Acceptance – 9

Text: Romans 12:1-21, Job 12:9-16

Look at her. She’s got life all figured out, and everything is going right. She’s got a family, a thriving business and a large ministry and it’s all perfect. Why can’t that be me?

Have you thought those things before? I certainly have. Sometimes it’s a daily struggle. I would guess that’s a pretty normal thought process for most of us. But I’d like to ask you, along with me, to shift your focus.

That’s her. That’s not you.

We saw last session how God has a specific plan for you. You. And He’s guiding you through your story. Yours, not hers. Not anyone else’s.

If you haven’t yet today, please read our text from Romans, especially Romans 12:3-7, our text from Job – all eight verses.

We’ll talk about the Job passage first.

Q: According to verses 9-10, whose hands are we in?

Very capable hands, I would say. Those same hands who planned the universe, orchestrated the perfect balance of the planets, the chemistry in our air, our water and even in our bodies. The wisdom and knowledge beyond anything we could ever comprehend (Romans 11:33), even planning and preserving the generations of mankind and the birth of Jesus Christ for centuries before it happened. That Birth, I might add, that would never have been necessary if we hadn’t screwed things up by trying to do things our own way, I might add. Those same hands and mind who planned all of that… that’s who’s got us. That’s Who’s in control of our lives.

I don’t know about you, but that’s definitely a comforting thought to me.

Read over the Job passage again, looking especially at verses 13-16.

Q: Is God wise? Write your answer in a full sentence. (verse 13)

That may seem like a silly question, but isn’t that the very truth we question when we question His will? When we question the way our lives are playing out, and when we question the situation we find ourselves in?
So I ask again, is God wise? Do you truly believe that? As we’ve mentioned before, trusting can be very difficult, especially when we can’t see the bigger picture.

But He is no less in control when we’re at the bottom of the hill looking up than when we’ve reached the top and can see the beautiful vista. He was wise, understanding, and in control of it all every step of the way.

Even the difficult ones.

But do you see in verse 13 the second quality that was named?

Q: What characteristic of God was named along with wisdom?

Did you say strength? Might? Power? Depending on your translation, you might have any of those answers. But isn’t it the truth? Along with wisdom, He is strong and powerful. Such a perfect combination. Because without the power to do anything, His wisdom would prove worthless.

In case you take the word lightly, I’d like you to look with me at its Hebrew root, gĕbuwrah: strength, might, valor, bravery, mighty deeds of God; which is from gibbowr, a stronger form of gabar: to be strong and mighty; to prevail. source

So, in my estimation, pretty much the strongest this word could get. And we have that power to help us along the way. So, no, you don't have to always be strong in and of yourself - you've got God on your side!

As children of God, when we question His plan I believe that’s Satan trying to mislead us. Wouldn’t that make sense?

But take heart, and read Job 12:16.

Job 12:16 “With Him are strength and prudence.The deceived and the deceiver are His.” NKJV emphasis mine

So even the Deceiver belongs to God, and must answer to Him. (Like we read a few sessions back)

Now that we know where the doubt is coming from, let’s analyze our own heart, thoughts and motives.

Please re-read the Romans passage.

Switching mental gears back to where we started this session today, answer the following question.

Q: Do you or have you in the past compared yourself to others and the proverbial greener grass on the other side of the fence?

Q: Or do you have tendency in the other direction – almost getting uppity about God’s plan for you, and how your calling is so much better than someone else’s?

In this passage, we see just a little taste of the bigger picture God sees. He knows we each only can see from our own eyes, from our own perspective. But He gives us this glimpse at the whole puzzle. We, the puzzle pieces, get to look at the front of the box for a moment. God says we each have our own roles. Our own gifts, talents and purpose that He has designed especially for us. And just like pieces of a puzzle, we wouldn’t really fit in any other spot. Not without damaging the bigger picture, and likely damaging ourselves and the surrounding pieces in the long run.

Read verse 10.

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.” NASB

We are to show preference to the other person – not ourselves – and not vie for position. Let them have their place in the puzzle, and accept our own; where God has placed us. It goes back to trust again.

I’d like to conclude with this thought from verses 6-8. Please re-read those verses again. Repeat is good, don’t you think? I know you’ve just read the same passage multiple times, but for me, it never gets old.

DO: If you write in your Bible, circle or underline the action commands.

