Navigating through The Obstacles of Life - Part 1

Transcript

Hello everyone. Thanks for joining with me on another Helping You Become podcast.
I pray it's a blessing to you. Turn in your bibles please to the Gospel of John
and just as you do that, I'm just going to pause for a moment and I invite you
to bow your heads with me and let's just pray and thank the Lord for today's
lesson. Father God, we just thank you so much for your goodness, your mercy, your
grace. And Lord, we just thank you, Holy Spirit, that you're going to lead us and
guide us into the truth of the Word today. Lord, this is an incredible topic and a
wonderful revelation. And Lord, the world is changing at such a dramatic pace. And
so Father, we just thank you for your wisdom. Lord, we thank you for actionable
intelligence, something that we can learn and put into practice in our own lives.
and Lord we ask these things as well as Lord the name of Jesus be lifted up and
we thank you for that. Amen. Turn in your Bibles as I said to John chapter 16
please. There's a verse here that's been rolling around in my spirit for quite some
time. It's about just before the Jesus goes off and is taken in the garden and
then goes away and is crucified and he's speaking with his disciples and in verse
29 his disciples said to him, "Lo thou speakest thou plainly, now speakest thou
plainly and speak no proverb." So Jesus is talking to the guys and they're working
through some things and in verse 31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?
Behold the hour comes." Yeah, it is now come that you should be scattered.
Have you ever thought that about your own self? You just feel scattered at the
time. And now I know he was talking to the guys and they were going to run away
and, you know, go in all different directions and things like that. And Peter was
going to deny him three times, etc. And we know what happens. But just that idea
of being scattered. You've been scattered in your thinking and thinking, wow, man,
what's the point? I mean, I don't know what to do next. I don't know how to
approach this. What is happening to the planet? All these sorts of questions just
rolling around in our heads all the time. I know I've been there and it's not a
pleasant place. You shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me
alone. And yet I am not alone because the "Father is with me." How good is that?
How rich is that verse? "Because the Father is with me." Wow, these things I have
spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.
Oh wow, in Jesus we might have peace.
And that was part of his intent. The divine intention was for us to have peace in
this earth. In the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
And this is a man, an innocent man, that knew he would soon be facing execution.
This is quite remarkable here. In the world you shall have tribulation, and haven't
we seen our fair share of that? I mean there's been all sorts of things going on
in the world. Just you know, in the last few years we've had pandemics and war in
Europe, and we haven't seen the end of that as well as yet. And we've seen,
at the same time we're seeing inflation. We're seeing all kinds of financial
pressures where there's no wiggle room left if I can say it that way. Interest
rates have been so low the only way to combat inflation at a government level is
to increase interest rates but as you increase interest rates you're going to crash
all the stock markets and people superannuation gets just vaporized. So I mean
seriously bad things going on in the world. Right now the world is a volatile,
ever -changing, ever -moving, evolving thing. But it's not just now,
I mean you go read back through your Bible, I'm just flicking through the pages
here, you read back through your Bible and all the way through you the wars and
famines and plagues and empires rising, empires collapsing,
Roman Empire, yes? But all of these things they've been going on for thousands of
years, the world we live in is changing constantly. And my parents lived in a
totally different society, a totally different culture, and a totally different world
to that which I've lived in. And the world for my children is just rapidly changing
and my grandchildren won't have a clue about the kinds of things that went on in
my world except for this thing called history. So for my grandkids it's going to be
completely different again. Now the other thing that is just perplexing me, you know,
Linda and I pasted for nearly two decades and we've always been very very concerned
about people and there's just this incredible human cost going on at the moment.
Now whether it be because of pandemic, whether it be because of broken dissolving
global supply chains, whether it be because of wars or you know upcoming famines
because of the grain shortages, massive price prices and inflation. All of this is
just going on. And there's a massive human cost. It's huge.
The massive human cost I find very, very troubling.
Now we've all got the stresses, what I'd call, you know, probably the normal
stresses and pressures of life. Now they're there all the time, you know,
marriage pressures, Loneliness pressures for the single. Employment pressures.
Non -employment pressures for those that don't have a job. Raising the kids.
Education costs. All of these sorts of things. The dramas that go on just in the
normal living of a normal family. All this up close stuff that's happening all the
time, all the time, All the time, all the time. But now there's all this other
stuff. Now stick with me, because this is a happy sermon. But now there's all this
other stuff that's going on on a global scale. Wars, famines, interest rates,
astronomical debt levels. I mean Australia is something like a trillion dollars.
