 Why do so many people have such a weak walk in Christ? And if this is you, if you have a weak walk in Christ, then you probably have a weak walk in your life. There are some struggles. Why is that? Hey, welcome back, smart Christians. One thing that is problematic for many Christians is just the level, the depth, the sincerity, the excitement, the eagerness, the zill of their wall, how it wanes sometimes. As a matter of fact, there are many believers who just feel like they're just struggling through their walk. Why is that? Or they feel like I've just not attained a certain level in my walk that I should have. I've been a Christian for a year now, for five years now, 20 years now. And I haven't seen a lot of spiritual growth more to the point, a lot of spiritual depth. Why is that? Well, the Bible gives us actually a lot of keys, but I want to focus on two passages, both by Paul, and it would kind of help us to understand really all of this and how you can even apply this to your life. In Galatians chapter six, verse seven says, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. So what you're sowing matters. Whatever you're, whatever you're planning, whatever you're putting into the ground, that is going to come out. I don't care what it is. If you are putting in tomatoes, then tomatoes are going to come up. If you're planting corn, then corn is going to come up. Now, the same thing applies spiritually. I'll come back to that in a second, but I want to finish reading what he said. He says, 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. So let us not grow weary in doing good. For in due season, we will reap if we do not give up. The point that Paul is making here is, whatever it is that you're feeding yourself, whatever it is that you're putting in the ground, whatever it is you're sowing, you're going to get that back. Now a couple of things, and this is just an agricultural point that can be applied to our spiritual lives. Notice that whatever you plant, whatever you sow into the ground, you're not getting just that one thing. For example, you sow this small seed, you're going to get a lot more than what you put in. So let's see if I can make this more applicable. If you spend time, a lot of time sowing to your flesh, sowing television, sowing Netflix, sowing Hulu, sowing YouTube TV and ESPN and so forth. Well then, don't be surprised if the things that come out of your mind, out of your mouth, that occupy the most of your time in your heart are going to be the things that you feed. Whatever you feed, those are the things that will grow the most. Whatever muscle you work out on the most, that's going to gain, that's where you're going to see the biggest gain. And so if you're giving yourself things of the world and granted, some of those things aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves to watch a little TV here and there, watch some sports and so forth, that's fine. But if that's the majority of what you do, well then that's going to be a problem because if that's the majority of what you sow, then obviously that's going to be the majority of what you reap. And again, what you reap, I don't care what degree, you're going to get back a larger harvest, something greater, something bigger than what you reap. For example, if you plant a little acorn, you're not going to grow an acorn, you're going to grow a tree, something much bigger than what you sow is going to come back. The same principle applies spiritually speaking. I understand though it can be difficult and sometimes you just don't want to. Well, that's where the next verse that Paul speaks about comes in. In Philippians 3, let's start in verse 7 says, But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Before I continue, let's cover this. Whatever he has gained, and so there are times where we feel pretty good in our walk. There are times where we feel like, you know what, I've had a good Christian day, I've had a good Christian few moments, and there's a tendency to kind of relax a little bit. No, we still keep going. And so Paul says whatever it is that I've gained, whatever good that's happened, I'm not going to rest on that. As a matter of fact, look how he says, as matter of fact, even in terms of the worldly possessions that I may have gotten, if God has blessed me in this particular area, God has done this for me, helped me here, I'm not going to just rest on that. Look what he says going on to verse number eight. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing work of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. And so Paul's focus is that, you know, whatever I've gotten, whatever's happened, good, bad, whatever, all those things, I set those to the side, I count them as loss because my focus is still going to know Christ. It's still going to be close to him to grow in him. Let's continue. He says, And also to be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, meaning from what I've done to work, but that which comes through faith in Christ and the righteousness from God, that depends on faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. And so Paul's goal is I want to be like him. As I'm getting ready to be taken from this world, eventually into the next world, I want to do everything I can in my power to be close to him. And here's where this is the point that I want to focus on. In verse 12, he says, Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but look what he says, I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. So for that reason, because Christ has made me his own, what am I going to do? I'm going to press forward. Now, understand what that word means. That means the easy stroll. It's an easy walk. There are going to be obstacles, but I have made up my mind. There's going to be some intentionality in my walk. I'm going to push. There's going to be many days I don't feel like pushing. And so what I'm going to do, I'm going to feed. Remember when you talked about sewing to the spirit and sewing to the flesh? Well, in order to push, I've got to have some energy in order to push forward. I've got to have some gas in the tank. That's where the sewing to the spirit comes in because I've been reading, because I've been praying, because I've been listening to Christian content, because I've been listening to good edifying praise and worship music, because I've been spending time on my knees speaking to the Lord. I've got enough to get me through to the next day. I've got it. And all I care about is just the next day, because in the meantime, I'm going to do more praying. The Bible, when Jesus says how we ought to pray, he says, give us this day our daily bread. All I need is just for this day. And so I'm going to sew to the flesh. No, I'm going to sew to the spirit. Also the spirit, that will be enough to get me through the push forward in the spirit to get closer and closer to him. And watch as I do so. It's almost like a snowball effect as I'm walking down this hill. I'm going down the hill. My faith gets bigger. It gets stronger, even though I'm going through things because I spent time with him. I seem to be more charged, more energized to continue. Let's see what else Paul says. He says, Brother, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind me and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call in God in Christ Jesus. And so whatever's happened, good or bad, I forget about those things that are behind me. As a matter of fact, I use those things that are behind me as my rallying point, as a source of encouragement. If it's been bad, it's behind me, which meant I made it past that, which means the eyes are going to get me past the next thing and the next thing. I've got this confidence and the reason why I've got this confidence because I spent time in him and I not only pay attention to my victories over the things that I've had in my life, but also how God has brought other people through their trials. How do I know that? By bringing in, by consuming as much as I can of him, give me enough for the next day. And so my friends, I would say be intentional about your walk, knowing what you're going to go through. And I can promise you this, if you do what I just said, what I just suggested, I can promise you, you're going to see a increase, a market increase in your level of excitement. You'll see less lows in your walk and you'll see this intense desire and hunger to keep doing what you ought to do in the Lord. Because remember, we've got a partner with us. We've got someone working in us. That is the Holy Spirit. God did not waste His Holy Spirit. He deposited His Holy Spirit in us to guide us, to move us, to cause us to walk in His teachings, according to what God has said. That's good news and it's a great source of encouragement and comfort. Amen.