WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.680 We've been in a series for a few weeks now titled 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:05.879 Freedom is Here where we've been exploring the 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.419 book, well really the letter that the Apostle 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:12.500 Paul wrote to the church in Galatia. This new 00:00:12.500 --> 00:00:14.640 group of Christians that are struggling with 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.940 some things and what he writes in this letter 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:20.679 is essentially freedom is not something you earn, 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.039 it's not something you deserve, but it is something 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:29.199 that is freely given through Christ. That's the 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:31.820 only way you get it. It's through Christ. It's 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:34.899 freedom to love. It's a freedom to serve, a freedom 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:37.960 to care for others, a freedom to walk by the 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:40.340 Spirit and in step with the Spirit instead of 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:44.119 being driven by the flesh. And in today's passage, 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:49.259 Paul shows us that what that kind of Spirit -led, 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.619 other -centered life actually looks like. And 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:57.140 so our passage this morning is Galatians 6, verses 00:00:57.140 --> 00:01:01.450 1 -10. Six chapters in Paul's letter to the Galatians. 00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:04.909 So we are almost done. Just a few more days and 00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:07.670 then we'll be finished with this series on Galatians. 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:12.129 When Christ sets you free, you don't walk alone. 00:01:12.290 --> 00:01:15.450 You walk together. I want you to imagine for 00:01:15.450 --> 00:01:18.209 a moment that you and a group of friends find 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:21.969 a treasure chest. You're walking around and you 00:01:21.969 --> 00:01:25.409 stumble upon a lump in the ground and you dig 00:01:25.409 --> 00:01:27.650 a little bit and you see this treasure chest 00:01:27.650 --> 00:01:30.150 in it. You finally get it out from the hole and 00:01:30.150 --> 00:01:32.469 it's full. It's really heavy. And you can only 00:01:32.469 --> 00:01:34.930 assume that there's some really nice things in 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:37.930 this treasure chest. There's some prized possessions 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:41.269 and maybe some gold and some crowns and jewels 00:01:41.269 --> 00:01:44.549 and things that if you were to get access to 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:46.950 them would change your life and the rest of the 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:49.709 people in your group's life forever. And so you 00:01:49.709 --> 00:01:52.010 grab this chest and you pull it out of the hole 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:55.810 and you realize that it's locked. And you can't 00:01:55.810 --> 00:01:57.450 get it unlocked. So you and your friends, you 00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:01.170 do some research and you find some details about 00:02:01.170 --> 00:02:03.989 this very treasure chest. And what you find is 00:02:03.989 --> 00:02:05.750 that there's only one person in the world that 00:02:05.750 --> 00:02:09.930 can unlock this treasure chest. And so you look 00:02:09.930 --> 00:02:12.110 up and you find where that person is. Well, they're 00:02:12.110 --> 00:02:14.289 a couple of countries away. They're on an entirely 00:02:14.289 --> 00:02:16.669 different continent. So you and your friends, 00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:19.229 you figure out or you decide that you're going 00:02:19.229 --> 00:02:21.759 to. take the treasure chest to this locksmith 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:24.900 so that he can unlock it and get access to this 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:28.180 treasure. So you guys, you each grab a handle 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:30.080 and you start walking down the road and you're 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:34.840 carrying it and somebody gets a cramp. And so 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.060 everybody has to kind of shift their weight and 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:40.259 maybe grab an extra handle because that person 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:43.340 with the cramp can't carry their portion of the 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.719 weight. And so you keep walking and eventually 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:48.580 that person recovers enough and they pick up 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.020 their slack and now you're walking some more 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:52.800 and you're walking and then somebody's shoulder 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:55.740 starts to hurt. And so now everybody has to divert 00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:58.759 their attention and their energy to sharing the 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:01.699 load for that person. And you keep walking and 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:04.280 now somebody is dehydrated so they need to take 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.000 a break. So everybody picks up their slack and 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.080 this just continues and continues and continues 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:14.210 until eventually you get to... The locksmith. 00:03:15.629 --> 00:03:18.009 See, the rest of the group doesn't just leave 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:21.210 somebody behind and set the treasure down. They 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:24.469 keep carrying. They shift the weight a little 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:27.810 bit and they grab an extra piece of handle and 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:29.789 they do what they need to do so that we can all 00:03:29.789 --> 00:03:32.669 keep walking to carry the treasure because in 00:03:32.669 --> 00:03:37.310 this treasure chest is life -changing material. 00:03:38.229 --> 00:03:40.629 It's the type of stuff that will set up your 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:45.060 family for generations. And so you keep bearing 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:48.319 the load. That's the picture Paul is painting 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.219 here in Galatians 6. What Paul is calling us 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:55.560 to is this life of a long walk toward the eternal 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:59.300 treasure that Christ has promised us. But along 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:02.740 the way, as we walk this journey of life together, 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:05.479 we're going to have some difficulties. We're 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:07.960 going to have some things pop up that make it 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:10.300 hard for us to carry our portion of the weight. 