Sharing in one another's Joys And bear with One anothers Burdens
Notes
Transcript
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
READ CHURCH COVENANT:
Illustration:
Being a parent is hard work isn’t it?
Its nerve racking!!!!
Amy and and I are in this new stage of life where we have 2 adult kids making adult decisions -and it makes me nervous.
We don’t want them to make a bad choice that could effect the rest of their lives.
We want whats best for our kids don’t we. We want them to be successful, We want them to be Happy.
And Parents if you are like me- Which Im pretty sure at least most of you are-
There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to help your children achieve these goals.
When My kids got hurt- whether it was a physical pain or an emotional pain- they wanted to talk with Mom
Because they knew that mom was going to help them through the pain-
They knew that she would be there the whole time making sure they made it through.
The same thing is true when something amazing happens in their lives.
The first person they want to call and tell us their mom- Why? Because they knew that she would be excited for them.
They knew that she would be happy that they recieved a blessing in their life and would rejoice with them.
Parents- its not hard for us to want to share in the burdens and the joys in our kids lives_ Why, because we love them and we truly want them to find joy in this life.
As we continue our series through our church covenant, we come to the one another command to share in one another’s joys and to bear one another’s burdens.
This relationship that a parent has with their children is a picture of what God intends for relationships in the church to be also, but the reality isn't always the case is it?
We don’t seem to be as quick to step into each others lives in the church family as we do our own children.
Christian fellowship is meant to be so much more than a handshake and Hello on a Sunday Morning at church.
God intends for us to be involved and invested in one another’s lives.
and this means sharing the burdens and the blessings of one another so that we all grow together and glorify the Lord.
Sharing in one another’s lives it is the fruit of an outward focused Christian, A Christian who looks more like Jesus than they look like the world.
pause
In our lives, we all at different times, experience both joy and burdens.
1. Joy is the feeling of great pleasure and happiness that we experience at times in our lives.
2. Burdens, on the other hand, are those times of difficult situations we face that can be challenging to bear.
In both cases, God did not intend for us to go through them alone, He gave us each other, He gave us a community of believers - the church.
Two text that we are going to consider this morning
Romans 12:15 (ESV)
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Transition: Let’s jump in this morning and look at what it means to share in One another’s Joy
II. Sharing in one another's Joys
II. Sharing in one another's Joys
the Bible seems pretty clear what we should do when our brother or sister in Christ is rejoicing
We should do what? Rejoice with them.
This verse in Romans 12, is part of a larger passage in which the apostle Paul is exhorting the Christians in Rome to live in harmony with one another and to use their spiritual gifts to serve one another.
In this particular verse, Paul is urging the Roman Christians to empathize with one another, whether in times of joy or sorrow.
To "rejoice with those who rejoice" means to celebrate and share in the happiness of others, rather than being jealous or envious.
It encourages us to express genuine happiness for others when good things happen to them.
Many times it is really hard to want to rejoice when some else receives a blessing- especially something that we have been asking God to provide for our own life.
Question: Do you ever feel that way?
“God Why did you give them what I‘ve been asking you for in my life?”
Our natural tendency when others receive a blessing that we want in our own lives is to get jealous and envious
Just this last week- As Im preparing this sermon!!!
I was talking with my dad about a trip he and my mom jut took touring the missionary Journeys of Paul in Italy and Greece.
He told me that as they were checking in at the airport the lady at the counter decided to upgrade them to first class seats foe their 10 hr flight over the ocean- and then he told me all about how amazing it was- and do you know what My first response was?
Uhhh- I hope I wish that could happen to me when I fly to Israel next month- Thats Jealousy
The thought was only instantaneous but it still creeped in!!!
END
Jealousy is “I wish that I was the one who got it -not them.
Envy in your heart is saying “I dont even want you to have it- It’s the idea that “If I cant have it no one should have it.”
It can be hard for us to want to rejoice with one another when their life looks much better than our own.
And this is where the word Joy comes in.
Joy: (definition) is a deep sense of happiness and delight that comes from knowing and experiencing God's love, goodness, and blessings in our life.
