[0:00] Oh no. Alright, you got a Bible? Find Genesis chapter 2 tonight. Genesis chapter 2. Let's read verse 18.
[0:30] And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and, what's the next word?
[0:41] And help meet for him. I will make him and help meet for him. Now don't worry ladies, I'm not coming after you tonight. You're off the hook here. But when God created man, he determined pretty quickly that it wasn't good for man to be alone.
[0:59] And so he came up with and help that was meet or suitable, a match for him. One of the man's, I think one of the man's biggest issues is admitting that he needs help.
[1:15] It just is. And asking for help. Whether it's directions, whether it's instructions on doing something, mechanical, or putting something together.
[1:28] It's just, it's ingrained in men. And I think there's part of it, it's not good. Some of it, it is what it is. Some of it's just pride is built into us that we are the leader. We want to be strong and seen as able and self-sufficient.
[1:43] And that's in us. We want to be perceived as that. We want to be that. That's what we want to be. Hope that's true. That's what you want to be. There's an independence about men.
[1:55] We don't want to be women. We want to be the man. We want to be the leader. And when God made man all by himself and there was plenty to do, he realized that this man needs a helper.
[2:09] God recognized that from the beginning. And it doesn't say, like many preachers will say, well, it's not good that he's alone, so God made him a companion, made him a friend. No, it doesn't say friend for him or companion for him.
[2:21] It doesn't say servant for him either. But even in Eden, even in paradise, man was in need of help. And by the way, women, you need help too.
[2:33] But I want to preach a message I'm calling, you need help. You need help. Now let's fast forward through some time here and go to chapter 6. And in chapter 3, sin enters into the world.
[2:46] And according to Romans, and death by sin. And so that death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. And the world just spirals into iniquity. It abounds so much that God looked upon it and said, I am going to destroy the entire thing.
[3:03] I regret that I even made man upon the face of the earth. And that's where we find God speaking in Genesis chapter 6. And look at verse number 5 through 7.
[3:13] And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth.
[3:25] And it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and creeping thing and the fowls of the air.
[3:36] For it repenteth me that I have made them. What a bad spot to put God in. That man fell so far that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
[3:51] And God's like, I wish I didn't even do this. He made it back in Genesis 1 and it was good and it was good and it was good. The whole thing was good. And now it's not good at all.
[4:02] Man needs help. There's a mess that he got himself into here. He came a long way in a short time and this sin thing is pretty powerful, isn't it?
[4:14] It's a pretty powerful thing in the heart of man to take a paradise setting of the Garden of Eden all the way down to where God says, I wish I never even did this to start with.
[4:25] I'm just going to destroy the entire thing. What a bad spot. Man couldn't keep it. Man couldn't stay clean. Even from the beginning, man was in need of help.
[4:39] King Solomon looked at man through all of his wisdom and his knowledge and he looked and he said, man at his best state is altogether vanity.
[4:50] That's what the king, the wisest king ever said. But that's not the way he was created. That image that God created him in, that's long gone. Long gone.
[5:01] But God's not satisfied to just damn the entire human race to hell because of their sin, though they deserve it. And so as we know from the scriptures, thank God, he loved us.
[5:14] He sent his son to die in our place and to make a payment for the sins of the human race. It was the only payment that could possibly touch the sins of mankind, the blood of his precious son.
[5:28] It made it possible for us now to have a relationship with him, for us to go to him and to get help, something we desperately need.
[5:39] And oh how desperately we need help if we're going to please God, if we know him. Now we have a relationship with him, but we still need help. We need it to please him. And I want to give you some ways tonight that God offers to help us because you need help.
[5:54] And God offers you help in some ways. So let's run around the Bible a little bit tonight, shall we? Let's go to Romans 7. I want you to get two places for my first point here. Romans 7 as well as Galatians 5.
[6:09] Two places. Romans 7, Galatians 5. Some ways that God offers to help us so that we can actually fulfill what we've been called to do.
[6:27] All right. We'll start in Romans 7 and take a look at verse 23. I'd love to read the entire passage here to get the sense of it all, but I'm going to trust you know it.
