John 2:23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

· Not a cynical statement but of understanding.

· Trust =

· HAVE A PROPER PERSPECTIVE

Romans 12:20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

· Conquer evil by doing Good =

· RELATIONSHIPS THRIVE BY DOING GOOD.

Romans 8: 1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

· Sin is actions and behavior that support self rule

3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us. 5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.

· WE CANNOT DO THIS ON OUR OWN

Galatians 6:2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

· Sharing burden does not mean..

· Sharing a burden means..

· 2 approaches to others burdens.. Intimidated or Aggressive

· WE CANNOT DO FOR OTHERS WHAT THEY WON’T DO FOR THEMSELVES

· Expectations =

Luke 10:27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

· Meet regularly, coffee groups, Discipleship life groups.

· To see change in your life you have to share the load.

· When we walk together, we gain wisdom and learn from each other.