Well, good morning, Destiny. Let's have an echo to the Lord on high. We sing, you are holy. In the most celebrated light, I stumble in the darkness.
I will call your name, I know. God of wonders beyond our doubt. You are holy, holy The universe declares your majesty You are holy, happy and at home Praise Him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth.
See, you are holy, holy, God has declared your majesty. You are holy, holy, God of wonders, God of wonders beyond our gallery. You are holy, holy. The universe declares your majesty.
You are holy. Lord, heaven and earth. Sing to him.
Did you draw a breath as the dawn awoke? And does your heart still beat? Is the mighty word of the living God upholding you?
Then sing, oh sing. As the Father's love filled your longing heart, with grace for every need, come and lay your burdens at Jesus'feet, and find new strength to sing, oh sing. Morning and evening, everything breathing must sing, oh sing. All of creation, rise up and praise the King of Kings and sing.
Has the Son of God died to take away your sin and sin? Yes, He has! Has the Conqueror trampled over death? Is Christ in throne and seat?
Oh, sing. Morning and evening, everything within must sing. Oh, sing.
All of creation, rise up and praise the King of kings and sing. On the final day when the Lord on high returns in majesty, we will bow in wonder before the Lamb and evermore the same. Saints will sing. Yes, evermore the saints will sing. Morning and evening, everything breathing must sing.
Oh, sing. Sing, all of creation, rise up and praise the King of Kings. Morning and evening, everything breathing must sing. Oh, sing. All of creation, rise up and praise the King of kings.
And sing. We have something to sing about, don't we, as Christians? You know, and as we sing, that's really an expression of all the great things that God has done in our lives, that He has saved us, He has pulled us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. And so as we sing these songs, man, may it be a joyful expression of praise in your heart. Well, my name is Dan.
I want to welcome you to Community Bible Church, or CBC as we call it. At this moment, I'd like you to just feel free to have a seat, and I'd like to... Just give you a quick thought this morning as we continue to worship.
You know, I was thinking about getting to church. Getting to church is pretty hard, you know. Sometimes, like, things go crazy in the morning. So I want to congratulate you, first of all, for making it to church. All right?
It's a hard thing. Yeah, you can pray. You can clap.
That's all right. I mean, I just know it's hard enough to wake up in the morning, hard enough to get dressed, hard enough to get the motivation to get to church. So, yeah, good job, everybody, for getting here.
You know, I also was thinking about the mentality. Mentality is really important when you go to church, right? And so I want to give you, like, three analogies that, like, will correct. Sometimes we come in with the wrong mentality to church, okay? So here's three pictures, okay?
Church is... More like a car wash. It's less like a car wash.
It's more like an auto shop. And what I mean by that is sometimes you go to church because you want to get cleaned up. You go to the car wash. I go to the one on Springs. That's the best one, by the way.
You can wash as long as you want for 20 minutes. You go to the church and you think, I'm going to get cleaned up because I'm here in church, you know. But going to church is more like an auto shop. When you know you've got some problems, you need some maintenance, you need some adjustments, and the mechanic of Jesus fixes you up.
Okay, so that's number one. Also, going to church is... Not like a job interview, but more like a hospital. You know, when you come to a job interview, you put your best fit on, and you try to present yourself in the best way to this potential interviewer, right? And sometimes we go to church like that.
I'm going to put on my best so that God can see me how good I am. No, church is not like a job interview, but more like a hospital. You come to the hospital because you know you have some things wrong. You need the doctor, the heavenly physician. to tell you what's wrong and to do the tests and to help get you in the right treatment, amen?
Because Jesus says, it's not the well who need a doctor but the sick. The last analogy I was thinking about was, church is not like a cruise ship but more like a battleship. Okay, if you think about church, some people go to church thinking, oh man, this is the love boat, man. You know, it's here to meet my needs.
I got the buffet. It's got free muffins or whatever. and you know i i like the teaching the singing is good the music is good it's very pleasing to me it meets my needs the needs of my family i like the love boat you know because it's pleasing to me but no you should go to church not because it's a love boat because it's the usscbc it's a battleship okay and here's you're a soldier on the deck and you need to do your part to fight the spiritual war that's at hand okay and you don't choose a church because it's a cruise ship but you choose it because it's is it is it is it a good battleship? Because we're in a war, right?
We're in a spiritual war. So anyway, those are just some random thoughts that go through Daniel's mind every now and then. Just thought I'd share them with you. But right now, we're just going to go to the Lord in prayer and just ask him to bless the rest of this service.
Lord, we truly can sing, as this song says, as we meditate upon the salvation of our souls, the greatness of God, your glory, your fame, your majesty. We... We can do nothing else but sing. And I want to pray for our attitudes, our hearts, even my own. Let us have the right mentality as we're here this morning.
We are needy. We're sick, in need of a physician. We need a doctor, and we're in a spiritual war.
