Well, when I was in fifth grade, I started playing saxophone in my school band.
And we had a great band director.
His name was Mr. Johnson.
He was patient with us, he had fun with us, but he was also not afraid to work as hard
in preparation for concert season.
I can remember us being in the middle of a song and him yelling over all the din of the
instruments, tempo, keep the tempo.
And he wasn't afraid to call out individual players either in the middle of a song.
Billy, you're speeding us up.
Daniel, play softer.
Sometimes he would resort to banging out the rhythm with his wand on a music stand instead
of conducting us in the air because he wanted us to fall into step with where he was leading
us.
At the beginning of a new semester, we would always sound terrible.
Squeaky, out of tune, hitting wrong notes or hitting, not hitting notes at all.
But by the end of the semester, our conductor, having stuck with us, would lead us into some
pretty good sounding music.
The unity and the harmony of the whole body of instruments would fill the performance hall.
And it was all worth it to see his smile at the end of the concert.
Well, church, we have a conductor too.
We are all individual members of a whole body of instruments.
We are a spiritual orchestra.
And we have one conductor that we must fall into step with.
Or, if we don't, we will miss the beauty and the harmony of where he's leading us, of what
he's intending us to play.
And our conductor, church, is the Holy Spirit.
And although there are many songs that he has for us to play, there's one song that's
pretty close to his heart.
And the name of this song is Love One Another.
It's a tender, gentle, exquisitely beautiful song.
But it's also complicated.
It's messy, even.
It requires close and careful attention to our conductor.
At times, he'll speed us up.
Then he'll slow us back down.
Then we'll change keys.
Here we're loud.
Here we're soft.
And if we don't pay careful attention to where he's taking us, we're going to be hopelessly
lost as we try to play the song.
And so this morning, that's exactly what the Apostle Paul is trying to communicate to the
Galatian churches, starting at chapter 5, verse 25, and through chapter 6, verse 5.
And what he wants them to see, and what the God wants us to see, is this.
That when the church is in step with the Spirit, we will humbly care for one another.
When the church is in step with the Spirit, we will humbly care for one another.
When we, as the body of Christ, are paying close attention to our conductor, the resulting
melody will be humble care for one another.
That's the emphasis in this particular passage.
So let's unpack the passage in the following way.
First, there's a call to action in chapter 5, verse 25.
And then we'll see in 526 through 6.3, sorry, 6.2, that that call is for a community.
And lastly, we can't miss the caution in verses 3 to 5 in chapter 6.
So it's a call for a community with a caution.
Let's start looking at the call to action in chapter 5, verse 25.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
If we live by the Spirit.
Well, what does that mean?
What does it mean to live by the Spirit?
Well, word to the wise, and maybe a quick preview of our word workshop coming up on January 25th.
If you're stuck on what something means in the Bible, take some time to take a look around at the context.
Look for clues around that phrase to help understand what that phrase means.
And that's what we're going to do with live by the Spirit.
Look up to verse 16 for starters.
Paul says, but I say, walk by the Spirit.
Well, that sounds pretty close to live by the Spirit.
That kind of helps us understand what that's about a little bit.
And Pastor Matt last week helped us see that people who have put their trust in Jesus, Christians,
and who have received God's Holy Spirit on the inside of them as His indwelling presence within,
we still have to cultivate a dependence upon the Holy Spirit to be able to live the life that God's called us to.
Right?
That's reinforced in verse 18.
If you are led by the Spirit, okay, that kind of gives us a little bit more understanding.
Walking by the Spirit, there's this kind of plodding mentality, it's activity.
Being led by the Spirit, we have to be leaning into His guidance and His leadership.
So being dependent upon the presence and the power of God's Spirit within us as Christians
is basically what Paul's saying here.
That's what it means to live by the Spirit, to be defined by the Spirit.
Christians are people whose lives are defined by the Holy Spirit.
By what the Spirit produces in them, the holy fruit of Christ's character.
He's the one who provides power to fight against the flesh.
He is the one who gave a spiritual life to the beginning.
So our lives are defined by the Holy Spirit.
