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“I Don't Need No Help, Or Do I?”

Tim Smith
08/18/24 - Sun AM

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Our scripture reading this morning is Luke chapter seven verses 36 through 50 on the screen behind me will be the ESV.

And I'll be reading from the new King James version.

Then one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him and he went to the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat and behold a woman in the city who was a sinner.

When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an Alabaster flask of fragrant fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Now, when the pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself saying this man, if he were a prophet would know who and what manner of woman this is, who is touching him for, she is a sinner.

And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.

So he said, teacher say it, there was a certain creditor who had two debtors, one owed 88903 da and the other 50.

And when they had nothing with which to repay he freely forgave them both.

Tell me therefore, which of them will love him more.

Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more and he said to him, you have rightly judged.

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman?

I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet.

But she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in.

You did not anoint my head with oil.

But this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.

Therefore, I say to you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven.

And those who sat at the table with him began to say to themselves, who is this?

Who even forgives sins?

Then he said to the woman, your faith has saved you go in peace.

It's good to see HIV this morning.

Uh Echo what Mike had to say earlier.

Uh Those of you who are visiting with us, we, we're glad that you're here and, and hope that you'll come back at uh at any time that that you can, um, most of the lessons that I preach when I, when I reflect on it comes from a position of need, things that I need to, to know things that I need to, to deal with the things that I need to think about.

And this one is, is no different.

In fact, um, it may be one of the things that I need the most.

It is ironic that Aaron used the term pulling yourself up by your bootstraps in uh in his uh talk before the collection because I grew up in an era when self reliance and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps was applauded.

I don't know until I, when I was thinking about this lesson that I had really considered what it means to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Let me, I'm not gonna be able to illustrate it because you can't do it.

But imagine without me trying to jump or anything that I'm able to pick up my feet and, and place myself on this podium here without any kind of jumping with my legs or any kind of, uh you know, any kind of pulley system or a drone pulling me up or something like that.

It's an impossibility pulling yourself up by your bootstraps came from a AAA phrase that was back in the, I think in the 18 hundreds, I went back, I did, I did a Google search on this and that's, that's a dangerous thing.

But, um, it came, it began as the idea of it's an impossible thing to do.

And now it has become AAA means of self reliance, you know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps as I can, I can do this, I can do it independently.

And, uh, I'm not gonna say, throw that out of your vocabulary, but think about it when you use that.

If you ever did, if you've never heard that, that phrase, then uh this has probably been mean meaningless to you.

Uh But at least in the Smith household that that was something that actually was, was used.

This is confession time.

I have a tendency to try to do things on my own, not look for or think that I need help.

Uh Maybe more properly.

I never ask for help it.

It, I have to be beaten within an inch of my life to get to the point where I'm asking for help.

I'll practically break my neck to help somebody else.

But I have to have practically have my neck broken to accept help myself.

And I'll give a couple of recent examples and, and I'm using me as the example so I can embarrass myself as much as I want to.

Um Recently we went, we uh BEV and I went to Europe with Phil and Gina and Mike and Angie and we made a rookie European uh vacation mistake by we, we had the right idea with the, with the, with the main luggage was a rolling, rolling bag, but our carry on bags were not.

And, and we, we had, I don't know how many, you know, they weigh the, they weigh the luggage and it was, you know, you had to be under 50 pounds.

You got to pay an additional fee, but I don't have any idea how much the carry on was.

It seemed like it about 22013 pounds by the time you, you walk through all these, uh European cities and, and you're dragging this thing on over cobblestone.

And, uh, Mike continually asked me and BEV, can I carry one of your bags?

Can I carry one of your bags?

And, and he finally, he gave up on me and Bev, accepted his help and, and he, he carried her bags through, uh, us airports on the way back.

So it took us a long time to break down and, and accept help.

Last time that I preached.

Mm, was the Sunday after my mom had a major stroke and it never occurred to me to, to tap out, have somebody fill in for, for me because I didn't want to, didn't want to inconvenience anybody else at a late date and, and help, help out in that way.

I didn't want to put anybody else out.

I haven't even, and I'm, I apologize to those of you who are trying to teach your Children correct grammar.

I don't need no help.