And so with these things in mind, we need to cling to you, Lord. We need to hide under the shadow of the shelter of your wings. We need to run to Jesus Christ. the author and finisher of our faith our sustainer our friend lord we need to be in prayer our our minds need to be remembering and grasping truth we need to be in a spirit of prayer right now a heart of submission we need to be surrendered to you right now we need to just lay aside the distractions of the world and focus our eyes on you and that's what we ask right now god that you would give us the right mindset as we meditate on your glory lord Lord, as we continue in this service, we remember our missionaries south of the border, Pete and Sandy Lee.
We just pray you'll give them strength as they continue their ministry, a new ministry year over at Radius. And lastly, I pray for all those who are suffering in this congregation. There are many who are brokenhearted, suffering.
from great tragedies in their lives. Lord, I especially remember the Polks this morning. Please be with them greatly, Lord. Hold them, embrace them, help them to remember your sovereign goodness and your love for them. Comfort them.
oh Lord and if anybody else is suffering Lord we pray keep us in your hands oh Lord remind us of your grace and glory this morning as we worship we go to you in the name of your son Jesus Christ Amen Be Thou my vision, O Lord, not be all else to me. Say that Thou hast thought my day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence is my light.
Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true word. I enter with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord, and I with Thee, one. Inheritance now and always, Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, I commit my treasure Thou art.
The King of Heaven, my victory wall, each heaven's joy, though bright and in sight. Heart of my own heart, whatever befall. Still be my vision, O ruler of all.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall. Still be my vision, O... And I want you to invite you to stand once again, and as we turn to God's Word, we're reminded that many of us came in here weak, many of us came in here feeling foolish, even about decisions we made this week, but God knows that about us. And he gives us Christ, who is our strength, and Christ, who is our wisdom. We're reminded of that in 1 Corinthians 1, where he says, Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh.
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are. so that no man may boast before God. But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.
Let's boast in Christ, our wisdom this morning. Christ our wisdom, we are humbled. When you hide your ways from us, you have purposes unnumbered.
Each one good and glorious. Help us trust when we grow weary. Free us from our anxious thoughts. Give us grace to see more clearly.
You are God and we are not. Christ our wisdom, be our gladness, when we fail to understand. You ordained all joy and sadness to fulfill your purpose. Help us know you rule with power over every raging flood.
In our most uncertain hour, you are God and we are loved. Star wisdom, we will follow, go the way of the Lord. As we journey through the shadows, grant us faith where sight has failed.
Help us cling to your commandments, strengthened by your faithful word. We will never be abandoned. And we are yours. Christ our wisdom, we adore you. For the beauty of the cross.
Was in foolishness we scorned you. Your blood has cast out I'll sing the endless mercies Of your humble heart to save Christ our wisdom, Christ our glory, you are God forever. Help us sing, Lord. Help us sing the endless mercy. of your own heart to sing Christ our wisdom, Christ our glory you are God forever praise If you would all, all to your will If you have Love first, I would refuse you still.
But as I ran, my hellbound roots, indifferent to the... The cross you looked upon, I held the state, and led me to the cross, and I beheld God's love displayed. You suffered in my face You bore the wrath You served for me Now all I know is grace Hallelujah All I have Yours alone, and lived so long, I see, the strength to follow your commands, would never come. from me. Oh, Father, use my ransom love in any way.
Father, use my life. Oh, Father, use my life. And that's a lie When anything is changed And that my song forever be My only voice is you Hallelujah All I have is Christ All I have is Christ Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Sing this again. Heart of mine, your words to me, my vision, oh, oh. You may be seated.
Good morning. I was just checking if there was another false ending there. That's good.
Well, Phil wanted to let you know that he is doing well. He's recovering well. He will be returning in two weeks. He has spent this time, he had this vacation planned because He knew this move was happening, so that is going well. But he's also getting much rest after their accident and slowly getting better.
So just so that you can rest assured that Phil, God willing, he'll be. be back here in two weeks. Well, we are continuing, and I'm finishing, this two-part series in Galatians 6 on bear one another's burdens, nurturing the relational investment in the family of God.
This will be part two. So as we open our word to Galatians 6, why don't we go to the Lord again in prayer. Father, we begin our time together singing and how it's said, our hearts must sing.
There are many that come in here today and all different days and weeks and experiences. There are those that are strong in you today, are thankful for a wonderful week of your blessing, of experiencing it, of seeing your victory, of seeing you work in lives, and we're thankful for them, Lord. We're thankful for those days where we have them like that.
And we do sense your close presence and we see your power working. Yet we know there are those here as well that come weak and weary, wounded. And to them too, we ask for your help. God, we come with some discouragement hearing that even another one of pastors that we respect fallen. We come hearing horrendous news of grief and loss.
We come with heavy hearts. For those that are wandering from you, Lord, I thank you that you know all this. You know all this. And if we have nothing, if we have Christ, we have everything.
Let the one that's discouraged and cast down this morning remember what they have in Christ. That in him is love. In him is forgiveness.
In him is the joy of heaven. In him is satisfaction. In him is delight.
In him is a shepherd that guides us. And as we sang that last song, if we can say, all circumstances are against us, but if we could say, all we have is Christ, we have it all. Then give your saints strength today, through your word.
We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, despite of what you think or feel about the political status of our country and where we're at, I still love this country.
I think it's the best country still in the entire world. Simply because of how it began in our founding fathers and what it was based upon, I'm very thankful for the freedom of our country. And you think about our freedom, think about how that freedom is expressed.
The freedom that we enjoy as the United States of America, you know, it's expressed through many things, it's various things, it's expressed in the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it's expressed in the right to freedom of speech, and it's expressed with what we're enjoying this morning, the right to exercise religion. But you know what? As Christians saved by Christ, according to the message of the gospel, we also have great freedom.
Great freedom. You know, think about this, that before Christ, we were... all condemned under sin. It was seen in all of our law breaking.
But Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross so that when we placed faith in him, he credited us. his perfect righteousness to our account. So now we are freed from the penalty of sin. We are freed from the slavery of sin.
We are freed to enjoy all the benefits of salvation, full forgiveness, right standing before God, fellowship with him, true joy, satisfaction, peace. That's what we enjoy because of our freedom in Christ. But you know, here in Galatians, Paul mentions one other aspect of our freedom that we can often miss. We were not only free to enjoy the benefits of salvation.
Galatians 5.13 says this, For you were called to freedom, brethren. There it is. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. There's our freedom expressed.
The freedom of the gospel, the true gospel, is expressed in serving one another in love. And that's where we've been in our last message on this. Last time we saw that spirit-led living out of the gospel looks a certain way.
And it looks like bearing one another's burdens. Bearing one another's burdens by restoring and equipping a fallen brother or sister, by reinforcing those with heavy weight, by relaying the love of Christ. That's what we saw.
Well, today we're going to look at four more ways we're to bear one another's burdens. And like last time, in each one, we're going to see how each of us calls to nurture relational investment in the family of God. And I'm going to put most focus on this first one and then just make some comments on the other three.
So first here, bear one another's burdens by putting to death pride. Putting to death pride. That's what we see here. I don't know if that's what you would think of when you bear one another's burdens. But God through the Apostle Paul here says, you want to bear one another's burdens?
You got to put pride to death. This is seen in verse 2 through 5. It says, this, bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load. So the first thing we see, you got to put to death pride.
Now, how do we do this? How do we do this? Well, you need to first beware the pitfall of pride. You got to beware of this.
In verse 3, if anyone thinks he's something when he's nothing, he's deceives himself. This is a warning. Now, it does seem out of place when we read this within context.
It seems out of place. Why would Paul bring up thinking something about yourself when you're nothing in the middle of this context of restoring or bearing burdens? He does this because pride is a primary hindrance to obeying those commands. Pride is the hindrance.
Pride is an obstacle to fulfilling the law of Christ. Pride prevents us from restoring a brother or sister. Pride prevents us from bearing another person's burdens. And pride makes us look at our works wrongly.
Now think of this, okay, in your pride, you won't desire to help. In your pride, you're not going to want to help those that are in need. John MacArthur says this, one of the chief reasons many Christians do not bother to help fellow Christians is that they feel superior to sinners and wrongly consider themselves to be spiritually something when the truth is they are really nothing.
That's exactly right. That's why Paul brings this up. In our pride, we're not even going to want to desire to help those in need.
There are those, when they hear the call to bear one another's burdens, and they think to themselves, I don't want to do that. I don't have time for that. I don't have energy for that. It would be such an inconvenience to me to do that.
I mean, I figured it out. So they need to just figure it out. They're the ones who think of themselves to be something when they are really nothing. You know, it's possible to have a haughty attitude when you look down upon those caught in a trespass and heavy burdens.
Pride causes you to have a self-righteous attitude toward the sinner. Pride causes you to become judgmental. Pride causes you to have condescending thinking.
It makes you think, they fell, but I didn't, so too bad for them. Pride can even cause you to be so cruel that you may be secretly pleased that a person fell because it makes you out to be better and more holy than they are. So when pride has taken root in you, you won't desire to help others.
Instead, you're going to desire to gloat over them. And in that moment, you are no longer pleasing to God. In that moment, you yourself are caught in a trespass of pride, and you yourself need deliverance and restoration.
But for you, it's much worse because you don't even see it. Remember the way Galatians 5 ended, if you just turn back a page. Galatians 5, 25 and 26, it said this, If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Paul's being very consistent here as he deals with pride. Christian. Do not let your pride get in the way of your loving obedience.
Pride will not promote your desire to bear the burdens of others. Instead, it's going to make you want to challenge, to irritate, to provoke one another, to envy and be jealous of one another. And if you're not careful, it's going to poison motivation and your desire to bear other people's burdens.
And you often forget that Christ bore your burden. So Christian, don't let your pride get in the way of your loving obedience to Christ to get involved in the restoration of fallen brothers and sisters and forbearing one another's burdens. Don't let pride do that.
There's perhaps nothing that makes you more Christ-like than when you go with humility to those who need help and labor to bring them back to the Savior. So in your pride, you're not going to desire to help, but in your pride, you also won't be able to help. You won't be able to help them. Look at verse 3. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, He deceives himself.
Deceives himself. When you're filled with pride, God says you are deceived. You cannot see yourself clearly.
