses the Word of God primarily as a means of grace to convert the lost, to nurture covenant families, and cause us all to grow individually in our salvation. Prepare for sermons, take extensive notes, meditate upon God’s Word, attend Sunday school, memorize Scripture and catechism.
2)     Let us continue to sow the Word of God in personal holiness and growth in Jesus (Gal. 6:7-9). What we sow, that we will reap (we must never think we can live fleshly lives and that we will not reap trouble- -God will not be mocked! This calls for a life of constant repentance and turning to Jesus!).
Let us all personally, in light of Christ’s love for us and His sacrificial life and death for us, and his glorious resurrection power granted by His Spirit, let us grow in our sowing to the Spirit- -never to the flesh. This means seeking to pray and commune with God, meditate on God’s Word, seek the face of Jesus, and trust God’s providential hand in all of our lives. By the grace given to us, let us not sow to the flesh in our families, in our relationships, in our selves! Christ often grants difficult circumstances to His people because He wants us to draw near to Him, and he wants us to learn that He is more faithful than we had estimated, and that we were far more unfaithful than we realized.
Sowing to the Spirit means living obediently under God’s Word in reliance upon God’s grace. Seeking to avoid grieving the Spirit of God and withdrawing from your fellowship with God. The more we know about our problems inside, and the greatness of the trouble of our enemy and the world’s seducing power, the more we should seek after Christ moment by moment to avoid sowing to fleshly evil.
3)     Let us continue to sow the Word of God in our community and to reach out to our neighbors (Gal. 6:10). Let us do good especially to the household of God, but let us wisely and prayerfully seek ways as a congregation whereby we might enjoy the great privilege and encouragement of new converts to the faith. Let us trust God’s Spirit as we ever rely on His grace to make us faithful witnesses to the truth of Jesus Christ both within and without our congregation. When we are experiencing difficulties and challenges in our lives, the answer is not to go inward to “find yourself†and your feelings to do what God has commanded you to do, but to pray to be self-forgetful, look outward at Christ in the Gospel, then move outward to serve and help others. Your problems will dissipate as you see Christ and get more involved in serving.
We are promised that if we continue to rely on Jesus and His grace as a congregation, we will reap a harvest.
Mediate upon this Scripture in the next few weeks. Pray this together as families, as individuals.
Pray for encouragement for one another; pray that each of us might never give up and that we would be encouraged to continue to sow the seed of God’s Word in this congregation, within our own hearts and lives, and to reach the lost and others straying with this seed in our community.
Don’t give up!
Paul teaches us all this truth because it is so easy to grow weary- -all of us can grow weary. We must remember that God has promised results- -the results are up to God and His perfect timing. The sowing is up to us.
We must continue to realize as a congregation that if we hope to see abundant fruit and a great harvest in our congregation and community—and we should expect this based on God’s promises to us in Jesus—we must continue to depend upon Jesus alone for our strength and for the results.
Let this cause you to pray more; seek the face of Jesus more; meditate upon Scripture more; know God’s providence toward you is for His glory and your good (that is also our good!).
Do you believe Christ can do above and beyond what we ask or imagine according to His great power? (Eph. 3:20-21).
Don’t grow weary—there’s a harvest coming! That harvest will bring the fruits of the resurrection of Jesus to us now. But there is a greater harvest coming! There is a great harvest of God’s people that we anticipate when Jesus comes and we see Him as He is and we become fully transformed into His likeness and glory. That’s a harvest worth waiting for! But sow in light of His rich promises to you in Christ for now!
ESV 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Growing Weary? Sow Far, Sow Good.
IN Christ’s love,
Pastor Charles