June 22, 2011

Concept # 2 - PERSPECTIVE NOT PANIC

“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?"   Psalm 77:7-13

One of the signs of discouragement is a loss of perspective. Things in your headlights look bigger than they actually are and objects in your rearview mirror look better than they were. Perception often does become your reality and when you are seeing life as overwhelming it becomes overwhelming. As life overwhelms you it crushes the hope out of you giving rise to discouragement.

Another sign of discouragement is the use of exaggerations - “Will the Lord reject FOREVER?” – In your calmer moments you know better than that. But pain or problems can cause you to panic and lose your perspective. “Will he NEVER show his favor again?” Seriously, you know better. “Has his unfailing love vanished FOREVER?” Really? Uh, no! I think you get my point.

When you hear yourself or someone else using exaggerations like this, especially in regard to God, you should recognize that as a sign of panic. It is evidence of discouragement and a loss of perspective. If you don’t make an intentional effort to address the panic and regain perspective it will become a downward spiral feeding on itself. Unless it is confronted and dealt with it will descend into depression.

Should you recognize this panic and loss of perspective and you realize you are discouraged but can’t shake it by yourself, call a friend or your pastor. Like Aseph in this Psalm, the best way out of panic is to get perspective back. See how he gets a hold on his distorted view of reality and focuses on God – "Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?"

Big problems are put back into perspective when you regain your focus on a BIGGER GOD! His power and His presence will help you get back your perspective. Once you have your perspective back your panic will ceases and you hope will begin to return.

I have had this happen to me. I know about panic – even panic attacks. Losing perspective and plunging into discouragement in no fun. Thankfully, each time I have been able to regain my perspective, remember the goodness of my God and reconnect with Him?

Maybe you have to. Maybe you have lost your perspective and are overcome with panic. Perhaps you are there now. If so, this message is for you. Let me remind you to stop focusing on your big problems and start remembering you have a bigger God!

June 21, 2011

This morning I want to begin an investigation into the causes and the cures of discouragement that are mentioned or implied here in Psalm 77.  I don't think you have to read this Psalm very far to conclude this guy is discouraged and maybe even depressed. Discouragement certainly can lead to depression if it is  not effectively dealt with.

Beginning with this post I will share six things that can lead to discouragement and six things that lead you out of it. To help you grasp these concepts I have put them into short and rhythmic statements.

Here is the first one and it is based on verses 1-7 - “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?"  Psalm 77:1-7

CONCEPT # 1 - DEVOTION NOT EMOTION

Emotions are a very important part of our relationship with God. It feels good to feel good about God. It feel good to feel that God feels good about you! It feels good to connect with God on a spiritual and emotional level.

Emotions are God-given and God ordained. He wired you emotionally so you are able to develop relationships with Him and with other people. Since He wants you to love Him He had to make you able to do that and emotions are how that happens.

But, for all that is good about emotions, they tend to be fragile and fickle easily affected by circumstances or surroundings. So, if you allow your emotions to lead your commitment to Christ, you will be subject to changes when your circumstances suddenly change. It follows then if you are led by emotions you will be more susceptible to discouragement.

That could well be what happened in this Psalm.

To avoid discouragement or to help you get beyond being discouraged, base your relationship to Christ on facts not on feelings - or, devotion over emotion. I am not saying that feelings are not important or powerful, I am just saying they are not a reliable foundation for faith.

In fact, you will find that when you build your faith upon your devotion to God and stand on the facts of God's Word, you will experience better emotions because feelings always follow faith! Make your decision to follow Christ regardless of how you feel and then be true to that decision no matter what your emotional state. That is what I mean by devotion over emotion.

Believe in this concept and live by it and I am sure you will be less prone to discouragement.

  

June 20, 2011

"I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint."  Psalm 77:1-3

This week begins the fourth week of my "Summer in the Psalms" series of messages. I will be camping out in Psalm 77 all week. This Psalm is timely and insightful because it shows how to battle discouragement.

