Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, March 9th. If Jesus spent his time caring for helpless people, then believers have no excuse for ignoring those around us. Our series continues with part two of Bearing Each Other's Burdens. Here's a person who's hurting. And you go to them, and the guy says, Well, I really want to help you.
But you're one of those persons whose tongues split. And so, as soon as they tell you what's on their heart and their brokenness, you go tell somebody else and say, you know, I'm telling you because I just want you to pray for them. That is, listen, that is absolutely, totally deception. If you want them to pray for them, then don't tell them what's going on. Don't tell them about their heartaches and their burdens.
Don't tell them about the sin that they've confessed to you. That is not godly. And he says this very carefully in this passage. He says, You who are spiritual, That is, you're governed by the Spirit. You're controlled by the Spirit.
You want to walk in the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is your life. That's who you are. You're a spiritually minded person.
Now listen. Just because you ask the blessing at the table, and just because you read your Bible once in a while and you go to church, that doesn't mean you're spiritually minded. You can, listen, you can be dishonest in your business. You can be dishonest and you can be a flirt. You can be lustful as a devil.
In other words, all that kind of stuff can be in there. These other actions look pretty good, but the truth is, where is your heart? What are you thinking when you see somebody that you look with lust or genuine love toward them? Do you look at who they are or who they can be? and wonder, for example, what kind of talents and abilities and skills does this person have.
All of this is involved in who we are. Listen, if I'm going to help someone, He makes it very clear. He says, you who are spiritual. And there's one other word there. Look at that.
He says, the right attitude, the right attitude is that of gentleness.
Now what is a gentle person? A gentle person is one who is caring and loving and kind and forgiving and accepting.
Now If you're a gentle person and you're trying to help someone else, you do not say, How'd you get yourself in that mess? In other words, you're not harsh. You're not in a hurry. But your kindness is supreme above everything else. You don't listen.
You don't get in an argument with a person you're trying to help. Listen, you can win the argument and lose the person for good. You don't argue with them. You listen to them. You listen, they begin to tell you what's going on in their life.
Watch this carefully. They're going to read your response before you say a single word. You know how they're going to read it? They're going to look at you in your eyes. You'll reveal what you're feeling.
They're going to watch. how you respond physically. If you get antsy, They gonna think I better quit. If you look with shame, shame, shame, shame, they're going to stop. Gentleness.
is able to accept No matter what. No hurry, no rushing. And listen, not the feeling, the attitude, I'm going to fix you. I know how to fix you. Because as we come a little bit along in these verses here, gentleness and the spirit of kindness and acceptance and forgiveness, it's all through this passage.
And so a person who is going to be A burden-bearer of someone else's sin has to have a gentle spirit. And when you and I respond correctly, here's what they do. They start up here telling you about what's wrong in their life. Oh, well, nobody's perfect. Everybody has, you know, those things.
And then the longer you talk and the longer you listen, the more they trust you, what happens is you come off of this idea that everybody has mistakes. Then they tell you about a little bit of their past. And then they tell you about what other folks have done to them, and how it's somebody else's fault, and finally, when they get down here. They've poured out their heart to you. Takes time.
If you're in a hurry, To bear someone else's burden, forget it. Restoration doesn't come quickly oftentimes. It doesn't come in a hurry. It doesn't come as a result of an argument. It comes as a result of a spirit-filled person.
in the spirit of gentleness and acceptance, and as we said, and of love. When you and I learned the way Jesus dealt with people, We'll be able to deal with them the same way if we're willing. And so, the whole spirit of gentleness, and then there is also. this idea of our own personal preparation. And that is, we have to get ready to deal with someone else.
And how do we do that? The first thing we have to do is we have to come to the Lord ourselves and say, Father, don't you look at my heart. Anything in my life, God ought not to be there, I want to deal with it right now. Willing to confess it, willing to repent of it, willing to deal with it. If there's anything I've not seen, God show it to me now.
And secondly, then the best way and the most effective way for me to help that other person is before I say a word to them, begin to pray for them. God, speak to their heart. When the right time is there, Lord, that you want me to deal with something in their life, get them ready for it. Do you think God will answer that prayer? Yes.
And sometimes he'll answer it in this way. He will intensify the burden in their life. He will intensify the weight of their sin till they feel so desperate when you come to. Build a relationship with them, what happens? They're open.
They're surprised at themselves how open they are. But they're hurting. And it's not getting any better, it's getting worse. They've just got something's got to happen. And what you've done by prayer is prayer, watch this, prayer just pries the door of their heart open.
And then you can look in. You can reach in. than you can stand in. And their heart gets opened. But that prayer is very important.
If you just go launching into somebody's relationship, more than likely you're going to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing. And then, of course, there's absolute total dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
Now, here's why this is so important. It's so important because the Holy Spirit knows exactly the right time to approach that person. And he will lead you. He knows exactly the right time. when they are feeling the greatest sense of guilt.
when they are feeling the greatest sense of neediness. When they are willing to forget their shame and all the rest and just open the door of their heart to someone. And so when you rely upon the Holy Spirit, He'll give you discernment. He'll show you what to say. What not to say.
