Searching For Your Fit

yes I'm excited y'all that was good recovery cuz I needed to gather myself after worship cuz look good can we give it up for the worship team oh man that was so good you know I need Thee alright so we are continuing in our brief series and I'm really excited about it and y'all can I just say something real quick I think that I printed my wrong notes so there's no telling what might actually happened on tonight yeah that's my wrong notes so hmm miss the enemy's just owning y'all must need this message cuz he he's trying to stop me tonight but let me tell you we gonna talk about this message now the last time we were together we talked about what it meant to rest in God's ability remember that that a lot of times we can't experience Sabbath rest because we are trying to do everything on our own and we're not really trusting God for provision and so we are unable to rest in his ability well tonight I want to talk about another reason why we can't risk but I'm gonna tell you a little story because every time I get ready to teach something and I'm searching for an illustration the Lord seems to want to use me so a couple of days ago I found out some information really close group of friends in our little tribe and I found out some information that I thought I knew what I knew but I didn't really know you know what it is but I have reacted based on what I thought I knew and so I called my friend and that was all in my feelings because I'd learned some information that I felt like I wanted to hear from this friend directly and I was all of my feelings you know how we can be you call you like why did I see this on social media I was all my feelings and I called her y'all and then I sent a text I know hey this is a safe place I'm being honest don't act like y'all don't be petty so so then I sent her a text because I was really in my feelings and I sent a text cuz we have for this little tribe we have this group text and we kind of share what's going on with each other and we call each other out is that kind of text so I call myself half joking half serious but it was probably more serious than I thought that you can't that that I really thought I was giving off and so in the end one ended up happening was I really hurt my friend's feelings but the way I came in her I mean who knew I could be harsh so I really hurt her feelings y'all and I had no idea that she was gonna respond this way and so I was thinking you know how you think that you trying to play it off joking a little bit but you're still in your feelings you want them to get it but not be real real hurt but just enough to know that you feel feelings was hurt right well the whole point was Miss cuz I hurt her feelings and so I was like no that's not what I was trying to do so then I'm apologizing and sending a million pigs like I love you for what that wasn't my intention because these are my friends and I'm learning it's taken me 40 something is to learn how to apologize quickly I own it keep moving and I know myself so I'm apologizing y'all and I didn't get a response I was like hey we good good you know pray for my immaturity I was really trying to do it and so I'm waiting on a response y'all and I sent it something to the group and then the group went in because the the group didn't know that I had talked to her to clear up it was a mess they had to apologize and the group an apologize to her some sitting in some waiting I'm waiting and waiting and so I'm asking are we good are we good at y'all nothing I can't get no work done also I'll be studying for y'all came to me know where I'm waiting I'm waiting so then a few hours pass and then I get a text she's like it's fine we're good I love you I know what you meant like where have you been and sitting here stress don't beans and needles well I didn't know that while we were texting she was like boarding a flight and about to leave and so I had like several hours to try to figure out the fate of our friendship so I was sitting there y'all unproductive can do not distress I start sending texts just compliments I love you I just think you're an amazing person how I told you how the Lord is using you greatly have I have I shared my deep affection for you lately I was just it was just compliments I mean it was a lot even for me and so I'm waiting ready waiting and so when she finally says that takes and she's like okay we're good you're fine quit texting me and those other 12 messages so I'm sitting there and we get off the phone and she goes on about her day and I'm sitting there and it's taking everything in me not to send just one more you know just to be like I mean are we really good you know how you just want to be like no for real for real good like I want to see your face to know if we were really good I was like we've been friends for too long so I had to just let it go say okay we good and I'm sitting there thinking okay now I can go back to studying the Bible which is what I was supposed to be doing but it was such a moment of clarity for me because in that moment God reminded me how unsettled we are when we don't know where we fit when we're unsure of where we stand in something we're unsettled it creates anxiety and stress and worry and today I want to encourage you and challenge you then maybe the reason we're not experiencing Sabbath rest is because we're not certain about where we stand with God because if you have a need to constantly try to figure out where you fit with God where you stand is he pleased am I good you can never experience rest if you're always trying to earn your relationship with God so some of us don't experience rest as we learned last week because we are doers and we want to provide and take care of ourselves and we don't really trust God's ability but sometimes we don't experience because we don't trust our adoption so it's his provision that we learned last time we were together that leads to our rest but tonight we don't about our position what it means to be firmly sealed in the family of God and how not being certain of that can really lead to unrest here's the thing Isaiah 26:3 I'm