Hurting is Dumb

Yesterday I made a Facebook post that said: hurting is dumb. I stand behind that statement. Then this was posted today by a dear friend: "Good morning! I saw Meg Manning's post - "Hurting is dumb". I was wondering if anyone else is hurting? I am guessing Meg's post is physical - but is anyone hurting emotionally? My heart is aching, tears are falling and it has been that way off and on for 4 days..."

My post was generally about being in physical pain, which is currently constant and severe. But I have other pain as well. The pain that comes with redefining the words in my dictionary that I let define me. The pain that comes with unconditional acceptance, love, and new friendship. The pain that comes from hard comes from hard conversations that push you to grow and trust Jesus more. The pain of being reliant on medication to get through the day. The pain of the enemy working against you at every step. The pain of losing consumers that I love and watching their families hurt. And the list could go on.

We all face pain daily. And that is DUMB! Jesus told us in John that we would have trouble in this world but he has overcome the world! He also said that the devil is only here to steal, kill, and destroy. Unfortunately for us, he has had thousands of years of practice and is really good at it. But Jesus promised to give us life abundantly. That looks different for each one of us. But abundant life for me today is just making it to the end day in one piece. 

Ugly

The past twenty-four hours of my life have been ugly. I have been emotional, angry, anxious, frustrated, stressed, and about 1000 other things.

This partly due to not feeling well, but mostly to due to speaking this coming weekend, the retreat and not feeling adequate.

Please pray for all of us involved in this weekend's retreat... I am know that I am not the only one that the devil is fighting on this. He will continue to do whatever it takes to kill, steal, destroy, distract, frustrate or provoke... We need your prayers.

Cup of Deliverance

These are some rough notes that I preached from on Sunday evening... take what you will from them.

Deliverance

Exodus 6:6-7 “Therefore I say to the people of Israel: “I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and I will reduce from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgement. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression.” 

Luke 4 when Jesus was quoting Isaiah and said “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

We are in the season of Lent and Lent coincides with Passover. During the Seder meal at Passover there are four cups… Today I want to talk about the second cup: The Cup of Deliverance 

Deliverance is not the same as Salvation… Salvation saved us from eternity separated from God in the same way God saved the Israelites from the land and rule of Egypt. The problem was for the Israelites that Egypt was still in their heart… they still thought, behaved and acted like slaves. We do the same thing after we drink from the cup of salvation. We are saved, loving Jesus and on our way to heaven but our life here on earth isn’t that great. We need to drink from the cup of deliverance for 3 reasons

1. Victory over sin

1. God never intended us to live defeated, frustrated lives of barely surviving.
2. Paul understood the struggle against flesh and spirit very well Romans 7:21-24 says “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war agains the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man that I am! Who will resume me form this body that is subject to death. 
3. We can be free spiritually, committed to following Jesus and yet still act like slaves to old habits and sinful behaviors. 
4. Can you go to heaven without ever gaining control over your sinful habits? Yes! Emphatically, YES! but scripture is clear that if we really love God we will not continue to keep sinning. 
5. Philippians 2:12-13 says Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” We cannot work to earn salvation, it is the free gift of grace offered to us through Christ Jesus. But we can and should be working to show the results of our salvation by living a life that is pleasing to God.
6. We must put our sinful natures aside and have victory in Christ. God didn’t save us only to have us settle for less than His best. 

2. Healed from past wounds

1. Let me be perfectly honest with you, this point has been very difficult to wrestle with over the past week our 10 days. My wounds are still apparent and to be real… they still hurt deeply. 
2. My biggest wound is my physical health. I have struggled for the past six years with illness and surgeries and hospital stays and trial drugs… and the list could go on. My illness has rendered me incapable of having a child, affected my relationships with friends, and with God, it has hurt me financially and it isn’t over yet. This wound is ever present and therefore hard to know how to heal because it is truly not in the past… for me I have to trust that the words Paul wrote in Corinthians are true for me too… “I was given this thorn in the flesh, a messenger of satan to torment me… I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it from me and he spoke to me “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” I have pleaded with the Lord to take this from me but in His no and not now answers His grace is still sufficient for me and I can trust that ALL things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purposes. 
3. Sometimes our past and our present has left some wounds deep in our heart and soul. A divorce, abuse, disappointment, illness all take serious toll on our heart but God through drinking of the cup of deliverance will heal every wound. 

3. Authority over the enemy

1. The devil is real. Let me say it again… the DEVIL OUR ENEMY is REAL. 
2. But rest assured he is already defeated. Because Jesus conquered him on the cross. Unfortunately, that has not stopped his scheming and deceiving. 
3. John 10:10 says “The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy. But I came that you may have life and have it abundantly!” 1 Peter 5:8 puts it another way, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
4. Sometimes there is no sin and there is no wound just a plan from the devil to defeat you and ruin your life. 
5. But you have authority over him in every area of your life. 
6. Ephesians 6:10-12 Encourages us in this way “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of they dark world and agains the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Put on the full armor of God daily… the devil and his minions are not taking a break to not let them see a crack in your armor.

How do we do drink from this Cup? How can deliverance be ours? 

1. Deliverance is a process so don’t get too down on about where you are at in the journey.
2. Relationships are key! We cannot do this alone. We cannot triumph over our stuff without first the help of the Holy Spirit and second the help of fellow believers. I am not saying any/all relationships but good relationships with those who love Jesus.
3. First we must confess our sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess your sins, He GOD is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Ok we are clean now and can be in God’s presence… We are saved and things are great but then sin sneaks back in.
4. We must confess our sins to a faithful believer or small group. Now you may be thinking that I am pulling your leg and you only need to confess to God, but check what scripture says about it Proverbs 28: 13 says Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. And then James 5:16 says Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
5. God saves us but we are healed through and with God’s people.
6. Don’t confess to everyone or anyone… that will bite you. But find a few trusted people and show them your hurt, your heart, your struggles and PRAY together for the healing of the Holy Spirit to flood your lives. Confession brings accountability… 
7. I get it. It is hard to confess our sins, hurts, weaknesses to one another. It can be embarrassing. But in the body of Christ there is no condemnation if we are truly living out Romans 8. 
8. Finally, be in God’s word. We know from Timothy’s book that the word of God is alive and that every scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, admonishing and training in righteousness. You cannot be dominated by thoughts that are not of God and if you fill yourself with scripture those thoughts no longer have the brainspace but God’s word does! Let the Holy Spirit control your mind. You have to get into God’s word so God’s word can get into you. Do not use the words of this book as a weapon but as a healing balm. 

Please pray with me: we remember that you, God, freed the Israelites from Egypt.  We remember that you still free us from the enslavement of sin through Jesus Christ!  Therefore, let us rejoice at the wonder of our deliverance from bondage to freedom, from agony to joy, from darkness to light.  Before you let us sing a new song of praise.  We look with hope to our final redemption, and our eternal life with  Jesus Christ.  We praise you, O God, and give you all glory, honor and praise for you only are worthy of all that we are. Let us continue to grow in the love, grace and knowledge of who you are and who we are in you. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.