HOW TO BORROW STRENGTH | Shaun Nepstad

There are seasons when we need to be carried and seasons when we are called to carry others. We’re not meant to do life alone—together, we are stronger.

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Transcript

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Do you remember group projects growing up in high school? Some of you loved them because everybody else did all the work. Some of you hated them because you did all the work. You were the group. You didn't have, you didn't have teammates, you had witnesses. Come on, somebody. You did all the work, you did all the research, you made the poster, you you practiced for the presentation, and then they want to roll up on the day O and talk about okay, so what are we doing? But then if you got in a good small group, like an amazing small group, the experience was amazing because you weren't trying to chase anybody down, nobody disappeared, everybody's carrying their weight. That's that's small groups. That's what small groups ought to be. And I'll tell you right up front, take it, take some notes today. The most connected people in any church in the world. They are serving on the team, what we call our dream team. That's everybody who serves here, and people are in small groups. They're groups, they're they're groups that are small, because all of us need four to seven friends going the same way as us. So this is true. This is what I felt the Lord give me several years ago. But also, if this is true, then this is also true. So you could be as connected or disconnected as you want to be. I've heard some people go to a church and they're like man, I just feel so disconnected. That's your fault. Smile at me. Because if you can't expect to feel connected, if you're not, you're catching it. So I would encourage you today get in a small group because the most connected people in any church are serving and in a small group. And I want to take a look at a snapshot of a guy in the Bible named Moses. Now, my wife and I, we're so excited because we are helping go through all of these different Bible characters in the Bible. So many people are unfamiliar with major Bible characters, and there's so much we can learn from them. So today, I don't have time to exhaust Moses, but let's just take a snapshot and go with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17, the Amalekites, which are the enemies of God's people in the Old Testament, they attacked the Israelites. So Moses said to Joshua, choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands. And so Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered. And Moses, Aaron, and her, which, by the way, her is a hymn. Uh it's just spelled H-U-R. He went to the top of the hill. Watch this. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning. But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. They were losing. So Israelites were losing. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and her held his hands up. Watch this imagery. On one side, one on one side, one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And then Joshua finally, thank God, overcame the Amalekite army. Okay, look at me. One of the biggest lies in life is this. We tell ourselves, if I were stronger, I wouldn't need help. But the Bible tells us something totally different. Matter of fact, some of God's most faithful people in the Bible, they did not lose because of a lack of faith. They lost because they stood alone. Listen, Exodus 17, our text is about two months after the deliverance of Israel from slavery, 400 years of slavery in Egypt. So Moses, the Israelites, they're on their way in the desert. It's a lot of people. It's a long journey. It's hot. I mean, there's no 7. Eleven's nearby. And so there's some stragglers. There's a few stragglers that are falling behind. And go with me now, turn to in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 25. Here's a parallel verse, which by the way, when you're studying the Bible, it's great to look at other verses that are complementing each other. Deuteronomy 25 says, Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt? When you were, watch, watch, weary and worn out. They met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind. They didn't attack the herd, they attacked the people on the fringe. Are you hearing what I'm saying? They weren't on the in the middle, they they attacked the fringe and they had no fear of God. Interesting. Moses, Joshua, Aaron, her, this is the first group project that we see in the Bible. They're fresh out of slavery. But watch this. They're fresh out of slavery. They're no longer in slavery. They're delivered but still developing. They're redeemed but not ready yet. They're saved but not strong yet. And in the middle of this transition, the Amalekites attack. Can anybody relate to feeling attacked? They're newly delivered and they get attacked. Watch this, not head on, not the leaders. The enemy attacked the tired, the slow, and the distracted. Can I tell you the devil is still doing the same thing? He doesn't fight fair, he fights the isolated. So that's his strategy. And it's interesting because we're so excited about the freedom God gives us. Look at me, everybody. Freedom doesn't mean you're not still vulnerable. So Israel's no longer enslaved, but they're not settled yet either. And there's some somewhere in the space between the rescue and the rest that the enemy comes and attacks. That's oftentimes where attacks take place. You would know this and you'd agree with this. Attacks don't always happen before the breakthrough. Sometimes they happen after the breakthrough. After you gave your life to Christ, after God stepped in, then boom, there's an attack. And so many of you today, you can relate to this, watching online and in this room. You're free but tired. You're forgiven, but still fragile. You're born again, but still learning how to walk this journey out. Okay, look, that's not failure, that's called humanity. All of us know what that feels like. Welcome to the club if you're there today. But verse 8 says the Amalekites attacked and and and they attacked Israel in the Old Testament. Can I remind you, you two have an enemy? The devil. Matter of fact, John 10, 10 says the thief, the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus is saying this. And thank God the next part says, I've come to give you life and have that so that you can have it to the full. But we can't forget that we also still have an enemy that wants to steal, kill, and destroy. So let me ask you some questions, alright? I'm gonna ask a series of questions to help us think. Number one, do you feel like you're in a battle right now? Do you feel like you're being