Why You Can’t Grow Alone: The Power of Christian Community | Galatians (Part 12)

Good morning church, thanks so much for joining us this morning, whether you're in the room, you're joining us from a church house or online, I'm so thankful that Jesus didn't come to give us religion. Did you know that? He came to give us redemption. We have redemption in Jesus. And so we walk into this space this morning and we don't have to perform. There's nothing we can add to what Jesus has already done. His sacrifice for us is sufficient. And so we can come in here with boldness, come in here with freedom, come in here knowing that all of our sin has been washed away, our debt has been paid in full, and that is such a gift. And so for us to come into this space and to be in this moment and just to acknowledge that Jesus, you've done it all. I can't add to what you've already done. Your grace is sufficient. I just get to respond to what you've done. I don't have to try to earn my way or deserve my way into your grace, but it's a free gift that I get to receive this morning. So that's what we're going to do, church. We're just going to declare what the blood of Jesus means for us, the testimony that we can share, that we can have, that we can proclaim because of his sacrifice, because of his grace, because it was resurrection. So Jesus, we thank you this morning. We surrender this morning. We praise you this morning. We give you a hallelujah this morning in recognition of what you've done for us. I'm amazed by you, God. You have your way in our lives, in my life, my heart this morning, as I just remember and reflect, respond to all that you are, all that you've done.

I want to sing this with me. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? It's nothing but the blood of Jesus. We're going to sing it again. What can wash? And what can wash away? Oh, it's nothing but your blood. Can make us whole again. And what can make me whole again? It's nothing but the blood of Jesus. Precious is the flow. And oh, precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other, no other fount I know. It's nothing but the blood of Jesus. And oh, precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Come on, lift your voice one more time. We declare. And oh, precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. It's only you, Jesus. It's nothing but the blood of Jesus. It's our testimony today. Oh, it's only by your blood, God.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. You're changing everything. Thank you, Jesus. Everything changed. It's getting harder to recognize. The person I was before I encountered Christ. I don't walk like I used to. And I don't talk like I used to. I've been washed from the inside. Amen. I've been washed from the inside. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been. Come on, sing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. ♪ Yeah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, we thank You for the blood ♪ ♪ I cannot explain, but nothing's more real than this ♪ ♪ In the presence of God, over my heart experience ♪ ♪ When my shame hit the wayside ♪ ♪ And my sin met the most high ♪ ♪ I was washed from the inside, yeah ♪ ♪ I was washed from the inside out ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪

♪ It could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Only by Your stripes I'm healed, I'm whole ♪ ♪ Oh, what else can I say but thank You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Come on, we sing ♪ ♪ No, it's never been about performance or perfection ♪ ♪ Or striving for acceptance, let me tell you ♪ Come on, we declare. ♪ It's only by the blood ♪ ♪ It's never been about deserving or earning ♪ ♪ It's a gift that's freely given, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only by the blood, oh ♪ ♪ Does anybody wanna be holy, and righteous ♪ ♪ Purify and smile, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only by the blood, does anybody wanna be worthy ♪ ♪ Forget it, just about really living, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only by the blood, oh, we're singing ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I know it was the blood, oh, we're singing ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been the blood, it could have only been the blood, yeah ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh ♪ ♪ Come hear me hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, yeah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, it could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪

Come on, if you know, sing it again. Lift your voice to heaven today, we sing. ♪ The blood, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Could have only been the blood, hallelujah, hallelujah, yeah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ It could have only been the blood, thank you Jesus, amen. ♪ If we believe that's true this morning, that should give us a lot of confidence to come before him in faith. That if Jesus gave his life, if he gave his blood for us, why would he not answer the prayers that we have this morning in this place? Why would he not let us come before him and cast our burdens at his feet and pick us up, amen? So I wanna create some space this morning for us just to proclaim the name of Jesus and claim his blood that has resurrection power over our lives this morning, to come before him in faith. And I know in a room this size, know watching online at a church house right now, there are so many burdens, so many needs that we're carrying right now. And I just wanna invite you to come lay those things at the feet of Jesus, the foot of the cross this morning. And so this is an open altar this morning. If you're at a church house, man, just make an altar where you are, whatever space you're gathering in right now. And let's take advantage of an opportunity in a moment to meet with the creator of the universe,

to meet with the redeemer of our souls who wants to minister to us in this moment, who knows what needs you walked in today with. And I pray that as we proclaim the name of Jesus that you would experience the power and the healing and the freedom, the faithfulness that we find in his name, amen? So let's do that. Let's come before him in boldness this morning. Come before the throne of grace. Jesus, we come before you in faith. Would you stir our faith? Would you help our hearts believe that you know our every need, our every burden? And as we come and lay those things at your feet, would you meet us where we are? Give us faith to believe that you hear us when we cry out to you. As we proclaim your name in faith, the power, the life, the healing that they can give us this morning. We thank you. We proclaim your name, Jesus. Come on, we lift the name of Jesus. Come on, speak his name with me. Jesus, we speak Jesus. I just wanna speak the name of Jesus. Till every dark addiction starts to break. Declaring there is hope and there is freedom in your name. I speak Jesus.

Jesus, cause your name is power. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Come on, sing. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. We find who we pray. And I just wanna speak the name of Jesus. Over fear and all anxiety. To every sorrow captivated by depression. I speak Jesus. Cause your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Come on, we declare his name is power. Your name. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Oh, we shout your name. Shout Jesus from the mountains. And Jesus in the streets.