00:04:11.210 --> 00:04:13.889 And the truth that we have to hold on to today 00:04:13.889 --> 00:04:15.930 is that we carry each other's burdens because 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:20.310 we're walking together with a purpose for a prize 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:25.290 that we all want to share in. And that's how 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:28.350 we get to Galatians 6, verses 1 -10. We're going 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:30.930 to read through the passage, and then we'll continue 00:04:30.930 --> 00:04:35.259 in this lesson. Starting in verse 1, Paul writes, 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:37.720 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.160 you who are spiritual should restore him in a 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.480 spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.220 lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:50.779 and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:53.579 thinks he is something when he is nothing, he 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:57.759 deceives himself. But let each one test his own 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:00.139 work, and then his reason to boast will be in 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:03.079 himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:06.040 will have to bear his own load. Let the one who 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.120 is taught the word share all good things with 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:10.860 the one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:14.060 is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:17.899 he also reap. For the one who sows to his own 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:21.120 flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.199 the one who sows to the Spirit will from the 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.060 Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:30.220 weary of doing good. For in due season we will 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:34.100 reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:38.279 opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:41.439 especially to those who are of the household 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:47.319 of faith. So there in verse 1, the word caught 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:50.839 doesn't mean like I caught you red -handed or 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:53.160 caught with your hand in the cookie jar. The 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:57.100 word caught there is it's trapped. It's an entanglement. 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:00.790 It's like somebody getting stuck in a net. And 00:06:00.790 --> 00:06:03.569 so when you see somebody in sin, the fleshly 00:06:03.569 --> 00:06:06.290 response is to say, you got to cut them off. 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:08.189 They're doing the wrong thing. We got to get 00:06:08.189 --> 00:06:10.149 rid of them or we got to call them out and we 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:12.649 got to make an example of them or we've got to 00:06:12.649 --> 00:06:14.449 cancel them because they're doing things that 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:16.389 we disagree with or they're saying things that 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:20.269 we don't like. And so we catch somebody in sin, 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:24.230 in a transgression, and the human response is, 00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:29.170 get rid of them. If they did wrong, if they wronged 00:06:29.170 --> 00:06:33.110 me, Get rid of them. But the Spirit says. What 00:06:33.110 --> 00:06:35.810 Paul says is, you who are spiritual. The Spirit 00:06:35.810 --> 00:06:42.149 says, restore them. And Paul tells us how to 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:44.990 restore them. He says, do it with gentleness. 00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:49.089 A spirit of gentleness. See, we live in an age 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:51.949 where everything is about putting people on blast. 00:06:52.569 --> 00:06:55.490 If they did wrong or they messed up or they said 00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:57.970 something bad, they said something we disagreed 00:06:57.970 --> 00:07:01.149 with, we put it all over Facebook and we make 00:07:01.149 --> 00:07:03.209 an example of them. We make a mockery of them. 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:05.870 We joke about them and we make memes about them. 00:07:05.990 --> 00:07:08.050 But what Paul says is if you catch them doing 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:10.930 wrong, don't make a joke of them and don't cut 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:14.170 them off, don't throw them out, but restore them 00:07:14.170 --> 00:07:17.050 with the spirit of gentleness. That's one of 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:18.850 the fruits of the spirit that we talked about 00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:24.529 last week. opposite of what the human response 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:28.449 is. Warren Wiersbe says in his book, Be Free, 00:07:28.709 --> 00:07:32.509 nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better 00:07:32.509 --> 00:07:34.949 than the way the legalists treat those who have 00:07:34.949 --> 00:07:37.509 sinned. And we can replace the word legalism 00:07:37.509 --> 00:07:40.149 with nothing reveals the wickedness of being 00:07:40.149 --> 00:07:44.410 human better than the way the humans treat those 00:07:44.410 --> 00:07:48.470 who have sinned. Because we know exactly what 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:50.579 that looks like, right? We've seen it. We've 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:52.800 seen it over the last 10 years. Well, I say the 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:54.579 last 10 years because that's how long I've been 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:57.259 an adult. Over the last 10 years, I've seen some 00:07:57.259 --> 00:08:00.259 really ugly treatment of people who look and 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:03.779 think and act differently than we do. People 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:07.600 that maybe are in the wrong, maybe have been 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:11.360 in sin, and we've treated them awfully. And I'm 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.980 saying we just as in a general sense as this 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.360 is how humans have been behaving. But what Paul 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:19.939 is calling us to, what Jesus has always called 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:23.199 his followers to, is not to act like humans. 