Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 23, 2002 - W0225

ìIf a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one anotherís burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.î (Gal. 6:1-2) 

When we start to help one another, we fulfill Godís best plan for our lives. Thatís what itís all about. God will take care of us, but Heís asking if we will be a people who help one another.

ìI myself am convincedÖthat you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.î (Rom. 15:14) Paul was so speaking to a young church and yet he was confident that they were ìcomplete in knowledge and competent,î to help each other. We too are a young, growing church with many young Christians. So today we will talk about helping one another through difficulties.

Question 1: Recall a time when someone was there for you during a difficulty in your life? How did that experience help you to help others?

So what are some of the things to consider when helping each other as weíre going through difficulties? The first is this:

1.      SEEK BALANCE!

ìDear friends, donít be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.î (1 Pet. 4:12)

We have a tendency to think weíre the only ones who have problems. Truth is, we all have problems. Even if youíre trying to be Godly we will have difficulties. In fact, the Bible says, ìAll those who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.î We can expect to be especially persecuted if weíre Christians.

Why? Because it will help us to build the character qualities necessary to sustain the promise He has for us. Itís a refining process we must all go through. Of course, we have a choice. We could dodge the problem and bail out, but the problem will still be there. Either way, weíll end up at the same place. However, we wonít have the depth to take us to the finish if we side step our problems instead of working through them.

You can think of problems as warning lights, like those that flash when your car overheats. If you heed the warning, you avoid having a bigger problem. God gives us difficulties through which we build character. These problems are called ìafflictions of refinementîóthey define you. But if you avoid them now, youíll have bigger problems later.

In order to prevent from adding more problems, submit to Godís warning lights. You will suffer problems during your lifetime. The question is: What are you going to suffer for, wrong or right? ìRemember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!î (1 Pt. 3:17 NLT)

ìForgetting what lies behindÖI press forward to what lies ahead. Iíve not attained it yet, but I keep pressing on in order that I might attain and reach that which God reached for me.î (Phil. 3:12-14)

Question 2: Have you ever ignored a problem by not noticing the warning signs? Or did you heed the warning? What was the result? What did you learn from the experience?

Keep pressing forward because you will attain and reach what God has for your future. So seek balance by taking responsibility for your problems and understanding that you must go through that process. Another thing to help you through struggles is to:

2.      SEEK LEARNING, NOT LEISURE.

God takes us through problems so we may learn character qualities for what He wants us to be. Therefore, we must ask, ìLord, what do I need to learn in this?î We need to take responsibility for our problems and learn from them. 

We live in a society where the goal of people is leisure. We want to be entertained. Thatís why there is such a huge proliferation of theatre, entertainment, and video games. Weíre willing to invest our time in distractions rather than in helping us draw near to what God wants for our future. Be careful on what you invest your time on because the enemy is just waiting to steal your potential. Thatís how he stumps your life. So be wise in the way in which you live because the enemy will place time temptations before you.

In his book, ìThe Road Less Traveled,î M. Scott Peck offers this insightful statement: ìIt is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life will find its meaning. The tendency to avoid problems, and the emotional suffering that comes with them, is the primary basis of all human mental illness.î

Our society believes that a life of leisure means having no problems. And we pursue that goal in our lives. What we end up with is a lot of frustration.

Another social myth is the belief that you have problems it must mean you donít have enough faith. If that were true than how does that explain Jesusí faith? He had a lot of difficulties in His life and His faith is completely credible. ìAlthough He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.î (Heb. 5:8)

God says we will be living in the ìmiddle of a crooked and perverted generation among whom you must appear as lights in the world.î (Phil 2:15) We wonít be immune from difficulty, but He will give us the edge if we will walk with Him.

Question 3: What kinds of things are you investing your time in? What are you gaining from these activities? Is it drawing you nearer to the Lord or closer to the enemy?

Indeed, all of us go through difficulties. But, choose to seek learning rather than leisure. Remember failure is not when you encounter difficulties, failure is when you choose not to learn from them. God in interested more in our development than in our difficulties.