That's, that's what I entitled this lesson or the question is, or do I the dab in an appropriate question in, in any consideration is what would, what would Jesus do in, in, in this circumstance?

What can we learn from the example of Jesus?

And I appreciate the, the uh the songs that Greg led uh make me a servant like like Jesus where he leaves, I follow.

Uh it fits in well with what I'm what I'm about to tell you if we're gonna seek to follow the master and be his disciples.

This is what Jesus said about.

One of the aspects of discipleship.

Disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

It is enough for the disciple that he be like to be like his teacher and the servant like his master.

And that's in Matthew 230.

Of course, my message this morning needs to be balanced uh by the by what Jesus said.

He came to do.

He said that he came to be not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom.

For many Matthew 230.

Luke 235, 240 says the son of man came to seek and save that which was lost.

But what I'm going to focus on this morning is the example of Jesus in accepting help.

If anybody didn't need help, Jesus didn't need help.

Think about it.

I have, I have thought if any has anybody ever thought about the idea of what, what would I do?

What could, what, how could my life be more convenient, more easy is if, if I was all powerful, if I was able to, you know, uh, be, go, move from one place to another, if I, if I was the one who created everything, how, how easy would it be?

You know, I just, I get some food.

Uh, I, no, no problem with walk out.

No, none of this walking stuff.

And yet that's not what Jesus.

Jesus didn't take advantage of the fact that he was deity.

He lived as a man.

He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root at a dry ground.

He had no former majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed Him.

Not surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds, we are healed.

Isaiah prophesized about what kind of, what kind of c what kind of individual the Messiah would be.

And it's one who is, is not um elevated and lifted up.

But one who is serving uh he was the creator of all things and yet he humbled himself uh to come to earth as a result of that, he accepted help.

He was limited as a human.

When you, when you look at what he did with his, with his disciples, he sent out the 220 and they were to go and, and preach to the to the surrounding areas.

He sent out the 803 or the 280 and they were preparing the way for him to come to the, the villages that he was going to as, as deity.

There's, there's many other ways that you could present the news that you could say, I'm I'm coming, you know, you could, you could blast it from the heavens.

You could have angels raining down and, and saying, listen to this man coming and yet he sent out men and he accepted help from men to go and, and present the news and to, and to cast out demons.

Not only that he had physical needs as a human being.

Uh the devil tried to work on that by saying, you know, uh make these stones bred, but yet when he was being uh in his ministry, he had women who supported him.

Uh from Luke Luke the eighth chapter, we see that Mary called Magle, um and other women, Joanna, the wife of Ch of Harrod's household manager and Susanna and many others.

Who provided for them out of their means.

So he accepted help from, from people that were a part of his creation and it was to deal with, with the, the physical needs that he had.

Jonathan read to us uh the, the account and it's from Luke seven and I'm not going to go back and, and recount that or, or rehearse it.

Um But what I would have or suggest to you is that the story shows someone, a woman who is distraught woman who is in indefinitely in need.

And what you know, Jesus could have could have seen and said, you can't afford that.

You can't, you can't, I, I can't accept that kind of kind of gift from you.

And yet what, what he did is he allowed this woman to uh wash his feet with her hair and with her tears and to anoint his, his feet with fragrant oil, said the pass and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and uh and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointing, anointed them with ointment.

Jesus sometimes allowed others to help him because they needed to help him.

It was what they needed, it wasn't what Jesus needed.

And in fact, what, what we see from this example is that he accepted help from someone who needed to serve.

And the one who really thought that he was serving Simon, the one who, who he gave this banquet, the one who is providing food for Jesus.

Simon thinks that he's the one who's helping.

And what it is is is the, the the sinful woman, as she's described is the one that's really providing the help for Jesus.

And in fact, what Jesus points out to Simon is that if you follow her example, then then you will be helped.

So the sinful woman not only helped Jesus, but also provided a lesson for Simon who thought this is what Jesus needs.

Therefore, I tell you her sins, which are many are forgiven for, she loved much, but he who is forgiven?

Little loves little Simon received the benefit from the one that he was helping that is Jesus.

But the benefit that Jesus provided was showing Simon that the time uh that true service was what the woman was given that day.

Simon didn't realize that he really needed help.

