Good morning CHURCH!

(Opening joke)

A priest buys a lawn mower at a yard sale. Back home, he pulls on the starter rope a few times with no results. He storms back to the yard sale and tells the previous owner, “I can’t get the mower to start!” “That’s because you have to curse to get it started,” says the man. “I’m a man of the cloth. I don’t even remember how to curse.” “You keep pulling on that rope, and it’ll come back to you.”

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Romans 8:37 for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Romans 8:37 ESV

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. “

I’m going to burst some of your religious balloons. There has been quite a bit of bad theology related to Romans 8:37.

We’ve heard that we can get anything physical that our fleshly heart desires by taking this passage and then mixing it with Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…etc.

This verse actually refers to the troubles they were facing as Christians being nothing new but always being the experience of God’s people.

Paul was most likely referring back to:

Psalm 44:22 ESV

Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. (At every moment of the day we face death.)

We are considered no better than sheep that are marked for slaughter.

Today’s message title is:

Navigating Challenging Relationships

(Some of this may be challenging for you to hear. We are speaking with compassion and sensitivity, but we need to help people where they’re at.)

There are some marriages and families that seem to be in more challenging situations than others.

For example: Blended families; Parents with a child that is physically or mentally challenged; marriages trying to recover from broken trust; marriages where one of the spouses has declining health or mobility etc.

Often being in these difficult situations turns husbands and wives against one another.

But Jesus said in:

Matthew 5:44-48 TPT

However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them. For that will reveal your identity as children of your heavenly Father. He is kind to all by bringing the sunrise to warm and rainfall to refresh whether a person does what is good or evil. What reward do you deserve if you only love the loveable? Don’t even the tax collectors do that? How are you any different from others if you limit your kindness only to your friends? Don’t even the ungodly do that? Since you are children of a perfect Father in heaven, become perfect like him.”

If we’re supposed to love our enemies like this, of course we should be loving our spouse like this.

Let’s get into it.

Point #1

What would God do?

First of all, let’s see if you really believe we should be godly or God-like, because if you don’t believe that, it doesn’t matter what God would do.

I thought about what God would do when I looked at the Book of Hosea.

Hosea 1:2-3 ESV

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Hosea 3:1-3 ESV

And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”

*Despite the fact they turned from me, I’ll go back for them.

*I will re-start our relationship.

*We will be exclusive in our love and devotion for one another.

Point #2

What would Jesus do?

Just as with God, I’ll ask the question, do we think we should be Christ like. Because it doesn’t matter what Christ would do in difficult situations if we don’t believe we should be like him.

I thought about the compassion that Jesus has for people in difficult situations. It could be difficult financially, physically or spiritually.

Luke 7:11-15 ESV

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

*Jesus saw her condition.

*Jesus had compassion for her.

*Jesus’ compassion caused him to do something to help her.

Point #3

What would a friend do?

Luke 5:17-19 ESV

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.

A friend would see your need and do something about it.

A friend wouldn’t let minor obstacles stand in the way.

A friend would kick down the door/roof to get you some help.

If a friend would do this, of course as one in marriage we should do this.

(Closing illustration)

Navigating A Challenging Relationship takes the skill of a tandem paddling kayaks.

To operate effectively the team needs to paddle in unison.

This allows the team to move faster and in the right direction.

If the team doesn’t paddle in unison, there paddles can end up clashing.

There is one paddler who is stronger than the other and they should sit in the rear so they can see the other paddlers pace and mirror it for unity.

If the weaker paddler gets tired the stronger paddler can always paddle alone and carry the team while the other rests.

Jesus is asking you to paddle in unison.

Navigate difficult relationships like you navigate difficult waves in a kayak.

If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?