Therefore, you can't help any other people see clearly. You might remember this, we just had a series on the Sermon on the Mount in our Sunday school. But Matthew chapter 6 verse 22, this is what Jesus said. Why don't you just hear it for the moment.
He said this, The eye is the lamp of the body. so then if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light but if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness if then the light that is in you is darkness how great is the darkness now if you remember the context of that jesus spoke it in the context of being covetous and loving wealth you And if you think about it, those things are just another form of pride, aren't they? When you're covetous, when you love wealth, it's a form of pride.
We treasure and pursue wealth as our master because we love and prioritize ourselves and what that wealth will give us. So the picture is this, when he talks about the eye being bad, the picture is like that of a window into a house. If the windows are covered with some dark tint, then the sunlight that should come into the house to illumine the house, it's blocked.
so the house is dark and that's what sin is like when it tints our spiritual eyes that's what he's saying if pride takes a grip of us it causes us to see the world in a distorted way and when that happens our spiritual sight is compromised and in that state we can't help others we're not going to help others we can't Now remember again what Galatians 6 verse 1 said, Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one. Now the assumption is that the one that will be able to help is one who has the Holy Spirit and is walking by the Holy Spirit. A person overcome by their own pride is not walking by the Spirit.
They will not be able to help. They're only going to make matters worse. People that are led by their flesh, they're not just unhelpful, they're dangerous. Because they tend to infect those that are around them.
So Christian, if you are struggling with pride, remember it causes your spiritual sight to be impaired. You aren't seeing the world rightly, and you're not seeing your brothers and sisters rightly. Let today be the day that you humble yourself, and then God will let you see clearly. Get the log out of your own eye, and then God will help you enable to get the speck out of your brother or sisters. So in your pride, you're not going to desire to help and you won't be able to help, but also in your pride, you will regard your work wrongly.
You will regard your work wrongly. If the person seeking to restore and bear burdens isn't watchful over his own soul, pride can cause them to regard their work in an ungodly way. You see, he can start thinking much of himself because of the help they're giving to others and start boasting in himself. And this leads us to the second way we put pride to death. So how do we put pride to death?
We've got to beware that pitfall, but then we've also got to examine ourselves. We've got to examine ourselves. Put to death by pride by examining yourself. Verse 4. But each one must examine his own work. Rather than pridefully thinking too much of yourself, you need to examine yourself soberly.
You need to have a sober assessment of yourself. The word examine here, it means to approve only after testing. God is telling you to put yourself and your deeds to the test so that you have a sober and accurate assessment of your own spiritual maturity and fruit.
Now, what do you examine? What must you examine? Well, you examine if your motives and attitude come forth from a right heart in Christ.
You examine if the works you do are done for Christ and are in Christ. You examine to make sure that you're not pridefully taking credit for things that are not yours to take credit for. When you do things like that, it just puffs you up with pride. Now look at verse 4 again.
Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another. Now, what is God saying here through Paul? I thought boasting was a bad thing, right?
So what's he talking about here? When is it okay to boast? Well, here it's saying, only when the Christian examines himself rightly, when he tests his works first, will he then have a reason for boasting. Or in other words, only then will he have a right reason for commendation from God for what he has done.
See, Scripture tells us that as believers, we will be held accountable for our deeds. There is coming a day of judgment for the people of God. Now, it's not a day of judgment that decides heaven or hell for us.
That has already been settled in the Lord Jesus Christ. But it will be a day of judgment of deeds for reward, according to the works that we've done in Christ or not. Turn to 1 Corinthians 3 for me for a moment. 1 Corinthians 3. I'm going to read verse 5 through 8. We're actually going to go through verse 14, but we're going to just go in sections here.
Starting in verse 5. What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed. Even the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
So in the Corinthian church here, they were dealing with pastor celebrity. Yeah, that's right. Nothing's new, is it?
Pastor celebrity. People had their favorite Christian teacher, and that was causing division in the church. Now, how did Paul deal with that?
He reminded them that they were all only servants. That's how he got rid of this. That's how he dealt with this.
We're all only servants. And there it is, this humility that's needed. This humility that's an antithesis to pride. Look at Paul's assessment of himself in Apollos.
He says, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything. Paul didn't think that much of himself. Remember Paul, who you are? The supreme apostle?
The one who planted churches all around? The one who wrote most of the New Testament? And he says what? I'm not anything.
I'm not anything. And so that parallels what Paul wrote in Galatians 6.3. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, Paul got it right. And that's what he was saying about himself and Apollos. We aren't anything special.
We are nothing. It is God alone who brings growth, so we don't think too highly of ourselves. And then notice what Paul said in verse 8. each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. And that's very similar to what Paul writes to the Galatians.
He says, each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to... to himself alone and not regard in another. So what Paul says is we need to examine ourselves rightly because only then will we know if we will receive the reward or commendation from God that is true.
We're each going to stand. God's going to look and judge our works, and He alone will see if there's reason for boasting, if there's any reason for commendation. Now, go down further now in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9. For we are God's fellow workers.
You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident.
For the day will show it because it to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. And so here's that judgment that we're talking about.
And the word test here used, that fire will test. Test the quality of each man's work. That's the same word used in Galatians for examine.
