All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to Paul's letter to the church that was at Rome,
chapter 15. So you turn there and hold your
spot there and I will read the verse that I've been reading
before all of the messages I've been bringing you here since
chapter 12. Let us remember, Paul wrote these
words, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And
as I said before, Paul then goes through chapter 12, chapter 13,
chapter 14, and chapter 15, giving us defining to us some of this reasonable
service that we are to be engaged in. And then in chapter 15, he
makes a statement. Now remember, this is not a break
from chapter 14. This is in light of what he's
just said in chapter 14. We then, that are strong, ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to edification. For, here we see this, the mercies
of God. For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, and this, what it was written was a prophecy.
This is taking place now. As it is written, the reproaches
of them that reproach thee fell on me. Now I realize that there
are many in this world and even some who profess the name of
Jesus Christ himself who speak about people like us and say,
well, you folks don't care about works. You have nothing to do
with works. That is a lie. But works must
be kept in their proper place. They are never, ever for merit
before God. Two things. One, even our righteousnesses,
because they are connected to us, now they flow from God. It's
God that works in us, both the will and do of his good pleasure.
But because they flow through us, they're contaminated by what
we are. And our Lord even taught us,
as he taught the disciples as well, he said, when you've done
that which is your duty to do, what are we supposed to say?
We are but yet unprofitable servants. So as I've said, these people
are wrong, but these people are trying and actually think that
they can merit God's favor by a reasonable service. And it
just does not happen. So again, Paul continues instruction
on this reasonable service in our text. Paul speaks not of
selflessness here. I know some commentators you
read, they will talk about, mention the thought of selflessness here.
He's not talking about selflessness, he's talking about edifying conduct. Conduct that benefits another. Conduct that is for the good
or the pleasure, and that's in a proper sense, of another. It is conduct directed not to
self, in that sense only it is selflessness. but is conduct
directed not to self but to fellow believers in seeking their good. That's what the word means, to
please, seeking their good. And again, we read it. We then
that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.
And what infirmities? In particular, he marked out
a few of things concerning conscience. Neither side of the aisle, those
who allow certain things and have no trouble with it, and
others who don't allow certain things and do have trouble with
it. They're not to be at odds with one another, either side,
either side. Some call these things peccadilloes,
others ideas or thoughts of conscience, but this is what Paul's talking
about. We then are strong enough to bear the infirmities of the
weak and not to please ourselves. It's impossible to do. apart
from the enablement of the Spirit of God. Because self in our flesh
is at the forefront of everything. Everything. It's always present
with us, even when God is working in us, both to will and to do
of his good pleasure. You remember Satan's chief problem? Spoken of in the Old Testament,
he didn't do anything. He said, I will. What is it? I will arise and
thrive. I will do this. I will do that. Yes, he had designs to do, Joe. But his beginning problem was
not the doing, it was the willing. I know modern day religion presents
free will as the answer to most all problems, but it's the problem. Our will is the problem. And
the freer we think it is, the worse shape we will be in. Oh,
God constantly remind me that my will is not free. Now, although Paul speaks here,
as he's, or I should say, as he's writing this, Paul, yes,
included himself. We then that are strong. You
see it? We then that are strong. But
listen to me now, Paul is not suggesting some believers are
nothing but straw. I know religion approaches it,
you got faithful Christians and unfaithful Christians, there
is no such thing. You have faithful Christians
who still have unfaithfulness in them. And yes, some may be
more unfaithful than others. But that's not the point. We
all still have self in us. And it is, no matter how much
we like to say otherwise, it is a dominant part of our being. I live with me all the time and
I can't get away from me. And me finds a way to justify
me all the time. And it takes an act of God for
me to even recognize that's wrong, especially when it's taking place. So again, Paul's not saying some
believers are nothing but strong. According to the Apostle Paul,
and I'm not gonna read it, but you can read it later if you
wish, you're familiar with the verses, 1 Corinthians 26, chapter
one, verses 26 through 28. We are all of weak stock. Remember your calling, brethren? Not many wise, not many mighty,
not many noble are called. Well, God chose what? The despised
things of this world. We're all weak stock. Any strength we have is but Christ
himself in us. Secondly, infirmities and weakness
are not hindrances, but providentially reckoned for our spiritual good. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12, I want
you to see that. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. And
you know this, this'll be familiar when you get there if you've
not already recognized it in your mind. Infirmities and weaknesses
are not hindrances, though we often view them that way. And
that's why we can be so judgmental of someone else, another believer,
is because we really like to see these infirmities and weaknesses
as hindrances. But look at what God told Paul,
1 Corinthians 12, for the sake of time, verse seven. And lest
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations. You see that? God gave Paul much more than
