http://bible.com/events/13303839

We began this series “Enough is Enough” with a question: Is God enough?

• • •

Matthew 6:24-34 NIV

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

• • •

-For the person who believes God only provides for our spiritual needs, these words are especially critical 

-Multiple times Jesus commanded not to worry, specifically about material needs 

-When Jesus said “pagans run after these things,” the original Greek speaks of craving or demanding

-Jesus is saying that your Father knows what you need for eternal life and what you need for this life 

-When we seek God‘s kingdom first, and seek His righteousness first, we not only will receive the things of God, but also the things we need 

-How can you be sure you will have what you need? Biblically it’s a one-step process

Step 1: Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. There are no more steps.

• • •

Genesis 22:1-14NIV

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.  2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.  4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,  7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.  9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”“Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 

• • •

-God tests Abraham to see if he was willing to place his son, his most precious blessing, on the altar 

-Abraham discovers that God is Provider (Jehovah Jireh – verse 14)

-To know God’s name is to know Him as Provider…it is who He is 

-Often we may be asking God to meet a need, when God Himself is what we need 

• • •

Bottom Line:

“Our needs aren’t met because God DOES, but because He IS”

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2 Peter 1:3-4NIV

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

http://bible.com/events/11846796

We can look at our lives, our circumstances in two ways: that we have enough or that we don’t. But Christ has promised that our fulfillment, our hope, is found completely in Him. He is always enough! Thanks for joining us this morning as we begin our new series, “Enough is Enough.”

The question this series asks, “Is God enough?”

-Our nation has gone through a prolonged season of grief, anxiety, and uncertainty

-We struggle to even know what the word “enough” means when our normal reality is nothing but excess

• • •

Two competing worldviews: 

1. Abundance worldview

-There is rest, beauty, creativity- there is enough

-The economic system based on receiving and giving

2. Scarcity worldview

-There is fear, isolation, competition and not enough

-The economic system based on production and acquisition

• • •

2 Peter 1:3-4NIV

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

• • •

-When you began walking in Christ, God’s power did something…that power ACTED.

-You have what you need to do what God desires, to be who He has called you to be, to fulfill His calling, to live a life that pleases Him

-Peter emphatically states “His power at work in you is ENOUGH”

• • •

Philippians 4:19NIV

19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 

• • •

The question that drives this series:

Do you believe God is enough for you? 100% enough? No matter your doubts and fears?

• • •

We struggle to believe God is enough, because we struggle to truly grasp an infinite God

-His love is unending

-His grace is unending

-His forgiveness is unending

• • •

The bottom line: 

Nothing limits God, except us.

• • •

More verses for reflection/study:

• • •

Matthew 6:5-8NIV

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

• • •

2 Peter 1:3-4MSG

3 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. 4 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. 

• • •

Matthew 6:33NIV

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

http://bible.com/events/9323124

 Free From Yesterday

Conclusion: Hope for Tomorrow

Hebrews 6:18-20 NIV

“God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

-The author is referring a promise God made to Abraham that was fulfilled.  

-We can have confidence that God keeps his promises. He does not lie. 

-Because of this confidence, we run towards the hope God has for us. 

-Hope is the anchor that holds us, even when storms are raging. 

-This hope is possible because the presence of the God is with us always. Jesus became the High Priest to give us access to the Holy Spirit. 

The problem is, a past filled with shame, rejection, and wounds seems like the opposite of hope.  We believe “hope is impossible for me, I’m too broken”. 

The truth is our past doesn’t disqualify us from hope.  Our past and the presence of hope are deeply connected.  

Romans 5:2-5

2 And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Our hope is grounded in God’s ability to get glory from our circumstances. 

-Hope is making a God-fueled decision about what has been and what will be. 

-Your suffering in the past produces your perseverance today. 

-Your perseverance today produces in you character right now.  

-And in your character, HOPE springs forth. 

Your past can actually become the fertile soil by which hope springs up! 

Bottom line: 

Being free from yesterday IS hope. 

