Would you turn back with me to
Romans chapter 8? Rich just informed us back in
the back that we're $8,000 short of paying the bills this month.
We've never had anything like that happen, so I hope we can
make up for that when shortfall or whatever it is. Romans chapter 8. Let's read
these verses again. I've entitled this message help
for our infirmities. Verse 26, likewise, the spirit
also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself. maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Verse 26 begins with a likewise. In the same manner that we're
helped by hope in our sufferings, sustained by hope in our sufferings,
we're helped by the spirit in our infirmities. Now, what is
an infirmity? What is meant by that word infirmity? Well, it means strengthlessness, weakness, inability to produce
results. It's sometimes translated impotent. Without ability, he helpeth our
infirmities, our weaknesses. Are you conscious of any? My
soul, I'm conscious of so many infirmities. Now this word in
the scripture is used to describe sickness. and disease. A man had an infirmity in his
flesh, the scripture says, for 38 years. Now we feel these bodies
breaking down. I feel mine breaking down. The
reason is sin. That's the reason. The reason
for sickness. The reason for disease is sin. Now, does that mean if you don't
sin, you won't get disease? No. For one thing, there's not
a time when you won't not sin. And that doesn't mean that when
you get sick, you're being judged somehow and people need to be
thinking, what's wrong with him? I remember the last, there's
been several times when I've got sick, I thought, I wonder
what people are thinking about this. Well, don't think about it. But if
I get sick, it's because I'm a sinner. If you get sick, and
you will get sick, and you will die, it's because of sin, these
sinful bodies. The word is also used to describe
the sinfulness of the flesh, not just disease and sickness,
but the sinfulness of the flesh. You're there in Romans chapter
8, look in verse 3, for what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh. That's the same word there that's
translated infirmities. Weak, impotent, powerless through
the flesh. Now, what was the problem with
the flesh? The flesh could not keep the law. That's what was
wrong with the flesh. It was so sinful it could not
keep the law. And what is that? What is the
inability to keep the law? It's sin. Sin is the transgression
of the law. Look back in Romans chapter six,
verse 19. I speak after the manner of men
because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as you've yielded
your members, servants to uncleanness and iniquity and to iniquity,
even so now yield your members, servants to righteousness and
to holiness. So their infirmity is talking about the sinfulness,
the weakness of the flesh. I think of what the Lord said
when he said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Don't you know that so? I would
never sin again. I would be perfectly conformed
to the image of Christ. And I've also got this thing
called the flesh that is utterly impotent and weak and sinful. Now this word infirmity. is also
used to describe the spiritually weak. He that is weak in the
faith, the scripture says, receive ye. I love the way it says that. Don't nail them and try to get
them straightened out. Receive them. He that's weak in the faith,
receive ye, but not to his doubtful disputations. Paul also said,
we that are strong ought to support the weak. The weak are weak by
erroneous beliefs. A weak believer that weakens
himself through wrong belief. And then in 1 Thessalonians,
turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Infirmities. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse
14, now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, insubordinate,
comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be impotent, be patient
toward all men. Now, Paul seems to be talking
about emotional weakness. Support the weak. comfort the
feeble-minded. He seems to be speaking about
emotional weakness at that time and we all know what a strong
person is and we all know what a weak person is. How strong
a person is is seen in how they respond to trials or how they
respond to success or how they respond to trouble brought their
way. We can see something of their
weakness or the strength of that person. And there are, when we
talk about infirmities and weaknesses, there are certainly mental diseases
and weaknesses brought on by so many things. There really
is such a thing as a chemical imbalance people experience and
it makes them to where they can't face anything. It's a mental
disease. It's just like sickness. I mean,
the body is made of chemicals that can get out of whack. I've
experienced that when I was taking a certain medication, and it
made me so depressed, I was afraid to drive. I couldn't tell you
why I was depressed, but I was in bleak, black despair. I couldn't
see anything before me. That is a weakness. Oh, my, how
terrible that was. There are things people experience,
traumatic events. There's abuse. Those neglect,
and these are just as real as these physical infirmities, and
they cause such problems for people. I think everyone has
some awareness of their infirmities, their weaknesses. Turn with me
for a moment to Hebrews chapter 5. Verse 1, for every high priest,
talking about the Levitical priesthood, Every high priest taken from
among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. And
this is what the high priest must be able to do who can have
compassion on the ignorant. and on them that are out of the
way, straying in a wrong way. He can have compassion upon them
for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. Now that word
compass means bound with fetters. The high priest sees himself
as bound with fetters, the fetters of weaknesses and infirmities.
