Church Family
Sermon Notes
Over the last year, many of us have experienced an extraordinary amount of losses. Those losses could have been a job, a loved one, a set routine, financial loss, community, hope, peace, and maybe even joy.
It's not that loss is an uncommon thing. Loss is, in fact, a part of living. We all experience numerous losses every single day. I love what my therapist says; pay attention to the losses. Don't brush over them. Deal with them head-on. Which has been crucial for me in all the losses I have personally experienced.
Out of all the losses over the last year, I think there is one that seems to have affected the majority of us above all the others… whether we recognize it or not - and that is the loss of deep and genuine relationships.
Not to say that you don't have relationships. What I am referring to is the lack of depth and intimacy with the relationships we already have.
I have had more coffees and meals with people this year than ever - mostly because that was basically the only thing I could do as a pastor for 15 months.
And the theme I constantly bumped up against was how isolated, alone, and unseen people have felt.
It wasn't even that they were articulating that. It was more of something I just saw in people… as a result of the isolation, loneliness, and lack of intimacy - relationships lose a lot of ground.
People that were once eager to be in community and journey through the seasons of life with others, those that we're invested in their local church, serving and giving – simply withdrew.
Now, I say that not to shame anyone. I get it. I struggled with the same things. Most of the time, life just got too overwhelming, and the easy thing to do was to pull back.
But what God has put on my heart to share with all of you over the next 2 weeks is this: It is time to come out of hiding. It is time to invest. It is time to prioritize relationships with those God placed around you.
If there is one thing we all learned this past year, it's that Satan wants to isolate and shrink us into a corner while God wants to lift our heads above the clouds and push us beyond what we think we are ready for.
In other words, Satan is all about comfort, while God is all about discomfort.
I want to take a look at what Paul has to say to us regarding relationships and how we can get back to the very thing we were created for life together.
The whole point of Paul's letter to this church in Galatia is to address legalism or works-based religion within the church
Why? Because legalism promotes self-centeredness, which leads to isolation. Self-centeredness is a relational killer. Sadly, it is possible to be religious and have no deep relationships. Sadly, you can believe in God and not be experiencing the life Jesus has for you, which is intimacy with others.
Why? Because self-centeredness is the God of our culture. We see this to be true everywhere around us.
Here's the question I think we have to ask ourselves: WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THE GOSPEL MAKE IN MY RELATIONSHIPS?
This is a very short passage, but it is full of practical principles for relating to others regardless of how long a person may be in your life, whether it for a moment, season, or lifetime.
What Paul is after here is how the Gospel creates a whole new self-image that is not based on comparisons with others. Only the Gospel can both lift and humble us simultaneously as we are in relationships together.
In chapter 5, Paul just finished encouraging followers of Jesus to "keep in step with the spirit." This is what we have been talking about over the last 2 months as well.
Now Paul switches gears, and he wants us to see that as we keep in step with the Spirit, he will lead us to relationships. Not just casual relationships… but rich, in-depth, intimate relationships where our wounds are laid bare, and we can be who we fully are with fear of rejection.
(EX). Just think about your relationships for a second.
Would you say that there is room for growth in those relationships? If you answered yes, then keep listening… if you answered no, then this will be a complete waste of your time!
But in all seriousness, I think we would all say that there is room for growth in our relationships. We just have to lean in and allow the Gospel to transform them.
So, Paul gets really practical with us on how to combat self-centeredness and begin to allow the Gospel to make a difference in our relationships with one another. He gives us three next steps.
#1 HELP YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. (verse 1)
I grew up in a church that referred to each other as "brothers and sisters." I always thought it was weird, and it always felt like an over spiritual way of greeting one another.
But I have always appreciated the heart behind it because the church in the new testament greeted each other this way.
The church was a family. They didn't just use the word "family" loosely… they actually lived and communed as family. It's what we see happening in Acts 4, "There were no needy persons among them."
To treat each other as brothers and sisters means that we know who our father is. That we are all sons and daughters of the living God. That we all have a place at the table. No one is better, and no one is less than. Whatever your status is in the world – at the foot of the cross is equal ground.
So, the Gospel enables us to live as brothers and sisters.
So, what will a brother or sister do when they see themselves as a son or daughter of God? Paul tells us. He says we will not ignore a situation when we see someone caught up in sin. That we will step in and help.
Remember, Paul is talking to Christians here. He is not saying go and confront, judge, and criticize all people living in sin… but we also must not look the other way either…
Paul speaks to someone caught up in the habit of sin, and that particular sin has gotten the upper hand on that person. The only way this person can overcome this sin by receiving the intervention.
So, there is a tension for us to walk very carefully in. We must neither be quick to criticize or afraid to confront.
We must accept our responsibility as Spirit-filled brothers and sisters to help each other out! This is our mandate.
But the goal isn't just to point out the sin. It is actually to restore gently. In Greek, the word "restore" refers to putting a dislocated bone back into place.
I am not sure if you have ever had a dislocated bone that needed to be put back into place. I have, and it is a painful thing; however, it is a healing pain. In order for the pain to stop, you must inflict more pain.
(EX). For those that have ever had to go to physical therapy, you understand this concept well! Physical therapy done right is uncomfortable and can be painful.
So, Paul is saying that we ought not to be afraid to confront one another, even if it is painful, because our confronting will be aiming at seeing a change of heart and life.
I love how Paul uses the word gentle here. Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit and is primarily used in relationships with other people.
Gentleness is so much more than being a nice person. Gentleness comes from a place of recognizing that we are just as capable of sin as anyone else. And that realization humbles us and allows us to confront someone without criticizing.
