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.
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
today
let's start
rosy
for joining us