I mean seriously? You know? I mean that's a really concerning thing if you actually
give it any mind time. So all of these things are going on in our own personal
lives, but then we've got all of this massive tumultuous series of events and
happenings, you know, global financial crises. You know, we saw come through all of
that in 2007 and 2008. I spoke a lot about that across the time. How do I have
any effect on these things outside That I cannot control except through prayer now
the stuff on the inside marriage pressures loneliness pressures You know, I can just
treat my wife better, you know, I can you know join a club join us, you know A
golf club or something whatever badminton club something I can get out and mix with
people I can be active in my local church. I can do stuff. Yes, so I can get
over some of the loneliness side of things. Raising the kids, the cost of education,
all of those, some of these sorts of things, I have a great deal of influence
over. But what the Federal Reserve in America does with interest rates,
I've got no influence over that. What European countries do regarding war and
behaviour at a national level, I've got no absolutely zero influence over those sorts
of things. Sovereign debt at national level around the world in the different
countries. I got no, absolutely no influence over any of these sorts of things aside
from prayer. So in all of this, I think there's a lot of very,
very hurting, very sad, very perplexed people that Literally,
in the world at the moment, things are changing fast, my friends. They really are.
And somewhere on the table of life around the world, there is massive human cost
going on. Chances are, I'll probably be able to do absolutely nothing about it.
Yeah? Neither will you. Okay? And I'm not talking about no, we stop praying or any
of those sorts of things. But you know, as I said, you know, I got zero influence
over what the Fed does on interest rates. Man, I don't even have any influence over
the Reserve Bank in Australia does have interest rates. Okay. And I'd suggest without
being disrespectful, probably neither do you. So all of the day -to -day pressures in
life and marriage and kids and family and work and all of that, okay?
On top of all of those day to day pressures is all of this other stuff. How do I
manage all of that? How do I navigate through it all and not go nuts in the
process? How do I do that? How do I navigate through this minefield?
I was reading about the Titanic just recently, and how it set sail heading off to
America, off to New York, I think, and you know, I did a couple of stops along
the way, went into France and I think Ireland, and so then it was heading off
across the ocean there, and they came into the icebergs. Now other ships were
traveling through the seas at the same time, same place,
same time, and they navigated through the icebergs. But the Titanic didn't.
It hit one, and it was fatal. And this is the thing. I mean,
a person said to me recently, Joe, that message you preached, why don't you call
it, don't be a Titanic.
So, I mean, that's one name we could have for this. But let's just navigate through
the icebergs of life, so that we do navigate through and out the other side.
We don't want to enter into something that's going to be effectively fatal,
whether it be an inverted commas fatal for our marriage or fatal for our finances
or fatal for the relationship with our teenagers. The whole world has had a very,
very tough and hard time the last few years. How do we navigate through it all and
not hit the iceberg of life somewhere along the line? And how do we come out sane
on the other side? Now, I've been trying to manage all of this in my own mind
because I see here in John chapter 16 and in verse 33 Jesus himself speaking,
this is the Son of God. This is the man that created the heavens and the earth.
We know that that was done by the word, the spoken word. And Jesus, this word in
the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. And the word in verse 14 of John chapter one became
flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glories of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. So Jesus Himself is saying this, He's saying to
me, He's saying to you and I, He's saying to the disciples initially, "The inference
here, I have spoken unto you that in me, you might have peace." What?
How can He have peace? How can they have peace? They're scattered.
They're best friend, they're mentor, they're leader, They're saviour. The person looks
after them is about to be executed. And he's saying in me, in me in this
situation, you're gonna have peace. Now that does not compute, my friends. And it
does not compute for the disciples either because they're gonna be scattered. So in
the world, you shall have tribulation. What? Okay,
we're gonna have the problems. We're gonna have the difficulties. this world is full
up with stuff. The personal stuff, Jesus is telling me, for the personal stuff,
there's a degree and a level of peace that I can actually obtain, that I can
achieve, attain, maybe is a better word. So there's this personal level of peace
that I can have, but in the world, there's gonna be a bucket load of tribulations,
but be happy. What? That does not make sense. Be happy, be of good cheer.
living Holy God, how do I achieve this peace? But at the same time, navigate
through the icebergs of life where there is tremendous and massive human cost going
on on all fronts, whether it be inflation, you know, rising interest rates,
whatever it's going to be. You know, we may not be in Australia here in a
particularly bad situation like some of the other countries around the world.
Australia is one of the most blessed nations on the face of the earth. Thank you
Jesus. We've recently had a Will Graham crusade in Tasmania where I live.
Many people came to the Lord. It was a precious wonderful thing that that man in
that organization did for the people of Tasmania as all the churches came together
and brought him out here. So, but in this world there's going to be trouble and
tribulation and drama, but be of good cheer. You be happy because I have overcome
the world, says Jesus. How do we navigate through that in our thinking?
That's what I want to talk a bit, a lot more about. And I've come up with two
categories. Hopefully, we can start to look through this. Now break it down.
