Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Father. Lord, we thank you for the powerful truth in the book of Galatians. Thank you for your grace to us, Lord. Thank you for how, Father, in our struggles, in our sin, in our all the things that keep us stuck. Lord, you free us by your good grace. Help us to live in the power, in the truth and the reality of that, and then help us to be people who give grace to others, or may that grace flow through us in our lives. We ask for your grace and your help in all this. In Jesus good name, amen.
[00:00:40] Well, I don't know if anyone remembers there was a show that was called Rescue 911. Anybody remember that? William Shatner was the host. And it was a show about people calling 911 and these terrible events happening. And then it would, like, sort of, they would do replays of it, simulations of it, which sounds like a really weird thing to watch, like people's terrifying moments and you're watching it eating popcorn. But it's what I did.
[00:01:14] And I remember watching one particular episode of it, and it was a family, and they were just kind of normal family in a house. And they all started to feel sick at the same time, and they didn't think too much of it. Like, all right, this is weird that we're all sick right now, but didn't think beyond that. Well, as the episode progressed, it turns out that it was carbon monoxide poisoning. And so they didn't realize that there was a leak in their home. And it became this huge thing. And I remember watching that, and I had never heard of that before. And I was like, wait, there's something you can be breathing in. You can't smell it, you can't see it, but it can start to be essentially killing you without even noticing it. And it freaked me out for, like weeks after that. Cause every time I would get a stomachache or a headache, I'd be like, is this carbon monoxide? Now?
[00:02:11] Am I going to be the next episode of Rescue 911? Is William Shatner going to be talking about me? And so every, every time I was sick after that, I was like, is this what's going on? And I think, you know, now as a culture, as a world, we're much more aware of those kind of threats. We got detectors. But I'm telling you, back in the day, no one knew about that until rescue 911.
[00:02:33] It was unknown. And that image of breathing something in without knowing it, that is hurting you, I think in some ways that's a good parallel to the book of Galatians. What we've seen in the book of Galatians is that Paul says, all of us as human beings, we're breathing in the air of selfishness. We're breathing in the air of sin. We're breathing in the air of ego. We're breathing in the air of jealousy. And if we're not careful, we will go through life, and we won't realize it. But we're slowly dying in our spirits and our lives and our relationships.
[00:03:21] In Galatians, it says, but in response to that, God has sent grace to each and every one of us. And grace is something we're meant to breathe in, and it doesn't poison us, but it gives us life, and it actually heals what is broken and what is messed up, and it becomes something that then doesn't just stop with us, but it can flow through us into other people. And so the whole book of Galatians is about receiving this grace from God, how we receive it, how it changes us. And today we're gonna look at how it's meant to, to come through us into other people's lives. So we're gonna look at Galatians chapter six, and I'm gonna read the first ten verses to you, and here's how they go. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
[00:04:31] Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
[00:04:42] 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. Let the one who has taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows of the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap. If we do not give up.
[00:05:19] So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith. So there's a lot in these verses, but the big idea I want you to see today is that God's grace, as we receive God's grace, it moves us outside of a selfish approach to life outside of an approach to life that begins and ends with us and God's grace. It teaches us how to be God's family to each other, how to treat each other and relate to each other in a way where God's like, hey, that's how I want my sons and daughters to treat each other. Now, if you're a parent, you know, you have some standards for how you want your kids to treat each other. When my kids are choking each other or beating it, I'm like, hey, I have a little bit higher standard than that. You know, just watch the eyes and the neck and it's all fair game. But every parent, you have a standard, and God has a standard and a desire for us. So I want to talk about three things. I want to talk about this idea of being the family of God. When we receive the grace of God, we become part of God's family.
[00:06:36] We become adopted into his family. And that means something.
[00:06:42] It means that we have a new identity, a new approach to life, a new way of relating to people. Then I want to talk about how to be God's family and what happens when we're discouraged. And it's difficult. So let's talk about this first part.