Romans 12:6-8 “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” NLT emphasis mine

What do you see? I see a body of Christ doing what they should be doing. Living out that plan God has for them. And what more beautiful plan could there be? What more beautiful will of God for your life could you imagine?

Q: Which gift do you best see yourself in?

Q: Do you feel that’s the one God has given you, or is it the one you wish you had?

Q: Do you strive to live out the gift that God has given you? Why or why not?

In your prayer time, spend some time thanking God for your gift(s) – the one(s) he planned and designed especially for you. Pray also for His help to live out the gift(s) the way He intended.

You’re beautiful, sweet sister. And so is your gift.

Acceptance – 8

Accepting God’s plan for our lives is sometimes the hardest thing we would ever do. The hard part might be trusting that the way God has planned your best is the way you would like your life to take shape. Trusting Him. That can be tough.

The flip side of the difficulty comes in letting go. Not able to see the whole way and yet handing over control. All the while maintaining a right attitude toward God.

Tough. But we were never called to go it alone. God promises to be our help. Multiple times in the Bible He promises this – a few of my favorites include Psalm 46:1 and Hebrews 4:16.

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” NASB

Hebrews 4:16 “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” NLT

Please read our text: Romans 12:1-21, 13:1-2, Daniel 2:21, Job 12:9-16

We will go through it bit by bit, and will likely take a few sessions to go over it all.

Let’s zoom in on Romans 12:1.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” NKJV

Don’t you think that’s a great starting point? It gives me shivers a little. But hits home on the basis and foundation of what our attitude should be. A sacrifice. No longer do our ‘rights’ matter; our rights, selfish goals, desires and plans surrendered and no longer our own.

And before you get a little haughty, read the last line of verse 1 again.

It is our reasonable service.

Think of it this way: when you buy a product, let’s just say for our example a coffeemaker. When it does its function – that is, to make coffee – do we offer laud and praise to the coffeemaker? Do we marvel at it for having made our favorite brew? Likely not. Unless you’re just really enthusiastic in the morning, you just expect the coffeemaker to do its job. It is its reasonable service.

Now, don’t get me wrong – we are more highly valued and more dearly loved than the coffeemaker, but do you get the idea?

That. That is reasonable service. To be a living, willing sacrifice; a tool in God’ hands to be used for what He created us for. And He has created you with a specific purpose in mind.

Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created.” KJ21

We were created for His pleasure. For His pleasure! The God of the universe wanted us for His pleasure. And the number one way to please Him is to trust Him.

Hebrews 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” NLT

So we’re back at that ol’ ‘trust’ word again. Why does it always come to that? Wouldn’t it be easier if we could just keep control and let God handle bigger matters? See that’s the thing. Those bigger matters all affect God’s precious children, and as His precious children, He wants us to let Him handle everything.

Continue reading in Romans 12, and look at verse 2.

Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” NLT

Q: Does God want us to stay the same?

Q: When will we learn to know God’s will for us?

Yes, by turning over control. I never put these two concepts together before! I love it when God reveals truths from His sweet word.

I would like you to look at the text from Romans 13 and from Daniel.

Daniel 2:21 “He controls the course of world events;    he removes kings and sets up other kings.He gives wisdom to the wise    and knowledge to the scholars.” NLT

So, are you like me in the fact that it’s so hard to trust why we live in the time when we’re living sometimes? When it seems like the world leaders, or leaders that are in power over our country were brought to power somehow apart from God’s will? I think things like that make it hard to trust Him sometimes. But these verses are a valuable reminder that you, even in the time you are living, are still in God’s plan. He planned for you to live in the specific time you are living, and He allowed, yes even appointed the current rulers, knowing full well what their actions and decisions would be. This doesn’t make your obedience and trust any less important. In fact, quite the opposite. I believe God would love your trust and obedience, and honor it especially when you don’t understand. Abraham (See Genesis 22 for the full story) trusted God even when it surely broke his heart, and he certainly didn’t understand. And he was called the friend of God.

We will pick up again next time with more on this topic, but for now, I’d like for you to pray and meditate on how surrendered you are to His will. A truly no matter what surrender. If God prompts your heart that you need to surrender more, then ask Him for help. He will help you!

Acceptance - 4 Dealing with Rejection

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” NASB

It’s bound to happen. If it hasn’t plagued you for a portion or all of your life already, trust me, it will happen sooner or later. Someone is going to reject you.

There are a variety of grounds they may choose to reject you on – anything from your faith, your personality, something that transpired between you, or for no seeming reason whatsoever. It’s going to happen.

