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Benjamin Lee <- Back Christ My King: Trust - Part 2 Benjamin Lee May 2, 2021 Christ My King: Trust - Part 2 Benjamin Lee 00:00 / 01:04 Download Outline File Download Presention File Miracles, Jesus, Faith, Walking on water Request a File Looking for an outline or powerpoint file for a specific lesson? Let us know! Request Now Have any questions? Ask Us!

Benjamin Lee <- Back Visiting The Empty Tomb Of Jesus Benjamin Lee April 17, 2022 Visiting The Empty Tomb Of Jesus Benjamin Lee 00:00 / 01:04 Download Outline File Download Presention File tomb, jesus, empty, resurrection, death, sacrifice, visiting, the, easter Request a File Looking for an outline or powerpoint file for a specific lesson? Let us know! Request Now Have any questions? Ask Us!

Israel was successful. By God’s power, they conquered their foes in Canaan. The young nation then enjoyed in the glory of God and indulged itself in the luxurious Promise Land that flowed with milk and honey. They faithfully served the LORD. In Joshua 24:31 it says, “Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel.” But their faithfulness didn’t last; they forgot God. The book of Judges provides a terrible snapshot for Israel. One of the problems was that Israel left an opening for the devil. In Judges 1:28, it says, “It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.” The enemy was not driven out. With time, a defection of heart occurred. In Judges 2:10-13, it reads, “All the generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.” This was the beginning of a cycle that was repeated in Judges: a cycle of rebellion, retribution, repentance, rescue and rest. In the periods of the rescue, God raised up deliverers to lead Israel: judges. The first was Othniel, Judges 3:7-11. Yet Israel continued to repeat the same mistakes. Why? They forgot God – and forgetting leads to failure! The book of Judges says a lot about Israel’s on and off relationship with God; it shows people leaving God and returning – and may raise questions about us. Judges is a grotesque book in that it demonstrates how awful sin really is. It also reveals a lot about Satan. We quickly see Satan is a relentless adversary. He pursued Israel. He will pursue us as well, 1 Peter 5:8. Let’s consider what other observations we can learn. Satan works to make men forget God. During the days of Joshua, the people had a close union with God, but they couldn’t rely on the past to secure the present. They forgot. It’s easy to focus on the past. But we must ask, “Where am I now?” Not, did I seek Him then, but do I seek Him now? In the days of Jeremiah, the people also forgot God, Jeremiah 2:32. The scripture says, “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.” Backsliders often seem unaware they have fallen away – another scheme of Satan. Israel was slow to discover their failure; they were surprised God was against them. Have we fallen into the same trap, James 4:2-4? We must examine our faith, 2 Corinthians 13:5. Israel failed to examine themselves. While God may not be completely removed from our minds, we can forget Him by ceasing to rely upon Him, include Him, consider Him, and render acts of service to Him. We can forget Him by failing to honor Him through loving obedience; we forget our sense of indebtedness. People leave God after they’ve first forgotten God! Failure’s end is worse than we imagine. In Judges 3:8, it says, “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathiam eight years.” That name means, “Cushan of two-fold wickedness.” He was double bad! His name described his reputation as an oppressor and a ruthless warlord. Israel engaged in idolatry and so God them a savage and barbaric heathen king to rule over them. Why did they wait 8-years to repent? Why do we wait so long to change? The end is worse than we can imagine. Don’t wait to turn back to God. God makes a way back. Satan wants us to think that we can’t return to God. That’s a lie. We can! God provides a way back. Israel acknowledged their sin. God provided a deliverer through Judges. They were delivered by God’s mercy and power. Recovery and change began with the people when they cried out to the LORD, Judges 3:9. They repented and sought the LORD. Jesus is our deliverer, Romans 5:8. He can and will continue to deliver us, 1 John 1:8-10. Is it time to return to Him?

