Listen to God’s command to us in ...

...Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)  "You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:  Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” What would you guess would be one of the most common commands in the Scripture?

It is not for us to be loving even though that may go to the core of God’s desire for us. Those who write about our spiritual lives often point to pride as being the root of our human fallen-ness but God’s most common command does not tell us to avoid pride. Walking in integrity and keeping oneself pure sexually is so important to God but these are still not what God commands us the most about. The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other—God’s most repeated instruction is formulated really in two words “fear not.”

We must know based on God’s Word and in our hearts that God can be trusted even when we are afraid.   In Isaiah 43:1‑3 (NKJV) it says,  “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” John Ortberg says, “I believe the reason God says ‘fear not’ so often is that fear will sink us faster than anything else. Fear disrupts faith and becomes the biggest obstacle to trusting and obeying God. What is fear and what is the cost of living in fear? Fear will cost us our self-esteem. Fear will cost us a loss of destiny.  Fear will cost us a sense of real intimacy. Fear will cost us our availability to God. Fear gets passed from generation to generation. Fear is the opposite of trusting in God. Trust in Him with all your heart!

What do you do when you think your biggest problems...

... are behind you, only to find out you have just been warming up?  John Ortberg says “Reality sets in. We face the obstacles. Unexpected conflict saps our spirit. Plans go awry. People we were counting on let us down. The economy zigs when it should have zagged.  Just when we were hoping for easy portage and smooth sailing, we are looking at the Rocky Mountains. What happens next?”  What do you do when you face the Rockies and how do you have the resiliency to keep going?  When Lewis and Clark were making their famous trek across our country they faced many obstacles ...none bigger than when they thought they were almost done with their trip just to realize they were facing the Rocky Mountains.

This is where being resilient servants of God becomes our survival. There is a field of study in the social sciences who have devoted much time to this idea of resiliency. They studied prisoners of war, those held in captivity in concentration camps, those who have faced crippling accidents or diseases and they found this about resilient people:

1. Resilient people continually seek to reassert some command and control over their destiny rather than seeing themselves as passive victims.

2. Resilient people have a larger than usual capacity for what might be called moral courage–for refusing to betray their values.

3. Resilient People find purpose and meaning in their suffering.

We can add to this list as believers in Christ that: 

4. Resilient people have a deep dependency on God. What do we do when you really believe you have made it through the greatest trial of your life just to find out something bigger is in the way?  Joseph in the book of Genesis found himself looking at the Rocky Mountains several times...captured by his brothers, thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, accused of rape, forgotten in prison...it seemed that God had forsaken him and his dreams.  For about 22 years Joseph faced one mountain after the other but he was able to have a deep dependency on God and to be resilient...how?  When he would face another test or obstacle the Scriptures would always say, “And the Lord was with Joseph...”  How many of you know that we can be resilient and face anything if we know that God is with us.  God used Joseph to save the then known world...How awesome is that?

Today I want to speak to you about a great concern...

... I have for the body of Christ. In John 8:31‑36 (NKJV) it says “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” We talk about freedom, we sing about freedom, and we say we Live In Freedom Everyday but do we really?

As pastors we have to deal with multiple things every day and sometimes it is almost shocking the things people share with us...I said “almost” because it seems to be the norm. Church folks are addicted to prescription drugs, addicted to pornography, living together out of wedlock, and bound by so many strongholds in their lives and it seems that cannot find their freedom in Christ. Jesus in speaking to those Jews who believed in Him and was telling them that they could be free but they denied that they had ever been in bondage to anyone. Excuse me, but were they not in bondage through most of the Old Testament and as Jesus was speaking to them they were under the bondage of the Romans.

Here lies the problem, until we admit that we have given the devil access to an area of our lives and have allowed him to be our master, we will not be free. Pastor Rick, I cannot be in bondage because I am a believer!  I do believe that you are a believer but if we were all honest, we have all allowed the enemy to take us into bondage in one area or another in our lives. It may be pride, a critical spirit, sexual addictions, drugs, alcohol, watching junk we shouldn’t watch, or whatever. So what’s the answer? We must come to Christ and confess our sin (our bondage) and allow Him to set us free. That is His will that we all be free. John 10:10 (NKJV) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

There are many “catch phrases”...

... that circulate through Christendom...sometimes they have great meaning and other times not so much. One such phrase is, “It is not about me” but reality tells us that most of what we do is about us and it is for us. Max Lucado in his book with the same title as the phrase It Is Not About Me is attempting to help us see that whatever we do should be done for the glory of God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV) “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Whatever we do we should be doing for God’s glory but all too many times “me” gets in the way.

Lucado says, “Our society is not wired for this kind of thinking. It’s a “me-centric” world out there, which destroys much of what should be good. Marriages are ruined because one or both partners are focused on their own happiness. Successful men and women are ruined by their own success, believing they don’t need anyone else’s input. And for some, life’s troubles are magnified because they believe life is all about them.”  The Gospel of Jesus Christ seems to be completely backward to our self-centered lifestyle here in the United States of America. We are taught and are even conditioned to believe that we have the right or entitlement to have what we want when we want it.

I have said for years that God is not so much interested in our happiness as He is our holiness. He wants us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. This seems so difficult when we are so comfortable taking care of number one.  Lucado says, “Our comfort is not God’s priority. If it is, something has gone awry.  If we are the marquee event, how do we explain flat-earth challenges like death, disease, slumping economies, or rumbling earthquakes? If God exists to please us, then shouldn’t we always be pleased?” The truth is that God does not exist to make a big deal out of us but we should exist to make a big deal out of Him. It is not about you and for a certainty it is not about me, it is all about Him. Psalm 34:3 (NKJV) “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”