I am fairly certain, that many of you who have children, have probably seen the movie "The Santa
Clause." In the movie, Tim Allen, after causing Santa to fall off of his roof and
die, becomes the new Santa Claus. Tim’s ex-wife, Laura and her
new husband, Neil Miller, both confess that they no longer believe in Santa Claus. And
they tell the story of when it was in their lives that they stopped believing in him
and what caused it. It was when Christmas wishes that they had made of Santa
were denied or went unfulfilled. Laura had requested a Mystery Date game, and the step-dad
had requested an Oscar Meyer Weenie Whistle. However, when they didn’t get what they wanted,
their response was to simply close themselves off to the reality of Santa
Claus.I believe, this is true of some "Christians," responding to God, in that same way, when they don’t get
what they pray for. One of the most notable examples, is cable television mogul, Ted Turner, who was certainly one of
the most vocal voices criticizing Christianity, even calling Christianity "a religion for losers."
Turner said that he had a strict
Christian upbringing. At one point in his life, he even considered becoming a missionary. The Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted him as saying
that he was saved seven or eight times in his life. However, Turner said that he
became disenchanted with Christianity, when despite his prayers that she
would get well, his sister died.
Let's bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We first want to thank You for this rich, incredible portion of Your Word. Lord, we pray that through the power of Your Word, Your Holy Spirit, You would open up our hearts and our minds, grant us the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed for deeper clarity and understanding the message You have for us. Help us to be faithful, not only to You but the work You have for us until You return. May we be encouraged by the profound truth revealed and help us to be accountable to apply and uphold it.
Lord, we confess that we often attempt to avoid suffering, the deepest pain of life, even though, that is the very point at which we
learn the greatest and most valuable lessons. It is in times of great despair, confusion and pain, sorrow and suffering, questioning and anxiety
that Your face becomes the most clear to us, because it drives us to draw closer to You. When we are facing our greatest difficulties, our biggest struggles, our most painful experiences, when we have exhausted our resources, in our destitution, it accomplishes Your purpose, in our weakness, we turn to You.
Thank You, for picking up the broken pieces of our lives, making us whole through Christ, that our witness might be effective, in the ministry to others. May it all be for Your glory.
In Christ's name
Amen
Today's Message: God, Are You Still There?
In our ongoing study of the II book of Corinthians, we come to the twelfth chapter. A portion of Scripture, that I believe, is so rich, and so wonderfully powerful, which unfolds the purpose of God in our pain. I also believe that this marvelous text before us today, may very well be, the most emotionally charged passage Paul had ever written, as it illustrates to us, so clearly, what God is determining to accomplish in our suffering.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read, to get it settled in our minds, preparing out hearts for what the Holy Spirit wants to teach us today. II Corinthians 12:1-10.
"Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I
know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do
not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was
caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me. Because
of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to
keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a
messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore
I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with
persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak,
then I am strong."
As true Christians, we have come to know and understand, that receiving a "no" from God, is not exclusive, it's not just limited to those who are living "sinful lives." Regardless of how spiritual, how faithful you may be, there are going to be times that God's answer to your prayers, is "No!" It doesn’t matter how much you have
sacrificed or endured for the cause of Christ.
There are a number of examples of this in scripture, including the apostle Paul. He had endured a
lot, in fact, more than most. In our previous lesson, Paul listed some of the sufferings that he had endured. It doesn’t
matter either how much you have accomplished for the cause of Christ.
There will be times that it feels like God has turned a deaf ear to your
prayer requests. Again, Paul is an example of one who had accomplished a great
deal for God. He started many new churches, written down portions
of the Bible, and trained young pastors and missionaries. However, even for Paul, there were times that heaven was silent.
If it could happen to Paul, it
will certainly happen to you and I. The question is, how are you going to respond when it
happens in your life? How are you going to make it through?