Jesus in the darkness. Oh, darkness, please add his name. Jesus, oh my family. I speak the holy name. Shout it out. Jesus. Oh, we sing it again. We shout Jesus from the mountains. And Jesus in the streets. Jesus in the darkness. Oh, darkness, please add his name. Jesus in the darkness. Oh, darkness, please add his name. Jesus in the darkness. Come on, standing from the rooftop, shout Jesus, shout Jesus from the mountains. I'm going to let all the air make you sing. Jesus, who's over every enemy. Jesus, for my family, I speak the Holy Name of Jesus. Your Name is power. Your Name is healing. Close your name and fight. We declare, it'll break every stone. Oh, shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. Say, Your Name is power. Your Name is power. Your Name is healing. Your Name is love. Break every stone. Oh, shine through the shadows.

Burn like a fire. And I just want to speak the Name of Jesus. Over every heart and every mind. Cause I know there is peace within your breast. I speak Jesus. Come on, speak the Name of Jesus. I speak Jesus. Just cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus. We need You, Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Holy is the Name of Jesus. Matchless is the Name of Jesus. Oh, we need You. Oh, Jesus. Sing holy. Holy. There is no one like You. There is none beside You. Say, open up my heart. Open up my eyes. Lord, show me. Show me. Who You are and fill me. With Your heart and me. In Your love to love. Let's sing it again. Say, holy, holy, holy, holy. There is no one like You. There is none beside You.

Open up my eyes. Lord, show me. Who You are and fill me. With Your heart and me. In Your love to love. There is none beside You. Lord, show me. Show me. Who You are and fill me. With Your heart and me. In Your love to love. Let's sing it again. Say, holy, holy, holy, holy. There is none beside You. There is none beside You. And I will build my life on You. Find out how we put our trust in You, God. I trust in You alone. And I will not... Let's sing it again. Till I build my life, Lord. And I will build my life on You. Only You, Lord. Oh, it's a firm foundation. And I put my trust in You. You and only You alone. You alone. And I will not... Sing, holy, holy, holy, holy. There is no one.

Lord, there's nobody like our God. Beside You. Open up my eyes in wonder. Show me who You are and fill me. With Your heart and lead me. In Your love to love. Holy, holy, holy. I am the light, the light of life There is love beside you Open up my eyes in wonder Show me who you are and fill me With your heart and lead me in Oh I will build my life Yeah I will build my life On your love It is a firm foundation And I will put my trust in you Oh no And I will, I will build my life Yeah I will, I will build my life Upon your love A firm foundation And I, my trust in you Oh no And I will, I will build my life Upon your love It is a firm foundation And I will put my trust in you Oh no And I will not be shaken

We put our trust in the one, the great one The one who owns all, who owns all Who rules all Amen, thank you for lifting up praises to him Can you say hi to somebody next to you Take about the next 30 seconds And meet someone you've never met before I think that groups might fit Kind of your life stage and your schedule None of us knew each other Before they all signed up for the group finder And so we really focused on just building trust with each other And through fellowship and friendship And so we had a lot of game nights A lot of like community nights Just hanging out and getting to know one another We've really seen the fruit of that And just seen us go a level deeper with one another And really trust each other And wanting to share openly with one another We're on a level where Like if the guys are going through a hard time We'll just text each other in the group chat And then we'll pray right there If you're intentional about finding a group And developing relationships Then you're going to find one that you're going to get plugged into That you can grow in your faith And grow deeper in community with I think the purpose of biblical community

Is to encourage each other While we're walking through this Christian life It's difficult There's a lot of hurt that we can get from the world around us But if we could come together and love each other And help each other through it Through prayer and encouragement That's what community is all about It's not community one night a week Like it's not church one day a week It's all the time We're just doing life together I think doing life alone It's so much harder You're carrying the weight of your life on your own And that's not what scripture tells us to do Jesus obviously showed compassion For every person that he met Even his own disciples We've been taught that It's exactly how we're supposed to treat each other So whenever someone is in the hospital Or they're falling short in some other way We have the compassion that's been given to us So we want to share that with others And give them the love and mercy that he's given us Having a group that grows with you A lot of questions are revolving around the sermon Helps us dive deeper into it Growing more in Christ

And our relationship with God We're the first in the group to have a baby I'm just looking forward to All going through the same stage of life together David and Peyton, they She went to the military So David was alone for months And that can be really isolating and lonely If you don't have community So we really rallied around him Me and the rest of the guys We showed up every week To make sure he was okay Constant check-in and making sure he's loved. The hand can't do everything that the body can't do. The foot can't do everything the body can do. So then if we have the different talents and the different people coming in and working alongside each other, then it makes the body that much stronger for Christ. Let's go, let's go. Well, hey, good morning, church. If you have a copy of God's Word, and I hope you do, find the book of Galatians chapter six is where we're gonna be at. If you are new to the Bible, Galatians is in the New Testament or the second half of your Bible. It's in the neighborhood of Ephesians

and Philippians and Colossians. And we are so excited that you are joining us to get back in this line-by-line study through the book of Galatians. I don't know if you're joining us from the metro area, but Kansas City has been palpable with excitement for the World Cup. And what's happened is that we've had the privilege of getting to host some of the World Cup games, and today is the championship match for the World Cup. Now, soccer may not be your thing, but I feel like that there's some Kansas City representation in the World Cup today, because Argentina's playing Spain for the championship, and we were hosting Argentina in Kansas City, so it's kinda like we made the championship. That's how I'm seeing it, all right? And so I'm gonna be cheering for Argentina. Messi is gonna be just adding to his accolades, and it's gonna be great. And it's been electric in the Kansas City metro area. We've had the FIFA experience. People have been having watch parties and tuning in to the World Cup, and really in a new way, in my experience, over the last several years. And I don't know if your thing is soccer or not, but here's what I know that's true about all of us. We all want a team to be a part of. We all want a team to cheer for.