So Jesus had 25000 men that served with him and I, I would, I would uh suggest to you that another reason that Jesus allowed others to help is so that they could participate or share in his work.

We've already suggested the the sending out of the 238.

There are many other ways that that Jesus could have accomplished the same thing.

And yet he allowed these men to go out and preach and cast out demons and, and announced that he was coming and it was for their benefit.

Have you ever thought about the, the feeding of the 5000 or the feeding of the 4000?

Jesus allowed the Apostles to help in that.

They, first of all, they found the, the starter materials, Jesus didn't need starter materials.

Jesus didn't need 55 loaves and two fish or he didn't need seven loaves and a few fish.

He could have created the, the fish out of nothing he could have.

In fact, not only that, but Jesus could have, could have announced everybody, you know, go sit down in, in, in fifties and, and he could have basically forced them into that could have made him sit down and the distribution.

If, if he can make that much food out of that little food, who needs distribution, who needs apostles to take it out to them and who needs apostles to collect it afterwards, collect the, the, the remnant.

And yet Jesus allowed them to be a part of that, to see the, to see the miraculous work that was done and, and to, to help these people and to see what it was that Jesus was about alas and I haven't used that word in 100 years.

So um Jesus didn't receive perfect help.

He had imperfect people that were working for him.

He had imper perfect people that were serving him.

The disciples didn't get it.

A lot of the time they were focused, I think on uh much like the rest of the Jews, maybe this is, this is a physical kingdom that, that we're gonna be a part of.

And they argued about who's gonna be, who's gonna be the best?

Who's gonna be first?

Who's gonna be the one that sits on the right hand and sits on the left hand of Jesus?

And what Jesus told them is that, you know, the the servant is, is the one who's going to to be on top.

Uh And when, when people brought, were bringing Children, bringing infants so that, that Jesus could touch them disciples said, you know, Jesus doesn't have time for this and they were keeping the the the Children away.

And what what Jesus told them is said, uh let the Children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

Not only did they not understand the nature of, of, of the Kingdom and the nature of kingdom citizens, they sought to, to pacify his enemies.

Uh Often you would, you'd see the the apostles arguing with the scribes and Pharisees and, and in one, in one event, 11 instance we came to, to Peter and said, do does your, does your master uh pay the temple tax?

And Peter said, sure master pays Jesus pays the temple tax.

And before Peter can even ask him about it.

Uh Jesus asked him uh who, who pays the, who pays the tax?

The, the citizen or the, you know, the servant or, or the son and the servant is said, well, uh so that we don't uh offend them, you go, go fish and, and you got a, you got a uh a coin that would pay for two people's temple tax.

You remember the transfiguration?

And Jesus takes Peter James and John up on the mountain.

When they come back, there is a uh there is a stir amongst the other apostles and other disciples as they have been unable to cast out a demon.

Uh And they get down to the Jesus gets down and, and uh the, the father comes and says, uh your, your servants or your, your, your uh disciples were not able to cast out this demon and, and talks about how, how his son had been uh afflicted all of his life.

And uh he said, if you can and Jesus said, if I can, uh I says, if you have faith, uh he says, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

And then Jesus cast out the demon when the cycles ask him later, why is it that we were unable to, to do this?

Why weren't we not able to, to cast out this demon?

And, and depending on whether you're reading the King James or the new King James or the English standard, either fasting and prayer or just prayer or what, what it was was needed.

Uh So this doesn't come out without uh without prayer.

Despite the imperfect help that Jesus received, he didn't give up on the apostles.

He allowed them to continue to help him.

He didn't ridicule them in front of the crowds when they gave the wrong answer or they were unable to cast out a demon.

He explained what the limitation was or he provided for a save face action as he did for Peter.

Now I'm not go, not gonna go down this, this road any but Jesus didn't accept unhelpful help or uh help that would be counterproductive.

You know, when James and John said, should we cast out?

Should we have have fire come down out of heaven or when Peter brings out his sword to, to defend him in the garden?

Uh Jesus didn't accept that kind of help.

So I'm giving you gave you these these examples, but I want to really bring it home for us for the spiritual application.

One of the primary reasons for the body of Christ is to build one another up.

