Galatians 6:2 "Bearing One Another's Burdens"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

In extraordinary supernatural ways.

And these instructions are extraordinary because they're given to us by Paul the Apostle.

To be an apostle meant that you saw the resurrected Messiah, you were taught by him, you were sent by him.

To be an apostle with a capital A.

Where all apostles with lowercase a's were sent out if we believe in Christ to spread his message.

Well the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that's at work inside everybody who says they believe in Jesus Christ.

And that power is the Holy Spirit.

By the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we're able to not only listen to what God says, but we're able to actually live differently.

And when we live that way, he tells us we experience the love of Christ in a deeper way.

And we join him in his work of bringing life to this decaying and dying world.

And we join him as he's making all things new, as Revelation says.

Until Jesus returns and renews all of creation.

So let's listen to what God is saying to us today through his word.

His inspired word, scripture.

Now kids, today when you listen, I added a little thing on your sermon challenge.

It's called, it says, you can say amen when you hear three of those phrases.

So you can listen and catch the words, but if you want to say amen, go ahead, let's practice.

One, two, three.

Okay, one more time.

One, two, three.

Amen.

And parents, we're all really children of God, so you can say it too if you want.

So what's being said to us through this passage?

Let's read.

This is on, whoa.

This is on page 975 of your Pew Bible.

It's Galatians 6.2.

It's pretty basic, pretty short.

Here's what it says.

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

So bear one another's burdens.

Let's start there.

So in this passage, it's Paul writing, and he's writing specifically to the church in Galatia.

If you live there, you are called a Galatian.

So those who have put their faith in the resurrected Jesus is who he's writing to.

And he's writing specifically about how they are to live and to love one another after having been disciplined.

And at the heart of his writing is restoration.

How to lock arms towards restoration after having walked through serious struggles with a particular sin.

And after having felt the consequence of the sinful actions.

So that's specifically what he's writing about.

But today we're going to discuss this passage in even broader applications

because it actually applies to all believers who desire to live as Christians in this world of broken relationships.

So what does it mean first when he says bear one another's burdens?

Well, this phrase is written in the present tense.

And that's important because it means it's to be an ongoing behavior.

Christians are expected and called to continually bear one another's burdens.

Christians are called to carry with endurance one another's heavy loads.

The parts of our lives that are the most difficult to lift and to carry on our own.

We all have these heavy loads.

And none of us are designed to carry them alone.

As the song says, sometimes in our lives we all have pain.

We all have sorrow.

If there's a load you have to bear that you can't carry, I'm right up the road.

I'll share your load if you just call me.

But we don't call each other, do we?

That's the hard part.

Call me.

I'm not going to call you.

No?

Because you might think bad of me.

He doesn't say that song, right?

Let's talk about our hearts for a minute.

But in order to live the way that we're called to live as Christians, we first have to admit that we actually can't carry all the burdens this life gives us on our own.

Whether it's sickness or loneliness or addiction or financial struggles, disabilities, divorce, anger, depression, bullying, feeling like you don't fit in or simply thinking that you just don't matter.

God has not designed you to carry that load alone.

In fact, he's given you first himself and second, the church, people who confess Christ as king to help you.

But one of our greatest obstacles to accepting this help is our sinful pride.

We don't call each other because we think that our burdens show our weaknesses, and they do.

So we live like we don't have them sometimes.

We never ask for help from God a lot of times for the things that we really need to ask him for help on or others.

That's pride.

It's the I think I'm better than you, so I'm not going to tell you what I'm dealing with sort of mentality.

Or I'm too scared of what you'll think of me, so I'm just not going to talk about it at all.

This, I do this.

I'm the same as you.

But I just happen to be standing up here today.

But I did this.

One time my family was coming in town into Birmingham, and I had to impress them.

So instead of calling someone to fix the sink, I chose to do it because I know nothing about plumbing or anything.

So there I am screwing the top off of this faucet handle because it had just been dripping.

And so I was like, well, let me just unscrew this.

And it was hot water.

And it was a 1950s house.

So I was in there.

My wife, she could tell you.

She came in shooting, gushing, steam hot water in my face.

I have a towel doing this.