[6:38] And so in verse 23, Paul says this, I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
[6:54] Sin is inside of Paul. He says it in verse 17. Sin that dwelleth in me. Evil is present with me.
[7:06] Paul has a, he's no delusions about sin and about himself. He doesn't call himself the greatest Christian. He calls himself the worst. What's the word he uses there?
[7:20] Of whom I am chief. Sinners, of whom I am chief. Paul calls himself. He doesn't tell everybody I'm the best. He knows what it's like to live in his shoes and he knows the sin that's inside of him that besets him often and that when he wants to do good, that evil that's present with him and how he does wrong and so that's the passage.
[7:41] Now Galatians 5, flip over there. I wanted you to see that there's a law in his members that is warring against the law of his mind. Now Paul identifies himself as that new man.
[7:57] The, where is it at? The law of God is mentioned in verse 25 back in Romans and he's got an old nature and a new nature and he identifies, that's kind of a funny word to use anymore today, how do you identify?
[8:11] The apostle Paul identified himself like he should have as that new creature in Christ Jesus and he said, I'm holy and walking with the Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified in the inner man.
[8:22] I'm justified by faith but that old man is still here and he's warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into the captivity of lost sin. Alright, now go to Galatians.
[8:33] We want to see Galatians 5, 16 and 17. This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do that you would.
[8:55] Now, we understand that the old nature fights against the spirit, the new nature. We understand our flesh wars against the new man and tries to bring him back into captivity and to living in sin and after the lusts of the flesh but I want you to consider that this verse in Galatians says in verse 17 the flesh lusteth against the spirit but also says the spirit against the flesh.
[9:20] So we've got somebody the spirit of God in us and we've got a new nature in that that's supposed to be fighting against the flesh just as much as the flesh is fighting against the spirit. In other words, your Christian life shouldn't be oh, the flesh has really beaten me up today.
[9:35] You should take the reins in the new man and say I'm going to beat him down and I'm going to walk with Jesus Christ today. You should be fighting. You should be fighting the flesh not just letting the flesh fight you.
[9:49] It's a two-way street. It's not a one-sided battle. And so first thing I want to say tonight is that you need help when your flesh is fighting.
[10:01] You need help and the new man the Lord Jesus Christ is there to do that. Sin dwells within our Jeremiah calls it a desperately wicked heart and it dwells inside of that heart and everywhere we go it's present with us.
[10:21] It doesn't matter how strong a Christian you are. It doesn't matter one bit sin dwells in you and goes with you everywhere you go. If you if God calls you to the mission field guess what goes with you to the mission field?
[10:34] Your desperately wicked heart. Amen. You know what comes with me to the pulpit every time I step up here? Sin that dwelleth in me. It didn't just say over there it didn't stay home it's here.
[10:49] I wish to God like Paul says oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death. But as long as I'm in this body sin is present with me.
[11:01] It goes with me wherever I go. The sin in my heart I can't outrun it. And if God doesn't help us if God doesn't help me and you if he stayed his hand if he withdrew his arm from helping us battle our flesh God he knows where we'd be.
[11:21] You're not that strong. You need help. You know what the you know if God withdrew himself from us the best we would have is our own strength is our own willpower.
[11:34] How long do you think you'll last with that to fight this filthy flesh and the sins of your flesh? You won't last long. You might get by a little while maybe short term.
[11:47] The Bible says the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. And if you withdrew God and his spirit and his presence and his strength from you you'd be dropped.
[12:00] Filthiness of sin no way around it. The more we give in to the flesh the stronger it becomes. Now take a look at Romans 13 Romans 13 because we need help and you need help when your flesh is fighting.
[12:21] And the help comes from the Lord Jesus Christ and the new man. Take a look I'd like to I'll back up just to verse 13 the end of the chapter Romans 13 13 let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.
[12:48] If you would put on Jesus Christ he's all you need. He defeated every single sin that he was faced with. So if you put on the Lord Jesus Christ he's the one that can help you.
[13:04] You need help when your flesh is fighting. You need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now come to two more places. Ready? Two different places.