Please read our texts: Romans 8:1-18, John 15:18-21, John 16:32-33 These are going to be our base texts for the next couple sessions, so you might want to find a bookmark.

Rejection hurts. There’s no way around that. It just really hurts.

Q: In your journal, please list some people who have rejected you. Do your best to contain your emotions for now. Let’s look at this as objectively as we can; we’ll deal with emotions in a minute.

DO: Now take your list, and categorize those people (as best as you can, for only our Heavenly Father truly knows the hearts of them) into two categories: believers and non-believers.

Though rejection from both categories certainly hurts, I can tell you that for me personally, rejection by other believers is far harder to deal with. Over the next couple days we are going to look at both. In some ways we deal with them the very same way. But there can be a bit different approach between them at times too.

I’d love for you to realize one very important thing.

Jesus suffered rejection every bit as much as you, and then some. And He remained sinless through it all.

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” NIV

I find it interesting that in NASB the word for empathize is written as sympathize. The meaning is rather a dual one; the Greek word is sympatheō, and it carries meaning of both sympathy and compassion. The King James Version uses the word “touched” (source). In any and all of these, we know the very important truth that Christ also suffered like us, and He is understanding, compassionate and sympathetic toward our situation. He does know what you’re going through. It would be immature and childlike for us to declare to Him “you don’t understand” or “nobody understands me”. He does. Completely.

Please look again at our text in John 16, specifically verse 33:

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” NASB

We are promised trouble. This life was never meant to be easy. Christ knew the pain we would face, and that’s part of why He came here to overcome it. To conquer it on our behalf.

So how do we handle it when a believer rejects us? This person is supposed to be on our side, are they not? Yes. And they are, technically speaking. They just may not be doing what they should be doing.

What? May not be? How about ‘they are certainly in the wrong’! I am hurt here, and they are to blame!

Did I catch you? Is that what you’re thinking? I would be if I was you.
But here’s why I can’t draw a blanket conclusion that they are in the wrong. Sometimes, I believe God moves people apart for a very specific reason. If both parties are Christians, then I’d say the odds are even more in favor of this. Here’s why. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He alone can see the bigger picture. He alone knows the steps that must be taken to shape and mold His children in the best way possible. If that means separating two of His children for a period of time, then that’s the way it must be.

Are any of you parents? You know, then, certainly, that at times you need to intervene and separate your children – for their good. Is this making any better sense when I put it that way? Can you relate?

At other times, when you are rejected by another Christian, it may be that they are not walking in obedience to God. They, just like anyone, yourself included, are still human. They are still capable of failing. I’m not here to excuse anyone, believe me. I am here, though, to let you know that you’re not responsible for them. You’re just simply not. You are responsible for you, and nobody else.

Romans 14:12 “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” NASB emphasis mine

Look again at Hebrews 4:15. Check out behind the scenes on the word tempted:

peirazōto try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himselfto test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgmentsinflict evils upon one in order to prove his character and the steadfastness of his faithsource 

Sometimes, as hard as it is to swallow, God may be allowing rejection in your life so that your faith is strengthened. So that you learn that He alone is your constant. He alone is the one who you should put your faith and confidence in.

Psalm 71:1 “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame.” NKJV

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” NASB

I’d like for you to look again at our text in John 15 before we close. I have two admonitions for you.

1) Don’t take it personal.

In verse 18, Jesus says any rejection you receive is actually directed at Him. You are His child.

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” NASB

Which brings me to my second admonition:

2) Remember He will help you through it.

Every day might be a struggle. It may not become resolved this side of Heaven. But know that He’s got your back. And your heart. And He’s sent you help. See John 15:26. That Helper is referred to in other passages as our Comforter. And in this case, they’re One in the same.

In your prayer time, ask for that help. Now’s the time to unleash your emotions – tell it all to Him, He can handle it, and it brings Him such joy to hear you tell it to him, even if it brings searing pain or rips open a wound you were trying to ignore. Have God help you through it. He’s no stranger to rejection, and he does know what you’re going through. He’s been there. 

Set Free 11 - On Surrendering Control

Text: Matthew 6:25-24, Matthew 7:7-11

It’s so so difficult to surrender control to God. Of anything; decisions, outcome, relationships, circumstance… you name it.

So, what does the Bible have to say on the matter? We know God loves humility, and we know He rewards those who seek Him.