I've created a little bit of an introduction here and a bit of a foundation. As I
said, this is a happy sermon. I've created two categories that I'd like us to think
through. One of them I call, please don't see me letters and write me emails about
this, but one of them is called the grime of life. Now these are the things,
the grime of life. I all these things, the grime of life that attack your spiritual
walk, the daily grime of the world. It's just constant in its attempts to dilute
your intimacy and your relationship with the Lord, the thoughts of, you know, strife
that just come out of nowhere. You think, man, why don't I think that? Guys, you
know, you're driving to work, you've had your time in the morning with the Lord and
you've got up and praised the Lord, read your Bible, done all the right things,
that's great. And had you had your brickey and wife and family and all of that and
you're off to work and you're going down there, you stop at a red light, okay,
just on your way to work. And you look up and there's a billboard of an underwear
model wearing next to nothing and you've got that picture in your mind all day
long, all right? Ladies don't be grumpy with him, I just took him there, okay? So,
but you've got that picture in your mind all day long, it just flashes back, just
flashes back, just flashes back. And you're trying to cast down imaginations cast
down those wrong evil thoughts or anything like that and think about it ladies you
know you've got up in the morning you've had your quiet time with the Lord and
it's great and you're getting yourself organized getting the kids out ready for
school that sort of stuff and you go outside and you go into the kitchen and
number one son or an eight year old or nine year old instead of putting the honey
on his toast he's put the honey on the cat he's put the honey on his sister's
school bag suddenly whatever happen to, "I love you Lord." Yes, because you're just
about to make the papers. Crazy mother, you know, attacks family with a family cat.
But all of these sorts of things, I call them the grime of life. The stuff that's
going to just attack your mind, attack your day -to -day work, attack your day -to
-day life to break your focus on your relationship with the Lord, to break your
focus, to interrupt that relationship, that intimacy that you've got with Jesus.
That's the grime of life, the day -to -day stuff that affects your intimacy with the
Lord. And then there's the other thing that I call the quogmire of life,
the quogmire of life. All those things are just bog you down. Rising interest rates,
inflation, war in other countries, broken global supply chains,
asset bubbles, stock market crashes, you know, the debacles that go on with,
you know, the reserve banks and the central banks all around the world. All of
these things that we have absolutely zero control over, those things that are
designed just to simply do your head in. You see all of this going on and you
think, "How can this possibly be?" It just, I mean, there's the climate change
people, then there's the anti -climate change people, then there's the vaccination
people, and then there's the anti -vaccination people. Let me just talk about those
four things for a second. The spiritual principle behind that, listen to me please,
the spiritual principle behind that is the house divided against itself shall not
stand. That's really important to understand the agenda and the motivation,
the spiritual agenda behind events that are going on. So it's very,
very important not to get into strife over these things. Yes,
we can have, you know, robust debate and those sorts of things, but remember our
first allegiance is to our covenant relationship in Christ Jesus, not to
or divisive, or divided, or so dogmatic in a position, that dogma and that absolute
stiff -necked situation rises over and above and is greater than the covenant
relationship, that covenant relationship that we have in Christ with another brother.
Yes, very important. So how do we navigate through all of this grime of life and
the quagmire of life. And that's what I want to talk about going forward over the
next few weeks. Praise God, this is a great, great, this really encouraged me.
I think this is a great, great message for this time that the Lord has given us.
"In the world you shall have tribulation," says Jesus, "but be of good cheer. You
be happy, for I have overcome the world." What did Jesus do?
How did he navigate through the quagmire of life? We know that he had his own
personal struggles with the flesh and all these sorts of things because he said to
the devil, when the devil said, you know, you eat that, you turn those stones into
bread and God said, ah, no, Jesus said, ah, no, no, no, no, no, it is written man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God. And then the devil took and showed him all of the kingdoms and the glory
thereof. So he battled with all of that, so we know also that he dealt with the
grime of life. All of the things that attacked his intimacy with the Father, and
the things that were particularly appealing to his flesh, he dealt with that. He
dealt with all of those sorts of things, and he did it using the Word of God, and
he did it with a completely dedicated, focused submissive prayer life. Not my will,
but yours be done. We see as an example there in the garden.
Jesus dealt with the grime of life very, very effectively. But how did he deal with
the quagmire of life? Because remember, there was Roman rule. He was about to go
before Pilate. There was all of the political stuff going on. There'd been the wars,
the famines, the plagues, nations at war, Israel in exile, they were coming and
going, you know. Many, many, many, many things going on, right across thousands of
years. But when Jesus came, he didn't take on the political world. He didn't come
and take on the financial world. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He dealt with
the grime of life, the things that tacked his own spiritual walk, but he also had
methods and processes to deal with the quagmire of life. The outcome being,
you be of good cheer. In this world you're going to have tribulation, but you be
happy because I have overcome the world. How did he do it? We'll get into that
next week. Thank you so much for joining with me today. It's been a great pleasure
to have your company and I do look forward to you joining with me again on this
station next week. God bless.