[00:06:59] The idea of God's family. See, what we've seen in Galatians is that sometimes God's grace, it just comes directly into our life.
[00:07:11] Some of us sitting here today, maybe that there was a moment in our life where God became real to us and it was just between our hearts and God.
[00:07:22] And maybe it just clicked in our minds who Jesus Christ is, what he did, and how that is our hope and our freedom and forgiveness. But for many of us, it might have just been something that happened between us and God. And sometimes God's grace comes to us just between us and God. But here's what Paul shows us. But there's other grace that God wants to give us that comes through other people.
[00:07:54] There are things that God wants to give to you and God wants you to give to others.
[00:08:00] And the only way that can happen is through meaningful relationships. See, a lot of times in our world we can think about our spiritual journey as a solo journey, as a journey that's just, you know, it's just us and God. But when we read the New Testament, the New Testament says, yes, there are parts of your journey that are you and God, but it's meant to be something that is lived out in community, that we can't be everything. God wants us to be without each other. And that's why all these verses are built on the idea of family. It begins with family terminology that brothers. There could easily be brothers and sisters, and it ends with family. It talks about doing good to the household of faith. It's bookended by this idea of family because grace calls us into a new family. Look, there's some sports. You can play solo. You can go out and play golf by yourself, but you can't play baseball by yourself, right? You can't play football by yourself.
[00:09:17] There are some sports that they require. A team in Christianity is a team sport. At the end of the day, it requires us to participate in each other's lives, because God has grace. He wants to give and receive. Now, if you are a parent or if you're not, you've been part of some kind of family. And I think we could all agree that family is worthwhile, but it's not always easy.
[00:09:50] If you want a healthy family, is that a fair statement? Can I get a mediocre amen on that? If you believe it, it's worth it. But it's not always easy, right? We go through different seasons as families. We go through different changes. You move through one obstacle and you're like, all right, good. I can relax. And then all of a sudden, another obstacle comes and you're like, all right. I've never been through this one before. It's worth it, but it's not easy. I don't know if you remember earlier this week, but we had that crazy thunderstorm. Maybe it was just my house, but it was the loudest thunder.
[00:10:29] It was the loudest thunder that I've ever heard.
[00:10:33] It woke me up, and I was like, is someone coming through my door right now? That was my first thought, you know, out of a dead sleep. And then, sure enough, my daughter Emory woke up because we. There's something. I don't know if our house is constructed in the best way, because, like, thunder, rain, wind, it pretty much shakes the foundations of it. You know? I'm like, are these windows gonna hold? Is this. Well, it's just loud. And so the thunder was going off, and Emory got scared. She's five. She came into our room, and I knew, like, she was just scared. It was super loud. And the whole time, in my mind and in my heart, I'm like, you know what? She's just scared. Like, you need to be patient and relaxed. But I don't know about you. I lose my faith at 03:00 a.m.
[00:11:21] i have a hard.
[00:11:25] I forget that God saved me through Christ, the grace just. I have a hard time. And when sleep is on the line, I get real selfish.
[00:11:38] And so the whole time. And then, so we got through that, and then the next night it was like a windstorm, the same deal. And then the next night it was something else, and then it became a pattern every night. And here I am today, church.
[00:11:55] So if I'm a little off or messed up, you know why. But you know, family.
[00:12:04] But it's worth it, isn't it? It's worth it at the end of the day. And here's what Paul's saying, man, to be the family of God, it's not always an easy thing.
[00:12:14] But God says, hey, if you are a follower of Jesus, we are brothers and sisters.
[00:12:22] We are a family, and we have to learn and we have to grow, and we have to figure out how to be that in each and every one of us. We need brothers and sisters that are not biological, but they are spiritual. We need brothers and sisters who know and love God and who know and love us.
