Do We Always Know What We Need From God? Easter Sunday Opening Message notes 4-4-21

Happy Easter..

Peace be with you…..

I’d like to talk a little bit about control in our lives or the lack of it this morning…

When we think of Control.. is it a necessity or just an illusion…

We can look at a few things that may be beyond your control such as:

Emotions, i.e.such as anger, sadness, hurt feelings , elation

intrusive thoughts or racing thoughts or thoughts in general

Addiction

sex

to drugs

to alcohol

or anything thing, behaviour or substance to which you are so compelled as to be unable to resist

Physical or mental illness

Obsessions..could be anything

Other people in general i.e. husbands, girlfriend, wives, friends ,family, co-workers, neighbours

Things that we may have control over…..

When we consider, predispositions, genetics, environmental influences and add to it all the things which we acknowledge that we have no control over it doesn’t leave much within our control. Life is on automatic and we respond in a way that might influence the outcome of things that we have no control over to begin with….

So how in the world do we get control of our lives… ?

Lets pause for a Moment in prayer....

Lord thank you for this gathering this morning and for the fellowship each week. We pray for blessings upon our small group and we ask that the hungry are fed this morning as the meat of your word nurtures us and sustains us...Open our hearts and eyes this day to your message as we honor the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus..

We ask these things in Jesus' name..

Amen

     This is a huge question for us… for all those who have suffered profound disappointments , which is probably all of us at one time or another, we learn that certainly we cannot control other people….can we even control additions ?? People who quit drinking or doing drugs will say yes.. I conquered that so they stopped what ever they were doing… when you stop you do not have an addiction. You may have a proclivity or propensity for an addiction of one form or another. But being vulnerable does not mean that you are addicted.. It means that your vulnerable. When your using you are an addict..there is no control, no restraint, no judgement and no care for it…Big difference.. Can you control your recovery??? An addict will say you better control it… AA will tell you that your powerless......... but lets move on.

We think sometimes ..If I had more money than I would have more control over my life… Really? Is that what money gives us…?? Control??? Maybe freedom but control.. A rich drug addict is still a drug addict, a rich sex addict is still a sex addict, a rich dominate, control freak is a dominate control freak and so on. You get the picture. If your rich and depressed you are still depressed…. Or ill, or mentally unstable.. so money seem not to be a solution it is only an illusion of a solution…

But in spite of all this stuff. We still need to be in control of our lives do we not????

How then do we do it..and what are we after as we seek it. And in our vast experiences when we finally lay our hands on the prize..then what???? Opppps it slips through our fingers. How could it do that if we had control to begin with??? Interesting isn’t it?

Some people say your perception is your reality… Well first of all this statement has everything to do with perception and nothing to do with reality .. How do you control that ? A state of mental interpretation either conscious or subconscious??? Like anger ,Joy, sadness..etc… all emotions based on a mental construct of what we think is reality….

So when we realize that absolutely nothing is subject to bending under our iron will and that even the decisions or choices are so duly influenced by environment and genetic dispositions then we might..we just might turn to God to lend a hand since everything is his creation and is within his control.

Well ok we can do that.. 

But then,  being the creative beings that we are we may reason.. if nothing is under my direct control and everything is under God’s control than why isn’t he fixing all of these problems that are problems simply because they are beyond my control to fix them myself ??? And He knows that ….Feeling hung out to dry????

So we are looking for control via God who maybe has the power, we are thinking..we are hoping…. But what if we are looking for the wrong thing in the first place. What if He’s not solving our problems because we’re barking up the wrong tree? Or what if He’s not solving our problems just the way we would have him so we feel ignored…

A desperate individual may pray.. My God My God I need to get control of my life…. If that means the power to dominate everything and everyone around you , that happening is unlikely indeed. So we finish the prayer and reach for a Xanax to calm down. So we can cope.. a sedative to deliver us for a little while, kind of…. This being an example of a myriad of coping mechanisms that we put in place to ward off feeling out of control even as we are deceived into thinking that we are gaining some control in the process….

