Free For All

Reading the word of God from Galatians chapter 6, the first ten verses. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, which means some kind of sin, ye who are spiritual restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another.

For every man shall bear his own burdens. Let him that is taught in the word share with him that keepeth in all good things. Be not deceived, God is not mocked.

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. One of the great men that came out of Victorian England was General William Booth.

Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. He was hooted at, he was laughed at, he was ridiculed, he was even physically attacked. But he continued persistently in building the force of the Salvation Army, which in that time had a tremendous soul-winning ministry, and I believe in many places today still does.

It's been my privilege in different parts of the country, in fact in different parts of the world, to work with Army people who have a burden for souls and a desire to serve the Lord. The Army was having an international conference and the General was unable to attend. He was old and ill, and so they asked him to send a message, and he sent a message of one word.

When the cablegram arrived, the General's message was this, Others. That was all. Others.

That's a good message, and Paul would have agreed with that message. Chapter 5, verse 13, By love serve one another. He warns in verse 15, If you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another.

Verse 26, Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. What should we do? Verse 2, chapter 6, Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Paul liked that word others.

Let each esteem others more important than themselves. He wrote that to the Philippians. He wrote to the Romans, Receive one another.

He wrote to the Thessalonians, Edify one another. He also wrote to the Romans, In honor preferring one another. What he's saying in Galatians 6, verses 1 through 10, is a spiritual life reveals itself by the way we treat others.

That's all he's saying. A spiritual life, if a person is living by grace and not by law, you can tell it by the way he treats other people. If a person is living by grace, living by faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, you can tell it by the way he treats other people.

The legalist, you see, lives in verse 15 and verse 26 of chapter 5. They're looking for vain glory. They're provoking each other. They're envying each other.

When you live by law, you're always measuring yourself by somebody else. I heard recently of a pastor who declared he'd made a list of the 10 most spiritual people in the world. I'd be afraid to make a list like that.

Who knows who are the 10 most spiritual people in the world? Only God knows. Only God sees the harm. And so the legalist is provoking and envying and biting and fighting.

But the person who lives by grace, who just draws upon the grace of God, who walks in the Spirit by love, serves other people. By love, ministers to others. In fact, Galatians 6, 1 through 10 tells us that if we're walking in the Spirit, if we're living by grace, we can enjoy two very marvelous privileges in our relationship to one another.

Now, what are these two privileges? Verses 1 through 5, the privilege of bearing burden. Verses 6 through 10, the privilege of sharing blessings. Now, I wonder tonight, are you enjoying these privileges? Now, the average person, including the average Christian, thinks of number one.

How to take care of number one. How to put self first and everybody else somewhere else. Paul says, if you're walking in the Spirit, Galatians 5, 16, if you're producing the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5, 22, if you're living in the Spirit, Galatians 5, 25, then you will enjoy these two very wonderful privileges in your relationship to other people.

The privilege of bearing burden and sharing blessings. There are some people who have the idea that the more spiritual you are, the more you pull yourself away from other people. There are some saints of God who are so right, whose theology is so correct, whose attitude on spiritual things is so perfect.

They can't fellowship with us. We're not spiritual enough for them. But Paul doesn't say that.

Paul says, when you're walking in the Spirit, living by grace, then there's a closer relationship between people, even people who have fallen into sin. Let's take this first privilege, verses 1 through 5, the privilege of bearing burden. Now, everybody has some kind of burden.

Everybody. You may look at people at Moody Church or your office or your school and say, boy, he's got it made, he's got it made. I recall when I first went to my last church, this would be back in 1961, and we were having the opportunity of getting to meet people and know people, a large congregation that we had to meet.

And you know, your first impressions are sometimes dead wrong. I recall meeting one man who had a very fine business, and he himself seemed to be a very spiritual man. I thought to myself, my, this fellow's really got it made.