And so you may not be tuning into the championship today, but more than likely, there is this need inside of you that's like, man, I wanna know who is my team, and who do I belong to, and who do I root for, and who's encouraging me, and who can I encourage? And really, I want you to think about this idea of team, and I want you to ask, who's your team in life? Like, who are your dogs? Who's your posse, you know? Who are your fellas? Who's your sisters, right? The people you get together with, the people you do life with, and who are those people in your life, and how are y'all reflecting what the Bible says should mark the team of Jesus in the way of biblical community? How are you reflecting those things? Because again, here's what I know to be true. Deep down inside of every one of us is a desire to belong. When you read the Bible, it doesn't take long for you to realize that God made us for each other. I mean, he made the first guy, Adam, and before there was ever any problems in the world, ever any sin in the world, God looked at him and said, man, it's not good that man should be alone. And I think the devil heard that, and he was like, okay, if it's not good for a man to be alone, then I'm gonna do everything I can do

to try to isolate people for the rest of human history. Because here's what's happened, is that we have this deep desire for team, but we've come in here, and the reality is is that many people are swimming in the waters of isolation. I don't know if you know this or not, but the US Surgeon General in 2023, he declared loneliness, so Dr. Vivek Murthy, he declared loneliness as an epidemic. Now, this is so ironic to me, because we literally have more people walking planet Earth than ever in the history of the planet, eight billion, with a B, people. And then we have these devices, like I can hop on my phone, and I can call somebody on the other side of the world and see them face-to-face on my phone. And we have all of these ways to connect with people digitally, we have all of these people, cities are growing, yet loneliness is on the rise. It's crazy. And even like in the spaces we're in this morning, like we have people at different campuses, different church houses, different locations, and like we've all come into these spaces, and you can literally be in the same row, you can be sitting next to other people, and you can have the proximity or the appearance of connectivity,

but then you can leave church this morning and you can choose to live in isolation and in anonymity. And so like I want us to just begin to break out of this isolation tendency, and I want us to really wrestle with who is our team. And here's my cards this morning. I want you to know exactly what team you are on for eternity today. And then I also want you to know what team you're on practically, and the things that should mark that team biblically. If you're taking notes, I titled the message this morning, The Role of Community. Community is one of our core values at Abundant Life, and we just say this, people need people. And so we're gonna talk about how the role of community or the value of community plays out biblically and practically in our life. And we're gonna see that community, it restores, community helps, it invests in our life, and community does not give up. If you're new to the book of Galatians, a guy named Paul wrote this book, and he wrote really to clarify the main message of the Bible, that Jesus plus nothing equals everything. And so Paul's been reminding this group of people of how they get into right relationship with Jesus.

He's been reminding. them of how they join Team Jesus. And I love this because Paul says, hey, there's not a tryout to join Team Jesus. You don't try out, you cry out and say, I don't have what it takes, and then Jesus is like, here's a jersey, you're on my team now, right? And so the way that you join Team Jesus is not by being good enough, but it's by believing that Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection was good enough. And so it's not because you have to be good or you are good, it's because God is good. That's how you join Team Jesus. You put your faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection, and you just say, God, would you save me? And the Bible declares that by faith, we are made right before God when we put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus. And so Paul's really been circling the drain, really defending the purity of the gospel. Then he turns a corner and he begins to say, okay, in light of you understanding clearly the main message of the Bible, that Jesus plus nothing equals everything for salvation, what does it look like for us to live our life in light of that? And so he just says, man, we've got to love people. We don't use our liberties to make much of ourself,

but we love people sacrificially. And then last week, we were taught that we are to walk not by the flesh or not walk in our selfishness, but to walk in the Spirit. And when we walk in the Spirit, we actually begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit. And this is what it means to be on Team Jesus, that you begin to look like Jesus. And then he turns a corner here in chapter six, and he says, this is what it looks like for you to interact with your other teammates when you're on Team Jesus. Here's what he says in Galatians 6.1. He says, 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. Point number one, if you're taking notes, you can write this down. Community, it restores the broken. Community restores the broken. This is like one of the greatest gifts in biblical community, that many times we never walk in or appropriate in our life. Like God has allowed you to do life with other people so that you could be his agency of restoration in people's lives when they be tripping, all right? And so like, you see the priority here. Like it says this, if there is somebody overtaken

in any trespass in your relational purview that you're doing life with, you need to do something about it. Like I don't know if you know this or not, but we're not meant to just turn a blind eye to the sin that is in our group. So if you're in a group with somebody, if you're on a team with somebody, you know that they're getting caught up in sin. Don't just kind of dismiss it and say, well, yeah, man, everyone looks at a little porn every now and then. Don't just dismiss it and say, yeah, yeah, I mean, everyone has marital issues and they're just gonna live unhappy in their marriage. And yeah, I mean, that happens. Don't just brush sin under the rug. Don't just dismiss willing disobedience. Like I don't know if you've heard this lately or not, but we are called to be a holy people, set apart, a people of God's special possession that we are called not to be perfect in righteousness, but to pursue righteousness. And so when we are doing life with people and we see somebody that's overtaken in their sin, their trespass, we don't just go, you know what, grace, brush it under the rug, I'm gonna turn a blind eye. No, we seek to do something about it. This is a priority. And so we see the priority right here in the text.

