OUR PRIORITIES AND LIFE'S FAILURES

By Brandon Walker

There are days in our lives that it may see like everything that can go wrong, does. At least that’s what Murphy’s law states, anyways. But, whether Murphy’s Law holds any validity or not isn’t something we’re going to talk about today. But seriously, there are days that everything we seem to touch, turns to disaster. Or maybe even those days seem to be very common, and occurring more often than not. You can’t get ahead at your job. You’re in a struggle to see eye to eye in your important relationships. Your finances seem to be vanishing before your eyes, and you really can’t figure out where they’re going. Maybe your just restless and nothing is really fulfilling and satisfying anymore. I’ve been there more times than i’m proud to admit.

Well, there’s actually this tiny little book near the end of the Old Testament that talks about these things. It’s a book called Haggai. Haggai is one of the “minor prophets” of the Old Testament. The book itself is only two chapters long. It’s also called a “post exile” book, meaning it was written after the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem after they were exiled (kicked out of their home country) to Babylon for many years. God had removed the people of Judah (north Israel) and allowed them to become captives to the Babylonian empire. God only did this after years of warning and rebuking the people of Judah through prophets about their ongoing sin of idolatry and disregard for God in their lives as a whole. They had also deeply sinned by trying to replace God with empty things, or as Jeremiah 2:13 says, they “dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold any water.” After 70 years or so, the Babylonian empire fell to the the Persians, and under their leader, Cyrus, the Israelites were allowed to return the their homeland. That’s where the book of Haggai begins, or actually about 16 years after they had been back. We see Haggai bring forth a message from God to the remnant people that returned from the exile. in Haggai 1:4-6 we read the following:

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while thishouse lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

The people of Israel have been back in Judah for 16 years, and the once great temple of God that was built by Solomon, still lay in ruins. However, the people had found it more necessary to build for themselves some vert nice houses; paneled houses at that. These homes were very nice for the time. They took time and money to build. And lots of both. If we go back to verse 2, we see that the people even said “it’s not time to rebuild the temple yet.” Even after sixteen years it wasn’t time? But yet they seemed to find the time to make sure their homes were nice and well built. Yeah, that’s pretty much what God said to them through Haggai. He even goes on to tell the people that the reason all their other endeavors in life, from their harvesting to their eating and drinking, all the way to their paychecks, was failing, was because God himself had caused it. That’s right. God had withheld his blessings because the people had decided to follow their own priorities instead of taking up God’s. See, the temple was a big deal in the Old Testament. It was where God met with His people. It was His dwelling place. Sacrifice for sin was made at the temple. And beginning to rebuild the temple should have been the first thing that happened upon returning home from the exile. It should have been the people’s priority because it was God’s. In contrast, the people took up their own priorities: themselves.

Does this hit home for you at all?

So many times, we wander. We wander away from God’s purpose for our lives. We wander away from his priorities and take up our own. Our priorities direct our lives, our time, and our money. We even take the things God has blessed us with, such as work and family, and make them our sole purpose for living. In essence, we commit the very sin that sent the people of Israel into exile to begin with (Jeremiah 2:13): we build for ourselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water. In other words, when we pursue our priorities over God’s, we will be unsatisfied with our results. Guaranteed. Not only will we be unsatisfied, we may see that everything we are trying to accomplish on our own is failing miserably and falling short of the desired.

The good news is that once the people of Israel heard this message of rebuke from Haggai, they saw the error of their ways. They repented, which is a fancy way of saying they begin to obey where the were disobeying. God told them after they repented, “I am with you.” And God stirred up their spirit and gave them the desire to rebuild the temple of God.

So, maybe this is you. Maybe right now, you’re seeing the dissatisfaction in your life, and how everything just seems to be not coming to fruition the way you’d like. Maybe you see the areas that you’ve made life all about you and what’s important to you. And now, maybe your making the connection between those last two sentences. Are you building your own temple? Have you been taking life into your own hands as you see fit?

