FRIENDSHIP 102 – HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED:
By Pastor Chris Jordan
“Jesus said, "’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
All of life is based on relationships, and if we don’t know how to have right relationships with one another, we are going to miss out on the abundant life that God has planned for us. If someone was to ask you what the Bible is all about, it’s really simple to answer that question: Love God and love people. It’s all about love, and being in loving relationships. Here is our main Scripture for tonight:
“Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody. Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” (Galatians 6:2-4, NLT).
In the New King James version of the Bible, it translates the first part of that Scripture as, “Bear one another’s burdens.” I like that translation because it has a visual picture to it: You see someone who has a big heavy burden on their back, and they’re struggling and trying to go through life, and you come along, put your shoulder alongside theirs, and instead of them trying to carry their burden themselves, it’s the two of you together. But the New Living Translation puts it in simple language we can understand: Share each other’s troubles and problems. Now, that’s an easy sentence to read, but it’s harder to put into practice. God doesn’t want us to be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. The hard part is to put this into practice and share each other’s troubles and problems. When we do this, Paul writes, we obey the law of Christ. Did you know that Jesus has a law? Yes, it’s called the law of Christ – to share each other’s troubles and problems. If we’re not doing this, we’re a law breaker! But some people would argue and say, “Oh, but I’ve got all my own troubles and problems! Life is so hard! I can’t help any body else, I just gotta take care of me, myself and I!”
Paul makes a bold statement here when he says, “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.” Do you know why we don’t want to help other people? Because we think we’re too important. Again, it’s the spirit of the Pharisee: “I’m here to keep all of God’s commandments, and keep myself unspotted from the world. I’ll walk in holiness and purity. Just stay away from me, because you’re all unholy. And don’t get too close, because I don’t want you to pollute me.” Jesus didn’t have that attitude. He went down in the gutter where the worst of the worst sinners were, and helped them. That’s what God wants us to do. “Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well.” There’s a satisfaction that comes from helping others.
STORY: A folktale tells of a monarch long ago who had twin sons. There was some confusion about which one was born first. As they grew to young manhood, the king sought a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince.
Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said, "My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me as king. The burdens of sovereignty are very heavy. To find out which of you is better able to bear them cheerfully, I am sending you together to a far corner of the kingdom. One of my advisors there will place equal burdens on your shoulders. My crown will one day go to the one who first returns bearing his burden like a king should."
In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together. Soon they overtook a frail and aged woman struggling under a heavy weight. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other protested: "We have a burden of our own to worry about. Let us be on our way."
So the second son hurried on while the other stayed behind to help the woman with her load. On his journey to the kingdom’s edge, the same young man found others who needed help. A sightless man who needed assistance home; a lost child whom he carried back to her worried parents; a farmer whose wagon needed a strong shoulder to push it out of the mud.
Eventually he did reach his father’s advisor, where he secured his own burden and started home with it safely on his shoulders. When he arrived back at the palace, his brother met him at the gate and greeted him with dismay. "I don’t understand," the brother said, "I told Father the burden was too heavy to carry. How did you manage it alone?"
The future king replied thoughtfully, "I suppose when I helped others carry their burdens, I found the strength to carry my own."
Too many people are so self-centered and self-focused. “Oh, I gotta carry my burden! If you knew the problems and the troubles I have, it’s too hard for me to deal with my own stuff, let alone helping somebody else.” I want to tell you something. If you would get your eyes off of your own problems just for a day or two – open your eyes and look at all of the problems in the lives of people around you – you’ll realize how good you’ve got it, and that you’re not the only one with troubles. There is a joy in the Holy Spirit that comes to you when you begin helping other people, because you’re doing God’s work! Isn’t that what Jesus said when He helped the woman at the well? He said, “My meat, my fulfillment, my satisfaction, is to do the will of my Father.” When we get busy helping other people, there’s a joy and a strength that comes to us in our lives.
“Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?" That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out.” (Romans 15:2-3a, Message).
When I read that Scripture, I think about wading in to a swamp: covered with mud and sludge and all kinds of nasty stuff – the muck and the mire of people’s lives. That’s what Jesus did – He just got right down where the mess and the sin of people’s lives were. He just waded right in and helped people out. Jesus said:
"I took on the troubles of the troubled," is the way Scripture puts it... May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir - not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus! So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!” (Romans 15:3b-7, Message).