IF WE DON'T RESTORE GENTLY THAN ALL WE WILL DO IS DESTROY OUR RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE WE WILL COME ACROSS AS JUDGMENTAL – which is a road that many have taken all in the name of Jesus.
Judgmentalism in relationships is a sign that a person's relationships are not Gospel-centered and will do more damage than good. Paul urges us to see each other's as brothers and sisters, lend a helping hand when needed, and restore each other gently. This is all leads to Christ-likeness, which is what our relationships are all about.
#2 CARRY EACH OTHER'S BURDENS (verse 2)
The Greek word for burden means a heavyweight. It is a constant pressure that you feel each and every day.
Your burdens could be a number of things. GOOD THINGS AND DIFFICULT THINGS. It could be your financial situation, medical condition, a house remodel, moving, a job, taking care of your parents, infertility, being a mom or dad looking after little ones… a burden is any problem or difficulty you face each day.
Burdens are not escapable for anyone. We all have them. We are all carrying weight that, frankly, is just too heavy for us to carry on our own.
This is why Jesus says, "come to me all who are weary and have heavy burdens and I will give you rest."
Sadly, far too many of us are not accepting the invitation from Jesus to share your burdens with others.
When we talk about carrying each other's burdens, what we are talking about is being someone who is available and close enough to help someone who is burdened.
We cannot help carry someone's burden unless we are close to the person carrying a burden.
Because oftentimes, burdens can be difficult to see from a distance. It is when you are up close to a burden that it reveals itself. You almost have to be in the other persons' shoes for their burden to be lifted off of the by your strength so that that weight is evenly distributed on both of you.
I have been on both sides of a burden. I have been someone overcome with a burden that had received support. I have also had the privilege to come alongside those to help carry a burden that they could no longer carry on their own.
This is the point of relationships. We are created to be people who carry each other's burdens. Of course, there is a healthy and unhealthy way to go about this. You must be just as comfortable carry someone's burdens as you are at asking someone to help carry your burden.
In your effort to help theirs, never ever neglect yourself. This leads me to my final point.
CARRY YOUR OWN LOAD.
Paul's point here is this. We will not be able to carry each other's burdens unless we have a proper and clear gospel-based view of ourselves.
Paul goes onto describe what this is in verses 3-5. READ VERSES 3-5. THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW PRIDE AND HUMILITY WORK TOGETHER.
We are all at risk of thinking too highly of ourselves, but at the same time, we are at great risk of thinking too lowly of ourselves.
If we think too highly of ourselves, then we will feel too important to take the time to notice others' burdens around us. But if we think too lowly of ourselves, then we will think that our presence doesn't matter and that we have nothing to give other people.
Both of these mentalities are not gospel-based views of self. So, Paul wants to meet us in the middle. He wants us to base our self-image in the confines of the Gospel.
That the Gospel message humbles me because Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself… but at the very same time, the gospel message gives me confidence – in that Jesus gave me a new identity, and with that new identity came the assurance that I have citizenship in the kingdom of God forever.
So, it's out of this place that Paul says in verse 5, carry your own load! I know that this can seem like a contradicting statement. How can I possibly carry someone else's burdens when I am supposed to carry my own load?
"Burdens" and "load" are two very different words in Greek. In English, it's hard to see the difference. We already know what burden means, "heavy weight."
The Greek word for the load can be translated to mean backpack.
(EX). Have you ever gone backpacking or even camping?
When you go backpacking or camping, you are responsible for your own backpack. Everything you need to survive is on your back, and it is up to you to get it from one place to the other.
You are carrying your clothes, tent, sleeping bag, mat, food, water, and survival tools.
I don't think it would go over very well if you went on a backpacking trip, and right from the beginning, you asked someone else who had their own backpack to carry, "Hey, can you carry my backpack as well? Mine is too heavy for me."
God has given you your own backpack to carry with the one life he has given you. Inside of your backpack, you have your gifts, personality type, opportunities, difficulties, quirks, strengths, and weaknesses.
All of these things are the load you carry before God. He gave this load to you. They are unique to you, and they are not for anyone else to carry.
We are not to compare our backpack with others… because God has given to me what he has not given to others. God has given to others what he has not given to me.
So, when we look inside our backpacks, we take pride in what we find inside. The good, bad, and ugly.
God has given each person a different backpack to carry based on the load they can carry. Some will have a heavier backpack than others… that doesn't mean God loves them more it just means they can carry more than I can. And that is ok. That isn't something to envy.
My task and yours are to carry our individual load in a way that pleases God. To see your backpack as a gift and to steward it as best as you can with what you have.
I really believe this kind of revelation that Paul gives us can change they we see ourselves and the way we treat others.
What if you come across someone this week which is irritable and angry, and instead of righting that person off, you think to yourself, "I don't know what weight that person is dealing with. Lord, would you draw near to them and put someone in their life today to help them?" Or maybe, "Lord, how can I come alongside them and help them with the weight they are carrying?
WRAP UP
I want to encourage you to allow the Gospel to shape your relationships. Re-enter and invest in the people that God has placed in your lives. The people here for sure… but also your neighbors, co-workers, baristas, servers, the list goes on and on.
Help them as opportunities present themselves, carry the burdens of those around you, and take pride in the load that God has given you. Carry it well. Own it and watch God work in your relationships.
One of my core convictions is the meaning of life is relationships.
In other words, take relationships away, and what are we left with?
My prayer for you is that your life and your relationships would be filled with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Canopy is a church that is going to prioritizes Gospel relationships. This is what we are about. I want to ask you to come along with us…
(EX). Whether it is by joining a table or being really intentional with the Sundays, we are together with a place for worship. Step out of your comfort zone!
RESPONSE TIME: 20 MINUTES
WHAT BURDEN DID YOU BRING WITH YOU TODAY?