Abounding in Goodness (1)

[Speaker 1] That time of learning from Scripture, looking intently into the Word for the purpose of learning Jesus, may we learn Him more and more further in the name of Jesus Christ. And my prayer is that at the end of the day, both you and I, our lives will be a reflection of the person and the personality of Jesus in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us have a word of prayer as we start this evening. Precious Father, we are grateful. we thank You for Your mercies. We thank You for Your love. We give You glory. We give You praise. We give You adoration. We thank You, Lord our God, as we gather unto You this evening. Lord, we are asking that You will speak to our heart in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord our God, we look up unto You. The Bible says Paul plants, Apollos waters, but it is God that gives increase. Oh Lord, we beg You, give increase to our gathering. Give increase to Your Word. Let there be seeds for the sower. Let there be bread for the eaters. Thank You, Father. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. We thank our God that finally last week, we came to the end of the long study. That was episode 13, the wisdom of God. And we thank the Lord for helping us through that topic, for how we've done it through a 13-episode series looking at the wisdom of God. Today, we want to look at another very, very important thing again, which I tagged Abounding in Goodness, or abounding in good works. Whichever way you look at it, we are still saying the same thing. And what I really want to what we really want to look at in the Bible is bringing to our focus why as believers in every sphere of life, why we must abound in goodness. It is not a very easy thing to abound in goodness because there are several things that will make us to be weary in abounding in goodness. But we must make up our mind to abound in goodness. And the reason why we must make up our mind is really what we want to look at, carefully looking at Scriptures to see why it is crucial for us as believers to abound in goodness. Now, I want to begin this study by giving this background. The Bible says God is light. Again, the Bible says you are the light of the world. Again, the Bible says you are light for you are Christ. So, the Bible gives us an understanding that God is light, we are light, and we are to be lights of the world. So, in a way, the Bible establishes that the believer is supposed to be a reflection of the nature and the characteristics of God. The believer is supposed to be a reflection of that nature. And when you look at it, it is important to know that we are not light of the world—this is not what the statement I want to make—we are not light of the world because there is light in the world. No. The Bible said the world lies in darkness, but you are the light of the world, which means the light that we have don't have anything to do with the state of the world. Whether the world, whichever way the world responds to us, whatever the world may be doing has nothing to do with who we are. It has nothing to do with it. We are the light of the world. Now, the import of that or the reason why we are saying this is trying to create a background for abounding in goodness. You see, I saw something in Scriptures in the last one week. It has become my very, very strong reflection. And the more I look at it, the more things begin to connect themselves more and more and the deeper and deeper the matter became for me. And that is what led to the topic of today, abounding in goodness. Let me take you to Galatians. Let me show you what I saw. Galatians chapter 6, from verse 7. It says, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:7-10) Now, the three verses I want to zero in this evening are the verse 7, verse 8, and verse 9. Verse 7 is making us to see something that there is a law of life. What's the law of life? "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." That is a law of life. The reason why you must reap whatever you sow, what is the reason? It says because God cannot be mocked, which means if anybody don't reap what he sows, God ceases to be God. But we know that God cannot cease to be God. Can He? So, the Bible says there's one thing you need to get clear. And it is something you must resolve in your heart. It is something you must get very, very clear. That it is not possible to reap what you don't sow. [Speaker 2] So, the Scripture is making us to see that actually our allotment in life rest squarely on our actions in life. Our allotment in life, they have a direct relationship with our actions in life. If there is no relationship between the two, then something has happened to God. [Speaker 1] Now, it is important we are talking about abounding in goodness. But there is something that normally gives us problem. What is that thing? If you look at the verse 7, verse 8, and verse 9. Something normally gives us problem about this truth that we reap what we sow. Normally give us problem is time. So, it says, "Do not grow weary in well doing, for in due season..." Sometimes you'll be thinking that because I have done good all through this year, by the end of the year I should reap it. The due season may not be the end of the year. The due season may be that what you sow in 2018, the due season for it may be 2035. That is what gives us problem. The due season is not something that have to do with the way you plant corn. After 90 days, three months, you reap it. If it is cucumber, after 70 days, you reap it. That one have targeted time. When it comes to reaping what you sow, there is a divine dimension to it. You cannot say when the time is. Some things will just come fast. It'll look like will there really be a harvest time? When am I going to reap this thing? And sometimes when you are thinking that I will do as I'm doing before, you'll just be surprised. Harvest will just come in a way you don't think it will