gonna share a few scriptures with you before we get to our main passage in Deuteronomy Isaiah 26:3 many of you know this once I start reading it it says you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the y'all say Isaiah 26:3 so we can know where the scriptures are that ministered to us Isaiah 26:3 Isaiah 26:3 amen reference know where it is you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you the new American Standard may say the steadfast of mine you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you so this idea this verse is saying that God will keep us he he guards us he watches over us in this perfect peace and the word peace here means completeness it means tranquility it means wholeness to be without lack completely finished in a place of tranquility he keeps this type of complete perfect wholeness he keeps it perfect for us when our mind is stayed on him the peace comes from knowing my standing before God I'm forgiven and my identity in God this is my wholeness and so it says you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you now this seems so obvious you're like yeah of course I should trust in the Lord but listen we don't always trust in God we often doubt him maybe not out loud because that's not cool nobody doubts God out loud I mean out loud it's like I trust him he's faithful he saw and he's gonna work it out and not your will his will be huh and in your mind you're like oh Jesus I'm kind of you know enough about God to be scared to doubt you like I mean I kind of want to doubt you but I think I might be in trouble but I really am not sure if you're gonna do this and in that you're going to be able to experience Sabbath risk because if you don't trust God if you're not certain about where you stand with him if you cannot receive the perfect peace that he has for you then you can be living a life of stress and anxiety and just because you know how to make stress and anxiety look good don't mean that it is good because some of us our badge of honor is busyness and some of us our badge of honor is being scatterbrained of doing 28 things at one time and so we're like oh I'm Hedlund I'm doing them no you're not and just because it looks good when you're doing it doesn't mean that it's good for you so this peace and trust thing has to be something that while it's simple that we take very seriously the rest of the verse in Isaiah 26 verse 12 says this Lord you will establish I'll say establish establish peace for us since you have also performed all of our works you've done all the work anything that's worthy of credit you've done it and so you give us peace the word established there means he's assigned it he's ordained it so this is not haphazard this is not chaotic this is not because you had a spot day or you took a day off or you said no to people and I keep reading stuff on Instagram and social media and listen this world is trying to get you to cut off anything in your life that's unpleasant people that's toxic for you you need to cut them out of your life if they're not for your happiness then they are not for you they get forgiveness once in the second time you were fool right social media is like if it don't feel good if they're not for you everybody in your life must be your cheerleader they must think you're amazing they must make no mistakes they must be emotionally healthy even though you are not they must have a great story great character make all good choices because if they don't you need to cut them out of your life and that's why you don't have no friends except the ones you scrolling through because that's not realistic that's not realistic we're going to have hardships we disappoint and people will disappoint us the issue is not cutting things off it's finding stability right where you are because those things don't change who I am this is why we have stress and anxiety because we can't really find this peace that God has given us it says you will establish peace from me you've performed all of my works this is the confidence that I need and God comes from my completeness think about this whole passage Isaiah is talking about the promises of God you will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is stayed on you because we trust you you will establish our peace because you've done all the hard work for us anyway so God when I trust you when I fully take you at your word you will keep me not impartial peace not in conditional peace but in perfect peace every single time you will establish it you write the rules for it you ordained it you have designated my peace I don't have to scrap for peace you have peace set aside for me if I would just walk and trust listen this peace is conditional you have to trust him because if you don't I don't care how many naps you squeeze in during the week you will not have Sabbath rest people are emailing me and they're asking you know how do i do Sabbath how do I do this thing and we're not gonna we're gonna get to that this is a teaser in the next couple of lessons we're gonna get to that but I don't want to tell you what to do yet because you don't understand the heart behind it you're gonna just be trying to do things during the day and they're not gonna bring you the soul refreshment that you need if you don't get rid of the barriers that you have what's your relationship with God he's like you can stay up three days straight without a nap but if you trust my provision and trust your position to me you'll have more rest than you had if you slept all day so it's not the things to do it's about what's going on in our hearts in our relationship with God this is the benefit of belonging to him we see it again in the New Testament y'all John 14:27 John 14:27 peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you see peace is given by the Father it's a gift now some of us have have that gift and we're not doing anything with it so it's not he's not saying imma give you the peace when you act right once we choose Jesus as believers this is one of the benefits of being a believer now if you're not a believer tonight this is not judgment this is so