Galatians #13 - Galatians 6:6 - Attendance, Attention, & Acceptance

 

This was our one verse this Sunday.  It was also a Sunday to prepare for a candidate weekend of a possible next teaching pastor at the church where I am an intentional interim pastor.  If you listen to the second half of this sermon/talk you can get a glimpse of what I have been doing for the last 5 years.  It is humbling to be used of God in this way to walk with part of God's family through a transition.

The verse above begs of application.  How do we fulfill this command?  Again we have two parties represented, the one who has received the instruction from the word and the one who has given the instruction from the word.  The one is sharing and the other needs to receive to fulfill this verse.  Both can have their difficulties.

For a start we can be in attendance on a more regular basis when the instructor is teaching us the word.  We can also make sure our attention is given to the instructor whether it is a Sunday morning gathering or some other type of communication he gives to the congregation.  The other side of the equation is the instructor accepting the "all good things."  How we were raised might make this even harder and we might also allow our pride to get in the way.  We put piety on not needing anything or any help for anyone and at the same time slam the door on this verse.  Over the years, I am thankful that I have swallowed my pride and allowed people to fulfill this verse in my life.  God showed me later how that "good thing" was just what I needed to serve Him all the more.

Sometimes the points in a sermon bring up sidebars that need to be addressed because the culture can so easily creep into the church.  One sidebar was how attendance in churches has declined over the last ten years.  One reason is people have given up on church.  The other big reason is because we don't attend the gathering as often as we used to.  We have filled up our lives with other things and our time with God among His people has taken a back seat to the shiny things of this world.

Another sidebar is our attention in public places when a speaker is addressing us.  In our culture it has become common place to feel like we can talk while others are talking.  We also have the hinderance of our cell phones that we don't have command over.  It is not that we can't interact with each other with a smile or a chuckle to a joke but when we venture into even a short conversation we will miss part of the message from God's word.

The last sidebar is how Christian's are to be "other" minded in a very "me" world.  We are think of others more than ourselves.  We are to be servants of others.  We follow after the Servant of all who washed His disciples' feet and hung on a cross for our sins.  We can walk into our church gatherings with more of a "me" attitude than an "other" action.  Notice that one position takes us more inward while the other one takes us outward like our Master.  Follow the Master.

The talk at the end is very directed to this congregation and its weekend ahead but even in that I gleaned how important it is to listen to one another and especially if you are a spiritual leader in the church.  So many things are not sin issues that divide us.  Our divided culture creeps into the church family and as the culture stops listening to each other, we can do the same.  Many times I don't change my position but I keep in compassion and love for my brother or sister in Christ by at least listening and that is so important to our unity.  

I learned so much this Sunday just covering one verse and I am so thankful that God called me to do what I do.  Humbled but grateful for how He speaks to me through His word while I prepare to share with the church family.

Adam