You don't just turn a blind eye, you gotta do something about it. But what exactly do you do about it? I love the scripture because it's so clear. It says, if you see somebody, if there's a man overtaken in a trespass, you who are spiritual, walking with the spirit, you need to seek to restore that person. Like this is the practice or the, yeah, the practice. We restore them. This word restore in the Greek is the word keterizo and it literally means that you reset what is broken. I dislocated my finger when I was in high school playing ball and I remember going to the trainer and this half of my finger was not where it ought to be, you know, and my trainer said, you know what, I need to bring restoration to the situation, all right? And he pulled on that thing and pulled on that thing until he popped it back in place because what was not aligned, I mean, yeah, what was not aligned needed to be restored. And so again, when you see somebody who is dislocated in life, you who are spiritual, you should seek restoration, not condemnation, not excommunication, but restoration. This is the heart of God, that he wants you to be an agent of restoration in the people that you do life with in their life. And so you see the priority, you see the practice, but then the posture is so important

because I think some, you know, some of y'all are like getting nervous that I need to say something about a situation that I'm aware of and then others of you are like, oh, I can't wait. I can't wait to say something, right? I'm about to come up in this group and I'm about to set everybody straight, about to relocate everything, right? But calm down. Again, look at the text. It says, restore them, set, reset. is broken with a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. And so the posture that we do this with is a posture of gentleness and humility. Gentleness is a word that means that you have your power under control. And humility is you saying, man, I'm no better than you. And in fact, I've struggled with the same things that you've struggled with, and then this is how I found the way out. And so let me help you out. And that's what humility says. And so we are called to address issues in our groups. We are called to restore them, and we're called to do that with a spirit of gentleness and humility. What does this look like practically? Well, I don't know what your small group, if you are in one, what it looks like,

but for me, I gather regularly with four men, and here's what we've just, we've just opened up the opportunity to hold each other accountable. I don't know if you're anything like me, but I've learned I'm a better man of God when I have some men of God holding me accountable and asking me the hard questions, amen? Left to my own self and my own ways, I will typically not choose the right thing all the time. And so I get together with these guys, and we've just given each other a green light to hold each other accountable. And so like, this is an understood thing. Hey man, would you hold me accountable? Yes, what are some things that trip your trigger and share those things? These are some things that I would potentially be overtaken in, okay? Well, I'll ask you from time to time about those things. And so I get together with these guys, and they'll say things like, hey, is there any person in your life that's a threat to your marriage? You know, and then they'll just look at me, you know? And if I'm like, no, you know, like just, I mean, they're like, yeah, what's her name? Or who are they, right? And they'll ask me uncomfortable questions so that they can help guard me

so that I could be the man that God has called me to be. And then if there's something that, you know, that comes up when we're asking those questions, another version of this question that we'll ask is, man, how are you guarding your heart? How are you guarding your heart? Because the word of God says to guard your heart above all things, for from it flows the wellspring of life. And we'll ask things like, even something as subtle as, hey man, how can I be praying for you? And then, you know, something will come out like, man, I'm really struggling, my father's on his deathbed, and I'm just trying to, you know, figure out how to help my mom through this. And they're like, oh, all right, well, let's talk about it. How are you navigating that? And what happens is when those things begin to surface, if it's something that is potentially sinful or something that is an area where they've been overtaken, well, we'll do something as subtle as, man, let me pray for you, and then let me remind you of the truth. And so if it's like, man, is there any person that's a threat to your marriage? And I share, you know, yeah, this, or someone shares, yeah, there's this person, then I'll just say, man, well, let me pray for you, but let me just ask you, what's your game plan to get out of that situation? And let me just remind you,

if you don't make a concentrated effort to avoid people that could be a threat to your marriage, then you are playing with fire. And let me just remind you that you have a legacy that you're trying to build, right? Is it that, you know, we'll look at each other, aren't we trying to be God's man? Yeah, we're trying to be God's man, okay. Well, if you let anything threaten that, and you think that it's just okay, you're at the beginning of your demise. And so let me, I'm just reminding you. And so it may be something as subtle as a prayer and a reminder, or it may be something as full-blown as a restoration plan. And so what does this look like practically? You may have somebody in your group, and man, they're really struggling with alcoholism. And you're like, man, I think this is overtaking you. And you're like, and they're like, yes, okay, well, how about we go through a program together? How about I come alongside of you, we'll go through regeneration together, and we'll walk alongside of each other, because my goal is not condemnation, excommunication, my goal is restoration. And I'm willing to step into the hole with you, so to speak, and help you navigate this way to liberty. And so it may be something as full-blown as a restoration plan, and your willingness

to help walk them through regeneration, or help walk them through some sort of season where they're getting restored. That's what it looks like practically. And this is the invitation of biblical community. And so when you're thinking about what team are you on, who are the people that you do life with, are y'all doing these sort of things, or do you have these plays in place on your team? Paul goes on, he says this in verse two, he says, bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ is a phrase that describes the law of love. The law of Christ is, you know, Jesus says a new commandment I give to you, love one another as I have loved you, show in the world that you're my disciples if you have love for one another. And so this is what it means when Paul says when you're fulfilling the law of Christ, you're fulfilling this law to love people as you love yourself. And so when you bear one another's burdens, you're fulfilling the law of love. And listen, community is God's agency to help you bear your burdens practically. But let me just ask this real quick before we get there. there, have you come in burdened this morning? Have you come to church with a burden in life?