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges God has given His people. Through prayer we bring our worries, fears, hopes, and needs before the Creator of the universe. Yet sometimes I wonder if we unknowingly approach prayer with the roles reversed. We may not say it out loud, but sometimes our prayers can become little more than a list of things we want God to do for us. We tell Him what problem needs fixing, what door needs opening, what blessing needs providing, and what outcome we expect. Without realizing it, we can begin to think of prayer as a way of directing God rather than submitting ourselves to Him. It is as though God exists to serve our needs. Of course, no faithful Christian would consciously say that. Yet our attitude in prayer can sometimes reveal that we have the relationship backward. God is not our servant. He is our King. When we pray, we are not standing over God giving instructions. We are kneeling before the throne of heaven. That perspective changes everything. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Before any requests are made, there is submission. Before daily bread, before forgiveness, before deliverance, there is an acknowledgment that God’s will is greater than our own. Jesus Himself demonstrated this attitude in the Garden of Gethsemane. Knowing the suffering that lay ahead, He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). If anyone had the right to ask for relief, it was Jesus. Yet even His prayer was offered in complete submission to the Father’s will. The apostles taught the same mindset. Paul instructed Christians, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Notice that Paul calls them requests. A request is not a demand. A request recognizes the authority of the one being asked. This does not mean God is distant or uncaring. Quite the opposite. Scripture invites us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us. We are encouraged to pray boldly and confidently. But confidence should never be confused with entitlement. A citizen may confidently approach a good king. A child may confidently approach a loving father. Yet neither has the authority to demand that their wishes be granted. The same is true in prayer. We may ask. We should ask. God wants His children to bring their needs before Him. But every request should be offered with the understanding that He is wiser than we are, sees more than we see, and knows what is ultimately best. When we pray, we submit ourselves to God and recognize that we are kneeling before the King. We may make requests of Him, but we do so in full submission to His will. Whether He grants those requests is His decision, not ours. Perhaps our prayers would be transformed if we remembered that simple truth. Prayer is not about getting God to follow our agenda. It is about placing ourselves before His throne and trusting Him enough to say: “Your will be done.”

There are moments in life when doing the right thing seems to make life harder instead of easier. That was true for the prophet Jeremiah. He was faithful to God, yet he still suffered greatly because of it. In Jeremiah 19–20, we get a glimpse into the heart of a weary servant of God. The same challenge existed in the churches of Galatia. Paul told the saints in Galatians 6:9-10 not to grow weary in doing good. Why would he say that? Because serving God can become exhausting. Restoring those caught in sin can be tiring. Refuting false teachers can drain us. Helping others sometimes creates tension and frustration. Faithful living always comes with a personal cost. Discouragement can slowly creep in. Yet Paul kept serving. He loved the brethren even when he was weary. His example was Jesus Christ. Loving God with all our heart is not merely knowing the right thing to do, but also having the endurance to keep doing it when life gets hard. When we look at Jesus, we see someone who truly understood weariness. His workload was heavy. He became physically tired. His soul was deeply grieved. There were frustrating moments with the apostles. He dealt with misunderstandings, weak faith, petty disputes, and enormous pressure. Yet there is a key distinction: Jesus felt weary, but He never quit doing good. At the well in John 4, Jesus was tired, but He still spoke to the Samaritan woman and brought many people to God. In Gethsemane, His soul was deeply troubled, but He still went to the cross. Tired, but not done. Jesus also never grew weary praying for His people. Despite the flaws and failures of the apostles, He continued investing in them because He saw the bigger picture. He understood the eternal mission of God. The apostles learned this same mindset after the resurrection. Suffering no longer stopped them because their perspective changed. Paul endured hardship because he focused on eternity rather than temporary pain. His identity in Christ became bigger than his suffering. The same must be true for us. If our purpose is only about ourselves, we will not last. We must align our thinking with the mind of Christ. When we truly comprehend the love of God, our perspective changes. Imagine what a congregation can become when people refuse to grow weary in well-doing. Souls will be saved. Visitors will not go unnoticed. Struggling Christians will be restored. Young people will not feel invisible. There will be plenty of willing teachers that will help to avoid burnout. The church will be built up through truth, encouragement, and spiritual maturity. A marathon runner does not quit at mile twenty because they see the finish line ahead. The same is true spiritually. God sees your labor. Don’t grow weary. Keep going. The harvest is coming.