Transcript
Hey everybody. Welcome back with a session nine of our series tonight, where we’re talking in the theme of be odd. God is sufficient for any insufficiency. You may feel we’ve talked a lot about how all. Replaces our fears. And so now I’d like to think about the fear that is triggered by our insufficiencies.
We feel our insufficiencies all the time. Of course. Um, we, we reflected in statements like this. I can’t handle the pressure I’m under, I can’t face what I have to deal with. I can’t take the conflict. I can’t stand living with this person anymore. I can’t bear one more piece of bad news. All of your, I can’t make you feel afraid.
They are a trigger for fierce. If I could put them this way, I’ll take those five things. I just mentioned. I can’t handle the pressure. I’m under. Probably means I’m afraid. I’ll just explode with all of the things that are coming at me. It’s going to affect me physically, emotionally. I can’t face seeing my ex wife again, could carry the idea.
I’m afraid it will emotionally devastate me. I can’t take what I’m hearing on the news. Would be something like I’m afraid it will make me violently angry or I’m afraid of how I’ll respond. Uh, I’m afraid of being afraid as I listen to the news, I can’t stand living with this person might mean I am afraid.
I’ll hate myself or them in a, what I’ll do as a result. I can’t bear one more piece of bad news. I’m afraid it will send me into depression or anger or worry or despair for some even make me feel suicidal. Your insufficiencies are triggers for fear. So how does all help us? Overcome our insufficiencies and to deal with our insufficiencies.
And I’d say in two particular ways, because what OD does is all, first of all, helps us remember. Who we are, dr. Seuss tells this. And one of my favorite books it’s called, um, uh, Bartholomew Cubbins and his 500 hats. And early in the book, it portrays this young guy, Bartholomew Cubbins and he’s looking up and here’s the scene that dr.
Seuss presents. The kingdom of dead was ruled by King Derwin. His palace stood high on the adopt top of the mountain from his balcony. He looked down over the houses of all the subjects. First, over the spires of the Nobel mins castles across the broad roofs of the rich men’s mansions. Then over the little houses of the town spoke to the huts of the farmers far off in the fields.
It was a mighty view. And it made King Derwin feel mighty important far off in the fields on the edge of the cranberry bog stood the height of the Cubbins family from the small door. B’Tselem you looked across the huts of the farmers to the houses of the townsfolk, then to the rich men’s houses and the no women’s castles up to the great towering palace of the King.
It was exactly the same view that King Derwyn saw from his balcony, but Bartholomew saw it backward. It was a mighty, but it made Bartholomew Cubbins feel mighty small. Jennifer stellar, professor of psychology at the university of Toronto has studied the subject of all. And in her studies, she based. On her research, her research on the fact that she had studied 120 different countries and their understanding of the concept of all, she concluded that every culture has the concept of all even emojis, when they would show an emoji of someone with a, a wide-eyed with a mouth open expressing, just looking stunned.
Everybody recognized it in their culture as, as referring to this concept of awe. And as she studied on its impact on people, she came to the conclusion that the more a person experienced the sense of awe, the more they tended to have humility, awe shows us our smallness all reminds you about yourself.
That you were never designed to handle everything in your life. The bigger God becomes, the more, uh, central he becomes in it. As you look at life, the smaller you become and more, and honestly more realistically, look at life. Awe Tozer in his book. The knowledge of the Holy says it this way before he created everything, everything we know and billions of things beyond our capacity to know God was existing in completeness.
Man is a created being a derived and contingent self. Who of himself possesses nothing, but is dependent each moment for his existence upon the one who created him after his own likeness. A question sometimes raised in practical theology is, is our sense of dependence and need of God, a result of sin and a fairly quick examination of Genesis one through three.
The first three chapters of the Bible answers the question with the resounding no, in pre-fall Eden before man had, had entered into sin. Adam and Eve were created with need, even before the fateful plucking of the forbidden fruit, they depended on God for the breath in their lungs, the food in their bellies for water land and light as Jen Wilkin in her great book, none, unlike him says.