He doesn't know what it is to carry burden. Then I got to know him, and I found out some of the burdens that man carries and still carries. And you may look at people and say, well, he's got it made, he's got it made.

They don't have any burdens. Oh, but they do. I sat down with my concordance.

I like to do that occasionally, and just began to make a list of the various people who had burdens in the Bible. Over in Psalm 38, verse 4, David said that his sins were like a burden. His sin had so burdened him.

You know, there are some saints of God who have gotten into sin, and the sin is just a burden on their lives. There's some people who are fighting a tremendous battle day after day to keep away from sins that so easily beset them. David said, I'm burdened with sin.

Job, bless his heart, someday I'd like to write a book about Job. I haven't lived long enough to do it yet, but when I've lived long enough and suffered enough, I want to write a book about Job, one of the most misunderstood, maligned persons in the Bible. In Job chapter 7 and verse 20, Job says this, and have you ever said this? I am a burden to myself.

You ever been a burden to yourself? Sure you have. There have been times when your body has just been a burden to you. There have been times when life is just so crushed to you, and I'm just a burden to myself.

I'm, Mr. Moody used to say, I have more trouble with D.L. Moody than with anybody else. Jesus, over in Matthew 23, verse 4, talked about the Pharisees who laid burdens on people. You know, some people are burdened by religion.

They've got to pray so many prayers and give so many gifts and do so many good deeds, and they're just burdened by religion. There are many evangelical people whose attitude toward the Christian life is just a burden. Oh, I've got to do this, and I've got to do that, and if I don't have my devotion, the roof may cave in.

Well, dear friend, your religion is not supposed to be a burden to you, but it was to the Pharisees. Here in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 5, Paul says every man shall bear his own burden. Seems like he's contradicting verse 2, where he says, bear ye one another's burden.

But he's not. He's using two different words. Up in verse 2, the word for burden means the heavy load that you have to carry, the trials of life, and we can share those.

We can pray for each other, and we can help people pay bills, and we can love people and encourage them and babysit and fix them some food. There are lots of ways we can help people carry burdens. But the word he uses for burden down in verse 5 is a military term.

It means the pack that a soldier carries on his back, and you're the only one who can carry that. I can't carry that for you. You have responsibilities as a father or a mother, as a husband, a wife, a student, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher, a human being.

You have responsibilities that only you can carry, and if you try to take that pack off your back and give it to somebody else, you're shirking your own responsibilities. So there are burdens of responsibility. Everybody has some responsibility.

Somebody here tonight is saying, Pastor, where is he? I am carrying some responsibilities that I can't handle. I don't know what to do about it. Jeremiah is one of my favorite Old Testament characters.

My heart goes out to him. He preached for 40 years, and at the end of those 40 years, failed. Failed.

They wouldn't listen to him. They wouldn't obey the word. Jerusalem was wrecked.

The nation was taken captive. Jeremiah cries out in Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 19. This is my affliction, and I must bear it.

Now, if he didn't like some people, he was taken to drink or dope or committed suicide or said, well, it's none of my responsibility. Oh, no. Jeremiah says, this is my affliction, but I'm going to be faithful.

I'm going to bear it. Oh, that's courage. The most spiritual person in Moody Church may not be the one who does the most talking or passes out the most literature, as good as witnessing and literature are.

The most spiritual person in Moody Church may be that one who says, I have this affliction. I have this trial, and by God's grace, I'm going to bear it. So everybody has burdens.

Now, the particular burden that Paul talks about here in chapter 6 is the burden of a backslidden brother. You say, that's no burden to me. It ought to be.

It ought to be. I recall some years ago, and I wish I could document this to the very day, but I can't because my memory is not that good. We were living down in Covington.

We were driving home to Hammond, my old home, for a little vacation to see grandma and grandpa. As we came through Indianapolis, we had the radio on, and they broke in with an announcement that some family that had been on vacation, they had stopped someplace to have a picnic or do something, and the little girl didn't get in by a dog, and they discovered the dog had rabies. Now they were announcing on all the radio stations, if you know where these people are, please tell them to get to the nearest hospital or doctor because this dog had rabies.

