The Fellowship Of The King
OKAY – welcome to week 2 of our series, ‘One Another, Doing Church Together…’ (someone say, ‘together)
UNDERSTAND MGCC
IN - Matthew chapter 16 Jesus made a very bold prediction…
On this rock
(on this truth that I am, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God… on Me, on who I AM…
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. – Matthew 16:18
REMEMBER… Church = Ekkelesia = Called out ones
AND THEREFORE - Church has nothing to do with geography, a place or a building and everything to do with a people.
UNDERSTAND…
Jesus did not predict a place, He predicted a people.
JESUS SAYS - “I am going to build my people, He says that there is going to be a Jesus gathering, an ekkeleisa…
AND -nothing is going to be able to stop it. HIS death won’t be able to stop it, THEIR guys death is not going to be able stop it… not even the gates of hades will be able to stop it…”
AND – this Jesus Gathering grow, it will flourish, it will expand, and it will keep pressing forward to every corner of the world. AND HEY B/S – here we are 2000 years later, right?
A fulfillment of that bold prediction Jesus made on the road to Caesarea Philippi…
YES - Jesus made a bold prediction… and on the night of His arrest He prayed a very desperate prayer.
• For Himself
• For His guys
• AND THEN – for us who are sitting in this room 2000 years later in C’ville Virginia….
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me (The Holy Spirit)
I have given them the Holy Spirit…
that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.
Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. – John 17:20-23
QUESTION – what did Jesus pray for us? For me? For you? For the person to your right and left?
That we would be ONE.
That we would be brought to complete unity.
QUESTION…
WHY – mere moments before His arrest and hours before His death and crucifixion would Jesus pray only for that?
I MEAN – He didn’t pray that we would…
• Build great buildings
• Preach great messages
• Have great worship
• Do great things
INSTEAD – Jesus simply desperately prayed that we would be one and brought to complete unity.
BECAUSE - Jesus knows that the entire deal… that the spread of the Gospel and the redemption of mankind depends on us His followers being ONE.
GET IT?
AND LISTEN…
SINCE - the entire deal hinges on this when you look in the NT you find that…
The primary activity of the early church was to one another, one another…
WAS – to focus on: behaviors, actions, attitudes and lifestyles that would demonstrate to a watching world the beauty and power of being part of the family of God.
YEAH – the words that Jesus spoke to His guys in the upper room that Thursday night obviously penetrated deep into their heart and soul.
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.” - John 13:34-35
Someone say… “just as” “by this”
AND LISTEN – one sure way to ‘flesh out’ this command in our everyday lives,
IS – by obeying, by embracing, by living out…
THE – various ‘One Another’ teachings we find throughout the New Testament.
Get it?
AND MG – when we do this…
NOT ONLY - will we create an appealing and compelling Jesus gathering, BUT – our individual lives will begin to look more and more like the life Jesus lived, when He wore flesh and walked on this planet.
AND UNDERSTAND – as I said last week… the reason why the early church exploded with growth and was such an effective witness for Jesus…
IS BECAUSE - they had this Love GOD and Love one another thing down.
I MEAN EVEN…
The Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was a pagan ruler, and who had nothing to do with Jesus, said of the church:
"Look at how they love one another. See how they love one another. They never fail to help the widows. They save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to those who have nothing. If they see a stranger, they take him home as though he were a brother."
Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?
Who doesn't want to be a part of that?
That's why Christianity blew up and in three centuries took over the entire world to the point where Constantine, the Emperor, became a Christian.
Because of how they loved one another.
Because they were one.
AND MG – as I have said many times before…
Our ONEness our genuine love for ONEanother is our most effective evangelistic strategy…
SO – it is time to get very serious about it. AMEN?!
AND REMEMBER - ONEanothering happens best in rows rather than in circles…
LIFE GROUPS…
• We have been doing them here for 10+ years
• Sometime we have done them really well
• Other times no so well and intentional
OKAY – let’s this…
Let’s unpack the one anothering command that we find in Galatians 6… in a conversation called, ‘The Fellowship Of The King, Carrying One Another’s Burdens’
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,5 for each one should carry their own load. – Galatians 6:1-5
Prayer
OKAY – here is how I want to attack our conversation this morning… By unpacking
• The Command
• The Cautions, and
• The Consequences
OF – carrying one another’s burdens.
FIRST…
The Command
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
(let’s say that together)
NOW – the word translated that is translated ‘burden’ means – a heavy crushing weight. Something too big for a person to carry alone, at least not for very long…
AND – the word that is translated carry means to ‘pick something up and carry it away.’
AND – the tense of the verb indicates that it is not a onetime deal, but an ongoing activity… that it is to be part of our DNA.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
M. Scott Peck begins his classic book The Road Less Traveled with a three word sentence that is packed with simple, yet profound truth…it reads,
“Life is difficult” – M Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
And he is so very right. Life is difficult.
