Transcription
And many times there are those who wonder, “Have I believed the wrong thing? Or have I stretched myself too far?” Is there something wrong with what I have accepted? Some other times they think, “I believe the right thing. I see it in the Bible. But why isn’t it going in that direction for me?”
Have you found yourself in a situation where you were talking bold and nursing fears? Ever found yourself in a situation where you doubted yourself? Where you doubted your abilities, where you doubted whether God was with you or not, where you doubted your own relationship with God, where you doubted your own knowledge of the word of God? Have you ever been there in your life, and you you wanted God to talk to you? You felt that today you want to hear the voice of God. God must speak to you today because what you’re going through requires that if he loves you, he should show up. And then the day passed and he didn’t show up. Why? Because the answer that you were waiting for was already in the Bible.
A lot of times there’s a battle raging raging within. Many times the things that we have to have to confront are external. Yes. But there But there also internal also internal challenges that many people face, and sometimes pastors and leaders face those challenges. How do you deal with these with these internal internal battles at the times where you find yourself in a kind of conflict, a conflict, a contradiction contradiction between what you read in the Bible, what you’ve heard, preached, or taught all your life, and some of the experiences that you have? And many times there are those who wonder, “Have I believed the wrong thing? Or have I stretched myself too far?” Is there something wrong with what I have accepted? Some other times they think, “I believe the right thing. I see it in the Bible. But why isn’t it going in that direction for me?”
The times it can be financial, and within and within you, you’re struggling inside. Struggling inside with what you believe versus your experience. The first set of things that we are confronted with are fears, doubts, and unbelief. We find that within us are some fears, sometimes fears, sometimes doubts, sometimes unbelief. There are times that we are able to recognize unbelief. Some other times we don’t even recognize it. We don’t even know that it’s unbelief. But there it is working, working against us.
Have you found yourself in a situation where you were talking bold and nursing fears? Ever found yourself in a situation where you doubted doubted yourself? Where you doubted your abilities? Where you doubted whether God was with you or not? Where you doubted your own relationship with God? Where you doubted your own knowledge of the word of God? Many times these are things that many of God’s children, including leaders, are confronted with, struggle to be what they think they ought to be. Especially when you look at other people and you think, “That fellow is doing fine. Why can’t I just have faith like this? Why can’t I just have a testimony like this? Why can’t my life just be this way?”
For some, it’s easy for other people to notice that you have some internal struggles and they try to talk with you. For some others, nobody knows that you’re going through such a difficult time. You know, the interesting thing about walking with God is that he has made made everything easy. The answers to the most complex questions in the world are so easy we ignore them. That’s the problem. We sometimes expect that the complexity of our experience will demand a complicated response. Often times it’s not. not. So often times it’s not so. It’s as easy as calling your name. You say, “Is that possible?” emphatically. Yes. Many times through the years I’ve encountered people who had problems, who had had challenges, and they wanted a solution. And when I said the solution is what God’s word says, oh, that’s not what they wanted.
Have you ever been there in your life and you you wanted God to talk to you? You felt that today you want to hear the voice of God. God must speak to you today because what you’re going through requires that if he loves you, he should show up. And then the day passed and he didn’t show up. Why? Because the answer, the voice, the word that you were waiting for was already in the Bible. It’s amazing how many times we prefer prefer something something extraordinary to extraordinary to be God’s response to our situation.
Let me read me read you the scriptures. I’ll begin with the very simple teachings of Jesus. St. Matthew’s Gospel, St. Matthew chapter 6. I’m reading to you from verse 25. verse 25. You ready? From verse 25, it says, “Therefore I say unto you,” now who’s talking? talking? Jesus. And imagine this Jesus presenting very simple answers yet very profound. Listen. “Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, that is more than food, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Right there, he hinges that teaching on the subject of faith. Why do they care? He says, because of their little faith. Why are they concerned about everyday things? He says, because of their little faith.
Verse 31, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Verse clothed? Verse 32, “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Look at what it says here. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and his righteousness.” Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Oh, glory to God. Notice what he just said. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” And what will happen? “All these things shall be added.” Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his and his righteousness.
How do you seek the kingdom of kingdom of God? And what did he mean by seeking his righteousness? righteousness? Now remember he said one time to them, if they tell you the kingdom of God has come and it’s over there or it’s over there, he says don’t go around for the kingdom of God is within you. So he’s saying look inwards. Did you get it? Yes sir. The kingdom of God is within you. So look inwards. That’s number one. Number two he says to seek his righteousness. righteousness. Jesus would never tell you to seek the righteousness of God knowing that it was a gift. If he made it, the righteousness that he was going to make us, then he wouldn’t tell you to seek it. What’s Jesus telling you? “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” I just explained that to you, “and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you,” seeking the righteousness of God.
You know in our lives many times we we imagine all of us here have become judges. Are you aware we’re all judges? Yes. Positively because because um the knowing of God’s spirit coming on you gives you the ability to judge. He’s not asking you to judge judge people. Even though he tells us that we have a right in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 to judge to judge matters and we can judge between people, but he gives us the ability to judge right from right from wrong. So in this regard we are judges. So is that okay for you now? Okay, great. But here’s the point in point in judging, what are you looking for? And I explained something to them. When I have issues between people, I don’t look for who’s right and who’s wrong. I learned a long time ago that that’s not what God’s looking looking for. And you know, sometimes when we deal with issues like that, not many people are happy because they expected us to side in with them and we didn’t. And um they wanted it this other way and we didn’t go in that way. So they they’re not happy. They’re offended. If they’re offended like that, they’re going to be offended at God also. We’re not looking for who’s right and who’s who’s wrong. We’re looking for the righteousness of God. You see, when you come up to that level in your life and start thinking that way, you’ll be living a different life, a higher life. Praise God. Now, I always say there’s a higher life in Christ. Why? There’s a higher life. There’s a life that’s beyond the ordinary. Most people live the ordinary life and they don’t realize there’s a higher life in Christ. So you are seeking the righteousness of God in a matter and your responsibility is to establish the righteousness of God everywhere you go. It’s our job. He called us to do that. We seek the righteousness of God anywhere and establish the righteousness of God. Understand this. The judgments of God are the revelation of his righteousness. He says, “And all these things shall be added onto you.” What is the righteousness of God? The righteousness of God is his position. So we take sides with God and we don’t take sides with others. We take sides with God. We take his position. We stand in his position. We take his position. The righteousness of God is his position. What is God’s position in the matter? What is God’s thinking? You know, when we talk about someone is a man of God, a man of God doesn’t mean a preacher. Many times, you know, the people who get this thing wrong. A man of God doesn’t mean a preacher. A man of God is one who establishes the righteousness of God. He’s one that is called to take sides with God and he declares God’s declares God’s position. When you live your life or even even walk outside of God’s position, there are fears, there are doubts. There is where people experience fear. experience fear. Fear cannot take a hold of your spirit spirit until you’re until you’re outside God’s outside God’s position. What does God think? What is his stand? See, when you want want something, there can be a selfishness to it, right? It doesn’t matter what you want. Whether you want to build a house or you want to go to school or you want to have a a a kid, whatever it is that you you’re you’re thinking about that you want, there can be a selfishness to it. But have you come to that point in your life where what you want is his position? That’s the righteousness of God. That’s what he wants us to seek. He says, “Seek the righteousness of God.” And you’d be amazed at the quality of your your life when that becomes your guiding principle. You’d be amazed at the quality of your life. It changes you. It changes your perception. And you find it’s easy to walk by faith because you’re functioning from God’s position. Hallelujah.