you can contemplate if you don't have a Christ Jesus if you're not chosen Jesus not chosen Church if you have not chosen Jesus as Lord surrendered everything to him gotten rid of all of the other options this is not a it's not a mix of all the best aspects of every God that we know there's only one Lord and you have to choose him and trust in him by faith and through His grace and then you start to receive these benefits but as a believer Jesus says here's what I give to you now all of us don't know how to handle gifts like I tell my son I get him things and it's broken into the next asset that's why you can't have nice things this is why you can't have nice things some of us don't know what to do with gifts we don't know how to handle it because we we haven't been given much in life we've had to earn and work our way for everything and so we don't know what to do with the free lavish gifts that God gives us some of us are so independent we don't think we need the gifts a lot of times when I go places y'all they will give me really cool gift baskets and in addition to that I'm kind of a clearance shopper so like Christmas I'm always in the store buying up a bunch of gifts because inevitably I'm gonna need to go somewhere and not remember that I needed to go and so I have a gift closet it's like a little area and in a room that's that's just gifts and so they uh nope I got tags on it some of the stuff or things that I got in triplicate and I'm like hey I only need 13 candles so all the excess candles you know can go in here or things that I buy that I like and I buy two of cuz it's such a good sale so I get it and I'm like I'm gonna give this to somebody so I have this gift closet and sometimes people will come over they we need gifts with one of somebody to share with somebody something or somebody spending the night and I'm like hey I got stuff for you I got a whole set you what you need body minutes body spray shower gel lotion and a matching candle I have everything that you need what do you need I'm gonna set you up and you're also person personal relations because I love those things I like being able to give it but but here's the thing it because I keep them all in one place what I really need to do is give them away as soon as I get them because they're not doing anything send up in that closet because gifts don't need to be stored up gifts don't need to be stored up gifts need to be used up Jesus says I'm giving you my peace some of us are so falsely content with the life we've created that we've taken God's piece and put it in the gift closet and god I'll come to that when I'm in a crisis when I find myself in a place where I can't fix it I'm gonna come to this gift closet and find all the things that you've given me but he says if you really want to have Sabbath of rest you have to a Brit embrace this gift right now and then he says my peace I give to you he says not as the world gives huh listen what the world is giving you is conditional I'm giving you unique piece they may say they have piece for you but there's not peace because the world is gonna tell you even in good things they're gonna try to make you think that it's peace the words gonna give you peace in your kids long as they look nice and smelling nice in the edges laid and they performing well in school you like listen it's a good day pretty decent mother the words will try to give you peace in your career those promotions and that pay raise and that bigger office or through the things that you buy through your address and through your zip code through your career maybe you sang maybe you write maybe you style hair maybe you sell property whatever your thing is every time you have successes in those areas the world offers you conditional peace and you feel good for a moment but here's the thing about it here's what this is important to our Sabbath rest understanding that is not really our identity because every time we buy into conditional peace not not the peace that Jesus gives but peace as the world gives even if it's good things your family and your job every time you I into that you call your identity into question because what you're saying is that my identity is not unconditionally established by God it's conditional based on how well I do this thing and that thing will fail you those kids will fail you and you'll be like listen it's not enough Rwanda in the world to fix it what's going on with this one right here really and it'll be six months after your last promotion where you bought all this stuff because you make a momen and you ever made that all of a sudden they downsize it it's not for you and it'll be the week after your anniversary that somebody comes home with divorce papers I'm not making it up this is what happens it's after you got 100 likes on your anniversary picture people still liking and commenting and you got papers on the counter because I've seen it happen so all of those things that I associate my identity with become temporary forms of peace and every time I find my peace in those things I am rejecting the gift that Jesus has given me because I can't have both so we can't find rest let me tell you how this is related back to identity I can't find rest because when my piece is in my job I go to sleep thinking about my job I wake up thinking about my job I'm stressed if that job is not doing what I thought it was supposed to be doing when my piece is in my talent I'm going to sleep wondering when my next opportunity is gonna be how big was the applause the next time I did my thing when my piece is in my family everybody need to look right dress right it's me I might smell right say the Scriptures right because if anything goes wrong and if somebody finds out then my piece is gone because the things that keep us awake at night or these things that's what keeps us up at night we're not thinking about god I can't sleep because I broke your heart today and the right thing like that that's low forgiving for my sins and here's these 20 minutes of blessings I need from you Oh forgive me we just confess right now Lord you mm-hmm thanks for your grace