This is the examination that Paul has in mind. There's coming a day when all our works are going to be tested. We're all God's fellow workers.
We're all to be involved in helping build the kingdom of God. God used Paul to help lay a foundation, which is Christ, to now others build upon it. And we need to be aware of the way we build on our portion. We're going to be rewarded and held accountable to the way that we build.
So there's coming a day of judgment under God's examination. So we need to examine our work today. That's what Paul means.
We need to examine ourselves, examine our works today. We want to make sure that we are building in a way that lasts and does not burn up. And on that day, you will not get credit for the accomplishments of others. You will only get credit for what you did for Christ in Christ.
And you know what? Thinking this way will put pride to death. Thinking this way will put pride to death in you. Knowing that your works will one day go before the King of Kings, that will humble you. And that's how you put pride to death.
Let's not be so haughty that we don't examine our own work before the Lord. Now, you might be thinking, well, that doesn't sound like a problem I have. I don't have any problems trying to boast in another person's work. Well, this attitude is more subtle than you might think. You know, it can happen when God does use us to help others bear burdens.
If we are not careful, we can start patting ourselves on the back and thinking we accomplished something. Pride can make you think of your work wrongly. You help someone and then you think, wow, I did such a good job. Look, look at what I did. Look how healthy they are because of me.
But remember what Corinthians said, so then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. You got no reason to boast if God used you. Yes, you planted. Yes, you watered. But what?
God caused the growth. You have no reason to boast in yourself. This is so subtle, isn't it?
You know, it can happen when we start taking credit for someone else's spiritual successes. Maybe God graciously used you in the life of someone you discipled, and then they become fruitful, and then you think, oh, look how fruitful they are. That goes to my account. No, it doesn't.
No, it doesn't. I had the privilege to be used in many young men's lives, and I'm thankful for that. One of them became an elder, leads worship. And I could say, look at all he does. That's my credit, isn't it?
No, that's despite of you. God did that despite of you. See, this can be so subtle.
We can do this too. We can start thinking other people's works are credit to ourselves. It's not. We start taking credit for what is God's work alone. And it's not.
Some of us as parents might think, oh, I did such a good job. My child is now is saved. Pat on the back, parent.
No. Don't ever think that. Don't ever think that. God alone, don't boast in what God alone does. Each man will stand on his own work.
So back to Galatians 6 verse 4, each one must examine his own work and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another. One commentator says this, If there is reason for a believer's boasting or rejoicing in regard to himself, that is, in regard to what God has done in and through him, it is on the basis of his faithfulness and obedience, not on the basis of what he may have accomplished in regard to or compared to another. If he is truly more faithful and useful than some of his fellow believers, that is God's doing and not his. So saint, right in the middle of this command to bear each other's burdens, there's this hindrance, pride.
Put it to death. Put it to death. Beware of its pitfall, and then examine yourself.
And then carry your load. Carry your load. Verse 5, for each one will bear his own load. Now, This is interesting because right prior in verse 2 he says, bear one another's burdens. But now he's saying, each one will bear his own load.
Now is this a contradiction? Is this a contradiction happening here? No, it's not a contradiction.
The hint is that the two words for burden and load are two different terms. The word baros here is the word for burden, the heavy, oppressive weights that we're to help each other bear up. But there's another word used here, fortion. It's the word load. It was used of the backpack of a soldier.
So what Paul's saying here, it means we are to help others with the heavy and oppressive weights of our life. Yes, and amen. But there is another sense in which we will also be responsible for our own load.
Each of us will be accountable for running the race God has set before us. Each of us will be responsible for the responsibilities God has called us to and our obedience to his word. You remember in Ephesians 2 that Paul said to us, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for what?
For good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them. And that is our load, saint. That's our load. God has set before us responsibility to walk in good works, and we need to bear that, and no one else is to bear that but us.
That is our calling as a soldier of Christ. We are to bear that load. We must not shrink back from the works God has called us to walk in.
Each of us will answer to God for what kind of stewards we are in the Christian life. And if we've done these works, if we've faithfully done these works, That were prepared for us. And you know what, Saint? When you think of this, when you think of this load that you must bear alone, it helps you kill your pride. It helps you kill your pride.
Each of us has to do it. have a load to bear which we will be accountable for in the last day and we must see to it that that load gets bore as a servant i am but a servant and that's my calling to bear that weight that he's called me to you don't have to turn there but i want i want you to hear one of christ's teachings that's not as popular we love other ones But maybe not this one as much. It's Luke 17. I want you to listen to this lesson that Jesus taught. Luke 17, 7. Which of you, having a slave, plowing or tending sheep, will say to him, when he has come in from the field, come immediately and sit down to eat? But will he not say to him, prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink?
He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, We are unworthy slaves. We have done only that which we ought to have done.
Not used to that one. That one's not as popular to us, but it's still the words of our Lord Jesus. That we need to remember what we are. That we bear our own load.
That don't you dare forget who you are. You're not the master of the house. You don't come to the master and say, hey, what are we eating today?
No, no. What does the servant do? He goes and serves the master. And guess what? The master doesn't say thank you.