And I'm trying to turn off the hot water valve underneath, which also won't turn off.

And I look.

At one point, I just submitted to it.

Let the water fall on my face.

And I look over, and all of the water was neatly and nicely draining down the vent.

Just shh.

And that was because I didn't want to call anybody for help.

Sometimes it's the little things, right?

Sometimes it's big things.

Serious.

We got the call many years ago that my brother-in-law, my wife's brother, had taken his own life.

He never talked about it.

We had no idea out of nowhere.

And it changes you forever.

You know, even if you think about a teapot, right?

If it didn't scream, everybody would get burned.

And that's how we are.

And we're not meant to hold that stuff in.

As this song said, please swallow your pride if I have things you need to borrow.

For no one can fill those of your needs that you won't let show.

So here's the challenge.

I want to encourage you to do two things.

I want you to go to God this week or today or whenever.

And I want you to ask him to show you the burdens of your life that you're holding on to and not bringing to him.

And I want you then to ask him who you should share that with.

That's a challenge.

Because bearing one another's burdens means that we must be willing to be uncomfortable,

to let people in, and to let others know that we don't have it all together.

That starts by us helping ourselves first.

We can't help others if we've got ourselves in the way.

So we have to get out of the way.

And how do we do that?

We do that by casting our own burdens on Christ.

Kids, here you go.

Bearing one another's burdens begins by casting our own burdens upon Christ.

Okay, how it'll work.

Let's look at what scripture says about this.

1 Peter 5, 6, and 7 says,

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 522,

Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.

You see, God is our ultimate source of strength.

It's not in our own strength that we do this,

but we call upon the power of his Holy Spirit to enable us and to sustain us.

And we do this through prayer.

Will, can I get you to come up here and help me?

And Sarah Pittered, would you mind just coming up here?

Okay, so y'all come stand up here with me.

And in these backpacks are bricks.

Oh wait, this is yours, isn't it?

And this is yours.

Now imagine we're all friends, which we're not.

We all hate each other.

But we're going to act like we're friends today.

And these guys are my friends.

They're over here in the world marching around, carrying their heavy burdens.

Y'all stay here doing that.

When I say carry our burdens to Christ,

what I mean is going to Christ,

going to the cross through prayer,

kneeling if you kneel,

and saying,

Jesus, show me what I'm carrying on my own.

What happens inevitably

is when I leave there,

I go back into the world,

I see my friends.

Sarah,

I didn't know that you were dealing with that too.

I was just taking this stuff to Jesus.

You deal with this too?

Not just me?

Wow.

Well, here,

let me help you out there.

I would love to pray for you.

I really would.

It would be awesome.

And Will,

you got problems?

99 problems?

Wow.

Okay.

Let me see here.

I know something about that.

I heard the same thing,

and I prayed to the Lord.

You know what?

It helped me.

Can I pray for you?

Could we actually just go pray together?

Come on.

Let's go.

Let's go to Christ together right now.

And let's just let him know together.

Just tell,

Lord,

show us.

Show us what we need to do.

Show us where we're holding our own burdens.

Take them out and cast them before the Lord.

Amen.

And then inevitably what happens?

We go back out into that world,

and we've got more room to meet more people to share more burdens.

Thank you all.

These are lovely.

Lovely.

So,

that's what those verses are saying.

In a illustration,

right?

Bearing one another's burdens begins by casting our own burdens upon Christ.

Amen.

When we do this,

you need to realize that most of the time,

God's going to answer your prayer by sending a person.

God wraps his gifts in people,

and those people are going to help you bear your burden.

It's usually going to be his church.

It doesn't have to be,

but many times it is.

Paul did this.

Let's read where Paul did this.

For even when we came into Macedonia,

our bodies had no rest,

but we were afflicted at every turn,

fighting without and fear within.

But God,

who comforts the downcast,

comforted us

by the coming of Titus.

And not only by his coming,

but also by the comfort with which

he was comforted by you,

as he told us of your longing,

your mourning,

your zeal for me,

so that I rejoiced still more.

You see,

he prayed,

he cast those burdens,

God sent him a Sarah and a Will,

and they took them together,

and they told him of all the things

that other people had done

to take their burdens.