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:30.420 It's to act like God. And we reveal our wickedness 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:33.919 in the way we treat those who sin differently 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:38.980 than us. And that hits hard, doesn't it? Because 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:43.580 the world loves to bash failures. But Jesus came 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:49.179 to heal sinners. fix something and you used a 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:51.940 little too much force. I'm really bad about this. 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:54.480 If I've got to screw something on, I'm going 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.539 to screw it on as tight as possible. Or if I've 00:08:57.539 --> 00:08:59.279 got to hammer something in, I'm going to just 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.840 smash it as hard as I can because I want to make 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:05.299 sure it's good. It's tight, right? But when you 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:07.159 try to fix something and you use a little bit 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:10.299 too much force, if it's a screw, you may snap 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:14.679 the screw or you may strip it. You break it. 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:18.509 And what Paul warns against here in Galatians 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:22.129 6 is don't try to fix something harshly. Don't 00:09:22.129 --> 00:09:24.789 try to fix something with as much force as you 00:09:24.789 --> 00:09:26.509 can, because if you do that, you're going to 00:09:26.509 --> 00:09:30.590 break it. Maybe you have kids and your kids are 00:09:30.590 --> 00:09:34.730 adults now. And you know that some of the moments 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:36.830 in your life and raising them, you were a little 00:09:36.830 --> 00:09:40.470 too harsh. The other night, Easton, I was putting 00:09:40.470 --> 00:09:42.129 Easton to bed and I can't remember what I said 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:45.820 to him. But he said, Daddy. why do you and mommy 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:50.659 always yell at us? The first response was, I 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:52.700 don't yell at you at all. They don't want to 00:09:52.700 --> 00:09:56.639 yell at them for saying that. But I just had 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.379 to stop and think. And my response was, well, 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:02.100 buddy, because you're never listening. And I 00:10:02.100 --> 00:10:04.899 got to make sure you hear me. But there's a truth 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:09.360 there, right? That we yell at people and we hit 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.080 people and we bash them over the head with scripture 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:15.240 sometimes. And what it does is it pushes them 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.980 away and it breaks them. Now, everybody has a 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:22.600 podcast these days. And the number one thing 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:25.500 that comes up on my feed of podcasts is people 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:28.179 that grew up in church that no longer want to 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:30.159 be a part of church because of the way the church 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:34.279 raised them. And what they're saying is, is I 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:37.159 wasn't raised with gentleness. I wasn't corrected 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.659 with gentleness. I was beat over the head with 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:41.809 scripture. And beat over the head with tradition. 00:10:42.169 --> 00:10:44.730 And I don't want to be a Christian that does 00:10:44.730 --> 00:10:46.490 that. I don't want to do that to my kids. I don't 00:10:46.490 --> 00:10:47.870 want to do that to your kids. I don't want to 00:10:47.870 --> 00:10:50.090 do that to you. When I see somebody caught in 00:10:50.090 --> 00:10:52.750 sin. When I see somebody trapped. I want to restore 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.009 them with gentleness. And I hope that is the 00:10:55.009 --> 00:10:58.230 case for all of us. Because that's what the gospel. 00:10:58.549 --> 00:11:00.809 That is what the Apostle Paul is calling us to. 00:11:01.090 --> 00:11:05.059 And so we look at. These people that are damaged. 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.639 We look at these people that are hurt, that have 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:09.919 slipped into sin. And what I want you to hear 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.539 this morning is when someone is damaged, gentleness 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:15.480 restores so much better than harshness because 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:19.919 harshness shatters. It breaks people. It pushes 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.899 them away. And now you hear so many people that 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:26.940 are 25, 30, 35, or even adults that say, I will 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:30.059 never set foot in a church again. Or I will never 00:11:30.059 --> 00:11:32.889 speak to my parents again. Or I'll never associate 00:11:32.889 --> 00:11:35.870 with those people again because of the way they 00:11:35.870 --> 00:11:38.210 treated me when I was in the wrong. And they'll 00:11:38.210 --> 00:11:39.769 admit that maybe they were in the wrong. They'll 00:11:39.769 --> 00:11:41.590 admit that maybe they thought a little bit different 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:44.389 than they should have. But they weren't restored 00:11:44.389 --> 00:11:47.529 gently. And they were broken because of it. And 00:11:47.529 --> 00:11:50.049 so then we get to the second half of verse 1 00:11:50.049 --> 00:11:52.389 where Paul says, Keep watch on yourself lest 00:11:52.389 --> 00:11:57.649 you be tempted to sin. You see, because we do 00:11:57.649 --> 00:12:02.179 get tempted to restore people harshly. And that 00:12:02.179 --> 00:12:04.240 can lead us into sin. But there's also some more 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.659 there. See, when you reach down to lift somebody 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.919 else up, Paul is saying watch your footing so 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.080 that you don't fall off the cliff too. Be careful 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:16.379 because that same sin that trapped them or that 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:19.980 tripped them could also trip you. And so if you 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:22.700 reach down and you figure, okay, I'm going to 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:25.759 save the alcoholic by going to the bar and sitting 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:28.480 down with the alcoholic, and then you find yourself 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:33.159 becoming an alcoholic. Be careful. Know yourself. 