YES - Life is filled with many burdens that must be carried.
• Jesus said, that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33)
• James said, that we all will face trails and hardships of various kinds (James 1:2-4)
• Peter said, that we should not be surprised when we find ourselves suffering a painful trial (1 Peter 5:12)
AND LISTEN – when you open up the bible we find that God’s people from Genesis to Revelation… spent much time carrying the burdens that this life had placed upon their shoulders.
NOW - our burdens may very, in kind and intensity, but all of us have burdens of one kind or another that occur as we journey through this life.
QUESTION – has anyone here ever had a heavy (almost crushing) burden to carry?
B/S - look around you… You are in a room full of people who understand what it is to carry a heavy burden.
UNDERSTAND - there is and has been heartache in every person’s life. YES - we all have problems and difficulties that weigh us down.
QUESTION… WHAT - are some of the burdens that people may need help carrying? THERE IS…
• The burden of sorrow and grief.
• The burden of sickness and aging.
• The burden of a difficult marriage or relational conflict
• The burden of the loss of a loved one.
• The burden of being a single parent
• The burden of financial stress
• The burden of broken dreams, broken homes and broken hearts.
• The burden of doubt, of fear, of loneliness
NOW THESE - are just a few of the kinds of burdens that people need help carrying.
AND LISTEN – once we have a heart that is willing to help carry the burdens of others, then two very important things are required in order to carry the burdens of others:
• First, we have to know that a brother or sister has a burden. (You know, I guarantee that there are some burdens within a few feet of you right now, that you know nothing about. But that someone needs help carrying)
• Second, the person with the burden has to be willing to allow us to help them.
AND LISTEN – for these two things to happen requires that we have active involvement in each other’s lives.
I MEAN – here’s the deal
IF WE - are not open and honest enough about our struggles, then no one will know what our burden is.
AND IF WE - are not observant enough or interested enough, then we won’t notice that someone is struggling.
B/L IF WE - are not spending enough time with each other, THEN WE - won’t have the opportunity to be close enough to other people to know what their burdens are.
Get It?
B/S – carrying one another’s burdens requires that we take the time and make the effort to develop deeper relationships – real community.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
NOW – there is a scene in the movie The Lord of the Rings that paints a pretty powerful picture of carrying someone’s burden.
Frodo Baggins along with a group of friends (The Fellowship Of The Ring) are on a quest to destroy the ring of power.
In the wrong hands, this ring will usher an age of evil and darkness throughout the land.
To destroy the ring, Frodo must take it into the heart of darkness, into Mordor, and throw it in the fires of Mount Doom where the ring was born.
AND - Frodo is the only one who can carry the ring to it’s place of destruction.
I MEAN - anyone who has tried to carry it for him, begins to be undone by its power.
The journey was long and difficult, and many of the members of this fellowship were not able to complete it.
IN FACT - in the end, it is only Frodo and his friend, Sam, left standing and both of them were at their physical and emotional limit.
AND AS - they climbed the mountain toward the cave entrance that would lead to the place where Frodo must drop the ring, Frodo couldn’t go another step, LIKE -He could not even stand.
AND ALL - of Sam’s encouraging words were no longer effective because Frodo just didn’t have any more to give. He was exhausted.
AND SINCE - he was the only one who could carry the ring because of its mysterious power to tempt and overwhelm, there was only one thing to do.
SO - Sam said, “I may not be able to carry the ring, Mr Frodo, but I can carry you!” And he put the exhausted Frodo over his shoulder and carried him the rest of the way to their journeys end.
Brothers and sisters, that is how the family of God, the fellowship of the King) is supposed to work.
NO - we can’t take the burdens away, BUT…
• We can help carry them for one another.
• We can lift each other up and make sure that no one ever gets crushed beneath heavy load alone...
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
NOW – before we move onto The Cautions in carrying one another’s burdens…
This is another burden that Paul talks about in our text that we are also commanded to help one another carry.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. – Galatians 6:1
NOW – Paul does not tell us how a person gets to this place…
To this place where they are not just sinning,
BUT WHERE – that sin has caught and overtaken them…
YOU SEE – the verb caught is in the passive voice which means that the action is being done to the person.
AND – the implication is that sin is doing the chasing and that a person has been overrun and trapped underneath its weight.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. – Galatians 6:1
Restore – (to mend what has been broken, to repair, to complete)… Matthew 4:21 used for the repairing or mending of a net
UNDERSTAND MG – not only are we commanded to help one by carrying the burdens of difficult, trying and crushing times….
BUT ALSO – the burden of difficult, trying and crushing sin.
“If it seems easy for you to help a person bear the burden of sickness, or unemployment, or loss of a loved one, or loneliness, or rejection, but too hard for you to bear the burden of confronting a person because of sin, meditate on this thought: a sinful attitude or a sinful habit is much more harmful to a person than any of those other burdens.