he gave most anybody else. I mean, he even was caught up
in the third heavens. And Mac, he's seen things that
he didn't even have the words to rightfully explain them, legally
say them. and lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of the revelations that was given
me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet
me, that's to pound, pound, it's not just a small irritation,
this is to hit with the fist, to buffet me lest I should be,
here it is, lest I should be exalted above measure And let
me tell you, all of us, God's given us revelations far more
than we deserve. Far more than we deserve. God's
revealed to us things concerning himself and Christ and the Spirit
and ourselves and his purpose. We don't deserve it. We deserve
for God to have just let us alone and wallow in our own way and
then cast us off forever. Be with us, please, to give us
a little light. For this thing, I besought the Lord, and as I've
said, and others have said it, I realize that, I know people
speculate as to what it was. The whole point why Paul doesn't
mention it is so somebody doesn't say, well, that's where it's
at. It doesn't matter what kind of infirmity or problem you have. If it's buffeting you, it affects
you. It affects you. For this thing,
I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And
he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. For my strength,
here it is, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. My weakness, you see it? My weakness. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Now, look at it. Have I come
here yet? Have I come to this place yet? I wanna say this, it's just my
opinion, so if you disagree with me, it's fine, because it doesn't
say this here. I figure this is what Paul understood to be
so at the present time. But that can often wait. Look
at it. Most gladly, therefore, will
I glory in my strength. Huh? No. in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, tough language,
therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities. Do we talk like that? Oh God, if I could all, if I
really had that attitude, I could really talk like that, couldn't
I? But we have the little spurts. Little spurts. Because usually,
usually we're ticked off at God for what God's doing. We're ticked off at God for what
God's doing. Most gladly, therefore, I glory in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I'll take
pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and
distresses. But here's what, for Christ's
sake, Now sometimes we just biliate simply about everyday providence,
don't we? That's bad enough. What about
when it's for Christ's sake? For when I am weak, here it is,
when I am weak, then am I strong. Compare this to what Paul said
in 2 Corinthians 13, what Paul said here, 2 Corinthians 13. Verse four, speaking of Christ,
for though he was crucified through what? Weakness, yet he liveth
by the power of God. For we also are weak in him,
but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. You see that? Sounds like to
me that it takes God to act in all of this. Whether it's the
salvation of a sinner from the corruption of the world, or just
to live everyday reasonable conduct. Doesn't it? Doesn't it? Number
three, wherever a God-ordained, God-given strength exists, and
you already see that here, This is, it's simplistic, but oh,
how tough it is for us to get ahold of it and lay hold of it
and remember it and live it. Wherever a God-ordained, God-given
strength exists, it is never for personal self-gratification. We then that are strong. ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak, not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to building him up to edification. If we could do this all the time,
life would be far more simpler. I didn't say it'd be easy, but
it'd be far more simpler, but we complicate it by who we are.
and our complacency to go with the everyday that we're used
to, me, me, me. Not too encouraging of a message
so far, is it? Now under this, wherever a God-given,
God-ordained strength exists, it is never for personal gratification. Three things here. Note, the
strong are to bear the infirmities of the weak, not bear with the
infirmities of the weak. We love to approach it with what
I put up with that. This ain't what Paul's saying,
is it? He says, you bear the infirmity.
You take it on you. You make their problem your problem. That's what he says. And when
that hit me, I thought, how I've been looking at that so wrong.
This ain't even about forbearing one another. This is about taking
the weak's problem and making it mine. Strong again are to
bear the infirmities of the weak. In other words, take their infirmities
to be my own. Let me bear the burden of it.
That's what he's saying. Is this my opinion? For even
Christ. You see that? This ain't my opinion. It's not Walter trying to work
in some fancy language. This is the inspired words of
God through Paul to us. For even Christ pleased not himself. Oh God, sweetly force me in spite
of my selfishness because I'm never going to get rid of it.
That's the problem with religion, tells you there are ways to get
rid of it. There's not ways to get rid of it. At best, you could
deaden it. You know, mortify it. But it'll still, the numbness
will eventually, the flesh will go away, and the flesh will rise
right back up again. And sometimes it seems as if
it's more fierce after the first deadening. I think sometimes
we try to deaden so much that the flesh becomes deadened to
any difficulties whatsoever. I'm gonna do this whether it
hair, lips, God. You know the old phrase, the
old thought? Oh, God sweetly forced me in spite of my selfishness
to deaden self and bear the burden of my brothers and sisters. Here's
a third thought. But it's deeper than mere bearing
others' burdens. because our example is not a
comparison. It is a far transcendent example. You see it? Bear with me. For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, the infirmities of them that were infirm. And
what it says, does it? It says the reproaches, actual
bad things. What was that, Penny Wheeler?