So basically he's saying if you're a Christian, if you live by the Spirit,
then, here's the call to action, keep in step with the Spirit.
So yes, we are Spirit-dependent people.
We are Spirit-defined people from beginning to end.
We must rely on His presence and power to live this life that God has called us to in Christ.
So therefore, it makes a lot of sense that we have to put effort into keeping in step with Him.
So just as an orchestra has to pay close attention to its conductor,
the church has to pay close attention to put real effort into following and responding to the Spirit's lead.
This is a call to action.
It's the same way what Pastor Matt preached last week,
only here we're getting a little more nitty-gritty.
It's like keep an eye on Him.
Stay really closely connected to Him.
Now just in case you're not musical and the whole orchestra illustration doesn't work for you,
here's another one.
The Christian life in the Spirit is a lot less like flying a plane
and a lot more like a bicycle race.
In a plane, now I might be oversimplifying this if there are any pilots in the room,
but in a plane, once you're up in the air,
you can push the autopilot button
and it basically gets you to where you want to go.
You don't have to do a whole lot.
You kind of relax until you start your descent.
But in a bicycle race, there's no relaxing.
You have to stay on your leader.
You've got to stay with the group.
You've got to be pumping the pedals the whole way,
breathing hard the whole way.
Now there are easy stretches.
There are flat straightaways.
There's downhill slopes.
But even in those parts of the race,
you still have to stay on the leader.
You still have to keep pedaling.
You have to stay with the group.
And when Paul calls us to keep in step with the Spirit,
he's calling us to action.
We need to sit up straight when we hear that call.
We need to feel the urgency of that call.
We need to shake off the slackness that we tend to naturally get
as we run our Christian race,
and we need to prepare ourselves for real, steady, and sustainable action.
Now it's a new year.
This is a great time to begin asking the question,
where am I going?
What am I doing with my life?
How am I doing with my life?
And if this is a time when you realize,
I'm kind of drifting.
I'm coasting.
I'm not really pushing the pedals.
Then hear the call.
Hear the call of action.
Being a Christian does not mean pushing the autopilot button.
It means, okay, roll up my sleeves.
Let's get to work.
That's not how we earn our salvation.
We know that.
We know it's by faith.
But it is a call to work.
It's a call to action.
We need to hear that here.
So if you are a Christian,
if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you,
if we, the church, have the Spirit dwelling among us,
if we're defined by the work of the Spirit,
then hear the call to action.
What is the Spirit, our conductor, tapping out for us?
What's His rhythm?
Are we listening?
Are we paying close attention?
Are we leaning into Him?
That has to do with spiritual disciplines.
If you're slack in your prayer,
if you're slack in reading Scripture
and paying close attention to your own heart,
then that's going to mean you're drifting.
You're on autopilot.
So, all right.
Take a moment to say,
all right, this is what the Spirit's calling me to do.
Keep in step with Him.
Lean into Him.
This is whether you're new in the faith
or whether you've been a seasoned saint for many years
or if you're foot sore and you are war weary
or maybe you're discouraged from a lack of growth
or a lack of affection for the Lord
or maybe you are just awash in apathy
or maybe you're stuck in sin.
But wherever you're at,
the Spirit, hear what He's saying to you.
Pick up your instrument
or if you prefer, hop back on your bicycle.
Keep in step with Him.
Resist the temptation to push idle pilot.
There's no drifting or coasting here.
Posture yourself for action.
Roll up your sleeves.
Get ready to work.
Church, we're not home yet.
Just like the song we sang,
Come Thou Fount,
Come My Lord No Longer Tarry,
Bring Your Promises to Pass.
We're not home yet.
We live in between the comings of Jesus,
between His first advent and His second.
And so the time in between
is the life of the Spirit.
We get to participate in the life we have to come
that Christ has promised us,
of full fellowship with Him,
and yet we know that that fullness hasn't come yet.
And so we strive, we move towards Him,
because we know we're still pulled back
into our old ways of the flesh.
And so the time between the comings here
is to be lived in step with the Spirit.
