The Void of Community
Notes
Transcript
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What comes to mind when you hear the word community?
How many different ideas of community just shot through your mind?
Maybe you thought of the community you live in or the community of friends. We associate all the various groups and organizations in our lives as communities.
That includes our church community.
What draws us to those communities?
Something we enjoy doing? A community that holds the same views or values we hold?
A community where we feel like we fit in. A community where we feel accepted. A community where we can speak our mind because everyone else agrees.
We seek out communities where we are able to mask our own flaws. Or communities that don’t look at our flaws because they’re to busy pointing out the flaws found in other communities.
The problem is none of those communities can fill the void of the one genuinely true community. Oh we like to pretend the church is a genuine community.
If it is then why are so many people traumatically hurt by the church?
I’m not just picking on the church in modern times, it’s been that way for 2,000 years.
We’re going to look at what Paul tells us about cultivating genuine community in Galatians 6:1-10.
Paul tells us how to cultivate a genuine community in the church that strengthens us individually and communally propels us forward in God’s mission to be a beacon of hope and love in the broken world.
We can only accomplish that if we genuinely represent three core features of Christ’s love.
Restore with Gentleness
Reflect with Responsibility
Reap from the Spirit
Restore with Gentleness
Restore with Gentleness
Our nature compels us to seek the community where we “fit in.” Where we are “unconditionally loved.”
The problem is we have redefined unconditional love to mean fully accepted without accountability.
We want unconditional love where our flaws are given full grace with no consequences.
Yet we’re quick to point out and judge others flaws and demand consequences.
You might be shocked to hear this, but I’m talking about the church here not the world.
It’s the works of the flesh. We demand harsh justice when others do wrong. Especially if those people don’t have the same doctrine.
That demand comes from fleshly desires: Jealousy, anger, rivalry, envy division and enmity to name a few.
Let’s look at what Paul says unconditional love is supposed to look like in verses 1-3.
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The Greek word translated “overtaken,” it is also translated “caught” in other translations. I prefer “overtaken.”
Paul uses a complex verb with a prefix that means to surprise, overtake. It’s the same verb used in Wisdom of Solomon 17:17
17 For whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken, and endured that necessity, which could not be avoided
Paul is saying before a man can help himself in any way, before he was well aware of what he was doing, surprise, temptation just overtook him.
Has anything like that happened to you? It happens to me. If it hasn’t happened to you I can’t tell you just how lucky you are…
to be that ignorant.
This passage isn’t about us surprising someone else in the midst of some sinful act. Aha I caught you!!
Paul doesn’t care about the act itself. The tense of “overtook” is the perfect tense. It’s an action that happened in the past that produced the present state of being.
However, the emphasis of the perfect tense is not the past action, it focuses on the “present state of being” that resulted from the past action.
He’s not looking for evidence. He’s saying that doesn’t matter, what matters is the current fallen state that person is in.
In other words don’t keep holding the past act against the person. Address it for understanding, let it go, and move forward from here.
We aren’t like that though are we? All we see is the act itself. We’re like Johnny had an affair and I’ve got the video to prove it.
Paul might respond by asking, “why do you have the video? How did you get the video? And just what have you been doing with that video?”
We aren’t supposed to gossip about their actions. We aren’t supposed to publicly chastise and embarrass them by continually calling out their actions.
Paul says we aren’t supposed to focus on the action. We are to provide unconditional love and focus on the current state of being.
Unconditional love means we step into their sinful lives and gently guide them back to Christ. Doing this means we are often tempted in the same way.
Think about it!! Aren’t we are most helpful to people who struggle with the same temptations we once fell to ourselves. Jesus experienced every temptation we might ever face allowing Him to relate to us in our fall to temptation.
When we walk through and overcome our temptations God blesses us with the ability to relate to others going through those temptations. That’s spiritual wisdom and thats’s how we bear one another’s burdens.
Spiritual wisdom allows us to understand how unconditional love garners grace with gentle accountability built in.
We want that grace with no accountability though right? Yet we quickly demand accountability for others.
We want swift, hard accountability. Especially if it’s a temptation we ourselves don’t understand.
However, accountability can’t be harsh. It has to be done with gentleness and spiritual wisdom.
Too many people have been hurt by the church. The church has placed an expectation that your Christian life better be perfect and sinless.
That expectation demands harsh consequences. And we are going to make sure people adhere to that impossible expectation.
Unfortunately that only ensures they will never come to church again. They may even walk away from Christ.
We are commanded here to set aside our disdain, contempt, judgement, and harsh criticism. We are commanded to show the love of Christ and carry their burdens with them.
If the consequences are so harsh that people would rather leave the church than admit their struggles, then how are we supposed to restore another with a gentle spirit? And doesn’t that run contrary to carry one another’s burdens?
Paul tells us we should use Spiritual wisdom to gently guide them. That’s the unconditional love of Christ.
I’m putting myself in direct contact with a fleshly desire I struggled with, to guide another through that desire. I must constantly remind myself what I must do to overcome that desire.
The spiritual wisdom I gained from my experience lets me know when and how to gently hold them accountable and when I just need to sit with them in silence.
Sitting with then in silence gives them time for deep inward reflection. That’s what Paul tells us to do in verses 4 & 5.