Scripture teaches, contrary to what many are being taught in the modern church, man is born unto trouble. Jesus Himself said, "In the world, you will have
trouble." It's just part of life, it doesn't matter whether you’re rich or poor, you can rest assured, sooner or later, you will have
trouble. That’s just the way it is. We are fallen creatures, and we live
in a fallen world.
There are many different kinds of "trouble," financial trouble, domestic and marital trouble, emotional trouble, physical and health trouble. Since the beginning, has mankind dealt a horrendous, near fatal blow.
Beloved, I would like to encourage you, with several Christ honoring responses that you can make a part of your
life when you face one of those times when God says "No" or is silent to your
heart-felt desire.
Many people tend to ignore their problems, as if they will somehow just "go away," some even refusing to acknowledge their existence. Others may look upon their problems, as a "punishment from God," to be endured. And, believe it or not, there are those who "wage a war" on God. This, for many obvious reasons, is by far, the worst possible choice, this is a battle one can never win!
In James 1:2-4, James teaches "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Therefore, trials are as a gift from God, "given to me." I know for some of you, this might sound more than a little unorthodox, but just bear with me. In the natural, we resent the suffering, and we resent the pain, because it isn’t pleasant, that is, until we truly understand what God is accomplishing in us by it. A gift to be received, acceptance is the issue, the point of prayer is to
get God’s will accomplished on earth not man’s will accomplished in
heaven.
So, where do gifts come from? Gifts come from people who know you. And the best ones, come from people who love you. No one could ever love you more, than God!
Lest I remind you the words of John 3:16? "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." However, the deepest pain of life is inflicted by those for whom we care the most about. Don't take my word for it, just ask any married couple..
I invite you to pause for a moment, and think about some of the surpassing great revelations that God has given
to you. Think back to the book of Psalms. Reading as the writers struggled
with their own questions about unanswered prayer and a God that seemed to be so
far away. Hear them complain over at time when
they most needed to see God’s face, that His face seemed to be hidden from view. Then feel the building anticipation leading to the crescendo, as they experience confidence in the promises of God, that will
never change no matter how our world may be changing all around us.
The first reaction that many people have, when God doesn’t come through
for them, is that they give up on God or they give up on prayer. And
that’s before they ever get to the point of pleading. They may have hinted,
suggested, possibly even asked, but if you were to ask them, they haven’t pleaded!
It may very well be
that God is just waiting until you are flat on your face before Him
laying it all on the line, humbling yourself in His presence, before His eyes before He
will give you the answer to your prayer. Scripture teaches us, in James 4:6, "But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
I've had some point out, that the apostle Paul, "But Paul did quit praying!" Of course, they were referring to the thorn in Paul's side. Continue praying to God, as Paul did, "three times I pleaded." Paul’s prayer was persistent and it was passionate.
When Paul talked about praying 3 times, that doesn’t mean that he
casually prayed over this need 3 times and then quit. It doesn’t mean
that he added an addendum at the end of his breakfast, lunch, and dinner
prayers: "Thanks for this food, God. And oh yeah, if you would please take away this problem that I’ve got." No, Paul pleaded
with God! The word that is translated "parakalei" is the same word that is
used to describe the way that Jairus asked for the healing of his
daughter who was dying in Mark 5:23. It was how a leper sought cleansing
from his leprosy in Mark: 1:40.Once Paul received the answer from God, "My grace is sufficient," he never brought it up again.
P.U.S.H. – Pray Until Something Happens. Don’t give up praying until
something happens either to change your situation or to change you!
In Psalm 66:17-20, the Psalmist wrote, "I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me."
Today, we are always "busy." We allow so many distractions to compete for our attention. There seems to be no time and no motivation to just sit down and listen.
Sometimes, the only time that we’re willing to listen to what God has to
say, the only way that He can get us to stay still long enough to get our
attention, is by knocking the breath out of us. He says, "Be still and
know that I am God." It may very well be that we have to be on our faces, in sorrow
and suffering before we are willing to listen. The Good News is, God is able to speak through
our tears. I would like to encourage each of you to take the time, to listen for His voice.