come. That is a divine thing about harvest. When it comes to the harvest of life, it is mysterious. It is determined by God. The situation of harvest will not be exactly like the situation of sowing. The circumstance, the situation, the timing is not something that you can put together the way we put planting corn. You can't put it together. And as a result, man become sometimes wearied in doing well. And on the other hand too, some take more delight in doing evil because they didn't see any consequence. That's why the Bible says because judgment upon an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is set in them to do evil. And the reason for the Bible says that God is slow because He does not want any to perish. That's another mystery about harvest of evil. Sometimes harvest of evil is slower than the harvest of good. You'll be thinking that the person should just go, God should just cut his head, God should just kill him, and God will just [background noise] and it'll look like there are no consequences. And the person doing good too will be wondering, will I ever reap? Will there be a time that I will reap? So, I'm trying to set something before you that for the past three, four weeks have been coming to heart, the matter have been coming, it has been coming. And I came to a conclusion that if you truly understand the law of life, then no matter what is happening around you, no matter what is happening about you, no matter what anybody is doing, you will choose to abound in goodness. You will choose to abound in goodness. What brought me to that conclusion is the Bible study that we want to do. And we need to have so we will take it one by one. In the verse 7, it says, "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked." It is important for you to know that we can be deceived. What is it that normally deceives us? I think I've explained it. What deceives us? Mystery of harvest time. With God, harvest time is a mystery. Honestly, it's a mystery that you cannot explain. Harvest time is one mystery. And so, the heart of men are easily deceived. It deceives us whether in doing good or in doing evil. You see some people say, "Look, I've tried. I've tried. I can't continue again. If you know how much I've been praying, waiting for. This person can never change. That is how this person is." Because of this mystery of harvest. And sometimes you see people say, "Nothing will happen. That is what brother Davido did. That is what sister Christina did. That is what you know brother David, that is what he did. Go and check brother Samson. Even sister Ruth. I beg you, that's what everybody is doing now." And because it looks like everybody is doing it and there seems not to be any particular harvest from it, it looks like we cannot go on. So, you see the first thing about this mystery of reaping what you sow is that be careful not to be deceived. Don't allow anything deceive you. That is, don't allow anything to make you to think that perhaps the good you are doing, you will not reap it. Or the evil you are doing, you will not reap it. Don't allow anything to make you to think that way. Don't allow it. It's a deception. That's what the Bible is saying. It's actually a deception. Whatever you are doing, it is a deception not to be deliberate and calculating and intentional about your actions. You see, when you know that you are going to reap what you are sowing, you become deliberate. You become intentional. You become calculating. You begin to look at it. You become careful. You become reflective and evaluative. You don't act out of impulse. You understand that there's going to be a harvest. You understand that this is going to come back to me. So, when you begin to live without that consciousness of sowing, you have been deceived. That's the first thing I'm bringing to you. We are easily deceived. We are readily deceived. And I've shown you the three ways you will know. Number one, when you are not intentional about what you are doing. Whatever you are doing, anywhere you are doing it, anywhere you find yourself in secret, you know what you are doing to people, to things, to others, other Christians or non-Christians, whatever to Nigeria, to the nation, to who, whatever you think you may be doing. Once you notice that you are not somebody who is deliberate and calculating, understanding that a harvest of this thing is coming back to me. Once you are not intentional that way, you have been deceived. Number two, if you are not somebody who is deliberate about your actions. If you want cucumber, you deliberately open the ground and put cucumber there. You don't just say, "Okay, I want to harvest cucumber in four months' time." And they say, "What are you doing?" "I'm just doing some things on the ground." You will never do that. You will go, you will buy cucumber seed, you will prepare the ground, you will open the ground, you put the cucumber there, you will know where you put it, you'll be waiting for it to come because deliberate. That's what means to be deliberate. That is, you are deliberately doing things because you know that you will reap it. There is an understanding of knowing that this thing, I'm going to reap it. It's going to come back. There is a deliberateness in doing it. When you notice that you are not deliberate in the things you do, just look if you are somebody who just live casually. You just live casually. You're just carefree. You just talk, you just act, you just do. You are not calculating. You are not. You must have been deceived. You are living a life of deception. People who are not deceived, they don't live that way. They live deliberately. And you know, if the way you will know again, which is a third one, if you are not somebody who is reflexive, to reflect. If you are always impulsive, you just do things the way you feel, the way you want, the way you like. And then you may give any excuse for it, then you need to watch your life. It is that you