The Partially Surrendered Life
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WE BELIEVE IN GOD BUT DON’T TRUST HIM FULLY
WE BELIEVE IN GOD BUT DON’T TRUST HIM FULLY
Week One - We believe in God but don’t KNOW Him
Week Two - We Believe in God but Don’t Fear Him
Week Three - We Believe in God but Don’t Want to Go Overboard
This Week - We Believe in God but Don’t Trust Him Fully.
How many of you Like to be in control?
How many of you Like to be in control?
Raise you hands… If you are wanting to raise the person’s hands next to you… you are that person. We all want to hold onto some area of our life… right?
We all like to be in Control. You folks are a bunch of control freaks… ie:
And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him.
They did not trust or obey him. We do the same thing. We don’t trust and obey him when we felt his leading in an area of our life… moral… business etc.
The Problems is that We Live a Partially Surrendered Life
The Problems is that We Live a Partially Surrendered Life
We like to be in control. The Remote… Keys to my car
The problem with being a control freak is that it bleeds into our spiritual life. There are some things that are easy fo rus to totally trust God with, but there are other things that are difficult if not impossible to fully trust God with.
Trust in the Lord with some of your heart, lean on your own understanding, in some of your ways, acknowledge him, and you can make your own paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (LWC)
Trust in the Lord with some of your heart, lean on your own understanding, in some of your ways, acknowledge him, and you can make your own paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (LWC)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
How much are we supposed to trust in the Lord? With all of our heart! Unfortunately, too often we live our lives like the LWC Version instead of the actual Bible.
We often Say, God, I’ll Give You Some Things, but I’m not going to Give You Everything.
We often Say, God, I’ll Give You Some Things, but I’m not going to Give You Everything.
This defines most of us at some point in our lives. We say, “Ill give you some things, but not this thing. I’ll give you Sunday morning but not Friday Night.
Here’s the thing...
God Has a Purpose for You and You will Never Fully Experience it if You’re Holding Back
God Has a Purpose for You and You will Never Fully Experience it if You’re Holding Back
If you hold anything back from the Lord, you will hit a brick wall in your faith journey.
ILL - God I Believe that you listen to prayers but I am not convinced you hear mine. I believe you are a God of Grace, but I don’t feel forgiven. I’ll trust you with my salvation, but I have to guide my children...
I believe you God, but I can’t trust you with everything.
Blondon
Peter getting out of the boat
When we see stuff like that, we go, No Way I’m getting out of the boat. I would love to walk on water, but I am not getting out of the boat. God, I’ll trust you with somethings but not everything.
Story of a dad who brings his son to the disciples to have a demon thrown out but they could not do it. So they come to Jesus and say
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.”
Jesus, excuse me, did you say IF I can? I spoke the world into existence and you ask me if… Then Jesus says, Anything is Possible for one who believes.
“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!”
I love this because my faith is imperfect… flawed… lacking and so is yours. Right here Jesus gives us permission to believe and at the same time to ask him to help us with our unbelief.
Let me ask you… be honest....
Is there Something you are holding back?
Is there Something you are holding back?
Write this down.
I don’t fully Trust God with
I don’t fully Trust God with
Some it’s easy… kids… their present and their future / fear of bad things happening / money / Addiction - you think you can handle it… / I trust you God, but I just can’t release it to you...
Write it down. Honesty will bring freedom. Jesus saids The truth will set you free. That’s what God wants in your life… for you to have freedom. But too many of us are stuck in our created prisons holding back things from God, that to be honest, he already knows.
NOW, be honest with God and someone else about what you wrote down.
How do we develop a complete trust in the Lord?
How do we develop a complete trust in the Lord?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Trust in the Lord… How Much? With all of your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Trust him with every struggle… job, neighborhood, hobbies, kids… Seek his will in EVERYTHING you do.
Seek His Will in all You Do.
Seek His Will in all You Do.
Some Translations say submit or acknowledge. You seek His will or submit to his will in everything… kids… spouse.... job… your money… your relationships… your thoughts… IN EVERYTHING!!!
He says if we will seek his will in everything, HE will show us the path to take.
