Mercy In The Mess

06 Sep Mercy In The Mess

Posted at 22:58h in English Service by

Preacher Huijun - 23 July 2015

Be Wise, Choose Christ

Mt 2:1-23 In our christian faith, do we often find ourselves sitting on the fence? While we do not reject Christ, do we truly accept Him? Do we truly seek Him for who He is instead of how we want Him to be? Do we truly yearn to have fellowship with Him in our spirit, and delight in knowing His heart for us today? If we’re to introspect our hearts today, we will often realise that our relationship with God is often contaminated by hypocrisy and selfish motives - sometimes, we subconsciously come to God for certain personal gains, not genuinely convinced that God has already prepared the best for His children, all He really want is our inner joy in Him first. There’re also many moments in our lives when we’re just contended with our outward worshipping of God (going to many church meetings, serving fervently out of our self-will) that our hearts start to turn numb towards the truth of God. We have grown to know the truth of God on the outside, without connecting it with our hearts and let it becomes the substance of our thinking, speech and living. We sometimes run into the danger of thinking the truth is not something we can do at this point of time, and want to test the threshold and wait a little more before we want to submit to God, and be led by Him. Familiarity breeds contempt. As time goes by, the indifferent spirit deepens and takes roots, giving the devil increasing foothold to work in our hearts to doubt the love of God, to belittle the promise of God, to give up on the fellowship with God and His people. Through the message shared today, may the truth once again shines upon our hearts and expose the indifferent spirit within us. When God exposes us this hidden channel of Satan’s work, it’s because He wants to protect us from turning to a King-Herod-like man who rejected Christ and became the slave to sin. He’s always working in our lives to carry His perfect will to completion, and He delights in us being in partnership with Him and enjoy the glory together with Him. Choose life by choosing to fight the indifferent spirit in our life, so that we can grow in genuine fellowship with God. When our strength seems to be running out in the fight, God being God He is, will add on strength and grace to continue fighting, for He is always on our side.

Related Topics: Knowing Jesus | More Messages from Preacher Huijun

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1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.

14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

 

Messy families abound in a sinful world.

1) A trend observed in the Bible.

  • Polygamy
  • Sibling rivalry
  • Deception
  • Murder
  • Adultery
  • God blessed His people not because they were perfect, but because He loved them.

 

2) Brokenness persists today.

 

3) Sinful humans cannot be completely harmonious and loving.

 

Thankfully, God is at work in this mess.

  • To draw us to His gospel.
  • Mess >>> Mercy
  • Pain >>> Praise
  • Those whom God blesses and uses are not those who are perfect, but those who need Christ.

 

Not perfect but redeemable.

* How to be healed from a messy family?

  • Christ heals brokenness.
  • If already know it is fragile, take extra care to cling to God.
  • Repent of sins that contribute to the mess.
  • Be healed by God’s love and live out His word.
  • Persevere!

 

Lessons from Jacob’s messy family.

1) The marriage pleasing to God is that between one man and one woman.

 

2) Jealousy is destructive.

  • Only desire what others have but not appreciate what we have.
  • Can lead to more serious sins and extend beyond generations.
  • Hidden >>> dangerous
  • Tend to spoil relationships closer to us.
  • Makes us more bitter.
  • Solutions:
    • Find back our worth in God.
    • Learn to give thanks.
    • Love others sincerely.

 

3) Insistence on one’s desire(s) can be detrimental.

  • Jacob’s problem: Only loved Rachel, but did not confirm how valuable Leah was too.
  • We tend to love the obvious good, but do not see value in the lowly, despised, foolish, and the weak who are chosen by God <1 Co 1:27-28>.
  • Learn to appreciate blessings hidden in the “Leahs” of our lives.
  • Submit to God’s plan even if it is not of our choice.
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Preacher Hui Jun
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Huijun serves as Secretary of The Blessed RUN Ministries. She is also the Preacher at The Life Church and Missions (Singapore). She graduated from Singapore Bible College and currently lives in Singapore with her husband, Chengji.

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