In today’s episode, we are talking about the subject of weariness. It’s not something that we normally talk about, but the Bible addresses it and since it does we should know how to combat it. There is an old story of a Jewish rabbi who consented to take a weary traveler into his house for a night’s rest. After they ate, the rabbi asked the gentleman, “How old are you?” “Almost a century old,” the old man replied. “Are you a religious man?” asked the rabbi. “No, I do not believe in God. The rabbi was infuriated. He opened the door and said, “I cannot keep an atheist in my house overnight.” The old man hobbled out into the cold darkness. Later the Lord spoke to the rabbi. “Why did you let him go?” The rabbi replied, “I turned him out because he was an atheist, and I cannot endure him overnight.” God replied, “Son, I have endured him for almost one hundred years. Don’t you think you could endure him for one night?” At times, our endurance is not what it should be. I think we could say that all of us are guilty of this at some point. We get weary and we throw up our hands. So, today, we set our focus on Why You Can Overcome Weariness With God’s Amazing Grace. All on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why It’s Never Wise to Not Obey God’s Will for Your Life

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Read the Notes

You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

Don’t be weary in doing good. Don’t base your decisions on church life based on inferior copies of Jesus.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share a testimony on how the Lord helped through a season of weariness and refreshed your life. Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

1. Why Possessing Patience Is A Powerful Step to A Faith Filled Life [Podcast]
2. Why Praying in Faith Means to Believe You Receive [Encore Podcast]
3. How You Can Demonstrate Powerful Faith in God [Podcast]
4. Why Taking the Forgiveness Test Helps Your Faith in God [Podcast]
5. Faith and Prayer: Important Lessons to Know [Podcast]
6. Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain [Podcast]
7. Scriptures to Feed Your Faith and Combat Fear [Podcast]

We are currently teaching in the book of Second Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

1. #S11-004: Why God’s Thoughts On Discipline Are Superior To Yours [Podcast]
2. #S11-003: Why God’s Love and Direction Are a Match Made in Heaven [Podcast]
3. #S11-002:Why You Need God’s Protection in a World Gone Nuts [Podcast]
4. #S11-001: Why Growing in Faith Brings Amazing Results [Podcast]
5. #S10-052: Why Powerful Prayer to Advance the Gospel Is Right [Podcast]
6. #S10-51: Reasons Why People Fail to Receive From God [Podcast]
7. #S10-50: Why You Shouldn’t Be Quickly Shaken by Prophetic Happenings [Podcast]
8. #S10-049: Why Jesus Proven Second Coming Produces Ironclad Hope
9. #S10-048: Why God’s Amazing Dynamic Deliverance Is Coming Your Way [Podcast]
10. #S10-047: What Does a Spiritually Healthy Jesus Follower Look Like to God? [Podcast]
11. #S10-046: Why Repetition Is a Vital Need for Godly Spiritual Growth [Podcast]

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 42 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Prayer

Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you because you are an unchanging God. You never grow weary or tired. Thank you – help us today with your divine energy. May your encouragement course through our very being so that we may run the race you have set before us in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Podcast Notes

Weariness: A Review on Idlers

2 Thessalonians 3:13–15 (ESV) — 13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

• In a previous podcast, we looked at the problem of idleness that had grown among some members of the church in Thessalonica.
• Paul addresses the subject of idleness in his first letter, but the problem had gotten no better fast.
• So now, we have a second letter.
• We understood that these idlers in Thessalonica were meddlers in other people’s affairs, smooching off some in the congregation.
• Because this problem continued to speed up, Paul uses stronger language to protect the young congregation.
• We talked also about leaven in that podcast and how sin unchecked mushrooms in a nuclear fashion.
• As Paul addresses this, we have an admonition from him for the rest of the congregation.

do not grow weary in doing good.

• The Greek word ‘weary’ is the one we want to look at today and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
• The Greek word ‘weary’ means to lose one’s motivation in continuing a desirable pattern of conduct or activity.
• It means to lose enthusiasm, or be discouraged.¹
• Do not be weary is a exhortation to not allow ourselves to be discouraged or come to a place where we just let down.
• Now why would Paul say this to the Thessalonians – don’t be weary in doing good?
• Because the temptation was present for just that.
• Idlers? do you remember them?
• Busybodies — Paul just got through warning this church that they needed to take proper action concerning this group who had strayed away from sound living.
• So, what’s the link between all this?
• There were people in this church, good people, righteous God-fearing people who were trying to run their race.
• They were working hard to provide for their families.
• These God-fearing folk were not idle — they were not busy-bodies — they were doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do.
• But, they were feeling like, look we have to put up with these folk who are doing nothing, causing problems, meddling all over the place and going nowhere in Jesus’ Name.
• That’s the context of Paul’s remarks.
• He is saying to the core group of this church, ‘Keep on doing the good thing you have been doing all along.’
• Yes, Paul spent some time addressing these wayward busybodies but, he does not forget the core group of this church who were ever pressing toward the mark.
• This segment of the Church, those who are suffering because meddlers and sexual immoral people are giving the Body of Christ a bad name, are often overlooked because of all the noise that carnal folk make.
• So what Paul does is turn away from the busybodies and speaks to the godly core group.

