WEBVTT 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:03.919 Good morning. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:06.000 Church at the Grove. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:08.800 We're so glad that you are with us today. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:10.560 My name is Nathan. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:15.679 If I haven't had the chance to meet you, I'm typically down at our social circle location. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:17.359 But it's great to be up here. 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:21.199 Russ, our pastor that's typically up here, is still on sabbatical. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.519 I talked to him over the weekend and he's uh doing great. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:28.000 They got back from Israel uh just this past week, and the trip was phenomenal. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:35.520 He can't wait, he said, to share with the church about his experience there and share pictures and stories and all the stuff that he learned in that uh whole trip. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:41.119 Um, but uh he'll be back with us in August, and so we still got a great team that's filling in uh in the meantime. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.200 Um, but it's great to be here in Walnut Grove and to be down in Social Circle this morning. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:50.479 It's great to be able to join them and link up digitally and then our online people as well. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:01:00.880 It's great for us to all kind of be under one umbrella this morning and be kind of leaning in together to hear what the Lord has to say to us as we finish out this series in the book of Galatians. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.759 And I'm excited about uh what the Lord has in store for us. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:12.879 But before we get started this morning, I want to have just a kind of a personal moment of uh vulnerability, a little bit of a confessional kind of set set here. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:19.519 Uh for me, I I've been um pretty much at Church at the Grove for my entire adult life. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.719 And so uh really since I graduated college and even a little bit before, uh, I've been here. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:39.359 Um, and so started off doing student ministry here at Walnut Grove for a few years, and then when we launched the Social Circle location, um me and my wife we moved down there, relocated our lives, invested our lives in the community down there, and have tried to build the church down there. 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:47.519 And so over the course of 10 years now, we've been leading that church, and it's been one of the greatest honors and privileges to be just a part of that. 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:55.280 Um, but one of the things that I love that we get to do on a weekend and week out basis is that I get to preach and teach God's Word. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:06.640 And uh, you know, I I kind of did a rough estimate to think I we've over the course of 10 years, I probably have preached 500 or more messages, um, which is just crazy to think of. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:10.800 Although, really thinking about it now as I'm saying that, we repeat some of our messages. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.919 So it's probably more like 400 messages because we just repeat them. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.199 Y'all don't realize it, um, but we do, there's repeated messages. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:33.520 Um, but uh in the process of that, one of the dangers of being a communicator, being a preacher or teacher, um, standing on a stage like this is that sometimes we can come across as people that have our lives together, people that are kind of the expert in the subject of what we're talking about. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.960 And if anyone knows me well, the people at Social Circle know me pretty well. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.680 Um, they know that that's definitely not the case. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:43.599 Um, that I am so far from miss, I'm so far from hitting the mark. 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.639 I miss the mark every single week of my life. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:51.599 But there's some subjects that we come and we're communicating and I'm and we're passionate about it. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:56.879 Um, I feel like I I'm there, that I I actually live out the truth that we're talking about. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:03.360 And then there's some messages that we have to teach, and just to be quite honest, it's kind of like you fake it till you make it almost. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:11.360 That you just kind of have to put on the face and you have to kind of grin your way through it because it's something that I have not been able to truly implement in my life yet. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.360 And that's the danger that we all face. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:30.719 Anytime we come into a building like this, we have this danger of putting on a face and walking in, putting on a mask, and kind of acting like we have our lives all together, and that everything is kind of put in its right place when we actually know that we're all broken and we're all messed up and we all fall short of that standard. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:51.120 And I'm so thankful for our church that we're a church where there's no perfect people allowed, that that we're a church where we believe that growing people change and that we're all on this journey and we're all in this process of hopefully becoming more like Jesus, but that takes a lot of grace, that takes a lot of change to happen over a long span of time. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:04:08.159 And I say all that because the message that we're talking about this morning is a message that as I'm reading the passage of scripture, as I'm studying this passage this week, like I'm just so convicted because I feel like I don't live out this truth in a real way, in a powerful way in my life. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:13.599 That this scripture has yet to truly take root in my life in a significant way. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.920 And it's something that I desperately need more of the work of the Spirit in my life. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:30.000 And so I just want to go ahead and say for my forefront that I am by no means an expert in what we're talking about this morning, but I believe wholeheartedly that the subject matter that we're talking about today is so important. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:49.839 I believe honestly that it's one of the most important things that we're talking about today, and something that is desperately missing in the church in America today, that we've taken for granted who Jesus is, and as a result, this character trait has not been really truly uh deep down to the core of who we are oftentimes. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:58.560 And as a result, the church has caused a lot of black eyes for Jesus because we haven't implemented the trait we're talking about this morning. 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:00.720 This morning, we're talking about love. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.040 We're talking about love, and the church should ultimately be about love. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:13.519 Jesus tells us that uh the first and the greatest commandment is to love our God, but then the second command is to love our neighbor as ourselves. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:18.079 This is really what our life should revolve around, that we should be people that love. 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:21.439 I mean, God Himself is described in one word as love. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:23.839 This is who we should be as the children of God. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:28.399 But let's just be honest, a lot of times we fail to make those changes. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:34.480 We fail to live this passage out, we fail to live the message of love out in the world around us. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:44.639 Christians are known for a lot of things in our culture and our world today, but oftentimes love is not the main adjective that is being used to describe followers of Jesus. 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:52.800 And so this morning, as we kind of dive in, I want us to see that living in the spirit leads to loving others. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.839 Living in the spirit leads to us loving others. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:08.319 And so if we're gonna be the people that God has called us to be, if we're gonna be the ones that are truly living and walking in the spirit of God, then we're going to see love displayed in every action and every encounter that we come in contact with. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.000 And so far in this series, in the book of Galatians, um, the first two weeks, we really kind of broke down what Paul was talking to the church in Galatia about. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:21.519 There were these false teachers that were coming in, and they were beginning to preach a message that was contrary to the gospel. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:29.680 They were beginning to say that yes, Jesus' sacrifice was significant, but you also had to kind of practice the religious laws and the religious rituals. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:40.560 And Paul says that that was just hogwash, that that was not true at all, that Jesus died, and it's only by his grace, the gift that he has given, the salvation that can salvation be experienced. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:48.879 And so he he we kind of pushed back against that idea that it's Jesus plus something that equals our salvation and our reconciliation with God. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:53.920 And this morning we kind of move to more of the practical side of the book. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:55.360 And last week we talked about this. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:56.000 Um, Dr. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.600 Bumpers was here in Walnut Grove. 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:03.600 I got to be down in social circle, but we talked about this flesh and spirit war that's going on within us. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:09.199 And it's this tug of war where the spirit's pulling us one way and the flesh is pulling us another way. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.759 Uh Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 7. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:16.399 He says, I do the things that I don't want to do, and I don't do the things that I do want to do. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.160 And that's true for all of us, right? 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:25.279 That we had this tug of war where we're being pulled in one direction by the flesh, but we know that that's contrary to the spirit's work in our lives. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:43.920 And so at the end of Galatians chapter 5, Paul says, like, that the works of the flesh are sexual immorality, that it's it's gossip, it's greed, it's selfishness, it's all of these negative traits, but then the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, right? 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.480 That it's these fruits of the spirit. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:54.720 And so those fruits of the spirit are played out, not when we try to put those things into practice ourselves, but when we're walking in the spirit. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:15.920 And I said down at Social Circle last week that the key, the trick, the tip of Christianity, the best kept secret, is not that it's about you working your salvation, and it's not about you doing all the work yourself, but it's ultimately about learning to walk in the spirit, learning to hear the voice of the Father, and then follow suit. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:31.680 And so that's what I want us to talk about this morning because uh the the the way that we are called to live in the Christian life is about feeding the spirit, starving the flesh, but it's ultimately about bringing heaven down to earth. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:33.360 This is what we're called to do. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:42.559 That that we've been sold this idea that uh our salvation, our relationship with Jesus is all about going to heaven when we die. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.360 And while that is true, we do want to go to heaven. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.279 Really, more importantly, is bringing heaven down to earth. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:57.919 That we're called to be God's representatives, that we're called to live out his kingdom, to establish his kingdom here in this world still today. 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:00.080 And so it's bringing heaven down to earth. 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:11.120 It's not just about me going to heaven, but about heaven coming down and God empowering me to live out his word here in this community and in this world. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:16.320 For many of us, we don't need more theological teaching and knowledge. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.480 What we need is more obedience. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:23.120 We need to actually live out what the Bible teaches. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.759 And that's ultimately what Paul is getting at this morning. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.080 He's saying, walk in the spirit. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.440 Here's the traits of what it looks like to walk in the spirit. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:38.559 And then as you walk in the spirit, you're per you're pushed, you're propelled into loving other people. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:46.399 There's this uh lie kind of that's permeating our world and our culture today that you can do the spiritual life on your own. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:10:00.799 That you can you can kind of just take in content, that Sunday morning you come and you fill a seat and you listen to a message and you go, well, that was great, or maybe you say that wasn't so great, and then you go to lunch and you move on with your rest of your week and nothing really changes. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:08.320 And for most of us, again, we we hear the message, we know the truth, we know what we should do, but we fail to live that out. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:16.000 And we fail to live that out is because we think that it's about content rather than community and actually living out the principles that we have been taught. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:28.480 This is why it's so important to be engaged in biblical relationships where we are actually able to practice what patience looks like when we have to deal with very difficult people that require a lot of patience. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:29.919 Anyone know some of those people? 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:31.440 I'm one of those people, right? 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.519 I mean, like this is what we've been called to do. 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:39.759 We have to be uh people that are loving one another, and that only takes place in the context of community. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.080 And so, Paul, as he ends the book of Galatians, he talks about this. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:11:00.320 I'll start reading in uh Galatians chapter five, just to kind of sum up a little bit of what we talked about last week, but verse 22 it says, But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:02.879 There is no law against these things. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:10.080 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:16.320 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:22.320 Let us not be conceited or provoke one another or be jealous of one another. 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:30.559 So you're seeing that Paul is directly connecting, walking in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, with our relationships with others. 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:44.080 That the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, all of those lists that he gives there, that those things are not given to you so that you can just be a better person for your own ability, but rather they're given to you for the good of those around you. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:49.440 They're given to you to be a blessing to the other people that you come in contact with. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:53.440 And so with that, I want us to talk about how do we love? 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:57.279 Because at the end of the day, love is what it's all about. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.799 Paul even says this in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 1. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:10.879 He says, If I give everything I have to the poor and sacrifice my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:13.679 So it's about love and loving others. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.120 So how do we love others? 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:18.080 Well, he says in chapter 6, verse 1. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:32.080 He says, Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back in onto the right path. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:37.200 And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:47.759 So the first thing that we're told that we're called to do is to participate in gentle restoration of people that have kind of walked off the path of following Jesus. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:52.080 They've fallen into some temptation, and we gently lead them back. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:53.519 Now I want to be very careful. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:55.679 This is not about being the moral police. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:13:01.120 We're not walking around with our clipboards and kind of looking at other people's lives and going, well, she did this and she did this. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.080 Let's go talk to her. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:03.039 Like we're not that person. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:09.200 We're not the we're not the Pharisee, we're not going after people, we're checking our own lives before we're checking other people's lives. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.440 But there is a process of loving here. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.120 We're part of a spiritual family. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:14.240 Paul even says it here. 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:15.679 Brothers and sisters. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.559 There's a very familiar kind of language that he's using here where we're we're family members. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:22.799 And family members care about one another. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.440 We care about their spiritual lives, we care about their relationship and their connection with Jesus. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:35.200 And so as a result of that, we want to see people gently restored and walking in the truth if they've strayed in any way. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:36.720 That's what we should be about. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:44.879 The phrase here about being restored is actually the word in Greek that could be also used for a bone that gets dislocated. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:53.120 If you've ever dislocated your shoulder or another P or another your leg or whatever it might be, if you've ever dislocated it, it's incredibly painful. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:58.320 But then the process of getting it back into the socket is insanely painful. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:04.639 They have to push it and they have to snap it back into place, but it's only in the pain that healing begins. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:07.519 And that's so true in our lives and in our relationships. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.360 To see someone gently restored, it's painful. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:12.080 It's hard. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:13.919 No one likes having those conversations. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:18.240 And if you like having those conversations, there's probably something wrong with you, right? 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:25.600 Nobody wants to be that person, but we're called to lovingly, gently restore other people. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.840 This is what we're called to do. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:41.919 So when it comes to the people that you know, just in this church, maybe people that you used to recognize on Sunday morning being here, that used to maybe seal a seat next to you, or used to be in a community group with them, and then you don't see them anymore. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:45.759 How intentionally are you going after them? 00:14:46.080 --> 00:15:03.360 It's not just the pastor's job, it's not just a professional's job, it's not just somebody on staff, it's not just the community group leader's job, it's all of our jobs to bring people gently, restore them gently into fellowship with one another, but then also to see them repent of sin and start to follow Jesus, to walk in the truth. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.440 It's gentle restoration. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:11.200 Uh shortly after the church was started, um uh me and my wife got married. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.000 We've been married now for, I guess, coming up on 14 years. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:19.279 And um we started off, you know, as a normal newly married couple. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:20.240 Uh we had nothing. 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:29.360 I mean, we were living in Caitlin's bare uh basement, uh parents' basement apartment, and uh we had you know really no money, and uh those were kind of the days. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:35.360 And um there was a couple that was a part of our church, and um they had just built this huge house. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:45.600 I mean, like, I don't know if you would call it a mansion, I would call it, you know, a mansion, huge piece of property, beautiful river, in-ground swimming pool, you know, heated floors in the bathroom, like that whole kind of thing. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:53.279 And they said, Hey, would y'all be interested in coming and uh watching our house for us and keeping our dogs and stuff while we go to Disney for the week? 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.759 And so this is like a dream come true for us, right? 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:04.080 Like we can move from this little basement apartment that we're super thankful for, but still, you know, like we want to, you know, go live in our own space in this huge house. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:06.639 And so we go and we start to spend the week there. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:18.320 And the second night that we're there, we go out to dinner, we come back, and the little dog that's been the beloved family pet for over a decade, that is like another one of their children, um, has disappeared. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:24.879 And so we get on the gator, they've got a gator, and I'm driving all around their 20 or 30 acres of property, and I'm calling his name. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:28.480 His name was Frodo, and I'm so I'm calling Frodo everywhere I'm going. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:33.679 And then we get in my car and I'm driving up and down the street in front of their house, calling his name. 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:40.000 I mean, hours and hours we search for this dog until finally I go, I'm gonna have to call them. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:45.519 And so I pick up the phone, they're in Disney, and I'm like, hey, we can't find Frodo. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:48.639 And they go, Well, like, we haven't, we don't know where he's at either. 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:58.799 You know, like so they start loading up their car, they start coming home, they get about an hour uh away from Orlando, and finally a neighbor calls and says that Frodo has come to their house. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:00.159 Praise the Lord, right? 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:10.559 Um, but I thought about that this week because we were so uh we were so concerned about this dog that had disappeared, which I'm all for dogs. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.079 I love dogs, don't get me wrong. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:20.799 But that same level of concern is oftentimes not displayed when it comes to people that have left or are missing from the church around us. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:22.960 Do we drive up and down the roads? 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:24.000 Do we show up at their house? 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.039 Do we send them the text? 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:25.839 Do we call? 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:34.880 Do we do whatever it takes to gently restore, to find the people that are missing, or find the people that are stumbling or struggling with the temptation and sin around us? 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:36.799 Oftentimes we don't. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:45.440 We're not called to be the righteous police, but we are called to bring people gently, to gently restore them into a right relationship with God. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:54.160 And this can't take place if we've got spiritual pride in our lives, but it's a really an act of love to see people go where God has called them to be. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:55.759 So there's gentle restoration. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.119 The second thing is that there's humble burden bearing. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:04.960 He says in verse 2, share each other's burdens and in this way obey the law of Christ. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:10.559 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourselves. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:12.799 You are not that important. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:14.400 I love that, right? 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.200 I love that Paul just calls us out and he's like, You're not that important. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:23.599 You might think you're important, but you're really not that important, and you're called to humbly bear each other's burdens. 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.240 Now, some of us do this probably better than others. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.599 I definitely struggle in this area for sure. 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.400 But but this is what the Christian life is ultimately about. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:37.119 When we live in biblical community with one another, we're called to bear each other's burdens. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:38.720 Augustine said it this way. 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.319 He said, What does love look like? 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:52.240 It has the hands to help others, it has the feet to hasten to the poor and the needy, it has the eyes to see the misery and want, it has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.799 That is what love looks like. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:01.839 But in our world, we're so self-consumed oftentimes that we miss out on the burdens that other people around us are even carrying. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:08.319 Um, just to prove my point, um I don't know if you guys are like me, and this is maybe, you know, maybe I'm the only one in the room, but I don't think I am. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:20.319 Um when you somebody, you go out to dinner with some friends, somebody takes a picture of the group, they post it on social media, Facebook, Instagram, wherever your platform might be, and you see that you're tagged in a picture and you click on the picture. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.960 What's the first thing you do when you see the picture? 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:25.200 Yeah, thank y'all for responding back. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.480 What's the first thing you do in the picture? 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.839 Who do you look for first? 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:28.960 You, right? 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.119 I look for myself and I go, hey, look, I want to see what I look like. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:34.000 Am I smiling right? 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:34.720 Do I look weird? 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:35.599 Like, do I look fat? 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:36.559 Like, is it up into the right? 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.359 You know, like what's the picture look like of me? 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:41.440 And then I'll look at everybody else. 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:49.119 And that's ultimately what our world has ingrained within us, that we focus on ourselves more than we focus on the needs of the people around us. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:58.079 And Paul is calling us in this letter to be the church that's full of the Spirit and that we humbly bear each other's burdens. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:59.920 This is what we have been called to do. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.319 This is our job, this is our responsibility. 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:11.839 It's not the government's responsibility, it's not even the church as an organization's responsibility, it's our responsibility as individual followers of Jesus. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:17.440 That we care for the family members, that we make sure that we're bearing each other's burdens. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.720 We have this lady in social circle, um, her name's Carol. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.039 Many of you might even know her up at Walnut Grove. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.880 Um, but Carol, as I like to relevantly refer to her as Crazy Carol. 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.839 Um, and if you know her, you know exactly what I'm talking about. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:31.599 And Carol, you know that I love you. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:37.119 Um, but Carol is one of the greatest people to live this truth out. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:48.480 And I don't know how she even does it, but she just will randomly know the needs of people, and then she will she will like move everything around in order to fill and to meet the needs that people have. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:49.920 A perfect example of this. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:55.839 We had um a family that lives here in the Walnut Grove area just recently that was really, really struggling. 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:59.119 They needed help with groceries, and so um we got some gift cards for them. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:13.839 We took some gift cards over to their house to help them buy some groceries, and in the process, we found out that um their house, which is really dilapidated, had uh no air conditioning, had a fridge that was on the fritz, and the stove did not work at all. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:25.599 And so we just happened to mention that mention that to Carol, and within two or three days, she had two air conditioning units there, and she had somebody that had volunteered to donate a stove, and she was delivering it in her car. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.119 This is who Carol is. 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:28.720 She lives this out. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.799 Do you humbly bear each other's burdens? 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:36.079 This is what the community, this is what the family is ultimately all about. 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.319 Just to take a little break for the message for a minute that kind of connects to this. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:47.680 But one of the great things that happened this past Friday morning is that you know, we had the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.640 Wade being overturned, which we're so thankful for, right? 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:52.000 We're we're we're pro-life. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:59.759 We want to see every child, you know, uh has a future and has a destiny that God uh loves them and we want to see them come into existence. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.440 And so the the you know while while it doesn't necessarily change or outlaw abortion across the United States, it for sure um helps move in that direction. 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:11.279 And so we're super thankful for that. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:25.680 But as I I think about that, you know, and and how there's going to be babies that are born that are maybe not wanted, then what that means for us, as much as we can celebrate this decision, it means that the church also has more of a responsibility now. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.920 So there are going to be babies that are born that are going to be unwanted. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:34.880 And that we have to humbly bow and we have to humbly bear each other's burdens. 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:38.079 And we've got to be willing to open our homes for adoption. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:45.039 We've got to be willing to go and do the hard things to help provide for young mothers that maybe don't have the financial resources. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.319 We have a responsibility to bear the burdens of others. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:57.440 And so you can't be pro-life truly if you're not willing to open your home and open to helping those that are struggling with the babies that are being born. 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.000 And so we bear each other's burdens. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.240 We celebrate the decision, but we also have a responsibility in that. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:06.160 And so we bear each other's burdens. 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.839 We we um humbly bring people back to the truth. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:13.440 The third thing we do is we generously share all things. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:21.200 He says in verse 6, those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:28.640 Now it's a little awkward because I'm teaching and you guys are hopefully giving to church at the grove, but Paul's saying, hey, listen, we want the gospel to go forth. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:34.240 We want people that are actually teaching the word of God to be provided for so that the gospel can spread quicker. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:44.880 And so there's a responsibility on the teacher to preach truth to not just bring about entertainment, but then there's a responsibility for the church collectively as the family to make sure that people are provided for. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:48.400 And that requires requires generosity on your part. 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:54.160 And let me just say, I'm so thankful for the team of people that have are teaching here at Church at the Grove. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:04.960 It's so great to know that even with Russ being out, that we've got a team of people that can come in and still preach and still communicate and teach God's word with authority and confidence. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:08.720 And so we we lovingly, generously share with others. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:11.920 The fourth thing we do is we practice personal holiness. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.240 Verse 7, it says, Don't be misled. 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:16.799 You cannot mock the justice of God. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:19.200 You will always harvest what you plant. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:27.440 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:35.119 But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:37.599 And so this is what Paul's calling us to do. 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:40.880 He's calling us to live with personal holiness. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:44.960 That we let the Spirit of God work within us, that we walk in the Spirit. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:51.759 And as we walk in the Spirit, this divine law starts to kind of play out, that you reap what you sow. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:55.440 So the things you put into your life are ultimately the things that you reap from your life. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:59.200 John Stott said it this way: He said, sow a thought, reap an act. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:01.279 Sow an act, reap a habit. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.359 Sow a habit, reap a character. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:06.160 Sow a character, reap a destiny. 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.400 See, holiness is a habit. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:15.920 Holiness is a harvest of us putting the right things in place to bring about a harvest. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:17.519 This is a refining process. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:32.720 This is not easy, but the way that we are oftentimes refined, the way that we get to personal holiness is not just by reading our Bible and praying more, but it's actually living the truths of Scripture out in relationships with others. 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:40.640 You cannot become a more patient person without being around people that you have to be patient with. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:50.480 You can't truly love others and learn to be a more loving individual if you're not living around other people that require your love. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.240 This is what we have to do. 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:55.440 We have to live in relationships with others. 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:57.359 And this is why it's so dangerous. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:59.279 And we'll talk about this in just a second. 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:03.839 This is why it's so dangerous for us not to be committed to relationships. 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:09.119 In our world, in our culture today, if somebody offends you, if you get upset with somebody, what do you do? 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:10.480 You cut and run. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:13.680 If somebody offends you here at church at the grove, what do you do? 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:15.599 You just go to the church down the street. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:24.880 And this is so dangerous because part of the dirtiness and the messiness of relationship requires commitment because it's hard. 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:27.519 Living in connection, relationship is hard. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:33.839 It's difficult, it's messy, but it's the refining process for personal holiness in our lives. 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:37.759 The fourth, the fifth and last thing is just this practical perseverance. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:43.440 He continues and he says in verse 9, So let's not get tired of doing what is good. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:49.519 At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:57.680 Therefore, whenever we have an opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:03.440 Paul ends with this encouragement, but he's saying, Listen, you know the people that are getting on your last nerve? 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:05.359 Keep loving them. 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:07.200 Keep going. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.200 Because in you loving them, you're reaping something. 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.079 You're it's producing something within you. 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.319 We we have those people, right? 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:23.039 Um maybe, maybe it's people that you're in a group with, maybe it's people you see just on Sunday morning, maybe it's somebody that's in your family. 