INTRODUCTION
• A couple of weeks ago we started looking at the issue of discouragement. One of the freedoms we can enjoy as Christians is the freedom from discouragement.
• One of the reasons we looked at as to why this is true is because of the hope of better things to come that we have in Jesus. No matter what life deals us now, no matter what we suffer through now, it is nothing compared to the wonderful blessing awaiting us on the other side of life.
• Today we are going to look at a second reason we can enjoy freedom from discouragement.
• How many times have you felt the world caving in on you? You felt helpless and discouraged, maybe you had so much to get done, you just wanted to cry because you did not think it was possible to get it all done in time.
• Have you had a time in your life where things seemed so difficult you had no idea what to do, what to say or what to pray? Have you ever felt alone in the midst of your trying times? That can be a very discouraging feeling and a very discouraging time in our lives.
• Two weeks ago we looked at how our hope in Jesus could get us through. The good news is the fact we receive more help than just hope. Today we are going to look at part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives and how that ministry is one of the reasons we do not have to be enslaved to discouragement.
• Do you remember the old Hamburger Helper commercials? Hamburger Helper, when you need a helping hand.
• Usually you would see a person who had such a busy day that they did not have the time to cook a REAL MEAL, so they whip out a box of Hamburger Helper. The little glove guy (which would scare me) shows up and there you go, a “meal” is done (If you want to call that a meal)
• Everyone looks relieved because the little glove came and saved the day with a box of Hamburger helper. The commercial implies this person could not have possibly made it through the process of making dinner without the helping hand.
• Today you will learn that you have a helping hand that will be much better than an old box of Hamburger helper.
• READ ROMANS 8:26-27
SERMON
I. WE ARE NOT GOING THROUGH IT ALONE (26)
• Hope will take us so far in dealing with tough situations in life. In verse 26 we are told that in the same way that hope helps sustain us in times of discouragement, the Spirit is there to help sustain us during trying times.
• We are told the Spirit (Holy Spirit) helps our weakness. In the context of the chapter we have read (8:20-21), weakness most likely refers to the problems that are a result of the futility and slavery to corruption the world is marred with at this present time.
• Most of the difficulties we face are a result of the fallen world we live in.
• So many times we feel isolated and alone when we are facing bad things. We feel powerless, helpless, and a sense of impending doom.
• Christians are free from the slavery of discouragement because of the hope we have within us and because we have a friend who will be with us every step of the way.
• The word “help” is a word that means; “to take hold of anything with another”, “to give assistance by sharing a burden” or to “come to the aid of.”
• When we are facing difficult times, the Christian is not alone; the Holy Spirit comes along side of us to help lift the burden.
• The way this works is explained in the rest of verse 26 and 27.
• You do not have to feel alone because you are not. That feeling of isolation can be one of the most discouraging parts of going through tough times.
II. WE RECEIVE HELP IN WITH OUR PRAYERS (26)
• In verse 26 we are told that part of the help in lifting burdens comes in the form of prayer help.
• Have you ever been hurting so bad that you just did not know what to ask God for? Have you ever been so down that you could not put into words what was in your heart?
• In verse 26 we are told that we do not know how to pray as we should. It does not mean we do not know how to pray, but instead when we are in the throws of difficulties and are really hurting, we can not put into words what we need.
• We also have a limited perspective. We may ask for something that is not good for us because we do not see the big picture as God does.
• Sometimes we get so involved in the circumstances before us it clouds our vision to our true needs.
• Sometimes what we want is not in harmony with what God wants for us.
• Since there are times in which we do not know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit comes along side of us and helps us. It can be frustrating to not be able to put into words what we need.
• When I was a young boy, my parents could not understand half of what my younger brother said. He would say something and then they would get frustrated because they did not know what he wanted, so they would ask me and I would interpret for them. (USE EXAMPLES)
III. THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US DURING OUR TIMES OF NEED (26-27)
• When we are not able to articulate our prayers to God, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He takes what is in our heart and lifts that to God.
• Not only that we are told that since God and the Holy Spirit are in harmony with each other, the Holy Spirit will also make sure that whatever the pray lifted to God is, will be one that is what we really need.
• Since we do not know what to pray for the Holy Spirit offers it up for us.
• This intercession takes place whenever and as often as we need it.
• The word intercede is a word that indicates a continual action, a habitual action. This word is used no where else in the New Testament, although its roots are used. The word means to “turn to”, “to approach, appeal, petition someone on behalf of another.
• This is what I did in a sense for my brother. When we are in a court of law, we usually have a lawyer who intercedes on our behalf to the court.
• In John 14:16-17 Jesus tells His followers in referring to the Holy Spirit, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
• Another word for Helper is Comforter. The Holy Spirit brings comfort to us when we realize that even when we do not know what to ask for, the Holy Spirit within us knows what we need and delivers that request to God.
• We are told this is done through “groaning”.
• Since the requests and needs are so indescribable, the Spirit lifts us “sighs” if you will to the Father who knows what they mean and then acts upon them.
• In his book Maverick, Ricardo Semler tells of a lesson he learned working at Semco: "We were in yet another meeting ... when we came to the purchase of $50,000 worth of file cabinets. Several departments had been waiting months for the cabinets and in desperation had decided to pool their requests. ... "We didn’t buy a single new file cabinet that day. Instead, we decided to stop the company for half a day and hold the First Biannual Semco File Inspection and Clean-out ... "Our instructions were simple: We told everyone to look inside every file folder and purge every nonessential piece of paper ... "I was one of Semco’s biggest file hogs, with four large cabinets and a request for two more. After our cleanup, I trimmed down to a single cabinet, and that was pretty much how it went throughout the company ... The cleanup went so well that when everyone had finished, Semco auctioned off dozens of unneeded file cabinets." Sometimes what we think we need isn’t what we really need. When we pray, we learn to distinguish between needs and wants. -- Terry Fisher, Milford, Ohio. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 4.
• Some use this verse to try to say there is a special prayer language for people. The problem with that is this verse says our needs cannot be expressed in ANY words. The groanings are too deep for words. If we speak in any tongue that would be putting our prayer into words, which this verse says our groanings are too deep for words to express.
• Have you ever just sighed over something? The sigh meant something that words were not adequate to express.
• God is pictured in verse 27 as being the one who searches the hearts of man. He also knows the mind of the Spirit and the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
• JEREMIAH 17:10 says, "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
• 1 SAMUEL 16:7 says, “But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
• God knows what is in your heart. He can read the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We cannot fool God.
• God searches our hearts to find the unutterable groanings in the heart. God knows what you need and since the Holy Spirit is working within the will of God, we can rest assured that God groaning lifted up to God will be something that is in our very best interest.
• Notice in verse 27 for whom the Holy Spirit intercedes for. This ministry only takes place for the Saints, or put another way, for the Christian.
• Remember that every person who is in Christ is a saint.
CONCLUSION
• When we are facing an opportunity to be discouraged, we need to understand that when we are in Christ, we have freedom from discouragement. When we face difficult times, times that leave us not knowing what to do or what to pray about, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is working hard for us to make sure God knows exactly what we need.
• Discouragement is a form a slavery that we have been released from. Many people allow their lives to be ruined by discouragement.
• I hope you know that during times of trouble, we have our hope in our future with God to cling to along with the fact that the Holy Spirit is helping to lift the burden from us.
• Next week we will finish this mini-series on freedom from discouragement by seeing that God is bigger than ANY problem we face!