The master says that was what you were supposed to do. And you only did what you were supposed to do. Bear your load because you're a servant. And saints, when you think that way, saints, when you remember that, that will kill your pride. That will destroy pride.
So, saint. Be killing the pride that is in you. Be killing that pride. All of us struggle in different ways and it's often not apparent to us.
That's why we need one another. We often don't see that pride in us. And so what? We need each other. We need the admonishment of the body of Christ, the family of God.
We need each other. Remember. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. So we need each other to show us this.
And then when God strips you of that pride, then you will be willing and able to start bearing one another's burdens. Let's get rid of our pride. So that was the first, and I told you that was the longer one.
Bear one another's burdens by putting to death pride. Well, how else do we bear one another's burden? Second, by sharing with those who teach you. By sharing with those who teach you in verse 6. Back at Galatians chapter 6. verse 6 the one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him now paul is bringing up a specific application of bearing one another's burdens is to share with those who teach you now the word used for teach it's not the word that is normally used in the new testament this word's only used eight times and two of those times are right here you The word means to give instruction or to catechize. It comes from two words, kata, which means down, and ekeo, which is sound.
So it literally means to sound down into the ears, to bring a sound down into the ears. So this word came to mean to instruct, usually orally, often in a way to catechize in biblical instruction. That's what he's talking about here. So Paul is using it to talk about those who labor to teach and instruct the word of God to us.
The one taught, it says, ought to share, and that's the word for koinonia. We know that word. It's the word for fellowship, where we get our word for fellowship.
And it has the idea of share in common. The one who gets taught should share in common the good with the ones who taught them. You are to share all good things in common with those who teach you.
You know, of course, this has application to those who teach the Word, preachers and teachers that are in the church. It's a little awkward that I'm bringing this up at this time. But it's likely that Paul has in mind these...
these Judaizers and Galatians that were undermining the true teachers of the church in order to push their false teaching. So he has them in mind. So it's an exhortation to support those who preach and teach in the church. Look, Galatians. You ought to share all good with those teachers because they're the ones that are standing up for you in the face of all those false teachers So share good works you want to bear one another's burdens Bearing that burden for those who are standing up for the truth for you That's what he's saying Now that being said, I believe Paul didn't mean only to apply it this way, because he talks about sharing all good things, which is general.
It's not just financial support, though it can be included here, of course. means is limited to financial support. And remember, the immediate context is for all the church to be in each other's lives to restore those who've been fallen and those who bear one another's burdens. That's the context. So Paul most likely also has in mind the sharing of mutual encouragement to other believers that God uses to teach in order to restore and bear burdens.
Did you know that? So if you see that hurting saint or you see them caught in a trespass and you come to them with your quiet time and you share a verse. And you say, you know, I want to share this with you because I think this will encourage you. Let me share it.
That encourages you. Encouragement, that is sharing in the good things. That person that's blessed should share with that one that blessed them. So Paul most likely also has in mind the sharing of mutual encouragement to other believers that God uses to teach to restore and bear burdens. You are to share all good things.
If anyone has ever encouraged you and helped you and restored to help restore you, if anyone has helped you bear burdens through some sort of teaching, through some sort of exhortation of God's word, you should share the good with them. You should share that good with them. Share encouragements. Share verses that God is showing you. Share the amazing ways God is working in your life.
Share meals. Share dessert. Share a piece of pie. Share coffee. Appreciate those that God is using.
They might just be regular other saints that God used to teach you, to help restore you, to help give you courage as you're under that burden. Share good with them. Share good with them. So let me ask, church, is that what you are doing?
Are you sharing all good with those that teach you? Are you sharing all things good? Are you sharing all good things of what you're receiving to those who taught you?
You know, you can't do this unless you're nurturing the relational investment in the family of God. You won't do this unless you're investing in the family of God. And we need this, saints. We need this sharing of good in each other's lives, because we're going to see later, this work is hard.
This work is hard that we're called to. Bearing each other's burdens is hard, so we need to help share in all good things. So, bear one another's burdens by putting to death pride, by sharing with those who teach you, and third, by sincerely sowing to the Spirit.
By sincerely sowing to the Spirit, verse 7 through 8. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. But whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 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.
Now, as Paul approaches to the end of his epistle, he brings back to mind what he taught in Galatians 5 in order to provide this final warning and exhortation here. So what's the warning? The warning is this.
It is possible to be deceived into thinking you can live in your flesh. You can be deceived in thinking that you can call yourself a Christian and still sow to your flesh. It's possible to think you can live the way your flesh wants in the name of the free and glorious grace of the gospel.
That's the warning. And God says here, if you think that way, you are deceived. You are deceived if you think that way.
Remember Galatians 5.13, You were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. You're deceived if you think you can do that. And this is what some people do.
They sow to their own flesh, thinking that God is okay with it. It's utterly wrong. It says here, God is not mocked. God is not one to be taken advantage of. God is not the one whom you can abuse his good grace.
God is not mocked. Is his forgiveness amazing? Yes.
Does he pardon all our iniquity? Yes. Does he clean us fully within? Yes.
But now can you live according to the flesh? No. Don't be deceived that you think you can keep sowing to your flesh. Wayward person, heed this warning.
