Emotions: Fear & Anxiety
By: Nathan Hood
Scripture: Psalm 46
Grandma Verneal was always there, quietly waiting on those around her. She would serve and support until everyone else had been taken care of, then she would get herself a plate of tacos for Christmas Eve dinner. We have tacos for Christmas Eve dinner. Then, one day, she could not be there for us anymore. Her mind started to leave and we needed to be there for her. The names she knew, the faces that made her smile, the memories she had collected over her decades of loving life started to vanish from her frail, failing mind and I was afraid. The woman who had always been there was fading from presence on earth and it shook me to my core. I was afraid. I was anxious. I was unable to fix the issue. All I could do was watch and wait for my grandmother to pass away.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” - Psalm 46:1
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18
These ideas presented in the Psalms, that Barry preached in his sermon on November 13, 2016, that have been passed down from Christian to Christian for as long as we have been passing ideas are challenging. In the midst of fear, we do not feel safe. When we cannot grab the wheel and steer the car of our life in the way we would like it to go, we do not feel comfortable. Our lack of control makes us need. So how is it that God is our refuge? How is it that He is close to me in my brokenhearted state?
After Grandma Verneal went home to sweet Jesus, I was running in Eagle Creek Park one afternoon, trying to think of how I would write a song to honor her memory. I like to write about the things I do not understand. It helps me process them. And I had hit nothing but walls. As I rounded a corner in those quiet woods, the sunlight from above peppering the ground below with light as it tried to breach the thick canopy of trees between, I came to an opening that gave me a vision of Eagle Creek reservoir and a big, vast, blue sky on top of it. I pictured my grandmother sailing off into the great, blue beyond. I would not be able to ensure that she got where she was going. I did not empirically know that she was in heaven, worshipping with the Cherubim and Seraphim, and my heart began to fill again with fear. But then these words came to me:
“If the sky were a sea, then hope would be the boat that lets us cross it.”
I was filled with peace. God is our refuge. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. In these moments of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, a special kind of wisdom that comes from God and is grounded in trusting Him descends upon us. The way God sees things is not a common worldview, but it is eternally comforting. The way God understands the world is separate, but it is the single best way to emotionally proceed through life on this earth. The comfort of the wisdom of the Lord swaddles the Christian like a thick cloak wrapped around them by a loving parent. “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18) and God is perfect love. But thank God for this fear. Thank God that we can “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) because when the mercy of God descends and drives out fear, God’s power is undeniable. Things are out of our hands, but the hands that they are in do not shake. The hands that things are in do not tremble and they do not fail. And if those hands are attached to a God that knows all, understands everything, is everywhere and is infinitely powerful, I fully believe those hands can be trusted. Lean into His understanding in your moments of fear and anxiety. God is our refuge.
Listen to a playback of the sermon, Emotions: Fear & Anxiety here!
Emotions: Sadness
By: Audrey Masterson
Scripture: Psalm 77
A few years ago I was consistently reminded of how deep my emotions ran. It seemed as though everything I touched was a product of a negative reaction to some type of way I was feeling in any particular moment. I was controlled by my emotions and allowed them to dictate my actions. It was a pretty destructive practice. However, around the same time, I was going through a major transition in my life, and in that season, I heard Barry preach on emotions from a wildly different perspective. Instead of seeing my emotions as negative, I was able to instead see that the way I was reacting was an indicator that I was really just emotionally unhealthy. The emotions series at New Circle Church changed me in a profound way though-- where I once saw emotions as a reactionary, I now see that emotions are the product of the inner workings of our souls given to us by God and they are common, expected, and very important for our lives.
This sermon series has been one that I often refer back to especially when I am sad. Sadness can appear in our lives for many different reasons, but to be unaffected by our sadness, to shut it out, to say “we’re fine” when really we are experiencing something deeper “shouldn’t be a christian virtue” (Barry). Our emotions should affect us. Jesus, in fact, is sorrowful, but He is also the most excited person in scripture. If Jesus experienced emotions then we are free to feel them too.