[00:12:47] We all need that. And there are certain blessings that they bring to our life. Now, Paul lists at least three in these verses, and these are really interesting. He says, through other brothers and sisters in Christ, there's three really powerful things they bring to our life. Number one, they help us to see things we can't see. They help us to see things we can't see. Second, they help us to carry things that are too heavy for us alone.
[00:13:15] Some of us, we might be going through a difficult season in life, and we're trying to white knuckle our way through it. And God's like, you're not meant to do this season alone.
[00:13:29] But we're like, no, lord, we got it, I promise.
[00:13:32] And we're crushing under the weight of it. And there are some things that are too heavy for us to carry alone. And that's why we need the family of God. Yes, having a great biological family is an awesome and worthwhile blessing, but you need a spiritual family, too. It's not that one replaces the other. We ideally need both.
[00:13:56] And they help us carry burdens that are too heavy. And then lastly, they help us to learn things we don't know. These are three blessings Paul talks about in these verses. So how do we be the family of God? Well, there's a couple different graces we can bring to each other. Now, the first one, these verses begin, and he says, if you see a brother caught in a transgression, caught in a fault, caught in a sin, you who are spiritual, restore him with the spirit of gentleness, taking heed to yourself, lest you also be tempted. Now, this is the grace of restoration.
[00:14:39] One of the ways that I know God is growing me, that I know I'm receiving the grace of God, is when people around me fail or make mistakes. And I'm able to give some grace in those moments.
[00:14:58] See, when people make mistakes, our tendency might be to look down on them, to sort of condemn them in our hearts and minds, to gossip about them, to be like, what a loser, things like that. But here's what Paul says is, as grace is in operation in our hearts and people fall short and they mess up and they make mistakes, what comes out of us?
[00:15:25] Does grace come out of us? Cause that's God's intent.
[00:15:31] A few months ago, there was a group of people that showed up to our church. It's a long story. I won't give you all the details of it, but they showed up and they were in our parking lot, and they had a bunch of open beers in the car and stuff like that. And I walked out and I was talking to him, and I went straight into dad mode.
[00:15:56] It did not. Did not pass go collect. I went straight into dad mode, and I was like. I was just like. Cause I wanted to just chew him out, you know? That's what I was like, what are you guys doing? But then I was, like, trying not to go there. And then I was like, look, you guys need to make better decisions here. Like what? You know? And I just kind of, like, went this, like, this super awkward lecture, you know, because I was, like, trying to restrain myself, and it just came out goofy, you know? You guys need to make better decisions here.
[00:16:29] And I'm sure they did. After that moment, I'm sure they, they really took it to heart.
[00:16:37] But you know, what comes out of you when, when people make mistakes? What does Grace come out of us? Now, I think these verses, if you're a follower of Jesus, we need to really take these verses very, very seriously because I think so many times, and maybe this is some of our experiences, is that God's people, Grace has not come out of them. When we've made mistakes, some of us maybe, like, we grew up in church. And when you made a mistake, it wasn't Grace that came out. It was, you know, the beatdown. It was condemnation. It was rejection. It was just something very different than what Paul is saying here. But Paul's saying, as grace is at work in our lives, that as people mess up around us, there ought to be grace that flows through us. Now, he says some really interesting things about this. He says, you are spiritual. If you see a brother caught in a fault. Now, the idea here is that this is someone who doesn't realize what they're doing is destructive to themselves or others.
[00:17:48] So that's idea. They're caught in a trap, if you will. They're kind of stepping into a snare that's going to catch them, but they don't realize their foot is right in there. That's kind of the image here, which is a little bit different. If someone wrongs you directly, the Bible has other protocols for that in Matthew 18, in different places. So this is a little bit where you're not. You may not be super involved in their mistake, but God has made you aware of it so that you can be a brother and sister and help them to see that.