[13:15] 2 Corinthians 12 2 Corinthians 12 and Hebrews chapter 4. You need help when your flesh is fighting and Jesus Christ is that help.
[13:35] He'll point you to the word of God. He'll point you to getting on your knees in prayer and calling out to your Father. Amen. 2 Corinthians 12 and there's another area in which you need help.
[13:56] 2 Corinthians 12 I want to read a portion of this passage here starting in verse 7 to 12 and here's the apostle Paul says unless 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 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 is made perfect in weakness.
[14:30] So Paul then concludes most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then am I strong I said 12 that's where we'll stop right there then am I strong Paul said he pleasures I take pleasure in those things that he's experienced that he started off begging God to take it away this is hard this is tough some have ideas of what that is but nevertheless Paul had something going on in his flesh that he wanted to get rid of and he wanted God to fix it for him and he wouldn't do it and he called on God please once and the Lord didn't answer and he calls again and throughout his ministry and life he just can't take it anymore God and the Lord says no Paul you're good you're fine deal with it
[15:35] I'll give you the grace you need to deal with it my grace is sufficient and he explained why he explained that his strength is made perfect when you're beat up a little bit Paul you rely on me more you get your strength through me it's my strength made perfect the power of Christ then at the end of verse 9 rests upon Paul now Paul realized that well go to Hebrews 4 we'll get that next Hebrews 4 and in considering those tough things that Paul faced in his ministry how God said I'll give you grace I'll help you look at Hebrews 4 now in verse 14 seeing then that we have have have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens Jesus the son of God let us hold fast our profession for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help to help in time of need you need help and another time you need help is when your feelings from that verse the feelings of our infirmities when your feelings cause fainting or lead to fainting and get wearied in your mind are the feelings of our infirmities that the Bible talks about we have not a high priest which cannot be touched telling us that we do have a high priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities what it feels like to have weaknesses to deal with problems to face issues in life
[17:29] Paul called those things reproaches and persecutions and distresses and there's plenty of that stuff that will accompany trying to live for Jesus Christ in this world and there's feelings that come with that stuff of being distressed of being reproached of being persecuted and the Lord Jesus Christ as our high priest in heaven is available to us to help us he can be touched with those feelings because he felt it too the Bible says that he was despised and rejected of men his own family at that the Bible describes in places where he was openly mocked where he was falsely accused where his character was attacked you know what they called him when they said that they said we be not born of fornication talking about him I mean you can figure out what they were calling his mother they mocked him they persecuted him verbally and then physically his own friends his closest friends betrayed him and denied him not even to mention the beating and plucking the hair from his face and the whipping that he took and being nailed to the cross oh yeah he felt some things he has he knows the feelings of those infirmities that weakness he gets it he understands what it's like and if we live for him you're going to have to feel some of the same stuff but the good news is he's there to help you go to the throne of grace and you'll find grace you'll find mercy and you'll find grace to help in time of need this is the kind of stuff though that paralyzes Christians and knocks them out of the race it's the hard stuff the hardships the loneliness the feelings of our infirmities yet the Bible says he giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increases strength do you need help tonight cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee you know what you need to do get to the throne of grace isn't that in that wild that's the term in that verse the throne of grace you have to just think on it
[20:03] I thought on it for a while today and it just I couldn't put words to it there's so many other ways to describe but that throne that we have access to is called there the throne of grace he'll dispense all that you need as he told Paul my grace is sufficient for thee I'm not taking it away but you can come and get the help you need and you know what you need it you need help when our feelings lead to fainting to where we want to quit you need to go get the help come back to Mark chapter 9 I'll give you one more Mark chapter 9 one more as in there's two more left but one here in Mark 9 you need help you always have and you need it today and here's another case in which you need help and you can get it in Mark 9 here's a father and he's got a problem with his son this child for a long time has been casting him into the fire he's got a dumb spirit he's you can read about verse 17 18 through there describes some of the things that he's foaming and gnashing at the teeth the spirit tears him he's just tearing up his boy and so I want to pick it up in verse 22 and the father speaking to Christ he says oft times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him but if thou can't do anything have compassion on us and help us
[21:55] Jesus said unto him if thou can't believe all things are possible to him that believeth watch the man's response and straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief help me because I don't have enough faith that you're talking about so what did Christ do he helped him he helped his unbelief he said if you have enough faith I can do it well obviously putting it together Christ helped his unbelief you know what the disciples were incapable of doing anything and in Matthew 17 the same story is given and when the disciples come to him and say why couldn't we cast him out he said because of your unbelief because of their unbelief so Christ helped his unbelief when those disciples were powerless when man couldn't help when there wasn't enough faith present in all of them to get the job done in this case this was a special case
[22:59] Christ helped why because Christ was sufficient for these things look later in the chapter when the disciples come to him and Mark it says in verse 28 when he was coming to the house his disciples asked him privately why could we not cast him out and he said unto them this kind something special with this one this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting so that does that definitely implies that the Lord Jesus Christ was prepared to tackle this need when man wasn't prepared to tackle it and so you need help Christian just like this man is when your faith is faltering when it's just not enough when you have doubts creeping into your heart and into your mind about this what God is leading you to or what he's telling you to do you know the Bible says he remembereth our frame he remembers that we're dust he gets it and Jesus
[24:04] Christ here God he knew his disciples couldn't do anything for this kind but he was prepared and he helped his unbelief and you need help too when you don't have enough faith when your faith is faltering one of man's greatest obstacles is exercising faith as a child you do it as a young young child until you really get a greater scope of understanding of things you just have faith you believe everything everybody tells you you believe in the Easter bunny and Santa Claus hope I'm not bursting anybody's bubble here you believe in all the things that man puts in front of your face until you get older you start questioning and as you you know you go through those years where you just why why is that for how does that work and just you know sometimes it can drive a parent nuts but they lose that childlike simple faith and then they grow out of it they grow up and now they have to see it to believe it and in essence as far as faith goes and toward God their heart man's heart becomes hardened and Christ knows that and he helps with that and you know what Jesus Christ does he's done for me he'll do it for you as he does things for you that help you to grow in your faith in him to make you and to assist you in being able to trust him more
[25:26] I'm not saying that he's going to train you to walk by sight we know that's not right but he does allow us to experience some things what about that man that Jesus Christ healed his son do you think he had any trouble with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ after that he told him if you have faith I believe but help my unbelief it might not be what it needs to be you think you think seeing that and watching Jesus Christ do that miracle in his life of his son that he loved you think that didn't increase his faith in the son of God let's just let's give you an example here a kind of hypothetical thing let's say you're facing a complicated situation let's say you're facing something and it has as often more than one part to it more than one moving part it's just not a snap of the fingers fix it you know God could just fix it it just doesn't happen that way so you've got a situation that has a few arms to it what God does and what I've seen him do in my life is that he as he takes one of them and right in front of your face takes care of it in such a way that you could say what in the world nobody knew about that only I knew about that in my heart and God and he just took it had to be him and it gives you faith to trust him with the rest of it too whereas at the beginning it's like there's this and there's this and there's this and I can't do all of it and God just says boom
[26:57] I'll take care of that one for you what does that do it increases your faith and your ability to trust him it's undeniable and it's something God does when our faith is faltering you need help when your faith is faltering when you're scared and God does those things I'm sure I told you this before but it's just another opportunity to say it again when our son Samuel was born he was born with a jaundice and my wife and I had barely were just getting by just getting by and we paid the whatever it was that we needed with the hospital and we had it set we were just good with that and it was finalized and done and then we got another bill from the hospital for 500 bucks and that was okay that doesn't sound like much here so let me say it was ten thousand dollars due yesterday well at the time 500 bucks was a lot our rent was due and it was just around that a little over that and we had it but it was going to the rent like going out the next day or something and that 500 dollars was just a kick in the gut of man how are we going to do this and two pieces of mail underneath that was a check for 500 dollars from a brother who said
[28:14] I heard you had a child and wanted to be a blessing to you the Lord laid it on my heart to help you guys out now in the same stack of mail 500 dollar bill 500 dollar check done God took care of that didn't he that's just one instance one instance that and I'll never forget that one because those not all of them have to do with money either by the way but that's just one instance where God did something that I it wasn't me the Lord God had that man write that check out and had it in the mail because that one traveled over a thousand miles about 1500 miles whereas the other one about five the Lord had the 500 dollar check in the mail before the 500 dollar bill was in the mail that gives me the ability the faith to trust God going forward when I meet a need when I see a bill I think the Lord knows it he knows about it I've trusted him before he proved himself before I can trust him again and so if your faith gets faltering you need help and Jesus Christ can be that help just like he was here in Mark chapter 9 alright we're going to go to one more place and be dismissed here
[29:28] Hebrews 13 please I lied I'm a liar up here we're going to go to two places but this is the last point Hebrews 13 we're going to end up back in Isaiah 50 before we close Hebrews 13 alright Hebrews 13 and let's read verse number 6 I got to back up to verse 5 the end of verse 5 you want to catch it in the middle he says for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may boldly say because he said that now we may boldly say the Lord is my helper I will not fear what man shall do unto me I will not fear why because the Lord is my helper because he's promised that he'd never leave nor forsake me with the Lord as my helper
[30:35] I will not fear what man can do unto me and finally you need help tonight when your fears must be faced and the Lord Jesus Christ will be that help it's natural to fear some things and we're prone to fear things that are out of our control things that are bigger than us we're you know it's healthy if I was standing on a train tracks at Christmas time by the Christmas tree I'm not going to be too scared of that train coming around the corner but if I'm standing down on San Fernando train tracks and the metro's coming it's bigger than me that's a healthy fear to have there but there's some fears that we have to face in this life and we need help to face them one of the biggest fears man has ever had is public speaking it's one of the biggest fears that most people they admit it right away speaking in public getting in front of a bunch of people or even in front of their peers and having to you know be judged by them it's how it feels and I understand that fully understand that and Christians are scared to death of getting up in front of other in church and giving a testimony because of that just it paralyzes them they just freeze up but Jesus Christ can help you if you want to get some help he can help you face your fears
[31:57] Joshua I think he was intimidated to lead Israel into the promised land just based on the beginning of the book God says over and over fear not I am with thee be not afraid be of good courage he just kept pumping him up but he didn't talk to Moses too much like that but Joshua sure sounds like he needed some help God said just like he said here I will be with thee I'll never leave thee Israel was outnumbered by powerful enemies many times and the Lord through the prophet said fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness the Lord said to them I for I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee fear not I'll help thee I will help thee the examples in his Bible they're plenteous of Gideon that feared to fight Midian of Moses that feared to go back into Egypt of Elijah that feared King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel and yet God was there to help and to deliver and was with them now look back at Isaiah 50 and we'll close on this one
[33:13] Isaiah 50 and look at verses 6 through 9 here's a prophetic reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 6 the word of God says I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting why is that Christ why were you so bold why verse 7 for the Lord God will help me therefore shall I not be confounded therefore have I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed he is near that justifieth me and who will contend with me let us stand together who is mine adversary let him come near to me behold the Lord God will help me who is he that shall condemn me Jesus Christ has a prophetic reference to the confident Christ setting his face like a flint to endure the cup of the wrath of God for our sins and when it came time for him to taste it he had help he faced his fears you read about him in the garden of Gethsemane trying to get that cup to pass from him but when it came time he had help and you need help to face your fears the fears could be standing for Christ in your workplace you could be scared to death to tell somebody else that you're a Christian it could be to witness to somebody to even invite them to church or hand a track out to somebody you know is lost maybe it's a family member you know they're on their way to hell but you're scared to death to talk to them you need to face your fears for Jesus sake and he'll do this for you he'll help you he'll help you
[35:05] I want to dismiss with singing a song we got it in our hymnal we sing it all the time how firm a foundation if I could get Russ and Linda to come up here we'll sing this and then we'll close but some of that passage that I was just reading from that song was written about facing your fears and what you have is the word of God you have that firm foundation of the word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ that will never leave and so let's stand and we're going to sing this song do you know the number eight two and the one a burst is a 와 est I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
[36:05] I