Christians are not immune from discouragement and may, in fact, be prone to discouragement for several reasons:

1) We tend to care more than other people

2) We tend to care more about other people

3) We have intimate knowledge of a God Who has the power to "fix things" but sometimes doesn't

4) We are under constant attack from the Enemy who continually attempts to discourage  us

5) Faith is a journey that doesn't have clear mile markers and progress can be hard to measure

6) There is a constant dynamic tension between the work of grace God has accomplished in our lives and the awareness of how much more growth needs to happen - this "holy dissatisfaction" is necessary but hard to manage.

7) We are called to accomplish a task that is never completed and often overwhelming

8) We hold ourselves and our leaders to a high standard and therefore, are often disappointed

I could go on, but I think you get the picture!

Psalm 77 is a Psalm of Aseph. Who was Aspeh?

Aseph was one of the three musicians who worked for and with King David. He and his cohorts were responsible for developing inspiring worship to maintain the spiritual climate of God's nation and His people.

Sort of a big job, eh?

If Christians are prone to discouragement (and they are) how much more so for the "point people" who serve on the front lines of ministry?

Discouragement not properly handled will lead to despression. Over the seens I have seen many good and effective ministry people knocked out of the game by perpetual discouragement that morphed into depression.

Before I depress you with these thoughts, let me get to the good news! Aseph discovered how to work through discouragement before it became depression.

Read and meditate on Psalm 77 and see if you can find out how he did it. See what the Spirit says to you.

That is what I will be sharing throughout this week in my preparation for Sunday's message. But here's a hint - devotion has to trump emotion.

Be encouraged today!

June 19, 2011

“but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”  Psalm 1:2-3

TO BE BLESSED MAKE SURE YOU SPEND TIME IN GOD’S WORD


(1) Love the Word, V. 2

The word “delight” means to take great pleasure in. It has the idea of a consuming passion that controls your life. Everyone “delights” in something. Some people delight in food. Others delight in a job or a hobby or a career. Some delight in a particular friendship. Many people delight in money or the things money can buy. And many delight in evil pleasures and wrong desires. Mark this well. Your “delight” determines your direction. What do you delight in? What gets your motor running? What gets you excited in the morning and keeps you awake at night? What do you daydream about?

Tell me the answers to those questions and I’ll tell you something crucial about who you are. To delight is to be so excited about something that you just can’t wait. Watch a young couple in love and you’ll know what “delight” means. Or take a young man Who has fallen in love for the first time. Ask his friends and they’ll say, “He’s not the same guy he used to be. They mean he has radically changed. He doesn’t want to hang around with them anymore. All he does is talk about “that girl.” Just look at him. He’s got this goofy grin on his face. He’s in love. Now apply that principle to the Word of God. We are to delight in God’s Word as a lover delights in a letter from his beloved.

I guess the question to ask is – “Do you love God’s Word like that?”

And, it not, “Why not?” “What needs to happen? What needs to change?”
“How would your life be different if you did?”

(2) Live the Word

Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, describes meditation this way: "Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind...if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate". Warren goes on to say, "No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture…If you look up all the times God speaks about meditation in the Bible, you will amazed at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to reflect on His Word throughout the day"

The Hebrew word used for "meditate" can be literally interpreted “Chew your cud”  Meditate  means “a strong desire to understand God’s will in order to do it!

WHAT MADE JESUS SO UNIQUE AND POWERFUL WAS THAT HE LIVE OUT THE LAW OF GOD – AND HE WAS THE WORD!

God sets a high standard for us but that is because the stakes are high! Also, the satisfaction level is high for those who do – THEY GET THE BLESSINGS:

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water” - STABILITY

“which yields its fruit in its season” – PRODUCTIVITY

“and whose leaf does not wither” – LONGEVITY

“whatever they do prospers.” - PROSPERITY

Being blessed doesn't happen by accident. There are reasons why some people see God's blessing rain upon their lives and why others don't. I have touched on several of those reasons today and in some previous posts. Why would you want to miss out on the blessings of God when you can enjoy His goodness and His favor AND be a blessing to others?