One of the most profound things I remember about Barry preaching on this topic is that our emotions have the ability to lead us to the deepest joy and gratitude in God-- where we can better worship Him, follow Him, and be enamored by Him.
In Psalm 77 we learn that sadness will challenge our faith and cause questions to be raised in our minds (“has God forgotten to be merciful/ has he in anger withheld his compassion?” v.9), but we also know that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18) so, with Asaph, we should lean into them, asking and discerning the source and severity of our sadness with friends and with Jesus.
Think about it. Are you experiencing sadness in your life now? What grieves you?
For me, it’s the reality that young girls are being taken advantage of, manipulated, tortured (both physically and mentally), and exploited for sex in our city and around the world every day. This tears me apart every time I walk into my office. Whether I’m working on a project with our interns, helping develop our mentorship program, or preparing for a group session with girls who have been sexually abused and mistreated, I’m reminded that I am not entitled to the life I have been given and that there is a whole host of things that can and do make me sad in this world. I can get caught in cycles of sadness and oftentimes when I do it will lead me to a deeper, more personal place of sadness if I’m not habitually handing it back over to God.
Sadness is real, sadness is to be taken seriously, and it is deep for those who are experiencing it no matter what the cause. There is no one particular way that sadness manifests itself in our lives, but we are allowed to be sad and to ask the hard questions during hard seasons. It’s not that God wants us to be sad-- He didn’t create the world for sadness-- but because we experience things in a fallen world, sadness is a byproduct and we have been given the permission to feel it. God is not offended by our brokenness. God is grieved too. So when you are tempted to dismiss these feelings, remember that our emotions should lead us back to God.
I know that it’s the most difficult when you are in a emotional spiraling pit to look to God, to find the strength to talk about it with others, and see emotions as a way to worship God more intimately, but Barry offered us three pathways to finding comfort in these times. So I highly suggest to take a listen to the playback of this sermon and hide these three comforting tactics in your heart.
Recall past blessings “You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years of long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search…” Psalm 77:4-6
Redirect your thoughts “Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Lord’ yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:10-12
Reorient your view of God “Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.” Psalm 77:13-18
I know that there isn’t a quick fix to coming out of feeling sad and sometimes sadness consumes your life, but when you’re surrounded with bad news or you’re feeling like a failure or whatever it is--big or small-- that makes you sad, I would encourage you to recall times in your life where you have felt God’s faithfulness and blessings, redirect your thoughts to something that is encouraging and uplifting rather than something that is untrue, and remember that our God is the Most High God and that he is present in times of trouble (Psalm 46).
When I find myself weighed down by the constant beating of the realization of what’s going on in our backyards across America, I recall that time that just one girl was rescued from a life of misery; I remember, too, that it’s not even up to me to save each and every girl trapped in slavery today, but that it is God’s work and He has invited me into love and care and walk alongside of them-- and that’s a beautiful blessing; and instead of thinking that God is losing this seemingly never-ending battle, I remember that God has already won and stands victorious over all the evil schemes of this world.
God is good, friends, seek him in your sadness.
Building your house on The Rock
By Cory Paskins
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” - Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
The most important part in building any home is the building of its foundation. You could build yourself a million dollar home with the most beautiful layout and design, but if that home has no foundation it will always fall. Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian life. He is known as the Chief Cornerstone and the Rock that we, the children of God, build our house on. (Ephesians 2:20) (1 Corinthians 3:11) The house that we are building represents our life and our soul, for we believe that our body is the temple of God, and that His Spirit dwells within our midst.(1Corinthians 3:16)
Building the Foundation
Jesus gives us two different foundations to choose from in Matthew 7:24-27, one that is made of rock and the other that's made of sand. The obvious material to choose is the rock of course, but how do we do that? There comes a point in life where we have to ask ourselves, are we going to build our house on our own works, or are we going to build our house on the completed works of Jesus Christ? When we choose to build our lives on our own works rather than the works of Jesus, we are choosing to build our lives on shifting sand rather than on solid rock. When we come to Jesus and confess that He is Lord, and truly believe in our hearts that He is the Son of God, He will save us.(Romans 10:9) The very moment that we are saved by the grace of God, is the very moment that Jesus becomes the firm foundation in our life.
