Saturday, April 1, 2017

Relational Battles - Part 1 – God’s Way


Genesis 31:2-5 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in his sermon series based upon the book of Genesis. He states that even little children feel the stress of relational battles. Seems that one of the first words that children learn is “mine”. It is also a funny fact of life that people model what we do. We may or may not be a trend-setter, but the appropriate response is to go to God’s holy Word for direction; not false relationship or our feelings. The appropriate response is always God’s way. The “Information Age” has created more access to data than ever before, but society is not getting smarter or wiser because of it. It’s easier to see the way things are now, but faith looks at it all with the view of how the Lord God wants it to be.

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Pastor Kyle gave us five guidelines to follow when tensions run high. (1) Stay focused on obedience. Get back to where God wants you to be. It’s not about or location or our vocation, but how we live out our faith in worship and obedience to the Lord; how we faithfully operate where we are. Bottom line: Everything we do is ministry. (2) Turn to God’s Word for wisdom. The devil does not know our future, but does knows your past and manipulates us by deceiving us by our past. Our omniscient Creator Father God knows our future and meets us where we are at.

Psalm 111:9-10 “He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”

(3) Stay in a place of Faith rather than fear. There is a line set between faith and fear. Stay above the line, in the place of faith. (4) Acknowledge when it’s time for a little separation. If a relationship is good then no separation is necessary. But, when tensions grow, some separation is good for both parties. (5) Always respond with grace. Sometimes, being accused of deception and wrongdoing is unavoidable. But usually, there is also a hint of truth in it and that cannot be undone completely. We lose nothing by showing grace and may gain much in doing so.

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on relational battles on the next post.

In Christ, Brian

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