He's our guide to our heavenly home,
to our destination.
So lean into Him.
That's the call to action.
But that's pretty broad.
It's pretty general.
It's not very specific.
So how do we start keeping in step with Him
in practical and specific ways?
Well, this call to action is for a community.
It's a call to action for a community.
And the call to action for the community is this.
Humbly care for each other.
That's the way that we keep in step with the Spirit.
That's the way we roll up our sleeves
and keep in step with our leader
is by humbly caring for each other,
right here, right now, as a body of Christ.
And we're going to spend the majority of our time on this
because that's the real emphasis of this passage.
So let's look at chapter 5, verse 26,
through chapter 6, verse 2.
I want to read it again.
And as I read, I want you to hunt for clues
that Paul is speaking to a community.
Did you see clues pointing to a community?
How about those one another's provoking one another,
envying one another,
bearing one another's burdens?
How about the way he addresses them as a church family?
Brothers, which can be translated easily,
brothers and sisters.
How about the call to restore the sinning member
by other members?
Remember, Paul is writing to a group of churches here.
He is writing to a community.
He's not writing to random individual Christians.
He's writing to groups of people
who have joined themselves together
because of their mutual faith in Christ
for the purpose of accountability and encouragement
to live the life of the Spirit together.
By the way, Christ the King Church,
that's what we are.
We are a group of people
who have joined ourselves together
because of our mutual faith in Christ
so that we can keep each other accountable
and encourage one another
as we live the life of the Spirit together.
So this has a lot to say to us right here,
right now, January 5th, 2020.
I almost said 2019.
Phew, okay, good thing I didn't.
So what is the call to action?
To humbly care for one another,
to demonstrate real Christ-like love
in the power of the Spirit to one another.
In verse two, he gives us a great visual,
bear one another's burdens.
Well, that helps us, doesn't it?
It gets that in our minds.
But before we get to that serving one another part,
the bearing one another's burdens part,
that's what keeping in step with the Spirit
means for us in community.
Let's take a peek in verse 26
of what it doesn't look like.
Paul's great at setting up a negative
before he gets to the positive.
So let's look at verse 26.
Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another, envying one another.
So how do we put effort into keeping in step
with the Spirit in our community of a church?
Put to death your self-important attitude.
That's how.
That word translated conceited in our Bibles
could also be translated literally
empty honor or empty glory.
Paul's warning the community of the church
right on the heels of his call to action
that if they want to stifle the Spirit's
life-giving work in their midst,
then be thirsty for self-importance.
A desire to be recognized and praised for yourself,
to think highly of yourself,
that's how you can quench the Spirit in your midst.
That's how you can not keep in step with the Spirit.
And this appetite for recognition,
for reputation, for being known as something,
produces all kinds of sinful activity
within a community.
For one, those who desire recognition and praise
often provoke others within the community,
basically picking fights,
challenging those who disagree with them,
calling them out,
stirring up dissension and division within the body.
Some of us, perhaps this can get kind of glossed over
with spiritual language,
but it is, if it walks like a duck,
talks like a duck, it's a duck.
Some of us are more prone to this,
especially those of us who have more dominant personalities,
we're go-getters, we're more vocal,
we're more opinionated.
We can tend to be this way.
That is not keeping in step with the Spirit.
But there's also another way.
Do you see that?
Envying one another.
Perhaps this is more common for us.
Self-important person may not necessarily show
their self-importance by picking fights externally,
but it's an internal attitude of envy
or comparison or holding grudges,
and it can poison our attitude toward others
and rob us and them of the life-giving work
of the Spirit at work among us.
For six years, I was a teacher at a Christian school
here in town.
I started as a Spanish teacher,
and then I was really hoping they'd ask me
to teach Bible at some point.
Well, during a staff meeting,
midway through my time there,
it was announced that they had asked another guy
to teach Bible, and they hadn't asked me.
And immediately, my conceit, my self-importance,
my sinful desire for recognition
as a great Bible teacher raised its ugly head,
and it showed up in the form of intense envy
toward my brother in Christ.
