How to Re-Energize Your Life
-- Carry Each Other’s Burdens–
The Word of God Explained
Galatians 6:1-5
1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
God’s Word is addressing “you who are spiritual”. That is, you,in this room, who believe you are truly spiritual in your desire to follow Jesus
2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Four words that claim to fulfill “the law of Christ”.
Pretty big statement!
The word for burden is "a heavy load; something that is painful, something that bows you down."
God’s Word is telling you that it is our responsibility to help one another through the difficult and painful “burdens” of life
3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
This was one of the grievious problems of the self righteous Pharisees. They pointed to all their religious actions – their Bible studies, the people who attended and listened to their spiritual talk, their prayer life
Jesus pointed out thattheir problem was a severe case of “I’m-better-than-you” attitude. “Lord, I thank you that I am not like this Publican sinner”
One of the big problems with many disciples who follow Jesus is they begin to see themselves as doing really good, so good, when they begin to compare themselves with others.
Beware! You are prone to “deceive yourself”
We all need to continually look at ourselves in the light of God’s Word.
4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
Examine your actions, irregardless of what others do or don’t do.
5 For each one will bear his own load.
The word here is “load” which is different than the word “burden” used earlier.
This is the Greek word porteon, which has the idea of a backpack – that which is your responsibility
There are certain responsibilities that God gives us that we are to carry. And God clearly shows us our specific responsibilities in His Word
One of our problems in the church today is that we do our best to look good to others, when we can be so careless at home.
Have you ever eaten at an expensive restaurant for a special occasion? There you are, all dressed up, with three different forks, fine china and crystal. You are very careful to not embarrass yourself by spilling anything, or doing anything inappropriate.
Now compare that to eating a meal at home. There you are in comfortable clothes, you definitely only have one fork, but may even opt for just eating it with your hands!
There is no fine china or crystal. If you drop something on the floor, you wait to see if the dog will clean it up for you.
You might even burp out loud while your spouse or kids, cry out… “Dad!!” Obviously, you are relaxed and comfortable in your own home.
The problem is that many of us who show up at church are trying our best to be kind and gracious – we are fine china Christians.
But as soon as our feet go through the front door of our homes, it’s like we have developed some sort of amnesia and leave behind our kindness and consideration or concern for the needs of our loved ones.
The Word of God Applied
I.You who are spiritual listen up
Those who are truly spiritual will always want to follow the highest commands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
You won't be comparing yourself, or your actions, or your commitments to what others do, because your eyes will be solely on Jesus.
You will sincerely look to His Word for your instruction and you will “hold fast” and “persevere” to faithfully do whateverJesus says
You will not be elevating yourself with how good you are with that “better than others” attitude.
Rather, you will be seeking to humbly serve Jesus in the way youlove others, share the burdens of others, and care for others.
Rather than approaching spirituality like the lawyer was simply trying to justify himself when he asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor”…
Rather than trying to make yourself simply feel good about yourself and seeking your own self justification…
You are humbly seeking Jesus and His Word for your life
Self-righteousness is usually an attempt to cover up your inner spiritual inadequacies
You might find yourself pointing out your own self-righteousness while being at fault for the most basic meaning of what it means to be righteous in God’s eyes.
Like the Pharisees, their concern is not for the true righteousness that God gives and that comes only through humility but for their own self-righteousness, which has no part in God's kingdom or its work
- Rather than admitting to prejudices, they call it convictions.
- Rather than admitting to conceit, they call it self-respect.
- Rather than admitting to just plain stubbornness; they call it contending for the faith.
- Rather than admitting to vanity; they call it making the most of my God-given assets.
- Rather than admittingto impatience; they say, "have you noticed how annoying everyone is?"
- Rather than admittingto touchiness; they call it sensitivity.
- Rather than admitting to self-righteousness; they say I really am right.
- Rather than admitting to self-justification; they say, I’m just explaining my position.
- Rather than admitting to a bad temper; they say "I blew my stack" because they had it coming and I couldn’t let them get away with it
Romans 13:9 adds clarity to this
For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,YOUSHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,YOU SHALL NOTCOVET,"
and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOURNEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
You find yourself saying… I don’t commit adultery – I am faithful to my wife, I am not a murderer or robber – I respect what is right; I don’t covet – I am content with what I have…
I know I am not perfect, but I am really a good person!
When in the spiritual reality you are failing at the most basic level – you are failing at loving
- One of the chief reasons many Christians do not bother to help fellow Christians is that they feel superior
- They wrongly consider themselves to be spiritually something when the truth is they are really nothing.
Matthew 5:20
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let's look at what it means to be truly a spiritual person..
II.You who are spiritual carry one another’s burdens
When you bear one another's burdens, you fulfill the law of Christ. WOW! Think about that!
All summed up in this one, simple, yet comprehensive Commandment of Jesus Christ
Jesus said,"A new commandmentI give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you" (John 13:34).
The law of Christ is the law of love, which fulfills all the rest of God's law
Galatians 5:14
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Jesus says in Matthew 5:5 & 7
- "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
- "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
God’s Word makes it very clear… if you are spiritual, you will be caring or helping with the burdens of others …
- Perhaps you need to take a good look at yourself! Examine your self…
Coming to Christ is always a time of self-examination.
Galatians 6:4
But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
A believer's first responsibility is to examine (from dokimazō) himself, to be sure his own attitudes and life are right in the eyes of the Lord
Then, and only then will he have a reason for boasting
In fact, the person who is genuinely spiritual, will find after a careful self-examination, that the only boasting you really have is to boast in what God has done in and through yourself in your marriage and in your life
2 Corinthians 10:12, 17-18
12 …when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.
The desire of the truly spiritual person is to help a brother or sister,not to judge and condemn them.
