Mercy In The Mess

06 Sep Mercy In The Mess

Posted at 22:58h in English Service by

Preacher Huijun - 6 August 2015

Jesus Misplaced?

When you need Jesus, can you find Him? Often, despite learning more bible knowledge, we find ourselves a spiritual handicap when we're being put on the spot - when trials come, when inconveniences arise and things become not smooth-sailing, we lose the peace and joy we had a moment ago, as if Jesus has left us. The truths we heard seem to become irrelevant to the reality we're living in, and Jesus is no where to be found. However, Jesus is not found in any other place but in your heart, when your heart solely want to seek Him for who He is, not what you want Him to be and do in your circumstances. A lot of times, we cannot find Jesus because we fit Jesus into our humanistic ideals, only to find ourselves disappointed and frustrated toward God. Jesus is not our ideal but the ideal, perfect God, originally and principally the way He is. However, a lot of times, we cannot seem to reconcile His perfection in our imperfections, His spirituality into our earthly human roles, causing us great distress because we can only feel ourselves to be so distant from Him. God said, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." The spiritual distance we feel from God is to drive us into prayers. As we seek Him, willing to be taught by Him and hear His voice, Holy Spirit will work through the truths we know and drive us into deeper reliance on Him. God can soften our wilfulness in prayers, He can also restore a fighting heart against the forces of darkness within us.. Pray as we live, live as we pray. In the things we cannot completely understand right now because of our limitations, let's restore a humble heart before God first, profess that He is the true and living God, and let Him work through the truth stored in our hearts. Our faithful God will work through the Holy Spirit within us to shape us into His likeness, increasingly and progressively in His grace and love.

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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