anybody lose listen can we just be honest we are rarely losing sleep with the weight of what God has called us to God I fail you today was there a gospel conversation I didn't have today God was there a faith move that I held back on today God was my attitude right that's not what's keeping us up we up at night cuz we like when is this bill gonna hit because if they'd hit on the 12 then I can still go to the concert and if I go to the concert then by the time that payment comes in it'll be look my statement clothes on at will so if I charge it now let's go thinking about we're trying to we're trying to mismatch them around and you know so-and-so can't afford to go soccer but someone so kid in soccer so you'll need to kidding me the kid need to be in soccer because his college scholarship we listen the things that we are going to sleep about when they are operating perfectly they are temporary conditional sources of peace Jesus says I'll keep you in you want to think about it you want to fix it I don't need no tweaking you don't to write nothing down in O'Hara to-do list he said my piece is not as the world gives it as a matter of fact my piece keeps getting better in Richard when the world gives you peace every success brings more stress what am I gonna do next time well this time we had 12 bouncy houses and skywriting for her 3rd birthday so I don't know what we gonna do next year because Collin County birthday party situation it's nothing real y'all know what I'm talking about your outfits got a patter got a color palette to this birthday party it's a lot going on it's always what's the next thing because that's the world's peace and Jesus says the peace I give to you it's different it's nothing like what the world has to offer we can't find several arrests because we're not sure where our peace is coming from listen God has already said that you belong now some of us don't really get this and I thought about why we struggle with this so much and I think that very often we are hurt from our past I mean we have real legit stuff from my past not those testimonies that he found me in low place and brought me out and I wear white all time and it's shiny and there's glitter behind me because of what the Lord has done I'm talking my testimonies we're twenty years after being saved I'm still wrestling with this pain from this thing that happened I know God is good I know he's a healer but man it's a slow journey God are you still good and after I've walked with you then my loved one dies and then we get laid off and then somebody get sick I mean real testimony stuff happens all the time and so a lot of times just like with my friend when anything is not in perfect order or what feels good to us we start to question our standing the enemy wants you to think that the situations in your life affects your standing and God is saying no the peace that I give you is perfect I don't say your life was gonna be perfect I'm saying the peace the tranquility the completeness the wholeness somebody said wholeness the reason why you need to know that the Greek word peace means wholeness is because when things go wrong we feel fractured we feel like something's taking a piece of us people just pull from us life pulls from us and God is saying here through scripture that regardless of what has pulled from you all day all week all month all year you are still home you are still complete and perfectly so if you trust me if you don't trust me you can pick up the pieces by yourself and try to put that thing back together but I'm telling if you trust me even when life is falling apart you are not your whole perfect peace y'all so sometimes we have family stuff that we have to get over but here's what you need to know that your identity didn't start with your birth listen that's good news because some of us if we could survive some family I'm not talking about the family that you invite over I'm talking about the family that you like who coming Oh is she bringing someone Sasuke Onew they can't come do not give them my address you know their family they want to know where you are what you said mmm just reach me through grandmama just a little and oh I'll check in and I'll let you know how we're doing okay it's a family that when it when you get that facebook request a song so says that your cousin I'm just gonna mmm-hmm cuz all our family is not something that we want to brag on but but seriously we have this heritage we have these things that were born into and very often that starts to shape our identity but our identity did not start with our birth our identity started before heaven and earth was formed the Bible says he predestined and he foreknew us so before you were conceived even he says I already knew who you were and your I did I I am impotent omnipresent omniscient God wasn't waiting on you to be born I wasn't waiting on your life to unfold to figure out who you were I decided who you were before your parents knew who they were I decided who you were before I separated the water from the earth I decided who you were before I put stars in the sky before I put animals on the earth before I created earth when everything was just a match that scientists still can't figure out I knew who you were so identity that we need to draw from cannot start with our birth it has to start with God who's the creator he's the only one that can tell you who you are listen your life can tell you what happened to you but that's not who you are only God can tell you who you are and if you let what happened to you define you you will never have rest in your soul you'll never have peace you'll never have rest because if you think that what happened to you is who you are you always feel fragmented you'll always feel lacking not enough something must be wrong but God is saying that when things stripped away from you when you feel like I'm not enough I'm less than I'm not worthy never be good enough you no matter what everybody else says they may applaud you you go home broken cuz you know you feel unqualified he's saying when you feel like that on your worst day here's the fact you are home