The First Step To Freedom
Galatians 6:1-5
I want to begin a series of messages this morning that will last throughout the rest of the summer - and all of these messages are simply a setup, if you will, for a new ministry that will begin on Tuesday, August 7 that is called Celebrate Recovery. Has anyone ever heard of this ministry before? Over the next few weeks you will hear much about it and I am deeply convinced that this ministry is way past needed for some in our church and many in our community.
We're going to talk about the road to recovery over the next weeks and I'm going to use the word, RECOVERY, to help us understand some key principles in recovery - some absolutely necessary steps. What do people need to recover from? It's simple - hurts, habits and hang-ups. And let's be honest about this - every person in this room has a hurt, a habit or a hang-up. For some it is alcohol. For others, it's drugs. For others, you're codependent. For others, you are a workaholic. For others, it's pornography. The list could go on and on, but more than making a list, the real question is if there is a way out. The answer is a resounding yes.
I heard the story about a dad that was trying to take an afternoon nap in his living room but his son kept bugging him saying, "Daddy, I'm bored." So his father, trying to make up a game, found a picture of a globe in the newspaper, a picture of the world. He ripped it up in about fifty pieces and he said, "Son this is a puzzle. I want you to put it all back together." He laid down to finish his nap, thinking he would get at least another hour and a half to two hours of sleep. In about 15 minutes the little boy woke him up saying, "Daddy, I've got it finished. It's all put together." "You're kidding." He knew his son didn't know all the positions of the nations and things like that. He said, "How did you do that?" He said, "Dad, there was a picture of a person on the back page of that newspaper and when I got my person put together the world looked just fine." How true that statement is, when your person is put together, how much better the world looks. Hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
Isaiah 57:18 says in the Good News version, "I have seen how they acted but I will heal them, I will lead them and help them and I will comfort those who mourn. I offer peace to all near and far." I want you to see in this verse five simple promises from our Lord:
1. "I want to heal you." Have you ever been hurt? God wants to heal you.
2. "I want to lead you." Have you ever been confused about the direction of your life? The great news is that God wants to lead you.
3. "I want to help you." Have you ever felt a desperate need for help and were uncertain what to do or where to turn? God wants to help.
4. "I want to comfort you." Have you ever grieved over a life event or even a season in your life? God wants to give comfort to your soul.
5. "I want to offer peace to you." Have you ever felt anxious or afraid? Have you ever worried? God's Word from beginning to end is an invitation for us to trust in Him and experience His incredible peace that passes all understanding.
Let's understand something about life - it's tough. I've not come here this morning to fill your mind full of dreams and fancies that may happen in a picture perfect world. Let's talk about reality and how even in the midst of reality we can still experience victory. I'm deeply convinced of that; but there are some that are mired down somewhere in life and they've just about given up all hope of ever making anything of life. You need to think again. There is hope and it begins with you getting on the road called RECOVERY. The first letter stands for Realize. Realize I'm not God. I admit I am powerless to control my tendency to do wrong things and my life is unmanageable. And I want to say to you again that we are all in need of recovery, and the way to recovery, the steps in recovery, are the same for everyone.
A passage that I just cannot get out of my mind is Galatians 6.
Galatians 6:1-5
6:1 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.
6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
6:3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
6:4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
6:5 For each one shall bear his own load.
-
Everyone has a habit, hurt or hang-up v 1
-
The cause of our habits, hurts and hang-ups is sin. As Paul is talking to fellow believers (brethren), he brings up something that will inevitably happen; a man will be overtaken in a trespass. This is a man that is caught by a sin. Here is a man that may in all good conscience be running from sin, but sin, being faster, overtakes him and catches him. The wording here suggests one that is caught off guard and the next thing they know is that something has happened they thought never would. Have you ever heard anyone say, "I can't believe I did that…? I can't believe I said that. What was I thinking?"
Why does that happen? Very simple - sin. Every person in this room was born with a sin nature - a bent toward doing sin. My sin nature gets me in all kinds of problems, and your sin nature gets you in all kinds of problems. I think Paul hit the nail on the head in Romans 7 when he said (my paraphrase), "That which I want to do, I don't do. That which I don't want to do, I do." It's easier to mess things up than any of us may want to admit. But it was the writer of the Proverbs that said (14:23), "There is a way that seems right to man but it ends in death."
Sin nature. The bottom line of our sin nature is this - we really want to be like God. In fact, that was the very line that the serpent used in the Garden with Eve! "Eat this fruit and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." And we still try and play God today. See if any of these sound familiar: "I don't want anybody telling me what's right and what's wrong; I'll decide that for myself. I want to call my own shots, I want to make my own rules. I want to put myself at the center of the universe. I want to be my own boss, live my own way, if it feels good, do it. I don't want anybody telling me what to do with my life." Simply put, they're playing God. These phrases put another way says, "I want to control." And the more insecure you are, the more you're driven to control - yourself, other people and your environment. And that's called playing God.
How do we play God?
