March 30, 2014        

Key Passage: Galatians 5:25-6:10

Just finished reading an unbelievable book entitled, “The Insanity of God,” the 20 year recollections of, literally, the first and only missionary in Somalia during the famous civil war depicted in 2001’s “Black Hawk Down.”  Per that movie, the phrase “Leave no man behind” is the military’s creed of finding some means of rescuing those who have fallen in battle.  Unfortunately for the army of Christ, we’re more apt to shoot our wounded than to do anything remotely noble to return them to duty.  Our lack of commitment to each other is really just a veiled look at our lack of commitment to Christ.  As a society, could we be any less committed to anything?!?  Our church, our marriages, our children?  Today, we’re studying a passage that contains the verse, “God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.”  While you may be thinking you’re not actively mocking God, let me assure you that one surefire way to do it is to ignore Him, His laws, and His people.  This usually takes the form of legalism, and it’s the most insidious disease in the church today… no, let me correct that … it’s the most insidious disease in our own lives.  When we ignore the hurts of others in the church, or worse yet, add to them, we mock God – and make no mistake…God will not be mocked.  We WILL reap what we sow!

Contrasting “Legalism” and true “Christianity” ….

Legalism – a desire to make ourselves look good to others that grows out of a reliance on self, because of an infatuation with our reputation and a desire for personal power.

Christianity – the desire to exhibit genuine Christ-like behavior by depending on the Spirit of Christ in order to ultimately bring glory to God, and not ourselves.

Through FAITH God supplies the Spirit of Christ (Gal. 3:5); through the SPIRIT we produce the fruit of love (Gal. 5:22); through love we fulfill the LAW of Christ.  This simply means that you should be “led by the Spirit,” “walking in the (step, like an army) with the Spirit,” and this leads to bearing the fruit of the Spirit.  If we’re not bearing fruit in the lives of others, especially those in need, we should seriously question whether or not we’re inadvertently mocking God.

Some people tell us, and it comes in a steady stream from the philosophers of the world, that there are no moral absolutes.  And the same philosopher who has convinced himself that there are no moral absolutes is quite confident that if he drives his car 100 miles an hour into a brick wall there is a law that will have a great effect on him.  They allow for laws to be absolute and inviolable in the physical realm, but not in the spiritual.  That would make the Creator totally inconsistent with Himself.  There are laws.  And God has governed the moral world and the spiritual world with just as much law and order and consistency as He has the physical world.  (Taken from an excerpt by John MacArthur)

Q:  Discuss the concept that to ignore the needs of others is actually mocking God… (Proverbs 17:5)

Bottom Line: Listen, our natural human inclination is to prefer pleasant lies in place of difficult truth.  Sowing to the Spirit is not all that complicated: it’s deciding, by the power of his Spirit, to start doing good.  Begin to value what he values, be a blessing to other people, invest in the lives of others, work for their freedom, bring light where there is darkness and truth where there is error, support those who are in need, share Christ with them … be about the whole business of doing good…Leaving no man behind!