and I have perfect peace waiting for you even before the thing that you need from me is resolved because the peace I've given you is a gift it's not a condition so we can't find real rest until we're convinced of who God has made us to be now this gets tied to Sabbath really clearly in Deuteronomy chapter 5 I'm gonna show you something Deuteronomy chapter 5 12 through 15 Deuteronomy 5 12 through 15 says observe observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm listen last time we were together he's I want you to keep the Sabbath go inside remember on the sixth day he let them collect double he was like I got you we're trying to provide for yourself get your little extra go inside I want you just remain there dwell with me think about me think about how I provided for you now he's saying I want you to keep the Sabbath holy so you can remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm God is saying Sabbath gives us an opportunity to reflect on Godhead how God has saved us he said it's not just so you can see my provision and so you can see your new position you take rest and in your resume people saying what do i do on Sabbath don't do other work don't that's not time for your DIY project that's not Sabbath is I and this is God's agenda I'm thinking about oh he's done for me provision and then I'm thinking about all that he's brought me out of now you might not have personally been delivered from either but we know that that's a metaphor for salvation and the many times since salvation that the Lord has saves you rescued you from things and your Sabbath rest is when you sit and remember how God delivers you when you could not have delivered yourself that'll take up your whole day if you just list the things not the things your friends know I'm talking about all the things that the Lord has delivered you from and it's constantly delivering you from those patterns of thinking and no secret habits and those doubts on those insecurities that he's constantly healing and redeeming you from you sit and think about how God has freed you that's rest your soul will exhale because you look at your prayer list your current you're now standing needs that you have for the Lord we all have the outstanding list like Lord you have done some things but these things are outstanding yet to be done Lord I mean but your will you're willing your way but uh my draw a circle around this put this in my journal in my good journey I'm a reprinted I'm a good pen my gel pen because this this is what I need from him but this list starts to look different when I sit and contemplate what he's already done for me when I just recount the ways that he has delivered me when I think about all that he has sent me free from then this listing takes on a different perspective and so that's why he says I want you to remember Sabbath keep it holy I want you to think about how I brought you out of Egypt you know why because emancipation is the key to your adoption it is in setting you free that God was then able to make you his own so he says I want you to think about how I freed you because this is the first key to understanding where you belong and where you stand so those of us who are struggling because we're not sure I mean we know we're saved I'm not talking about we prayed that prayer we made the walk and we know we spirit filled and born-again believers I'm talking about what we live out every day is it with certainty or is it with doubt he says but if you would take seven and take time to slow down and think about what I brought you out of would not doubt so here's what it means for us to be adopted young as Christians here's what the Bible says about that in Galatians 4 5 it says Jesus came that we might receive adoption to sonship so this is a metaphor of explaining how Christians are brought into the family of God and some of you are adopted children some of you are adoptive parents so we have a little idea of what that means but it was even weightier in this particular context and it's interesting because in the Jewish heritage the way you were born was so significant that was everything your lineage your heritage it was all about your birth and your credentials that's why Paul was like this is not my job this is my job Benjamin Hebrews what are you saying because that was what it was but in the Roman culture adoption was a really huge thing that's why we mostly see this reference in the book of Romans a little bit in Galatians whenever Paul was talking to Gentiles because they got adoption so it's fascinating cuz in the Roman world here's what I read again here's what I read it says in Romans 8:15 Paul says hey you're gonna receive God's Spirit because he's adopted you as his own children in the Roman world adoption was a significant and common practice and it was not infant adoption like what we see today this was older boys and adult men we're in debt were adopted for inheritance and to run the family in some cases the adopted child or man may even be older than the man who was adopting him because when the adoption was when people initiated adoption it was to find heads of household people to manage the inheritance of the family it wasn't so they could parent it was different than how we do this was about expanding the family through legal means so they could have a legitimate head of household and a legitimate heir or inheritor when the adoption was legally approved the adoptee the child or man would have all of his debts canceled and he would receive a new name Roman law says he would then be the legal son of his adoptive father and entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son listen here's the kicker in Roman law a father could disown his natural-born son but adoption was irreversible imma let that sit listen in Roman law a father could disown his natural-born son but adoption was irreversible so it's not coincidence that God uses this as a metaphor let me read this again to your not knowing that adoption means your debts are canceled and you have a new name and it's irreversible let me read this to you again it says Jesus Christ came so we