Trust God Not Fear - 4
Subject – Battling our Emotions When a Test Comes
by Rick Welborne
1 Peter 4:7-8 (NKJV)
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NKJV)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails…
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails…
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Mark Twain – If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and man.
--Let me give you this example about man’s best friend…I have heard married men and women say about their spouse…they are not only my husband or wife; they are my best friend.
--Let’s compare our spouses to our dogs…men, let’s say we lock our wives and our dog in the trunk of our car for, let’s say, an hour. Who do you think will be glad to see you when you open the trunk?
--The dog will still love you and be loyal to you, while your spouse may have you arrested or not speak to you for the next twenty years, if ever. Human beings struggle more to forgive than dogs do.
--It is obvious that the people we love the most are the ones who can hurt us the most deeply. Our goal is to learn to love people like we have never been hurt. Why is this necessary?
--As surely as you are listening to this message today you can count on the fact that someone is going to break your heart, someone is going to abandon you or leave you. You will be hurt.
--Someone is going to say something that is going to hurt you, someone is going to disappoint you, someone is going to let you down, lie to you, stab you in the back. Someone is going to reject you!
--There’s a really good chance that most of you listening to me today have been hurt and wounded like this. You may be remembering their face now.
--It may have been the mom or dad who walked out when you were a child, the spouse who cheated on you, the sibling who has not talked to you in 20 years, a child who rejected you and your God.
--The truth is, on some level, we all have given our love and our heart to someone who rejected it. We were wounded and felt betrayed. Now you feel the love supply is diminished. I can’t do that again.
--You don’t even know if it is possible for you to love like that again or you have made a conscious or unconscious decision not to put yourself out there again…the risks are too great.
--Let’s face it, any of us can love when everything is going well, when our politics agree, when our theology is the same, when our marriage or our church is in a honeymoon phase. No one lives there all the time.
Matthew 18:7 (NKJV)
7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
John 16:33 (NKJV)
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
--Getting hurt is a part of life…it is inevitable but it does not have to be the end of the story…the end of your story. God does not want us to be walking wounded or part of the walking dead club.
--God intended for us to be healed and whole. He intended for us to be able to love like we have never been hurt. Why? That is what He has done and we are made in His image.
Luke 23:33-36 (NKJV)
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
1. Stop probing the wounds.
Psalm 38:2-8 (NLT2)
2 Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.
2 Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.
--Listen to David anguishing over his foolish sins…he is wounded…his wounds are festered…he is in pain and he is filled with grief…he is almost to the point of dysfunction because he wouldn’t deal with his wounds.
--My whole life has been a story…Pastor Juan says I am a story teller…I hope he doesn’t mean like my parents did…you are not telling the truth! Of course, I have a story about wounds!
--When I worked at the Paper Mill in Bastrop, Louisiana, much to my distress, they put me on the paper machines which meant they needed someone with a strong back and could take heat…very hot!
--One night a roll of paper came off the machines that was defected…this was not paper for notebooks but thick ruff paper for making cardboard boxes. These rolls were about eight feet high.
--My boss (the third hand) told me to take my paper knife and as quickly as I could cut through that paper and let it fall into the opening in the floor which recycled the bad paper thru the machines. Yes, sir.
--We did not have half inch or one-inch-long blades on a fancy handle…the machine shop made these knives for us…four inches long with a water hose for a handle forced over the dull end of the blade. Sharp as razors.
--Each swipe of the blade you were cutting two to three inches of paper…being a manly man I wanted to show my boss and the other guys how fast I could work and how much paper I could cut at one time. I fell.
--On my way to the floor I was trying to get my hands out in front of me to catch myself…the razor sharp knife in my left hand cut my right thumb all the way from the wrist to the nail…ouch. You could see the bone!
--I went to the nurse…she said you definitely need stiches…lots of them but we cannot mess up our safety record so we will have to patch you up here…she put 6 – 7 butterfly bandages on me…right back to work.
--The dust, sweat, and nastiness of the paper mill kept the wound infected…went to the nurse several times…
Mom was a nurse…all of them were probing the wound trying to fix it…only got worse. Bad infection.
--I should have gone to the doctor and received stiches…I can fix this or it will get better over time. I almost lost my thumb it was so bad. So what’s your point, Pastor Rick.
--Instead of dealing with our hurts and wounds we keep probing them…we replay bad memories over and over again, we talk to anyone who will listen, we think of ways of getting even.
--We poke and prod at our gaping wounds and the infection gets so bad that we eventually get bitter. Jesus is waiting for us to come to Him to get free but we stubbornly keep going down this destructive path.
--This is not how God wants us to live, He wants to give us a new beginning, a new story, a fresh start. He wants to heal what has been broken. He wants to reconcile what has been torn apart.
Luke 4:18 (NKJV)
18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
Jensen Franklin – This is about understanding biblical forgiveness and reconciliation and establishing healthy boundaries. Love without limits is not about codependence or irrational thinking, and it is not an invitation to be used as a doormat or a whipping post.
--Biblical forgiveness is more about your spiritual health than it is about letting the other person off the hook. Forgiving them is about freeing you!
2. The bottom line is about healing relationships.
--Unfortunately, the body of Christ is full of parents who are estranged from their own children. Some of us, (myself included) have not spoken to family members for more than 20 years. Of course, not by my choice.
--Some grandchildren have never even met their grandparents. Some believers who were abused or misused when they were young still harbor hurt and resentment. This makes it hard to have good relationships now.
--Some (I will dare say many) in the church live with spouses, children, or parents where there is strife, anger, and continual hurt but no one will make the move toward reconciliation because of pride or bitterness.
--Some people have lost loved ones and now are too hurt to figure out how to love the ones that are left. The truth is, the only thing that will heal these relationships is love. Listen to the love chapter…relationships.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NLT2)
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
--One of the reasons your pastor reads these verses at weddings is because there is no place like marriage that tests your willingness to work on relationships. Marriage is tough but if you are willing to love…it will be ok!
--Love is such a powerful force. Paul is saying that we place these gifts of power over loving one another and having good relationships. Prophesying, having discernment, moving mountains without love will fail.
--I dare you to take the test…what test, Pastor Rick? Read 1 Cor. 13:4-7 (NLT2) in light of your home and in light of how much you love and see how you do. Many in the church can’t even get 50%...sad.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
3. What really matters most.
--When we choose to love God, love ourselves, and love others we can learn to love despite what happened to us way back then…what they did way back then…when we love we can heal generations of hurt.
2 Corinthians 5:18 (NKJV)
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
Franklin – It is never wrong to love, it is never out of order to love, you do not compromise when you love, you never lower your standards when you love.
--Do you remember what Jesus said when He was asked what is the greatest commandment?
Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)
37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
--What matters most is that we love like Jesus did…we love like we have never been hurt.
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