Finding Strength in Weakness

I’ve learned something over these past years of leading a church, Ive learned that life has a way through its trials to sideline people in their faith. Eager, energetic, dynamite believers, who are following Christ all of a sudden, through something that is traumatic, or an extreme dissapointment of some kind, or something they have gone through in life while the slide for some is a process sometimes life just has a way to send you something and it sinks you and puts you on the sideline.

Here you are out here in the game actively leading, actively engaging, and the next thing you know...... “what happened?”

You see when we undergo this kind of thing, it exposes something about us. But before i talk about that I really wanna challenge you that while were in this series on barriers, today im going to lift up a barrier that everyone of us will deal with in life and even some in their teenage years may have already dealt with one of them.

But if you have lived you have dealt with one or more.

the barrier today that we need to see a breakthrough in … barriers that stand in the way of our walk with God, the barrier that we will talk about today is one called unbearable burdens..

unbearable burdens did you know when we face unbearable burdens, it exposes something in our life, it exposes how weak we really are. It exposes how vulnerable we are or we can easily become, so what os the answer to that?

The answer is what were going to talk about today… finding strength in weakness.

We need to understand that weakness attracts the presence and the power of God in our lives if we handle it in the correct way. but what does the bible says about being strong when were weak? How do we find strength when were going through the difficulties of life, the burdens of life, the kind of burdens that are so great that regardless of how active I am in the game of walking my faith out and living my faith, they have to put me on the sideline for a period of time.

In we read 5 dynamic verses that are incredible verses.

Now i understand God likes the ones before and after and so do i, but there some that are really cherished in our lives and this is one of those texts. I hope you have a copy of gods word, in I wanna read 1-5.

Galatians 6:1–5 HCSB

Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load.

Galatians 6:1-5

In chapter 6:1 there is a phrase that is used that needs to catch our attention tonight.

“Caught in any wrong doing”

Being caught means being found out or overtaken by a burden or by a sin. That burden does not neccesarily have to be a sin but there are times that we choose to sin and we creat our own burdens that are heavy.

But then there are certain times when life throws something at us through cause and effect, because things just happen sometime, and they can be absolutely devastating. Dissapointment, disease, death, loss of a job, financial wreck, the loss of a dad, a mom, a spouse, a child.

Those are deep, deep burdens and some of them have nothing to do with sin, but he said sometimes we find ourselves caught meaning what?

It means this....that even we are suprised that it happened to us. We would have never imagined it would happen to us, thats supposed to happen to someone else not to me.

There are times we do things wrong in life that even were suprised that were still doing that because we should know better. Because we al deal with that, theres enormous dissapointment that comes to our lives about our own life sometimes, “How in the world am i still doing that, I know better than that, why am i still doing that?”

Sometimes those things happen as a result happen as a result of direct disobedience, but listen carefully, many, many, many burdens have nothing to do with deliberate disobedience. Its just real life and real burdens… you see it happens to all of us, it could happen to you, it could happen to me. Often times as a pastor its even suprising to me when it still happens.

People on fire for God, people who are eager for their faith, people who you could not even keep away from the doors of the church if you kept them shut because they are so passionate all of a sudden.... boom

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Bible even in Pauls day… this happened, this is not a 21st century phenom. This happened in the first century church. Thats why he says brother when you see someone is caught in a wrong doing someone who is bearing a deep unbearable burden. There are 2 ways you will ultimately respond.

Thats what were going to talk about tonight:

The first response He calls us to is found in verse 1-2

A Spiritual Response

So Paul here is saying there are times here when this happens and you need to respond like your spiritual. Now dont misunderstand this aint talking about being superspiritual or arrogant. Thats not what he meant, what he meant is When you have come to a time in your life and you have given your life to Christ when you have been regenerated when you have been born again by the spirit of the Lord and you have been born from above.

Born again, born by the spirit Paul says that moment you leave the unspiritual world and enter into the spiritual world you are a child of GOD.

Not by the will of man, not by the will of flesh, but by the will of God.

So today for all of us who know Christ personally, and we can articulate that moment when we met Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, and when we were born again. hes talking to us. Theres a spiritual way to handle it when someone gets caught in a wrongdoing, or when someone becomes overwhelmed by an unbearable burden.

Which is really happening all around the world today, so what needs to be that spiritual response?

A. Restore with Gentleness

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

This word here he talks about us going and restoring the brother who has been caught in the wrong doing, or restoring the brother or the sister who has been overcome with a deep burdensome, burden a heavy heavy load. He says I want you to go restore that person.

The word restore there is a word that means to mend… or to put back in its proper place the word picture is that of a broken bone, or something in your body which is out of its intended place.

He is saying that what we are doing in the faith is that we need to go and mend , to put that bone back into place, to put that member back in its place, where God desires them to be, and he says to do this with gentleness, with tenderness. That word gentleness means to be tender, you do it with humility and you have to do it with that attitude because if you dont you could be overtaken by that same sin.