This is the body of Christ.

Because bearing one another's burdens

begins by casting our burdens upon Christ.

So here's a challenge.

Do you have time

in your schedule

that's necessary for you

to be able to cast your burdens upon Christ?

That's a question

I want you to ask yourself.

Because bearing one another's burdens

is impossible without relationships.

And relationships take time.

But time is something

that we really struggle with today.

We live in the consumer world,

and at any given moment,

there are so many competing options

for our time.

I was reading something

about Netflix the other day.

Boom!

That's supposed to be the Netflix sound.

According to Automated Insights,

there are around 34,000 hours

of material on Netflix.

That means that if I watch Netflix

three hours a day,

it would take me 31 years

to watch everything on there.

It would take me 31 years.

Now, if I watch Netflix 24-7,

no bathroom breaks,

no food,

no coffee breaks,

it would take me around four years

to consume all of the material

on there right now.

That's not even mentioned

in social media.

We're all so busy, aren't we?

We're all moving so fast, too,

in the middle of the busyness.

I was driving,

getting on,

I live over the mountains,

so I was getting on 431 one day,

and there was this long line

at five o'clock

and this Ferrari pulls up.

The guy in the Ferrari

tops down,

everything you could imagine,

hair blowing,

sunglasses,

music going,

and then, of course,

he goes,

pulls right up to the front

and cuts in front of everybody.

Then we both turn on to 431

and guess what happens?

Traffic jam.

Then guess what happened?

Rainstorm.

Guess who was laughing?

This guy.

That's what you get.

Mr. Ferrari man.

But we're all like that Ferrari,

aren't we?

We're in a hurry

to go somewhere really fast

and we want to look

the best we can

when we're going there,

but God reminds us

that we're going to be stopped

by things that are

completely out of our control,

loads that are too heavy

for us to carry,

and rainstorms

that we don't plan for.

And we need relationships

to sustain us,

but relationships take time.

We have to slow down for them.

That's why God took time

to incarnate with us,

to come to earth,

to pay the penalty

for our sins on the cross

so that we may,

through him,

have an eternal relationship

and thereby have relationships

based on that foundation

with one another.

So when we take the time

to slow down

and we cast our burdens

on Christ,

we stop and we listen to him

through scripture,

through prayer,

in the ordinary things,

our spiritual eyes

are actually more focused

to see God's

extraordinary work

in new ways

and experience the care

that he provides for us

through his people,

the church.

Bearing one another's burdens

is impossible without relationships.

So here's another challenge.

I want to encourage each of you

this week

to ask Google

how much time

you've got for God.

I want you to take out

your calendars.

I want you to look at

all the stuff

that you've got on there.

I want you to analyze it

as families,

as couples,

as individuals,

and ask,

do I have any time

carved out here

to cast my burdens

on Jesus Christ,

to develop a relationship

with him?

Do I have time

to develop a relationship

with others

in his name

and even bear

their burdens?

God is not an energy drink

that we drink

once a week

to boost our spiritual energy

on Sunday

to go back out.

He's our very existence.

He has every moment,

every breath,

every tick of the clock

is his.

Imagine if we just brushed

our teeth on Sundays.

Man,

our breath would stink

all week.

Nobody would be our friends.

It's not much different

with our faith.

Does your faith stink

right now?

Do you have time

for God?

Do you have the time

necessary to go

cast your burdens

on Christ

and to develop

relationships with him

and others?

Bearing one another's

burdens

and so fulfill

the law of Christ.

Sorry,

the verse isn't there.

But as the verse

goes on,

bear one another's burdens

and so fulfill

the law of Christ.

Bearing one another's

burdens

fulfills

the law

of Christ.

That sounds

pretty important.

Fulfilling the law

of Christ.

It's right to say

the negative of that

that if Christians

do not bear

one another's burdens,

they are not

fulfilling the law

of Christ.

What does Paul

mean there?

What is the law

of Christ?

Let's read John 13

to help us out.

A new commandment

I give to you

that you love

one another

just as I have

loved you.

You also are

to love one another.