He's encompassed with them. And so he sees somebody else
and he's not judgmental toward them, he's not mad at them, he
doesn't ball them out. He sees I'm the same way. I'm
the same way. He's to have compassion, a non-judgmental
attitude, but a compassion toward them. And look what verse 3 says,
and by reason thereof, because he's compassed with infirmities,
he ought us for the people, so also for himself to offer for
sins. He needs to sacrifice for sins. Now, here's two things
that's pointed out about the great high priest. Number one,
he's compassed with infirmities. Do you know anybody that's not?
Really? Do you know anybody that's not? He's encompassed with infirmities
and he himself desperately needs the sacrifice. He needs the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's encompassed with infirmities. Now, I think I know what it means
to feel encompassed with all, every one of these kinds of infirmities.
You know, I've dealt with a lot of physical illness. I've had
cancer twice. I've spent seven months of my
life in a hospital bed. That's how much time I've actually
spent in the hospital. I know something about physical
pain, infirmities. I know something about mental
anguish. I know what it is to be depressed, feelings of hopelessness
and despair. And I have a continual, non-stop
struggle with sin, just like you do. My sin, like David said,
my sin is ever before me. I cry out with Paul, O wretched
man that I am, not that I was. I'm different now, that's what
most religious people say, but Paul didn't talk like that. He
said, O wretched man that I am, right now, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death, this continual struggle with
sin? I have my insecurities. I have
my paranoia. I have my heartaches. I have
my trials. This definitely describes me
compassed, compassed, compassed with infirmities. And I love
the way it affected the great high priest. It made him a compassionate
man, not a judgmental, harsh man, but a compassionate man. I think of that scripture in
Galatians chapter 6, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you
with your spirits will restore such a one in the spirit of meekness,
considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Knowing that
if you're tempted in that way, you'll fall just like they do.
I hope you realize this. I hope I realize this. The only
way that I'm prevented from sin is the Lord preventing it, just
like He did with Abimelech. I withheld you from sinning against
me. And that makes us cry out, Oh
Lord, withhold me from sinning against you. Do the same thing
you did for Abimelech. Do the same thing for me. Oh,
lead us not into temptation. Don't let us even be tempted. We're afraid we'll fall before
temptation. encompassed with infirmities. I want us to take a look at what
Paul said about his infirmities. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 11. Have you ever thought about yourself,
I am probably the worst person in the world, the most sinful
person in the world. That's just the way you think
about yourself. And I've said this before. I realize if I say,
I know I've said this 20 times, but I'll say 21. If I say I'm
the chief of sinners and if you agree with me, I'm going to get
mad at you. I mean, you know, what about you? You know, I mean,
I'm just, but what I'm talking about is this attitude about
ourselves. I'm the chief of sinners. Now
look what Paul says in verse 29. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, he says,
who is weak and I'm not weak? Who is offended and I burn not? Who has stumbled in sin? Don't
you know that I burn with the same troubles you have? You think
of what a grief sin is to you. Paul said, it is to me too. I
experience the same thing you do. He said, if I must needs
glory, verse 30, if there's a reason, if I must needs glory and take
credit for something, I will glory of the things which concern
my infirmities. Now this is very important. He
didn't say I glory in my infirmities. That would leave him an excuse
for sin. He didn't say I glory in my sinful
passions or I glory in my weakness or I glory in my mental weakness
or physical weakness or sickness. He said I glory in the things
which concern my infirmities, what they do for me. You see,
there's something my sin does for me. It shows me my need of
Jesus Christ to do everything for me. It puts me in complete,
continual dependence upon Him. It keeps me coming to the throne
of grace. Now, I'm not excusing sin in
any way. I'm not excusing infirmity, weakness. No, not excusing it
at all. but I'm thankful for the good
God brings out of it. And only God can bring good out
of evil. Did you know that? And he does
bring good out of evil. Paul says, if I must need glory,
I'll glory in the things which concern my infirmities. Now look
in chapter 12, verse one. This subject is being carried
on. He says, it's not expedient for me, doubtless, to glory.