They were interrupting rock numbers. They were interrupting classical numbers. They were interrupting the news.

Why? A little girl was in danger, and people felt the burden. Now, she wasn't my little girl, but she was somebody's little girl, and we felt the burden of it too. You would too.

Paul is saying here, and please get a hold of this, the test of our spirituality is not how we treat the brother who has succeeded. How do we treat the brother who has stumbled and fallen? What is our attitude toward the backslidden brother? Now, what does a legalist do for the backslidden brother? Here's a brother in the Galatian church. If he falls into sin, it can happen to any of us.

That's why Paul says you better be careful. Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. The legalist said, well, that'll never happen to me.

Oh, have you ever said I'll never do that? And you've done it. The legalist uses a fallen brother to make himself look good. I'd never do a thing like that.

One of the most difficult tasks I have to perform in the course of my ministry is reading literature that comes from various denominations and different groups. I want to keep up with what's going on. I want to know who's doing this and what's happening there.

And, you know, it's so difficult to read some of these publications because all it is is blasphemy, one brother after another brother. Instead of saying, let's call a time of prayer, let's weep over this brother who, oh no, they hang all the dirty wash out in public. Paul says the test of my spirituality is not how many verses I can quote or how many dissensational charts I can draw.

The test of my spirituality is what do I do when a brother falls into sin? Do I judge him? That's what the legalist did. Master, here is a woman taken in adultery in the very act. Moses said we should stone her.

What do you say? Oh God, I thank thee. I'm not like other men and like this publican here. A person who lives by law is hard.

A person who lives by law is judgmental and critical. And he won't get down where the fallen brother is. He stands and points and says, see what he did.

See what I would never do that. But Paul tells us here that the true Christian has a different aim. What is his aim? To restore the brother.

Not to hurt the brother, to restore him. That word restore is a medical term that means to set a broken bone. You see, the church is a body.

And if a brother or a sister has fallen into sin, it's like the body having a broken bone. You ever had a broken bone? It hurts. Broken bones hurt.

And they hurt for a long time afterwards. And when you have broken bones, you can't function like you'd like to function. And Paul is saying, look, a brother has fallen.

Now, what is the aim of the legalist? To condemn him. What is the aim of the Spirit-reminded person who lives by grace? To restore him. But oh, I tell you, when a doctor restores a broken bone, he uses tenderness.

He doesn't come in with a sledgehammer and a crowbar. He comes in with tenderness. I had 17 breaks in my rib cage at one time.

And the doctor said, now, we have a special garment we want you to wear. Sort of like an ephod. And he said, if you'll wear this, it'll help these bones to knit.

And do you know what the nurse did? She put it on backwards. And instead of pulling those bones together, it was doing something else. My wife heard me scream.

I don't know how many feet away she was outside the room. It just hurt. That's the way some of the saints try to restore the brethren.

Backwards. So our aim is to restore a brother. Not to condemn him.

To restore him. To seek to set that broken bone. Our attitude is one of meekness and grace and humility.

Because this is what comes from the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. Gentleness.

Meekness. When the Spirit of God's in control, and you go to seek to help a brother, you don't hate him, you love him. You don't fight with him, you forgive him.

There isn't hardness, there's tenderness. Even if he doesn't respond, we show meekness and humility. We have an attitude that is not judgmental and unkind.

You see, the reason that many of the saints of God cannot restore a fallen brother is because they are not sure of themselves. You've got to be sure of yourself before you can help somebody else. There was an interesting article in today's Tribune magazine about one of my favorite TV characters, Dick Van Dyke.

And the headline said, the title said, so secure of himself that he's willing to play second banana. And here's a man who could have, and I'm not using him as an illustration of spirituality, I'm talking about something else. Here is a man who could have his own TV program, he could be a top man in some program, but he's willing to be second along the line.