-
We try to control our image. You want to control what other people think of you. You don't want other people to really know what you're like. We play games, we wear masks, we pretend, we fake it, we want people to see certain sides of us and we hide other parts, and we deny our weaknesses and we deny our feelings ("I'm not angry, I'm not upset, I'm not worried, I'm not afraid.") We don't want people to see the real us. And we're afraid that if they do see us, then they won't like us for who we are. So we try to control our image.
-
We try to control other people. Parents try to control kids; kids try to control parents. Wives try to control husbands; husbands try to control wives. People try to control other people. There are office politics in your office. Countries try to control other countries. We use a lot of tools to manipulate each other. We use guilt to control, we use fear, we use praise, some of you use the silent treatment to control, anger, rage. We try to control people.
-
We try to control problems, our problems. We're good at this. We use phrases like: "I can handle it, I'm O.K. Really, I'm fine. I don't need any help and I certainly don't need counseling. I can quit any time; I'll work it out on my own." The more you try to fix your problem yourself, the worse the problem gets.
-
We try to control our pain. Have you ever thought how much time you spend running from pain? Trying to avoid it, deny it, escape it, reduce it, and postpone it. People try to postpone it many different ways: by eating or not eating; by getting drunk, smoking, taking drugs or by getting in and out of relationships. "This next relationship is what I really need to feel really whole and significant." And you get in the relationship - "Oh, that wasn't it" and you get out … It's in and out of one relationship after another. Or you develop some kind of compulsive habit to try to control your pain. Or you become abusive and you get angry with other people or critical and judgmental to hide your pain. Or you get depressed. There are many, many ways we try to control our pain - the pain of realizing that we're not God and we can't control everything.
I see this one that has been overtaken in a trespass pushing away the help and telling others that he's fine - even when the burden that he's carrying is so overwhelming. Until he realizes that he's not God and that apart from Him his life is out of control - he'll never see the way out.
I want you to understand that we're all in the same boat here at Maysville Baptist Church. We need restoration. Trust me, if you're not at the point where you have been overtaken in a trespass, you probably just came out of that time or it won't be long before you will. That person beside you may be in the midst of an overwhelming hurt, habit or hang-up and is in great need of help. One thing is clear: we need each other. And as this new ministry called Celebrate Recovery kicks off in August, it will be a place where people with different issues can come together and work through the steps together toward recovery. You're going to hear some stories from our Church Family over the next few weeks and you're going to be tempted to react in a couple of ways that I hope you won't:
-
"My problem is not that bad." That's called denial. How bad does it have to get before you admit that you need some help? How bad does that hurt, that relationship, that pain, that problem, that memory have to get before you admit that you need help? Unfortunately it is human behavior, human nature, that we never change until our pain becomes greater than the fear of change. Others may say,
-
"That's fine, but I can solve my problems; this series on recovery is for somebody else." That's called denial too. Unless you've had a perfect life, there's some things you need to deal with. You may say, "I can handle my problem, I can take care of it." The fact is if you could handle it, you would have, but you can't, so you won't. If you could have handled that problem, it wouldn't be a problem; you wouldn't still have it today. But you can't, so you won't. Sometimes I talk to people: "Have you told God about your hurt? your habit? your hang-up" "Oh, no, I wouldn't want Him to know about it." You can't get fixed till you 'fess up and face your faults and admit it: I'm powerless.
-
The care for those that are caught must be genuine - "you who are spiritual…." What is it that we are to do when someone has a moral failure, they are overtaken by sin? Can I tell you what the church of Jesus Christ is well known for these days? Shooting our wounded. But Paul gives the church the directive of what to do - restore them. The word, restore, is a very powerful word, and it most certainly does NOT mean that we turn the other way or that we just blow it off or that we accept it a part of this old sinful world. No. To restore means to set a broken bone, to mend a fish net that is broken so that it is usable again. I've never had a broken bone, but those that have had one and had it set tell me that it was extremely painful; but once set, there was great relief. But I want you to see something extremely important - not just anybody can do this. There is an important prerequisite - you who are spiritual. What does that mean? One that walks by the Spirit, and is filled with the Spirit, and who is mature in the faith. Furthermore this delicate work must be done gently and with the consciousness that no one is immune from falling into sin.1 Oswald Chambers said it very well in yesterday's devotional regarding sin - it is red-handed mutiny against God. When we realize that we are guilty of red-handed mutiny against God - it will do a number on one's pride.
Can I be honest with you today? I'm not beyond falling to alcohol or drugs; falling morally; or even financial indiscretions. Do I want to or plan to? Absolutely not! But I realize that I am human and so are you. Do you know what I do to lessen the chances of falling in one of those ways? I have others around me that hold me accountable - I make myself vulnerable to some godly others as I share with them my struggles. And I get as far away from the temptation as I possibly can. And it's interesting that Paul brings up these two matters in the following verses.
-
Others need our help vv 2-4 (accountability)
-
Paul commands the readers to bear one another's burdens. It means to come alongside of someone that is overwhelmed and assist them. I want to address something that I've heard for years, and it's simply not true. Have you ever heard or said, "God will not give you more than you can bear"? That's not true. There are events and times and situations that are absolutely much bigger than anything that we can handle. The death of a loved one, alcoholism, drugs, pornography - these things are huge and cannot be handled alone! It's overwhelming!
