Your God is Bigger
King Hezekiah gathered the people in the city square and said, “Don’t be afraid of this mighty army. For there is a power far greater on our side. The enemy may have an army, but they are just men. We have the Lord our God to fight our battle for us.”
Love Yourself
February 8, 2024
Nobody should think better of you than you do.
Do you realize that the most important relationship that you have is with you?
Do you realize that the most important relationship you have with any human being is with you? You spend more time with you than anybody else. You live with you, work with you, and even vacation with you!
That becomes a real problem if you don’t like yourself. Too many people don’t like who they are. They focus on their faults and weaknesses. They’re constantly kicking themselves. And then they wonder why they’re not happy!
The other big problem is: If you don’t get along with you, you’re not going to get along with other people.
Jesus told us this: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Mark 12:31)
You can’t love others if you don’t first love yourself.
And, so, the best thing you can do for neighbor … the best thing you can do for your family … the best thing you can do for your friends is …
- Be good to you.
- Be kind to you.
- Be merciful to you.
- Be forgiving to you.
- Be loving to you.
You’re good to others, so why aren’t you good to you?
- You don’t criticize your friend, so why are you criticizing you?
- You compliment your coworker, when was the last time you complimented you?
- Start being good to you.
Someone once said, “I discovered the enemy. It was me.”
Are you your own worst enemy? It’s time to be your own best friend.
Stay positive toward yourself. Nobody should think better of you than you do.
What is the Bible?
The Bible isn’t a book; it’s a library.
The Bible is …
- A collection of 66 different books
- Written in three languages
- Across three continents
- Over a 1,500-year time period
- By 40 different authors
The authors include farmers and fishermen, shepherds and doctors, priests and prophets, philosophers and kings.
What is it? It’s actually a collection of poems and prophesies, letters and laws, histories and biographies that shows us God’s love for us.
And to understand the context of what you’re reading, when you open up the Bible, you’re always going to ask three questions …
Three Simple Questions
- Who wrote it?
- To whom was it written?
- What is its purpose?
So, let’s practice this together. We’ll open up the Bible to Philemon, and we’ll try to get the context as we go. Philemon starts with these words …
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker … and to the church that meets in your home … (Philemon 1:1-2)
First of all: Who wrote it? Paul. It’s the shortest letter he ever wrote – only 335 words.
What’s interesting is that he identifies himself as “Paul, the prisoner.” He doesn’t say, “Paul the apostle.” Almost every other time, he says, “Paul the apostle.” But here he writing to an old friend. And he doesn’t want to pull his official rank on his friend.
And the leads to our second question: To whom was it written? It was written to Philemon, a wealthy businessman who led a church in his home, and was an old dear friend of Paul.
• “What is God saying to me?”
• Is there a PROMISE to be claimed?
• Is there an EXAMPLE to follow?
• Is there a COMMAND to obey?
• Is there something to KNOW about God?
Obedience
the outcome is God’s.
What’s Your Plan?
I wonder how many of you would say, just real honestly now, there’s some part of your life that you wish wasn’t in this chapter. You want something different. You want something better. You want something more. It could be something for you; it could be something for someone you love. But you’re asking God for a better chapter.
Father, I pray that even though we can’t see You now, we thank You that You are here – that You’re even with us in the chapters that we don’t understand. So, help us trust You.
And, Father, help us do our part – to create a plan and work hard. But, Father, ultimately, we know that we depend on You. Thank You for Your providence in our life. You’re so good to us. Thank You for the new chapter that You’re writing in our life.
Thank You, Father, especially for your plan to save us and bring us home to heaven. You sent Jesus to die for us. That’s your plan. You sent Jesus to defeat death. That’s Your plan. And I want to thank You for letting me be a part of it. Thank You that there is a chapter of my life that is called “Heaven.” And there is a chapter of my life that is called “Victory.” And there is a chapter of my life that is called “Glory.”
Thank You, Jesus, I pray this in Your Name. Amen.
One Decision
More to Our God
Facing Your “What Ifs”
Facing the “What Ifs”
Acknowledge your fear and choose to trust God.
Whatever it is, acknowledge it honestly and make an intentional choice to trust the God of the universe. I’m not saying: Bury your head in the sand; ignore it; nothing bad will ever happen to you. What I am saying is: Whatever your fear is, do whatever you can do that is within your power to effectively minimize the risk. Then, with every ounce of faith you have inside you, trust God for the things that are outside of your control.
Let me say this clearly: Do what you can do to minimize the risk. Then, trust God for the things that only God can do, the things that are outside of your control. I will give you an example in Scripture …
Remember David who fought Goliath? When David was just a young shepherd boy, he was chosen to be the next king of Israel. It’s not a big shocker that this did not sit well with the current king sitting on the throne, King Saul. Saul felt very threatened by this young up-and-comer, David. Saul gave the order: “I want you to hunt down David and kill him!” So David spent month after month hiding out in the hills, running for his life. How did he overcome the fear?
He said, “When I am afraid … In other words, sometimes it’s just too much for me. And you can say that, too. “When I’m afraid about losing my job or losing my house, when I’m afraid of what the future might hold …” David said, “I will trust in You.” “I choose to trust that You are in control of all the things that are out of my control.
David said, “In God, whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.” (Psalm 56:3-4) Just say, “God, here’s what I’m afraid of, but I choose to trust You no matter what. In God I trust; I will not be afraid!”
Champion
Rise Above It
One time Jesus was asleep on a small boat when suddenly a big storm came up. The winds were fierce and the waves were pounding the boat. The disciples got all upset. They said, “Jesus, wake up! We’re about to die!” Jesus got up and simply spoke to the storm. He said, “Peace, be still.” Instantly, the wind was quiet and the Sea of Galilee became as smooth as glass. Now, the reason Jesus was able to remain calm in that situation was because He had peace inside Himself. In other words, He was in the storm, but He didn’t let the storm get into Him. You can be in the storm, but don’t let the storm get into you.
Peace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is not the absence of conflict. You can have trouble and conflict all around you on the outside, yet have real peace on the inside. Yes, you can be in the storm, but don’t let the storm get into you!
Somebody may be rude to you on the phone. You may want to jump down their throat. Instead say, “No, I’m not going to allow this to upset me. I’ve got a gentle spirit. I’m cool, calm, and confident.”
Or perhaps your boss doesn’t give you the credit you deserve. You didn’t get the big promotion you were hoping for. Say something like, “That’s okay. I know God is in control. I know God has something better in store for me.”
Maybe you say, “Well, Jeff, I’m upset because this man walked out of our relationship. It was wrong. It was just so unfair. I want to call him up and let him have a piece of my mind.” No, if you’ll keep your gentle spirit, God will bring somebody better into your life. He’ll take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it around and use it to your advantage. But you’ve got to do your part and stay calm and confident. Don’t live upset and worried and frustrated.”
You can be like the Apostle Paul. Paul experienced all kinds of heartache. People did unfair things to him, others lied about him. But he said, “In spite of all these things, we are more than conquerors.” That’s the kind of attitude that we need to have. Don’t just use your faith to get rid of your problems. Use your faith to remain calm in the midst of your problems. Say it again: