God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

Series:  Actually, That’s Not in the Bible #2

Matthew 5:3-10

³ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
      for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
 ⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
 ⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
      for they will inherit the whole earth.
 ⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
      for they will be satisfied.
 ⁷ God blesses those who are merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
 ⁸ God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
      for they will see God.
 ⁹ God blesses those who work for peace,
      for they will be called the children of God.
 ¹⁰ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
      for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

 God wants us to be strong but understand we are weak.

 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

 Dangers in self-confidence over God-confidence

1. Pride
2. Forget to depend on God
3. Discouragement and spiritual confusion

 God is against laziness…..

 ⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.  Learn from their ways and become wise!   ⁷ Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work.  Prov 6:6-7

God Confidence (Humility)

 1)    Don’t be too confident in my strengths.

 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses.  2 Cor 12:5 

 2)    Recognize my weaknesses. Give God credit.

 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, ⁷ even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 2 Cor 12:6-7

 3)    Be thankful for my weaknesses.

 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  2 Cor 12:8

 4)    Accept God’s power through my weakness.

 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Cor 12:9

 5)    Be content by serving God.

 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:10

 Benefits of God-Help over Self Help

 1)    God is always there to help.

 For when I am weak, then I am strong….vs. 10b

 2)    It keeps me humble.

 The LORD despises pride; be assured that the proud will be punished.  6 Unfailing love and faithfulness cover sin; evil is avoided by fear of the LORD.  Prov 16:5-6

 3)    I will value others.

 In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. 1 Cor12:22NLT

 4)    I can comfort others with God’s comfort.

 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Cor 1:4 NLT

It’s Hard to Go Forward  When You Keep Looking Back

 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Phil 3:12-14

 Focusing on the past holds you back now and weakens your hope for the future.

 What does it look like to focus on the past?

 1)     You dwell on resentments.

 2)     You hang on to regrets.

 3)    You struggle with remorse.

 4)    You settle for past successes.

 Turn Your Eyes Forward

 1)     Let God be the judge, jury and executioner.

 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Eph 4:31-32

 Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. Job 5:2

He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 1 Pet 2:23

 2)     Let grief make you stronger.

David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. ¹⁸ Then on the seventh day the child died. 2 Sam 12:16,18

 Look up instead of down….

 Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate. 2 Sam 12:20

 Accept what can’t be changed.

 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.” 2 Sam 12:23

 Keep moving forward through the pain.

 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child. 2 Sam 12:24

 3)     Don’t dwell on or repress your guilt.  Release it.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! ¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

 4)     Don’t settle on past successes.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31

Is the way we look at life nature or nurture?  Well it’s both, kind of.  Some of us are born with the tendency to lean positive and others negative. 

But ….. You are what you think …. Happy or sad…. Joyful, angry, fearful, courageous, full of faith or depressed by doubt.  Your mind controls your feelings and your actions.  You can change your attitude.  If you have been a negative person your whole life or you struggle with depression it will be harder for you than for others. 

But …. you can turn it around in your mind. 

The apostle Paul wrote, …let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Rom 12:2

David Jeremiah wrote in his book Turning Toward Joy a list of habitual thoughts or ways of looking at life that will guarantee unhappiness.

1.  Make little things bother you; don’t just let them, make them.
2. Lose your perspective of things, and keep it lost.  Don’t put first things first.
3. Get yourself a good worry–one about which you cannot do anything but worry.
4. Be a perfectionist: Condemn yourself and others for not achieving perfection.
5. Be right, always right, perfectly right all the time.  Be the only one who is right and be rigid about your rightness.
6. Don’t trust or believe people, or accept them at anything but their worst and weakest.  Be suspicious.  Impute ulterior motives to them.
7. Always compare yourself unfavorably to others, which is the guarantee of instant misery.
8. Take personally, with a chip on your shoulder, everything that happens to you that you don’t like.
9. Don’t give yourself wholeheartedly or enthusiastically to anyone or to anything.
10. Make unhappiness the aim of your life, instead of bracing for life’s barbs through a “bitter with the sweet” philosophy.