I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. Now, Paul learned
the gospel from Christ directly. Now, at first, Ananias was sent
to him. But then he was brought into the third heavens and God
taught him the gospel. Jesus Christ was his personal
teacher. He heard the voice of Christ.
Christ told him the gospel. Now, let's go on reading. He
said, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, whether they're
in the body, I cannot tell, or whether they're out of the body,
I can't tell. God knows. Such a one caught up into the
third heaven. The first heaven is where the
birds fly. The second heaven is outer space. And the third
heaven is where God dwells, the heaven of heavens, where the
Lord Jesus Christ is. And he was caught up into the
heavens. And he says this with such humility. I knew a man in
Christ. He didn't say it was me. He says,
I knew a man in Christ. I hate it when people boast about
their experiences, don't you? Don't boast about your experiences. If the Lord is giving you some
kind of gracious experience, it's not something to boast in,
it's something to be humbled by, that the Lord would do something
like that for me or for you. But he goes on to say, I knew,
verse 3, I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body,
I cannot tell, God knows. how that he was caught up into
paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for
a man to utter. Of such a one will I glory, yet
of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. Now that does not mean that he
rejoiced in his infirmities or he rejoiced in his sin, but he
already told us in a few verses of it, I rejoice in the things
concerning my infirmities, what they teach me, what they make
me to learn about the gospel. Now, let's go on reading verse
six. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool,
for I will say the truth, but now forbear, lest any man should
think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he
heareth of me, and lest I should be exalted above measure through
the abundance of the revelations that were given to me." And you
think of Paul's experience. God taught him directly. Christ
taught him directly. Christ called him. Christ met
him on the road to Damascus. He brought him into the third
heavens. He was used to write the Bible.
I mean, if people like to have a legacy, I'd like to leave some
kind of legacy. Well, Paul, he had Scripture. He was a writer
of Scripture. He wrote 13 books in the New
Testament. He was the founder of churches, the wise master
builder. I mean, Paul was a very blessed
man by the grace of God. Oh, we look at him and we think,
oh, I'd love to experience everything he experienced. But he said,
lest anybody thinks of me above that which he sees me or hears
me, and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance
of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh. Now who gave it to him? God did. And it was a thorn in the flesh. Now let me tell you two things
about a thorn in the flesh. It's very painful and it won't kill you. Isn't
that true? It's very painful. You've been
pricked by a thorn. It hurts tremendously and it's
not something that's going to kill you. Now people have tried
to speculate so much as to what that thorn is. I've read so many
different things and it always tickles me that people even have
a But I think it's this, any speculation we make regarding
what Paul's thorn in the flesh was is foolishness. We have no
business doing that. If we needed to know what it
was, he would let us know what it was. But I know this, it had
something to do with sin because he was talking about his flesh,
his sinful flesh. And I don't have any question
that it had something to do with sin. And it was the messenger
of Satan, look the way he talks about it, and lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. I might
get a real high opinion of myself with the way the Lord has blessed
me with these revelations, but this thorn in the flesh brings
me down to ground zero all the time and shows me that I'm nothing
more than a sinner saved by grace. I'm not special. I don't have
some higher position in glory than somebody else. This thorn
in the flesh continually reminds me of that. I hate it. Look what
he says in verse 8, for this thing I besought the Lord thrice,
that it might depart from me, that I might be delivered from
this. Like I said, I don't know what it was, but I don't mean,
I don't think that means he only asked three times, that means
he asked a lot of times. Lord, Let this thing depart from
me that's bringing me down, that's making me fear, bringing reproach
on you, that's showing me my nothingness. I besought the Lord
three times that it might depart from me, and He said unto me,
and I love what He said, notice He didn't say, no, I'm gonna
let it stay. He didn't say that, did He? Now, if I said, Lord,
let this depart from me, and He said, no, it's just gonna
stay there, it wouldn't really much be a thorn anymore, would
it? I'd probably think, well, you know, I've done my best,
and he said no, so I'm just not going to worry about it anymore.
But the Lord didn't say, no, I'm not going to let it depart
from you. But he did say this, my grace is sufficient for thee. I'm going to be reminded all
the time that the only way I'm saved is by grace. And I believe that with all my
heart. The only way this sinner will
be saved is if salvation is entirely by the grace of God. Electing
grace. Redeeming grace. Justifying grace. Regenerating grace. Preserving
grace. Keeping grace. Glorifying grace.
