VICTORY OR SURVIVAL?
Gal. 6:1-5
INTRO.- SURVIVOR. The Australian Outback. The TV show. Did you watch it? How many of you watched at least one of the “survivors” shows? How about the whole series?
Beginning January 28, 2001 the world watched as 16 people were stranded in the Australian Outback. There, they had to work together to survive, while eliminating each other one by one every three days. The lone survivor walked away with $1,000,000.
Regardless of what you thought of this television series it was something of a phenomenon. It was reported that between 26 and 50 million Americans watched the broadcasts.
Fifty-three year old Rodger Bingham from Crittenden, Kentucky, was one of the survivor contestants. What made him interesting was the fact that not only was he a Christian, but he was also an elder in the Crittenden Christian Church.
COULDN’T YOU ENVISION SOME OF OUR ELDERS IN AUSTRALIA, competing for that million dollars, climbing trees and eating worms, etc.? Yeah, I could envision Gary Saveley eating worms and climbing trees, because he lives in trees most of the year anyway!
Rodger Bingham didn’t experience victory and win the million dollars, but he was a winner to many Christians who watched the show. He was definitely a survivor.
The winner of the Australian survivors was 40-year-old, Tina Wesson, a nurse from Knoxville, TN. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Wesson currently resides there with her husband, Dale, and her two children, Katie and Taylor. She is a member of the Outstanding Young Women of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Apparently, Tina Wesson also believes in Christ and is a Christian. And she was the million dollar winner!
But I bet she is also a survivor when it comes to the matter of living this life! I don’t know anything about her personal life, but I know that life itself is a matter of survival!
ILL.- An airline company was disturbed over a high percentage of accidents so they decided to eliminate human errors by building a completely computerized plane. "Ladies and gentlemen," came a voice over the PA during the initial flight, "It may interest you to know that you are traveling in the world’s first completely automated and computerized plane. Now just back and relax because nothing can go wrong....go wrong....go wrong....go wrong....."
Brethren, things do go wrong for us in life! No matter who we are, some things do go wrong. Consequently, life sometimes becomes more of a battle for survival rather than winning.
ILL.- Just two weeks ago a married couple by the name of Johnny and Dorothy Lynn went to church at First Christian in Anna, IL. They went to Sunday School and suddenly he started to feel really bad so his wife took him to the local hospital. While there, she suffered a heart attack. They called for a helicopter to take her to a hospital in Cape Girardeau, MO. SHE DIED ON THE WAY. She was 75 years old. That was on Sunday.
Soon after that, her husband Johnny suffered a mild heart attack and they took him to Cape Girardeau. And he died on Wednesday.
Johnny was 79 years old and Dorothy was 75. They had been married 57 years. They had only one child. Her name is Jean Alice Craig. Now you can’t tell me that she isn’t suffering right now! She had both her parents one minute and they were gone the next minute! That has to hurt. She has to be greatly burdened. The only consolation she has is the fact that both her parents were Christians and are now at home with the Lord!
Things do go wrong in life and for one reason or another. Marriages fall apart, babies are born with defects, children go wild, we lose jobs, cars break down and so do our bodies, people die, and so on.
Believe me, I’m not happy about it! I wish things were hunky dory all the time, but they’re not! What we can do about our suffering? How can we survive the problems and pitfalls of this life?
PROP.- There are three different areas of help for the problems we face in this life in order to survive.
1- Help from within
2- Help from without
3- Help from above
I. HELP FROM WITHIN
Gal. 6:5 "For each one should carry his own load." KJV "For every man shall bear his own burden." The idea of Gal. 6:1-5 is that of bearing one another’s burdens, but Paul is also saying there are some burdens that we have to bear ourselves.
ILL.- A man in a supermarket was pushing a shopping cart which contained, besides groceries, a screaming baby boy. As the man proceeded down the aisles, he kept saying, "Keep calm, George. Don’t get excited, George. Don’t yell, George."
A lady watched with great admiration and finally spoke up and said, "You are certainly to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George." "Lady," he said, "I’M GEORGE!"
Raising kids can be a real burden at times and IT IS A BURDEN THAT BASICALLY WE HAVE TO BEAR BY OURSELVES. Our parents can’t do it for us. They may give us advice, they may baby-sit occasionally, but overall, raising our children is a burden that we have to bear ourselves!
The same thing is true of many things in life.
ILL.- Several years ago a good Christian friend of mine who was the General Manager of the Silk Tree Factory (home decor company and now Trees ‘n Trends) out of Paducah, KY, said if I ever needed a job to call him. Well, it turned out I needed a job and he gave me the assistant manager’s job at the store in Cape Girardeau, MO. After several weeks of work I said to him, “Tom, thank you very much for giving me this job.” And he said, “See that you keep it!”