[00:18:25] Years ago, I was doing this counseling training, like a pastoral counseling training, and it was a really awkward thing because you would do a counseling practice in front of the whole class, and it was like a role play scenario. So, like, you're doing a pretend counseling session. Everybody's watching you and grading you and evaluating you. Very weird. I don't know if you've ever tried to pretend counsel someone, but go home, give it a whirl, see what it's like. It was weird. And so we did it, you know, and there was this one kid that was part of the class, and he went and he kind of. He kind of talked in the sort of way, wherever it sounded, always like he was mad and yelling, but he wasn't always mad and yelling, but that's just sort of how he talked. And in his, like, mock counseling session, the person he was fake counseling, they were sitting in two chairs and he sat down, and then he grabbed that other person's chair and he pulled it super close to him and he was like this close to their face.
[00:19:32] Super awkward. Amen. You don't have to be an expert in counseling to know. Probably not a great idea.
[00:19:38] This is weird. It kind of violates the sense of safety. It's a little overly aggressive and intense. And so he did that. He did the session, then the class gave him feedback, and the instructor said in a very gracious way, he said, hey, Tim, I don't think you realize this, but when you talk to people, you seem really angry, and I don't think you are, but that's how probably most people would see that. And then he said, and when you took the chair and brought it, like, whipped that person right in front of you, that would probably wig out every human being on the planet. That was you know, he didn't say it that way, but he said that would not have created that sense of safety. That would have been very off putting. A and he just gave him some honest feedback, but he was kind about it. He was not belittling. He was not demeaning. He was not a jerk about it at all. He was just saying, hey, look, this is kind of what it looks like and feels like. And so as the guy heard it, it was like a light bulb went off. Like, you could see it on his face.
[00:20:51] And he wasn't mad or didn't seem to be. He wasn't offended. He said, wow, no one's ever told me anything like that. Now, I didn't know this guy, but I thought, like, well, dude, I bet everyone around you has seen that, though, you know what I'm saying?
[00:21:09] But he was lacking some brothers and sisters in his life, and they didn't tell him, dude, you got some food in your teeth. You know what I'm saying? Like, this can be an easy fixed, and probably it will smooth some things out in your life. And church. We all need brothers and sisters that can do that. Now, not everyone can be that voice in your life. Amen. There's some people, they might have plenty of critiques for you, but you don't need to hear them or listen. Amen. There are some people, but is there anyone God has in our life? Is there a trusted brother and sister that God can use that way in our life? Life doesn't have to be a huge list. It could be one person or two. But part of God's grace is us having that type of person in our life and being that. But notice this. Paul says, but this has to be done with incredible care.
[00:22:10] This has to be done with gentleness. And he uses this idea that of sort of something being out of joint, that this is the picture that something is. A joint is a shoulder is dislocated. That's kind of the image here, and you have to gently put it back in place. Now, I don't know if you've ever had a dislocated finger or shoulder or. I haven't had those, but I've had my hips do this shift thing, which was horrible. And when it happened, I went to the doctor because it scared the daylights out of me, like, what is happening? And he, like, started manipulating my legs and knees, and then it, like, my hips shifted the other way, and it was crazy painful. And my face, I don't know what it did, but the doctor said. He said, what's your pain level? I'm like, it's ten, man. It's ten. He's like, I don't think it is. Cause you're smiling.
[00:23:12] I'm like, dude, that's not a smile, that's a grimace. Like, I can't. I don't know what my face is doing, but I'm telling you, this is painful.
[00:23:21] And it wasn't a good appointment after that.
[00:23:25] But, you know, when something is out of place, it's painful to put it back in place.
[00:23:31] And here's what Paul says. When something's out of place in our souls, in our lives, it ought to be approached with gentleness, because it's hard to go back in place.
[00:23:45] It's a touchy deal. And Paul says, we ought to bring that to each other. And then he says, and you gotta take heed to yourself the whole time. You gotta watch your heart and your attitude, and you have to do it all with incredible amounts of humility.
[00:24:05] But Paul says, it's a grace we can bring each other. And then he says, he goes on to the second one, and this is the grace of carrying each other's burdens.