Building the House
Lets say you do have your foundation established in Jesus Christ, now what does it look like to build your house on that foundation? Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock”, and “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” The Christian life isn’t just about hearing and believing in the words of Jesus, but its also about being obedient and doing what Jesus told us to do. When we do what Jesus commands us to do, we are allowing Him to be the Master Designer and Master Planner of our house. It's not always easy building the house that God instructs us to build, Jesus even warns us in Matthew 7:24-27 about the rain, floods and wind that will try and beat us down. However, during these seasons we can always rely on Jesus to help us through the storms, and give us the strength to continue our build.
If you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ as the foundation of your life I would venture to ask you, what foundation are you building your life on now? Is it on money, friends, family, successes, or is it something else? What ever it might be, I would invite and encourage you to allow Jesus Christ to be the solid foundation in your life. Through the Holy Spirit we are given the strength and power build our house on the foundation of Jesus, and we are able to decorate the walls of our house with His fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Philippians - The Power Of Intercession: Sermon Highlight
Scripture | Philippians 1:18-26
One of the hardest things to do is watch people you love go through difficult times and be unable to change their situation, or be unable to change our own situations. Feeling powerless as we—or those we love—go through hard times, we can quickly become frustrated, scared and sad. We know that Paul had a strong relationship with the Philippians, and we know that the Philippians loved Paul dearly. In the season that Paul is writing this letter to them, he was in the Roman prison. The struggles that the Philippian church watched Paul endure broke their hearts. They were 800 miles away and had no political power to change his situation. But they knew the power of prayer, so they prayed to God and their prayers changed everything. Paul wrote, “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance…” (Philippians 1:18-19). Barry told us that God acts when his people intercede for one another, and this is something that is still true for us today.
To intercede means “to intervene on behalf of another.” We see this in many different places throughout the Bible, like when Moses intercedes on the behalf of Israel. Just like Moses interceded for the people of Israel, we see the Philippians going to God in prayer on behalf of Paul. This is important because God partners with His people in order to bring about His desires. Barry told us that there is a direct correlation between the prayers of his people and His actions. James told the early church, “You do not have because you do not ask…” (James 4:2). The Philippians accepted God’s invitation to partner with Him to bring about His desires for the church in interceding for Paul, and we get the same invitation to partner with God in prayer.
Barry said that in prayers of intercession we should seek to be aware of God’s desires for someone and join Him in what He is doing. It does not mean manipulating God to do our will, but rather becoming aware of God’s desires for someone and joining Him in that. Paul wrote, “I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance…” (Philippians 1:19) Paul knew that the Philippians were praying for God to help him. We know God wanted good for Paul and desired his deliverance, and that is exactly what He provided. In difficult situations, it is so easy to become discouraged and frustrated, but we need to remember that God is good and desires good for His children. Psalm 100:5 says, “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
We are told in 1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” Then Hebrews 4:16 says, “Come boldly to his throne of grace.” Barry told us that when we are praying God’s heart for his children, we can come to Him confidently. Even in hearing this, we don’t always feel like we can go confidently to God in prayer because we worry we will pray for the wrong things. Often times we will, because none of us can discern the will of God perfectly; however, we can trust God and know that He is good—that He will not give someone something they don’t need or that isn’t good for them simply because we asked for it. Romans 8:26-27 tells us that when we don’t pray for the right things, or don’t know what to pray at all, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God! And Romans 8:34 says that Jesus in interceding for us as well!
So let us boldly approach the throne of God through prayer: for ourselves, for one another, and for our city and our world. Let us give thanks for the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ who intercede for us, and for our God who hears every word of our prayers. Let us intercede for one another just as the Philippian church did for Paul.