The wonderful news is that if we find ourselves building our own little temples and not pursuing the God given purpose and priorities He has in store for us, we can repent. We can obey where we were once disobeying. And building God’s temple isn’t the same as it was in the Old Testament. We don’t have the need for a physical temple to meet with God. We are his temple, and as a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. But, to direct our priorities to the building of God’s kingdom in this present world for the sake of eternity is our new priority. When we make this our priorities, God is with us in our efforts. He will stir up our spirits and give us the ability to accomplish the things that He has given us to do.

And those efforts will not fail, because God cannot fail. And that, Christian, is worth making a priority.

Brandon Walker

South Fork Church

A Choice of Life or Death

I must share something before we start our post today. I began reading a different kind of book this week. And I’ll be honest, reading is something I don’t particularly do a lot of. Don’t get me wrong, I do actually read. Menus, social media, Amazon reviews… well, you get what I’m saying. In all seriousness, my circle of subject matter is pretty small for my reading. The Bible takes up a very major part of my reading material. And I don’t say that to be boastful. I simply mean that’s about the majority of what I read. That, and commentaries and sermons by some of my favorite preachers and Bible teachers. And I promise, I only say that to say this: I’m a man of routine. That can be good and sometimes, that can be bad. My wife will tell you that. She knows me well. So, when I was talking to her the other day about some heavy struggles in life, she recommended a book she was reading. It wasn’t a book I would particularly read by choice. And that’s only because of that thing about me being a routine person. This book she recommended didn’t fit into what I usually read. It’s called “Get Out of Your Head,” by Jennie Allen. My wife is currently in a women’s bible study that is using this particular book. So, I did what you usually do before deciding to begin reading a book. I flipped it over and read the back cover. You know, the same thing you used to do to decide which DVDs to rent at Blockbuster (Not familiar with Blockbuster? Just ask your parents.). I immediately realized this book was about things that I had taught and led in bible studies and small groups before. It’s about the battle that all of us in the Christian faith face on a daily occurrence: the battle in our minds.

Jennie Allen is also the founder of a ministry called IF:The Gathering. But trust me when I say, this isn’t a “chick book.” Yes, Jennie’s ministry may be focused on equipping women in their daily discipleship, but the truths in this book are for men and women alike. The truth that our emotions and actions all are dictated by our thoughts is something that we all need to hear. Jennie Allen states early in the book, that all our negative thoughts can be interrupted by one single phrase:

“I have a choice.”

This is stated early in the book, so I promise, I haven’t ruined it for you. This is simply expounded on further as the reader moves forward. But this is so profound in its simplicity. Let’s take a look at what I mean.

Last week we talked about shame, and our instinct to run and hide from God and others when we are tempted with it. (Check it out here.) We took a step back and looked at Romans 7 and at Pauls inspired pen about a struggle we all know too well. In verse 15, Paul writes: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Sounds encouraging, right? We can’t stop there, however.

Remember when I suggested reading Romans 8 in our last post? Paul doesn’t end his despair and leave it where it lies in chapter 7. On the contrary, he continues to explain the best news we could hear concerning our struggle with ourselves and the struggle in our minds. Paul begins chapter 8 by telling us exactly why God sent Jesus to die. In verse 4, he writes, “He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the spirit.”

Did you catch that? We, who are Christians, are filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 1 tells us that the Spirit is “life-giving” and has “freed us from the power of sin.” In verse 9, we read “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.” The Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave has come to live inside us who belong to Him, and because of this wonderful truth, we are no longer controlled by our sinful nature.

“Then,” you ask, ”why in the world am I still doing what Paul talks about in Romans 7? Why am I watching myself do and say things that aren’t lining up with my desires to obey God? If I’m controlled by the Spirit, why am I still caught up in sin?” Verse 12 and 13 answers this for us.

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”

There it is.