Disgraces. That's the way you can interpret
that word, a disgrace. Something foul, an unclean, a
disgraceful thing. Here's what Christ did when he
did not please himself. The reproaches, the disgraces
of them that had disgraced God, those disgraces fell on the Lord
Jesus Christ himself. And he willingly, lovingly took
them upon himself. And I have a hard time just dealing
with the weaknesses or infirmities of my brothers and sisters. And
he took upon himself what fell on him. And I think the language
here is not to try to give the idea that Christ didn't want
it to happen or was unwilling for it to happen, but it still
fell on him. It wasn't eased upon him. You see what he's saying there
now? It wasn't eased upon him. Joe within, if I'm off a few
hours, forgive me, but within 24 hours, he was in that garden
and sweating as were great drops of blood. Crying out for help
from the Father, knowing that in hours, he would be hanging
there. And that his blessed Father would
turn his back on him. Because he would be bearing our
disgraces. and I have a hard time walking
in my brother or sister's shoes. It was the old phrase. So again,
it's deeper than mere burying others' burdens. It's the reproaches
of them that reproach thee, fell on me, Christ speaking and Christ
acting. Turn to Psalm 69. Psalm 69. Now when I get through with this
message, you will have no more power to
perform what God's commanded us to do here through Paul than
what you had before you came. Because it's gonna take God every
day, yea, every hour, yea, every moment to free me from myself. Look at Psalm 69, let me get
there. Psalm 69. Save me, O God, for the waters
are come in unto my soul. In other words, I know and I
understand that, but people think about the crucified Christ and
they think of all this outward stuff he went through. Joe, they
were torturing him to death. They had pummeled him so severely,
you couldn't even recognize who he was. But the true suffering was, Those
reproaches had fallen on him. He was burying them in his own
body on the tree. Save me, O God, for the waters
are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. You remember what God told his
people, Israel? When you pass through the waters, they won't
overflow you. But they overflowed him. Hmm? I am weary of my crying, my throat
is dried, my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Now we know
this is Christ because here he states this and it's quoted as
Christ being the one that said it in the New Testament. They
that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my
head. They that would destroy me, being
my enemies, wrongfully are mighty. Then I restored that. which I
took not away. Whose fault was this? All of
this. Everything. Right here. Right
here. Right there. Is that our fault?
Yeah, our daddy Adam started it, but we still love it just
like it is. Just like it is. Oh God, thou
knowest. Uh oh, look at it. My foolishness. Now where did that foolishness
come from? Not within him personally. That was our reproaches, our
disgraces falling upon him. Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness. My sins are not hid from thee.
Just an astounding thing to think of the son of God crying this
out. But the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on him.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord of hosts, be ashamed for
my sake, but don't ever be ashamed of our Lord that he went through
this. This was our salvation. Let not those that seek thee
be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for thy sake,
you see it, I have borne reproach. I mean, for God's sake, because
God is holy. And God had to punish all sin
and sins of any individual that he's going to let go. Have mercy
upon, have compassion upon. His justice had to be satisfied. Because for thy sake, I have
borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger
unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children. For
the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Here it is. And
the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen on me. Now when I think about that,
I think I can do better. but it don't last long. At best, it don't last long. Somebody says, why did God work
it out this way? So we're continually forced to
flee to Christ. To be forced to acknowledge that
he's my only hope. It's not just the work of God
he did in me, that makes me presentable to God. Because if that would
do it, why did Christ die? Why didn't God just give us a
new nature and obliterate the old? Because the old's gotta
be dealt with in judgment. And our puny sufferings in this
world wouldn't cut it. The blessed righteous son of
God took our reproaches and they fell on him. Amazing language,
is it not? Think of it, Christ our Redeemer
bore the very disgraces with which we had disgraced God. If I am a benefactor of such
grace, is it not at least, can we at least not say this? It's
a joy to show a similar compassion on others so blessed. It's a
joy to do so. When God gives you that ability
just to love the brethren, it's like, thank you, Lord. It's not,
Lord, look at me. Because as soon as you do that,
what happens? Fall flat on your face. You fall
flat on your face. Thank God when we do please our
fellow believers. It does happen. If it were an
impossibility, we'd never been told this is a reasonable service.
Remember, it's reasonable service. This is not above and beyond.
This is reasonable service. But it is impossible apart from
the mercy of God. Thank God when we do please our
fellow believers. But we must always be mindful
of this. Though Paul does not directly
deal with it right here, God correct us when we stray. and correct us soon. Because
the longer we go in self-gratification, the more it hurts our brothers
and sisters around us. I will give you this, and don't
ask me for the details. I will not give them to you.
But Penny and I have been in several places here recently,
and some people are in turmoil. And it breaks your heart. Because
these people are, and I'm not talking about one place, am I? And there's turmoil in the family
of God, why? Because you could see it. When
you're told about it, you see, they're looking to please themselves.
They're not looking to please others. Oh, God correct us when
we stray, because we will. We will. Oh God, here it is,
make us follow your gospel. For even Christ, please not himself,
but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee
fell on me. Thank God for Christ and who
he is. And what he did in spite of us. In spite of us. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for this time together. And we thank you for your word.
Realizing, Lord, that this is foolishness to the world, but
it's what pleases you. Preaching. Preaching. God, help
us to see the miracle that it is. God, thank you again for
this time together, for our food, and Lord, give us some fellowship
together afterward. Help us to enjoy our time together
and our meal together, in Christ's name, amen.