Philippians - The Advance of The Gospel: Sermon Highlight
Scripture | Philippians 1:12-18
On Sunday, we started a series on the books of Philippians: a letter written by Paul to the church in Philippi. To get a little background on how this church was birthed, Barry had us look back to Acts 16. Paul was initially headed to Asia to preach, but between the Holy Spirit changing his route and a vision that led him to believe God was calling him elsewhere, he ended up in Macedonia, Philippi instead. He shared about Jesus and one of the people who heard and believed was a woman named Lydia. Lydia then proceeded to share the Gospel with her household who all went on to follow Jesus!
As Paul and Silas were going on to another place in Macedonia to share, a slave girl possessed by a demon began to follow them, and eventually, Paul cast out the demon. However, the owner of this girl was angry about this and they had Paul and Silas arrested. But in the prison, something incredible happened. Paul and Silas were praising God, and suddenly an earthquake took place! All of the doors to the cells were opened and the jailer, thinking everyone would escape, was going to kill himself. But Paul called out to him to stop and reassured him that everyone was still here and that none of the prisoners had left. After hearing Paul and Silas’ words and the songs they were signing, the jailer said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” (Acts 16:30) This man’s entire household also went on to accept Jesus.
When Paul and Silas were released they were asked to leave the city. They went to visit Lydia, and then they left. But the church in Philippi was started with these two families: Lydia and her household and the jailer and his. These are the people Paul is writing to in the book of Philippians. It is several years later that he writes this letter, and the Philippian church had faced hard times and persecution for their faith. They were also discouraged to hear of the terrible things Paul was enduring. This letter was written to encourage them and remind them that nothing can hinder the progress of the Gospel.
This story of how the Philippi church started is pretty inspiring, but, as years passed and hard times came, it was easy for them to forget all of the amazing ways God was working, so they quickly become discouraged. This is something that can easily happen to us all. I can look back on my life and see God’s hand at work in so many different ways: the doors He opened, the people He put in my path, and the way He is always in control. Then, when hard times come, I can be quick to forget it all, just like the Philippians.
But, in his letter to the church, Paul wants to remind them of the power of the Gospel. He tells them, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…” (Philippians 1:12) Paul is in prison, yet again, for telling people about Jesus. I have to admit if I was put in prison…again….I would probably be a bit discouraged, but Paul is not! He’s excited because even this obstacle he is facing is helping to advance the Gospel! As people talked to Paul, they asked him why he was in prison, allowing him to share the Gospel with them. Then those people told other people the story about why Paul was in prison and they got to hear about Jesus as well! Barry told us that Paul was encouraged by this because he knew it only took one time for someone to hear the Gospel and for faith the be awakened! He wrote in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing and hearing comes through the word of Christ.” This is why Paul is celebrating that so many have heard the Gospel and are now telling others without fear, because as more people hear, more people can come to know Jesus!
Paul ended this section of his letter with this, “Yes, and I will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18) Even in his hardship, Paul rejoiced because he remembered all that God had already done and was still doing, and because he knew how powerful the Gospel is: that nothing could ever hinder its progress. Today let’s not forget the incredible ways God is moving around us. Let’s remember, like Paul, how powerful God's Word is and that no obstacle can stand in the way of the advancement of the Gospel.
Hope and Purpose: Sermon Highlight
Scripture | Luke 24:36-49
The story of Jesus’s bodily resurrection from the dead in the Easter story changed everything. Not only is it the most miraculous story of all time, but it correlates strongly with Peter the disciple’s story and with each of our own stories. In his Easter sermon, Barry taught us, “All Easter stories begin with tears and confusion and end with hope and purpose.”
