A Promise for Strength or Four Strength Boosters You Need
TEXT: Galatians 6:1-10
TOPIC: A Promise for Strength or Four Strength Boosters You Need
Pastor Bobby Earls, FBC, Center Point, Alabama
June 14, 2009
Message adapted from John Maxwell’s message from his series “Precious Promises from God’s Word.”
1Brethren, 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. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5For each one shall bear his own load. 6Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. 7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
In verse 9 we are told not to lose heart in doing good. (Share story of woman who was having a bad day). All of us have moments in life in which we are simply worn out. Frustrated, upset, angry, ready to give up, to just quit.
FOUR STRENGTH BOOSTERS YOU NEED!
1. Strength in My People Relationships, Galatians 6:1-2
1 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. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The question we need to ask ourselves is “Am I a help to other people or am I hurting people? Am I a blessing or a burden?” “Do I tear down others or do I build them up?”
A. The Person Who Needs Restoration, overtaken in any trespass, v. 1
Caught in sin, the idea is of one who has fallen, slipped, like one who slips on ice.
B. The Person Who Restores, “you who are spiritual, restore” v. 1
“restore” is a medical term. To mend or to set as in setting a broken bone.
C. The Spirit of Restoration, vs. 1-2
i. in the spirit of gentleness “gentleness”
ii. in the spirit of humility “considering yourelf…”
iii. in the spirit of helpfulness “bear one another’s burdens”
iv. in the spirit of love “so fulfill the law of Christ” John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, ‘That you love one another.”
2. Strength in my Personal Responsibilities, Galatians 6:3-8
3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. 6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Five Responsibilities
A. Evaluate, Galatians 6:3, We must have a healthy self-concept. Let no man think higher of himself than he ought to think. Nor a poor self-concept but rather we are to see ourselves in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ. See Gal. 6:14
B. Examine, Galatians 6:4, (In the spiritual areas of obedience, faithfulness and fruitfulness)
C. Exercise, Galatians 6:5, (not a contradiction of verse 2) Paul means we all have certain responsibilities each one of us must bear alone. Example of a soldier who bears his own back pack but if a soldier is wounded in battle then his fellow soldiers will help him.
D. Exhibit, Galatians 6:6, our thankfulness (Those who are taught spiritual truths are to share with those who taught them and express thanks, sometimes in physical, tangible ways.) Share the story behind my confusing Gal. 6:13 with Gal. 6:6
E. Expectation, Galatians 6:7-8, Fundamental law - We reap exactly what we sow. Life is like a garden. Whatever you put into it is what you will get out of it. If you sow anger, resentment, bitterness, you are going to reap the same. If you sow kindness, gentleness, love and grace to others, you will receive the same.
3. Strength in My Proper Reactions, Galatians 6:9
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
The question is “Am I reacting properly to those around me?”
Let’s look at the Apostle Paul as an example of one who reacted properly to difficult circumstances.
2 Corinthians 4:1 (NLT)
1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NLT)
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
Compare with : 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NLT)
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
2:4 – out of anguish of heart we wrote to you with tears
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (The Message)
8 As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, 9 but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. 10 What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!
7:5 – our flesh had no rest, we were afflicted on every side, conflicts on the outside, fears within
2 Corinthians 11:23-29 (ESV)
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had problems but he also had promises,
Paul had burdens but he also had blessings,
Paul had hardships, but he also had help,
Paul had pressures but he also had peace,
Paul had setbacks but he also had strength.
What was his secret? Paul decided to take the lemons of life and make lemonade. So many of us decide to take the lemons in our life and suck on them. And we wonder why we look so puckered up!
4. Strength in My Proper Responses, Galatians 6:10
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
You see what happens when we have problems is that we get our strength sapped from them. Often our response is to decide to quit.
(Bring Websters Collegiate Dictionary - 150,000 entries, 20,000 new entries annually. Cut our the word “quit”)
When you decide to quit in anything it weakens you. Quitting lessens our potential.
The difference between winners and losers in life is not that we don’t all have problems, we do, but a loser falls on his face and sucks his thumb, gets angry and blames others for their problems, and spends a lifetime wallowing in their own self pity. A winner picks himself up, brushes himself off and keeps on going.
“Quiters never win and winners never quit!”
It’s not your circumstances that rob you from your joy but your attitude about your circumstances that rob you of your joy.
Developing strength in our proper response means we rise above our circumstances and turn our problems into opportunities.
If I could put all the people who have come to me with their problems in this room there would not be room to hold them.
If I could give them any one word of advice I would tell them to stop feeling sorry for themselves and look for opportunities to help others.
Take a day this week and visit the hospital, or a local nursing home. Come by the church office and we’ll give you the name of a shut-in who would love to have someone from their church come by to see them.
You see, all we have to do is take a look around. We won’t have to look long at all before we find someone else who’s problems make our own look small.
You see if you need a strength booster today, you really don’t need one of these, (hold up can of energy booster), you just need to strengthen your people relationships, and your personal responsibilities, then work on your proper reactions, and last, strengthen your proper responses.