Seek - yada: coming to know and submit by observing, reflection and experiencing.
Seek - yada: coming to know and submit by observing, reflection and experiencing.
IOW, in everything… all of your ways… everything in your life come to know His will and submit to it. Then He will show you what path to take.
This Word YADA means to know experientially or intimately. Not Academic; it’s experiential knowledge that based on the context of relationship.
To YADA God is to say I know God… I trust God… I know God’s Grace… I trust God more than I trust myself. When I know Him like that he takes all the bad decisions in my life and makes them straight.
Here’s something funny.
We Want God to PROVE Himself so We Can TRUST Him.
We Want God to PROVE Himself so We Can TRUST Him.
Heres what we often do.... “God, if you will just help me land this promotion or this account, then I can serve you. Then I can know you're kind of with me.”
“Okay, God, I'm thinking about tithing but I got to know that I'm going to win the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes the moment I write my first tithe. If I know that that's going to happen, then I can trust you.”
I want you to prove yourself so that then I can trust you. It's not even trust. It's not. In fact, there's nothing in the Bible that actually says this is the way God works. In fact, everything in scripture says this is not how God works.
What does God want?
God Wants Us to TRUST Him so He Can PROVE Himself.
God Wants Us to TRUST Him so He Can PROVE Himself.
This takes faith.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
It’s the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. It makes us certain of what we cannot see.
You have to believe in what you cannot prove so that it releases God to do what you cannot do.
You have to believe in what you cannot prove so that it releases God to do what you cannot do.
You believe in what you cannot see so that God can do the supernatural. We trust in faith and then God responds miraculously. Faith ALWAYS comes first. It is impossible to please God without FAITH. Faith always comes first.
Impala in Africa - Impala roams the savanna and woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. It can run a great speeds and jump 10 feet in the air. It usually jumps over anything in it’s path. But the Impala can be held in captivity by a solid 3 foot tall wall.
How? Because the instincts of the Impala keep it from jumping over anything that it cannot first see where it will land.
Many of us are that way with God. Unless we know exactly how it will turn out, we will not make a move. We will stay locked in our strongholds of depression, anger, resentment, … but we won’t make a move because we don’t know the end product.
God, if I confess this sin, do you promise to let my marriage remain intact… Or God, if I forgive this person, I want to know that they will be sorry for what they did....
It doesn’t work that way. If you know Him, you will trust him with everything. You will be able to step out in faith. If you know God (YADA ) then you don’t have to see where your feet are going to land.
Here’s the challenge. Whatever you wrote a little bit ago, in the next 48 hours, I want you to release it to the Lord. The minute you do that, you’re going to discover three things about God. Write these down. You will
1. Get to Know The Goodness of God
1. Get to Know The Goodness of God
You have to get to know the goodness of the Lord. he is good and only wants good things in your life.
2. Get to Know the Love of God
2. Get to Know the Love of God
You have to get to know the Love of God… that it’s unconditional and everlasting. It never stops.
3. Get to know the Faithfulness of God
3. Get to know the Faithfulness of God
Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
You have to get to know the goodness of the Lord. he is good and only wants good things in your life. You have to get to know the Love of God… that it’s unconditional and everlasting. It never stops. You get to know the faithfulness of God that goes from generation to generation. It’s not just about us, but those who follow us for generations.
His faithfulness continues for generations when I step out in faith and I believe Him…
The Key to Killing that Un-Believing Spirit in all of us is Thanksgiving and Praise.
The Key to Killing that Un-Believing Spirit in all of us is Thanksgiving and Praise.
We are his sheep. He is our shepherd.
In the OT there was one time when the sheep would enter the city through the gages… to be sacrificed. We are to enter the gates with praise and thanksgiving… doesn’t sound pleasant. When we become a follower of Jesus, we are to give our lives as a Living Sacrifice. That means every part of you is HIS… no exceptions.
When you Yada or Know God that way, you will become a living sacrifice to him and you will know the goodness, the love and the faithfulness of God. That’s why we can enter the gates with thanksgiving and praise.
Whatever you have a hard time Letting go Of, You can trust him more than you can trust yourself.