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

• Don’t let folk who are not doing the right thing keep you from doing the right thing.
• Keep living excellent.
• Always strive to live the Jesus life.
• Be the light of the world.
• Let all men know you belong to Jesus because you love one another.
• Don’t let down.
• Others may not follow the path you have chosen in trying to please God.
• Don’t sweat it if they don’t follow suit.
• Attend to your business.
• Work with your hands.
• Follow God’s plan for your life.

2 Corinthians 13:7–8 (AMP) — 7 But I pray to God that you may do nothing wrong,… For we can do nothing against the Truth [not serve any party or personal interest], but only for the Truth [which is the Gospel].

• Do nothing wrong.
• Others may do wrong, but don’t let that be your testimony.
• Do something for the truth.
• Paul is encouraging them to not be weary in this business of ‘doing nothing wrong.’
• Refuse to let down from doing something for the truth.

Galatians 6:9 (AMP) — And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

• Don’t loosen, relax, or let down, press towards the mark.
• Spiritual life is a press, you know and a press is the opposite of weariness.

Philippians 3:12–14 (ESV) — 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

• So, did you hear the word ‘press’ in this passage?
• Paul used it twice.
• Did you hear the words’ straining forward?’
• Pressing, straining forward, these words impart an intensity to how the Jesus life should be lived.
• The Greek word ‘press’ means to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective.
• It means to hasten, or to run.²
• Louw Nida says the word means to follow with haste, presumably with intensity of effort.
• This haste is to catch up with, or ‘to run after, chase after, or pursue.’
• So, do you hear the exertion of intense effort in the pursuit or press of the mark?
• We’re hearing the terms, ‘move rapidly,’ running, and chasing after.
• Think about running for a moment.
• Running implies being out of breath.
• Out of breath is an uncomfortable feeling.
• It’s a challenging thing for people who are all about comfort.
• And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.
• This quote is actually too long to be a quote or the Illustration of the Day.
• But, it talks about ‘pressing toward the mark’ so well that I want you to hear it.
• Now, I stored this in my notes but I didn’t record who wrote it.
• I really would like to give credit to who said this.
• It sounds something like what Bill Johnson would say but I’m not APS.
• So here we go.

Let’s face it. God won’t paint a detailed picture of our destiny in our hearts if all we give Him are a few scattered moments here and there. To reveal to us the fullness of our calling, to lift us into the places He wants us to go, He needs us to give Him some quality time. Notice, I didn’t say we must give Him great, massive quantities of time. We don’t have to spend weeks alone in a cabin somewhere reading our Bible on our knees. But we have to give Him periods of undivided attention. Times when we focus exclusively on Him. We must also be willing to expend energy—both natural and spiritual—on the things of God. Most Christians these days are much too laid back. They go along their merry little way enjoying life, giving God a little wave now and again. They say, “I guess if God wants me to do anything major for Him, He’ll tell me. After all, He knows where to find me.” Yes, He knows where to find us all right: at the lake, at the movies, at the football game, in front of the television, or at the mall. But it is not His job to run after us and apprehend us in those places. On the contrary, it is our job to run after Him. We need to have the attitude the apostle Paul had. He put tremendous effort into disciplining himself spiritually. He subdued and buffeted his body on purpose in order to keep his flesh from robbing him of God’s best. He lived his life in God like he was running an Olympic race, not like he was taking a stroll in the park. Instead of putting up his spiritual feet and saying, “God will get me where I need to go,” he said: I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me … one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. (Philippians 3:12–14 AMP) Paul didn’t walk; he ran full out after God.

• Can you say Amen to that?
• So again, weariness is the opposite of this.
• Listen to the Passion Translation on this passage in Philippians.

Philippians 3:12–14 (Passion) — 12 I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into his abundance so that I may reach the purpose for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me to make me his own. 13 I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. 14 I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus.

• I run with passion.
• Everything I do — I do with passion and intensity — sometimes to my detriment.
• I’m not casual about anything.
• So with all of this, are you getting a sense of what Paul is communicating to the Thessalonians?

Weariness: Looking at the Right Example

• It’s easy to let down if our eyes are pointing in the wrong direction.
• Where should have our eyes focused?
• Well, I’m glad you asked that.

Hebrews 12:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus,

• Looking to Jesus – He is our example of endurance!
• So in this case of meddlers, busybodies, you know people who are acting badly and upsetting your life, look at Jesus.
• You know the opening illustration mentioned that — can’t you put up with somebody for a day when the Lord is putting up with all of us for decades on end?
• Jesus is our model.
• Look at Him.
• Did He quit? — Or let down?
• We are always going to be looking somewhere.
• Why not look at the ultimate example?
• People decide to give up on God looking at an inferior copies of Jesus.
• Some don’t attend church because of inferior copies of Jesus.
• Inferior copies are not our standard.
• If a person is a child of God, legitimately born again, but hasn’t mastered the old life, why would we make decisions of consequence based on that example?
• Jesus never let down.
• He never quit.
• What did He ever do to you that you should leave Him?
• Jesus said, ‘What I do, you can do also and greater things can you do becuase I go to the Father.’ — that’s John 14:12.
• Now, let’s go back to Hebrews twelve and keep reading.