God created the meeting that in their need, they might turn to the source of all that is needful acknowledged their need and worship sanctification is the process of learning, increasing dependence, not autonomy that we were never designed to handle everything in our lives. We are designed to be people.
That are dependent on someone else. We are not created sufficient for the lot of our lives, but more than that, we find that the fall makes us even less capable of handling everything. In our lives. I mentioned Genesis one through three. Now I mentioned Romans one through three in that passage, it’s clear that we have, uh, been marred by sin and self-centeredness, and we find it much more difficult to meet the relational needs in people’s it relationship needs in our lives.
And we find that we are insufficient. Um, I remember the husband once I was talking to, and he was really trying to wrestle with this passage about how he was to love his wife and to be the initiator of love, uh, in the, in the, in the model of Christ for his church. And I remember him saying, he said, I’m trying, but my wife is a, is a bottomless pit.
And, but I fell for him. I get it. And basically. He wasn’t made to do that in his own strength. We are designed to love her wives through the power of Christ’s love and so on, on, in all of our relationships. And that’s why Paul once said I glory in my weaknesses and he says, I glory in circumstances in second Corinthians 12, that caused me to see that.
I’m weak that I’m, I’m overwhelmed because in those weaknesses, they helped me to see my need of God. And he says, the result is then in my weakness, I’m made strong in God’s strength. All helps us remember who we are insufficient. For all of the things that come into our lives. Secondly, all helps you remember who God is, that God is sufficient to handle everything he gives to you.
I want to go back to a couple of sessions. One of our session we talked about God is, uh, that we find all we are on by God in that he is, he is sovereign. That he is sovereign over all the circumstances of our lives. We also talked about how God is we are to be awed by God is surrounding us with protection that God is, uh, involved in the choices of all the circumstances and whatever comes to us.
He is allowed. He is also the one that is portrayed as a shield around us. The protective on anything. Anything comes to us. It has come through the sovereign merciful purposes of God. Now we know that we can embrace it, but Chris, we still feel insufficient when they come. So he also wants to OSS with the reality.
He is sufficient to handle everything he allows to come to you. Isaiah 59 verse one says, surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor his ears to doll to hear. And Philippians four 19, Paul says it this way and my God shall supply all your needs. According to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus, he says, God will provide.
For every need. He is not short in his capacity to reach his arm is not short. He can provide for all of our needs. Of course, just sidebar it’s needs. Not once. Um, sometimes we mix up the two, of course, that God is sufficient to provide everything, but that does not indicate he will provide all our wants.
He may not provide the new Maserati. You’d like, he may not provide the new vacation home or that promotion, or we can get creative and we can say, well, I, I bought, you know, all this, this house way beyond what I should have done. And now we’re in this financial crisis and there ya, it might’ve been a want at the time, but now I’m in need.
You know, now he need God to provide money and now he need God to provide and, and to, to meet my more. Well, the question is, why, why do you need that? Well, I need that because, um, I could default on my loan. Uh, I could lose a house. It could impact my credit. Quite honestly, I could look really bad. Well, it may be.
That your need is exactly the experience of those failures. God’s sufficiency is not a vending machine for our once, but he will care for your needs of shelter and care. He will provide what you need to live joyfully and contentedly, he will give you what you need to serve him, to obey him and to love others.
God is sufficient to handle every. Everything he gives to you. Secondly, God is sufficient to handle everything. As you give it back to him. Psalm 55 verse 17 says this cast your burdens on the Lord and the word burden there. As I mentioned earlier, session, literally. Means cast on him. What he’s given to you, the anxiety producing stuff in your life.
He says cast on him because he’s sufficient. All reminds you not to carry your feelings of insufficiency, but to turn them as opportunities to cast your cares on God during the pandemic, I’ve asked people to. Share in my weekly newsletter. I encouraged people to just send me stories of how God has been at work in their lives, in the pandemic.