Also, don’t attempt to limit where the voice of God might be found. I'm sure you remember, I Kings 19:11-12, Elijah didn’t hear it
where he expected. He didn’t hear it in the great wind or the fire or
in the earthquake. He heard it in a gentle whisper – a still, small
voice.
God used a little boy by the name of Samuel to cause Eli to hear His
voice.
If you’re waiting for the miraculous for God to communicate His
message to you, you’re likely going to have a long wait. God uses everyday
occurrences to show us His desires.
In the middle of a crisis, you might hear all kinds of voices telling you
what you need to do. God may be saying something to you, however, in all the
confusion, you're unable to sort it out. You can’t understand God’s message.
One of the principles of biblical interpretation, or even a principle
of life, for that matter, is that you interpret difficult or unclear passages by
clear passages. As you face your struggle, you may feel like you need to
go a particular direction, yet you are unsure.
So, what should you do? Go
to the Bible! Judge what you are feeling by what has already been
revealed to you in the Bible. What God says to you in your spirit now will
never conflict with what God has already said in His Word.
Trust in God’s power, not your own.
Paul’s reason for even
asking God to take this problem away was because he thought that he
could be a more effective servant for God, He could accomplish more for
God if God would just heal him. It would make him more powerful.
However, I guess that’s part of the issue. God wanted Paul in a position
where he was forced to realize and remember that anything of any
substance that was accomplished was because of God’s power not because
of Paul’s own power. Paul was now in a vulnerable position, the temptation would have
been great for him to start to take credit for some of the things that
God had accomplished through his life. And Paul even recognized that the
reason that he was given this "thorn in the flesh" was to keep
him humble. He needed to remember that he was
not self-sufficient. He needed to be connected to God, the source of his power at all
times.
Right now, at this very moment, there are literally thousands of families all around the world who are desperately hurting, who are struggling financially, who are asking "How am I ever going to make it through this?"
There are some people struggling with physical conditions and limitations, that cause them to ask,
"How am I ever going to be
of use to God, to my family or to anyone else in the condition that I am
in? I can't even take care of myself!" Then, God whispers, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Beloved, there will be times in our lives, when God chooses not to use His power to alleviate the pain, the suffering, the struggles we face, and it is in those challenging times, we must continue to trust God, and His in God’s power to see us through the pain.
Paul teaches us in verse 10, a very powerful lesson, one I believe, we would all do well to learn. To paraphrase, "Serve God where you are, in the middle of your pain, your suffering, amidst the struggle, serve God!"
"Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."
Let's be honest, we all want God to change our situation, but did you ever stop to think that God
has put you in that situation, in order to use you for His purposes right in the middle of it? I would like to encourage all of you, to not ask God to change things until you have looked long and hard, for and found how you
can minister in it or be changed by the current circumstances that you're facing. I can assure you of one thing, God
doesn’t do anything without a reason.
We can be certain, that God will not grant every request made to Him. Nor will He remove every
pain. However, He will always be there, to gently wrap us in His loving arms around us, dry our tears and give us the strength and motivation to press on to live another
day.
Again, I ask, "How are you going to respond to God, when He chooses to be silent in the midst or your struggle? Or when His answer is "No?" Will you push Him away, or are you going to draw Him closer than
you ever have before and let Him wrap His loving arms around you? Many times God does in fact answer our prayer, giving us exactly what we have prayed for, however, that "yes" may not be easily understood this side of heaven.
It is my prayer today's message has brought you some clarity, some understanding, some comfort and peace to what may be a bewildering situation in your life. One of God's greatest gifts came wrapped up in a packaging, that was painful, filled of suffering and difficult to comprehend, for those who loved Him, even for those who knew Him best, His closest disciples. Yet, when it had come to pass, the world received the greatest gift it had ever known.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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