Part 1 - Concerning Others, vv.1-2. Part 2 - Considering Ourselves, vv.3-6. Part 3 - Controlling Opportunity, vv.6-10. Concerning Others, v.1-2. Restore each other from sin. (1) Bear one another’s burdens. (2) Considering Ourselves, v.3-6. Deceiving. (3) Proving. (4-5) Sharing. (6) Controlling Opportunity, v.6-10. Paul lists four areas in which we control our opportunities: Sharing, Sowing, Reaping, Doing. Sharing, v.6. Those being taught in the Word are to share all good things with those who teach them. Who is to blame, if I am not being taught the Word? It can only fall on me. There is the biblical expectation within the NT church of being taught in the Word. Certainly we can think of radicals where there just wasn’t someone to do it — but those are the exceptions, not the rule. Generally speaking, we each, individually, control this opportunity. Do you feel disconnected from the church? Plan to attend more than 1 of the 5 opportunities each week we have teaching in the Word, worship, and fellowship. It doesn’t end there: podcasts, YouTube, books, tv, etc. filled with good teaching in the Word! In addition to my local church, I must immerse myself into constant solid teaching and study. Further, I should seek out those I can teach or at least share in the Word with. And wherever you are getting fed the Word, Paul says, share all good things. Don’t be a spiritual “mooch” - only ever taking. Be a cheerful and generous giver. Afford those who teach you the Word to be able to focus solely on teaching you the Word above all the rest. “If he gives you spiritual things, do not allow him to lack for temporal things.” (Spurgeon) Your being taught in the Word is a controllable opportunity. Paul’s position in these verses is what we call the “law of harvest”. You reap what you sow. You get out of it, what you put into it. Sowing, v.7-8. Paul warns God cannot be mocked. (7) Why? Because a man reaps what he sows. Mocked means “to turn up one’s nose” or “treat with contempt.” “One who turns up his nose at God and sneers at him doesn’t change this immutable “law of the harvest.’” (Anders) Disregarding God’s counsel, we will always suffer. We reap as we sow. Sowing is our controllable opportunity. In this, could we ever look around at what has come up and declare, “I just really don’t know what happened?” Each of us by our thoughts, attitudes, and actions is constantly planting for a future reaping. Time may pass before the crop ripens, but the harvest is inevitable. Consider the harvest! There are no miracle crops. You reap spiritually, relationally, mentally, and physically in direct relation to what you plant. (8) It is foolish to think that you can live irresponsibly and not suffer damaging consequences. It is wise to sow now toward that which you wish to reap later. If you sow to the desires of the flesh, this is what you will reap. If you sow to the leading of the Holy Spirit within the new life you now live, that is how you will reap! Restoration. vv.1-5 are heavy and not popular. However, when avoided, the harvest is rarely what we’d hope for. But when cultivated, biblical restoration results in a beautiful garden, a fruitful harvest! Practicing Restoration (Concerning ourselves with others while considering our own selves) is Controlling the Opportunity for God to grow His blessings in our lives! Reaping, v.9. It is easy to become weary. (9) Always doing what is right, in a world rewarding the wrong, can become tedious and weighty. Trying to restore those who’ve fainted and given up on “the right” is wearisome. Here is a promise of God to encourage us. Remember, He will not be mocked. We can control the sowing, He handles the germination of the seed. He has established the processes from which our sowing brings forth a harvest. We only reap as He turns our sowing (seed) into fruit. He will not be mocked, in the positive, when we are sowing in well-doing — God will produce that harvest for our rewards. The rewards are certain, though not always immediate. Do not let yourself become weary in well-doing. That is the controllable part. Faint not! To faint is to become the one in v.1 needing restoration. The reaping is His! And it is a promise. Doing, v.10. With this in mind, we get admonition for one final opportunity which we can control. (10) Christians have a measure of responsibility to all people to do good, when the occasions arise. When Jesus fed the 5,000, both saved and unsaved participated. So the benevolence of Christians should not be restricted, except that believers are to have the priority. As in a home, family needs are met first, then those of the neighbors. Doing “good” does not mean doing only ever what others want. vv.1-9 have laid out what is good and what is not. Doing good — is doing what is best for them. At times this is giving, at times it may mean withholding. Doing good to those of “the household of faith”… Our church family — this local/visible assembly of the church. Will mean at times, putting these practices of Biblical restoration into action. It will make us weary, but it will cause us to reap of the spirit rather than the flesh. Conclusion: What is it that you need to be doing? What is it that is making you weary while waiting for reaping? Who is it with whom you could be sharing?