attacked? Alright, here's another another question. Where? For some of you, it is in your marriage. Maybe your spouse isn't here, or maybe you're sitting next to them and you don't even want to look at them right now. But there is an attack that is on the family unit. And this is again another reason why you need to invest personally into your own marriage and come to the marriage conference because we want to help equip you to get you to where you need to be in your relationship. But maybe it's not in your marriage, maybe it is in your kids. For some of you, it's in your finances, could be your health. There's an attack on your health right now. Could be depression, could be worry, could be fear and anxiety, it could be a lot of things, addictions, shame. There's a lot of places that you might be feeling attacked. And when I said it, you don't have to think about it, you know it right now. Okay, here's another question, alright? Do you feel like you're winning? Because there is a big difference between fighting and winning and fighting and losing. Do you know what I'm talking about? When you're fighting and winning, there's still hope. There's still like, yeah, I got this. But there's a place where you are fighting and you are losing, and you're not sure if you're going to make it. Can I tell you this? Here's the big problem with believers. We try to do too much alone. We try to do too much alone. God never prescribed solo leadership development. Isolation is not a leadership strategy. Don't try to grow in isolation. Moses, he's not doing this himself. Later, his father-in-law would correct him on raising leaders, and he's doing too much by himself. But in this moment, he aced it. Like he allowed other people in his life because Joshua is fighting. We have Moses praying and interceding. And then we have Aaron and her that are lifting his hands up when his hands are too heavy for him to lift by himself. Same mission, different roles. That's why you need to go through a growth track. Growth track is a three-week class. It starts at the beginning of every month. This is where you can hear the vision of the church, become a member. And then I want everybody to join a small group. Some people say, do I need to go through growth track before I sign a small group? No. Get in a small group today. But make sure growth track is on the radar that it's part of your next steps because we want to help you grow. And then for those that agree with our statement of faith and we feel like, man, your best next step is our dream team. Then you get on the dream team, you start serving. Ladies and gentlemen, that's when you come alive. When you start serving in your gifts to make a difference in other people, you get out of the stands and you're now serving on the field. Something comes alive inside of you. So this is an interesting thing. I don't know why God allowed this to take place, but maybe it's for the sake of illustration. When Moses' hands were lifted, they were winning. When Moses' hands went down, they were losing. Now, God did give them the victory in the end, thank God. But look at me when I tell you this. Oftentimes your strength has a shelf life. You're just not strong all the time. I know we love the verses, and that we we could be, but but the reality is that our flesh oftentimes is weak, and we grow tired, and we go weary, we're weary, and we're frustrated. Verse 12 is one of the most honest verses in the Bible. It just simply says, Moses' hands grew tired. He grew tired. And and small groups are not about adding a meeting to your week, it's about distributing the weight. Because you're caring too much. And other people are caring too much. Listen, how many can testify you can love God deeply and still run out of energy? You can be totally committed and hit a limit. Because the danger is not in being tired, the danger is pretending you won't. Are you gonna help me preach this morning? And community is God's answer. It's um yes, we have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and some people are like, that's all I need. No, James 5.16 says, when you confess your faults and sins to one another, that's when healing takes place. Community is God's plan A. And watch Moses. Moses here, he's so exhausted. He's tired of leading people already. His hands are tired, but Aaron and her don't shame him. They don't try to spiritualize his exhaustion. They just make an adjustment to assist him. They come over, they get closer, they have them sit down, and then they share the weight. I said, they get closer, they have them sit down, and they share the weight. Look at this verse in verse 12. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and her held up his hands, one on one side, one on the other, so that his hands, watch, watch, watch, his hands remained steady until sunset. There are some people that are called to you. And if you do not have the right people lifting you up, you are not going to remain steady. We need others. I need you. You need me. Like it doesn't matter how strong you are, there may be a point where you grow tired. I'm talking about places where you were once hopeful and you were once faith-filled, you can grow tired. Places where you were once optimistic and you were once once positive and confident, you can grow tired. When that happens, my friend, let me ask you, what do you do and who do you turn to? You better have a predetermined plan. Moses turned to God first, but he also had a small group, Joshua, Aaron, and her. And this is what happens. This is what you need for healthy small groups and relationships. Number one, they were with him. Takes proximity. And they were trusted, that takes consistency. Proximity and consistency. That's why we do these semesters, that's why we have times every week, because it we're also busy. If we don't put it on the calendar, it's out of sight, out of mind. And proximity, that's what's necessary for relationship. You have to do this repeatedly. And they were trusted, consistency is necessary for dependence. So when you get in a small group, you begin to figure out there might be a couple people in your life now that you can go to because you're proxy uh because of your proximity, but also the consistency there, you start to trust them. In other words, Joshua, Moses, Aaron, and her, they've been rolling together for a while. Look at me, everybody. You need to get a group that you get to rolling with for a while. Not just once a month, not just once a quarter. I'm talking about roll with them because listen to me when I say this: support doesn't remove the battle, it sustains you in it. Listen, watch, watch, watch. Sometimes God does not remove the weight, he just adds people to help you carry it. We're asking God