You see that in Ephesians, the fourth chapter, first Corinthians, the the 12th chapter uh where we read beginning in verse 50003 but God has so composed, the body giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, which uh you know, those parts of the body that we might, that we think less honorable.

We bestow the greater honor and our unprepared with greater modesty, which are presentable parts.

Not I I backed up, sorry.

Uh I went back to 23 and instead of going down to 25 God has so composed, the body giving greater honor to the part that lacked it.

That there be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

If one member suffers all suffer together, if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

We are members of one another.

We are to, to care for one another.

We are to provide for the needs of one another.

In Ephesians, the fourth chapter, we read that, that, that the the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, shepherds and teachers are given to equip the body, equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.

And then dropping down in verse 16 in that chapter who grew up into the head into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love passage that we're familiar with.

Uh And you've heard quoted in probably from childhood uh don't forsake the assembling.

What what leads up to that is to let us hold fast, the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.

Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as a habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

So our, our purpose is to encourage to build each other up, part of that, building each other up requires that we be corrected when we're wrong.

Uh The, the work of an evangelist is to reprove rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching.

First, our second Timothy four and verse two, we need to be rebuked.

We need reproof.

And I would ask for a show of hands of who likes to be rebuked in the audience.

But unless you don't understand what rebuke is, uh I don't think we're gonna get any hands raised.

Nobody likes rebuke.

Uh II, I know you, I know all of my sermons are memorable.

Uh But one of the last times I preached, I had a picture of two people who would you like to be bu who would, who would you prefer being corrected by?

Now?

One side was Mr Rogers and on the other side was Nick Saban.

And, and the answer is neither one of them, nobody likes to be corrected.

Nobody likes to be rebuked.

Now, you would probably appreciate the, the tenor of which Mr Rogers did it.

But the question is, what is, what is the message that's being conveyed to me.

Do I need that rebuke?

There, there are times when, when rebuke is what's what's called for and once, once you get over the, you know, being, you know, being hit on the back of the head, you need to listen to what the message is because the person that that is, is level is, is reproving or rebuking you is not doing it out of hatred.

Person is doing it because they love you and want want you to your soul to be saved.

We need to accept spiritual help, but we need to be careful with who we accept the help from.

First Corinthians six lends us a a principle that are there not wise men among you that can, can resolve these situations in Galatians six which we'll we'll go to in just a second.

Uh We, we see that those who are spiritual are to restore uh those who have, have fallen, those who have, have problems.

One of the things that, that you need to to take into account though is expertise and availability.

Beth does flower uh floral designs for weddings and she's been doing it since 2013 yet.

She has yet to ask me to design a bouquet.

I don't know why I'm beginning to get my, my feelings hurt a little bit about it.

She, the reason that she doesn't ask me to do that is because that's not in my skill set.

I I don't have that.

I have, don't have that creative capability within me.

And I don't have, I'm a little bit afraid of the flowers.

I, I've gotten a little bit.

I, I know, I know some flowers if you wanna ask me, you know, I know what a hydrangea is.

I know all these other things I've learned a lot by observing but she knows what I can do.

I am.

I'm great toor lifter.

I can, I can pack a, a van full of flowers.

Uh I, I learned all these skills as a complimentary thing, but I, I know she knows what to, what to ask me to do.

Now, one of the problems that I have when I preach is, is I don't know how to preach a 30 minute sermon, a 30 35 minute sermon.

And what I need is somebody who can help me do that.

But I can't ask Alan.

That's just that I would, that'd be sort of similar to me to bev, asking me to design floral arrangement brothers.

This is Galatians six.

If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself.

Lest you too be tempted, bear one another bur burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ for if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

But let each one test his own work and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor for each will have to bear his own load.

Note that he said those who are spiritual uh should, should help those who are caught in any transgression.

He doesn't say those who are preachers.

It doesn't say those who are elders.

It doesn't say those who are deacons.

It says those who are spiritual, that's the responsibility of each of us to be spiritual.

How, how, how is it that we would be spiritual?

You go back to the end of the last of the, of the fifth chapter and those who are following those who are, who are imbibing the fruits of the spirit or walking according to the spirit are the ones who are spiritual.

Those are the ones who are to restore a brother who is um who is transgressing brother who is called in a transgression.

