A Sign Among Us - Chapter 6 - Faint Not

'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he has nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the household of faith.' Galatians 6:1-10

'Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.' The word 'restore' is being used in the sense of setting a broken bone, which has to be done gently.

In regards to our Brothers and Sisters... We are required to restore those who have lapsed with a spirit of meekness, and gentleness. Remember there is grief that goes along with the wounds caused by sin. The wounds are sensitive and need to be handled delicately, and why...?

Consider Thyself

When we are restoring someone who may have fallen, we need to keep constant watch over our own lives. Can't we also be morally dragged down? When we deal with the sin of a brother or sister.

I know when I am in sin I have a critical spirit of others. Why is that? Because I see in that person the character flaw I have in myself. And I can spot it a mile away. Can any one else relate to that?

In regards to our children... '... if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.'

I even struggle with a critical spirit towards my children. Why is that? I want my children to be better off than I am. So I'm supposed to rebuke, chastise, badger and nag them? No, I need to 'restore' them. 'You know what Cody, Daddy used to do that too. Can I tell you how I stopped?'

Do You Have a Critical Spirit?

The Lord speaks to me through my children quite often. The quicker I listen the easier it is for me. I will get frustrated with the kids, even the dog... 'Lord they aren't listening. They heard me. They know I'm right, what's wrong with them?' Then I feel it in my heart... The Lord let's me know, '...Now you know how I feel when you don't listen to me...'

Synergy

'Bear ye one another's burdens (baros), and so fulfill the law of Christ.' Have you ever heard of the word Synergy? Or the Law of Synergistics? The Law of Synergistics states that: 'Two people working together can do more than one person in twice the time.'

One ox can pull a load of four thousand pounds. Yoke that ox together with another and they should be able to pull a load of eight thousand pounds. No, they can pull almost eleven thousand pounds.

'Bear ye one another's burdens...' What burden? A burden that is too heavy to carry alone. Every one of us, right now, is carrying a burden, is going through a struggle and you know what? Someone else around us, someone we know, right now, all ready went through what we are going through. In turn, that burden we carried a year or two ago and have now overcome, might be the same one that they are going through.

Should we help them? 'Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.' That is how the Holy Spirit works at our Men's Breakfasts. We can give testimony of how the Lord has given us victory. And we can also speak openly about the burdens we bear. And together we can 'fulfill the law of Christ.'

Deceived

'For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.' When we think we are morally above reproach, we have no sympathy for the flaws of others. When we bear others' burdens it helps us retain a sober, and an ethical estimate of ourselves.

What do I mean by this? Actively praying for our brothers or our sisters. Not just saying we will, be picking a partner, praying and expecting an answers to prayer. How else? Confiding in someone. Privately ask that person to be your accountability partner.

'I can't do that, I can't trust anyone...' That's not true, we need to be held accountable. Yeah it's hard. If it were easy everyone would do it. I don't know what you are struggling with... I don't know what your sin is... I don't know what your thorn is... 'For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.'

Open up to someone, privately... 'When I go into that gas station, I am tempted by those magazines. When I'm at work I don't pray at lunchtime. I need to pray with my kids when I tuck them in.' And you will know that your partner will ask you next time you are together. 'Did you purchase one of those magazines? Did you pray at lunchtime? Did you pray with your kids last night?'

Your partner will not rebuke you, but encourage you. What did we learn in verse 1? '... restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; consider thyself, lest thou also be tempted.'

Examination

'But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.' Let every man (examine) his own work...' We need to make sure we don't have an inflated comparison of our moral life, with the known faults of our Christian brother or sister. To prevent this, we are to examine our own work, in life, in virtues and in deeds.

Joy doesn't come from comparing our moral strengths with the weaknesses of others; it comes from realizing that we measure up to God's standard only with God's help.

I had to learn this from my wife, not too long ago. Becky had to ask me, 'What brings you joy? There's no joy in your life, what makes you happy?' I didn't have an answer. Is it my kid's job to make me happy? Is it my work's responsibility to make me feel satisfied? Should my church have to make me feel joy?

Graduation Party

We were at a graduation party for a relative of my wife's. We were in the presence of family that we don't see very often. My wife was proud to show off her family. She was excited to see her distant relatives she hasn't seen in a while.

Here I was. The music was too loud. It was too crowded. People were bumping into me. My kids were eating too fast. My kids were eating too slowly. People were talking to me as if they knew me. My wife wasn't introducing me to people I already met and couldn't remember their name. The kids were getting dirty. The kids were throwing rocks. The kids were spilling soda. The kids were having fun. My wife was enjoying herself. My head hurt because I was grinding my teeth so hard.

What Brings You Joy

I didn't want to be miserable. I wanted to be happy. I was out of my elements. Why was I so focused on myself?

'Flowers bloom where you plant them.' Are you expecting others to bring you joy? Are you being let down when they don't? 'But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.'