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.179 Know your limits. Watch your footing so that 00:12:35.179 --> 00:12:37.740 if you go to try to save the person caught in 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:42.100 sin, you don't find yourself there too. But there's 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:46.919 also another way that this could be. The person 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:50.039 that you reach down to save, that you restore, 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:53.320 the person that you're trying to help fix and 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:56.000 that you're trying to get out of sin, that person 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.299 could very well be the person that 10 years from 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:01.460 now saves you. that reaches down and pulls you 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:06.480 up. You never know what's going to happen from 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.720 you trying to restore someone. So be careful. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:14.700 Don't allow them to pull you down, but also make 00:13:14.700 --> 00:13:16.679 sure you do it in a way that one day when you're 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.399 in sin, they think back on the way you restored 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:22.799 them and they say, I got to help them. I have 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.659 to because that's how they treated me when I 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:30.690 was lost. And I believe that's why Paul goes 00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:34.350 on in the passage by saying, well, what he says 00:13:34.350 --> 00:13:37.490 in verses 2 and 3, and this is the heart of the 00:13:37.490 --> 00:13:40.250 passage, and so I want us to really hone in on 00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:42.809 this. So read it, let it marinate for a little 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:46.970 bit. Verse 2, bear one another's burdens and 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:52.490 so fulfill the law of Christ. That's the heartbeat 00:13:52.490 --> 00:13:55.750 of Christian community. That's what this is about. 00:13:56.429 --> 00:13:58.929 This is not about us singing songs together. 00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:01.549 It's not about you listening to me. It's not 00:14:01.549 --> 00:14:03.750 about you going to a Bible class. That's great. 00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:07.090 That stuff is important. You need that. But what 00:14:07.090 --> 00:14:10.769 Paul says is to fulfill the law of Christ, you 00:14:10.769 --> 00:14:14.070 help each other. You bear each other's burdens. 00:14:15.470 --> 00:14:18.340 The law of Christ is very simple. You look at 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:21.179 a passage like John 13, verse 34, where Christ 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:23.600 says, love one another as I have loved you. That 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:26.460 is what we have been called to do. It's to lift 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:28.679 each other up when we're falling. It's to carry 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.080 each other when we can't keep going. It's to 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.139 make sure that we are all getting to the destination 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:40.299 where the treasure will be revealed. The old 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:43.860 law was complex. Have you ever read Leviticus? 00:14:44.750 --> 00:14:47.590 You ever read the Old Testament? I mean, it can 00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:51.269 be, it is the death nail in every person's yearly 00:14:51.269 --> 00:14:55.190 Bible reading plan. I saw a tweet the other day. 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:57.970 A guy said, I'm going to start reading the Bible 00:14:57.970 --> 00:15:00.549 for the first time. Where should I start? And 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:02.850 everybody, well, one person said Revelation. 00:15:02.889 --> 00:15:05.370 I was like, you're crazy. But everybody was like, 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:07.169 you start in Genesis. You start at the beginning. 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:11.850 Wrong. Start in the Gospels. Because all that 00:15:11.850 --> 00:15:14.690 stuff is confusing, it's complex, and it can 00:15:14.690 --> 00:15:18.269 really shut some people down. It's hard to grasp. 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:22.730 But also, the law of the flesh is destructive. 00:15:24.190 --> 00:15:27.889 It leads us into sin. It leads us away from God. 00:15:28.049 --> 00:15:30.269 What we learned last week when we were talking 00:15:30.269 --> 00:15:32.990 about the fruit of the Spirit was it opposes 00:15:32.990 --> 00:15:36.450 the Spirit. It opposes God. My natural wants 00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:39.309 and desires are not God's natural wants and desires. 00:15:40.250 --> 00:15:45.730 It leads to death. But the law of Christ is simple 00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:49.470 and it's life -giving. And if you've ever given 00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:52.429 your life to Christ, if you have striven to live 00:15:52.429 --> 00:15:56.129 a life for Christ, to live a life in step with 00:15:56.129 --> 00:15:58.029 the Spirit, you know what I mean when I say it's 00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:01.279 life -giving. It brings joy. It brings peace. 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.960 Whereas trying to make sure I get every single 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:06.779 rule right and check every mark and dot every 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:11.000 I and cross every T, that can be headache inducing. 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:15.419 And it can be the very thing that pushes me away. 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:18.539 But if I will just submit my life to Christ, 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:24.460 I have life. To bear one another's burdens means 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:28.700 to carry the heavy stuff together. The grief, 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:33.960 the failures, the anxieties, the addictions. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.320 It means when I see my brother unable to keep 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:44.000 going, I'm picking him up. When I see my sister 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.460 struggling to make it through the day, I pick 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:52.120 her up. I carry some weight for her. You were 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.639 never meant to carry all of those things by yourself. 