We may get some help in life in certain ways or in certain areas, but there are some things that we must do for ourselves.
ILL.- When Lucille Ball began studying to be an actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of her drama school, “Try any other profession, but acting.” But we know the rest of the story. She did it anyway and was very successful.
ILL.- Thomas Edison was probably one of the greatest inventors in American history. When he first attended school in Port Huron, Michigan, his teachers complained that he was “too slow.” And yet during his lifetime he produced more than 1,300 inventions. He said that his energy and genius was “one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
ILL.- Franklin D. Roosevelt was paralyzed by polio at the age of 39, and yet he went on to become one of America’s moved loved and influential leaders.
ILL.- Just two years ago, 27-year-old Lance Armstrong did something nearly impossible. He won the cycling world’s most famous event, the 3-week, 2700 mile Tour de France race. THAT’S 2700 MILES ON A BICYCLE!
But what makes his win even more impressive is the fact that he did it after a three-year bout with cancer! In 1996 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. By the fall, he was not racing his bike, he was trying to survive his cancer which had spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain! He had two operations, including brain surgery. He endured 12-weeks of chemotherapy.
WITH SUCH A BURDEN WHO COULD BELIEVE HE WOULD EVER COMPETE AGAIN? Well, he did. Lance Armstrong believed in something, either in himself or someone else. So he rode 30 to 50 miles every day between chemotherapy treatments. He did everything he could to regain his health and his strength - with the idea of becoming a winning cyclist again. AND DID HE EVER SUCCEED!
Nike shoe company has run a series of ads making the point that Lance Armstrong is the "first dead man" to win the Tour de France! Brethren, Lance Armstrong bore his own burden!
Sometimes we have to ignore the pain, the hurt, the negative feelings and bear our own burdens!
Ps. 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."
I happen to believe that we are a lot stronger than we think we are. WE ARE THE WONDERFUL CREATION OF GOD! We can do more than we think we can! We can endure more than we think we can! We can bear our own burdens!
1- Help from within.
II. HELP FROM WITHOUT
Gal. 6:2 KJV "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
ILL.- Many years ago preacher Henry Ward Beecher went to pulpit to preach and found a letter containing one word, "Fool." He calmly, quietly announced the contents of the letter to the congregation, saying, "I have known of people writing a letter and forgetting to sign their name to it. BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SEEN SOMEONE SIGN THEIR NAME AND FORGET TO WRITE THE LETTER!"
Christians should be in the business of helping one another, bearing one another’s burdens, not creating more burdens. BUT SOME CHRISTIANS ARE MORE CRITICAL THAN THEY ARE CARING! They are more of a hindrance than a help!
Gal. 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently."
Everybody makes mistakes in life. Some appear to be more serious than others, BUT THE POINT IS: When a fellow Christians makes a mistake, is found in a sin, etc. how do we respond to them or how do we feel about them?
All some people do is criticize them and gossip about them. They don’t try to cure the cancer. They just spread the disease!
ILL.- A friend of mine attended an Assembly of God church in the Paducah, KY, area for a period of time. At one of their services an old man went forward to their altar, apparently to pray. He had the appearance of a street person; shabby clothes, etc. While kneeling at the altar, a whiskey bottle fell out of his coat pocket. THE NEWS OF THAT HAPPENING SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CHURCH THE NEXT WEEK. Everybody was talking about what had happened at church.
The next Sunday, the minister stood and told the congregation that he’d heard all the talk about the man who came forward the last week and his whiskey bottle. The elderly minister then said, "I don’t want to hear anymore about this. God didn’t put us here to criticize people. HE PUT US HERE TO LOVE PEOPLE!"
Brothers and sisters, we’re all guilty! We’re guilty of sin! None of us have the right to criticize others, condemn others or judge others!
James 4:11-12 "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. BUT YOU - WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE YOUR NEIGHBOR?"
When we judge and criticize others we are saying in effect that we are better than others, that we are smarter, that we have all the answers, that we are God.
And that’s when I am reminded that it says in I John 4:8 that “God is love.”
Instead of judging one another or criticizing one another, we should be in the blessing business! The restoring business! The healing business! The forgiving business! The burden-bearing business!
Gal. 6:2 "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
How can we bear one another’s burdens? How can we help people to survive the problems of this life?
Matt. 6:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
We can demonstrate mercy toward them. How? By not gossiping about them. By not talking about them. Instead, by talking to God for them.
ILL.- Say something like, “I know you are burdened right now. I know that you having a tough time. I just want you to know that I am praying for you every day. Please let me know how I can pray for you.”