Therefore, if we really care about a person's ultimate welfare, we will confront them with their sin as well as comfort them in their trouble.” – John Piper
LIKE – wouldn't it be great to belong to a family of believers who loved each other so much that they simply could not look the other way while a brother or sister hardens into a habit of sin! MG - Let's be that family!
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
The Cautions
Don’t Fall Into Sin Yourself
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
UNDERSTAND IF – the sin that the person is caught up in, is an area where you struggle and are often tempted you need to be very careful.
IN FACT – you may want to get some help from another (led by the Spirit) Jesus-follower to help you.
Don’t Think Wrongly About Yourself
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else… - Galatians 6:3,4
The ministry of bearing burdens brings two groups of people together: relatively healthy Christians who assume the dominant and supposedly superior role, and relatively needy people who assume the subordinate and inferior role.
One does the helping; the other needs the help. One is strong; the other is weak. The first group faces the temptation of pride. They tend to inflate their sense of self-importance when they compare themselves-as they inevitably will-with those who depend on their help.
They find it easy to feel like stronger and better Christians. The second group faces the opposite temptation. They tend to diminish their importance in the church when they compare themselves with those who seem to do all the giving and never seem to receive. – Gerald Sittser
Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else…
BOTTOM LINE…
• Carrying burdens does not make you a greater Christian, just and obedient one
• And needing help with a burden does not that your are weak and inferior, it just means that you are human and are in a rough spot… B/S – we are not defined by our burdens!
Don’t Overload Yourself
You cannot help everyone
Jesus didn’t
I MEAN – at the of Bethesda, there countless sick people but Jesus only healed one guy. (John 5)
UNDERSTAND B/S (and some of you really need to hear this)
It is simply impossible to carry the burdens of every person in need that you know. AND - It is also very unhealthy.
AND LISTEN – this is not an excuse to help no one.
“Do for one, because you can’t do for all”
(starfish example)
You cannot do ‘everything’ for someone
UNDERSTAND - balance is needed, because we do have limits.
(R/L – “I have limits”)
LIKE – the Good Samaritan he only did what he could,
I MEAN – he did not move the dude into his house
All of us are responsible to shoulder burdens, but none of us is responsible to shoulder them all, and to do it alone. Sometimes we are most obedient when we say no. – Gerald Sittser
B/L – carrying one another’s burdens takes the entire church… Working together… actively seeking, stopping, and helping one another when their load is just too much..
AND LISTEN - sometimes when people are deeply burdened it may even take outside professional help.
AND FINALLY – the consequences of being a Jesus gathering that takes seriously Jesus’ command to carry one another’s burden…
The Consequences
NOW - I know that we tend to think mostly the negative consequences to certain actions and behaviors, but understand there are (actions and behaviors) that lead to positive consequences…
AND MG – burden carrying is one of them!
The forming of a ONEanothering Community
I MEAN – come on who doesn’t want to be a part of the kind of fellowship… where no one has to carry a heavy burden alone or be crushed by a load that they just could not carry.
“I may not be able to carry your burden but I can carry you”
MG – I pray that this image becomes a part of the DNA of this Jesus Gathering…. AMEN?!
LIKE – does anyone want to help make this happen?
AND LISTEN – I know that some of you are already this…
But what if we all joined in?
Helping people to carry their own load
For each one should carry their own load. – Galatians 6:5
‘Load’ – not more than they can carry, but what they are able to carry… the word was used to describe the pack carried by a marching soldier… not easy, but doable.
YOU SEE – one of the goals of burden bearing is to enable our brothers and sisters in Christ to discover, pursue and carry out their own particular purpose in life, however burdened they have been or will continue to be.
UNDERSTAND - the burdens that weigh them down do not excuse them from doing their God-given duty. Thus the goal is to get them back on their feet so that they can serve God in the church and in the world.
AND LISTEN – what people find when it comes to heavy burdens is that…
Past struggles often lead people into corresponding ministries.
THUS…
• Couples who have survived unfaithfulness are often the most effective in helping other couples heal broken marriages. Recovered alcoholics are often the best counselors for other alcoholics.
• People who have overcome the pain of abuse are often the most capable of helping the victims of abuse.
Fulfilling The Law Of Christ
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Which is to love God and to love people.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31
Understand whenever you help carry someone’s burden – you are not only loving them, you are loving God.
Whatever you did for the least of these – you did for me.
At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.
- Mother Teresa
B/S – let’s..
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
Anybody with me?
NOW – I want to wrap up this conversation by reading 2 passages… One written ‘about’ the ultimate burden bearer and one spoken ‘by’ Him.
It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed… - Isaiah 53:4,5
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
- Matthew 28:28-30