Rather than saying, "Let them stew in their own juice," or thinking, "She got herself into this mess; let her get herself out"…
You want to help to understand and help carry the difficulties that others are carrying, especially those of your own household.
Most likely there is at least one person sitting on every row in our auditorium today with at least one, if not several really difficult burdens!
But, I want to explore the world of relationships in the home, because that is the place where you are finding strength and compassion, or you perhaps you feel you are wilting on the vine.
There is probably no greater difficulty than marriage, especially as it relates to raising your children
2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
I went onto James Dobson’s web site and found so many articles on this topic, especially the stress on the parents of young children
In his book, What Wives Wish their Husbands Knew About Women, Dr. Dobson explores the struggle of the stay-at-home mom.
Dobson sharesthree reasons why stay-at-home momscan become isolated.
1. Small children isolate a mother.
It's such a hassle to pack the porta-crib and the diapers and all the supportive paraphernalia in the car, and go off to visit a friend.
Mom has to wonder if it's worth the effort.
Also, the kids won't play by themselves and they keep the women from enjoying the occasion.
So,mothers of preschool children often give up and stay at home, spending month after month predominantly in the company of "little people."
I heard of one such mother who was finally given an opportunity to get out of the house. Her husband's company had prepared a banquet in honor of retiring employees, and she was seated beside the president himself. She was very nervous about talking to a real, live adult again. She feared she might revert to baby talk during the course of the evening. To her surprise, however, she conversed without a flaw through the entire meal, speaking of world events and current political conditions. Then she realized with dismay that throughout their conversation, she had been dutifully cutting the president's meat and wiping his mouth with her napkin. I suppose you could call this a homemaker's occupational hazard.
2. Feelings of inferiority serve to isolate women from each other.
The woman who has no friends--and I mean no "real" friends--feels too inferior to make new social contacts, and her failure to make friends makes her feel even more inferior.
A homemaker in this predicament is a prime candidate for "secret" alcoholism or drug abuse, or even suicide.
She is desperate for meaningful contact with people, yet her behavior is often misinterpreted by her peers, or even her own husband, as being "stuck up," cold, aloof or self-sufficient.
3. Fatigue and time pressure will serve to isolate the mothers of small children.
There simply isn't enough time and energy to open the door to the outside world.
Sometimes we just learn to cope as we go along. This reminds me of how things do tend to change with our second and third child…
Someone rightly said, “Love is a dream”
Someone else said, “Marriage is an Alarm Clock”. Well, it is time to wake up and smell the coffee guys!
If there are any men in the room listening to me, who truly want to be the spiritual man Jesus is calling you to be, LISTEN UP!
Listen guys! Your marriage license is not a learner’s permit. It’s the real deal and it requires commitment on your part.
Please take note of what your Lord and Master calls you to do…
Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
There is it again… love like Jesus loved!
- What this doesn’t mean – she does the house work while you relax
- What it means! You partner with caring for the kids – x2
- This will make you uncomfortable sometimes! lol
- But this is your responsibility as the man of the house!
If you want to be a “spiritual man”… how intent are you to understanding the needs of your wife?
Do you see her as complaining when she may be actually crying out to you for help and sensitivity and to have someone to help carry the burden of your children?
Sometimes we fail to understand the challenges of raising children alone all day…
One man noticed a lady in the grocery store with her one year-old in her cart. The child asked for cookies. Her mother said no.
The little girl began to cry loudly. The mother patiently said, "Now Missy, we’re half way done, it won’t be long."
The same thing happened in the candy aisle. This time the little girl kicked and screamed. The mother said, "There, there, Missy, only two more aisles and then we’ll be done."
At the checkout counter, the child reached for the gum. When her mom said no she began to scream louder than ever. The mother said patiently, "Missy, we’ll be through this checkout stand in five minutes and then we can go home and both have a nice nap."
The man followed them out to the parking lot and complimented the woman. "I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Missy."
The mother replied, "Thank you, but, my little girl is Francine... Uh, I am Missy."
Men! We have been commissioned with the precise responsibility of caring for our wives as Christ cares for the Church.
We need to take this seriously!
We must examine ourselves! The work we are doing in our most basic place of responsibility – our homes!
For God’s Word is extremely clear that,
1 Timothy 5:8
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Ephesians 5:28-29
28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
Men think about this if you are one of the lucky ones to have a wife who is at home caring for your children during the day.
You have your relationships on the job and out in the world, while your wife is at home alone, day after day, and so many of us come home to shut down, or even walk out of the house again to find a way to replenish ourselves, while our wives remain cooped up in the house as their spirits slowly shrivel away and their hearts sink ever deeper into despair and hopelessness.
Can we as men become self-righteous by justifying our own lack of spiritual caring for our wives in the home by all the spiritual activity we do outside the home? …or by what others may think of us outside the home?
One question for you men right now… if your wife was asked how well you are providing for her emotional needs, what would she say?
God’s Word is very clear on this…
Ephesians 5:29
for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
God says if you do not provide for your own in your household, and this includes their emotional needs, as well as their financial needs, you have denied the faith!
Did you know the greatest pain a woman has who is dealing with Loneliness, Isolation, and Boredom, and the Absence of Romantic Love in her Marriage?
A lack of self-esteem.These ladies, in effect, are saying…
- I don't like myself
- I have no meaningful relationships outside my home
- I am not even close to the man I love.
Is it not true that the man who is truly a follower of Christ will surely see to it that his wife’s emotional needs are met?
- To nourish and cherish her – that’s your spiritual calling!
- To give yourself up for her – that’s your spiritual calling!
- To love your wife as you do your own body – that’s your spiritual calling!
When you are tired, do you come home and just plop on the couch, turn on the TV, or maybe get out of the house to just “get away” to give yourself time to recharge?