might be adopted into sonship and through the Spirit of God we are adopted as his own children our adoption is so significant that's what Jesus calls it a reverse he's saying you are brand-new under this kind of adoption now if you don't believe that your standing with God is irreversible you will not have rest if you are constantly working to stay in God's good grace or if you think there's a one thing or two things that might put you out of favor with God so much so that it jeopardizes your relationship then you've missed the understanding of adoption and you'll never have rest sometimes we are working so hard and we are going to church so much and we're at everything and taking our notes and it's not always driven because we're desperate to know more about God it's driven because we're afraid that if we don't come if we don't show up we don't get in trouble there's gonna be consequences God's gonna be mad at us and then something happens in our life and we say oh I know either happened it's because I missed that last thing it's because I didn't do this thing we start to equate things going on in our life not with sin but some behavior that we did not do whenever you start to take circumstances in your life and try to make a formula about how you could have avoided it you've missed adoption you have missed it it's like a daughter saying that if I'm late to dinner I might not be my father's daughter anymore it don't even make sense but the enemy has convinced us do more try harder look holier because then the Lord will be pleased with you and we do want to please the Lord that's sanctification but listen that does not change our standing in the family of God and in your mind you have to ask yourself God where do I doubt my standing with you because it's gonna jack up your wrists y'all your soul cannot find peace if it's not the perfect peace that Jesus gives if you are finding peace in your attendance and peace in your volunteering and peace and your giving and peace and your community service and peace and your discipleship and peace in how you mentor these are all wonderful things and probably tied to your purpose but they are not your peace they are not your peace only Jesus gives it because something's gonna happen you're gonna have to step down you're gonna have a season where you can't do it like you used to do it and then you're gonna start to doubt am I really still okay with God is my joy is something gonna change because I can't give and do what I used to do listen even good things can make us think incorrectly about adoption have you ever looked at an old picture I was oh me and I saw picture myself who have you ever looked at an old picture of yourself though and I talked about sometimes you just looked at cuz your hair change your haircut changed or whatever or you lose 25 pounds ago you may look at different things or whatever but but if you find some pictures and you've been through some things in life sometimes you'll run across a picture well you realize you were just a different person and there's not anything about the environment maybe your hair looks the same maybe you were the same size but I had a friend and she found a very old driver's license that she had many many years ago and she showed me a picture excuse me she showed me a picture and I looked and I was like like I knew it was her but something just looked different it wasn't her face it was like looking into the eyes of another person and that's like girl who is this girl she's a girl that girl was an abusive relationship and addicted and faking like life was good she had a huge smile on her face and she looked beautiful but just looking in the eyes of her even in a driver's license picture I was like that's a different person but she said cuz I'm new now I'm different now so even though I physically haven't changed much there's so much from the inside that has been drastically altered that my identity is different she said I took a new drivers license picture even though I could have renewed by mail because even though the camera might not capture when I look at it I know I'm gonna see somebody different because that's what adoption does everybody might not look at you and know that you're different and that you're adopted but it's so drastically changes your ownership then eventually it will show God is saying I brought you into a permanent place in this family nothing can change it rest in that I have delivered you from things that you didn't want to be delivered from that you could not deliver yourself from and sometimes on a bad week you try to tip back into but I need you to know that I've set you free and when you have nothing else to think about you're not sure what you should do in your downtime remember how I brought you out of Egypt think about that how the Lord has sanctified you how the Lord has reaiiy denta fide you adopted you canceled your debt made you an inheritor giving you a new name a new identity a new path nothing on this earth can change it nothing on this earth can they don't mean we don't have hard times y'all but it means hard times don't take your peace it means that in the midst of really difficult situations you can rest not just sleep that just be still rest find yourself with God in a place that is in him and not in the things around us he says look around and realize who I've called you to be here's the benefits we talked about in 1st Peter chapter 2 of being adopted sons and daughters he calls us a chosen race a royal priesthood of people for his own position he says you were once and not a people your identity was sketchy but now you are people he said you once had no mercy but now you have received mercy Ephesians 1 gives us more benefits it says in him we have redemption through his blood we've been bought we've been purchased we have the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace in him we have obtained an inheritance we have the benefits and privilege of sonship and daughter ship him we are sealed yes a sealed with the holy spirit of promise the reason why it's important to know that you have been sealed is because