Relying on God
Bible Reading - 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:13
Thank you for letting me have the opportunity to speak here again.
Can anyone remember what I spoke on last time?
Sermons-Not Remembered, But...
There was an article in a church paper entitled, "32,850 Sermons Later." It started off with a letter printed in the British Weekly from one of their English readers. The British letter went like this:
"Dear Sir,
'It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending a church quite regularly for the past 30 years, and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered that I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else?
"Sincerely...."
For weeks a real storm of editorial responses ensued. The uproar finally was ended by this letter:
"Dear Sir:
"I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals-mostly of my wife's cooking. Suddenly, I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I have received nourishment from every single one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them. I would have starved to death long ago.
"Sincerely...."
For those who weren’t here it was – commitment to serving and living for God
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Today it is about relying on God
Everything is so good and everything works out so well when we rely on God when doing things – so why do we not want to rely on Him all the time?
Relying on God is similar to how a child relies on their parents to provide food, clothes, safety, education, love, care, etc – We should rely on God like a child relies on a parent
We have several examples of people in the Bible who relied on God:
- Abraham - When God called him to be the father of that people out of which Christ was to be born, God said to him: “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be thou perfect.” And God trained Abraham to trust Him as the omnipotent One; and whether it was his going out to a land that he knew not, or his faith as a pilgrim midst the thousands of Canaanites - his faith said: This is my land - or whether it was his faith in waiting twenty-five years for a son in his old age, against all hope, or whether it was the raising up of Isaac from the dead on Mount Moriah when he was going to sacrifice him - Abraham believed God.
- Job – He kept on trusting and believing in God even after he lost family, cattle and more. (Job 42:2 - "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”)
- Paul – He kept relying on God through his times of persecution, being in prison, ridiculed, etc.
§ Acts 27:21-26 – Relying on God in faith
§ 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – Weakness made him to rely on God
I think we are like Peter who tried to walk on water – we can rely on God to a certain extent to do great things (walk on water) but then we see all the things that could go wrong (storm) and we lose focus and stop relying on him for the strength
We are like this “For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 2:21)
Or maybe we are not relying on God because we are too busy thinking that we know what we need to do for ourselves and others – selfish
We should be saying however, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13)
This does not however mean that we should do nothing at all. Exams – I could have not studied and relied on God to see how I would go….
God has provided us with abilities and resources, etc to use to live for Him in what we do, it doesn’t mean that we leave everything up to God (A child walks for themself and learns to go to the toilet by themselves as they grow older) so it is the same in that God teaches us how to do more things and then we can do them in His strength
We should do our best with what God has given us and leave Him with the rest
Jeremiah 17:5 - This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
Champion City example
- Changed the program at the start of the year – had over 100 local kids, we had excellent weather, we all survived with less sleep, etc
- Had a fun day event last Monday – had 54 kids, 14 Warrnambool leaders (including 2 grandparent aged leaders)
We did none of this on our own effort, God has provided us with the abilities, opportunities, kids, leaders, etc.
“Other than that (and most importantly), keep seeking God's face and
letting Him be the inspiration behind everything you do. After all,
our reliance on Him will be the deciding factor that determines how
this mission goes.”
God has also given us the armour of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13-17):
- Belt of truth
- Breastplate of righteousness
- Feet ready with peace
- Shield of faith
- Helmet of salvation
- Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
A lot of the time we don’t know why God is allowing something to happen but when we see it from hindsight we can see what he has taught us from it - “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
How can we rely on God?
Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7 – “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”).
- Jesus prayed to God for guidance and to determine His will
Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11 – “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”).
- Jesus relied on scripture to defeat Satan
Seek God Daily
Ben Jochai was teaching a group of students about the miracle of the manna when Israel was on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land.
One of the students asked, "Why didn't the Lord God furnish enough manna for Israel at one time to last the entire year?"
The teacher said, "I will answer you with a parable. Once there was a rich man who had a son to whom he promised an annual allowance. Every year on the same day, he would give his son the entire amount. After a while, it happened that the only time the father saw his son was on the day of the year when he was to receive his allowance. So the father changed his plan and only gave the son enough for the day. Then the next day the son would return for the allowance for the day. From then on, the father saw his son every day."
This is the way God dealt with Israel. It is the way God deals with us.
Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21 – “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”).
Depend on the Control Center
A beautiful illustration of our dependence on a solidly established base while we are moving at a distance, is the journey of Apollo 11 to the moon. A space station in Houston, Texas, was the seat of command. The three spacemen dared not disregard it as they circled around the moon and as two of them landed on its surface. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians that any work they undertake must be based on the firmness, the absoluteness, the dependability of the Lord Jesus Christ. He arose. He did what He said He was going to do. He told us that we shall rise. That is our control center. We can depend on it. We dare not disregard it. It is a matter of life and death.
As I was viewing this feat of man at the time Neil Armstrong was landing on the moon, I was impressed by the remark made by one news commentator, "These men cannot remain on the moon. They must follow instructions. They do not have only themselves to think of but also the entire project." Think of that, Christian, when you are tempted to act independently of the control center, Christ the Lord. You have not only yourself to think of, but also Christ and His Kingdom.
Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19 – “Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.”; John 15:8 – “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”; Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”).
Trust God for every detail of your life
(1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”; Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”).
Holy Spirit - allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17 – “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”; Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”)
We must hand control of our lives over to God to be in control of rather than us trying to still be in the driver’s seat. Luke 9:23-25 - Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Think back to when you first became a believer or when you saw someone change their life completely, what a difference Christ made in your/their life? Remember how excited and passionate you/they were about God?
I pray that God will renew the passion and excitement in your life because we should be passionate and excited because His Word is the Living Word and as Matthew 9:37-38 says “Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”.
Unfinished Sermon
"Is the sermon done?" asked one member of the congregation of another. "No, the preacher is done, but the sermon has to be worked out in our lives," replied the practical listener.
So by relying on God we can be committed to serving and living for God because we can do our best and leave God with the rest