It took me a little bit of time to realize
that was what was going on in my heart.
I couldn't quite tell, and then it's like,
oh, wait, that's what's going on.
I'm envying him.
Have you ever had something like that happen to you
in the context of the church or somewhere else?
Hear the call to action.
Self-importance has no place in the community
where the Spirit is in charge.
Put it to death, the Spirit says,
whether in its outward form of picking fights
or dissension or division
or in the slow internal poison of envy
or comparing yourself with others
or bearing grudges against others.
Rather, Paul says,
now that you know what keeping in step
with the Spirit doesn't look like
in the community,
this is what it does look like.
It looks like humbly caring for each other.
It means laying aside your sense of self-importance
and adopting an attitude
that emphasizes the importance of others.
In verse 1, Paul shows us
that not only are we not supposed to sin
against one another,
we're supposed to help restore those who do sin.
We are to care for one another's souls.
So, if anyone is overtaken in a sin,
Paul says,
you who are spiritual are to restore them
in a spirit of gentleness.
In the ESV, it uses the word caught,
but I think the word overtake might be better.
Caught makes us think of, like,
you're caught in the act,
caught red-handed.
That's not, I mean, obviously,
that's going to,
we need to restore folks
who are caught red-handed,
but we also need to restore anyone
who is overtaken in a sin,
and that's all of us.
Sin has a way of sneaking up on us.
Think about the last time you blew it
and you knew it.
You weren't planning on sinning that day,
but a combination of circumstances
caused you to get angry
or to lust
or to be dishonest
or whatever it was.
And just think about,
once you knew that that happened,
despair starts to set in,
shame and condemnation start to come in,
and you're thinking,
whatever,
I just might as well give up.
I just might as well keep on doing this
because there's no hope
in trying to resist this anymore.
Well, that's where God's saying here,
community to the rescue.
That's why we have each other, church.
There are men in this church
that God has used to restore me
when I have been overtaken in sin,
and they did it in a spirit of gentleness.
And I am very thankful for those men.
And don't think for one minute
that that word spiritual
means only pastors and leaders.
It's a temptation we have, I think,
in the American church.
Uh-uh.
That word spiritual
could just be translated,
you spirit people.
Same thing back up in verse 25.
If we live by the spirit.
Well, that's Christians.
If you are a Christian,
you are a spirit person.
You are spiritual
because you have the Holy Spirit.
And you are being called upon here
to help restore your brother or sister
who falls into sin.
This is not something
we should slough off
to the professionals
because, guess what?
There are no professional Christians.
We are all the body of Christ
indwelled by the spirit,
and he has laid on us
the responsibility
to humbly care for one another
and help each other
follow Christ together.
So if someone in this body
has a sin problem,
then that should concern you.
It is,
falls on you
to be concerned about them
because you are one with them
in Christ.
You are members
one of another.
That doesn't mean
you're responsible
for their sin
nor ultimately responsible
for their well-being,
but you are being called upon
to humbly care for them
by helping to restore them
in some way.
Now you might be wondering
how this works,
practically speaking.
This is maybe a little bit tricky.
What do you do
if someone confesses sin to you?
Well, you remind that sinner
that they have a friend
and his name is Jesus.
He is the friend of sinners.
So speak 1 John 1, 9 to them.
If anyone confesses their sin,
God is faithful and just
to forgive them of their sin
and to cleanse them
of all unrighteousness.
So speak words of gospel truth to them,
of forgiveness
and assurance of pardon.
And you get to be
the Spirit's agent
to help heal their soul.
What an awesome privilege.
Don't shy away from that
just because you don't feel
like you're a professional.
Now if it's a matter
that feels pretty heavy,
like an addiction
or maybe a sin
involving lots of people
that's rather complicated
or a sin that's pretty grievous
and serious,
well then talk to that person
and to see about involving
a pastor or an elder
or some other life group leader,
some other mature Christian
who can help maybe shed light
on a complicated issue.
So be careful,
be humble,
speaking into situations
you don't understand well necessarily,
but don't let that keep you
from participating
in restoring a brother or a sister.