Hebrews 12:2–4 (ESV) — 2 looking to Jesus,

• You see, that’s what we were talking about — where you look.

… the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

• Jesus endurance is your example.
• Keep reading.

Hebrews 12:2–3 (ESV) — 2 … despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

• Not growing weary is your Jesus example.
• Fainthearted, forget about it — not Jesus.
• He is whom we are to look at.
• That’s your example and where your eyes ought to be.

Weariness: Not an Instant Affair

• Weariness is not an instant affair — it doesn’t happen all at once.

Consider him… so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

• Grow weary — did you hear that?
• So, ‘growing weary’ — let’s talk about that for a minute.
• The word ‘grow’ is a vital translation because it points to a process which occurs slowly.
• Weariness is not immediate — it’s not an impulsive something that happens to someone at the spur of a moment.
• There’s a process to weariness.
• If you are aware of the process, you can head it off.
• So here you are — You’re doing the right thing — everyone else around you is not doing the right thing.
• You’re a little miffed — you’re a little disgusted — you talk about your feelings freely in your house, you sling your opinion out there.
• No one knows what you’re saying except the Lord.
• He hears everything you say.
• This pattern repeats with the regularity of the rising sun.
• You’re growing but, in the wrong direction.
• You’re getting less tolerant.
• Frustrations mount quicker.
• It gets harder and harder to do the thing you KNOW you should do.

Weariness and Bad Decisions

• Be careful — look to Jesus.
• People make poor decisions when they are weary.
• It’s not wise to make decisions of consequence when you’re emotional.
• Cool down first.
• Look here at a Bible example of a really poor decision based on weariness.

Genesis 25:29–34 (NKJV) — 29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

• Isaac and Rachel had two children late in life, Esau the older and Jacob the younger by a split second.
• They were twins.
• Esau came in wore out, starving, weary — couldn’t stand it anymore.
• Jacob was a rascal of an opportunist — he wouldn’t even feed his brother without a string attached.
• The string? — Sell me your birthright.
• And, with that thought, here is the Historical Background of the Day.

The birthright concerned only the material inheritance from the parents. The inheritance was divided into the number of sons plus one. The eldest son then received a double share. This was a customary practice throughout the ancient Near East. The stew buys from Esau that additional share…³

• So, there were two sons and three shares of the inheritance.
• What you have just witnessed with your hearing is the most expensive bowl of beans in the history of mankind.

Genesis 26:6, 12–14 (ESV) — 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar… 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

• Isaac was filthy rich!
• His inheritance was huge.
• Esau made an outstandingly poor choice because of weariness — that’s what happens.
• The Lord would have provided for him but he wasn’t looking at the Lord — he was looking at his brother.

Weariness to the Point of Death

Genesis 27:46–28:5(NASB95) — 46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

• I am tired of living.
• Per the UBS Handbook of Bible Translation on Genesis, you could translate this into different languages like so: I am weary of my life, I am disgusted with life, I am tired of life, I am sick of living, and TEV I am sick and tired.
• We may also say, for example, “I can’t stand these … any longer.”
• My life is no good at all, my life won’t be worth a thing or “I will lose my last reason for living.⁴
• Esau acting poorly, marrying women he should not have, wore Rachel down to a point where she wearily said, ‘I might as well just give up die.’
• If you ever give up, you are dead.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV) — 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

• Yes, our outer man is wasting away.
• Louw Nida says that it means to become gradually incapacitated.
• BDAG says that ‘wasting away’ means to cause the destruction of something, spoil, or destroy of rust eating into iron.
• Rust eating iron is like old age eating into the outward man.
• Weariness will speed up this process.

Weariness: There Is Hope!

• If you find yourself in this case, there’s plenty, I mean plenty of Bible Promise and hope.

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV84) — 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

• Jesus said, ‘If you’re weary, want to give up, want to let down — come to me.’
• Come to me, I will help you with this!

Isaiah 40:28–31 (ESV) — 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

• As we get ready to close notice that this inward renewal is not automatic – nothing in God is automatic.
• It’s because as I grow older, I become wiser, and I understand more what is important, that spiritual things are more relevant than natural things, that the things of God are more valuable than earthly things – that the things of the next life are far greater than the things of this life- and so when my body [right now it’s my left eye] wants to act up – I double up on my Bible reading – though my outward is rusting away my inward man is getting ready for the future!
• The more I grow older and things (not sickness and disease) give me a harder time in my outward man the more the rust of old age eats into my physical man, the more I double up on my spiritual life.
• Refuse to be weary — He will strengthen you!

Father God, thank you today for your goodness and mercies to us — Strengthen us in Jesus Name — Lift us by your great power and stretched out arm. Lift the hands that hang down and strenthen the feeble knees. Make straight paths for our feet. Do it in Jesus Name so that we can testify and say, ‘My God has made my feet like hinds feet and He has set me secure on the heights.’

• Why You Can Overcome Weariness With God’s Amazing Grace.
• You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

How Running Your God-Given Race Brings Great Salvation

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