Conversations: Living Life Around God's Plan Redux
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A Quick Recap:
In the nation of Israel, God’s people, the Tabernacle of God’s Presence was in the center of the camp (Numbers 2)
On the East side the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon
On the West side the tribes of Ephraim, Mannasseh and Benjamin
On the North side the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali
On the South side the tribes of Rueben, Simeon and Gad
The Tabernacle of Meeting and the Testimony & the Ark of the Presence were the central point & focus of life for the nation of God & the people of God.
The way we live our life & the decisions we make is a matter of the perspective we have adopted.
(Relativity)
Everything looks very different when we are at the center of everything versus when life orbits around God as the center!
What puts us in the center of our world is our opinions & our desires & our “non-negotiables” with God
These are the areas that we cannot or will not be submitted to God’s will.
Ignatius of Loyola is known for something called the Prayer of Indifference
Ruth Haley Barton | Beyond Words
The prayer of indifference expresses the fact that we have come to a place where we want God’s will—nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. It means we want God’s will more than our own personal comfort or safety, more than ego-gratification or wanting to look good in the eyes of others, more than our own pleasure or preference, more than whatever it is we think we want. It is a state of wide openness to God in which we are free from undue attachments and have the capacity to relinquish whatever might keep us from choosing for God and for love in the world. It is a prayer in which we abandon ourselves to God.
A short, bold version of this heart-cry:
God, whether it is good for me, or bad for me, whether it blesses me or whether it takes from me, as long as it is YOUR WILL for me I’m okay with it.
Jesus said it this way, “
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The thing stopping this man from following Jesus was his perspective of how much he had to lose.
It would appear that this man didn’t believe that following Jesus would hold as much value as what he already possessed.
Can I ask you a BIG question:
What is stopping YOU from going All-in with God?
What is so precious that you are holding on so tightly to that God cannot/will not make it up?
It’s Gonna Cost Me:
It’s Gonna Cost Me:
Count The Costs: (Luke 14:28,29)
Count The Costs: (Luke 14:28,29)
Self (Mark 8:34)
Family (Luke 14:26-33) - Hate [G3404}= to Love less
Priorities (Matthew 6:33)
Lordship (1 Corinthians 19,20)
3404. μισέω misĕō, mis-eh´-o; from a prim. μῖσος misŏs (hatred); to detest (espec. to persecute); by extens. to love less:—hate (-ful).
There are Big Rewards:
There are Big Rewards:
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
622. ἀπόλλυμι apŏllumi, ap-ol´-loo-mee; from 575 and the base of 3639; to destroy fully (reflex. to perish, or lose), lit. or fig.:—destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Just One Thing:
Just One Thing:
Go all in with God and make Him the hub around which your life revolves!
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
What job doesn’t exist now but will exist in the future?
How does Ignatius of Loyola’s prayer of indifference hit in your life? Where are you with regards to this
Please read Luke 14:26-33 and share a little about how this passage might affect you, challenge you, offend you, etc. & (if you’re feeling brave) how you are currently responding to this passage.
What is holding you back from going All-In with God?