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:58.379 You were never meant to carry the hardships of 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:01.559 life by yourself. And neither were your brothers 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:06.279 and sisters. When we carry one another's burdens, 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.819 we are living out the gospel. Because Jesus, 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:16.640 he carried all of our burdens. He took all of 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.059 our sin. And he's gone to heaven to prepare a 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:25.660 place for us where failure... Sorrow, addiction, 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:28.039 grief, all of those things, they don't exist 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:32.740 anymore. Jesus is preparing a home where our 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:37.240 burdens are lifted forever. And when we say, 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:39.460 Father, let your kingdom come, what we're saying 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:43.400 is, Father, help us to do that now. Help us to 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:46.000 make this space, make this place, make these 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.000 people a people that don't have to bear life's 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.519 burdens on their own. Let us build a place. that 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:55.299 is reminiscent of the kingdom that you are going 00:17:55.299 --> 00:18:00.740 to bring. So we go and we bear one another's 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:04.019 burdens. And as we get into verse 3, Paul gives 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:06.559 a bit of a warning for those who may not exactly 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.599 get it because the idea of helping each other 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:11.799 out isn't easy. Because again, our flesh, our 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.759 human desire is to do for self. It's to pick 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.859 up my own load. It's to help myself. It's to 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:24.680 feed my own needs. But what Paul says is if anyone 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.019 thinks he's something when he's nothing, and 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:28.940 here's the newsflash for all of us, we are all 00:18:28.940 --> 00:18:35.759 nothing. He deceives himself. If I were to put 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:39.700 that in simple terms, don't think you're too 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:42.859 good to help. Don't think you're above getting 00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:47.180 your hands dirty. Don't think you're above getting 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:49.660 in the weeds with your brothers and sisters and 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:52.380 getting out of the rut. Don't think you're bigger 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:57.200 than the team. And not only don't think you're 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.519 too good to help, but also don't think you're 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.980 too good for help. Because I got to tell you, 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:03.900 I would not be standing here today if I thought 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:07.819 I was too good for help. We wouldn't make it. 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.960 The church isn't supposed to be this museum or 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.900 this club for saints. The church was meant to 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:17.599 be a hospital for sinners. It was meant to be 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:20.319 this place where sick people... filled the pews, 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:24.059 or chairs. It was meant to be a place where broken 00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:27.380 people are supposed to live, where broken people 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:30.000 come to be mended. This is the place where God 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.640 wants to do His best healing. And we all have 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:40.380 a part to play in the operation. Just imagine 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:42.660 a doctor's office. And all the people that go 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:44.640 into making that doctor's office run smoothly, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:46.799 you've got the receptionist, you've got the nurse, 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.880 you've got the techs, you've got the cleaning 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.119 people. I mean, you've got all these people that 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.039 go into making sure this doctor's office can 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:56.220 do what a doctor's office is supposed to do. 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:59.339 And that's the church. We aren't all the surgeon. 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:02.640 We're not all the nurse. But we all have a part 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:04.599 to play in making sure that when broken people 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:09.410 come in this building, they get fixed. This is 00:20:09.410 --> 00:20:11.250 the place where God wants to do His healing. 00:20:11.369 --> 00:20:13.930 So we can't fool ourselves by thinking that we're 00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:16.230 too good, that we're too important. This is why 00:20:16.230 --> 00:20:20.490 it's important to be attentive to ourselves and 00:20:20.490 --> 00:20:25.210 to those around us. This is what Paul says in 00:20:25.210 --> 00:20:27.309 verse 4 about that attentiveness. He says, Let 00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:30.849 each one test his own work, for each will have 00:20:30.849 --> 00:20:34.799 to bear his own load. Now Paul is not contradicting 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:36.400 himself. The first time I read this I was like, 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:38.039 wait, he just said bear one another's burdens. 00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:40.960 But now he's saying you have to carry your own 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.740 load. He's not contradicting himself. What Paul 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:47.000 is doing here is he's contrasting this shared 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:49.880 weight versus the personal responsibility. Because 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.200 we all have our own personal responsibility. 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:54.440 We've got the things that we're responsible for. 