I just have some amazing stories that is going on and have gone on in our church family. One of those is from a man in our church who is a, uh, small business owner in the building trade. And I’d like to read a part of his letter. He said, um, I’m sure I have in common, what all the stories have the phrase then the virus happened, governor Murphy’s closing of non-essential businesses did not include our company.
Thankfully. However, our customers are 95 present, medium to large size businesses, virtually all of which closed up or began working remotely. The first week of this was taken well in stride, almost welcomed as a surprise week vacation. As we entered the beginning of week two, I found that my plan for the week was, uh, but one residential service call, little did I know that was going to be all for the next six weeks.
At this spot, I’ll stop and explain a little about what it’s been to run a small business for the last 16 years from the beginning of the business being born. It’s been very evident that every good thing that’s happened has been of God much. As I’ve read, gone to conferences, tried to network. The real opportunity seemed to come almost out of the air like manna year to year.
I analyze my performance as well as the company, as a whole, and do my best to improve. Like imagine anyone else, what would, and does. I feel privileged that God has allowed me to recognize it’s all from him and how little I have to do it in this beautiful way. So back to my six week virus induced unscheduled and unwanted vacation, as we moved into April about three to four weeks without work, I began to realize my earnings were about to tank.
My salary lags is I get paid week, months after the jobs are done, suddenly all my future plans of building a house, kids going to Christian school vacation were put into question, being the bigger picture thinking I try to be. I started to wonder, am I out of business here? I’ve always known that’s possible in my future is nothing is promised to me as far as what comfort position location of where I live.
I just never imagined it all happened while spending my days playing with our kids as though I’m on vacation and feeling like I can’t even work my business. The news was all negative all the time as well from the many people I knew I spent a good six to seven days in a bad place. My mind filled with doubt about this year and became frustrated and edgy.
It was at this time that I turned to God for answers. Yes. Unfortunately, six to seven days later, he opened my eyes to remembering all the wonderful years, passed a blessing, and I began to give, thanks to him as none of those years can ever be taken away. As I was thanking him, I felt him direct my thoughts to the company’s record year.
And felt God asked me, did you see that year coming and your projections in my heart? He ministered to me as I was reminded how awesome he had been to me and my family. It was then that it occurred to me that I am limited seemingly on all sites so much so that I can’t even think what to do in that moment.
My God, he is not dependent on the economy. It doesn’t matter to him what the governor restricts or how gloomy the outlook being spoken into my life. I heard his voice toward me as I was reading in the old Testament. Is my arm too short or more directly? Am I only able to bless you if the economy is doing well, how loved I felt and it humbled me to tears.
The next several weeks was a different me with no signs of anything good coming. I began to feel confidence from the Lord. I shared this with my wife and even thought who’s to say this won’t be a, a record year or better than, and hoped over the summer. Only once the six weeks had passed a bunch of things seem to happen at once.
And we went from zero to busy and literally days, not only did we get busy, we stayed busy through September. And while I don’t see us setting a new record this year, this year will definitely not be among the worst, which is amazing and humbling to me as many challenges that occurred both in the business and delays with our home building this year.
Overall, we are incredibly blessed this particularly with such a strong reminder of not only God’s unlimited power, but his love for me and my family. I don’t know why he loves me as much as he does, man. I tell you, I feel his loving arms around me in this story, breathed new confidence in me and renewed faith.
I really believe we sell God short by focusing on our insufficiencies. This brother was right when he said that God didn’t guarantee him record years, a new home or business success. But he found God’s promise that he would take care of him before God did anything with the business. Turnaround is my arm too short, or as he said more directly, am I able to bless you?
If the economy is doing well, it’s not doing well. Your insufficiencies are God’s way of prompting you to look to him. He wants to all you with himself, you were not designed to be sufficient in yourself. The reminder of your weaknesses is designed to lead you to him beyond God is sufficient for any insufficiency you might feel.