Joy is not just a fleeting emotion or feeling of happiness that comes and goes, but a lasting state of contentment and satisfaction that is rooted in our faith in God.
It’s the idea that you have complete confidence that God is in total control of all things in your life, And that everything that happens he allows for your good.
this is what allows believers to rejoice with someone who got what they wanted in our own lives.
Joy is the assurance that we have knowing that there is nothing in our lives nor not in our lives that God did not plan.
In the Bible, our joy is often associated with our worship, praise, and thanksgiving of God.
When we find our contentment in Christ- our Joy comes out in our praise.
If you spend much time in the Psalms - you see how Joy and Worship are intermixed
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
Church Family- when we find our contentment in God alone It brings us a deep Joy in our hearts which leads us to a heart of Worship, which causes us to rejoice with those who are rejoicing from the blessings God has brought into their lives.
What’s so amazing to me is that the Ability to share in one another's Joy is actually a gift from God that He gives us as his followers.
Thats pretty awesome that God gives us the ability to truly be happy for someone else when they get what we want in our own lives.
How do we know this is a gift from God?
In Gal 5:22 Paul Describes the fruit that comes from the Spirt The fruit that is only produced in the lives of believers as we walk in obedience to God and seek to live according to His will.
Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;
The biggest misconception I think people have about joy is that it is the same as Happiness.
Happiness is merely external, its an emotion that comes when we find pleasure in the things and circumstances that make our own lives better.
Fishing makes me happy because I get to be out in Creation-
Warm Gooey Cinnamon Rolls make me happy because they appeal greatly to my taste buds
My kids doing the dishes and taking out the trash makes me happy because my house is clean
Joy on the other hand, is not dependent on our circumstances or external factors, but is instead based on our relationship with God and our trust in His promises.
Even in the midst of trials, suffering, and difficulties, we can experience true joy as we rely on God's strength and grace to sustain us.
- -Knowing that He is in total control and does all things for our good.
So what does it mean to share in one another's joys?
It means that we rejoice with them when they experience moments of happiness and success in their lives even when it is something we desperately want for our own,.
It means that We get excited that they are experiencing the blessings from the Lord in their life because we know that God has given it to them for their good and withheld it form us for our own good.
Church family We should be quick to congratulate each other on their achievements..
We should be quick to celebrate with them when God brings blessing into their lives- even when we dont see them in our own.
Personally Speaking It is so encouraging to me when you as my church family get excited about what God has done in my life.
It motivates me to want to see what else God has in store for me.
When we share in one another’s blessings it leads each of us into a deeper relationship with Jesus,
it get’s us excited about the things of God, and it helps keep our focus on him as the giver and not on the gift itself.
When we share in one another’s joy it deepens our own faith and dependency on God, It encourages Unity in the church of God, and it proclaims the gosple of Jesus to the world around us.
Transition: Not only are we called to Share in one another’’s Joys but we are called to Bear one another’s burdens
III. Bearing one another's burdens
III. Bearing one another's burdens
Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The Law of Christ- Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.
Love God- Love others that’s It!!!!
Illustration: FLOODED HOUSE - ALL THE HELP WE RECEIVED
When Amy and I were young marrieds with 3 kids under 6 we went away to a marriage conference in Duluth Minnesota, and the speaker made one really big point that stuck out to both of us. He said trials are going to come into your life as a married couple- it’s inevitable- We all go through them.
But understand , You have a choice on how you will go through that trial together- Either you trust in the Lord to carry you through or you break down and fall apart trying to navigate it on your own.
On our way home from that conference Amy and I prayed together that When God sends us a trial we would be able to fully trust in Him knowing that He is in total control.
We picked up our kids in Nevada
And Got home at about 11 pm
We walked in the front door of our 2 story home and as soon as we stepped in we knew something wasn’t right-
The floor was squishy- and we could hear water spraying somewhere in our home.
As we took a few more steps inside we realized that a pipe had broken while we were Gone and had been flooding our home for the past 3 days.
The main level and the basement of our home was completely destroyed by the water-
The Water company told us that 25,000 gallons of water had run through our meter that weekend and they had been trying to find where the leak in their system was.
Our home was destroyed and our family of 5 was without a place to sleep ad live.