Now life group leaders,
life group members,
you need to hear this.
If something like this
comes up in your group,
lean into it.
Don't overwhelm the person
with lots of words,
just listen sympathetically,
ask good questions,
and speak weighty words
of gospel truth,
of forgiveness
and assurance to them.
But don't do the other error.
Don't paint their sin
in a good light.
Don't sugar coat things.
Call a spade a spade.
If it's sin, it's sin.
Deal with it head on
with the gospel.
So treat others
how you would like them
to treat you
if you're confessing sin.
Gently, truthfully, lovingly
point them to Jesus.
And you will be
an agent of restoration.
But you also need to hear this.
Whether you're in life group or not,
this is what the community is for.
We exist to help each other do this.
So if you are the one
overtaken in a sin,
don't stay quiet.
The Psalms talks about
if I kept my sin within myself
and my bones started rotting.
Sin has a way of rotting us
from the inside out.
Speak it.
Confess it.
Go to someone in service.
Go to someone in your life group.
Go to someone you know well
who would be able
to speak God's truth to you.
Risk the transparency
in order to keep in step
with the Spirit.
Obey James 5.16.
Confess your sins
one to another
and pray for one another
so that you may be healed.
Sometimes this might mean
having to confront someone gently.
That's scary.
But along the lines of Matthew 18,
we're called to do this too.
If you see or become aware
of a sinful behavior
and another believer,
then we are called upon
to humbly care
for that brother or sister
in the spirit of gentleness
by asking them about it.
Much humility is needed here.
Not self-righteous judgment.
We're not trying to accuse.
We're trying to restore.
And you've got to be careful.
Remember Jesus used
the log in the eye
and the speck of sawdust
in the eye illustration.
Approaching someone's eye
to get a speck of sawdust out
is a very delicate process.
You've got to be very gentle.
You've got to have confidence.
They need to have confidence in you.
But if Jesus is our Lord
and our Master
and we are His servants,
we must be willing
to approach another servant
in gentleness
if they're doing something
that does not please
or bring honor to the Master.
And this is for all of us.
This is not just for pastors,
not just for leaders.
Now before we move on
to other ways
we can care for one another,
look at the end of verse 1.
Keep watch on yourself
lest you too be tempted.
When helping restore
a fellow sinner,
we are often tempted
to fall into sin ourselves.
We are tempted
to conceited self-righteousness.
Like thinking,
I would never sin like that.
We are tempted to frustration
and impatience
with our brother or sister,
especially if they're not changing
or especially if their sin
affects us negatively.
We might be tempted
to join them in their sin
in some way.
Coming into contact with sin
can sometimes soften
our hearts to it
and tempt us toward it.
So just think about Johnny Cash.
Walk in the line.
I keep a close watch
on this heart of mine.
I keep my eyes wide open
all the time.
Keep a close eye
on your own heart
when you're in the process
of doing this.
It helps us do this
in humility and gentleness.
So restoring a sinning
family member
is a way we humbly care
for one another
and keep in step
with the Spirit.
But it's not the only way
we keep in step
with the Spirit
in community.
Look at verse 2.
Paul tells the Galatians
to bear one another's burdens
and so fulfill
the law of Christ.
This includes
bearing the burdens
of those who've sinned
and need restoration,
but it's broader than that.
It means lending
your strength,
skill,
time,
energy,
resources
to help another believer
through difficulty.
As Paul says
somewhere else,
when one member hurts,
the whole body does.
That's because
the Spirit
binds us together.
We have Him
in common.
So therefore,
when we become aware
of a difficulty
that another member
of the church
is going through,
then we ought
to have an impulse
to help shoulder
that burden.
That's what
keeping in step
with the Spirit
looks like
in the community
of the Spirit.
We get to humbly
care for one another
and bear one another's
burdens
in a variety of ways.
It can be acts
of service.
This summer,
my wife had
shoulder surgery.
So many of you
cared for us
in very practical
and needed ways.
Y'all bared,
you bared,
you bore our
burdens with us.
Thank you.
That's exactly,
and this church
is so good at that.
Our deacons
are so fantastic
at being able
to find ways
to care for
body members
that are hurting.
But we also bear
one another's burdens
when we sit
and we listen
and we share
God's Word together
and encourage
one another.
When someone's
going through
a difficult time,
we have one another
over for dinner
and we ask
good questions.
We take time
after service
to hunt down
people we know
are going through
a rough patch
to be able
to ask them
how they're doing
and pray for them.
That's bearing
one another's burdens
as a body.
And speaking of praying,
that's probably
the most wonderful,
most effective,
and maybe hardest
way to bear
one another's burdens
is to take
intentional time
to pray
and care for
one another's burdens
in prayer.
So when we do
this burden bearing
in all of its forms,
we fulfill
the law of Christ.
what does Paul
mean by that?
Look back up
to chapter 5,
verse 13 and 14.
Do not use
your freedom
as an opportunity
for the flesh,
but through love
serve one another.
For the whole law
is fulfilled
in one word.
You shall love
your neighbor
as yourself.
This is very similar
to the command
that Jesus gave
his church,
the disciples,
in John 13.
A new command
I give you
that you love
one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you are to love
one another.
So we fulfill
the whole law
of the Old Testament
in one sense
by just doing this,
by bearing
one another's burdens
in practical,
real,
meaningful ways.
So in one sense,
it's what
the law of Christ
is what he's spoken
to us,
love one another.
But it's also
the model
he's provided
for us.
Church,
the only reason
we exist
as a body
is because Christ
bore our burdens
on Calvary.
We sang of it earlier
in How Great Thou Art.
Christ bore our burdens
to the cross.
As Paul says
in Philippians 2,
Jesus took on
the form of a servant.
He took on the burden
of human flesh.
He was born
as one of us.
In being found
in human form,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to the point of death,
even death
on a cross.
So we are to
humbly care
for one another
and bear
one another's burdens
in the same way
Jesus bore
our burdens
and because
Jesus bore
our burdens.
He did the same
for us.
And if we belong
to him
and we have
his spirit
within and among us,
how can we act
any differently?
So friends,
if we are
spirit-defined people,
if we are people
who have the spirit
and live by the spirit,
let us keep in step
with him.
We need to be about
the priority
in community
of humbly caring
for one another
and by doing so,
we keep in step
with him.
Our conductor
is tapping out
his rhythm
to a song of love
and we have
to keep our eyes
on him.
So let me just
give you a few
brief and concrete
ways to do this.
First, examine
your heart
for self-importance.
There is no better
way to keep
a community
from following
the spirit's lead
than to be concerned
about yourself
as your first priority.
Jesus came
to free us
from that destructive
tendency of our
human hearts.
So ask yourself
Philippians 2
verse 3
in question form.
How does God
want me to
humbly consider
others as more
significant than
myself?
I'm guessing
there are probably
a few people
within the church
that you have
a hard time
interacting with
without self-important
pride showing up
in your heart
and yet they are
your spiritual family.
So ask the Lord
to help you
put your self-importance
to death
and the Holy Spirit
will be glad
to assist you.
Secondly,
move towards
other people.
Move towards
other people.
Do you hear
the movement
in that?
Do you hear
the action
in that?
Move toward
other people.
This is a call
to action.
Bearing one
of those burdens
assumes you
have relationship
with people.
So move
towards people.
Now this is
harder for some
people than
for others.
I get that.
And it doesn't
mean you have
to be best friends
with everybody
or even know
everybody in the
church.
But it does
mean that your
posture is toward
people,
not away from
them.
It means a
willingness to
engage in
conversation with
people,
even the people
you're not
naturally attracted
to.
And not just in
conversation about
you, but also in
conversation about
them.
Ask good questions.
It's a way we bear
one of those burdens
and care for each
other.
Discover what's
going on in their
lives.
Be listening for
ways you can help.
It might mean
praying with them
on the spot
after service
today.
It might mean
intentionally praying
for them throughout
the week.
It might mean
texting them.
It might mean
getting together
with them through
the week to hear
how they're doing
or to help restore
them when they've
sinned.