That's how secure he is in himself. Paul talks about these legalists who think themselves to be something when they're nothing. A lot of people like that.

They think themselves to be something. Because I obey the law, I'm spiritual. Because I don't do this, I'm better than he is.

Because I don't... Paul says, wait just a minute now. Who told you you were spiritual? Well, the crowd I run around with. You know, we have today a mutual admiration society among the saints.

You tell me I'm spiritual and I'll tell you you're spiritual. We have this today. We have great groups of people who get together for one purpose and one purpose only, to tell each other how spiritual they are, and how unspiritual the rest of us are, who are not in their group.

Paul says now, I want you to stop and think just a moment. Have you proved your own worth? Let every man prove his own worth. Then you're going to have rejoicing between him and the Lord, and not what somebody else says.

Is your spiritual life dependent upon the bolstering and the encouraging of other people? Do you depend upon what people tell you about yourself? You see, the legalist is afraid to touch the fallen brother, for fear somebody in his group may criticize him. You know, it's a marvelous time in your life, when you get to that place where you live for the approval of God alone. Not the approval of denominations.

Not the approval of groups. Not the approval of men. We live for the approval of God alone.

That's what Jesus said. He said, I don't seek glory from men. I seek that glory that comes from God alone.

And there is a confidence in the life of the spiritual believer that enables him to go to the fallen brother and say, brother, but by the grace of God, I'd be there. Now, let me help you. And there's a tenderness and a gentleness and a healing.

That's what grace does. Verses one through five. The privilege of bearing burdens.

Now, I'm going to ask you a very pointed question. I asked myself this question today. Did I add to somebody's burden or did I help to carry them? Just ask yourself that question.

Last week, by my conduct, did I create new burdens for people? By my work, by what I said, by my attitudes in the home or the office or the school or the church, was I adding to somebody's burden? My dear friend, Dr. Howard Sugden has preached in this pulpit. I suppose he's one of my closest friends in the ministry. He told me that every day I pray like this, dear Lord, help me today not to add to anybody's burden.

That's a great prayer. If every child would say, dear Lord, help me not to add to my parents' burden and vice versa, what a different home it would be. And so the privilege of bearing burdens, that's what grace does.

He says on the cross, Jesus bore our burden for us. That's what love does. That's what the Spirit does.

The Holy Spirit of God helps us to bear one another's burdens, not to add to one another's burdens. The legalist always adds to the burden. Jesus said, they bind heavy burdens on men's shoulders, grievous to be born, they won't lift one finger to help them.

They're harder on other people than they are on themselves. When you walk by grace and live in the power of the Holy Spirit, you're harder on yourself than you are on other people. You give up privileges that other people might have them.

You pay a price that other people might have a lighter burden to carry. And we help to bear each other's burdens. Verses 6 through 10, the second privilege we have, if we are Spirit-filled Christians living by grace, the privilege is sharing blessings.

Let him that is taught in the word, that's the congregation, share with him that teacheth, that's the teacher, in all good things. He's laying down a principle here that goes all through the Bible. If you are blessed with spiritual things, then we reciprocate with material things.

When I was in my first church, and I didn't know a great deal about what a church was supposed to do, we were having a deacon's meeting. I can never forget one of those men. You know, in every church, God gives you some people who sort of are your fathers in the Lord.

They sort of encourage you and help you. I never forget this dear deacon. He said, you know, pastor, it's always been our policy in our home to put our money where we get our food.

And he said, I've learned that when the pastor feeds the people and the people know the word of God, then the bills get paid. I have followed that policy in my whole ministry. It's always been my belief from Galatians chapter 6 and verse 6 that if God's people are fed spiritually, they will return materially what God has given to them.

We've proved it here at the Moody's Church. We've proved it in other places. You see, God lays down a principle here that we should share one with another.

