"SIDE EFFECTS MAY OCCUR"
Start Here - Doing Hard Things Right Where You are • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Have you ever gotten a complement? (tell me about it) - How did it make you feel?
What things are you doing for God?
What things would you like to do for God?
Chapter 4: Side Effects May Occur: Handling the Changes That Come with Doing Hard Things
Doing hard things will bring challenges that you never expected. The good news is that God invites you to grow closer to Him as you deal with the effects of doing hard things. The changes you go through as a person are part of what God has called you to—and they’re part of doing hard things.
Briefly describe a time when you received affirmation for doing hard things. How did you respond? How did the affirmation make you feel?
What are some ways that rebelutionaries can use the attention they receive to glorify God? How does an accomplishment like Zac Sunderland’s bring glory to God?
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
The first type of pride is the temptation to take credit for the things God has done through us.
Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (p. 51). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.”
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works.
In his book David: Man of Prayer, Man of War, Walter Chantry has written one of the most helpful things we’ve read on this topic. Commenting on the verse “The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went” (2 Samuel 8:14), Chantry writes: All of David’s successful conquests are explained in this way: “The LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.” Again we discover that the history of David is not about what David did for God, but about what God did for David! The grace of God for man is too often turned into the idea that it is man who does heroic feats for God. Our humanistic dream is that we may do great things for God. We shall give our genius, our talents, and our strength to him.… Yet the theme of grace is what he does for us! Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (p. 52). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
The second type of pride is more difficult to fight: the pride of enjoying praise, expecting praise, and being disappointed when others don’t appreciate us the way we think they should. Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (p. 53). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
How have you struggled with pride as you’ve done hard things?
21 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.
I encourage you to consciously pursue humility and not allow Satan to get an inroad in your lives with the praise you will be receiving for this book. Deflect that praise to Christ, not to appear humble, but to be humble. You are chosen by God, and also targeted by Satan. Humble yourselves and God will lift you up. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Do not succumb to pride, realizing to do so is to put yourself under God’s opposition. Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (p. 51). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Like every gift from God, affirmation is something we can recognize and enjoy as long as we remember its source. Holocaust survivor and author Corrie ten Boom is quoted as saying, “When people come up and give me a compliment—’Corrie, that was a good talk,’ or ‘Corrie, you were so brave,’ I take each remark as if it were a flower. At the end of each day I lift up the bouquet of flowers I have gathered throughout the day and say, ‘Here you are, Lord, it is all yours.’” Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (p. 54). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
In this chapter busyness is defined as having a lot to do and fruitfulness as accomplishing something of eternal significance. How have you seen the difference between busyness and fruitfulness in your own life?
What changes could you make in your day (take today or yesterday, for example) that would give you more time to be fruitful rather than just busy?
If anyone has asked you for an interview about something hard you’ve done, how did that go? What can you do to prepare for that possibility in the future? Do you think doing interviews is something that will come easily for you? Why or why not?
Harris, Alex; Harris, Brett. Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (pp. 148-149). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
SO WHAT?
