Overwhelmed Pt. 2 | 12.17.23

Overwhelmed December 17, 20023 Last week we started looking at Mark 9 and the story of a father who was completely overwhelmed by life's circumstances and we suggested that there is no problem Jesus cannot fix. Let's read again...and keep going...there's more to the story. (Mark 9:14-27) When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. What is all this arguing about? Jesus asked. One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it. Jesus said to them, You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me. So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. How long has this been happening?" Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, "Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can. What do you mean, If I can? Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak, he said. I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again! Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, He's dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. Introduction I've been serving Christ a long time. If you ask me to offer the one thing that seems to consistently trip Christians more than anything else I would say DISTRACTION. That was not perhaps what you thought I was going to say-but as I have pondered it in preparation for today, and I'm standing on that-perhaps the single biggest obstacle to you walking in the kind of relationship God wants for you is DISTRACTION and the enemy knows this and uses this weapon against you and I very effectively. When I speak of DISTRACTION, I'm talking about how our "God-perspective" gets distracted by the things the enemy tells us, shows us and uses to distort our vision of God, His promises and purposes. Before we get into this further, let me show you one example In John 20... Peter is talking one-to one with Jesus and when John walks by, Peter is distracted by something that has NOTHING to do with his life, or his calling but instead of a steadfast focus on what Jesus is saying to HIM, he's bothered to know what is going to happen to another disciple. I'm guessing if you think about it, you can identify several times when you got DISTRACTED by something that took your eyes and focus completely off of what God was saying or doing in your life. This is significant especially while we are looking at managing the many problems that come with life. It's easy to miss the God-view and embrace only what we can see or do... We must be more careful what we are looking at and what is influencing the way we live and believe. From time to time you must ask yourself - what am I looking at? Perhaps you're the feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances because of what you are SEEING! We mentioned last week that Jesus told us our life would be marked constantly by problems but that we can still have "peace" because HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD...here is the verse again. (John 16:33) I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. The perspective we use for our problems is important because problems are exaggerators. * Problems cause stress. * Problems cloud your judgment. * Problems can make everything seem worse than it really is. There's a military term here that fits-the fog of war. When you are in the heat of battle, you can sometimes get confused and not be able to see clearly the reality of what things are-then you are tempted to over-react. No matter how smart you are, how spiritually mature you think you are, it's hard to see clearly when you're in the middle of the fog with your problems. Sometimes the danger comes when you take a problem that is a level 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, and because you're in the fog, you end up making the wrong decision and that problem immediately becomes a level 10. You understand? Here are some examples: * You didn't get the promotion you thought you deserved. It's probably a level 4 problem, but for you, the world is coming to an end because you didn't get that promotion. So you go in...(in the fog), and you yell at your boss, and then that leads to your boss calling her boss, and then you have this disciplinary meeting, and now what was a level 4 problem is a level 9 problem. * Your girlfriend breaks up with you. That's probably a level 7 problem, and you think, "Life can't go on. I'm at the end. The world's going to end because she broke up with me." So you go out that night and get drunk. You get wasted. You hook up with a girl you just met, and she gets pregnant. What was a level 7 problem has now become a level 14 problem because your perspective is off! * Work is hard. You've been working a lot lately, and you're staying late and the stress is up, and now it's really beginning to weigh on you. This may be a level 5-6 problem, and you're stressed. You need to figure out something, so you decide to clear your schedule of things, and the first thing you cut is your time with God. You don't spend time praying with him. You decided, "Well, I'm not going to sign up for a growth group in January-I'm just too busy" or, "I'm not going to attend church regularly-I'll just catch it online later." When you do, you remove from your life the very things you need to give you strength to face the problems that you're facing. What was a level 5 problem automatically becomes a level 9 problem because you don't have God there to help you. This is why you are overwhelmed. So let's take a few minutes and readjust our perspective and how we SEE things... Start Seeing Problems As Part of Life's Journey * If you believe that a good life equals a problem-free life, you're going to be overwhelmed a lot o You're going to be disappointed. o You're going to think life isn't fair. o Maybe God has abandoned or forgotten you. o Maybe you did something wrong. o You weren't spiritual enough. * This perspective only adds to your confusion. o It might cause you to eventually walk away from God. * Problems are always part of your life's journey. o Jesus said it would happen. We all face them. o Instead of looking at them from a limited human perspective, and becoming overwhelmed or afraid or anxious or defeated or worried.. * REFRAME your problems to see them through the eyes of Jesus, He gives you the power to overcome everything! * Seeing your problems from God's perspective doesn't mean your problems will go away. * But it allows you to realize that you are not alone, God is with you even in the midst of your problem, and that there is always a way out. See Problems As Partially Incomprehensible * Today's math is a bit harder than you might remember... o In my day...7+3=10 o Today...3+3+3+1=10 o I still know the answer (outcome) but how you get there is the new problem for me. * When a problem hits--when a relationship goes sour--when an unexpected health issue happens--when someone you care about dies-when you can't find a job--you crazy trying to figure out o Why is this happening? o What is your purpose? o What is God's plan? o Did I do something wrong? o Is God mad at me? * It's frustrating when you can't see the full picture. * We must learn to accept some things that are just too big for us to understand. * Some things that we're never going to understand because we are not God. (Isaiah 55:8) My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. * You may never understand why you and your spouse can't get pregnant. * You may never understand why your dad walked out on your family. * You may never understand why that dream job has never really happened. * If you will put your faith in Jesus Christ, when you stand in God's presence, you will be able to see perfectly with God's perspective. (1 Corinthians 13:12) Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. See Problems As A Plan for Positive Change Let's be clear... * Cancer is bad. * Your broken heart is bad. * Abuse of any kind is bad. * A parent abandoning a child is bad. * A financial crisis, giving up on a dream, flunking out of school, those are all bad things. God Specializes In Bringing Good Out Of Bad Things! * God will take the problem and make it a catalyst for positive change in your life. o When problems come (and they will) you have to overcome fear, and you have to choose to grow. o You have to reframe every problem that you face in life as an opportunity for growth, as a chance for an incredible comeback. o You have to trust God, and you have to believe that he's got a path there for positive change in your life. (James 1:2-3) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. * The influence of PRIDE (I can handle things by myself)and SHAME (don't want people to know I'm broken). o Don't walk alone-trust others-this is why LifeGroups are going to be so important for LEC in 2024...you will be connected intentionally to others who are probably just like you. (Galatians 6:2) Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (Romans 8:28) Conclusion: Problems aren't fun! * God cares about your problem, but from his perspective, there's something far greater that's at work. * There's something bigger going on that you may not be able to see yet. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. What are we to do with this? 1. Ask God to open your eyes to see the things you cannot see without His help. 2. Accept that God is at work in our lives, even when it hurts, even when we don't understand. 3. Keep going and never give up. God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for our sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe Jesus will forgive my sins I choose Jesus