Bear Your Own Burdens

'For every man shall bear his own burden (phortion).' Wait a minute, in verse two we read, 'Bear ye one another's burdens...' Well, which is it, bear our own burdens or bear one another's burdens?

There is no contradiction between verse two and verse five. The Greek word for burdens in verse two is baros, meaning moral weakness - A burden too heavy for a person to bear alone. The Greek word for burden in verse five is phortion, meaning a personal responsibility that can and should be carried by the individual.

We reviewed why we are not to compare ourselves with others. We as believers must shoulder our own burdens. What burdens? The specific task, the specific responsibility, which the Lord has assigned to you as an individual. What is that responsibility? What possible good could come from you carrying your burden? '... all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.'

Instead of comparing our virtues with the moral blemishes of others, we are to compare our own achievements and ourselves, against the responsibilities given to us by God.

'And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farwell, which are at my home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.' Luke 10:57-62

Fit meaning 'suitable' or 'usable.' One who makes life's lesser matters of greater priority than God's work is of little use to Him.

Have you ever heard someone say, 'There aren't enough hours in the day?' I don't agree with that statement. I believe there are enough hours in the day to do everything that the Lord wants us to do. Then we try to fill our day with the things we want to do.

'But Lord, you don't understand... I've got 5 kids to get ready for church; I can't be there at 9:00... Lord, you know why we can't go to the Couple's Fellowship... Lord, you don't expect me to go to the Men's Breakfast...'

'And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'

'Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.'

'... God is not mocked...' God is not outwitted. God is not outfoxed. To disobey God's command and then escape divine punishment would be to outwit God, and that's making a mockery of Him and His Word.

'... Soweth to his flesh...' Conducting ourselves by the evil desires of our sinful nature, or practicing the deeds of the same flesh. These are mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21: '... adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like...'

Such a person, 'shall ... reap corruption,' but with the Lord's prompting and leading, thus cultivating the fruit that is mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23: '... love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance...'

Such a person 'shall ... reap life everlasting.' That is, be rewarded with eternal life.

Faint Not

'And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.' Since it is only a matter of time before those of us who are saved shall 'reap' divine reward, then he is not to be weary in well doing. '... faint not...' Meaning, 'loose heart.'

It gets tough some times, doesn't it? Satan wanted to distract me from recording this. He wants to ruin my testimony. How was your day today? How has your week been?

You know what my youngest daughter said to me one Friday evening? 'Daddy, you know how you pray with us each night and ask God to help you be a better Daddy? You don't have to pray that any more, because you're the best Daddy ever. You can't et any better.'

I'm not worthy, but thank you Lord, for allowing me to hear that when I am weary.

Do Good

'As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the household of faith.' God promises us we will be rewarded, and we are urged to seize every opportunity to do good. Doing good refers to the ministry of restoration (as spoken of in verse one), bearing one another's burdens (verse two), sowing to the Spirit and living in accordance with the leading of the Spirit (verse eight), and general perseverence (verse nine).

We are to minister first 'unto them who are of the household of faith,' Christian, and second, to the rest of the world.

I remember the speech President Bush gave after September 11th, the President stated, 'We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail.' Do you remember the images we watched from the tragedy of September 11th? Remember the video of those in the smoke close to the tower's collapse? Then after the smoke cleared we could hear the Sirens and Whistles.

When I first heard it, I thought it was all of the car alarms going off. I later found out that those sirens and alarms were not from car alarms going off. Those noises were the alarms going off on the Fireman's helmets. The Fireman's helmet is designed to go off when he has fallen. It allows others to find him. The alarm can also be activated manually when he is in distress.

I don't know why those alarms were going off. Were the firefighters, scared? Had they stumbled and fallen? Or had they died?

I don't know why the alarms were going off. But those Firefighters were there, because they had a job to do. Those firefighters and policemen who survived the horror they still had a job to do. They had an overwhelming job to do. They were on a search and rescue mission to hopefully find survivors. Then to find bodies and finally to clean up.

Let me tell you something I heard from a testimony of a rescuer down there. They were in a pile of rubble that used to be two buildings. Previously 220 stories of office space. You would expect to find office furniture, chairs, phones, and stuff like that. They didn't find any debris bigger than a golf ball. Everything was like powder, and they were there to find people.

Could you imagine being given a job to do like that? Do you think you would get weary? Do you think they were weary?

A Helping Hand

This teacher and her students wanted to do something to help those who were getting weary. They made cards for the men and women down there working. They called it 'Operation Helping Hand' and this teacher would personally bring these cards to the rescuers. She got the attention of one fireman who was visibly weary, worn, and tired. She said, 'Here, I would like to give you something.' She handed this strong and brave, yet tired hero a card. He read the card.

The card had two little handprints on the front cover. And inside the card read ... 'I wish I could be there helping you. But I'm too small to be of much good there. I can assure you that as you are reading this, these little hands are being held together and are praying for you. I know you must be tired, but please don't stop. My prayers are with you and Jesus is with you.'

He took the card, tucked it under his hat, and went back to work.

'And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the household of faith.'

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