Being a Community

Galatians 6:1-10

Becoming a Community . . . that Cares v1-5

Becoming and Community . . . that prays v6-8

Becoming a Community. . . that serves v9-10

Today I want to talk about what it means to be a community. I have preached on this topic before, but today I want to dive into what it looks like from the point of view of the Church. . . what I mean by that is that the church's identity is set by the type of community that it nurtures. Therefore, I think it is important for us to figure out what that is. It's important for us to know what the Bible says about community, and how we should shape our Church around that.

I want to start by looking at our reading from Galatians 6. Because if we look closely, it can be broken down into 3 sections.

verses 1- 5 talk about caring for one another

verses 6-8 talk about praying from one another

and verses 9-10 talk about serving one another

So, I want to break that down for us today, looking at these three points, to find out what God might be saying to us in this season.

The first point. . . Becoming a community that cares

This might seem like a bit of an obvious point, but we must ask ourselves. . . do we truly care for one another? How do we truly care for one another?

We can find the answer here if we jump into our Reading in Galatians 6. Verses 1 and 2 shine a light for us. . .

Verse 1 talks about restoring people gently who may be caught up in sin. In my experience, this is an area that the Church as a whole really struggles with.

James 5:16 says. . . 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

This isn't to be confused with the catholic practice of confessing to a priest, nor is it a way to earn forgiveness as there is only 1 mediator between Man and God and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. But what this practice of confessing our sins to one another does. . . is it breaks down the barriers of shame and distrust. It shows the community that we all have the same scars and it encourages a sense of openness and honesty. All of these things strengthen relationships and community and must be done in love and grace.

Verse 2 in Galatians 6 goes on to say that we should carry each others burdens. These burdens are failures, temptations, trials, testings, and times of weakness.

It then goes on to say in verse 2 that in carrying one anothers burdens, we are fulfilling the Law of Christ. . . The law of Christ can be found in John13:34 where it says. . . A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another

To carry one another's burdens is to Love one another. . . that's the command that Christ gave us. .  . Christ bares our suffering and our pain, and if we are to be like Christ, then we too must walk that same road. We too, must bare the burdens of our church community so that we may be Christ Like.

Verse 3 and 4 go on to talk about "if anyone believes they are something when they are not, they are deceiving themselves". . .

These 2 verses address something that Paul knew would happen. It's sort of like a disclaimer here because Paul knew that when people were weak and vulnerable that it would create an opportunity for people to exploit that. And i think that's why this is one of the most difficult things for us to do, even in the church.

We are afraid that when we share our feelings, and our problems, that some might see it as a sign of weakness or a chance to get one up on someone else. And if we don't address these sorts of things, then we can never truly be in a place of caring. . .

1 John 4:18 says There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love

This verse in 1 John shows us that we cannot live in fear, for if we do we are not living in Love. . .

It's easier said that done, but that can't be our excuse for not trying. . . We have to open ourselves up as a community, trust in one another without the fear of getting hurt, because its only when we do that, that it will give permission for others to do the same. . .

and if we are walking this road together in love and truly caring for one another without selfish-ambition of alterior motives then we begin to see a community that is strong, that is attractive to the outsider, and one that is living as Christ did.

This is what it means to truly care as a community. Where we are not living in the fear of getting hurt, where we are putting the needs of others above our own, and where we are mimicking the the life and love that Christ had for everyone. . . . And we must strive to be a community that does the same.

The second point is . . . becoming a community that prays.

Prayer opens doors. When we pray to God, in faith, we do so believing that He can meet our needs. If we didn't believe that He could do it, we wouldn't pray for it.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 3:20 it says . . .

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we askor imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

God always exceeds my expectations. Just when I begin to wrap my head around His goodness, He then goes and does something else amazing and i'm back to square one. . .

Can you imagine what our community would look like if we prayed like Ephesians 3:20 told us to? Without limits, without putting God in a box?

That is why, as a church community, we must be praying these kinds of prayers for one another. Because we must pray the promises that can be found in scripture.

