Sermon Tone Analysis

Context

Last week we considered what Paul meant by bearing one another’s burdens.

What typically comes to mind when we think of what it mean to bear one another’s burdens is assisting each other in times of need.

Sickness, crisis, financial hardship etc.

But what is clear is that the call to the church to bear one another’s burdens goes beyond that and also includes helping each other when we are contending with the consequences of our own sin.

Remember how this chapter begins: if anyone is caught in any transgression.

When we see our brother or our sister in the darkness of sin, we, who are spiritual, that is we who are characterized by the Holy Spirit join them in their darkness with the light of the Gospel.

Despite the fact that this kind of help is often unwanted and unwelcome, we do it any way, with love, for the good of others and for the glory of God.

But, when God’s people do the work of God, there often arises challenges, and we could spend a long time listing some of those challenges.

So what inevitably comes up for those who are striving to serve God is contending with a lack of drive to keep at it.

We must understand where our drive to serve God needs to come from in order for it to last.

We’ll deal with this issue this morning in our text.

Introduction

Have you ever noticed the waning tendency of our enthusiasm.

Whether it’s a job, a holiday, a vacation, a diet, a book, a bible study, a ministry, a hobby, a blog… We often start off strong.

We start off with energy.

We start off with vigor, but then, over time the strength, the energy, the vigor begins to wane… to diminish.

Maybe because it’s not quite what we expected.

Maybe because its become too familiar.

Many of us know what it’s like to go somewhere that has an amazing view, but the more we view the amazing view, the less enthusiasm we have to view it.

Again, the waning tendency of our enthusiasm.

This, I suggest is particularly problematic when it comes to serving God.

When our enthusiasm for serving God diminishes, we suffer and other of God’s people around us suffer as well.

FCF: Our enthusiasm for the work of God is often short-lived.

The reason this is coming up is because of what v. 9 of our text says:

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

And let us not grow weary of doing good...

Paul is recognizing that the Galatian church may be discouraged and distracted because of all the chaos provoked by the false teachers.

We’re no different that the Galatian church when it comes to contending with the struggle to remain in the game.

Don’t turn from what God is calling you to do.

Remain enthusiastic in serving God.

But this is what we must understand:

Main Idea

Our enthusiasm for the work of God is supplied by the Spirit of God.

This is what makes enthusiasm for the work of God in the church unique to enthusiasm for a vacation.

Not growing weary in doing good is not something we can accomplish from our own strength and sense of ambition.

Having and maintaining enthusiasm in our service to God in the local church us a supernatural transaction.

God supplies it.

But how does it work?

Analytical Question

What does the Spirit of God supply us to provide and maintain our enthusiasm for the work of God?

A commitment to the ministry of the Word of God (6)

I want to point out that I’m going out of my way to describe this a the ministry of the word of God and not just the word of God.

What’s the difference, or, what do I intend the difference to be?

What I mean by the ministry of the word is the teaching ministry of God’s word.

We all must meditate on God’s word regularly… daily.

We must have a regular time of pray and bible meditation to maintain connection with God day-to-day.

But the way God has ordered His church is that His people are to commit to and receive the ministry of the word, and this most typically is accomplished through the ministry of elders/pastors in the local church

This is what I suggest Paul is referencing here in v. 6.

The one who teaches are the ones who carry out the ministry of the word of God among God’s people.

AQ: What does a commitment to the ministry of the Word of God look like?

A desire to learn the Word

Verse 6 begins with a command: Let the one who is taught the word share all good things...

Before we consider the command itself, I want us to see that Paul is referring to the Galatians as taught people.

Specifically, they were people who were taught the word of God.

Now, I do not usually pronounce the actual Greek word of the text, but more emphasize what the words mean and how the author uses them.

I do want to however, pronounce the word translated taught because I think it may remind us of an English word.

The Greek word is κατηχέω which may remind some of us of the word catechism.

If you are from a catholic background, you probably at east heard this word before, but it’s not a catholic word.

A catechism is a teaching device of sorts.

It summarizes Christian doctrine and presents that summary in the form of questions and answers.

So a children’s catechism says: Who made God?

And the answer is: no body made God.

And the truth that this question and answer makes, that is, teaches is that God is the Creator and not created.

I say all this simply to point out that the people in the Galatian church were familiar with being taught the word of God.

They were instructed by teachers.

They were recipients of biblical instruction.

And what I think is at least implied here is that for one to be committed to the ministry of the Word of God he/she must possess a desire to learn the Word of God.

But in addition to possessing a desire to learn the word of God, we must also possess a commitment to support those who teach the word.

A commitment to support those who teach the Word

Now remember what we are suggesting here.

In order for God’s people to possess and maintain enthusiasm for God’s work, the Holy Spirit supplies a commitment to the ministry of the word of God, and a commitment to the word includes a commitment to the financial support of those who teach.

I know, this, coming from me, may seem self-serving, but regardless of what anyone may assume of my motives, financially supporting ministers of the word of God is a biblical command to the church.

Again the command in v. 6 is to share all good things with the one who teaches.

Now, you may know that Paul did not receive regular payment for his teaching ministry, although we do know he received personal gifts of money from the Philippians.

He was a tent-maker so he could provide for himself and not be a financial burden to those whom he ministered the word.

But he is the one who taught:

We’re not sure why Paul felt it necessary to address this specific issue to the Galatian churches.

After Paul, along with his ministry partner Barnabas, came through this region and preached the gospel and planted churches, they appointed elders in every church.

These men would have been conducting the ministry of the word among the churches.

Perhaps the false teachers were seeking to discredit these men by criticizing their teaching, and as some of the Galatians began to buy into what the false teachers were teaching and their criticism of the elders in the churches, they may have been withdrawing their financial support of them.

Nothing new under the sun is there.

This is often how people respond, sadly even in the church.

If something is happening or not happening the way we want, we withdraw our financial support.

Now sometimes that the right move, but we need to be clear here that it is right for us to support the ministry of the word with good things, that is our finances.

This really comes down today to supporting our local church with our resources.

And if you are ever in a position in which you are looking for a church, that’s a big consideration, but fundamentally it must be a church that is committed to preaching the word of God.

Churches can be impressive on many fronts, and many of those things are important (family ministry, music, missions, community outreach etc), but if there is no sold, clear commitment to the proclamation of God’s Word, then you have very little of value.

Now remember the broader context here.

Paul commanded that the Galatians bear each other’s burdens, and supporting those who teach God’s word fits right in to that context.

The ministry of the word must be sustained in order for a healthy church to exist and if we expect to be able to handle the certain challenges that will come our way as we strive to serve God in this world.

On this side of Jesus’ return, we will continue to deal with our own sin, and how it affects one another.

We will continue to contend with the oppression or even persecution of the world for our commitment to following Christ.

Serving God, being the church is not easy, but will make it virtually impossible is to marginalize or diminish the ministry of God’s word.

If we want to remain enthusiastic about serving God, we need the Holy Spirit to intervene, and they way He intervenes is He provides His people with a commitment to the ministry of the Word of God.

In order to supply and maintain our enthusiasm for the work of God, the Holy Spirit also provides

A reverence for God (7-8)

AQ: What does a reverence for God look like?

Filtering our present through eternity

To begin this consideration of our present in light of eternity, we need to see Paul’s warning in v. 7: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.