have been deceived. People who have not been deceived, they are reflexive. They reflect, they think through, they look at it. You are thoughtful. That's what the Bible talk about in Ephesians chapter 5 when the Bible says be circumspect. Have you read that Scripture before? Be circumspect. Say, "Do not live unwise, but be circumspect." You need to be circumspect. You know why you are circumspect? Because you understand that there's harvest. So, those are the three things that will make you know whether you are deceived. The Bible says do not be deceived. When the Bible says do not be deceived, what the Bible is saying is that number one, be sure that you are intentional. Be sure that you are deliberate. Be sure that you are reflexive. Be sure that I take it again. When the Bible says do not be deceived, what the Bible is saying is that be sure that you are deliberate. Be sure that you are intentional. Be sure that you are reflexive about whatever you are doing. Be intentional, be reflexive, be deliberate. If these three things don't come, oh, you have been deceived. You are living a life of deception. Now, the reason why and the Bible now says God is not mocked. You see, that made that thing very, very instructive for me. It makes it instructive for me to understand that actually when I'm sowing and I'm looking to men to get it back, I am stupid. Because the law of harvest sowing and reaping has nothing to do with men. It has to do with God. It's about God. When it says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows he will reap." So, it's making us to see that sowing and reaping is something that is purely where? In the hand of God. And so, if you are doing good to a brother because you expect him to be able to do me, oh, the way the brother will fail you, say ah! It is because when you were doing, your faith was not in God, your faith was in man. And man normally fail. The person who controls this thing, it says God is not mocked. What you sow, you will reap. So, when you are sowing and you are reaping, all of them are controlled by God. And you know why it is God who controls it? Because it is God who truly knows what you sow. You know Bawale, I'm talking about the things that led to the buildup of these things. He said something to me. He said, "I'm confused about that Scripture." So, it took me to the Scripture. He said he wants to understand. Is it possible for a man to give all his body to be burnt and still not have love? He said that Scripture is something that he's been reflecting so much about. Even if I give my body to be burnt and I have not love, it profits me nothing. So, there's a way you can make all sacrifices for people and for something and God will make sure it don't profit. I took time to read it in NLT. "If I give everything I have to the poor..." Is that not sacrifice? "And though I give my body to be burnt, but have not love, it profits me nothing." I quickly take time to read it NLT. "If I give everything I have to the poor..." and you know what's everything? Any other word for everything? Full stop. I hope you know that this is an hyperbole. From verse 1 to verse 3 is hyperbole, that is, exaggerated statement to show the import of something. Nobody, when you want to give, you don't give everything you have. You give but you still have some for yourself. Nobody have all faith and understand all mysteries, we know in part and we understand in part. I hope you get it. But he wanted to show the import of love. That's why he's saying that even if, even if, you are getting it? So, the Bible said that if it happened that there's somebody he has gone beyond the normal level of what we normally know. If he collect 200,000 salary, he'll just give 200,000 out and then be begging for how to live. He doesn't plan, he doesn't keep some. Bible says that he who withhold beyond measure, there's a measure to withhold, to plan and say, "Okay, 20 Naira, this is what I'm going to take for this Naira, maybe 5 Naira out of it I will keep." There's a way to plan around what you have. But the Bible is saying that if it happens, that's what bothers the brother. And he said, "What do you have to say?" It's as we discuss that it occurred to me that it's only God who can actually tells what a man sow. Because when we are looking at people, if somebody gave all his body to the poor, will you say he's not a giver? Will you say he's not a giver? You see, I'm telling you things that have shook me in recent times. Things that wow! Don't that's why we come to this abounding in goodness. Abounding. Am I prayerful that we will abound in goodness? Abounding in goodness. It says, "If I give everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it. But if I didn't have love, if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever." (1 Corinthians 13:3) So, the reason why the Bible put God cannot be mocked against sowing and reaping is that it is only God who can truly knows the value of what you sow and measure what was sowed. Man cannot reward it. For example, the person who gave all the body to the poor, and I just remember one particular incident like that. There was this individual. After that time, they were trying to get how to lead the association. There was this individual. He was just sacrificing everything he had, so that organization can move on. As a result, people said, "Wow, this person is the best person that can lead us." So, they now voted him into office. Immediately he entered into office, he reverted back. Everything he did so that association can move, they that reverted back to sorry I can't do that, I don't have time for that. I can't sacrifice my school for so, I can't sacrifice my time for this kind of a thing. What am I trying to bring out? It now dawned on everybody that the reason for all those things was that he was trying to get the position. It was not really that he was sacrificing for the people. It was not because he saw a need that people need a