By this

all people

will know

that you

are my disciples

if you have

love for one

another.

The law of Christ

is love.

And what is love?

Let's see what

scripture says.

Love is patient

and kind.

Love does not

envy or boast.

It's not arrogant

or rude.

It doesn't insist

on its own way.

It's not irritable

or resentful.

It does not rejoice

at wrongdoing

but rejoices

with the truth.

Love bears all things

believes all things

hopes all things

endures all things

love never ends.

Are any of us

all these things

on our own?

No.

And that's the point.

This is a description

of Jesus Christ

through us

and his Holy Spirit.

Christ at work in us

his body

allows us to love

this way

and we're not going

to do it perfectly.

This isn't a list

of morality check boxes

but it's a description

of Jesus

the attributes

of God himself

and we the church

are the body

of Christ

who is our head

and in his power

we're called

to bear one another's burdens

and live this way

as we love one another

and in so doing

in his strength

we embody

his law of love

and the world

takes notice.

Not only that

it's through this love

his spirit's power

at work in us

that he draws

his sheep

into his loving arms.

How you love

each other

preaches the gospel.

How you don't

love each other

does not preach

the gospel.

Me too.

When I say you

I mean me.

But God calls us

the church

to shine his light

to the world.

To live according

to his commandments.

And the more

they get together

the brighter

that light.

And when we do that

he calls us salt.

Salt and light.

Salt as additives

of seasoning

and life

to this dying world.

Preservatives

of the goodness

of God

in a decaying

world of darkness.

When we carry

our burdens

to Christ

Christ frees us up

to bear the burdens

of others.

When we put away

our shame

when we take off

our masks

it's a scary thing

and we live

in the light

of the gospel.

Gospel centered

community

is what you

hear around

here a lot.

It doesn't have

a reason to hide.

It's at the heart

of everything

we want to be

here at Southwood.

Gospel centered

community

provides a harbor

of safety

in a hurricane

world.

It's a haven

of safety

for people

where they can

be known

for who they are

as opposed

to what they

have to offer.

And it's this

type of community

that we all need

and we all

long for

and the church

the body

of Christ

it's this

type of community

that God's

calling us

to be.

Where Christ

is the goal

of all things

his love

his life

his light.

What does

Matthew 11 say?

Come to me

all who labor

and are heavy laden

I will give you rest

take my yoke

upon you.

Jesus' backpack

is not heavy.

Learn from me

I'm gentle

and lowly in heart

and you will find

rest for your souls

for my yoke is easy

and my burden is light.

You see we've spent

all our time

walking around

carrying our own

burdens

when he took them.

In this world

of loneliness

y'all

God calls us

his body

the church

to bear these

burdens

to carry it

first to him

so that we can

carry one another

to him.

Because bearing

one another's

burdens

fulfills the law

of Christ.