That’s the demonstration of mercy and we need to do more of it. People are hurting. They need our mercy, our support, our help, our prayers.
I Thess. 5:14 "And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." Encourage, help, be patient.
We need to encourage and help others anyway we can. Life is a struggle just to survive! WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! We need to help one another!
ILL.- Recently, in my Sunday School class I told about receiving a $50 dollar bill anonymously one time in the mail. And Mary Morton said, “Yes, I forgot to sign my name to it.” And I thought, “I WISH YOU’D DO IT AGAIN!”
Seriously, some people may have a real financial problem and some people can help to bear that burden. And bless their sweet hearts for doing that!
Gal. 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Brothers and sisters, look out to those around you. Friends. Neighbors. Family members. Church members. Are they hurting in some form or another? Do they have a need that you can fill? Why not do it? We need one another and we need to help one another.
ILL.- A man by the name of Alan Cohen put it this way, “We believe that we are hurt when we don’t receive love. But that is not what hurts us. Our pain comes when we do not give love. We were born to love. You might say that we are divinely created love machines. We function most powerfully when we are giving love. The world has led us to believe that our well-being is dependent on other people loving us. But this is the kind of upside-down thinking that has caused so many of our problems. The truth is that our well-being is dependent on our giving love. IT IS NOT ABOUT WHAT COMES BACK. IT IS ABOUT WHAT GOES OUT!”
We of all people need to be dishing it out. We must be in the business of loving others, helping others, blessing others, etc.
1- Help from within
2- Help from without
III. HELP FROM ABOVE
Ps. 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you."
Matt. 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
I Pet. 5:7 "Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you."
Heb. 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Generally, there comes a time in nearly every person’s life that they find they must look up to the Lord for help with their burdens!
A person may not be able to help themselves and other human help may be good, BUT IT IS NOT ENOUGH! That’s when we must turn to the Lord and ask for mercy and grace for our burdens.
ILL.- Abraham Lincoln once said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." Have been there? Most of us have.
ILL.- Max Lucado shares this interesting story. He wrote, “A friend of mine was recently trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basket. The boy would take the basketball and push it as hard as he could toward the goal, but it always fell short. The father would then take the ball and toss it toward the basket, saying, ‘Just do it like this, son. It’s easy.’
“Then the boy would try, and miss again. My friend would then take the ball and make another basket, encouraging his son to push the ball a bit harder. After several minutes and many misses, the boy responded to his father by saying, ‘YEAH, BUT IT’S EASY FOR YOU UP THERE. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FROM DOWN HERE.”
Max Lucado went on to write, “You and I can never say that about God. God knows how you feel. Jesus knows how you feel down there.”
Heb. 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are....”
If there is one person who knows how we feel, how we hurt, it is our loving Savior. And He longs to help us and give us grace our burdens.
ILL.- A boy and his dad were hiking together on a familiar path. As they made a sharp turn in a narrow section of the path they came across a big rock blocking their path. The little boy asked his father, "Do you think I can move it?" His dad said, "Why, of course, if you use all your strength. I’m sure you can move it."
The little boy chose an angle of attack on the big rock and began pushing with everything he had. He grunted and groaned. Summoning all the strength he had, he pushed and pushed but to no avail. Finally, in desperation he said, "You were wrong, Dad, I just can’t do it."
His dad looked him in the eyes, smiled and said, "NO, SON, YOU HAVEN’T USED ALL YOUR STRENGTH YET. I’M RIGHT HERE AND YOU HAVEN’T ASKED ME TO HELP YOU!"
Matt 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM."
Brethren, in the midst of all our heartaches and burdens, our Father in heaven is saying to us, "I’m right here. All you have to do is ask me to help you with your burden."
Sometimes the only answer, the only escape, the only help, the only answer is to look to the Lord for help, mercy and grace.
CONCLUSION---------------------------------------------
ILL.- In a Christian testimony meeting in the South, a lady said she was always blessed by the words in the Bible, "AND IT CAME TO PASS."
She said, "When I have upset by troubles in my life I have always gone to the Bible and I didn’t get very far until I read the words ’IT CAME TO PASS.’ And I say, ’BLESS THE LORD, IT DIDN’T COME TO STAY, IT CAME TO PASS!’"
Brethren, our burdens in life did not come to stay with us and they will not stay with us, forever on and on. THEY HAVE COME, BUT THEY WILL PASS! With the strength God gives us, with the strength of our Christian brothers and sisters, and most importantly, WITH THE LORD’S HELP, OUR TROUBLES WILL PASS AWAY!
Give your life to the Lord. If you don’t need Him now, you will someday! WHY NOT NOW? ..
