Second Helping – 4 – Second Help

 

We are Redemption Church in Plano, Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt and I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! We hope everyone had a great time with family and friends over the last few days.
 

We are in the 4th week of our series called second helping.

 

Second Helping

We have talked about a 2nd Kingdom, a 2nd chance, and a 2nd option. Each week we have told you that God favors the second!

You do not have to fight for first. The favored spot is putting God first!

Today I want to talk about a second help.

 

Second Help

It is good to have help.

Sometimes I can’t do it all on my own.
-My strength is not enough.
-My wisdom is not enough.
-My talent is not enough.
-My time is not enough.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had help?
 

John 14:15 (NIV) “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Jesus said these words, and He promises ANOTHER ADVOCATE TO HELP YOU…

Advocate – paraklētos (Para-Klee-Tas) – Advocate/intercessor who pleads a case before a judge. In the broadest usage it means A HELPER.

Jesus promises ANOTHER HELPER. Another? This suggests there is more than one helper. So who are these helpers?

John 14:15:17 (NIV) the Spirit of truth.

Another paraklētos/helper is the Spirit of Truth – The Holy Spirit is paraklētos.

But we have more than one paraklētos…

1 John 2:1 (NIV) My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Jesus Christ, the righteous one is -there’s that word again – paraklētos.

Back in John 14 we have Jesus Christ, our advocate, telling us the Father will send another advocate.

There is a lot we could say about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but let’s keep it simple.

 

God (Father)
God with us (Jesus)
God in us (Holy Spirit)

This is 1 God, not 3. What I want you to see is how a distant God, separated from us because of sin, has drawn near.

The son/Jesus, is God coming nearer to us.
The Spirit, is God coming even nearer to us.

 

Comfortable View
Jesus is walking beside you.
Jesus is comforting you, healing you, and serving you.
Jesus is talking to you.
Think about how easy it is to bring others into a relationship with a Jesus who is walking beside you…
Come meet Jesus… here he is!   (John 4:29 – Come meet a man…)

CHRISTIANS ARE REAL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS VIEW.

 

Uncomfortable View

The Spirit is living within you.
The Spirit is working, empowering, and gifting you to do bold things.
The Spirit does supernatural things through you… like prophecy, tongues, healing.
Think about how scared you are to bring others into a relationship with the Spirit within you…

God (Father)
God with us (Jesus)
God in us (Holy Spirit

It should not be uncomfortable, because it is the same God.
It should not be uncomfortable, because it is the same God helping us.
It should not be uncomfortable, because it is simply operating by faith.
It should not be uncomfortable, because God is drawn so close to us that He is working within us!

Many Christians are comfortable talking about Jesus, but they are uncomfortable talking about the Holy Spirit.

We seem to forget that Jesus made people uncomfortable, challenged people, and operated in the supernatural.

 

Are you willing to follow God even when it is uncomfortable?

Following God in discomfort is good for you.
Lifting weights is uncomfortable, but it builds your muscle.
Experiencing the God of the Super Natural is what is best for us.

It is better for God to be IN YOU than only beside you.

John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

The reason Jesus went away was so God could be IN YOU.

Acts 1:8 (NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

If you need help today, may I introduce you to another paraklētos… another helper.

This Church wants to help you… We try to do ministries that will help you.
Your Connect Groups want to help you… We try to grow in relationship in order to help you.
This preacher wants to help you… I always pray… “God, what can I say that would help these people?”
This worship team wants to help you… they are not putting on a show. They want to help you get closer to God.

As much as we want to help you… the help we all really need is GOD HIMSELF…

God Himself washing away our sins.
God Himself defeating the grave.
God Himself healing us.
God Himself filling us with power.
God Himself is our Help!

 

God wants to help you!

What a joy it is to carry that message to people.

God does not want to curse you, He wants to bless you.
God does not want to throw you away, He wants to save you.
God does not want to take your life, He wants to give you life.
God does not wants to harm you, He wants to help you.