Have you come to church this morning broken? And I don't know where you've come from or what's going on in your life, but I know there's been times in my life when life has hit and I had no idea where to go, so I thought, you know what, I'm gonna go to a church house. You know what, I'm gonna go to a church camp. I'm gonna go to a church because, man, I'm broken and I'm burdened and I don't know where else to go. And some of you have come in here and you are burdened and broken and I've got good news for you. Jesus' arms are open wide to the burdened and the broken. Like if you come in here and you're burdened by your sin, life may have just like got crazy for you and the reason why you don't know where to go is because you don't have relationship with Jesus and maybe you're wondering like, what is Jesus like and I'm gonna go to this church and I'm just gonna try it out and let me just tell you real clearly, Jesus says, come to me all who are heavy laden and heavy burdened and I will give you rest for my yoke is light, my way is easy, I am gentle and lowly in spirit. And Jesus, again, his arms are open wide and he wants to entreat the broken and the burdened to come to him because there is a burden of all burdens and that is your sin that causes you

to be separated from Jesus Christ. And the only way that you can be made right with God Almighty is through a relationship with Jesus Christ by admitting I'm burdened, I'm broken because of my sin and I believe that Jesus loved me so much that he gave his life for me on the cross and he's so powerful and so strong that he rose from the grave and I'm gonna put my faith in him and he's gonna receive me and what the scripture says is when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you don't have to clean up and get it all together, you don't have to try out to be on team Jesus, you just gotta cry out and say, I need you, Jesus. And that is how we alleviate the burden of all burdens. But I don't know if you're anything like me. You know, I did that, but then life got lifey for me. And so I knew I was going to heaven, but I was like, but there's some more burdens. And so what do I do once I know Jesus? How do I navigate the burdens in my life? Well, again, God has given us one another. Like we community is God's agency to help us bear each other's burdens. That's why it says right here, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Simply put, people need people. We need each other. Point number two, if you're taking notes,

you'd write this down. Community, it helps the burden. Community helps the burden. Paul wrote so many things that inform our vision of community, but this one is one of the greatest ones in my opinion. Like your group, if you have a small group you're a part of, it's not just a social time where you get together and play some games. It's not just a study time where you study the word of God, though those things are important. It's not just a share time where we share about our things that we're navigating. That group is meant to be God's family to help you bear one another's burdens. So let me ask you, do you have some burden bearers in your life? You have some people in your life that can help you when life gets heavy. I discovered many years ago that I need some men in my life to do life with. When I first started following Christ, I was about 20 years old and I just so happened to link arms with a few other men and we started running towards the mission of God together. And I just haven't stopped doing that ever since. Like I found that, you know, I was in college when this happened. And when I graduated college,

I didn't graduate from my need for biblical community. I found that today, that life is actually heavier today than it was then. Like I've got more responsibility, I got more weights and I've got more to lose. And so if there was ever a time where I needed biblical community, it was today. And I've just learned that the better version of me is on the other side of biblical community. I wonder, have you learned that? Who is your team? Who are the people that are bearing your burdens? And whose burdens are you bearing? We have a burden bearing church, y'all. Like I love just being a part of Abundant Life and seeing how God's working in our body. Like this last week, I know we already celebrated it, but I gotta run back and celebrate it again. This last week, we got to bear the burden of the special needs community at Buddy Week this week. Can we just celebrate that one more time? Yes, yes. One of my favorite stories from this last week was, man, we had, I think like 300 people that helped serve at Buddy Week. And we had over, I think we had close to 70 people from the special needs community that came out and participated. We had a couple of people from our church house community

that heard about this opportunity, and they drove in from Wisconsin and from some other places. And they said, man, we wanna help bear the burden and serve this community. And like, let me just let you in on a little secret. Don't tell any of our special needs community this. that we were there to bear their burden and to bless them, but they blessed us more. Don't tell them that. They blessed us more, right? And that's how it works. I can't explain it, but I can't deny it. You go into a place, you're like, I'm gonna go help bear their burden, and then you leave just like, man, so filled up. You're like, man, what is this joy that I got? It just seems like the economy that God is building is an upside down one. You give, but you get. And when you serve the least of these, God does something inside of your heart that you couldn't buy at Walmart. He gives you something that you couldn't get anywhere else. And when you bear someone else's burden, the kickback comes to you in blessing. I wonder who are your burden bearers practically? One of the men that bears some of the burdens in my life is our lead pastor, Pastor Phil. I have the privilege of getting to know Pastor Phil

up close and personal. And several years ago, he modeled this scripture for me so well. We were doing some work out on his farm and he's just asking, how are things going? And this is how men, this is how we relate, right? Typically, we don't go sip tea and talk about our feelings, right? We gotta go sweat, get shoulder to shoulder, and then we can talk about stuff while we're out there suffering together. So we're out there suffering together and working out on his farm, and he's just asking things like, how's your marriage? And I'm like, yeah, it's good, bro, it's good. It's good. Is it? We work a little bit more, and I'm like, well, actually, yeah, we're kind of missing each other a little bit, you know? And then Pastor Phil, he just has this, I don't know if it's an anointing, I don't know if it's the cop thing, I'm not real sure, but anyway, like, you just keep talking, you know? And he just looks at you like, oh, I'll tell you more, you know? He's like, he knows I was lying, and things weren't that great. And I just continue to just share with him, man, yeah, Chelsea and I,

we're in the throes of baby boot camp, and we don't have any family around here, and we're just finding it hard to get some time. And anyway, listen, and we talk about different things, and wrap up our work, and then he texts me a few minutes later, and he says, hey, Krista and I, we're gonna come by and pick up the kids, and we're gonna take them to Johnny Ray's. I said, they've never been to Johnny Ray's. We're gonna get them a hamburger, and then we're gonna take them to the trampoline park so that you and Chelsea can go get some time. He sensed that there was a burden that I was carrying. And out of all of the things Pastor Phil had going on, I know he didn't have Friday night available. I'm sure he had to go home, talk to Krista, and say, hey, we're gonna have to move some things around, and we're gonna make this a priority because I'm gonna be this man's burden bearer. And so he came and picked up the kids. They had a great time. Chelsea and I, we went and had a picnic, and we were able to reconnect so that we could allow the things in our marriage to begin to get headed in the right direction. And that's what it looks like for us to live out Galatians 6-2. Like, who are the people that you are in relationship with, and when they share something like that, what are you doing about it?