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.980 But there is a shared burden. There's a shared 00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:02.259 load. The word there in verse 2 for burden. actually 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:05.000 refers to something that's too heavy for one 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.400 person to carry. So go back to our treasure chest 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.279 analogy. It's something that I cannot carry on 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.240 my own, and neither can you, no matter how strong 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:17.039 you think you are. But the word for load in verse 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:21.859 5 refers to something more like a backpack. Now, 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:25.660 we've all gone to school, some of us more than 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:29.720 others, and we've all carried a backpack. Now 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:31.200 there are some days where that backpack gets 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:32.960 pretty heavy, right? Any of you ever have teachers 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.960 that made you bring every textbook to class? 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.920 No? Okay, good. Neither have I. But I've seen 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:41.579 it. I've seen people that had to carry every 00:21:41.579 --> 00:21:44.200 textbook in their backpack. And it's a heavy 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:48.259 deal. But they could still carry it. So you have 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:51.299 this idea of this treasure chest that's too big, 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:53.720 too massive, too weighty for one person to carry. 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:57.440 But then you also have a backpack. That one person 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:01.839 absolutely can carry even on its worst day. So 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:06.400 yes, we do carry one another's burdens. But we 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:10.880 are all also responsible for our own walk with 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:14.960 God. I can't walk your walk for you. I can walk 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:17.799 your walk with you. I absolutely can walk your 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:20.400 walk with you and you can walk with me. But I 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.420 can't walk it for you. I mean, you've got to 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:26.369 do some stuff here too. It's kind of like in 00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:28.589 a marriage, you know, everybody says you both 00:22:28.589 --> 00:22:31.890 have to give 100%. Wrong. Not everybody can do 00:22:31.890 --> 00:22:34.950 that. Some days I've got 10 and Eliza's got 90. 00:22:35.430 --> 00:22:39.069 Some days she's got 10 and I've got 50 and then 00:22:39.069 --> 00:22:41.750 we're in trouble. And that's where marriage counseling 00:22:41.750 --> 00:22:44.549 comes in. No, seriously, we can't do it all. 00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:46.410 We've got to share some load, but we do have 00:22:46.410 --> 00:22:49.569 to give something. I can't give zero. If I give 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.410 0 % and Eliza's always giving 100, guess where 00:22:52.410 --> 00:22:55.539 Eliza's going to be? Not with me. We've got to 00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:58.240 give something. So we all have a part to play, 00:22:58.420 --> 00:23:00.880 but we can't do it all. I want you to think of 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.240 it this way. A soldier will carry his own pack. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:06.720 A soldier has his own weight to bear. But if 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.460 a fellow soldier gets wounded, what's going to 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:12.039 happen? They're going to pick him up and carry 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:14.279 him to the finish. They're going to pick that 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.759 pack up, they're going to carry the soldier, 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:17.339 and they're going to make sure he gets where 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:20.339 he needs to go. And that's what we do as followers 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:24.150 of Christ. And Paul says, let each one test his 00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:27.829 own work. That word test is like to examine, 00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:31.769 to look very closely, to very deeply look into, 00:23:31.970 --> 00:23:35.549 to make sure I'm doing what I can, to make sure 00:23:35.549 --> 00:23:39.009 I'm carrying my load. So it's to say, don't be 00:23:39.009 --> 00:23:43.049 lazy. Don't just sit idly by while everybody 00:23:43.049 --> 00:23:46.809 else carries it for you. Look closely. We live 00:23:46.809 --> 00:23:49.420 in a culture obsessed with comparison. Social 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:54.220 media, the news, TV, competitions, envy. But 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:57.700 Paul says, don't test your neighbor. Stop worrying 00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:00.059 about what your neighbor looks like. Stop worrying 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:03.299 about what they got. But look at yourself. Test 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:07.059 yourself. Take responsibility for your own growth. 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:14.059 For your own spiritual growth. And so now we 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.359 kind of move into a bit of a separate section. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:19.700 But still connected in Paul's letter, starting 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:22.940 here in verse 6. Let the one who has taught the 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:24.839 word share all good things with the one who teaches. 00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:27.500 Paul's basically saying, pay the preacher. I'm 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:31.500 joking. Joking. I don't want to spend a lot of 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:34.000 time on this because it's not the point. But 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.940 it is important. Paul is making a practical point. 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:42.200 Support those who feed you spiritually. Now, 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:45.940 that's not just the preacher. It's the elders. 00:24:46.659 --> 00:24:49.059 It's the deacons. It's the teachers. It's the 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:52.240 volunteers. It's the church. Support the work 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.619 of the church because this is where you come 00:24:54.619 --> 00:24:57.019 to get healing. This is where you come to get 00:24:57.019 --> 00:25:01.400 teaching. This is where you come to be fed. So 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:04.079 support those who feed you spiritually. Not because 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:06.319 we deserve it. We haven't done anything special. 