What is to happen in those cases? Those of us that are believers (growing) are to come alongside and bear the load. And do you know what that doesn't mean? Start giving advice but never offering a hand. A great suggestion is to be quiet and just provide the hands! And it's got to be more than doing this, "If you need anything call me." I've said that before and I'm sure you've heard that before. It's got to be more than that.
How do we give that help?
-
Point them to a relationship with Christ. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." I want to give you some very comforting news. You can't make it through this life, and especially in eternity to come, alone. You need a Savior - one that deeply loves, cares, understands and helps. And that is exactly what Jesus did for you and me when He gave His life on the Cross. And by the way, His invitation for people to come was not just for those who had it all together. It was for anyone - especially those who thought they had blown it and were beyond hope. Others need our help, and the first thing we can do is to point them to the Savior.
-
Make ourselves vulnerable in our talking and sharing. We see evidence of that in verse 3 (read again). And what you'll find is that you are not the only one dealing with a lot of stress and you're not the only one that has been tempted to handle it in a wrong way. Do you know how to start this with someone that you're concerned about? Pull them aside and say, "I notice that you haven't been yourself lately. It seems like you have a lot going through your mind. Would you like to get it off your chest? I promise to listen a lot and not talk much."
-
Simply help. "Call me if you need anything" just doesn't cut it. If someone has lost a job or a loved one, do something, even if it's just a little thing to meet a need. Get specific, do some research yourself, or just show up. People usually give hints about their needs but we may not pick up on it. And can I be honest with you? That's inconvenient. That will cut into our time that we were going to do something else, or our resources that we were going to use for something else. But if we're going to bear one another's burdens, that's what it is going to take.
-
How we help others has an eternal consequence v 4. How is it that you respond when you hear that a brother or sister has fallen? Do you use it as an opportunity to make yourself look good? That's what the Sadducees and Pharisees did. Do you use it as an opportunity to put them even further down and lift yourself even further up? Do you give the matter wide publicity or do you take it to your prayer closet? We're not judged in heaven on a curve - but by the cross. How important it is that we be real and genuine in our dealings and caring of others.
But there's something else that I want you to see,
-
I have a responsibility v 5
-
Is there a contradiction between verse 2 and verse 5 where Paul says, "For each one shall bear his own load"? Well in verse 2 he tells us to bear one another's burdens. There is a great difference between "load" and "burden." The idea in mind for that word, load, is a soldier's backpack. That is, there are some things that people have to do for themselves. We can't do it for them.
It's our responsibility to provide for the needs of the family. But there are events that happen that calls for us to have to depend on others. We have a responsibility to set up safeguards and safety measures to insure we do everything we can to walk the straight and narrow. But there are times when, as Paul said, that we are overtaken in a trespass. It should be the exception and not the rule. And it's our responsibility to seek help. In this prideful generation, we don't want anyone to think that we can't handle it. And that pride has many people captured and it's destroying life after life. As we go through this time and even as we begin this ministry, there are some of you that will refuse to accept your responsibility and come be a part of it because of pride.
People may say, "Preacher, would you pray for me and this struggle that I have?" I will be glad to pray, but if you're not going to begin to take some measures for yourself to help get past that struggle, it's not going to help.
What does this look like? Let me give you an example. Let's say that there is someone that really struggles with alcohol - and there are millions of people that have that very struggle. Let's say a gentleman comes to me and says, "Brian, will you please pray for me and for this struggle I have with alcohol?" I pray for him, but I begin to ask questions. When do you seem to have this struggle most? What are you going to do to get help? How desperate are you to get free from this disease and horrible grip? Who are you going to allow into your world to hold you accountable? Will you come and take part in this new ministry we have in our church called Celebrate Recovery? Have you talked to your wife and children about this?" You see, I can and will pray. I will even help to hold accountable. But there are some responsibilities and actions that this struggling brother must do that I cannot do for him.
Why do I share this with you today? There will be a time that we need to be restored by others, and there will be times that we need to restore. We've got to be willing in both areas. I'll guarantee you that in your life you will be overwhelmed with circumstances beyond your control and far above your abilities. You need others around you that will love you and care for you and bear those burdens with you. And there are some responsibilities that you have to fulfill that no one can fulfill for you.
-
Where does responsibility begin? Accept some facts:
-
I admit that I am powerless to change my past. It hurts, I still remember it, but all the resentment in the world isn't going to change it. I'm powerless to change my past. But God can cover your past.
-
I admit that I am powerless to control other people. I try, I like to manipulate them, I use all kinds of little gimmicks, but it doesn't work. I am responsible for my actions, not theirs. I can't control other people. And God desires to control me.
-
I admit that I am powerless to cope with my harmful habits, behaviors, actions. Good intentions are not enough. How many times have you tried and failed? Will power is not enough. You need something more than will power. You need a source of power beyond yourself. You need God, because He made you to need Him.