James 4:6b “…“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” NLT

Also seen in Proverbs 3:34 and 1 Peter 5:5

Hebrews 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” NLT emphasis mine

But when it gets down to the day-to-day, the nitty gritty of a situation, our emotions get in the way, and then our humanness prevents us from actually surrendering control.

Anybody like me in that? It’s a whole lot easier to know we need to give it over to God, and say we’re giving it over to God… even pray that we’re giving it over to God than it is to really hand it over. Really, truly rest in God’s decisions on the matter, rest in His outcome.

It’s a trust issue. When we want control over a situation, or person, or whatever, what our heart is saying is “God, I don’t really trust that you’ll do what’s best here.” Or even “God, I love him more than you do, so I’m gonna do this my way, to make sure this turns out right.”

How many times must God sigh and watch us in this foolishness. We are foolish sometimes. Of course God loves us and our loved ones more than we will ever be able to comprehend. And of course God’s wisdom far surpasses our own. Always. But why do we still want to hold on so tight?
It’s lack of trust. That maybe somehow God’s gonna mess it up.

Am I right?

Q: What are some areas in your life you have had trouble giving over to God?

Q: What are the biggest ones right now that you’re holding the tightest to?

Don’t you think it’d be more refreshing to just let God work? I’m not saying we sit and be spiritual couch potatoes, but really think about God, the God of no limits, and the God with the ultimate imagination – how much greater He could orchestrate an outcome than we could?

Romans 11:33 “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” NLT

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” NASB

And from our text:

Matthew 7:11 “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?” NLT

Practically, though, what does that mean for our day to day?

Good question. This is one that I believe many of us who have control-freak tendencies would like to know. (I like to phrase it that way, ‘tendencies’, because I believe if we label ourselves a Control-Freak, part of us inside gives up on that ever changing, and nothing is too hard for God, amen? If it’s labeled as a tendency, then its no less a redeemable sin than anything else we’re redeemed from.) We like to have a plan of action, a checklist to follow.

Good news, bad news. I’ll break the bad news first. There is not a checklist to follow. Every person is different, all situations are different, so every believer’s plan of action looks a little different.

Ready for the good news? Any plan of action can be summed up the same.

Trust.

I want you to take a few minutes today and take a really close look at God’s creation. I mean, close-up. If you have the opportunity to get nose-to-nose with a flower, take a look at the intricate detail, the great beauty that God planned, implemented, and sustained.

Q: Do you think God is involved in those steps of your life? (Planning, implementation, and sustaining.)

Q: Why or why not? explain

If you answered no, then I’d like to politely ask you to reconsider. I know God has planned for you to be you, in the specific time, family, era and everything on purpose. He implemented the course of action needed to get you where He wants you today, in spite of, and even through our choices as a free-will creature. This is where I have to refer back to Romans 11:33, because if I think too long and hard on our free-will compared to God’s will, and how the two are interlaced and play off of each other, I get confused. I have such a finite mind, and this is just one more way that I realize God’s ways are greater than mine, and I must stop there. You?

And He definitely sustains us. If you haven’t already, please read our text from Matthew 6.

I had never really applied this passage to being a control-freak before, but it fits so well. Because at the root of all control tendencies is a lack of trust. We, for whatever reason, don’t absolutely, from the core of our being, trust God’s best. We either don’t trust that His ‘best’ is really that great, or we don’t trust that He will come through. Either way it’s a lack of trust.

So, as with almost all trust-relationships, trust must be learned. I encourage you to study God. Take a look at His ultimate plan from the beginning, and how, rocky road though it may have been, He sustained the way for Christ to be born.

Miracle.

He created the world.

Miracle.

He created you.

Miracle.

Do you see what I’m getting at? Study His miracles. Look over your shoulder at where He’s brought you, and how you’re stronger for it.

Do you see wounds there when you look back? Certainly. I’m sure that’s probably a lot of the reason it’s hard to trust Him. But can you try to see the bigger picture? And if you can’t see the bigger picture, maybe He’s still working – have you thought of that? That maybe you’re still in the middle of the picture, and it won’t be until later you’ll see the outcome?

Can you trust Him? Can you trust that He is indeed Good, and Wise, and most of all,

He’s got this!

Let’s close with Psalm 100:5.

Psalm 100:5 “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

All generations, including yours. He is good. And He always will be.

Trust Him, and little by little, you’ll learn to let go.