[00:24:17] He says, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. So when someone is. This is the idea of a burden that is just crushing you. Says, sometimes we need to bring the grace of restoration, and sometimes we need to bring the grace of help.
[00:24:36] And that's where we just look and we see a brother and sister, and they're drowning in life, and they're overwhelmed, and they're just carrying a weight that is just making them sink. And Christ, Paul says, in those moments, bear that burden with them.
[00:24:54] Help them bring some kind of alleviation, whatever you can do, and bring the grace of help.
[00:25:02] And when we see people around us, when we see brothers and sisters in our lives that maybe are just overwhelmed, grace will move us towards bearing those burdens. And then the third grace in here is. Then he goes the other direction. And he ends. Verse five, he says, but each will have to bear his own load. So on the one hand, he says, bear each other's burdens, but then the other side, he says, but each will have to bear his own load. Now, what does this mean? Because they sound like he's saying two different things, but I don't think he is. I think he's saying, in some situations, when people are under a crushing burden, you got to do everything that you can to help.
[00:25:46] In other situations, you have to help people to carry a healthy amount of responsibility in their life. See, there is a form of helping in life that is not really helping. It's enablement, where we're doing for others what they should do for themselves.
[00:26:07] And this is what Paul's saying. There's a balance here. There's some burdens we can't carry alone, and we need to help each other. But then there's other burdens that we need to help people. See, hey, you can carry that.
[00:26:20] God has given you what you need, and you need to take responsibility for it. See, in life, if we are too irresponsible, that irresponsibility, it doesn't just go into a void. It becomes someone else's responsibility.
[00:26:40] Amen. It's not that it just disappears. Then someone else is over functioning because of our responsibility. And so Paul says, sometimes we need to help people realize, no, this is something you can do. And part of honoring God is bearing what he's given you to do. You with me on this? See, doing for others what they can do for themselves is not helpful. That can actually be hindering to them and learning. That is part of how we become a healthy family of God. And then Paul says this, he goes into this whole deal about not getting discouraged.
[00:27:26] Now, I think that's so incredibly important, because if you try to be the family of God to people, it's worth it. But it's not easy.
[00:27:40] You know, we can talk very eloquently about really loving people in Christ like ways. And in theory, it just sounds so great. But then when you try to do that on Monday morning, it can get discouraging.
[00:27:56] And when you try to love a brother and sister in Christ, and things get tough or things go sideways, or you make a mistake or they make a mistake, it gets discouraging.
[00:28:08] Paul says, look, this isn't an easy journey, but it's a worth it journey.
[00:28:15] And really, anything worth it in life is never easy. Amen.
[00:28:21] The things that are easy probably aren't worth it. The things that are challenging, they tend to be where the real meaning and value is. And so Paul says, look, if you try to love people like this, if you try to be the family of God, it's gonna be discouraged. You're gonna get frustrated. You're gonna get disappointed. Look, we're human beings. I mean, think about these verses just for a second. They're all at the end of Galatians, and we've talked all about the amazing grace of God, what Christ has done, how he's redeemed us, how he's forgiven us, and then listen to how Paul's ending. He's saying, look, all of that is true, and you're still gonna mess up.
[00:29:01] Do you hear that message? Paul said, like, yeah, Christ has done all these amazing things. He's redeemed you. He's delivered you. He's made you a son and daughter. The spirit is within you. All these incredible things. And he says, but, hey, you're still gonna mess up.
[00:29:18] And when you do, this is some ways to treat each other.
[00:29:24] This is some ways to go forward. And I think that's a really sobering thing to realize.
[00:29:31] If you're here and you're like, man, this is such a perfect church, you are completely wrong.
[00:29:39] That does not exist. Amen.