what the Holy Spirit seals cannot be undone and Sabbath is about confidence and completeness and resting and abiding in God and you get that when you embrace the fact that you are in an irreversible position in the family of God that the Holy Spirit has sealed you and no attack the enemy has for you can break the seal that the Holy Spirit has on you so you may be going through some really difficult things things are warring in our minds in our bodies in our families in our relationships but it cannot break the seal things are coming at us and goals are not being met and sometimes the dream is not being realized and we have more questions than answers but it cannot break the seal and even when we are uncertain even when we feel far from God we don't deserve His grace because we haven't been praying we haven't been reading god I just barely been making it I know I haven't been right with you nothing can break the seal so this frees us up number one to have real rest because it didn't change our adoption didn't change our position in God and number two to pursue life change for a legitimate love for God and not because we're trying to stay in his good graces if that's done then I can live righteous because I love him not because I'm guilty then I can live holy because he's worthy not because I'm worried about getting in trouble so listen there are things that are hijacking your wrist and it may have something to do with the fact that you're not convinced that you're standing with God does not change we have to believe that we are adopted I'm gonna close with this Hebrews 4 I'm just gonna read a few phrases because Hebrews 4 has a lot of statements that deal with doctrine and can be a little confusing but he says some really interesting things here and Hebrews chapter 4 the first few verses it says for we who have believed enter that wrist he's talking about the believers wrist and he's talking about something God said to the children of Israel he says just as he said as God said I swore in my wrath they shall not into my wrist there's two that's the second kind of risk we see in this passage so in verse 6 it says therefore since it remains therefore since it remains for some to enter it and those who formerly had good news preached to them fail to enter it because of disobedience he again fixes a certain date today he's saying in verse 8 for if Joshua had given them rest he would not have spoken of another day after that verse 9 so there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God for the one who entered rest himself also rested from his works as God did from his so there's three kinds of rest that's happening in this passage the writer of Hebrews is saying we have what they call a salvation risk this is the rest that we get when we choose Jesus and we have eternity we're secure saved from hell we can rest in that that's a big exhale right there but then he says we have sanctification rest this is submission rest where we daily enter into his rest by abiding in him and here's what's interesting when he says and I'm just explaining this one verse to you in verse 8 of Hebrews 4 when it says for if Joshua had given them rest he would not have spoken of another day after that what he's talking about is under Joshua's Direction the children of Israel saw the land of Canaan right that was the promised land that's what that's what they grandparents and their Mariners didn't see because they acted cray-cray in the wilderness and so now Moses dies and Joshua's got a day crossing Jordans docking on Jericho and Canaan is there you know this is like generations of promise everybody's waiting on Canaan right this is the milk and honey land this is the land of promise and the Bible is saying here that if Canaan was the real rest Joshua wouldn't talked about another s afterwards he's saying that the best promise God has on earth is still not as good as the rest you can find in God alone he said if he answers every prayer for you the thing you've been waiting 20 years for if he helps you to realize every dream the promise is still not better than the position that you have in the family of God and your rest cannot only when God does what you've been asking him to do your rest has to be and who God says you are the identity that he established before you were born this is sanctification rest he calls its submission risk because daily I'm yielding and abiding and and waiting in God and that's where my rest is even in the midst of Canaan y'all everybody was waiting on Canaan he said but even that is not the real rest there is something better this is why a sin lifestyle can rob us of rest because when we're in a repetitive seeing lifestyle we not acting like we adopted we're not acting like God has reified us so you see stories like the prodigal son who thought he was arrogant enough and had his little change and that didn't work out well for him but that stress and anxiety why he's away from home it's peace when he comes back home and nobody's talking about all the things you did wrong while you were gone that's between you and the Lord the thing is the peace is where you when you're with the one who gave you the position in the family to begin with so don't matter how much the money and the things and the things that God can give you if you ever try to enjoy those things apart from God as the prodigal son the stuff was the same that he had at home and when he was out on the road right so it ran out but that physical running out is only a metaphor for how we spiritually can run out every time we disconnect from God he's saying it's not the stuff the stuff can be the same out here as you have it at home but it's the connection to the father that gives us peace where we're not worried about what what's happening in the next day we're not worried about how the thing is gonna work out it is finding our place at the table of the family of God that gives us a rest like no other a rest like no other and let me tell you something today if it hasn't happened already the enemy is coming for you he's coming for you he's gonna make you think about all the shortcomings