Who are the burden bearers in your life, and whose burdens are you bearing in their life? How are you living out this scripture? And listen, if you've come in here, and you're in isolation, and you don't have a group, you don't have a team, I wanna invite you to take a step into community. We are praying that today would be a catalyst in the core value of community for our church body. And there's really, I think, two ways that you could take a step to get into a community, or into a group. You could start a group, or you could join a group. And the way that we do that, the first step is that you can text this phrase to this number. You can scan this QR code. Y'all get the drill. And then you can, if you're at a church house, you can just see your church house leader at the end of the service, and you just begin to process, what does it look like for me to start a group, or to join a group? That today is a day where you can get on the right path so that you can come out of anonymity, so that you can join a team practically. And what we're gonna call you to eventually is that you would build relational trust, and you would begin to experience

what we really hope people in groups would experience, that you would belong intentionally, that you would find community so that you could make this big church a small church. Pastor Phil says this all the time, that there's a small church inside of this big church for you, and that you would begin to belong intentionally, that you would engage relationally, that you would grow your relationship with the body of believers by practicing the one another's, and hospitality, and investing in one another, that you would begin to share openly, that you would have so much trust built up with these people that you would welcome and invite accountability where you could be real and transparent, carrying each other's burdens, and celebrating each other's joys, that authenticity and openness will invite this trust and this friendship happening in your life, and that you would begin to respond biblically, that you would gather with these people, open up this book, and you would make God's Word your source for. Decisions for guidance and encouragement and this is what we're praying for you that you would experience this practically But the problem is man, we got too many free agent Christians running around Like you're a Christian you're on Team Jesus, but you're not a part of a team

You don't belong anywhere and you're like a free agent Christian like you have all of the potential Being impactful, but you don't have a team to be a part of and so we want you to be a part of a team But here's also what I know to be true That the larger a team gets the more important it is that you know where you fit And so I played college ball and I remember like reporting to two a days There was 150 to 200 athletes and so like I was on I was on the Tigers But then I had to figure out like which side am I gonna play in football? And so I chose the dark side the better side the defensive side. All right, you know and so, you know I'm not a pretty boy. And so I chose the defensive side and then I had to figure out All right, what what position group do I belong to because when I stepped into the field house, there's 200 athletes coaching staff There's rooms being having meetings and there's all of this stuff going on And if I didn't know what group I belong to I would have got lost in the field house And so I chose to play D line because I like to get my hand in the dirt I like to hunt quarterbacks and I like to smash heads. That was kind of my thing All right, and so I that's what I did. I found my group The reason why I share that with you is because abundant life. I don't know if you know this or not It's a large church Like you on team abundant life. Well, that doesn't mean that you're not gonna get lost in the field house, so to speak and It's a growing church praise God for that But you got to know just because you're on team of Jesus and just because you're on team abundant life That doesn't mean that you know where you belong in the field house so to speak and the way that you begin to break down a Large church is that you invite people to join a group so that they can become Connected to the action and my fear is that many of you have come in here and you are free agent Christians And you don't know exactly what group what position group you're on But now is the time that we begin to change that the community if you don't start investing in it now That when you need it, it's gonna be too late I've heard it said like this that community is a lot like retirement if you wait until you need it to start building It it's too late Now is the time

Now is the moment that you take a step to get into community and to join the team Paul he goes on He says this in verse 3. He says for if anyone thinks himself to be something when he's nothing he deceives himself again He's inviting us to stay humble He says but let each one examine his own work and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another for each One shall bear his own load. I love how practical the scripture is again Paul's just said, you know, we need to help bear one another's burdens, but then he says but everyone's got to carry their own load Like Paul's not down with free loading free loafing Christians. All right He doesn't want us to be mooching off of each other when we need to take responsibility for our life Alright, and so Paul's saying we all have a responsibility to carry our own load. Well, what's a load versus what's a burden? These are two different words in the Greek and Paul's drawing trying to draw a distinction here A load is when you take responsibility for your job You know if you're a Christian and you can work you need to work Paul's saying you got to take responsibility for your walk with God If you're a Christian and you can read and you can get a Bible you need to pursue God. That's your job. That's your load Paul's saying you got to take responsibility for your family You know, if you're if you're a husband if you're a wife, you need to invest in your marriage You need to invest in your children, you know, you shouldn't always be needing help all of the time. That's your responsibility But then there are times When that load that normal load it becomes Unusually heavy and it becomes a burden This is when you're supposed to take care of your kids, but then you find that you're going to Children's Mercy Hospital And what was once a load is now a burden This is when you're supposed to you know, take care of your finances, but you found that you were upside down in an investment What was once a load is now a burden It's when you're supposed to invest in your marriage But then your wife gets deployed like in the video earlier and they were saying in our group One of the wives got deployed to serve our country. And so we stepped in to bring more fellowship to the husband Because now he has a burden And and so it's when something becomes unusually Heavy we begin to step in and bear that for one another

