Making Things Right When Things Go Wrong 

INTRO.- ILL.- A man by the name of George owned an apartment complex and had just completed the exterior brick work on the 2nd floor. He had some bricks left over and was trying to decide the best way to get the load of bricks back down to the ground level without breaking them.

He noticed a 55-gal. Barrel on the ground and thought, "I know what I’ll do. I’ll tie some rope around that barrel, hook a pulley to the 2nd floor eave and pull the barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then I can load the bricks into the barrel and let it back down to the ground."

So that’s what he began to do. He tied the rope around the barrel, ran it over the pulley on the 2nd floor and pulledthe barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then he tied the rope to the root of a nearby tree. He went up to the 2nd floor balcony and loaded the bricks into the barrel. Then he went back downstairs, grabbed the rope and pulled it loose from the root.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, HOWEVER, GEORGE HADN’T COUNTED ON! That 55-gal barrel full of bricks weighed about 4 times as much as George! So the barrel shot down like lightning and George shot up like a rocket! As George shot past the barrel, it hit his shoulder, slammed against his hip and hit his kneecap. The barrel crashed to the ground, and George’s head smashed into the pulley above, cracking his skull. THERE HE WAS, DANGLING BY THE ROPE FROM THE 2ND STORY.

When the barrel hit the ground, the bricks were so heavy they knocked the bottom out of the barrel. NOW GEORGE WAS HEAVIER THAN THE BARREL! What a predicament!

Down came George and up came the empty barrel. This time, however, the barrel caught him on the other side. It hit his other knee, scraped his hip, broke his nose and dumped him on top of the pile of bricks.

He turned both his ankles and scuffed up both his shins. George let out a yell and turned loosed of the rope. SINCE THE BARREL WAS HEAVIER THAN THE ROPE, DOWN CAME THE BARREL. And you guessed it, it hit George one more time. As George found himself in the hospital bed: bruised, broken, cut, and sprained, he kept saying to himself, "I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO FILE ONE INSURANCE CLAIM OR FIVE."

George’s story reminds us that we are living in a terribly mixed up world! Our world is forever going up and down. And about the time we think we have the bucket filled, the bottom falls out of the bucket and we get cracked in the head.

We expect life to have a few bumps, BUT NOT ONE CONSTANT ROLLER-COASTER RIDE FULL OF PAIN, MISERY AND BRUISES!

There may be tiems when most of us feel like George. Life has dumped on us, bruised us, and dropped us on its pile of brokenness. We’re all beat up and donât think we can even get up and walk away.

THINGS DO GO WRONG IN LIFE! Everything is up and down in this old sin-cursed world! What’s the answer? How can things be made right when things go wrong?

PROP.- God’s Word has the answer. God’s Word is always right. I want to center our attention on Romans 12:9-11. In this text, Paul tells how to make things right when things go wrong in life.

1- Love sincerely

2- Cling constantly

3- Honor graciously

4- Serve zealously

I. LOVE SINCERELY

Love must be sincere. Love others sincerely. Love others honestly and genuinely.

ILL.- Years ago, we heard it expressed this way in a song or a saying, "Love makes the world go ’round." NO. Love does not make the world go ’round, BUT SINCERE LOVE CAN SURE MAKE IT GO RIGHT!

There isn’t anything, any situation, any relationship, etc. that true love can’t change and make it go right!

I Cor. 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Powerful!

That is the truest and most sincere love there is and when it is at work in our lives, it will always make things right when things go wrong!

I Pet. 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Warren Weirsbe said, "Love does not condone sin; for if we love somebody we will be grieved to see him sin and hurt himself and others. Rather, love covers sin in that love motivates us to hide the sin from others and not spread it abroad."