The choice that Jennie Allen talks about in her book. We have a choice. We have a choice to either give in to the urges of our sinful nature that still lives inside of our mortal bodies, or by the Spirit, put those urges to death. That choice is one we must make on a constant daily basis. It will take diligent discipline and work. But, the good news is that this work isn’t accomplished by our will power. It’s taken care of by Christ Himself, though the work of the Holy Spirit within us. When we make the willful choice to rely on the Spirit’s promised work to make us more like Christ and resist the urges of our unredeemed flesh, we begin to see the tide start turning in our favor. Our choices determine our emotions and actions. There lies our joy and peace. Or our misery and despair, or even death, depending on our choice. You see, the fascinating thing is that this is a very predictable formula we’re talking about here. Biblically speaking, of course. Look at verse 13 again. If you make choices based on your flesh and sinful nature, bad things happen. Guaranteed. Every single time. Like clockwork. They may be immediate, or they may be cumulative. But the Word of God states that bad things will happen. In your relationships, your emotions, your parenting, your effectiveness as an employee or employer, and everywhere in between. On the other side of the coin, we can make the right choice. The choice to be led by the Spirit of God that has taken up residence inside of us. I’m pretty sure He knows best for us. We simply make the choice to allow Him to lead us, speak for us, and even guide our thinking. Good things happen then. Guaranteed. Every time. Like clockwork.

Making that choice on a consistent basis will take time. But just like anything else worth doing, the effort put into taking your thoughts captive and making them obey your choice to follow the Spirit’s work, will take persistence and work. But, it’s well worth our time. Our joy and peace is at stake. Even our life. During this process of being sanctified, remember to focus on Christ and His accomplished work on the cross. Rely on His grace and promise of forgiveness of every single sin. And above all else, trust in Him to do what He has said He will faithfully do: keep you in His love.

Christian, you have a choice. Choose well.

-Brandon Walker

South Fork Church

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Shame And A Call To Stop Hiding

I’m going to give you an honest, inside look at some of my thought life that is more recurring than I’m proud to admit:

“I know these things are wrong that I’m being tempted with. It’s obvious. But why in the world is the desire so strong to do something I know is SO not right in God’s eyes?”

Would it be too much to say that some days, it seems like there’s two versions of ourselves: the man (or woman) that desires to follow and obey the words of our Lord, and then another “version” of ourselves that almost burns with desire to sin. Too extreme? Probably not, if we’re honest.

Paul describes this very struggle in the book of Romans. In Romans 7:15, he states, '“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Later in verse 24, Paul calls himself “wretched” as a result of this struggle. And a lot of the time, that’s where we find ourselves. And that’s where we stop, as if we’ve ran into an immoveable wall of shame. Stuck. And we can easily stay in this vicious cycle of feeling defeated, making us feel isolated from our families, our fellow Christians, and even God Himself.

That’s what shame does. It makes us feel alone and distant. It’s not the same as guilt. Healthy guilt, or conviction, is a gut check that tells us we’ve sinned. Shame, however tells us that because we’ve sinned, something is wrong with us that isn’t wrong with anybody else. It tells us that we’re unlovable.

It tempts us to hide.

In Genesis 3, we see this play out for the first time in history. Eve was deceived into believing she misunderstood God’s commands concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She was convinced that something she understood to be forbidden was actually good for her. Sound familiar? That’s how temptation works. When she and Adam ate that forbidden fruit, we are told in Genesis 3:7, “… their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked.” Then they hid from God. Or we should say, they tried to hide.

In verse 9, God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” Such powerful words from our father God! Since we know our God is all knowing and all powerful, with nothing in thought or deed able to be hidden from Him, we see Him offering this invitation to Adam and Eve. His asking, “Where are you?” was just that. An invitation to come to Him in honesty. To confess our sin. To be free from guilt. To destroy shame.

Is this you today? It has definitely been me. To prevent shame from taking its hold on us, we must accept the invitation given to us by God today. “Where are you?” Go to him, Christian. Stop hiding. He is waiting.

In Romans 7 where we started today, Paul doesn’t leave us hanging. He knows the solution to his struggle. “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!” From there, Paul gives us one of the most powerful chapters in the New Testament, which begins with “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus Christ.” Amen and Amen!

Now, go read the rest of Romans 8.

And stop hiding.

-Brandon Walker,

South Fork Church