[00:29:41] We are broken. We are messed up. But God's grace is sufficient, and God's grace is the source and the guide and the help and the power to navigate all the challenges of this life and all the challenges of trying to be the people God desires us to be. So Paul says, you're gonna get discouraged. But here's what he says. But he says, but there's a law to all this.
[00:30:11] There's a law, and it's unbreakable. And the law is that if you keep sowing to the spirit, in other words, you keep allowing yourself in these situations to be spirit led and not ego led and not selfish led and not led by anything else, but you allow yourself to be led by God's spirit. He said, you will reap a harvest. In other words, it will be worth it.
[00:30:43] Here's what he's saying.
[00:30:45] The gracious approach to life is always worth it. It's always worth it.
[00:30:53] Whenever you sow grace into a relationship, you're sowing something that will be worth it in the long run. Now, Paul said, there's a sowing and a reaping. And if you've ever planted anything, you know that as soon as the seed goes in the ground, it does not all of a sudden become a tomato plant in that moment, you know, unless you're that dude with Jack and the beanstalk or whatever. But if you're not him, it's gonna take. It's gonna take some time. And there's always a delay between sowing and reaping. And Paul says, if you're sowing grace in your relationships as best as you can, it will pay off.
[00:31:37] You will reap. He says, don't get weary trying to love people the way Christ calls you to. Don't get weary bringing forgiveness and love and supporting and encouraging. Don't get weary in all that, Paul says, because if you keep sowing to that, it will be worth it. And I don't know about you, but when I look at my relational history, I don't regret the times I acted with grace.
[00:32:10] I regret all the other times.
[00:32:13] I don't regret the times where I was really like, all right, Lord, fill me with your spirit and lead me through this. I don't regret the times I did that. I regret the times I acted without doing that. Anyone else.
[00:32:29] I regret the times where I was driven. I don't know what it was, but it was not God's spirit. Those times I clearly regret. And this is what Paul's saying. He's saying, yeah, it's tough. You're going to get discouraged, but it's worth it. Keep doing it. Don't give up and you will reap a harvest and God will. Now, when you think about all of this picture of Galatians six, I just want to remind you, this is exactly how God loves us.
[00:33:06] This is what Galatians has been showing us, that God's love, it's restoring, it's restoring, it leads us from this place of being trapped, this place that we can't get out of, and it leads us from that place to a place of forgiveness, of love, of acceptance, of transformation. In other words, everything God's asking us to do, he's already done for us and he continues to do for us.
[00:33:40] Galatians has shown us again and again that the grace of God, it's a restoring love, it's a healing love, it's a supporting love, it's an empowering love. It's all these things.
[00:33:53] And so it's meant to bring all these things through us to others. Let's pray, Father, would you help us to live out this kind of love in our lives and in our relationships?
[00:34:08] Father, as we struggle and as we see others struggle, I pray, Lord, all of that could be covered by grace from you and grace in our own hearts.
[00:34:25] I pray, Father, that we would not be driven to be the type of people that are always condemning people in our hearts, that are talking smack about them, that are cutting them off and cutting them out of our lives. But, Lord, I pray we'd be people that are filled with something better. Your grace and I pray, Lord, that our presence in relationships would bring restoration, not deterioration.
[00:34:58] I pray people would be connected to us and they would be connected to our church and they would get healthier, not sicker.
[00:35:05] They would get freer, not more enslaved.
[00:35:10] They would see that you are the God of grace and not some other misunderstood picture in their own hearts and minds.
[00:35:20] Father, help us. We can't do it without you. Help us to see the great grace that has been poured in each of our lives.
[00:35:30] That, Father, we were not only caught in transgression, we were dead in our transgression.
[00:35:37] And yet, Lord, you went and you died in our place.
[00:35:43] You forgave us. You redeemed us. You've adopted us into your family. You've made us sons and daughters. Lord, help us to live in this new life. And may this new life, Lord, flow in our families and our schools and our sports teams and our workplaces, everywhere we go. And may you be glorified in all. In Jesus good name we pray. Amen.
