What would Jesus do... For that matter, if you are a parent, what would YOU do?
If you watch a parent, who enables his child by always picking him up when he falls, by always fixing things and making life easy for him... thus the child doesn't develop any problem solving skills or have to deal with any struggles that develop character, drive or motivation to do something in life.
Now the child is 28, a drug addict and the father has used up his retirement, lost businesses, family, family thinks he's crazy, because he is always trying to save his child. He is always pulling him out of bad situations and as you or I might say - enabling him.
One day the father can't find his son for 2 days and gets down on one knee and says:
God, take my life, not that of my 28 year old boy who has his whole life ahead of him.
As it turns out, through the help of the police, they used the cell phone signal to track down the son at yet another crack house. The police said if you don't straighten up, we're going to arrest you, the son responds that he just doesn't care anymore. The dad saves him yet again and takes him home to detox. He watches his son go through the pain of detox for 2-3 days and is in agony over the pain his son is experiencing.
Then it starts to get better. They go for a walk on a bright sunny day and the son comments how beautiful everything is. Then as they walk, girls begin approaching the young man (because he apparently is a hunk of a guy, very good looking) and the dad turns to the son and says son, this is what you're missing! There is so much more for you!
We look at it as enabling.
God stepped in for us and said, please take ME instead of them, SAVE THEM.
God loves us so much that he stepped in to save us. He wants to drag you out of your mess and make a message out of it. He doesn't condemn you, he loves you. The enemey wants to condemn you.
You'll do something tomorrow that is messed up and you'll condemn yourself for days or weeks... once you repent, God makes you right - RIGHT THEN - and moves forward to bless you. Don't waste your life letting the enemy believe you're not worth it - God says you are and HE stepped in to pay the price. Don't waste one day condemning yourself or feeling worthless. Repent, ask forgiveness, forgive yourself and let it go... God does - HE already paid for every dumb thing you're ever going to do.
We can't even begin to imagine how much God loves us, but the example of this father is a small sampling of what God wants to do for us. He doesn't just want to save us, he wants to bless us.
God doesn't just love you, he wants to spend time with you, he LIKES you, right where you're at, right now, just as you are.
You may have heard across the span of your life that "Jesus loves you"... everyone else might think you're a bonehead, but Jesus loves you... We can't comprehend how much he loves us.
God knows everything you've ever done and everything you're ever going to do. He also knows what you have the capacity to do and what you will do that will even surprise you. And in all of this, he loves you so very much. God knew you before you were born, he knows the number of hairs on your head.
If you're going through hell, don't stop, keep pressing on.
The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you... Deuteronomy 33:27
In Daniel 3:4-25 King Nebuchadnezzar throws 3 guys in a furnace to be burned because they won't deny God and bow down to his gods. They say fine, throw us in there "our God is able to deliver us from your hand". So they are bound and thrown in there.
(How many of us are bound by insecurity, finances, pornography and other issues?)
For context, understand they weren't likely excited or happy about this, they likely had some anxiety. Through deeper study you will find that the furnace was SO hot that the men who worked the door of the furnace died when they had to open it to throw those in who were being punished.
So King Nebuchadnezzar looks in and see's not only the 3 he condemned to death, but one more, who "looks like the son of God".
God saved these 3 men and joined them in the fire as they walked around just fine. God didn't feel the need to remove them from the fire immediately. They stayed in there awhile, just long enough for King Nebuchadnezzar to gain the testimony that the real living God saves and even joins us.
For no fire is too hot for God...He's already been to hell and back, got the keys and freed us all. We just have to choose Him.
Don't let the devil steal one more day from you, condemning you, choose "to dwell in the secret place of the Most High".
____________________________
99% of this is from Pastor David Cranks (@davidcrank on Twitter) finale sermon for the Catapult Series preached tonight 10 March 2012. www.faithchurchstlouis.com
If you watch a parent, who enables his child by always picking him up when he falls, by always fixing things and making life easy for him... thus the child doesn't develop any problem solving skills or have to deal with any struggles that develop character, drive or motivation to do something in life.
Now the child is 28, a drug addict and the father has used up his retirement, lost businesses, family, family thinks he's crazy, because he is always trying to save his child. He is always pulling him out of bad situations and as you or I might say - enabling him.
One day the father can't find his son for 2 days and gets down on one knee and says:
God, take my life, not that of my 28 year old boy who has his whole life ahead of him.
As it turns out, through the help of the police, they used the cell phone signal to track down the son at yet another crack house. The police said if you don't straighten up, we're going to arrest you, the son responds that he just doesn't care anymore. The dad saves him yet again and takes him home to detox. He watches his son go through the pain of detox for 2-3 days and is in agony over the pain his son is experiencing.
Then it starts to get better. They go for a walk on a bright sunny day and the son comments how beautiful everything is. Then as they walk, girls begin approaching the young man (because he apparently is a hunk of a guy, very good looking) and the dad turns to the son and says son, this is what you're missing! There is so much more for you!
We look at it as enabling.
God stepped in for us and said, please take ME instead of them, SAVE THEM.
God loves us so much that he stepped in to save us. He wants to drag you out of your mess and make a message out of it. He doesn't condemn you, he loves you. The enemey wants to condemn you.
You'll do something tomorrow that is messed up and you'll condemn yourself for days or weeks... once you repent, God makes you right - RIGHT THEN - and moves forward to bless you. Don't waste your life letting the enemy believe you're not worth it - God says you are and HE stepped in to pay the price. Don't waste one day condemning yourself or feeling worthless. Repent, ask forgiveness, forgive yourself and let it go... God does - HE already paid for every dumb thing you're ever going to do.
We can't even begin to imagine how much God loves us, but the example of this father is a small sampling of what God wants to do for us. He doesn't just want to save us, he wants to bless us.
God doesn't just love you, he wants to spend time with you, he LIKES you, right where you're at, right now, just as you are.
You may have heard across the span of your life that "Jesus loves you"... everyone else might think you're a bonehead, but Jesus loves you... We can't comprehend how much he loves us.
God knows everything you've ever done and everything you're ever going to do. He also knows what you have the capacity to do and what you will do that will even surprise you. And in all of this, he loves you so very much. God knew you before you were born, he knows the number of hairs on your head.
If you're going through hell, don't stop, keep pressing on.
The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you... Deuteronomy 33:27
In Daniel 3:4-25 King Nebuchadnezzar throws 3 guys in a furnace to be burned because they won't deny God and bow down to his gods. They say fine, throw us in there "our God is able to deliver us from your hand". So they are bound and thrown in there.
(How many of us are bound by insecurity, finances, pornography and other issues?)
For context, understand they weren't likely excited or happy about this, they likely had some anxiety. Through deeper study you will find that the furnace was SO hot that the men who worked the door of the furnace died when they had to open it to throw those in who were being punished.
So King Nebuchadnezzar looks in and see's not only the 3 he condemned to death, but one more, who "looks like the son of God".
God saved these 3 men and joined them in the fire as they walked around just fine. God didn't feel the need to remove them from the fire immediately. They stayed in there awhile, just long enough for King Nebuchadnezzar to gain the testimony that the real living God saves and even joins us.
For no fire is too hot for God...He's already been to hell and back, got the keys and freed us all. We just have to choose Him.
Don't let the devil steal one more day from you, condemning you, choose "to dwell in the secret place of the Most High".
____________________________
99% of this is from Pastor David Cranks (@davidcrank on Twitter) finale sermon for the Catapult Series preached tonight 10 March 2012. www.faithchurchstlouis.com
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