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:08.180 You haven't done anything special. But because 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:10.440 it's right. Because when you invest in kingdom 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:13.390 work, And kingdom work can now continue happening 00:25:13.390 --> 00:25:16.710 when you are sowing seeds. You are then sowing 00:25:16.710 --> 00:25:21.950 seeds into eternal soil. And Paul warns us to 00:25:21.950 --> 00:25:24.470 not take this truth for granted. Don't ignore 00:25:24.470 --> 00:25:27.269 it. Here's what he says. Don't be deceived. Paul 00:25:27.269 --> 00:25:29.250 likes to use that phrase, don't be deceived. 00:25:29.470 --> 00:25:33.309 Basically, don't fool yourself. Don't be deceived. 00:25:33.490 --> 00:25:37.190 God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that 00:25:37.190 --> 00:25:40.069 will he also reap. That's a universal principle. 00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:42.609 You plant something in the garden, you take care 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:44.890 of it, you water it. If you've got a green thumb, 00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:48.029 it grows. If you don't, you're me. You make sure 00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:52.250 what you plant, you pour into, it is going to 00:25:52.250 --> 00:25:56.089 grow. What you sow, you reap. You can't plant 00:25:56.089 --> 00:26:01.289 corn and expect to grow peaches. What you sow, 00:26:01.490 --> 00:26:04.069 you reap. And so when it comes to the kingdom, 00:26:04.190 --> 00:26:07.869 we are sowing into. Kingdom work. And if we want 00:26:07.869 --> 00:26:10.549 to see souls saved, if we want to see the kingdom 00:26:10.549 --> 00:26:13.769 come and be established here on this earth, we've 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:17.309 got to sow more than what we have been. If we 00:26:17.309 --> 00:26:19.930 sow selfishness, we'll reap emptiness. If we 00:26:19.930 --> 00:26:22.390 sow generosity, we'll reap abundance. Do you 00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:25.589 see how this works? What you put in, you get 00:26:25.589 --> 00:26:30.450 out. That's what Paul says as he continues in 00:26:30.450 --> 00:26:32.869 verse 8. For the one who sows to his own flesh 00:26:32.869 --> 00:26:37.450 will from the flesh reap corruption. But the 00:26:37.450 --> 00:26:39.410 one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit 00:26:39.410 --> 00:26:47.470 reap eternal life. I want to live forever. And 00:26:47.470 --> 00:26:50.650 I don't want to be corrupted. Corruption is brokenness. 00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:53.609 Corruption is weakness. Corruption is sickness. 00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:57.069 I don't want that. I want abundant life. I want 00:26:57.069 --> 00:26:59.950 eternal life. And so what I have to do is I have 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:03.940 to sow. to the spirit, not the flesh. You cannot 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:06.079 reap the fruit of the spirit if you never plant 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.799 in the soil of the spirit. If all I'm doing is 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:12.619 just pouring out selfishness and pouring out 00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:16.339 apathy and pouring out envy and anger and all 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:20.319 of these fruits of the flesh, I will never bear 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:24.920 the fruit of the spirit and I'll never taste 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:29.779 abundant and eternal life. And here's the best 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:32.430 part though. When we sow to God, when we give 00:27:32.430 --> 00:27:34.049 Him our time, when we give Him our energy, our 00:27:34.049 --> 00:27:37.789 talents, our resources, God multiplies it. He 00:27:37.789 --> 00:27:40.930 turns those small seeds into these eternal massive 00:27:40.930 --> 00:27:46.170 harvests. But sometimes, you know this, sowing 00:27:46.170 --> 00:27:48.670 into other people, sowing into relationships, 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:53.509 sowing into other things besides ourselves, it 00:27:53.509 --> 00:27:57.890 can be tiresome, can't it? It can be very tiresome. 00:27:59.889 --> 00:28:03.309 It's not natural for us. It's not the human strong 00:28:03.309 --> 00:28:06.549 suit. Remember, the spirit and the flesh oppose 00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:10.049 each other. They don't work together. And so 00:28:10.049 --> 00:28:12.829 the flesh says, pour into yourself. And that's 00:28:12.829 --> 00:28:15.930 easy. It's easy to pour into ourselves. Now, 00:28:15.990 --> 00:28:18.309 the fruit it bears doesn't taste good, but it's 00:28:18.309 --> 00:28:20.029 easy to pour into ourselves. The fruit of the 00:28:20.029 --> 00:28:24.230 spirit, it's a little bit harder. But the fruit 00:28:24.230 --> 00:28:28.490 that it bears tastes so much better. And that's 00:28:28.490 --> 00:28:33.930 how... This all works. Paul is saying, don't 00:28:33.930 --> 00:28:36.289 be discouraged. In fact, he gives us some encouragement 00:28:36.289 --> 00:28:38.750 here in verse 9. Let us not grow weary of doing 00:28:38.750 --> 00:28:42.509 good, for in due season we will reap if we do 00:28:42.509 --> 00:28:47.390 not give up. I was driving the other day and 00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:49.130 I was looking at the leaves and everybody's like, 00:28:49.269 --> 00:28:51.369 oh, the leaves are so pretty. It took them a 00:28:51.369 --> 00:28:53.190 little bit longer to get here this year and everything. 00:28:53.490 --> 00:28:57.250 And I'm just thinking. You endure the hot summer 00:28:57.250 --> 00:28:59.109 even though it's not hot here. So y 'all got 00:28:59.109 --> 00:29:01.430 to stop complaining about the heat. It's not 00:29:01.430 --> 00:29:05.829 hot here. But you endure the heat of the summer 00:29:05.829 --> 00:29:09.569 and the pain of the heat and the sun bearing 00:29:09.569 --> 00:29:11.890 down on you. You endure that for this weather 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:14.380 that we've got right now. And for this pretty 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:16.339 scenery that we've got around us right now, you 00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:19.039 endure it because you know better days are coming. 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.079 And that's Paul's encouragement to the tired 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:23.019 elder or deacon. That's Paul's encouragement 00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:25.740 to the discouraged parent. That's his encouragement 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:28.880 to the volunteer who feels unseen or to the person 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:30.619 who feels like they've been doing everything 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:33.680 they can, but they just can't get it all right. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.539 Paul says, don't. grow weary. Don't give up. 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:40.359 Don't let weariness steal your joy because the 00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:43.500 seed you planted, it may not have sprouted yet. 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:46.319 It may not be bearing fruit yet, but harvest 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:51.779 time is coming. So just hold on a few more days. 