to remove the weight, and he's like, Man, I gave you a small group of people to help you carry it. My grace is sufficient for you. So they they didn't just come near Moses, they stood with Moses. There's a difference. There's a difference because you can be in a large gathering like this and a lot of people and still feel alone. They didn't just stand around Moses, they stood with Moses. And let me just give you this write this down, somebody. You will either borrow strength or bleed alone. It's up to you. Are you gonna borrow some strength or are you gonna bleed alone? Here's the reality: everyone borrow strength at some point in your life. I was thinking about banks. Banks will not allow you to borrow without first establishing relationship. You don't believe me? Try today. Walk in a bank and be like, can I get 50 G's? My recommendation is get in some good, healthy relationships now because there's gonna come a point in your life where you're going to need to borrow some strength. And when I tell you this, borrowing strength becomes normalized in small groups. It just becomes normal. When you don't have faith, somebody else does. When you can't pray, somebody else can. When you can't lift your hands, somebody else can lift you up. That's not called weakness, that's called wisdom. Is this helping? Aaron and her, I love this about them. They didn't have to be asked, they saw the need. Good, godly relationships. You don't have to ask them. They show up when you don't want them to. When you try to close the blinds and just watch Netflix and just be depressed, they'll show up and be like, nah, open the blinds. We're going out for coffee. Splash your pits, let's go. They pulled up a seat, they had him sit down, but then they joined their heart to what was moving him. They got involved, they began to lift his arms, one on one arm, the other on another arm, and they lifted up. When he lost his strength to lift his own hands, he had a small group there to help lift them for him. And I love large gatherings. Oh, I love large gatherings, are where we are inspired, but small groups teach us how to show up. Small groups, it gives us a place where we can be made known. And a church of 50 is too big if you don't know anybody. So get in a small group because this is where faith gets practical. This is where pain is distributed and shared. But you're always in one of these three roles. Your arms are tired and you're being lifted up like Moses, or you're holding someone else up like Aaron and her, or you're fighting supported by prayer and people like Joshua. You're always going to be in one of these three. Now, watch this, watch this. Healthy churches help people move between roles and not get stuck in one. Listen to me when I say this. There's a season for you to be here. But this is not the end of it all. Some of us love to be prayed for, like my wife says, but we don't like to pray for other people. We don't want to be there for other people. And so if we're if we're in a good place right now, we're like, I don't need a small group. Yes, you do. Because you need to help some Moses'. Listen, different seasons. In some seasons, you'll need help. In other seasons, you'll get help. Both matter. But listen, when I say this, you weren't meant to carry everything. You weren't meant to pray for everything. You weren't meant to fight for everything. You weren't meant to process everything alone. You need a small group of people that can carry some things with you and walk with you through some difficult seasons. So as I close, what battle are you going through? Who's lifting you? And whose arms are you lifting? If you have to think about it too long, you're not in the right position yet. Moses is one of the legends of the faith. And yet this brother doesn't do it alone. This is a group project. He had a small group to help lift him when he grew tired. And in the same way, you need to have a group of people in your life that says, We're going to stand with you. But then you turn it around and you need to be the small group for somebody else that says, I'm going to stand now with you, and we're going to learn together. We're going to grow together. We're going to support together. We're going to pray together. We will cry together. We'll develop together so we can win together. There have been times that have been so difficult in life, but they are a little less difficult when you have other people holding you up because no one fulfills their destiny alone. And then I thought this last thought, think about and compare Aaron and her to the disciples of Christ. Jesus is in a place where he's about to go to the cross, and he says, and I quote, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. And he looks at his disciples and says, Stay here and keep watch with me, and they fall asleep. And I started thinking about how many people have fallen asleep on you instead of helping you. But before you get too judgy, how many of us have been falling asleep on other people too? Everyone can't be there for everybody. I can't be there. I can't have lunch with everybody in the church, and I'm not supposed to. You can't help everybody in the church, and you weren't supposed to, but you better have a small group that can help you. That's the beauty of small groups. Listen, I'll end with these verses. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born. Watch for adversity. I believe that there are people that are born to help you walk through hard times. That's their purpose in life. And in the early church, Acts 5 42, day after day, day after day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, every day. In the temple courts, it's large gatherings, house to house, small groups. This is the early church. They never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. They just never stopped. Okay, here's the dual strategy. I heard, I think Rick Warren told me this about 15 years ago. The dual strategy of the church is large group worship and small group fellowship. Not one or the other. Both. This is the biblical strategy and structure for the church. Remember what I told you in the beginning. The most connected people in any church in the world, they are serving and in small groups. So you get to decide how connected or disconnected you want to be. So whose law whose arms are you lifting and who's lifting you? My last point you don't win because you're strong, you win because you're supported. So don't just attend church. Get close, get connected, get in a small group. Because at some point in your life, your arms are growing going to grow tired, and when they do, you're gonna be so happy that you have some people standing with you. Amen. Come on, clap your hands if you're agree with that today.