When to say it, and when not to say it. He'll show you how to respond and how not to respond. And oftentimes the Spirit of God will simply say to you, Just listen. No response. Just listen.
And it may be at first that person that you don't say anything to them. You just listen to them. And here's what they're doing. while you are listening and they're talking. In their mind, they're gauging, judging, sizing you up.
How do you respond? How deep can they go? How much can they tell you? How much of their sin and all the rest that they don't feel shame towards you? All this is going on in their mind and their heart.
And so that's why it's so very important that you and I rely upon the Holy Spirit.
Now, if we approach someone like that, God will redeem them. But now watch the rest of this passage because what I want you to see here is this, and that is, He gives us a caution. Concerning bearing our burdens with others.
So, watch this now. He says, First verse: Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself.
so that you too will not be tempted. Then notice. Bear one another's burden. And therefore, fulfill the law of Christ. That is, when obedience, that's what we're doing.
Because He told us to love each other, help each other, and so forth.
Now, watch this. For if anyone thinks he's something when he's nothing, he deceives himself.
So what's that got to do with simply this? That when you and I come to a person who is living in sin or has slipped or fallen some way. We ought to be reminded No one is above slipping and falling no matter who you are. No matter how spiritual you may be, you see, that's what Satan wants people to think.
Well, you know, I've reached this level of my spiritual life, therefore, that can't happen to me. You're just about ready for it to happen. For the simple reason, that's deception. And what he's saying here is this. Watch this.
It's a To some degree it's dangerous. Because once you get involved in somebody's life to help them, Satan is going to attack you. For example, let's say that it has something to do with a person's morality, maybe their sexual past or whatever. And this person out of brokenness. Absolute desperation, shame has to tell you what happened.
Watch out. Because Satan will turn that on you if you're not careful. That's why it's in the spirit of humility. dependence upon the Holy Spirit, lest He says, Look, He says Looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. Bear another's burden.
And thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he's something when he's nothing, he deceives himself.
But each one must examine his own work. and then he'll have reason for boasting in regard to himself. Alone and not in regard to another. You say, Well, now what's that? Wait a minute, you're talking about pride.
Now you're talking about boasting. Here's what that word means. Look at this. When he uses the word here, for boasting. It is not a word of pride.
Here's what he's saying. that we should have this attitude. That Watch this. He said Each one examined his own work. Our life.
What we do, what we've accomplished, achieved in life. Then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another, which means this. When you look at your life and you see what God has done, you recognize He did it all. You're not comparing yourself with someone else. You're not saying, well, they're doing these things, and now look what I've accomplished in life and what I've achieved.
But in other words, it's none of that. It's recognizing that everything that has come our way and the successes or accomplishments or achievements in your life, it's God. What is it we are boasting? We are boasting of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He's done. And He says, we'll have reason for boasting in regard to Himself, not regard to another.
And that word for boasting there is a boasting not of what we've done, but it's a boasting and recognition of what has happened by God in our life. And so, therefore, what does that do? That keeps us from rendering ourselves, listen, absolutely. Of no value when it comes to someone who's going through some heartache in life.
Now, listen to what he says. Then he says, for each one will bear his own load, own burden.
Well, that sounds like a contradiction because the truth is we start out saying, we're going to bear someone else's. But again, it's a different word. When the Bible says in verse 2, bear one another's burdens, that's one Greek word. When he says, we are to bear our own, that's another Greek word. And here, the first word is heaviness and weightiness and things in our life that just weigh us down.
The second word is the word that was used in those days for a marching soldier who had his pack on his back. And that pack was this particular Greek word. And what Paul is saying here is this, there are some burdens you and I bear that are our responsibility. In other words, the soldier marching with his friends can't say, I'm tired of you wearing this thing. You wear my pack.
You take all this. No. He has a responsibility. For example, let's say that It's time to take your children to school, and your car breaks down. You can't do it.
So your neighbor says, Oh, I will take your children to school today. Fine. Does that mean he's going to take them to school every day? No. Does that mean that that person becomes responsible for all the aspects of your family?
No. There are certain burdens you and I bear. You have responsibilities in your family as a father, as a mother. You cannot give that responsibility to somebody else. Have responsibility in your job.
You give that to somebody else, and you'll be looking for one. And so when he uses that word, it isn't the same weighty, heavy, but it's a load. as the soldier marches with his pack on his back. That's his burden. That's his load.
He can't give it to someone else.
So there are no contradictions in this passage. This passage is all about us living the kind of life. in which the character of Jesus, the Conversation of Jesus. The conduct of Jesus is so evident. That when we go to a person that we've identified as going through a burden or heartache.
or even if it's a sin in their life. They were acceptable. that somehow they can see in you. hear in you, feel in you, having watched you. and they're willing.
little by little to open the door of their heart. God wants you and me. To be listened, to be used as his earthly liberators in order to help people to be freed. from the guilt of their life. Things that have happened that have brought them shame.
Disgrace And as he says, if anyone is caught, Look. in any trespass. Uh Thank you for listening to part two of Bearing Each Other's Burdens. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org.
This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