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:58.200 Just a few more days. Here's how Paul ties it 00:29:58.200 --> 00:30:02.579 all together. So then, as we have opportunity, 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:07.819 let us do good. To everyone. I want to highlight 00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:09.640 that word there because I don't think we really 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:14.799 comprehend that sometimes. Everyone. There's 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:18.700 no qualifiers there. There's no dividers, no 00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:22.700 descriptors. Everyone. You learn that vocabulary 00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:27.400 word very early on in life. Everybody. Everyone. 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:31.619 And especially to those who are of the household 00:30:31.619 --> 00:30:35.660 of faith. So do good to everybody. Make sure 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:37.779 you take care of everybody. Treat them well. 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:40.319 Make sure that when they see you, they see and 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:42.119 they feel and they taste the fruit of the Spirit. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:46.559 Everybody. And especially those that are part 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:51.740 of the family of God. This freedom that we've 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:56.880 been given, it's a freedom from the flesh. Because 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:00.440 again, the flesh is selfish. And the flesh is 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:03.349 envious. It's self -serving and self -seeking. 00:31:04.089 --> 00:31:06.829 We're freed from that. We're not bound by those 00:31:06.829 --> 00:31:08.990 chains anymore. It's a freedom from that. It's 00:31:08.990 --> 00:31:11.990 a freedom to do good to other people, to bless 00:31:11.990 --> 00:31:15.029 believers and unbelievers alike. It's to make 00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:17.250 the gospel, the good news of Christ, visible 00:31:17.250 --> 00:31:18.990 through the way that we live and the way that 00:31:18.990 --> 00:31:20.789 we love. I want you to go back to that treasure 00:31:20.789 --> 00:31:23.609 chest illustration. You found the treasure. You 00:31:23.609 --> 00:31:26.109 carried it together. Along the way, some got 00:31:26.109 --> 00:31:28.809 tired. Some got hurt. Some stumbled. But you 00:31:28.809 --> 00:31:32.079 never dropped. You carried it together until 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:35.859 you reached the locksmith. And when you opened 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:41.759 it, when those locks were undone and that chest 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:46.859 was open, you see a beautiful sight that you 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:49.700 know will change your life and those that you 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:54.539 interact with forever. We carry the weight of 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:58.259 this life together. We bear each other's burdens. 00:31:58.420 --> 00:32:01.099 We lift one another up when we fall. We invest 00:32:01.099 --> 00:32:03.240 in each other and in each other's ministries, 00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:05.920 each other's lives. We keep doing good even when 00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:08.460 it's hard, even when we don't feel like it, even 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:12.539 when it doesn't feel good for us. All until one 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:15.519 day when Christ returns and the treasure chest 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:20.220 is open, we get to see this beautiful home that 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:24.819 Jesus is bringing to us where we get to live 00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:29.309 with him. Forever. Where we get to sit at the 00:32:29.309 --> 00:32:33.130 Father's table and we get to enjoy a meal so, 00:32:33.289 --> 00:32:37.470 so good that no one has ever tasted before. When 00:32:37.470 --> 00:32:40.170 we get to have a life and experience a life that 00:32:40.170 --> 00:32:44.210 is not full of sorrow, it's not full of hurt. 00:32:44.289 --> 00:32:48.269 In fact, those things don't exist there. So we 00:32:48.269 --> 00:32:50.670 bear one another's burdens and we keep pressing 00:32:50.670 --> 00:32:54.630 on so that one day we get to experience that 00:32:54.630 --> 00:32:57.069 together. So right now, I want you to think, 00:32:57.269 --> 00:33:06.250 who do you know that's caught in sin, that's 00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:12.349 trapped, that they've slipped off the road? Maybe 00:33:12.349 --> 00:33:14.730 instead of walking away from them, maybe instead 00:33:14.730 --> 00:33:16.690 of cutting them off, maybe instead of trying 00:33:16.690 --> 00:33:19.890 to cancel them, maybe God's calling you to walk 00:33:19.890 --> 00:33:24.500 with them. In a spirit of gentleness. So that 00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.480 you can help guide them back onto the path that 00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:31.700 God has laid out for us. Ask yourself, whose 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:34.079 burden could you help carry? Is there somebody 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:37.400 among us that you know is struggling that you 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:39.519 could do a little bit of extra lifting? You could 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:41.460 carry some of their load. You may not be able 00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:43.339 to carry all of it, but you can carry some of 00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:45.640 it. Maybe it's somebody in your small group. 00:33:45.700 --> 00:33:47.299 Maybe it's somebody in your Bible class. Maybe 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:49.299 it's somebody that you work with. I don't know 00:33:49.299 --> 00:33:51.940 who it is, but who do you know that's got a burden 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:55.880 that you can help carry? Or maybe you're the 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:59.259 person that's under the burden, that you're struggling 00:33:59.259 --> 00:34:01.980 to carry it today. Maybe you're the person that 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:04.420 slipped off the path and you're caught in sin. 00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:07.799 I don't know where you are or who you know that 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:11.289 needs the good news. That needs a little help 00:34:11.289 --> 00:34:13.610 down the road. But what I do know is we all know 00:34:13.610 --> 00:34:17.530 somebody. Even if that somebody is us. And if 00:34:17.530 --> 00:34:19.590 that somebody is you or if you have someone that 00:34:19.590 --> 00:34:22.230 you want to pray for. That you know you could 00:34:22.230 --> 00:34:24.889 help bear the load. Or you know this church family 00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:27.289 could help bear the load. So that we can all 00:34:27.289 --> 00:34:31.269 see that prize together. We're inviting you now 00:34:31.269 --> 00:34:33.849 to share that burden with us today as we stand.