The Resurrection and the Life

I just really like Jesus. I do love Him, but I really am starting to like Him too. Taking a look at His personality and presence while He was physically present on earth.

So much mystery and so much simple transparency all wrapped up together. He speaks like a poet one minute and like a teacher of children the next, putting everything plain and simple.

In the end of John 10 (Jn 10:22-24) Jesus plainly claims diety. But in many other passages, Jesus is more subtle and used the name God used for Himself “I AM” (Exodus 3:14) Whenever Jesus used ‘I Am’ He was not only saying what He was saying (I am the Vine; I am the Door, etc), but He was also saying, “I am God.”

Our text today is John 11. Please read it now and I’ll wait.

See what I mean about how Jesus talks? I noticed it again in verses 11-14. Praise Him for not criticizing our feeble understanding, Amen?

Our key verses are 25-26

John 11:25-26 “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

(Why don’t you fill in your name in place of Martha’s?)

There’s that ‘I Am’ statement again. Don’t you love it? I don’t know about you but I’m glad Jesus is God. Otherwise I think there’d be a lingering doubt that the Sacrifice really wasn’t good enough.

Let’s back up a bit and look at the passage from the beginning. Lazarus was sick and they sent to Jesus for help. His plan was not their plan.

See verse 33. I don’t like the NLT for this one, where it says “a deep anger welled up within him”. Let’s look at either the AMP version, or the NASB

John 11:33b “…He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [He chafed in spirit and sighed and was disturbed.]” AMP John 11:33b “…He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.” NASB

I don’t believe Jesus was angry as much as vexed or grief stricken. It grieved Him to see them hurting. I can’t believe Christ was really grieved about the loss of Lazarus, because He knew they’d be together again. Maybe Christ was grieved because just because of death itself – because sin had entered the perfect, God-filled creation. That was never how God had intended for it to be. What a scorching reminder. (I encourage you to share your thoughts on this in the comments. This is just my opinion. What do you think?)

What a man of emotion.

John 11:35 “Then Jesus wept.” NLT

And in His weeping, they recognized His love for Lazarus. That love He holds for each of us.

Death hurts.

Separation hurts.

And it was never part of God’s ideal world.

But we messed it up and as a fallen world, death comes with it.

Praise Jesus that He is Life, and that with Him there is no real death. Just transfer from one life (temporal, earthly) to the next – our eternal, painless one in Heaven.

If God doesn’t like death either, then why did He allow it? The answer is all over our passage – note these verses:

John 11:4b “…it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” NLT

(Note: He is claiming deity again, and claiming glory.  He, Christ, must be recognized as God.)

And verses 40-42; before Lazarus was even raised. Jesus prays His thanks, praising God out loud for testimony, and again to claim sonship. Notice His prayer before Lazarus walks out.

John 11:40-42 “Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” NLT

It worked. People believed, and God got the glory.

John 11:45 “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.” NLT

 Now can you see God’s plan in this death? Lazarus’s sisters Mary and Martha, and likely many others there, did not understand why Jesus didn’t come sooner. (See verse 32) But those who believed because of this occurrence wouldn’t have believed otherwise. He does always know best, praise Him.

Let’s take a real quick look before we close at verses 46-57. Because of this act, Jesus became a wanted man. Not for lawlessness, but really for God-ness. The Pharisees did not want to believe His deity, and so sought to kill Him.

Christ, being God, saw everything – so He knew this was to come, did He not?

But did that stop Him? No way.

He trusted in the Father’s plan; He knew this was best. God’s work is always worth the risk.

Always.

In summary I’d like to add one thought.

“I am the resurrection and the life” – Lazarus wasn’t the only life restored that day. Because really, in our sin, we are already dead, so salvation is a form of resurrection, yes?

I love that He doesn’t say, “I give resurrection and life,” or even that “I will resurrect from the dead.” Rather, it is so much a part of His nature that He says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

He is.

Praise Him.

In your prayer time, spend some time thanking Him for what may seem like an unanswered prayer. He may just have a better answer waiting. And thank Him that He is Resurrection, and that He is Life.

Death is not forever. God has a purpose in allowing His children hurt, suffering, loss, and yes even death.

Trust Him, dear ones.

This post is in memory of my friend, a dear sister in Christ who God brought home 6 months ago today, seemingly before her time. God does have a purpose, and may we recognize and bless Him for that.

We will see you again soon.