So How many of those will we pop in a day..We say just to take the edge off… So now were making some progress. We are getting there..getting to the meat of it… do you see it coming??? When challenged about what their doing they shout out.. I JUST WANT A LITTLE PEACE OF MIND !!

This person wants “peace”.. and the other side of this coin is contentment… Paul speaks a great deal about contentment while Jesus speaks much about peace..Well… in the New Testament it is mentioned about 420 times….3 of those times were after the resurrection when Jesus said to his disciples “Peace Be with You”…..In Philipians 4:7.. Paul says… Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.…

After the resurrection Jesus chose the phrase "Peace be with you"…. Of all the ways Jesus could have greeted the apostles on Easter Sunday, he chose four simple words: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). It can be very easy to glide over this greeting, but opening messages like this can tell us a lot. Remember, Jesus had just risen from the dead. He had just fulfilled God’s plan of salvation… the scriptures fulfilled….

He had just overthrown the devil and opened heaven for all who believe. Now the time had come to reveal himself to his closest friends. It was time to reveal their salvation and the miracle of the resurrection. So wouldn’t you think he would say something far more important to mark this crucial moment? But he didn’t. He chose instead to offer this simple, poignant greeting. “Peace Be With You”..

Yet for all its informality, this greeting captures the heart of the Easter message. So let’s take a look at the gift of peace that Jesus offered his apostles to see how we can know the same peace in our hearts.

You know the apostles were not in the most peaceful state when Easter Sunday dawned. Not only had they seen Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, but they also experienced their own weakness and lack of faith. Rather than hold on to his promise that he would rise again, they gave in to fear and doubt. They felt out of control.. Scattering at Jesus’ arrest, they hung back during his trial and crucifixion. Then they went into hiding, worried that the authorities would come after them also. By all accounts, they had failed Jesus. They failed themselves.. The pride and distinction of being an Apostle had been ripped from their psyche.. Devastation overtook them as you might imagine…. On this day……

That day on the cross was the worst day in their life.. But even when the bible tells us that after Jesus showed up in the upper room after he rose, it says "And the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord"…Jesus said.. Your sorrow will be turned into joy…And the women when the left the tomb it says they left with fear and great joy…What a mixture of emotions they had ! But God said to them I will turn your sorrow into joy…. In our dark times, in our most despairing moments when our life feels out of control and we can't get it back, when sadness overtakes us. God can also turn our sorrow into Joy…

Jesus did just that .. he didn’t bring up the pain and the devastation of their spirit. He knew that already….Instead, he just wished them peace and promised them joy…..

He didn’t say “more Power” He didn’t say I bestow upon you more control having had an out of control experience..

He said the perfect thing..The loving thing.. He said.” peace be with you”.. So we may ask ourselves today If we feel out of control in some aspect of our lives what is it really that would put us back on an even keel ? maybe its not control at all… maybe it is peace and contentment. That is the contentment of which Paul speaks by saying that he accepts all things as God’s will therefore he can be content with plenty or little…

This is not to say that we need be apathetic; quite the contrary. We need to be motivated to solve our problems of the day, whatever they may be with peace, joy, contentment and faith in our hearts. With these things there is no desperate need for control because we know God is in control, he will take us by the hand, He will guide us and give us peace in our heart when we feel , as did the disciples , that all was lost….We have hope through Christ………

Dear Lord,

We are gathered here today to both honour you, your sacrifice so long ago for us and to study your word for we understand that you will open our eyes and heart to reveal the truth of your way. We are indeed grateful for the scriptures and for you intervention into our lives in perfect way and at the perfect space of time..

We are grateful for the peace that you have given us and as our hearts have changed we look for more of your blessings. Help us to remain humble, thirsty for your word and to be good stewards of each other…

We pray for all these in need this morning may they be touched by your compassion..

We are grateful for our modest gathering . we ask your blessing on our study and on our worship here.

Guide us in the way of wisdom ..

We ask these things in Jesus name..

Amen