What do we learn from this Scripture? God wants us to look after the good of people around us, asking, “How can I help?” Do you know one of the things many Christians do? I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but a common greeting people give to one another when they meet is, “How’s it going?” But do you notice how most people who ask that question don’t really mean it? It’s just a thoughtless greeting that gets a typical robotic response like, “It’s going good, great, awesome, hey!” No one ever answers that question honestly! What would we do if someone ever did answer that question honestly? If we asked, “How’s it going, man?” and someone answered, “Crappy!” What would we say? “All right, see you later dude!” We wouldn’t know what to do! And yet, the Bible says this is what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to ask people how they’re doing, and look for ways to help them if and when they need help. When someone tells us that they’re having a crappy day, don’t just walk away and say, “Well, God bless you man! Praise the Lord, and we’ll see you next week!” If someone tells you that they’re having a bad day, that’s a God-opportunity! Find out what’s going on in their life – don’t just walk on by.
These verses tell us that this is exactly what Jesus did, our example. He didn’t avoid people’s troubles! That’s why Jesus came into the world, to “go around doing good, and heal all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
This Scripture tells us also that when we get along with each other, we are becoming mature in Christ. Wow. Do you want to know a sure sign that someone is growing in the Lord? Look at how they treat other people. It’s easy to say, “I love God,” but the proof is in how we treat other people. God is glorified when we reach out and welcome one another. Jesus said that when we let our lights shine before men, and they see our good works, they will glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).
We are called to be burden bearers like Jesus, to help people in need.
But how can we do this?
1. Never pass up an opportunity to pray for someone who is sick or discouraged! One of the things I’ve made a point of doing in my own life is whenever I see someone who is sick or discouraged, I will always ask them if I can pray with them. It’s amazing what a difference that can make in someone’s life. But some might argue and say, “But what if God doesn’t heal them?” Just the simple fact that you came up and prayed for them is a blessing to them! So never pass up an opportunity to pray for someone.
2. Always speak positive and encouraging words to people - words are powerful! Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Every word that you speak to someone is either bringing life or death to them. It’s either building them up and encouraging them, or tearing them down. Make a decision to speak only encouraging words.
3. Look for simple practical ways to help people. Sometimes just a hug is all they need! The flip side of this point is – if you’re having a bad day, ask someone else to give you a hug! I had someone come up to me yesterday and say, “I’m having a bad day – can you give me a hug?” I said, “Sure! I have lots of hugs to share!” You’ll never run out of hugs. Hug someone today!
STORY - A LESSON FOR LIFE:
(Taken From Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2)
"“Look at fatso!” Freshmen in high school can be cruel and we certainly were to a young man named Matt who was in my class. We mocked him, teased him and taunted him about his size. He was at least 50 pounds overweight. He felt the pain of being the last one picked to play basketball, baseball or football. Matt will always remember the endless pranks that were played on him…
One day he sat near me in gym class. Someone pushed him and he fell on me and banged my foot quite badly. The kid who pushed him said that Matt did it. With the whole class watching, I was put on the spot to either shrug it off or pick a fight with Matt. I chose to fight in order to keep my image intact.
I shouted, “Come on, Matt, let’s fight!” He said he didn’t want to. But peer pressure forced him into the conflict whether he liked it or not. He came toward me with his fists in the air. He was no George Foreman. With one punch I bloodied his nose and the class went wild. Just then the gym teacher walked into the room. He saw that we were fighting and he sent us out to the oval running track.
He followed us out with a smile on his face and said, “I want you two guys to go out there and run that mile holding each other’s hands.” The room erupted into a roar of laughter. The two of us were embarrassed beyond belief, but Matt and I went out to the track and ran our mile - hand-in-hand.
At some point during the course of our run, I remember looking over at him, with blood still trickling from his nose and his weight slowing him down. It struck me that here was a person, not all that different from myself. We both looked at each other and began to laugh. In time we became good friends.
Going around that track, hand-in-hand, I no longer saw Matt as fat and dumb. He was a human being who had intrinsic value and worth far beyond any externals. It was amazing what I learned when I was forced to go hand-in-hand with someone for only one mile. For the rest of my life, I have never so much as raised a hand against another person."
The next time you think of doing something mean to someone – before you speak that negative word – if only you could just walk one mile in their shoes. You might say, “But they’re a jerk! They deserve to be treated mean!” But one of the things you need to realize is that hurt people will hurt people. The reason they’re being mean is most likely because someone somewhere along the way hurt them first. Allow me to close with this poem that I believe is the heart cry of many lives that surround you:
POEM – I NEED YOU NOW:
My friend, I need you now--Please take me by the hand.
Stand by me in my hour of need, Take time to understand.
Take my hand, dear friend, and lead me from this place.
Chase away my doubts and fears, Wipe the tears from off my face.
Friend, I cannot stand alone. I need your hand to hold,
The warmth of your gentle touch in my world that’s grown so cold.
Please be a friend to me and hold me day by day.
Because with your loving hand in mine, I know we’ll find the way.