leader. It was not because there was a need to help life. So, the helping life was targeted at his seat, his seat, he wants to get a seat. That's what we are talking about. The Bible say his flesh. What is it that thing, what is it targeted at? What are you targeting? The Bible says that when our sowing is targeted around the flesh, so how do we separate the flesh from the spirit? His flesh. What is his flesh? What is it that is your flesh? This become very, very serious for us as individuals. Because you notice that he has said something earlier. He has said in chapter 5 that walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Please don't forget that. Remember that this epistle is coming from something. He has said walk in the spirit. He now said the works of the flesh they are this. You can know the works of the flesh they are this. What are they? What are those things? You may need to go back and reflect on those things. You may need to check to know what these things are. Because it is a matter for us, our sinful nature. The Bible want us to know that when the Lord is talking about sowing and reaping, we need to be careful about living our Christian life because this matter is not addressed for unbelievers. It's addressed to believers. And you know the believer, there is something about the believer. There is sin, which the Bible call the law of sin and death. Apart from law of sin and death, there is the human nature, and then there's the nature of God. The believer carries two persons inside him. Inside him are two people. The one that want to go with the law of sin and death and the one that want to go with the law of the spirit and life. So, he said, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2) Now, making it very clear that there are two things about him. And what he's saying is that everything we do in this life, as long as it is a product of the law of sin and death, what will be the consequence? Sin and death. No matter how the thing looks like, as long as it is around this law of sin and death, what you will get from it is what? Sin and death. If whatever you are doing, no matter it looks, if it dance around the law of the spirit and life, what will be the consequence? Spirit and life. And that is where we leave the matter today. That's where we leave the matter today. We will come in this abounding in goodness to pick it from how do I understanding the matter of sinful if you sow to the flesh, how do I sow to my flesh? Then the law of the spirit and life because that's the division that the Bible gives us. Before He now came back to say that don't let us be wearied in doing good. So, the good he's talking about, what is the good now? Don't let us be wearied in sowing to who? To the spirit and life. We will now see the second reason why it is saying don't be wearied about that of the spirit and life. Because the reality is that we ordinarily don't want to go that way. We prefer sin and death. So, if you begin to go the way of the spirit and life, you will soon see that in a very short while, quickly want to shift. You want to reverse back to say this thing is not paying us. Let me quickly reverse back. We'll see all of this in our next meeting. Let us go ahead to pray this evening. I said a believer, a believer, if you understand the matter of sowing and reaping, you will be reflexive, you will be deliberate, you will be intentional. Number two that we mentioned today is that God is the one who actually control the law of sowing and reaping. Don't look to people for your reward. And even when you do evil, don't look the person you are doing evil to. The person may not even be able to do it back to you. Where it is coming from and the way it will come, it will shock you. So, it's not about the individual. The law of sowing and reaping is all about God. God handles it, it's all about God. It rests on God. So, be careful not to be deceived. Don't be deceived. If you are not deliberate, intentional, and reflexive on your action, you have been deceived. Those are the things we discussed today. And I also said something very important that sowing and reaping is not like planting corn and harvesting corn. The time of reaping has due season. The due season may not even be time when you are thinking about it. The due season may be early. The due season—oh, some due season is not even in time, it is in eternity. That's the mystery of this due season. Some are in eternity. You will do it until you will die. Go and check the Bible. It said these people, they continue with God in faith, they died not receiving it. They didn't get it. They died, they didn't get it. But they were commended that they didn't get it. They got it in afterlife. That's the mystery of reaping. The harvest time and the reap is so mysterious. It's so mysterious. God bless us today. This is what we discussed today. And we have told ourselves and Lord, I must abound in goodness because it said do not be wearied in good doing. That is really where we are going. That is where we got the topic from. That is the one that the Lord brought to me and said "Wole, Wole, don't don't be wearied in well doing. Abound in goodness no matter what. Abound in goodness." That's what led to the topic. Abound in goodness! Abound in goodness! Abound in goodness! Abound in goodness! Abound in goodness! Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your name, our God. Lord our God, we pray this evening that You will help us. You will bring more and more understanding of this matter as we continue this matter next week. You will make us to understand it better and better. Lord, so that we can we can live intentionally, deliberately, and reflexively and, Lord, reap a harvest of life for this is our portion in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Eternal Father. In Jesus' name, we pray. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more. Amen. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen.