03 Mar Facing Guilt In Inevitable Circumstances
Pastor Vincent - 4 June 2015
Doing Nothing, Yet Believing Everything
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:17 NIV) In life, we are subjected to various circumstances and decision points that propel us to mobilize our human wits to do something, find something, or solve something right away. Our human nature always draws us to focus on the signs and outcomes of things, and thus it activates our big self easily, causing the big self to drive us. Yet, the big irony is, it's also this big self that hinder us from magnifying Christ, ie the biggest victory before we ever activate anything. When Christ sent His disciples to preach the gospel, those who were sent included people like Peter who was a mere fisherman, lowly educated he was. But God has a message for us -- a lot of times, we focus a lot on the outcomes eg whether one will believe in Christ, whether our family will be saved, can we fulfil our key performance indicators at work etc etc... But when Christ commissioned His people to preach the gospel, it's because the gospel itself is all that we ever need in evangelism, not our eloquence nor human wits. The gospel, in its inherent nature, has all its power to effect the outcome God has intended to bring on. But it's only when man looks upon God with a believing heart can he participate in the glorious fulfilment of God's work. As we continue on our pilgrim's journey, God wants us to do nothing out of our human nature, but believe in everything because we genuinely and sincerely hold onto God's promises. When we rest ourselves on the right platform (eg the unchanging promise of God), it will activate all our spiritual senses and propel us to live by faith.
From Series: "All English Service"
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The problem of guilt exists in the human hearts since the fall of men. It is guilt that brings fear actually. Yet when unforeseen undesirable situation arises, causing some unintended consequences, how do we set ourselves free from guilt then? With the Coronavirus striking the churches and society today, we see people reacted with both guilt and fear. How do Christians overcome our inner struggles?
* Understanding Fear.
* Understanding Guilt.
Verses to Read: <1 Sam 30:1-8>
The Spiritual Overview
1. The inevitable circumstances befall!
2. The Lord did not forsake David and his men in their misfortune or desperation
* <1 Sam 30:6>: But David found strength in the Lord His God.
* <Ps 16:10>: You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy one see decay.
3. David seek the counsel of the Lord
* <1 Sam 30:7-8>: “Bring me the ephod”… .and David inquired of the Lord…
4. The Lord spared David from the greater guilt of engaging Saul and the Israelites army in a war.
Qns: How to understand and deal with guilt in inevitable circumstances?
1. Guilt is something that we cannot shoulder.
⟹ Only our Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection could bear all the guilt in this World.
⟹ By believing in Christ, we equally believe in God’s good sovereign will for us.
* <Php 1:12>: What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
2. Guilt is the enemy’s way of weakening us.
⟹ Only the grace of God could remove the guilt and help us find strength in the Lord.
* <Ro 8:35-37>: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
3. Guilt distracts us from seeking God’s counsel.
⟹ Keep seeking the Lord’s counsel, submit to His leading and new ways will open up.
4. Guilt makes us selfish and propels us to pursue our own benefits over others.
* <1 Samuel 30:9-10,18-26>
⟹ Set our perspectives right to bless the churches of God in the COVID_19 saga, for that is the Lord’s heartbeat.
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