So what Paul is saying basically is as followers of Christ were to stay humble Take care of business and help your people out. He goes on he says this in verse 6 He says and let him who was taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches It's kind of a drive-by for Paul to remind all of us to bless those that invest the word in us. He says in verse seven, do not be deceived. I love this. He says, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. Point number three, if you're taking notes, you can write this down. Community, it invests in the body. You can say it sows into the body. Paul's using a natural law to communicate a timeless truth. You get out of something what you put into it. You gotta give to get. You gotta sow in order to reap. There are like so many ways I would like to take this truth so that we could try it on this week in different areas of our life. But I just wanna kind of sit in the pocket of community for a few minutes and apply this principle in the direction of biblical community. So let me just ask you,

how are you working the ground of community in your life? How are you working the ground of the relationships in your life? I want you to ask yourself, how am I sowing what the spirit wants me to sow in my life in regard to community? We started a little garden in our backyard this year. Y'all pray for me, all right? It's, you know, it looks a lot easier than actually it is. And so we got like the raised garden beds. You know, we're trendy. We got the dirt and the stuff and it looks cool. And we're trying to teach our kids basic lessons. And really my wife, she's the brains behind the operation. I'm just the laborer and the financer. You know, that's how dads, that's how we do, right? And so, but we're trying to teach our girls like what it means to farm and to grow a few things. So we have a little small little hobby farm in the backyard, a couple of raised flower boxes, no big deal. And anyway, but we're teaching our kids some truths so when they read scriptures like this, they understand some basics about reaping and sowing, sowing and reaping. And here's what I know to be true about sowing. Sowing must be done intentionally, timely, and carefully. It's gotta be done intentionally, timely, and carefully. So let's apply that to our understanding of relationships. Man, when you're sowing into a relationship,

you have to sow intentionally. Like it's no accident, like we had to go buy tomato seeds and we had to sow them in the dirt and nurture these tomato plants. And then we had to put them over into the flower box eventually. I mean, it took intentionality. There was no accident. We didn't just, the seeds didn't grow legs and walk themselves into the dirt and plant themselves. All right, so let me just break this down for you, biblical community will not happen accidentally. Typically, you don't find your group, you forge your group. If you want something, you've got to put some intentionality into it. You gotta sow intentionally. The second thing that's true about sowing is that it happens timely. There's a sense of urgency. You know, you have like this window when you gotta plant the seed in the dirt or it's too soon and they all get freezer burned or it's too late and they all get sunburned, you know? And so you gotta know what is the right window. Let me tell you what the right time is or when is the right time to get into community. Now's the right time to get into community, all right? If you wait until you need it, again, it's like retirement. If you wait, and I'm just gonna do that later, I'm just gonna do that later.

And then you find yourself needing community and looking around and going, where's the church? Where's the church? You never invested in it. Now's the time. Do you sense the urgency? And if you're like, man, we're just in a busy season. Well, if you're too busy to be a Christian, you're too busy, all right? And you need to rearrange some things so that you can create some margin to pursue some biblical community. So don't miss the window of opportunity. When you're sowing, it's gotta be intentional. It's gotta be timely. And then when you're sowing seed, it happens carefully. Again, we're not just recklessly like just spreading dirt and just throwing stuff. I mean, it was like we were dealing with biochemical warfare out there, y'all. It was like we nurtured these little saplings and then we're just like, okay. And I think we were even talking to them. Like, you're looking so good, you know? And we're just like nurturing them and then planting them and everything's careful and then we pull the weeds and we did like the PVC pipe and the nets because the birds, the birds, the birds, you know? And you gotta protect them all, right? And it's just so delicate.

And when you're sowing seed, it's gotta be careful. It can't be reckless. And the same is true with relationships. Man, you gotta be intentional. You gotta make it a priority. And then you gotta nurture those relationships. And so quit being the flaky Christian, if that's you, that just no-shows. And then somebody texts you like, man, is everything good? Like, oh yeah, man, I forgot, I got busy. Like, you need to make sure that you're putting effort in the relationship. And many of us, we're not sowing into the right things. Therefore, we're not reaping the right things. And some of you, maybe you come here this morning, you're like, man, I've tried this, bro. But if I'm being honest, I'm walking in to a place like this with a little bit of disappointment in Christians and a little bit of church. hurt. And so like my man, my energy to put myself out there again is just, it's waning a little bit because I've been rejected before. I've been talked about before and, and I just don't know. Let me just respond to that with a few things. First of all, if you have church hurt, I'm so sorry. I literally hate that that happened. Like I hate disappointing people and I hate hearing about how Christians have not followed out the scriptures and they've hurt each other. Number two, Christians will disappoint you. All right. I think a lot of times the reason why we have church hurt is because we expected Christians to be Christ and we're not Jesus. Okay.