We should communicate. The early church and all that believe were together and had all things common. Now, God doesn't ask us to take our wallets and lay them at the apostles' feet because we have no apostles' feet today because we have no apostles.

What he does say is when you get saved, you can't, it's like getting married. You no longer say yours and mine. You say ours.

Once a husband and a wife start saying like yours, that's mine, then you got problems. Once a Christian, that's his mind, he says, that's problems, it's ours. We belong to one another and we share with one another.

Now, he gives them a very definite precept in verse 6. He says, where you get your spiritual blessing, you ought to share in material things. If you don't get a blessing from the pulpit of the Moody's Church and the choir loft and the Sunday school classes and the fellowship of the Moody's Church, then you don't owe God anything. But if you get a blessing, if God feeds you and encourages you and teaches you through the ministry of the church, then you've got a precious privilege, the privilege of sharing your blessing.

In the early church, the apostle Paul, as he ministered, often gave up this privilege. He would say to the people, now don't bring it to me. I'll go ahead and make some tents and take care of my needs.

Share it with other people. Share it with other people. But the principle and the word of God is there in verse 6. Now, he backs it up in verses 7 and 8 by saying this.

Be not deceived. Don't fool yourself. God is not mocked.

For whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. We usually preach this in the rescue mission. And we say to the dear fellows and women there, we say, oh, if you sow alcohol to your flesh, you'll reap corruption.

If you sow lust, if you sow gambling. He's writing to Christians. He's not writing to people on Skid Row.

He's writing to Christians. He's saying to Christians, each of us has a certain amount of seed. That seed he's talking about here is the material blessings of life.

We have cars. We have homes. We have money.

We have checking accounts, whatever. These material things. Now he says that's like seed.

Next time you pull out your wallet, you look upon that as seed. Now he says you can sow that seed in one of two places. If you sow to the flesh, if you invest the material things of life to the gratifying of the flesh, you're going to reap corruption.

It's all going to decay. It'll all fade away. Be nothing left.

But if you use it for the Lord, if you sow it to the Spirit, can a person use his automobile for the Holy Spirit? Certainly. Can he use his living room? Absolutely. His basement? Certainly.

His check account? Yes. Any material thing God has given to us can be consecrated to him and used for his glory. That's sowing to the Spirit.

Who that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. And multitudes of Christians are using their money and all the material things God gives them just for self-gratification. They're not investing it in the things of the Lord.

But he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. We reap what we sow. And we reap where we sow.

If we sow to the flesh, we reap corruption. If we sow to the Spirit, we reap life everlasting. That's a great principle to follow.

The precept of verse 6 is backed up by the principle of verses 7 and 8. Then there's the promise of verse 9. Let's not be weary in well-doing. You say, man, I've turned my home over to missionaries and we've had students over and they've eaten us out of house and home and a plague of locusts sweeping down upon us. Paul says, Justin, don't be weary in well-doing.

You see, the well-doing of verse 9 is the sowing of verse 8 and it is the sharing of verse 6. When we're sharing what we have to the Lord by giving it to his people, then we're sowing to the Spirit and we're going to reap in due season. Let's not be weary in well-doing. Don't get tired.

You know, sometimes we get tired in the Lord's work. I hope we never get tired of the Lord's work. But we get tired in the Lord's work.

Jesus was weary. He was so weary one day, he went to sleep in a boat in a storm. I wouldn't go to sleep in a boat in sunshine.

And there he was dreaming about heaven and they woke him up and they said, don't you care that we perish? Our Lord was weary. Paul was weary in weariness, in fasting. We do get weary in the Lord's work, but we should not get weary of the Lord's work.

Why? In due season we shall reap if we think not. There are seasons to your life. There are seasons of sowing.

There are seasons of reaping. There are seasons of sharing. There are seasons of receiving.

There are seasons of sharing with the Spirit. There are seasons when the Spirit produces fruit in your life. Just wait.