That law

is love

and when we

live this way

in gospel

centered community

listening

and living

the way

he tells us

to

not only

do we

experience

the love

of Jesus

but the world

around us

sees the love

of Jesus

and they take

note

but to do

this

we first

have to be

willing to

take off

our own

masks

our massive

performance

security

reputation

status

money

so that we

may be free

to help others

take off

theirs

but there's

a problem

getting in

our own

way

right

our busyness

and our

sinful pride

I went to

the grocery

store the

other day

all I was

buying was a

small container

of tiny

miniature

croissants

I get in

line

put my croissants

on the

conveyor belt

thingy

and guess

what happens

what the

guy in front

of me

does

he goes

and he gets

that divider

and he just

slams it

down

separating my

tiny box

of croissants

from his

large pile

of groceries

good for you

sir

God forbid

we get a

little bit

over here

right

he turns

around

and looks

at me

with that

fear

and he just

picked up

that divider

and he slammed

it down

and then turned

right back

around

so many times

that's how we

treat each other

in the church

isn't it

where we're

willing to stand

next to each

other and sing

the praises of

God

in public

rather than

publics

but we

don't want

it to cost

us anything

don't put

that on my

bill

that's your

problem

right

but Christ

is calling

us to pick

up that

divider

and share

the cost

that's what

it means

to bear

a burden

that cost

is time

that cost

is reputation

that cost

is comfort

you know how

I see

my own

sinful pride

and ours

work out

here a lot

at Southwood

half-calf

latte

Christianity

a Christianity

where we

give lip

service to

gospel-centered

community

but we

demand that

it's on our

own terms

where we

treat ourselves

to the best

things

thinking that

we deserve

them

though saying

we don't

expecting

everyone else

around us

to give us

that which

we deserve

I'm guilty

of this

with you

it goes

like this

I can't

tell you

how many

times

I've had

conversations

like this

I'm lonely

can you help

me find

community

and then

the person

responds to me

sure have you

tried this

this and this

yeah I have

I have

but you know

it's just

those people

aren't like me

well have you

considered this

other group

over here

yeah I have

but I'd like

that but the

people

they make

me feel

a little

uncomfortable

they're kind

of weird

they're not

like me

or I'd like

that but only

if it meets

at this place

at this time

in this part

of town

with this age

group

or

it's just so

hard for me

to connect

with such

and such

a group

because the

people

they're different

than me

and you know

my last church

we were more

similar

and we were

just similar

there Derek

I'm the one

who does this

though

or I do

better around

people who

are I mean

don't tell

anybody okay

I'm praying

for them

just fill in

the blank

what's wrong

with that

person

you just

ordered a

half-calf latte

I just ordered

a half-calf latte

and the church

doesn't serve

half-calf lattes

that's not what

we're supposed

to do

that's not what

ministry is

supposed to be

and everybody

in the world

knows it

they sniff out

the lack

of authenticity

and half-calf

latte

Christianity

and they

leave

some are

addicted to it

so they go

somewhere else

looking for that

somewhere else

and they will

get it

they will

find that

but that's

not what

Paul's talking

about

rather than

ordering half-calf

lattes

with our life

God calls us

to serve

one another

each other

and those

who never

even realize

how thirsty

they are

realize

my goodness

I don't need

coffee

I need water

that water

is the living

spirit of God

welling up

within me

to eternal life

a spirit

where I will

never thirst

come to me

all you who are

weary and heavy laden

I will give you

rest for your souls

we gotta ask

ourselves as a church

I have to ask

myself as a pastor

and a human being

do I care more

about the color

of the carpet

or the cancer

of the soul

do I care more

about the strength

of the coffee

I'm drinking

on Sunday morning

or the strength

of the Lord

do I give more

time and energy

to saving my money

for me

and my comforts

and my vacations

guilty

or to saving

souls

one of these

lifestyles

is totally different

than the other

which one

sticks out

to you

which one

shines

to you

gospel centered

community

requires thermostats

not thermometers

and the thing is

I'm a perfect

thermometer

so are you

we know

what the temperature

of a place is

and we talk

about it all the time

and we pray

for that temperature

to change

but God

calls the church

to be the thermostat

to change it

we change it

here with each other

and we change it

in the world

how are you

going to change it

today

how are you

going to change

it today

gospel centered

community

the kind

that Paul

is talking about

that bears

one another's

burdens

that fulfills

Christ's law

of love

that shines

the light

of Christ

requires

and demands

our willingness

to be uncomfortable

but we are

addicted to being

comfortable

so maybe that's

the first thing

we take

to God

you see

the church

is supposed

to be more

like a family

and not a club

but it's easy

to get it mixed

up because we

live in a world

of clubs

where we give

a certain amount

of money

and we get

something in return

don't we

a club

is consumer

based

you pay

your dues

and in return

you get

certain benefits

and you get

access to

certain privileges

a church

on the other

hand is

covenant

based

so that

changes the

entire way

that you relate

to the community

or it should

when things

get messy

because of

differences

