BACK TROUBLES?
Eph. 4:17-24
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Why do people never eat clocks? Because it’s really time consuming.
2. There’s that moment when you put your steak on the grill and your mouth waters all over from that amazing smell. Do vegans feel the same when you mow the grass?“
3. The guy who invented the Visine eye drops had his funeral today... There wasn't a dry eye in the house!
B. TEXT
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” Eph. 4:17-24.
C. THESIS
1. We’re going to look at BACK TROUBLE; the prevalence of back trouble, its causes and the symptoms that attend it. At each juncture we will see if there are parallels to back trouble in the spiritual realm.
2. The title of this message is: “Back Trouble?”
I. BACK PROBLEMS: TODAY & IN N.T.
A. FREQUENCY OF BACK TROUBLES
1. Physically, 65 million Americans suffer from back pain currently and 80% of people will have some sort of back trouble during their lifetimes.
2. Similarly, most people will experience “spiritual” back troubles. Our Great Physician is the Lord Jesus, who provided healing for every ailment!
B. N.T EXAMPLES OF BACK HEALINGS
1. Wikipedia points out that “Paralysis is most often caused by damage in the nervous system, especially the spinal cord.” There are at least 4 separate recorded instances of paralytics being healed; 1. Lame man at Capernaum (Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:3; Lk. 5:17); 2. Man by Pool in Jerusalem, John 5; Stephen healed “many” paralyzed in Samaria (Acts 8:7) and Peter healed Aeneas in Acts 9:33. So these were mostly back troubles that were healed.
2. Furthermore, Jesus healed every kind of sickness, illness, and injury. “…healing every disease and sickness among the people” Mt. 4:23; “healing every disease and sickness” Matt. 9:35; He healed all who were ill” Matt. 12:15; “all who touched [His cloak] were healed” Matt. 14:34-36; “power was coming from Him and healing them all Luke 6:17-19. So back troubles had to be among those healed.
II. SYMPTOMS OF BACK TROUBLE
A. WEAKNESS
1. It’s common for people with back problems NOT to have the strength to lift the things they need to.
a. Are we weak to Temptation?
b. Weak to enter the spiritual battle?
c. Weak to stand up to the world?
d. Weak to claim the promises of God?
2. Samson was one of the strongest men during his time, but he was also one of the weakest spiritually! We need inner strength if we are to win the spiritual victory!
B. LACK OF FLEXIBILTY
1. People with healthy spines can bend most directions and twist so as to adapt to the challenges they face.
2. Are we flexible in the Lord? Are we nimble to wage war against the enemy? Can we quickly adjust to life’s blows/ adversities? Can we “bounce back?”
3. One of the greatest keys to David’s success was his ability to readjust after a defeat.
4. After David’s town of Ziklag was burned, he was the first of his warriors to bounce back and seek God for direction and comfort.
5. God told him, “You WILL recover all!” David hung on to God’s promise and got not only his family back, but also the kingship of all Israel!
C. LOSS OF FEELINGS
1. We’re supposed to have strong feelings about God and spiritual things:
a. Strong feelings of LOVE FOR GOD;
b. “ “ of REVULSION FOR SIN!
c. “ “ of CONCERN FOR THE LOST;
d. “ “ of BURNING ZEAL FOR GOD’S KINGDOM.
2. Have we lost our godly feelings? Are we still motivated for God?
D. PARALYSIS – CAN’T MOVE
1. People who are paralyzed can’t move; they lack mobility. They sit by passive and sluggish as those working for strive to advance the Kingdom.
2. This happened to the Israelites when they gathered around Mount Carmel; they were unable to move; they suffered from indecision.
3. Elijah said, “How long will you WAVER between two opinions: if Jehovah is God, serve Him; if Baal is God, serve him.” The Bible adds, “But the people said nothing” 1 Kings 17:21. How pitiful that God’s people were so helpless that even with the help of a mighty prophet they couldn’t move!
III. CAUSES OF BACK PROBLEMS
A. BAD DIET/ HABITS
1. Our diet can play a huge role in back troubles.
a. Excess Weight is a big factor in back troubles.
b. Eating unhealthy foods or lacking nutrition. Most women have to take calcium tablets later in life because without it their bones will become brittle, chalky, or lose density.