Or the same unbearable burden they face one day you may possibly face. Let’s use an illustration tonight. Let’s say that you dislocate your shoulder, ive never had a shoulder dislocated but I’ve seen it happen on a football field. Ive seen em take that player over and they literally put that shoulder back in it’s place, and many times that player will go right back in the game.

Not sure how smart it is but they do. You see what they do when they put that shoulder back in its place they place it back into its intended place in your body....

Now let me ask you a question: let’s say today you end up falling or something goes on today and your shoulder gets out of place, you go to the doctor and the dr says it appears that you shoulder is out of place, and im gonna have to set it back in its place.

How would you prefer your Dr. to do that?

With Gentleness

Preferably quick also

But it will be firm and it will be done with Gentleness, thats exactly what Paul says when we see someone out here overtaken by a sin, or they get under this unbearable burden it is our role to go out here and put them back in the right but when you do it, you do it with gentleness.

So we need to restore with gentleness

As were doing that the scripture gives us a second word

WATCH OUT FOR YOURSELF!

Thats a keen insight, so your telling me Kyle that while im out here trying to help a brothe ror sister become what they wanna become or walk with them under their burden he tells me to watch out for myself? That sounds pretty selfish, why would he say that?

That word watch out means.. With diligent attentiveness

In other words while your out here working with someone trying to bring them back where they are supposed to be, youd better not let your guard down because if you let your guard down you could be caught in the same situation they are caught in in thier life.

So with a humble spirit you realize that you are very vulnerable just like they are vulnerable. You kow sometimes we need to remember we are very vulnerable, and the Bible says we are so vulnerable we had better be careful so we wont be tempted and overtaken by the same sin that brought them down, or if you may they are walking through this unbearable burden this deep burden and we look at em and we say something stupid at em or to them.

We might say something like: Why are you taking so long to get back where you oughtta be? thats not very smart....

Its kind of like the couple out here who just got married and they had no kids and they watch the way people raise thier kids and they declare to all of their friends who have kids… “Well i tell you what when we have a kid were not gonna do that.... idiot”

Right?

How many times have you had to eat your own words?

You know one of the real illustrations of this I see within my own profession of being a pastor. All of us have heard stories of pastors who have fallen to sexual sin… Were talking about Godly men, passionate men for God… loved the Lord as much or more than any of us in this room.

Something happens in a situation and in that brief moment they fall sexually. Most of that happens because pastors have people come see them, we call it biblical counseling and lets say its a woman, and they walk in their husband has cheated on them or something is really gone bad in thier marriage and they are absolutley broken and weeping upon weeping… now this may suprise most church members but most pastors I know do have compassion..

They do care about people and thats why they do what they do with the call of God on thier life. So that pastor becomes very sympathetic he becomes very involved in that situation, never in his life would he have ever imagined but in a moments notice, in a moments time as he tries to comfort he becomes vulnerable and the enemy destroys him.

It can happen to anyone at anytime. It happened not long ago to Billy Grahams grandson. It can happen to any pastor or dynamic leader of any kind. What we have to do is watch out for ourself even while we try to help other people through thier adversity.

Do you see thats what hes saying?

Your heart may be right your intentions might be outstanding, but if your not careful your gonna violate a dynamic text in Gods word found in

1 Corinthians 10:12 HCSB

So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.

Oh that will never happen to me… Really?

Really?

You see continual diligent attentiveness, is imperative when you try to help other people or you could easily fall in the very sin they do. Or when you pronounce with you spiritual arrogance “I CANT BELIEVE THEYRE DOING THAT, I COULD NEVER SEE MYSELF DOING THAT”

You start standing in there with your arrogance pronouncing condemnation upon condemnation.. you better be careful?

The enemies stronger than you, and he will destroy you if he gets the chance.

So the call here is to be careful, to be wise and attentive.

The the Bibles says

We need to lift the load of others with love

Galatians 6:2 HCSB

Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

That means to lift up the load or wieght of others that they are facing and you are getting up under that burden that they are facing trying to keep them from being crushed to the best of your ability.

Those burdens are not tiny little problems were talking about heavy burdens...

LOAD PACKING BURDENS those kinds that are absolutely jolting to your life.

Many of those we listed...

The Bible says FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST

Love

Keep a low view of self

Galatians 6:3 HCSB

For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

You think your exempt from temptations other people fall into, get ready its coming.

Galatians 6:4 HCSB

But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else.

God didnt call you to examine everybody elses work, but He has called you to examine yourself. because when you begin to examine others its like giving you permission to boast in your self alone!

What you do is something absolutely catastophic when we baost in ourselves and we deal with this pride issue, we begin to compare ourselves, competing with people, and ultimately challenging one another.

Lets get this:

calls us to cease immediately comparing yourself to other people.