Farmer goes out and sows his fields, goes to bed and wakes up and says, where's the crop? It's only been one night. Oh, some of you want to be instant Christians. You go home and take instant mashed potatoes and instant this and instant that.

You say, boy, oh no, no, no. You sow, you cultivate, you pray, you wait, you reap. And so he backs up the principle with a promise.

Don't get weary and don't watch other Christians. Let them do what they're doing. You just watch yourself and the Lord and sow to the Spirit.

My friend, take what God's given you, your library, your bank accounts, your automobile, your stereo, whatever God's given you, give it to Him and use it as seed, sowing to the Spirit. And I guarantee God will give you a harvest that will rejoice your heart. The happiest Christians I know are Christians who don't own a thing.

It's all God. They may possess it, but they don't own it. It's God.

They're stewards. And they just use it to the glory of God. So he wraps all of this up in verse 10.

As we have therefore opportunity. Now don't go out and manufacture opportunities. Don't make a nuisance of yourself.

Hey, I want to carry your burden. No, no, let the Lord give you the opportunity. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, even unsaved people.

They don't deserve it. Neither do you. Sometimes one of the best ways to win an unsaved person to Christ is just to be kind to them.

Just be a good neighbor. Some Christians never talk to their unsaved neighbors except to invite them to church or ball them out for not being saved. When they ought to be saying, hey, come on over for a sandwich or here, I've got too much corn.

Here's some for you. It's amazing what God can do through the good works of a saint. As we have therefore opportunity, let's do good unto all.

Especially unto them who are of the household of faith, the privilege of sharing blessings and bearing burdens. You know, the interesting thing is this. When you think of others, God blesses you.

That's not why you do it. But if you think of others, the needs of others, what can I share with others? God blesses you. Give and it shall be given unto you.

That's why the spirit-filled Christian who lives by grace doesn't need law. The legalist has his little code he's going to go by. He can't touch me because I don't belong to his group and he can't touch you because you're falling down.

And so the legalist goes on his way saying I am spiritual. But along comes the spirit-filled Christian who lives by grace. And grace means God did it for me.

I didn't deserve it. I can share with others. And his first question is not what can you do for me? It's what can I do for you? Can I help to bear your burden? Can I help to share some blessings with you? You say, Pat, it's a very costly way to live.

Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Your phone rings in the middle of the night and sometimes people can be so difficult.

It is a costly way to live. It's the way Jesus lived. You can do like the priest and the Levite in that parable and go by on the other side.

They were legalists. As they walked by and saw that man lying there bleeding and half dead, they say, well, there's nothing in the law that says I should do anything about that. I just finished serving up at the temple.

I have to go home. Along came Mr. Merrick and his heart was broken. He went down and helped him.

And that's great. Yes, it does cost something. But the results are marvelous.

You grow. God blesses. God enables you to share.

Oh, it's a marvelous experience. And so as we leave tonight, we ought to ask ourselves two questions. Number one, am I creating burden or bearing burden? Number two, am I getting or am I giving? Do I go around complaining to folks don't give me? What have I given others? Folks don't share with me.

What have I shared with others? Tomorrow morning when we wake up, let's pray something like this. Dear Father, here's a new day. I don't know what opportunities you're going to give me, but there are people out there with burdens.

Help me to bear burdens. Help me to share blessings to the glory of God. After all, isn't that what Jesus did for you? Thank you, Heavenly Father, that the Spirit of God can take away our selfishness and help us in sharing with others.

Thank you for the victory we can have. Now, Lord, help us to think of others. Please, Lord, deliver us from adding to people's burdens and trials.

Help us rather to help bear their burdens and make the load lighter. Thank you for all that you've given to us. Help us to share it with others.

I pray for any here tonight without the Savior. Oh, God, may we trust him who died for them. And may each of us live for others.

For Jesus' sake. Amen.