of your family and your past habits and what you came from and how you failed and how many times you had to get back up and start back over and what are you doing with your life he's gonna bring up a bunch of stuff but all that he brings up has thing to do with your standing in the family of God every circumstance he brings up in your life whether it happened to you it happened because of you does not affect your position once you're a believer in Christ Jesus so you can acknowledge that and tell the devil I already knew that and I still have my rest because the piece that God gives me is perfect it's untouchable my adoption is irreversible it cannot be changed it cannot be altered it is not conditional it is a unique gift of God and nothing you say and nothing I encounter can alter my peace unless I let it and let's not let it so all the the mental health and mental disorder that is ring rampant not in the world in the church in the church we supposed to have the perfect peace of God and we getting diagnosed with something every other day this is I'm not anybody's therapist I'm not telling you about your diagnosis or your medication I'm trying to tell you that every issue that we have in life is a theological issue and if Jesus is the peace that he gives your mind is perfect then something has tainted and altered and corrupted that peace get to the root of that thing you don't have to medicate it get to the root of the thing that is lying to you about your peace because [Applause] we've allowed some things and some voices with situations to tell us to inform us about our standing you know I have a friend who works in trafficking and that is a hard calling that's not rolling your window down and giving change and keep going she's in the thick of it and it is rough y'all those stories it is just it's heartbreaking and sometimes I'm like how can you stay in this it's like CPS workers are some teachers who have challenging school that sometimes she's just like oh it's just gonna drain the life out of me but you know what she tells me she says every time I see one of those girls I'm like that's somebody's daughter I don't care if the guy was trifling I don't care if he's even alive she said at one point in time she was treasured and valued by somebody so when I see these girls forced into addiction or already addicted and exploited for their bodies when I see all of these crazy situations I don't see what they're actually currently in I see who I know they are she says I know that I did I know who God's made them to be and let me tell you something you might not have ever found yourself in a situation that extreme but seeing is ugly seeing is messy seeing is addictive sin is dirty and they will corrupt us our pain will lie to us our past will try to identify us but know this you are somebody's daughter and I talk about your father on earth he may have been amazing but he not God you no matter if you had a fabulous family or a family you never want to talk about let me tell you something Jesus Christ has adopted you into the family of God your debt has been canceled your name has been changed you have new life and new identity and most importantly it is irreversible irreversible so when you walk out of here it might be a text waiting for you now trying to take your peace when you walk out of here you tell whatever it is and the devil that nothing can break the seal nothing can break the seal the enemy may try but nothing can break the seal he's gonna bring some things your way the relationship that's going well it's gonna be jacked up all of a sudden your finance is what you have cleaning savings all of a sudden gonna be missing you're not gonna know what's going on with your job your health your body your kids your family whatever it is near and dear to you but let me tell you something when that gets altered it doesn't change your peace nothing can break the seal in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus come on let's pray I want to sustain if you don't have to leave to grab the kiddos I'm gonna pray for us real quick and when I pray we have a video it's just a music video but it's a song that I love is called adopted and it just speaks to how God has taken us in and re-identified us and reclaimed us as his own and y'all I don't know about you but I don't have to think about my family here on earth to find amazing value in the fact that God has made me an inheritor that out of his goodness and His grace he decided to call me his own and it is irreversible father we thank you so much for this adoption we thank you that we are daughters that we are inheritors that we are chosen that we are royal that we are yours that we pray against anything that would make us question where we belong that would make us wonder where we fit in the family of God that would make us doubt that our salvation is secure that our standing with you is guaranteed now we pray against any mindset any any thinking any people any situation whatever we've allowed pain trauma past present something that hasn't even happened yet God we pray that you would protect our peace which remind us that it's perfect God is not conditional as the world gives it but you give us perfect peace untouchable unconditional unchangeable peace God and you have sealed us in the holy spirit and all the darts of the enemy cannot break the seal would you remind us God that as things come our way nothing can break the seal that we have the peace of God and it is untouchable would you help us to rest in your peace would you help us to start to practice a Sabbath lifestyle so we can remember how you brought us out of Egypt so we can remember that you were the Lord that sanctifies that we love you and we thank you that we are adopted and nothing can break the seal in the name of Jesus we said amen amen [Applause]

Channel: One Community Church

Views: 5,932

Rating: 4.972414 out of 5

Keywords: relationships, faith, bible study, women's ministry, rest, anxiety, friendships, God, purpose

Id: A-k-br4yDX4

Length: 52min 13sec (3133 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 14 2020