But this is what is so special to us about this story.
Our church family stepped into our lives and helped us carry that Burden. We were not alone.
A hotel owner gave us a big room to stay in for the next 3 months as our home was renovated,
every week A lady from our small group showed up and took our dirty b and brought it back clean and folded the next day-
Many of the teens willingly watched our children while we worked on the house.
Ladies from the church made us meals
Men and women faithfully jumped in and helped us renovate everything that needed to be done.
And after 4 very long months our home was back to normal.
This is what it looks like when we bear one another’s burdens -
-We willingly step into each others lives pick up part of what they are carrying- and walk through it with them. We lighten their load we let them know that they are not alone.
This flood that God sent into our home was one of the greatest building blocks in mine and Amy’s walks with the Lord.
It was a trial that God grew us in our faith and
it was the moment we understood why the church matters so much for us as believers.
WE NEED ONE ANOTHER!!!!!
God knew how hard this world would be to live in if we had to live in it all alone, and so he gave us a gift- He gave us the church- He gave us a family to walk through this difficult life together.
Bearing one another’s Burdens s is not a spiritual gift that God gave to certain people in the church. It’s a command He gave to all of us as the church.
If you are in Christ- If you are a genuine Christian, than God has called you to bear one another’s burdens.
In Fact, its deeper than that- I would go as far to say that it’s a proof of your salvation.
It’s the New Creation God has made us to be in Christ-
It’s the heart of what Christianity is all about.
This is what Paul is speaking of in
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The Old man is selfish, the old man doesn't give up his time and energy for others, The old man is jealous and envious, The old man only does what will bring him gain.
This is who we are without Christ- But when God saves us
-He gives us a new Life- and this new life is indwelt by the Holy Spirit- Who now empowers us with the gifts of the spirit- and it is these gifts of the spirit that now enable us to bear one another's burdens without any gain in our own life.
The point here is this- if you are a new creation in Christ - If you truly are a born again Christian than bearing one another's burdens shouldn't be a hardship for you- It should be your natural instinct as a believer.
Although Praying for one another is vital in the church, Saying I’ll pray for you is not the same as bearing one another’s burdens-
To bear one anothers’ burdens means to take action- to step into their life and help carry the load.
The Apostle James wrote in
James 2:14–17 (ESV)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Do you get what James is saying in this passage?
It’s not just about food and clothing, its about going through life together- It’s about stewarding the gifts and talents God has entrusted you with for serving His Church- It’s about Bearing One Another’s burdens!
When we bear one another's burdens, we lovingly share the weight of the load in their life and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Transition: So what is the connection between sharing in one another’s Joys and bearing one another’s Burdens?
IV. The connection between Joy and burden-sharing
IV. The connection between Joy and burden-sharing
Think about the results of Sharing in one another's Joys and the results that come from Sharing in one another’s Burdens
When we share in one another's Joys we rejoice and give God the praise for what He has done.
And this outward praise keeps us from inward jealously and envy,
Do you see how that works? When we praise God for the blessing he has given others it gives us a heart of worship instead of a heart of envy.
Not only does it help our own heart focus Correctly on Jesus, but it also helps the one who recieved the blessing focus all their praise on Jesus-
That’s what a church family is all about- doing life together- giving God the glory.
Similarly, when we bear one another's burdens, we bring joy and comfort to those who are struggling.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
When We bear one another’s burdens this outward care for others keeps us from inward Selfishness in our own hearts.
And it also helps or brothers and sisters keep their eyes on Jesus-knowing that they are not going through this burden alone, but that they have a family that is right there with them.
V. Bring it Home
V. Bring it Home
One of the most contagious things a church can do is to love one another- and the way that we love one another is by sharing in one another’s Joys and burdens .
If you are a believer in Jesus I have this question for you?
Who in this church are you rejoicing with today?
When is the last time that rejoiced with someones blessing God has provided in their lives- maybe even a blessing you have been longing for in your own life?
#2- Who in this church do you need to help carry the burden they are going through?
Let’s be a church that is quick to ‘ Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who Weep”
And I believe that as we do this We will see God grow us individually in our walks with him and also in our church together.
Pray