So don't be quick to dismiss someone who is trying to help you well, you know, they're, they've only been a Christian two years and I've been a Christian for 40 years.

They may see something that you don't see.

They may see a, a AAA flaw that you have been blinded to uh those who are in a good position.

And I have the quotes there can be helped by those in a worse condition.

Let me, let me describe what I'm talking about.

Um those who are well can be helped by those who are sick after after my mom's funeral, uh visited uh a couple of weeks later at Oak Mountain where, where she had attended for the last 20 something years of her life.

And uh the mom had a, a group of, of women that she called and talked to on a regular basis.

And um they said that, that, that during COVID, the two people that they can count on of, of people calling and encouraging them were Ray Davis who was 8890 years old at the time.

And my mom who was, who was 80 something, you don't have to, you don't have to be in, in, in perfect health.

You don't have to be the strongest person.

But it, it's just a matter of, of showing that you care for someone.

And what we need to do is we need and I'm speaking to me is get off our high horse and, and think I am, I am, I'm what the Lord needs in the kingdom.

I, we need to humble ourselves as a child and realize that we can be helped not only in physical ways, but also in spiritual ways and, and it doesn't have to be by, by somebody.

Well, you know, I'm an elder so somebody at a higher level has to help.

Now, that's not, we're all brethren, we're all servants of Christ, we're all all followers of the master and we need to, to listen to and be willing to be helped by our brethren.

Why is it that I don't seek or accept spiritual help?

Well, maybe it's because I think I don't need it and that, that sort of falls into the category of the, well, don't need a physician.

Well, we all, we all need a physician.

We all need to realize that, that we can be, be helped, can be, uh, maybe that I'm, I'm embarrassed by the fact that, that I've done this.

So I'm too proud to, to receive help.

Or maybe I think I'm beyond help.

Maybe I think my situation is just helpless at this point in time.

And we may not be able to escape the consequences of sin.

We may not be able to uh escape the consequences of our actions, but we can still be get be forgiven and clean before God if we're still alive and we're still malleable.

When you think about the examples of miracles in the New Testament, miracles in the life of Jesus.

People with profound needs, sought out Jesus, the crowds thronged Him.

Uh They, you know, they lined up at the door in Capernaum.

Uh they all came and, and, and were healed.

But people that came to Jesus often didn't realize the most profound need that they had.

The paralytic was let down through the, through the roof.

And what did Jesus say to Him?

Your sins are forgiven?

The the real need is he's, he's, he can't walk.

Jesus took care of that. Too.

But the real need, the profound need that he had was he was sick with sin.

He was dead in sin and Jesus could forgive him.

The 5000 had their, had their appetites satisfied and they came back to Jesus the next day and he said, you didn't come because because you, you wanted to hear what I had to say.

You came for the flows and fishes.

He says, I am the bread of life.

They needed Jesus, they needed his teaching.

They didn't need to, to have their bellies filled the leap.

The the man who was possessed by multiple demons desired that Jesus be move, go away from there.

And what he really needed was for the spirit, the the demons to be removed from him.

The blind man at the pool of Bethesda.

Jesus asked, do you, do you desire to be healed?

And he said, you know, like duh, of course I do.

Uh That's, that's in the new living translation.

Um But, but the, but the answer was that when Jesus did heal him, what he told him at the end of, of the, of the story is says, go and don't sin anymore or a worse fate will befall you.

What's worse than not being able to walk for 38 years, being lost in sin is what's worse.

And what I want to leave you with this morning is that Jesus can do above our expectations.

For this reason, I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit, in your inner being.

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts, through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints.

What is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him, who is able to do more abundant, far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to Him, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen.

And my desire for each of us this morning is that we will know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

We need to accept the help that Jesus offers come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

I'm meek and lowly in heart.

You'll find rest for your souls.

If you have never obeyed the gospel, then you're trying to do it on your own and you can't do it.

You can't take care of the sin that's in your life.

But because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

But if, if you take advantage of the sacrifice of Jesus and are do what Peter told the, the people on Pentecost repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, then you'll receive uh forgive us the sins in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Or if you sin in a public way after becoming Christian prayers of, of this church will be gladly offered on your behalf.

If you repent of and confess, then you can be forgiven.

If either of these is your need this morning, won't you come as we stand and sing?