2. Smoking is a main contributor to back trouble because it inhibits the absorption of nutrients into the body.
3. Spiritually, bad habits can kill spiritual strength. A Baylor Univ. study found that Christians who watch R-Rated Movies are more likely to quit attending church, and their faith becomes less important. Bad associations & ungodly music could be added. https://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=135300
4. ILLUS. The Bible is like a spiritual flip phone: it only works when it's open!
a. A man went to his doctor and said, "Doctor, I'm coughing my heart out." So the doctor examined him. "It's not looking good, but you're in luck. I've got the medicine here. The instructions are on the bottle. It'll clear this up in three days."
b. Five days later the man returned. "Doctor, you told me this stuff would cure me in three days. I'm not getting better. I'm getting worse." "Did you read the instructions?" the doctor asks. "Of course I read the instructions," the man replies. "It says …" The doctor snatches the bottle out of his hand. "Gimme that bottle. This bottle is unopened!"
c. "You didn't say I had to open it." The doctor said, "Listen, you came in to see me. I diagnosed your problem. I gave you the medicine. Now it's up to you!"
d. How many Christians know that God's Word has power to transform their lives, to heal, to deliver, to give wisdom, to counsel, but they just never seem to get around to reading it on a regular basis?
5. A Christian’s healthy nutrition will require reading the WORD, spending time in PRAYER daily, and time in Jesus’ PRESENCE. Without those, we’ll be backsliding spiritually!
B. LACK OF EXERCISE
1. We must be DOERS OF THE WORD and not hearers only. We must “exercise our faith,” or put your faith into practice.
a. Try something we’ve never tried, spiritually;
b. Give God an opportunity to move;
c. Lay hands on the sick, bind & loose, cast out devils, etc.;
d. Witness to people; be a light in the darkness!
2. Our spiritual muscles will atrophy if we don’t use them. The old adage is still true, “If you don’t use them, you will lose them!”
C. OVERDOING IT
1. If we don’t take the time to build up our spiritual muscles, we can end up lifting things too heavy for us. We must be like John the Baptist, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit” Lk. 1:80. His spiritual being became strong within his body.
2. The 9 disciples at the Mt. of Transfiguration weren’t prepared to deliver the possessed boy and experienced disappointment. They tried something too big for them.
3. Engaging in strenuous activities. You can’t run a marathon without training. “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” 1 Cor. 9:25.
4. Standing for a long time. Sometimes just the act of standing – say a checker at Wal-mart – can make a person have back trouble. So too the long-term efforts of Christian
5. Bending more than you should can cause problems. Paul said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” Rom. 12:21. No compromise!
D. ACCIDENTS
1. Falling, a car accident, or an impact of some kind can create back issues.
2. Some people’s back troubles are the result of carelessness. I know one man who at 60 went to work for McCoy’s picking up 80 pound sacks of concrete. That’s asking for troubles!
E. SUMMARY: NO BACKSLIDING
If we have a good spiritual diet, avoid bad habits, get spiritual exercise, don’t try things to difficult for us, and use good common sense – we should be safe from all forms of BACKSLIDING!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. When jet fighters were first invented, they flew much, much faster than their propeller driven predecessors. So now, if a pilot needed to bail out, ejection was much more complicated.
2. In early tests, when pilots ejected, they would hold on to the seat in panic. They’d clamp down so hard that the parachute could not get free to open, with obviously disastrous results.
3. The solution: to attach a web-strap with one end attached to the front edge of the seat, feed under the pilot and up to the headrest where there was an electric take-up reel (like a sling-pocket).
4. When the pilot ejected and the seat shot upwards out of the plane, after two seconds, the take up reel would spin and force the pilot out of his seat, thus freeing the parachute and letting the pilot float safely to the ground.
5. Left to themselves, the pilots wouldn’t let go. Thus they’d crash. WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET US OUT OF OUR SEATS?
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you have experienced:
a. WEAKNESS
b. SLOW, SLUGGISH SPIRITUALLY
c. LOSS OF FEELING for God;
d. CAN’T MOVE – indecision;
e. BURNOUT, DEPRESSION.
2. Let’s come to the front and pray. We need God’s healing power to bring us back to wholeness. Prayer.
3. Call for salvation. Prayer.