So what do you do when you feel that a problem just cannot be solved? First of all,

 ?        Never think that a problem is unsolvable. 

ìAnd looking upon them Jesus said to them, ëwith men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.î (Matt. 19:26) You might think your problems are unsolvable. And it might very well be unsolvable to you. But ìwith God all things are possible.î

When problems seem to have no solution, it could be because we have not found the right person to help us yet. Maybe, weíre too emotionally involved to look at a situation objectively. It could just be that weíve made up our minds that it is unsolvable. And once your mind is locked, even that which is open to you will not be for you have just shut down your faith.  

A problem may seem unsolvable because weíre unwilling to pay the price to solve it. Just like the story in Matthew where Jesus went to a pig farm. In those times, it was unacceptable to raise pigs because they were considered unclean. While there, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man by commanding the demon out of the man and into a herd of pigs. The pigs then ran over a cliff and died in the waters below. The Bible says, ìThose tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.î (Matt. 8:33) Jesus healed the man and rid the country of demons. Yet, they wanted their pigs to be saved. They werenít willing to pay the price to have their problem solved!

How often do we do the same? We can hang on to pride, anger or a bad attitude. And we begin to develop a herd of pigs. We even refuse to receive a helping hand God sends. Whatever problem we have, God will help us, but we have to let go of those pigs.

Question 4: When you ask God to help you through a tough time, are you willing to pay the price and do what needs to be done in order to solve the problem? If not, what do you think is holding you back?

The first solution to an ìunsolvableî problem is to realize that no problem is unsolvable. The second key to cracking the ìunsolvableî dilemmas of life is to:

?        Learn to read the signs.

There will be signs along the way. The question is: Are you reading them? For example, when a marriage ends, it doesnít just suddenly happen. There were warning signs all along, but were they heeded? It is so important to agree that if you ever get into a time of difficulty you will get help. Most often you wonít have the emotional stability or objectivity to solve the problem yourselves. You may need someone who you trust and who is godly to help offer perspective.  

In problems, our first two keys are to help each other seek balance and to seek learning (vs. leisure). And, finally, what if you work as hard as you can to solve the difficulty and it ends in a break up? There will be times when a person refuses to reconcile or be restored. And that is a tragic thing because if you are not in agreement, thereís no victory. What do you do then?

3.      SEEK LIKENESS.

ìYou must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in Godís likenessórighteous, holy, and true.î (Eph. 4:24) 

ìAnd as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.î (2 Cor. 3:18)

Sometimes there will be no resolution or reconciliation, but Godís goal is that we still come through looking more like Him. Thatís how God refines us. Like in the refining of silveróa silversmith will take silver ore filled with different kinds of impurities and melt it down. When the heat is increased, dross rises to the top where he can scrape it off. He continues the process until all the remaining impurities float to the top to be scraped and discarded. He keeps scraping away the cloudy film until he is able to see his image (as in a mirror) in that silver. Then the refining process is complete.

God is our silversmith. He takes us through the process of refinement because He knows the image He has for our life. Our lives may be clouded because of problems, lack of character, a tendency to be easily tempted, or a tendency to refuse help. And God knows that the only way to get His image clean and clear and remove the cloudiness will be through the furnace. Though it will be painful, He must turn up the heat because His goal is that we will come out of it looking more like Him. When that happens, then the refining process has done what it is supposed to do: We become more and more like Him.

Question 5: Remember a time when you submitted to the refining process. What was the result of that experience? Would you choose a different path to change? Why or why not?

ìAnd as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.î (2 Cor. 3:18) When we understand Godís plan, we can cooperate with Him until we become a people more and more like Him. Then weíll have all the character and likeness necessary to sustain His promises for our future. And that comes only through helping one another through difficulties, and by this the fullness of the Kingdom comes to pass.

Question 6: How will you be different because of todayís lesson?

HUGE Mahalos to this week's volunteer writer: Mrs. Rhonda Pang!:)