Enough

Overwhelmed as I prepare for distance learning

Am I good enough to do this?

What’s making you ask that question, “Am I good enough” right now?

Can you be the teacher for distance learning? Can you survive this economic hardship?

It isn’t just about the daily practicals either.

Many are afraid to come to church because they no they are not good enough.

Most people are afraid to lead a small group, discuss spiritual things and sometimes walk into a church

How can you become good enough so others will listen to you. How can you can help others?

What happens when people hear me talking like this is something my wife tried to do for me with distance learning.

Encouragement. Or is it flattery? You can …

I said, I don’t know what I am going to do on Monday ...

If you ever lost, If you ever failed, If you ever not succeeded, If you ever done something so bad you still have shame than you know sometimes you are not good enough

Take a fearless inventory.

We do when we are called upon to do something hard, or something we don’t want to do.

We do when we are scared.

We do when we have something important and we have never done it before.

We do when we try to lead others and others are judging us.

Especially those of you who have committed your life to Jesus, you are a follower of Jesus, you followed him with Baptism telling all you believe in Him, you are a Christian.

Do the fearless inventory.

God has something to say to you.

1 Corinthians 1:26 The Message

26 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families.

When the challenges come, these spiritual challenges of your practical life, and you no that you don’t matter much.

God looks upon you with full realization of what you are and are not. How athletic you are and how much you’ve lost. How much you used to be able to remember. How much you don’t know. How many times you’ve failed to be the person He desires you to be, which we call sin and says,

“Perfect, I choose you,” God says.

I know you, I choose you.

You screwed up a lot. You have hurt yourself and many others. You are not the best or the top.

God says, I know. I choose you. I want you.

1 Corinthians 1:27–28 CSB

27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

God chooses you!

I don’t know if you ever picked teams in school but I imagine you did and to be picked by someone, not just be the last.

When you get hired, or when you someone unrelated says they love you,

God knows more than all and says, you don’t fool me, I still pick you.

You don’t automatically pick God.

What happens in our life when we try to get ourselves chosen by others?

A lot of our lives we spend trying to impress, when others, show awesome we are.

Not many people walk in to the club or the interview saying I sure hope this person isn’t that beautiful or awesome. I hope they don’t know much about working. I hope that I get bored while I talk to them.

No, we all try to impress and yet know we don’t measure up because others will move the measurement.

For example, people are more likely to listen to someone who is attractive, but look at the standards for women being attractive through the centuries.

The Beautiful woman (delete and replace with slide show)

No woman could be all of these.

Politicians who were admired by millions, find themselves destroyed by the people today and I can promise you that the politicians of today will be made to be villains in the future, because the spiritual forces of this present darkness which will exist until the Lord returns will always trick us into thinking we can be good enough and then remind us that we never will be.

So then people become afraid they can’t measure up to what God needs from them so they just stop trying or not even attempt.

Do you see people giving up. Do you see people ignoring this truth until they need something more powerful than themselves and then wonder if God will deliver?

Follower of Jesus God has something to say to you. He chose you and His standard isn’t moving.

2 Corinthians 12:9 CSB

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Sufficiency means enough. All that you need. Full. Equipped. Empowered. Capable. His Grace + You, in your weakness = all that is needed.

I can teach autistic students who barely look at a person when they are in the classroom much less a computer screen because this is what God called me to do.

I can preach with a lisp and without the greatest skill because this is what God called me to do.

I can be a father who loves my children and raises them up in the Lord even though I am screw up so many times because this is what God called me to do.

If God called me to do it - I can

You can. You can no matter your past do what God has called you to do.

You can love others no matter your age.

If God has laid it on your heart, You CAN!

The author of this part of the Bible, the person called on by God to write it down, was one of the most influential followers of Jesus ever, Paul. And people said about him,

2 Corinthians 10:10 CSB

10 For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing.”

Isn’t that awesome.

They guy who God used to tell everyone for the entire world about how to follow Jesus in our daily lives, the guy who God used to change the world was boring to listen to and was maybe ugly, scrawny, not that great to look at.

Why does all this matter? Because it’s about how and what we put our faith in.

When it’s all on you,

people think they can’t be good and aren’t worthy of what happens in good people’s lives

life becomes about fooling other people into not seeing our real selves

You can’t be honest with yourself because than others will see you don’t matter

Anger, resentment, depression over things you aren’t or don’t have

Procrastination and Self-Sabotage as I fear that I won’t be perfect enough, good enough which become insurmountable barriers

But God says,

2 Corinthians 12:9 CSB

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

My friends and I too often have preached, worked, lived life worried about what I thought others thought. What i viewed should be success. But know We can

Start unafraid fail because the results are Gods

Start because the only one I’m trying to impress is God

Ask for help and reach out and work with others because I know my worth isn’t based on what I can do.

Be Honest about my failings because God is and will change me.

God has blessed me with freedom during a mediation on this verse.

My Grace is sufficient

God is enough.

2 Corinthians 12:10 The Message

10 Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

If We have faith in God and doing what we need to be doing than we are doing good enough for whatever great thing God wants to do.

Depression is decreasing

Anxiety is decreasing

Deliverance is increasing

Love for others is increasing because there success doesn’t affect my worth

But God doesn’t give this to everyone.

His Sufficient Grace is available for you but you must accept Him into your life.

See when God chooses you, you are called to respond. (examples of people choosing and no response)

Pray with Me

Boast in the Lord Call Me