It might mean
showing up at
their house to
fix their dryer
or with a cooked
meal.
There are a
zillion ways we
can bear one
of those burdens.
But we must be
willing to move
towards people to
find out what
those burdens are.
Well, I'm
guessing you've
heard the call
to action.
And you've
heard what that
looks like in
community.
But there's one
more thing we
need to pay
attention to.
It's the
caution that's
attached to
the call in
verses 4 to
5.
Sorry, 3 to
5.
And the
caution is
this.
Don't forget
that the only
one God will
hold accountable
for you is
you.
Don't forget
that the only
one God will
hold accountable
for you is
you.
Verse 3.
For if anyone
thinks he is
something when he
is nothing, he
deceives himself.
But let each
one test his
own work, and
then his reason
to boast will
be in himself
alone and not
in his neighbor.
For each will
have to bear
his own load.
Notice that
little word
for in verse
3.
That should
signal to us
that Paul's
connecting this
caution to the
community call in
the previous part
of the passage.
He's connecting
it.
And what he's
warning against in
verse 3 is that
we won't be able
to bear the
burdens of
others properly
without an
honest and
humble view of
ourselves before
God.
This caution has
a lot to do with
what Paul says at
the end of verse
1.
When you're
restoring someone
who sinned, keep
a close eye on
yourself so that
you too are not
tempted.
He's saying, hey,
pay attention to
yourself too.
The caution is
also related to his
command to put
self-importance to
death back in
verse 26.
It's very easy
to serve others
self-importantly.
At times, our
conceit and our
self-importance
prevents us from
serving others
because we're
picking fights with
them or envying
them.
But at other
times, our
self-importance
makes us think
that we're stronger
and healthier than
we actually are.
And then we think
we're something when
we're actually nothing
and we deceive
ourselves.
And out of that
self-deceit, we
serve others
but really, we're
doing it for
ourselves and not
out of obedience
for Christ or out
of love for
others.
Some of us just
need to be needed.
We want to be
wanted.
It makes us feel
stronger when we
feel needed or
wanted.
It makes us feel
healthier than we
actually are.
And so when we
actually stop serving
and things get
quiet and we start
honestly assessing
where we're at
spiritually,
we start realizing
maybe I'm not as
strong or healthy
as I think I am.
And this is
something that
leaders are
particularly prone
to.
Life group leaders,
elders, deacons,
pastors.
We serve and help
bear burdens and
teach and lead but
secretly, sometimes
if we're honest, we
can keep busy doing
these things because
we don't want to
acknowledge that we're
not as healthy as we
think we are.
Or because we find
our identity too much
in serving and not
enough in who we are
in Christ and how
he has loved us and
accomplished our
salvation for us.
But look at the
solution at verse 4.
How are we to not
think ourselves
something when we're
nothing?
Test your own work.
Test your own work
before God.
What Paul means here
is that we need to
ask ourselves whether
our work is just for
show or actually has
good quality to it.
Jess and I recently
watched the movie
Ford versus Ferrari.
It's a great movie.
At one point, the
Ford executives in
the movie unveiled the
exciting new Mustang
GT as its new racing
model.
And everyone in the
showroom is very
impressed.
It looks sleek.
It's slick.
It's very exciting.
It looks like a race
car on the outside.
But one of the
characters, one of the
main characters in the
movie, he's a veteran
mechanic and race car
driver.
He saw right through
the show.
And he told the
executives, this thing
is not going to race
well.
Its engine and its
design are not going
to keep it up with
how it looks on the
outside.
It's just not going to
perform.
And the same is true
with our caring for
each other.
We need to be humble
and honest about our
efforts to serve
others, whether they're
just for show, whether
we're longing for
recognition or whether
the engine that drives
them is of good
quality.
This is also keeping
in step with the
spirit.
He is concerned whether
we're serving others,
that's for sure.
He's also concerned why
and how we serve
others.
He has a way of getting
our serving out onto
the racetrack and
testing it out for
quality.
And we need to be
along with him in
that.