Do you see yourself on the list?  Just one of these habits will take you down the road of anxiety and depression.

So where do you start?  How do you change the way you think?  How do you renew your mind?

Paul also wrote: “No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:39 

Sounds like a good place to start.

Hope When You Feel Like Giving Up

Series: The Gifts of Advent

Watered Down Dictionary Def of Hope:  the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:  to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. to believe, desire, or trust:

King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.   ²⁶ No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises!  My body rests in hope.  Acts 2:25,26

 Living hope creates a condition of rest.

 ²⁷ For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.  ²⁸ You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’ Acts 2:27,28

 What is the opposite of hope?  Discouragment

 Living discouraged creates a condition of anxiety.

 Conditions of Life that Lead Toward Discouragement

 1)     Physical fatigue.

2)    Emotional Negativity

3)    Relational conflict or lacking connection

4)    Spiritually  dead or disconnection

 When You Feel Like Giving Up

 ¹ When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. ² So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”

 ³ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. ⁴ Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

 ⁵ Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. 1 Kings 19

 1)     Get physically fit.  Put action to beliefs.

 But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”

 ⁷ Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

 ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai,the mountain of God.

 2)     Get quiet and listen to God.

 ¹¹ “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

   And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 3)     Get together with other believers.

 ¹⁵ Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram.

 ¹⁸ Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Rom 5:3-5

Nov 22, 2011 - Bobby frying whole chicken

• November 27  —-  Hope When I Feel Like Giving Up
• December 4    —-  Love Is What I Need the Most
• December 11  —-  Joy When Life Is Hard
• December 18  —-  Peace When My World Is Closing In
• December 25  —-  Midnight Christmas Eve Service  11:30PM – 12:15AM

Important money perspective questions:

1. Where did it all go?
2. What did I spend it on?
3. What has been accomplished for eternity through the use of God’s stuff?

 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 1 Tim 6:18-19

 Why is it so important to God to teach us to be generous?

 Our natural obstacle to generosity is selfishness.

 Our stewardship of our money and possessions becomes the story of our lives. ~ Randy Alcorn

 Paul wrote: You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  Acts 20:35

 The Climb from Financial Stress to Financial Peace

The Generosity Ladder – Your Next Step to Financial Peace by Nelson Searcy

 1)     Basic Level Giving:  Return an initial gift to God in a way that is identifiable and accountable.

 Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem…2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.  1 Cor 16:1-2

2)     Obedience Level Giving:  Return the full tithe to God.

“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. ⁹ You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. ¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!   Mal 3:8-10

 What does a curse look like?  Fear and worry

 3)     Peak Level Giving:  become a generous giver

• Willingness to stretch yourself.
• Desire to be generous with others.
• A decision to use all you have to honor God.

Steps to Freedom From Debt

 1)     Decide and commit to put God first financially.

 2)     Put becoming debt free as priority.

 3)    Pay God and self first.

10% God – 10% – Debt – 80% Live on        —  10% God -  10% – Savings – 80% Live on

 4)     List all you owe and own

 5)     Sell Stuff

 6)    Have a repayment plan and share with creditors

 7)    Add no new debt

 8)    Stay committed and trust God

The way we see things is the source of the way we think and the way we act.  ~ Stephen Covey

 …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. Rom 12:2

 A Changed mind changes behavior and behavior reinforces mind.  (LEAP) Listen Engage Apply Produce

 Topic of money and possessions in Bible more than anything else…..  Why?

 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Tim 6:10

 If you are a Reborn Spiritual Being the Holy Spirit is convicting you to be generous. 

 What is holding you back?   Fear and love of money

 Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. Prov 22:7

 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Prov 21:5

 The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.  Ps 37:21

 We have to develop an “It’s all God’s” perspective.

 God created everything… Everything was created through him and for him… Col 1:16

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 1 Tim 6:18-19

 Important money perspective questions:

1. Where did it all go?
2. What did I spend it on?
3. What has been accomplished for eternity through the use of God’s stuff?

 We have to live open handed? (Whatever God Attitude)