Jesus is the only one that will not disappoint you. He's, that's why we worship him. That's why we're all like, man, Jesus, I like that guy. You know, he's good. Me trying, you know, not there yet. And Christians will disappoint you. And so when sin happens, don't be like, Oh my goodness, I can't believe this happened. We're all flawed. We all need Jesus. You didn't get saved and then never need him again. We're all at work in process, hopefully a work in progress. And so don't be surprised when something goes awry in your family, in your team, in your group. And then thirdly, don't give up on what Jesus gave his life for. And so if you've experienced church hurt, I just want to invite you try again. And I think Paul was anticipating when he's talking about reaping and sowing that people will just be like, man, Paul, we've tried, we have tried to do the church thing. We've tried to do the group thing, but we're just, man, we're just, we're tired of trying. And so the word of God goes on. It says this in verse nine, and let us not grow weary while doing good. I love how the Bible anticipates that life is weary at times. I love how the Bible is not aloof to the struggle of our life. Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season. We shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Point number four. And finally, if you're taking notes, you could write this down. Community takes hard work. Community takes hard work. I don't know if you know this or not, but deep relationships don't just happen. My wife and I, we were on a date Monday night and we sat next to a couple that was celebrating like their, I don't know, it was like their 200th anniversary. They were old. Right. And, uh, and, and we were just gassing them up, you know,

and you don't see a couple that's been married for that long and go, well, I guess it just happened. No, they, they had to fight and claw and stick together and be committed. Deep relationships don't just happen. They take work and there's, and it's weary at times. And so Paul, he's saying, don't grow weary, don't give up. Relationships, they take effort and I would argue they take a lot of patience. And so if you're going to get in a group, it's going to take work. I just want to give you a heads up. If you're going to grow in a group, it's going to take work. I just want to give you a heads up. If you're going to stay in a group, it's going to take work. I just want to give you a heads up and I want to just admonish you and encourage you, don't lose heart. And if you don't give up, you will reap something, I promise you, that was bigger and better than you could have ever have imagined. So this is what we're telling our kids right now. I don't know what's going on with our garden. I don't know if it's the sun. I don't know what we're doing wrong, but things are growing, but they're not growing as fast as we hoped they would. And so we still haven't got a tomato yet and people are giving me tomatoes and I'm like, we should be having some tomatoes by now. But I feel like we're close, all right? So we're telling our kids, we can see the growth, but no fruit yet, all right? And so we're trying to teach them about the law of the harvest. We've sowed and we're going to water and we're going to talk to those plants and we're going to pray to God. But God is the one that is going to bring the harvest. And here's some truths about reaping, that reaping, it will happen inevitably. Reaping will come. If you plant, there will be some sort of reaping at some point. And so if you get into community, it is inevitable. It may take some time, but it's inevitable that you will reap inevitably. Reaping will also happen eventually. It's going to take time. There's no microwave in farming and there's no microwave in relationships. And probably the most wonderful thing is that reaping will happen excessively. A synonym for that would be it will

happen disproportionately. We've put a few seeds in the ground and we're anticipating having to call all of you because we've got so many tomatoes that we're just trying to give them away to you all, right? That it will happen disproportionately. disproportionate to the seed that you sowed, the reaping is disproportionate. So what you get, you could have never have imagined how good it was. And I cannot testify enough to what God has brought into my life through those who I call my group. And currently I'm getting to do life with a few men and they're such a blessing to me. And they sharpen me and they're shaping me into the likeness of Christ. And they know me and they're not impressed. And they love me enough to ask the hard questions. And when life is lifey, they show up and they give and they help and they shoulder the load. And this is God's design for us. And so let me ask you again, who is on your team and whose team are you on? And let me just double down, I want this so bad for you. Like I want you to find your team today. And there's never been a better time in your life than today to join a group or to start a group. And so let's be the team that God has called us to be. And let's know where we need to go in the field house of abundant life. If you would bow your head and close your eyes,

I wanna ask you two questions and I'm gonna pray and then we'll move on to what's next. Question number one, let me just ask you, whose team are you on for eternity? Now we've already talked about this, but let me just ask you, do you know Jesus? Are you on team Jesus? In God's eyes, you're either on the lost team or the found team. And so if you're here and you don't know Christ, the most important decision you could make today is to trust Christ. What does that mean practically? You admit, I'm not on team Jesus, I'm a sinner. You believe that Jesus died on the cross and that he rose from the grave and then you confess him as the Lord of your life. Again, let me just remind you, the way that you become a part of team Jesus, you don't try out. There's no bench press of righteousness that you've gotta get to. There's no 40 of holiness that you've gotta run. You don't try out, you just cry out and say, Jesus, will you save me? And when you do that, he's like, man, here's a jersey. Welcome to the team. And then he moves in and he begins to coach you and to shape you so that you can become all that he knit you together

in your mother's womb to become. So question number one, whose team are you on for eternity? If you're not on team Jesus, why would you not wanna join Christ today? Then question number two, whose team are you on practically? Who are the people that you do life with? Who are your dogs? Who are your girls? Who are the people that bear your burdens? Who are the people that will call you out in a heart of restoration with gentleness and humility? Who are the people that you're sowing relational seeds into their life and reaping the blessing of fellowship? And if you're not in a group, if you don't have a team practically, I just wanna urge you to join a group today. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your goodness in our life. Jesus, thank you that your arms are open wide, welcoming all those who are heavy laden and burdened and saying, come to me and I'll give you rest. Jesus, I thank you that you are gentle and lowly in spirit, that you came on a divine restoration mission. You did not come to bring condemnation or excommunication, but you came to bring us into your family, to be on your team. And so God, I pray if there's somebody here that doesn't know you, that they would simply cry out to you and that you would save them.

And God, for those that do know you that are disconnected from experiencing a local, alive, active representation of fellowship and biblical community, God, I pray that today would be the day where they take a step to join a group, or today would be a day where they take a step to start a group. And God, you would help us to come to this church to be connected with you, but we would leave connected with the body. For your glory, for our joy and for the world's good in Christ's name I pray, Amen. Can we give the Lord a hand for just a second? Give the Lord a hand