whether those

are arguments

differences

personality wise

cultural

political

whatever it

may be

we don't

peace out

on each

other

rather we

press in

and we

pursue each

other

because Jesus

reconciled us

to himself

when

while we

were still

sinners

while we

were messed

up

while we

smelled

bad

while we

weren't

lovable

we were

different

he didn't

abandon

us

therefore

we really

don't have

a legitimate

reason to

abandon

other people

just based

on our

personal

preferences

I do

realize

things

change

and

things

get

different

but a

family

is

different

the

ministry

that

Jesus

calls

his

church

to

is a

ministry

of

reconciliation

restoration

that was at the heart

remember of what Paul is talking about

and that's how the world is going to know

that we belong to him

most of us choose our friends in here

on the basis of

shared interests or something that we like

that we have in common

shared affinities

and when the friendships disappoint us

a lot of us have a tendency

to move to other friends

I do this

sometimes it's other towns

sometimes it's other churches

with family it's different

we don't get to choose our family

we aren't able to discard our family

because they're our family

and when we speak of the church

did you know that the word used is composed

when talking about the body of Christ

God has composed the body of Christ this way

as Martin Luther writes

the word composed

signifies a harmonious mixing

it's a word sometimes used to describe blending colors

an artist's blending colors

to make a new color

God's arrangement of the members in the body

does away

with the clashing

and it blends all into one harmonious whole

and when we bear one another's burdens

that way

we fulfill Christ's law of love

through our differences working together

God creates a new color

that the world sees

and they marvel at

they've never seen that color before

and that color

is the color of God

but it's a spiritual color

and that color is love

love defined biblically

Christ laid down his life for us

while we were still sinners

he died to redeem us

from the curse of the law

by becoming the curse for us

literally bearing our sin on the cross

our burden

to all those who look to him

in faith

he promises to adopt us

as children

family

family doesn't peace out on each other

sons and daughters of the most high God

and a family that casts our burdens upon Christ

we take the time to share those burdens

don't we

and we listen to each other

and as together in community and relationship

we carry our burdens to our Savior

we shine the light of love

and when we do that

we fulfill the law of Christ

so here are the three challenges

I'm not perfect

I'm messed up in everything I just said

okay

so I'm challenging myself with you

we are together church

we are Southwood

and we're called here to do something with our faith

to do something that impacts each other

and this community

and we will not do it in our own strength

so here's the challenge

this is the best way I know where to say to start

and I'm going to trust Jesus with the results

because it's not a check box

okay

I'm just trying to call us to do the things that this says

and I need you to help me do it too

and here's the challenge

one

go to God

and ask him

what burdens you're carrying on your own

would you do that

would you ask him then to help identify the other burdens

like that

if you were here when I did the Easter egg

idol sermon

when you remove one

you see something else is underneath it

when you remove that

something else is underneath it

as we carry our burdens in him

he's going to break idols

and we're going to see more and more and more

but ask him to help you identify your idols

your burdens

two

ask him to show you

who you need to share your burdens with

in that sense

who you can encourage in your life

they're going to be probably hard

they're probably going to be like a prickly pear

or a cactus

trying to hug a cactus

it's a lot of times what God calls us to

and three

look at your calendar

and ask if you've got the time

carved out enough

to start that relationship

to start that time with the Lord

and then time for each other

just start small

start somewhere

if you aren't spending time with the Lord

start with five minutes

at least go and further your relationship with him

don't brush your spiritual teeth once a week

Jesus cleanses you every moment

you've got to remember that

so those are the three challenges

if you don't have that time

just carve it out

may the Lord be praised

as we take our burdens to him

as we bear one another's burdens

and so fulfill the law of Christ

let me pray

Lord Jesus

hard words to hear from Paul

because

I'm guilty of not doing it

I don't do this with my neighbor

you know the horrible thoughts I have literally

about people in my own neighborhood

just because they get in the way

of my schedule and what I want to do

would you please Lord Jesus

take that off of me

show us in our own hearts Lord

where we are

and how we can be your light

in this world

where we can be a solution for loneliness

as we take people to you

and as we really love one another

and help us to know how to start small Lord

because you're big

and you work through small things

may we not get overwhelmed

but may we trust you

Lord

because your burden is easy

and may we fulfill your law of love

help us experience that

thank you Holy Spirit

we can't do it without you

and we beg you

and we ask this in the name of your son Jesus Christ

Yahweh

Amen

for more information

visit us online

at southwood.org

thank you

for joining us

for joining us

for joining us

for joining us

for joining us

for joining us

today

let's start

rosy

for joining us

for joining us

for joining us