Grace. Saving grace. Grace is no offer,
grace saves. Grace doesn't make salvation
possible. Grace saves the free, unmerited, sovereign grace of
God. He said to Paul, my grace is
sufficient for thee. Is being saved by grace sufficient
for you? Do you need anything else? No. He said, my strength
is made perfect in, there's the word again, weakness. You know, I've thought this before
and I think every believer thinks this, but I think when I get
in glory, there isn't going to be anybody there more indebted
to the grace of God than me. I think I'll be number one. Now,
he said, my grace is made perfect. in weakness, in infirmity. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. It's a remarkable passage of
scripture. Now, our infirmities are most real, but it is God
himself with whom nothing is impossible who by his spirit
helpeth our infirmities. Now go back to our text in Romans
chapter 8. Isn't it glorious to see that you're going to be
saved in the very teeth of your infirmities, your weaknesses, your I love
this. And I wouldn't want to tone this
message down out of fear that somebody will use it for sinful
purposes and to justify sin. If you do that, that's your problem.
I'm not going to take away the glory of this message of free
grace. I'm not going to hide it. we're
made to see his salvation in the very teeth of our infirmities,
our weakness, our sinfulness. Now, look back in verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities. He helps us in our weaknesses.
And you know what you do, you know what you do when you're
when you feel very helpless about something, weak about something?
You pray about it, don't you? You pray about that which you
have no control over. You pray about that which you
have no power in. You have powerlessness to produce
results, and you pray about it. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for,
as we are. I was reading one fellow on this.
He says, what that means is we don't like, for instance, somebody
comes up to you and says, I've got cancer. Will you pray for
me? Well, we don't know whether to pray, heal them or go ahead
and take them. Because what if the Lord's going
to take him and that's his way of taking them to bring them
into heaven? Should we pray for him to heal him? And he said, that
means we don't always know the proper thing to pray for. Well,
that's true, but that's not what Paul's talking about. Paul's
saying we're so ignorant, we're so sinful, we're so sinfully
stupid that we don't even know what to pray for. We don't even
know what to ask the Lord for. We're so aware of badness in
ourselves, badness in our motives, we look at our own hearts and
we don't even know where to begin. We don't know what to pray for.
And I don't. Sometimes I think of about how
shallowly sinful and stupid I am and I'm thinking you're going
to come into the living God and start making requests you don't even
know what to ask for. Now that's what Paul means when
he says we know not what to pray for as we ought. But the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings, which cannot
even be uttered and cannot be expressed. Groanings. I'm going to get to that more
in just a moment, but turn back to Hebrews chapter four. Verse 14, seeing then that we
have a great high priest that's passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, our
confession, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched. moved to sympathy with the feeling
of our infirmities. That's one of the most remarkable
scriptures in the Word of God. Our great high priest, when we
feel this weakness, this sinfulness, we know what it is to feel the
guilt and the shame of sin and knowing it's all of our fault.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ is touched by that? He's moved
to sympathy because He's experienced everything we've experienced,
only a lot more acutely. You see, on the cross, while
He never committed sin, You know that. He knew no sin. He never
committed sin. He experienced everything about
sin. And there's no feeling of infirmity
that you have that he hasn't felt more acutely because of
who he is. And when he sees what you're
feeling, the scripture says he's moved. He's touched, moved to
sympathy by the feeling of our infirmities. Now everybody, every
believer at any rate, every believer knows that if everybody knew
what really went on in your heart, you couldn't face anybody again.
You'd run out the door. You wouldn't want to see anybody
ever again. The Lord knows what's in your
heart. He knows everything that's there. And the scripture says He's moved
to sympathy. He's touched by the feeling of
our infirmities. What a high priest he is. What
a glorious high priest. Now what's he say to do? He's touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we.