Heed this warning. In the name of the good grace of God, you cannot keep living in the flesh. It is utterly opposite of who God has made you. Don't play with God. Don't play with God.
And what we heard in the news just this past about a famous preacher, it reminds us, we cannot, we cannot sow to the flesh and think there are no consequences to them. Wayward person, hear this and heed this warning. God will not be mocked. You are deceived. Today's the day where you bow the knee and stop messing with the God of the universe.
Today's the day where you say, I've been messing around with sin too much. I thought no one sees, but God, you see. I repent. Today's the day. Don't be deceived.
Remember, we just finished our series in Ecclesiastes, and it said this, Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood, and follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. Sober warning. If you sow to the flesh, you will reap to the flesh. And that term, reap to the flesh, the idea is just like if you sow a dead body to the ground.
What will you get in a few months? You'll get a nasty corpse of rotten flesh. You sow to the flesh of your life, you'll get nothing but corruption in the end. Nothing but corruption. Oh, there's a better way.
There's a better way. Well, people are not just deceived that they can live however they want, but they're also deceived when they think they can live in a way that ignores God's commands. Ignores God's commands, and basically, in the context, ignores bearing people's burdens. That is also deception.
You see, there are some here today that would not dream of living a life of outward fleshly living. No, they're okay with keeping up with holy appearances, but they would much rather not be involved in the difficult work of restoring a brother or sister or bearing a burden. And here God says, don't be deceived.
God is not mocked. Avoiding God's command to live out the gospel in serving others is also sowing to the flesh. You thinking that you can do nothing and not bear your own load is also sowing to the flesh. You see that? You know, it's just, this is more respectable than observable fleshly living in sin.
It's just what I don't do. I'm not going to get involved. I'm not going to restore.
I'm not going to bear burdens. It's just too messy. That's sowing to the flesh. Make no mistake, God says avoiding obeying God's command is still sowing to the flesh. So the exhortation is this, sow to the Spirit and you will reap eternal life.
That's the exhortation. That's the better way. Because God is not deceived, and because he is worthy of it, and because the good news of the gospel is so amazing, we ought to be at work in the time we have left on earth, sowing to the Spirit by doing the good works he has prepared us beforehand to do.
That should be us. We must display our faith working through love. We must seek to serve one another.
We must love our neighbor as ourself. We must restore the fallen brother. We must bear one another's burdens.
This is what it means to sow to the Spirit. Sow to the Spirit. And when you sow to the Spirit, it says, you reap what? Eternal life. Now, he's not talking about saving faith here, because we have that by all by Christ's doing.
We have salvation in the gift of salvation, and his eternal life all by Christ's doing. by Christ. What he's talking about here is this climax and conclusion of our eternal life in the last day.
That's what he has in mind. When Christ returns and judges our work, which we just talked about. about. After examining. That's the day he's talking about.
We will reap eternal life. Yes, you enjoy eternal life now as a saved person, but Paul is talking specifically about when Christ returns and we are judged for our deeds and we're going to receive and forever enjoy the outcome of our deeds by being rewarded by him. You will reap the climax of eternal life. as he rewards you. So how do we apply this?
Will you ever think, everyone here is a farmer. Everyone here is a farmer. The question is just, what are you sowing? What is it you're sowing? Are you sowing to the flesh?
to yourself, to your comforts, to sins? Or are you sowing to the kingdom? Are you sowing to the glory of Christ? Are you sowing to service and love to the saints? Is that what you're serving?
You're all farmers. You're all farmers. But what you put in the ground is what you're gonna get back.
Do you want to reap well-done, good and faithful servant? Then dear Christian, bear up that load. By his strength, seek out. Seek out to serve your fellow brothers and sisters.
Seek it out. All right. Last one.
Bear one another's burdens by putting to death pride. Share with those who teach you. Sincerely so to the Spirit.
And last, bear one another's burdens by enduring in doing good. Verse 9 and 10. Enduring doing good. Verse 9 and 10. Let us not lose heart in doing good. For in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all.
people and especially to those who are the household of faith. God uses Paul to teach us this hard reality of living out the gospel. As we seek to restore brother and sister caught in trespass, as we seek to bear one another's burdens in love, Christ says, It will be hard.
It will be hard. It's going to be difficult. You're going to be tempted to lose heart.
You're going to be tempted to grow weary in this. It is very hard to help someone who turns, not only doesn't seem to change when you input into them, but it's even harder when they start to despise you and treat you poorly and take advantage of your goodness to them. That's going to cause you to grow weary. It is hard work to be in each other's lives, to invest relationally, to bear burdens.
And you know what? This is why we need to exercise wisdom. We need to exercise wisdom as we help people.
You know, those, when it says restore those caught in trespass, there's a whole plethora of issues. And it takes wisdom to know how to deal with them. It takes wisdom to know how to rightly come alongside someone. And then you face opposition.
And then you face people that are hardened. And how do you walk with them? Oh, it takes wisdom and it takes strength. And you know, sometimes the things that we think are going to help people, they actually don't help them.