Reflect with Responsibility
Reflect with Responsibility
3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Some Galatians were looking down on others for their works of the flesh. 2,000 years later we’re still doing the same thing.
Paul just got done calling them out for their works of the flesh.
We are all disgusted by others who fall to various fleshly desire. Especially those which we haven’t experienced ourselves. That is looking down on others for their works of the flesh.
Paul says before you start calling out others for their behavior you need to examine your own life first.
Jesus said the same thing in Matt 7:5.
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
How often are we guilty of being the hypocrite?
We say things like, “how can they act like that? Don’t they see how wrong that is?”
We’re busy thanking Christ that we’re not like those other greedy, unrighteous, adulterous Christians.
Whether you want to admit it or not, that’s exactly what we’re saying when we say or even think things like “how can they act that way?”
We’re comparing ourselves to others so we feel better about our own trespasses. We rejoice in the fact that our sins aren’t as bad as someone else’s sins.
That completely destroys our own spiritual growth and it will destroy a church. It’s usually the first place where gossip finds a foothold in the church. We find that group of people who will accept us because we have a common nemesis.
As long as we can talk about those other greedy, unrighteous, adulterous Christians it prevents the light from shining on our own works of the flesh.
It’s hard for us to overcome the natural embarrassment we feel over our works of the flesh. We don’t even want to admit to ourselves where we have works of the flesh.
We have a responsibility to be honest with ourselves. Our responsibility is to honestly reflect on our own trespasses in light of God’s word, not in comparison to others.
Our responsibility is to humbly reflect inwardly on our lives and be honest with ourselves. Paul says it this way in 2 Cor 13:5
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
and in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29
27 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup.
29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
I’ve searched Scripture pretty hard and cannot find anywhere that God tells us to compare ourselves to others in regard to our righteousness. It only admonishes us for doing so.
Do you think that might be part of the problem we have in the church today?
Could that be why the church is so divided?
Our responsibility is to deeply and thoroughly examine ourselves in humble submission to the Lord. Our spiritual growth depends on it.
Without complete humble submission to the Lord we will never experience deep in our soul transformation that produces fruit of the Spirit.
Fruit of the Spirit is the only solution to being able to engage in the one true genuine community that fills the void.
Complete submission that produces fruit of the Spirit leads to us and our community as a whole naturally reaping with generosity.
Reap from the Spirit
Reap from the Spirit
Paul tells us how we are and are not supposed to reap with generosity in verses 6-10.
6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Uh oh!! We just hit on a major controversy. Paul telling the Galatians they are required to support their teachers in every way including financially.
It almost seems out of place in the context, but a further look shows how it fits the entire context completely. Paul says, “don’t be deceived, God is not mocked.”
We can try to deceive ourselves by thinking God is as easily deceived as others around us. I don’t know why we are that stupid.
We know better, but we all do it anyway. We all sow from the flesh pretending it’s to the Spirit.
Paul’s demand to support pastors is the Segway into this narrative. It warns that the only way to achieve and maintain the one true genuine community is by sowing to the Spirit.
Verse 6 is a two sided coin. It represents a core necessity for genuine community. A pastor cannot effectively teach if they must first be concerned about survival. Both spiritual and financial.
Without effective teaching those being taught never grow in the Spirit and never learn to sow to the Spirit. Without good teaching they will never have soul transformational understanding.
That negatively impacts everything the church does. From normal worship service to being able to impact the community around us.
On the flip side of that coin the teachers are also reminded that they too either reap from the flesh or to the Spirit. Since God calls the to teach His word the have even less excuse for thinking they can deceive God.
Pastors are called to faithfully teach without compromise. 1 Pe 5:2 comes to mind here.
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
Pastors are to seek the Spirit’s guidance as they oversee the congregation. They aren’t supposed to play favoritism to their golfing buddies agendas.
Pastors aren’t supposed to let a major donor of the church compel them to push some agenda or lose donations. I know, that’s just a myth right? I’m sure none of you have ever seen that happen.
I’ve had people do that and I’ve stood firm. I told them God doesn’t need your money to accomplish His agenda in this congregation.
Fear born in the flesh overrides faith. And pastors are not supposed to preach whatever tickles the ear so they can fill their coffers.
And pastors shouldn’t be lovers of money cooking up schemes beyond the Spirit’s guidance to fill the pews of entice people to give more than god calls them to give.
Pastors should lead by example in carrying other’s burdens. In restoring others with gentleness and spiritual wisdom.
Pastors should teach in word and by application by showing how to spread the gospel. How to impact the community around us.
Only when the congregation and the pastor are both sowing to the Spirit can there be true genuine community that impacts the community around us.
We accomplish that by being a church where people aren’t afraid to ask for help with their struggles. By providing the unconditional love that carry’s their burdens and gently points them back to Christ.
We accomplish that by having honest, humble inward reflection in full submission to the Lord. A submission that causes a natural transformation producing the fruit of the Spirit.
When natural transformation produces the fruit of the Spirit we begin to reap to the Spirit. Therefore, naturally doing what is good for each other and the community around us.
I’m going to end with this because I think it’s important. Almost from day one since Tami and I were called here I have been talking about relationship.
As you reflect on this, at least I hope you reflect on my messages. I want you to notice how Paul describes the wrong way to have relationships and the right way to have relationships.
If we exercise the right way to have relationships we will be strengthened individually and communally we will impact the world around us.