Delight in His Word!

Meditate on His Word!

June 18, 2011

'Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers"  Psalm 1:1

If you want to be blessed by God you must find a place in God's will. This verse gives some insights on how to do that.

First, be careful who you believe - "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked ...."

It is hard to get good advice from bad people. You are not likely to get godly advice from and ungodly person. How can you get trustworthy counsel from a person you can't trust?

Before you believe something ask yourself, "What does the Bible say?"

Be careful who you listen to. Ask yourself, "What is their life like?"

What are you filling your mind with? Always ask, "Can God honor this?"

Second, be careful how you behave - "....or stand in the way that sinners take...."

The old saying is, "Birds of a feather flock together." You will be judged by the company you keep.

If you are committed to doing the right thing you will not want to spend time with the wrong people.

Are the people you spend the most time with lifting you up or are they pulling you down? Do they draw you closer to God or do they pull you away?

Sow a thought and you reap and act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

If the friends you spend the most time with can impact your destiny, what sort of friends should you choose? Are they exhibiting the sort of behavior God can bless? Are they helping or hindering your behavior?

Third, be careful who you have for buddys - "or sit in the company of mockers"

If you want God's blessing, why would you develop close friendships with people who God is not able to bless? Wouldn't you be better off finding friends who share your faith and your values?

The easiest thing in the world is to be negative, and cynical, and sarcastic. It doesn't take a spiritual giant to recognize problems, but it does take a person of faith and conviction to come with ideas to solve it. If you want to have a positive attitude and a positive perspective on life, why would you spend your time around cynical and negative people?

If you want to be blessed and delivered from the struggles with sin in your life, some things need to be done to help you live in God's will, and learn in God's Word, and love in God's way.

Get wise godly counsel so you will believe right. Get grounded in God's Word so you will behave right. Get godly friends who can encourage and edify you in your faith.

Who are you listening to?

What are you learning from?

Who are you hanging around with?

 

June 17, 2011

"Blessed is the one......."    Psalm 1:1a

Some men want success. Some want to impress. Some desire to possess. God wants to bless and He would love to bless you. When He blesses you it satifies all those other desires. Having God's blessing IS success for a believer. It is evidence that you HAVE impressed Him. And it allows you to possess all that comes with His favor.

Men who want success or who need to impress or who desire to impress are really looking for the same thing - happiness. Each is in pursuit of what he thinks will make him happy.

But the Psalmist assures that the blessing of God is the source of true happiness. The word used here for happiness has several implications and all of them are good - (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) - are accurate renderings of the word for "blessed".

Are you blessed?

A person who is blessed not only enjoys favor with God and all His benefits, but they also become a blessing to others. Those who live with or work with or worship with or hang out with a blessed person find that they are blessed by being with him.

Do you know someone like that? Is there someone like that in your life?

If so, thank God for them. If so, tell them how much you appreciate them. Learn from them.

Perhaps the bigger question is, "Are you that sort of person?" Do you know God's blessing on your life. Are others blessed because you are around them? Does God's blessing reside in you? Does His peace follow you? Does His presence follow you? Does His power flow through you?

Here's how:

"Blessed is one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,  but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers."  Psalm 1:1-3

Finding success may bless you but not many others. Impressing others will not bless them. Nothing you can possess will do much to bless.

Live for God's blessing. Live in God's blessing. Live to be a blessing.

June 16, 2011

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him."  I John 1:3


 

As you prepare to honor your father this Sunday, I want you to remember how powerful the love of a father can be. I want you to be reminded howmuch your Heavenly Father loves you. And I want to challenge fathers to love more like this - more like God.

http://youtu.be/rF7Bv9Rjl0E

Sunday I will be sharing some ideas to help our dads love better.

But for now, who do you need to love better?

How do you need to love better?

Is something keeping you from receiving the love of your Heavenly Father?


Will you receive the love of the Father?