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:24.400 Don't nudge anybody, right? 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:30.400 But maybe it maybe it's somebody that you just you you're really close with, maybe you you're you're stuck with them, maybe it's your kid, right? 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:36.559 And they just require a lot of patience, they require a lot of love, they require a lot of sacrifice. 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:40.720 And that's not always easy, but we don't cut and run. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:49.759 We don't dismiss the relationship, but instead we continue pushing forward because we know that if we don't give up, we will reap what we sow. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:55.599 That in us not giving up, that in the right time a harvest of blessing will come. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:28:02.000 But it happens when we're living in community, loving, loving, loving, loving, loving, and we don't give up. 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:04.480 We keep on loving. 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:05.920 This is the harvest. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.319 This is what God has called us to be about. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:11.119 And this is the work of the Spirit in our lives. 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:19.599 When we're working and listening to the Holy Spirit's voice in our life, then we naturally will love the people around us and we'll be committed to them. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.920 This is so important for us. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:28.319 Again, when things get difficult, we tend to cut and run, we tend to leave the relationship behind. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:40.799 This is too hard, this is too messy, I'm just gonna go and be around the people that look like me, act like me, think like me, that I don't have to have any rub in the relationship, and we just kind of go and do our own thing and we find whatever place we can be comfortable in. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:44.799 But that was never what our relationship with Jesus was intended to do. 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:47.599 We're called to love the hard-to-love people. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:52.000 We're called to love the people that just try our last nerve. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:58.240 But in doing that, it's producing in us an incredible harvest. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:09.279 I want to illustrate this by uh showing you a little bit of an example, an illustration here of just the spirit's work in our lives. 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:18.640 And so um, Paul gives this list here, and he tells us uh that we have to be men and women that are walking in the spirit. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:21.440 He tells us that in Galatians chapter 5. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:31.839 And so as we walk in the spirit, the spirit begins to produce within us um things that we're supposed to reflect Jesus by. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.359 So he gives us that list. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:34.400 It's like love, right? 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:39.920 He says, You you love and or you walk in the spirit, and then naturally the result of that is love. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:46.160 It's it's it's patience, it's kindness, it's joy, it's contentment, it's all of these things, right? 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:55.839 And then you start getting into the relationships, and it's talking about gently restoring, and it's about uh bearing each other's burdens, it's about being generous, it's about all of these traits. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:30:05.200 And so eventually, as we walk in the spirit, as we come to know Jesus, our lives are full of the character traits and the nature of Jesus in our lives. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:07.440 Um, there's a lot of ping pong balls here. 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:10.480 Um, and so we we feel these things are in our lives. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:17.759 When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we get the Spirit of God, and these things are put into our lives. 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:25.039 These are the things we're called to, and the great news is because of the Spirit being in our lives, we are fully equipped to do everything that God has called us to do. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:30.400 It doesn't take any special work, it's it's fully within us through the Spirit of God. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:43.119 But the danger that many of us fall into is that these character traits, these uh these uh things that we're called to live out, stay within us and they don't flow outside of us. 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:50.480 And so part of the process of following Jesus and walking in the Spirit is learning to walk in the Spirit. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:31:11.839 The Spirit represents the water here, and so we we learn to feed the Spirit, we learn to starve out the flesh, and so we do that by, you know, we wake up early and we begin to pray, and then we begin to read our Bible, and then we begin to just sit quietly and listen to the voice of the Father, and we begin to just hear what he might have to say to us. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:23.599 And then as we hear what he has to say for us, then we we maybe are around people, and we begin to hear just some of the needs that are around us as we walk in community, as we do the things that God has called us to do. 00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:31.039 And as we walk in the Spirit, eventually what begins to happen is the fruit of the spirit begins to bubble up in our lives. 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:44.000 And you can tell somebody that's walked with Jesus for a long time, and they've done that with commitment and with dedication because they are typically some of the most loving, generous, joy-filled people that you'll ever meet. 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:53.599 And so as we walk for the Spirit, the the traits of the Spirit, the traits of our Savior, the people, the person of Jesus begins to become more evident in our lives. 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:56.880 And love begins to overflow in our lives. 00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:04.480 Where we start to love people more, we're sharing with those that have needs, where we're being the people that God has ultimately called us to do. 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:07.440 And these things are bubbling out from within. 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:10.640 And we begin to become more like Jesus. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:19.839 And as we become more like Jesus, man, God begins to use us in new and powerful ways that we never could imagine him using us. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.559 But it's all about walking in the Spirit. 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:33.039 It's not about trying in our own effort, but it's about feeding the Spirit, starving the flesh, and then seeing the works of God begin to spill over in our lives. 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:34.640 This is what it's called to do. 00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:42.240 We want to see the Spirit of God bubble up the traits that we're called to do, to be the most loving people that we can possibly be. 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:43.920 And this is what we need. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:48.000 If the church needs anything right now, sure we need good biblical teaching. 00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:52.480 Sure, we need to be people that are theologically sound. 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:58.480 Sure, we need to have incredible Sunday morning services where people can experience Jesus and hear the truth of the gospel. 00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:07.200 But what the church needs really more than anything else is to have a people that are full of the love of God, that are walking in the Spirit of God. 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:18.000 And as they're walking in the Spirit of God, it's producing, it's bubbling up above, and they have the love and the joy and the peace and the patience and the kindness and the gentleness and the goodness and the self-control. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:20.799 That there are people that are bearing each other's burdens. 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:25.119 There are people that are going out of their way to help others. 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:28.000 They're gently restoring those that have walked from the faith. 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:29.440 This is what we need. 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:33.039 We need people that to learn and to understand it's not about you. 00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:34.240 You're not that important. 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:37.519 It's about valuing the other people around us. 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:42.079 And there are people that will never set foot in the doors of this church. 00:33:42.319 --> 00:34:02.400 They will never walk onto this campus, but they will absolutely 100% see the way that you live your life and to see the way that you interact with them, the way that you love your kids, the way that you lead your family, to see the way that you are an employee at your work, to see if you cut corners, to see how you live your life. 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:05.519 And you might be the only Jesus that they ever see. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:17.840 And let us be the people that are walking in the Spirit in such a way where these things begin to bubble up and it becomes so evident where people look at our lives and go, Man, I don't know about church. 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:22.079 I've been hurt in the past, but man, whatever you've got, I want. 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:29.760 I want to see the love of Christ bubble over in my life like you have shown me it bubbling over in your life. 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:32.000 And so we walk by the Spirit. 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:33.760 We're full of the Spirit. 00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:39.519 And as we're full of the Spirit, we're led to not just love God, but we're called to love others as well. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:41.519 Let us be those people. 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:48.559 There are people that are dying, and they have going, they're going to spend eternity separated from God. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:51.840 And so this is not something that we do one day in the future. 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:54.639 It's something that we desperately have to do now. 00:34:55.039 --> 00:35:01.679 We've got to walk in the Spirit and see the love of God overflow in our lives to love the people around us. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:07.280 Because living and walking in the Spirit leads to us loving others. 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:10.320 And so, how can you love the people around you? 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:16.400 Who is it that you maybe notice in our church right now that you're like, you know what, I haven't seen them in a few months? 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:18.639 What text do you need to send? 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:21.119 Who do you need to ask for forgiveness of? 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:25.039 What relationships are maybe damaged that need to be restored? 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:26.719 This is what we are called to do. 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:32.800 We are a family, and we are called to love each other and love the world around us. 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:34.719 And so let us be those people. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:39.840 Let us do the things that God has called us to do as we love one another. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:40.960 Let me pray for us. 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:48.000 Lord Jesus, I thank you so much, Lord, for who you are and for all that you have done for us, Lord. 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:52.559 And you set the perfect example of what love ultimately looks like. 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:59.519 Lord, so oftentimes, Lord, we can um we can fall short of this, and I for sure feel that way. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.400 But Lord, we can miss out on the bigger purpose of what you called us to. 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:15.280 So sadly, Lord, we we've oftentimes dumbed down our faith to just be about believing something intellectually and not actually living out the truth that you called us to live. 00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:28.000 And so, Lord, I pray that this morning, Lord, that we would be a church that walks in the power of your spirit, that we're we're feeding the spirit, we're starving the flesh. 00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:44.159 And as we do that, Lord, I pray that love would bubble up, that your mercy and your grace would bubble up in our lives and that we would be able to practice and show people who you are and the people we come in contact with on a regular basis. 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:45.599 Lord, empower us. 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:47.760 Lord, we can't do this on our own. 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:49.199