Friday, May 14, 2010
The Spiritual Life, Part 18 of 28
TEXT: "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. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 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. Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches" (Galatians 6:1-6).
IDEA: Another expression of the fruit of the Spirit is how we support those who teach us the Scriptures.
PURPOSE: To help listeners consider how they respond financially to those who are their spiritual mentors.
Does it ever surprise you how God applies His truth to our lives?
In Galatians 5, Paul has described the fruit of the Spirit.
Why do you think he calls them "the fruit of the Spirit"?
These are the evidences of God's working inside of us.
I. He has told us two important ways in which this fruit is displayed in our individual lives and in our corporate life:
We are to bear one another's burdens.
We are to carry our own burden.
II. An additional way Paul applies the fruit of the Spirit is that we are to be people who contribute to those who teach us.
Galatians 6:6 says, "Let him who is taught share in all good things with him who teaches." This is also a mark of the fruit of the Spirit. How?
This is an expression of goodness. In practice, that means sharing good things with others, especially our teachers.
Teachers and the people they teach carry one another's burdens.
The teacher carries the burden of instructing God's people in God's Word.
He or she teaches God's Word. That is essential for anyone that we support.
He or she has to think about how God's truth applies to people's lives.
He or she must give him or herself to study.
God's people carry the financial burden that a teacher has in serving God's people.
As a group, pastors are the lowest paid profession in American life. Do you think that tells us something about the spiritual life of their congregations?
A church needs to ask, "Are we doing the very best we can to support the person who is teaching us?"
There are other ways in which a congregation can support a pastor. Paul refers to "all good things." What good things might people in a congregation do for a pastor?