We need a second help. Our own strength, intelligence, and ability is not enough. We need a second help! We need God Himself to help us.

When people cry out to God for Help, He answers!

God wants to help you… but that is not all God wants for you today.

It would be so easy to end this sermon with the message God wants to help you and then we all come ask God to help us. Feel free to do that a little later, but first I have to tell you…

 

God wants you to travel the second mile.

In the middle of the sermon on the mount Jesus says some dangerous words. Jesus says in verse 38… “You have heard it said…”  …Other people have told you… your Sunday school teacher taught you… Grandmother always says…. The church you grew up in always said…

In verse 39 Jesus then says “But I tell you…”

Jesus is not afraid to buck tradition. You have always heard it this way, but I am going to correctly show you how it really is.

And for the rest of the 5th chapter of Matthew, Jesus corrects what we have heard, and teaches us what to do. He tells us to love our enemies… to turn the other cheek rather than strike others… if others take your shirt, give them your coat as well…

And then he gets to verse 41.

Matthew 5:41(NIV) If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

Who could force you to go a mile? What is that about?

Israel was under Roman rule, and the Roman’s had a law that if any Roman asked an Israelite to carry their stuff, the Israelite would have to do it.

Imagine… You are doing the dishes, or just sat down for dinner, or you in the 2 minute warning of the Cowboys Game… and a knock comes on the door. You go to the door and a Roman citizen tells you to carry his heavy bags. Because of this unfair law, the Roman could force you to carry the items 1 mile.

Imagine how you would feel being forced to carry the possessions of people who disrespect you and view you as lesser. Here is what the Israelites did – they measured out a 1 mile distance from their front door in all directions.  They were forced to go 1 mile so often that they made 1 mile markers. They would carry the items 1 mile and set them down and walk away, angry and abused by unjust laws. 

This is the context of Matthew 5:41, but Jesus says something that shocked the audience when He said “go with them two miles.”

 

God wants you to travel the second mile.

Why?
-Jesus it is an unjust law, I was hoping you would tell me to ignore the law.
-Jesus I was hoping you would do away with this law, overthrow the system, and make the Romans pay.

If you have stuck with this series you probably know the answer.

 

God Favors the Second

I want to tell you how God favors the 2nd mile.
God favors us even while we are being unfavored by others.

 

Victory in the second mile

This Roman law was unjust. It would be easy to think that victory would be in overturning the unjust law… but that is not what Jesus does here. Jesus offers a surprising victory in the 2nd mile.

The victory is in going beyond requirement. The requirement of the law is what robs the Israelite of the victory… the willing offering of the 2nd mile is what gains the victory.

If you are only living by the 1 mile requirements of religion… then you will resent your faith.
If you are under the obligation of the 1mile radius of your relationships… you will not be very happy.

If you are being forced to do something, then there is no joy or victory in the act.

Instead go past the obligation of the first mile… the victory is found in the 2nd mile.

The Roman made them walk the first mile… but the 2nd mile they FREELY walked in victory.

If you are a Christian out of requirement… if you are doing all the things so that you don’t go to hell… then you are merely walking the 1st mile and you have no victory.

Power in the second mile

If Jesus asks you to walk the second mile, then you can be sure that He will give you the strength to walk it. You have the power of God in you. You can do all things through Christ.

Love in the second mile

If you sit down the sack and walk away at the first mile, you are full of resentment.
If you continue to walk into the second mile, you are full of love.

The law of obligation robs you of the gift of love.

 

Here is what I want you to know.

 

Be the second Help

We have talked about the helper… the paraklētos.

You can receive help from God today.  He will walk beside you and dwell within you. God wants to help you… but that is not all he wants for you.

God wants you to be the second help for others.

NOT OBLIGATION… but a 2nd mile victorious, powerful, loving help for others.

Redemption Church are you a help?
-Will we walk the 2nd mile for our city?
-Will we walk the 2nd mile for our world?
-Will you walk the 2nd mile for someone in this room right now?
-Will you walk the 2nd mile for someone not in this room right now?