This message considers our interactions with God when we want something from him but fail to receive it over and over and are left wondering why God doesn’t respond when it seems in every way that he should if he really cared.
When we want something we approach him as children do their parents by simply praying for something. If that doesn’t provide results we want then we ask more fervently and more often but that usually tapers off into frustration from his lack of response.
Our problem is that the church has focused on salvation, service and the needs of the ministries so much that we automatically begin to think of God as our supply source. So we start negotiating with him to get what we want. One of the ways is to offer him something “I will, if you will”, in an effort to coerce him into getting what we want in a bartering a deal.
The difficulty is that we can offer nothing that he needs so when that fails we don’t yield to his will like Jesus did in the garden when he prayed; we change tactics and try again even asking others to help us pray about it. The majority of the time the effort just ends in frustration and many times in anger thinking of all we have done for him and we get this kind of treatment. What is our trouble? Answer: Psalms 50:21“These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee...” Psalms 50:21
n As we gain in experiences we learn to accept praying without results and our prayers go from passionate and fervent to routine and dutiful because; “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick…” Proverbs 13:12
The final chapter for most is moving religion over to a side burner where we do that which is expected on the outside while our hearts cool off toward God and become institutionalized. As that happens our love moves from God over to our local church friends, teachers and pastors as more of a social club than a growing personal relationship with our loving Creator. Finally it becomes just one of the things we do from week to week without any lasting change.
This message gives a different perspective and view of our relationship to our Heavenly Father.
Salient Points: Putting God in a box, Attention on self, Don’t call me I’ll call you, What’s important to us, 666, God vs gods, Idolatry, Tempting Jesus, The god of this world, Powers & principalities of Satan, Power from Satan, Greed & lies, Ignoring God’s involvement, Earth & planets, God’s laws of physics, Why made like they are, Doing all things well, Jesus ascension to the Father, Minimizing God’s influence, Keeping God in His place, When God gets the preeminence, Leaving God out, Realizing you are created, The most valuable, Giving back to God, Separating church from life, Brainwashed, God’s purpose, Replacing God with Clergy, Routine vs serious, Temporal vs eternal.
Scripture: Isaiah 55:6-9, John 9:1-3, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Matthew 11:25-30
Special Thanks,
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