So we need wisdom. We need to take great care, and we need to get great counsel from his word and from those mature, more mature than us, to know how to best help those around us. It's going to be hard work, but it is a blessing. All those trials that you're helping to bear, they're blessings.
You know, I was just at the NCT conference, North Creek Training of Biblical Counseling, and this is just an extra, this is for free, but this is from James, and it blessed my soul. We think about how hard it is to bear trials and even try to help others with trials. It says, consider all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let that endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And you want to say, James, what are you talking about?
Consider it what? Joy that I face difficulty? This is the word for trials here, peresmos.
And it's the word for trials that test under pressure. It's like you're in a pressure cooker. And he says, consider it joy when you're under that.
What? How is that possible? It says, because let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be what?
Perfect and complete. There's something better at the end. I had lunch, I went out, and I went to this very expensive cookie place.
Too expensive. It was like six bucks for a cookie. And I ate it, and it was like underdone. It was gooey, and I like gooey, but this was like undercooked what happened they had all the ingredients they put it in right they put it in but then when it popped out it wasn't ready yet and so when I ate it this is not a six dollar cookie right But, but, when you put the ingredients like a crock pot, maybe you're making some recipe, and you put it, you put all the ingredients and seasonings, and you put it under the pressure, and you put it at the right time, you don't pull it out early, what happens?
Delicious. Delicious. That's what's happening.
You're under trial, helping someone bear burdens, you're trying to restore, and it hurts, it hurts, it hurts. What is that? Pressure. Pressure. And God's saying, no, don't take it out too soon.
Don't take it out too soon. There's hope in that, isn't there? Because you think the trial is the only thing you see.
Don't take it out too soon. I'm building something. I'm making something.
I'm going to deliver to you. It's going to be what? Perfect and complete. I needed that in CT.
I needed that time to hear that. Will you bear one another's burdens? It's going to be hard. But it's God's doing something so good, even if my eyes can't see it, even if I can't see it. You know, if we're going to endure in doing good and serving and helping others, it's going to take this intentional relational investment in the life of God's people.
Let's not shrink back from getting messy. Let's not shrink back. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, saints, now is the time of opportunity. There is coming a day when all trials...
will be behind us. You will not have another chance to take up and help someone with another load. There is coming a day when all trials will be behind.
But today, today is the time of opportunity. So then, while we have... opportunity let us do good let's do good to all people and especially those who are the household of faith would you be willing to do that it is gonna be hard but you know that's what Jesus did that's exactly what Jesus did The road to the cross, the road to help restore us who are sinners, was a hard road.
What's it say? But for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. He endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For the joy set before him, he endured. And so our Jesus says the same. It's going to be hard to do like I did.
It'll be hard to restore and bear burdens. But you can do it for the joy set before you. You set your eyes on me. You set your eyes on me and you do this. I'm going to give you the strength.
I'm going to give you the means. I'm going to give you the wisdom. And I'm going to make you a man.
Make sure what pops out is something perfect and complete. But do this. Bear your load, saint. We are just servants of Christ.
So saints, would you bear one another's burdens and nurture... the relational investments of the family of God. Put to death pride.
Share with those who teach you. Sow to the spirit and endure in doing good. Let's pray.
Father, thank you. Thank you that you are the sovereign and we are humbled. We are but your servant.
We are thankful servants. You are the ultimate one, Lord Jesus, who bore our load, who bore our burden, bore our sins to the cross for the joy set before you. No one loved us like you did.
And now, because of the gospel, you call us to bear one another's burdens. Oh, give us strength, wisdom, and endurance. Oh, you are so good. Help us to take the opportunities that are here today, because tomorrow we will be rewarded for what we did in you, and we will be in you forever, without a single trial and without a single tear.
And so we look forward to it. Help us to take the opportunities today. Work in our church, all for your glory's sake, in Christ's name, amen. Let's stand together. Early of every song we could ever sing.
Early of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, we live for you. Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. We're the unending breath, we could ever be.
There is no one like you, there is none beside you. You open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me in your love to those around me. Worthy of every song we could ever sing.
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing.
For you. There's no one like you, there is none beside you, you open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me in your love to those around me.
It's a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you and I will... I will be shaken, I will build my life upon your love. It is a firm foundation.
And I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes in love You are my God Fill me in your life, your love's a light. Oh, we... There is none beside you, you open up my eyes in wonder.
Show me who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me in your love. Oh There is no one like you. There is none beside you.
You open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are. Fill me with your heart and lead me in your love to love. Let's sing again. I'll build my life on him. And I will build my life on your love.
It is a firm foundation. I trust in you and I will not be shaken. Father, we thank you that we are built upon the love that you have for us in your Son.
And it's only right now then, if we are yours, that we go out to love towards all others. Would you help us as a church? Lead us to those around us.
Help us to love, to bear burdens, to restore, to do good to all. God, we do that all by your strength and because Christ has changed us and because he is worthy. Oh, do that, we pray. Strengthen your people. Grant them encouragement.
We pray in Christ's name, amen. Just a quick reminder, tonight we hope that you return. We do have a family issue that we would like to bring up, so we encourage all members to come and return back tonight.
Thank you.