More verses for reflection:

Hebrews 6:11-17

11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. 16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 

Philippians 3:10-14

10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3-5

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

http://bible.com/events/7205608

We acknowledge, our wounds can come from a lot of places:

• Wounds from past sin or from current sin (destructive behaviors) 

• Wounds from failure – you have disappointed yourself and others

• Wounds by other people – abused, disrespected, mistreated, abandoned

• Wounds from incredible loss in your life

• • •

Statement #1

(In the midst of your pain) He loves you.

• • •

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 

• • •

• Our emotions in the midst of our circumstances can sometimes make us feel like God is distant 

• But the truth is that Jesus weeps with us in our pain (John 11:35) 

• Jesus showed us a God who associates with the broken and the destitute

• Jesus is able to bring us the most comfort when we are hurting (Matthew 5:4) 

• • •

Statement #2

(In the midst of your pain) He can heal you. 

• • •

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Add your private notes…

• • •

• It’s not just that God is close, but He desires to save, to minister, to heal

• “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

-The wounds represented here were from years of being in exile

-God was healing deep emotional and psychological pain from all that was lost

• • •

John 5:1-9NIV

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  4 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”  7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”  8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 

• • •

The Question:

Do you want to be healed? 

• The man’s response with reasonable excuses…”I have no help” and “Someone gets ahead of me” 

• Often we can identify all the reasons why experiencing healing is hard, without clearly answering the question 

• “God healed me, but I had to choose that healing. To be made whole, first I had to admit that I wasn’t.” Christine Caine

• Your past has no more power over you than what you give it.

• • •

Sometimes we want to be accepted, rather than healed.

We want to be comforted, rather than healed.

We want to be enabled, rather than healed. 

If we aren’t careful, our identity is totally caught up in our pain, our hurt, our wounds. 

Add your private notes…

• • •

“His healing follows you trust”

• • •

Philippians 3:13-14NIV

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

• • •

“Straining toward what is ahead” is not easy. It sounds messy, even painful. There will be moments filled with uncertainty. But ultimately it comes down to trust. Trusting God means we are “straining toward what is ahead” and “pressing on.” 

How can God heal us if we will not trust Him with our wounds?

• • •

Other Texts for Further Reflection:

• • •

Isaiah 53:3-5NIV

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faceshe was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  4 Surely he took up our painand bore our suffering,yet we considered him punished by God,stricken by him, and afflicted.  5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him,and by his wounds we are healed. 

• • •

Psalms 73:26NIV

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heartand my portion forever. 

• • •

Matthew 11:27-30MSG

27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. 28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” 29 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” 30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

http://bible.com/events/7197808

April 19
Free From Yesterday, Part 2: Rejection

Your past has no more power over you than what you give it.
o Last week we began by focusing on the powerful role of shame in our lives
o This week we focus on the role of rejection

Philippians 3:10-14
Paul made the decision to “forget what is behind”
o What were the things Paul needed to forget?
o Saul (before he was Paul) was an enemy of the church
-“Saul began to destroy the church” Acts 8:3
-“Saul was breathing our murderous threats” Acts 9:1
o God transforms his life and now He is Paul, servant of Christ  
o Paul experienced rejection from everyone
-the Jews wanted to kill him (Acts 9:23)
-the disciples and followers of Jesus were afraid of him (Acts 9:26)

The Truth About Our Own Journey
1.  We have all experienced rejection
 o often the memories of rejection stand out more than anything else from our past
2.  Rejection hurts
o There are scars that we carry for the rest of our lives because of the rejection of others
o As far as your brain is concerned, physical pain and experiences of emotional rejection are just as harmful
3. We can’t erase rejection from our past & we can’t prevent future rejection
o In fact, Jesus told us to expect rejection – John 15:18, Luke 10:6

The promise we can claim is that if we are followers of Christ, God will not reject us

Deuteronomy 31:6 
o At the end of his life, Moses wants the people of God to know that He will not reject them

Matthew‬ ‭27:45-46‬ 
o Ultimately, God would send His Son to the cross to pay the price for sin.
o We deserved God’s rejection, but instead Jesus took our place.  
o “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“God’s approval overwhelms man’s rejection”

o No matter how many time you have been rejected in your life today
God will not reject you
o If God won’t reject you, you can overcome any storm
o If Jesus conquered the grave….He can conquer the weight of your rejection