He experienced everything, but he never sinned. It's without
sin. He never sinned in his person,
but he experienced everything about sin. You know, I was thinking
about this while I was trying to think about this. You think
of Christ on the cross, and it's hard to get a hold of thinking
of Him as feeling guilty, feeling like this is all my fault, because
sins belong to His elect. But you know, when He was on
the cross, those sins were so really His that they're my fault. I've done this. I've destroyed
myself. This is all my doing. And He felt everything regarding
sin, He experienced. It's mysterious. There's no way
you and I can understand it or even grasp it, but just be awed
by it. beyond that this happened. Now
look what verse 16 says, let us therefore come boldly under
the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. Let us, everybody who needs mercy
and who needs grace to help in time of need, let them come boldly,
with confidence, really believing that Christ gives me the right
to come into His presence. And what do we come for? That
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help, when? In time
of need. What time is that? All the time,
isn't it? What a precious promise from
the Word of God. Now, the Holy Spirit in Romans
chapter 8, verse 26, is said to help us in this thing of prayer.
Infirmity is powerlessness to produce results. We pray about
that which we have absolutely no power over, which if we had
any sense, we'd know that's everything. Everything. You know, what should
you pray about? Everything. Are there some things
too insignificant to pray about? No, no. Pray about everything. But we don't know how to pray
as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes
intercession for us as an advocate, as a helper, as one who gives
aid, as one who pleads for another. And he does this with groanings
that cannot be uttered. Now, that's what our advocate
does. How many times do you just groan? You look at yourself and you
groan. You look at certain situations
and you groan. You groan. It's not something
you do before anybody else. You know, I think of that scripture,
he heareth the sighing of the prisoner. He does. He hears the
sighing of the prisoner. You know, the Lord understands
a groan. He hears exactly what is meant
by that groan. We might not even understand
it, but He does. We groan. And you know what?
That's the work of God the Holy Spirit in us. And He that knows
the mind of the Spirit knows exactly what that groan means. Now, God the Holy Spirit causes
us to groan. We groan. It's us doing it. It's not the Spirit doing it
for us. It's us doing it. But it's only because He did
it in us. And that groan is heard by our
great High Priest, who takes that groan and presents it before
the Father, and it's a sweet smell to Him. Now that's help, isn't it? The
Spirit helpeth our infirmities. That is help. Back to our text
in Romans chapter 8. Verse 27. And he that searcheth
the hearts. Now that's what the Lord looks
at. Never forget that. The Lord looks upon the heart.
Man looks on the outward appearance. The Lord looks on the heart and
he sees what's going on in the heart. He's searching the heart.
He that searcheth the heart. Remember. What we say is important. There's no question about that.
Why we say it is just as important. What we do is important. Why
we do it is just as important. He looks at the heart. And he
that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he makes intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. The Lord knows the mind of the
Spirit because the Spirit is the Lord. You know, God knows
his own mind, doesn't he? He knows every thought of the
Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is him. The Holy Spirit
is God. The Holy Spirit is a person.
The Lord knows everything he says. He knows exactly what those
groans are. And he makes intercession for
the saints according to the will of God. Now, I love this word
saint. I love the word believer. That's
a scriptural word. It's used two or three times.
I love believer. To call a believer a believer.
That's a good. I love the brethren. I love.
I love Christian. You know, I used to kind of shy
away from the word Christian just because it's so, well, you know the way people
use it in such a horrible way. I know this, I don't want anybody
to know I'm a preacher when I'm out. Good grief, you don't know
what you gotta go through when somebody finds out you're a preacher.
And I don't like the word Christian, the way people use the word,
but I like it in a scriptural sense. But you know what word
I like best to describe believers and Christians? Saints. He makes
intercession for the saints. That's used a whole lot more
times than believers, or Christians, or those who have been born again,
saint. Saint. Sanctified one. Sanctified
by God the Father in eternal election. Sanctified by God the
Son when He redeemed them on the cross and they were sanctified
once for all. Sanctified by the Spirit of God,
given a new and a holy nature. Partakers of the divine nature.
Oh, that's special, isn't it? Saint. Saint. He makes intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. And nothing short
of the help of God can help us. And every believer is given this
blessed assurance. The work of the Spirit enables
us to look to the work of Christ for us. And I want you to think
about this. He's talking about the Spirit helping us. Everything
you experience of Jesus Christ. Everything you experience of
faith. Everything you experience of
groaning. Everything you experience, period.
As far as spiritual experience, it's God the Holy Spirit. He
helpeth our infirmities. Aren't you thankful for that?
Let's pray.