John 14:1-4 NLT
Backstory-
In the days before the beginning of passover, Jesus takes the time to teach some final lessons as a carnal being to the disciples. He lays out the remaining scripture plainly so that there is no confusion of who he is and what he has said prior to crucifixion. At this time in true Jesus fashion he remains humble, and sets the example for his disciples to follow.
Often times in life it is said that it is darkest before dawn, meaning things get to be the worst before they begin to get better.
As a born again believer that statement has reigned true in my life.
How many of you recall what life was like for you before you felt a move from God?
There are so many adjectives that I could use to describe my feelings while waiting
Anger, Sorrow, Anxiety, Anguish, Hopelessness, Hurt
So many emotions come into play when your heart is on the line, and often times we get caught up in this emotions instead of in God’s promise.
A lot of us have done it, myself included. I have found myself deep in my feelings when the reality is that as a born again believer I should have chose to get deeper into my relationship.
You see God stays true to his word, should we choose him in the same way that he has chosen us.
That brings us to our first Keyword… Pursuit.
Pursuit is defined as the action of following or pursuing someone or something.
Our first thought of each day should be to pursue God.
When we find ourselves stuck, when we find ourselves going through we should pursue God
When its all good we ought to pursue God
When its all bad we ought to pursue God
When were at the end of our rope we ought to pursue God
When everything has gone crazy, including us we ought to pursue God
Each moment of our lives we should be pursuing a right relationship with God, we should be following him closely, the closer we are to him, the more we trust him, the more we exercise our faith the lighter the load becomes.
What does exercising faith look like? It looks like allowing God to do what he promises. It looks like getting closer to him and laying our burdens at his feet. It looks like reading our bible, and crying out in prayer, it looks like applying what we read, it looks like leaving our earthly sorrows with the one who has conquered death, hell, and the grave.
When you find yourself blessed with a new day pursue God, and when you fall short, pursue God, when it hurts pursue God. Be honest with him, and he will take care of you.
Our second Keyword…..Accountability.
Accountability is defined as the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility.
We’re going to break this on down even further because this is where a lot of us struggle.
Accountable is defined as required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible.
Responsibility is defined as the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone.
But if you read further down in that definition you will also see a moral obligation to behave correctly toward or in respect of.
I’m not trying to be in anyones business, so I’m gonna keep this part on me so that you can hear, and then if any of this sounds familiar go ahead and throw yourself in this category.
I had gone through life for a period of time and everything that happened to me, or around me, was NOT my fault. I had nothing to do with it.
My life was the way it was because of what HE did, or what SHE did. It was because of what my mama said, what my daddy didn’t say, what was done to me, what was done around me, because of how someone else made me feel I needed that drink, because of how someone made me feel, I had to let them know what time it was, because of the choices someone else made I had to react outside of who I am called to be. Its their fault, it had nothing to do with me the way that mu live was unfolding was the direct result of the people around me and not the spirit within me.
It took me a while to see just how big of a trick of the devil that was.
It amazes me how easy it is to spot other folks demons, while we’re living life growing horns and stinking because of our own.
Our lives have everything to do with the choices that WE make,
yes we have experiences that influence our choices
Remember God has given us the ability to choose and it is up to us to choose wisely who we will serve.
God doesn’t sponsor double dutch, meaning we aren’t supposed to be jumping in and out between him and the world, we are called to live a life that is pleasing in his sight, not our own. We have to learn to act justly, we have to learn to please God in our every moment and not ourselves not our body not or carnal urges, but to live a life that God doesn’t have to always forgive, instead he can see a reflection of himself in us.
To do that we have to get real, we have to take the necessary steps to examine the life that we are living and make the appropriate adjustments. I know its hard and old habits die hard, but there was not death more difficult than the one the our Lord and savior experienced that we might be free. If we don’t owe it to ourselves we definitely owe it to Jesus.
Our third and final keyword is Practice.
Practice is defined as the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
We can’t just go around talking about who we are in Christ, we have to walk it just like we talk it. We have to be the example that Christ was to his disciples, living a life that is pure and right. It is imperative that we do more than say I believe, we have to act in that belief each and every day. In no way does that mean we will be perfect, however, we must strive for perfection. We must do our best and allow God to do the rest.
You see if you were paying attention then you can see how close knit these three keywords are. This faith walk is so much bigger than ourselves and our individuality. It is when we work together as a collective in Christ that souls truly surrender. It is when we deal with us honestly without reservation, hesitation, and hiding that we are freed from ourselves.
This walk isn’t easy the road is narrow, and we will stumble, but the God that we serve will guide our footsteps and light out path. He is the balm that will heal us when we hurt, he is the one that will keeps us from falling, but we must choose him in everything that we do, even when were down, even when life has gone awry, even when it hurts,
Amen