That's what he means by
boasting there in verse
four.
He's not talking about
self-important boasting.
Rather, this is kind of
the spiritual equivalent of
a good, healthy, taking
pride in your own work,
of satisfaction with
excellence.
It's kind of stepping
back and looking at the
floor you just mopped or
the meal you just made or
the car you just fixed and
saying, yep, that feels
good.
It's good work.
And the reason that the
spirit wants that for us
is because at the end of
the day, the only one that
God is going to hold
accountable for you is
you.
God will not ask your
brother who can vouch
that you helped him
through a rough time, nor
will he ask your sister
who will tell him on
judgment day that you
fixed her a meal when
she had a baby.
The only one who can
truly answer for your
motives and attitudes of
your heart is you.
Ultimately, God will hold
you accountable for you
for how and why you
served others.
He will weigh the
attitudes and intentions
of your heart.
He sees right through us.
Therefore, in our
serving, we don't do it
for others, we do it for
him as an act of worship
and service because you
have offered your life to
him in gratitude as a
living sacrifice, as Paul
says in Romans 12.
When Paul says in verse
5 that each one must
carry his own load, it
could be talking about
making sure that you've
got your own life in
order before you help
others.
That's a pretty valid
interpretation.
It's hard to serve others
when your own life is in
disarray.
But more likely and more
importantly, it's a
reference to the day when
you stand before God to
give account for your
life.
Everyone is only
accountable for themselves
on that day.
It means that God will
hold you accountable for
you.
So therefore, test your
work now so it may prove
to be of good quality
then.
This is also keeping in
step with the Spirit.
And here's what you test
for.
Ask yourself why you are
desiring to serve others.
Is it because you need
to be needed?
You want to be wanted?
Is it because you find
your identity not in
Christ's love for you but
in others' love for you
when you serve them?
Is it because it makes you
think that God loves you
more when you serve
others?
Is it because being around
hurting or less mature
believers reinforces a
self-righteous attitude in
you that you are a pretty
good Christian indeed?
Or is it this?
Do you joyfully bear the
burdens of others because
Christ has done the same
for you?
And you are eager to
follow his example.
Do you serve out of
gratitude for what Jesus
has accomplished for you
and the awesome privilege
that you have to be his
instrument for good, the
good of others?
Do you serve others
because you want to offer
your life to him as a
living sacrifice out of
joyful thanks for his
grace?
That's the ideal.
That's what we're
striving for.
That's what we need to
aim at.
That's the quality work
that will prove itself on
judgment day.
So let's aim for that.
Something that's not just
for show but has the
right kind of engine in
it.
But one word before we
move toward a close.
None of us does this
well.
We are all failures.
Not just in our lack of
serving, our lack of care,
but in the way that we
actually do it.
There is much grace for
those who are failures in
the way that we don't
serve or the poor way that
we do serve.
If you're feeling a
particular hopelessness in
this, particularly if you're
in a hard season of serving
a lot and it feels more
out of obligation than
anything else, continue to
press into the grace of
Jesus.
He is enough for you now,
today, and he will be
enough for you tomorrow
too.
This is the kind of humble
care that we need to have
for one another and it
will happen as we keep in
step with our conductor.
conductor.
Let's hear the words of our
spirit conductor today.
Let's pay careful attention to
the rhythm that he's tapping
out for us.
Let's keep our eyes on him so
that we can play beautiful
music together and it will all
be worth it to see the smile on
his face at the end.
Let's pray.
Lord, I'm sure that many of us
can hear this and get excited,
eager to roll up our sleeves and
get to work and keep in step with
you, Jesus, by your spirit.
But Lord, I know that some of us
are weary.
Father, I pray particularly that
you would grant strength and
grace to those of us who are
weary in our serving and in our
caring for others.
Lord, especially if it's chronic
and seemingly unending situations,
would you grant much grace?
Father, fulfill every resolve we
have to do good.
And keep our eyes on you as you
lead us to your heavenly kingdom.
We will be with you forever and
faith will be sight.
Help us to strive after your smile
on that day, Jesus.
In your name, amen.