Thats what our reading in Galatians 6 means in verse 6. It says. . . nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with the instructor.

When we pray the blessing of scripture over one another, we can see here in God's word that we too receive a blessing as the one who prays. This not only shows that God's design is for us to be blessed by scripture, but it shows that He designed it such a way that the community would be blessed when we do this!

So let's remind ourselves what the Bible says about prayer. . .

Hebrews 4:16 says

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 says

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

Philippians 4:6–7 says

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

1 John 5:14–15 says

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him

These are just a few scriptures that talk about prayer, but the point is this. . . things happen when we pray. Lives can be changed when we pray, hearts can be healed when we pray, the captive can be set free when we pray.

So, let's become a community that prayers for one another. Take some time and pray to God for our community. Take 5 families in our church and Devote yourselves to praying for 1 family each day of the week. Then on Saturdays, pray that God would bring new families to be a part of our community. Get into that habit, and watch God move.

The final point today is . . . becoming a community that serves

The final 2 verses in our Galatians reading in Chapter 6, verse 9 and 10 say. . .

Let us not become wearing in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore as we have this opportunity let us do good to all people especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The Bible is full of verses about serving the church and our community. Christ Himself came to serve and not be served, and Paul constantly writes in his letter to the churches that he is a bondservant of Christ. . . Servanthood is of the utmost importance in the church.

Ephesians 5:21 says that we should serve one another out of revrance to Christ.

Luke 6:38 says

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

This shows us that Community ethos that God has for His followers. That in serving one another we too may be blessed in serving.

I believe there is a harvest coming for our church. . . but I believe that there is still a lot of sowing to be done before we will reap that harvest. Paul reminds the church here in Galatians that the harvest is certain, even though it may not be immediate.

We must prepare our fields for the harvest. We do this by caring for the field, by praying to God for the increase, and by tending it.

1 Corinthians 3:6 says

Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God brought the increase.

We must plant seeds of love and care, we must pour out love for this community, and we must trust God for the increase.

So, how do we serve the church? This is a question that comes up a lot more than you may think. . . people want to serve but don't know how. . . the simple answer is to simply get involved. . .

Turn up to things, lend a hand, engage in conversations with people, be hospitipal. . . as we say in Northern Ireland. . . get stuck in. . .

Some might be thinking "be such and such does that, and i don't want to step on toes" or, "That's already being taken care of ". . . We need to work together as a team to make these things happen. . . An extra pair of hands gets the job done faster. . .

There will be plenty of opportunities to serve as we plan for some of our summer programs, but those are just one way you can serve this community.

Other ways can be simply praying for what we are doing, praying for God to use the church in a might way. However you feel lead to serve, it's my job to encourage you in that and help you do that. So, please do come to me with whatever ways you would like to serve.

But the key point is this. . . when we all get involved, God gets involved. As we read earlier in Luke 6, when we serve one another in a place of humility and love, then God blesses the community.

So, let us strive to do exactly that.

As I close today, I want to encourage you all. This Church has been through some difficult times. We are all aware of that. Diamonds are made under pressure, Gold is refined in a furnace, and God's Church will thrive under hardships and persecutions.

Any time you see a mighty move of God in the Church, you can guarantee, that church has been through tough times. The fastest growing churches in the world right now are in Korea, China, and Afghanistan. Not because there a re a load of missionaries currently working there, but because there is a hunger that is created when the church is under threat. Chinese churches memorising their Bibles in fear that they will be taken away by the police. Underground churches growing because they aren't afraid of the risk. . .

We must be a community that is not afraid of the risks. . . We must be a community that is dedicated to serving and loving one another, and we must be a community that prays, that is grounded in Scripture and growing in faith. . . That is what it looks like to be a community of Christ.

Let us pray. . .

Lord bind us together. Strengthen those bonds that we may serve one another and serve you. Not for our glory, but for your glory. May this Church rise up and become a place of blessing, a place of hope, and a place of love.

We pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.