We have learned about Peter’s own story over the course of this three week series. He was a fisherman by trade who crossed paths with Jesus and eventually became the leader of the disciples. He became known as “the rock” after Jesus professed that he would build his church on Peter. But, the night before Jesus’s death, Jesus gathered His disciples to celebrate Passover. At the meal, Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him. Each disciple exclaimed that it would not be them. This morphed into a heated discussion over which of them was the greatest. Jesus stopped their conversation and told Peter that Satan desired to break him like wheat. He ensured Peter that He was praying for him and said that when Peter returned, he was to strengthen the disciples, but that Peter would fail. Peter did not like hearing that he would fail, and told Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:33) Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed, he would deny knowing the Lord three times. Peter did this just like the Lord had predicted. The Scripture says in Luke 22:61-61, “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter’s Easter story began with tears and confusion. This man he had followed and learned from, who he had seen perform miracles and that he thought would overthrow the government had been crucified on a cross. On top of all that, he had denied Christ as it was happening. But, he had seen the empty grave and heard accounts of the risen Lord. We see Peter again at the end of the book of John. He is back to being a fisherman. He is out on his boat casting his nets. Peter fished all night but caught nothing, just like when he first met Jesus. As the sun began to rise, they heard a man’s voice call out from the shore telling them to cast their net on the other side of the boat, just as Jesus had the first time. Once again, they caught a huge amount of fish.
When they realized it was Jesus, Peter jumped into the water and swam to shore so that he would get to Jesus first. When Peter got to him, Jesus had a fire and breakfast prepared for them. After breakfast, the resurrected Christ asked Peter three times, once for every time he had denied Him, if he loved Him and each time Peter affirmed that he did. And after these questions, Jesus once again told Peter, “Follow me.” (John 21:19) After he had encountered the resurrected Christ, Peter started leading the disciples again. The resurrection of Jesus gave Peter hope of a restored relationship with Christ and led to a purpose!
The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope and purpose. When Jesus died on the cross and then rose again 3 days later, he fulfilled the prophecies written about in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. He paid the ultimate sacrifice, the only sacrifice that could atone for our sins, and in that, we see that the resurrection points us to the hope of redemption! But, our full redemption could not have happened without the resurrection, Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like it.” Because of this, we have the hope of being made new and through faith in Christ we are made alive!
In the death and resurrection, Jesus destroyed sin and any power it could have over us. This means that in Christ, we have true freedom. But, if we are not in Christ, we are stuck in the bondage of sin. In the resurrection, we find that we are not defined by our sin or defeated by our sin, but instead, we are defined by Christ, who defeated sin and offers freedom to those who trust in Him.
The story of Easter gives us hope and purpose after tears and confusion. The resurrection gives us purpose in declaring the Gospel to all people! In Luke 24:45-49, it says that Jesus enabled his disciples to understand the Scripture. He then prophesied what would happen fifty days after Passover, when he sent the Holy Spirit that empowered their ability to live their lives for the glory of God and proclaim the Gospel. The Holy Spirit still empowers Jesus’ followers today, and we are called to live our lives for God’s glory and share the story of Jesus to a world that is broken, just like Peter and his disciples were called to do. We see, in the Easter story that commission comes after confusion, that empowerment comes after failure, and that resurrection comes after death.
Hope, Believe, Love: Sermon Highlight
Scripture | Luke 5:1-11
For my husband Joe and I, we are in that season of life where a lot of our friends are getting married. Wedding invitations are hanging on our refrigerator as constant reminders to RSVP. Close friends and family members inviting us to partake in an important and monumental part of their lives. Like with any invitation, we have the option to regretfully decline or gratefully accept each and every one of them. But by declining such an invitation, we are missing out on what could potentially be a beautiful evening filled with friends, family, joy and true love. That’s usually not something we want to miss out on. In this story of Peter, we see him receive invitations from Jesus he wouldn’t want to miss out on either, and we are invited into the same things as Peter was.
In this scripture, we have Peter, the professional fishermen, that had been out fishing all night and caught absolutely nothing. Considering this was his livelihood, it made for a rough day. We see in the scripture that a crowd was gathering around Jesus and they made their way over to where Peter and his friends were washing their nets. Jesus hopped in Peter’s boat to get some space and asked Peter to push it away from the land a little bit so he could teach. When he finished teaching, he told Peter to let down his nets for a catch. This would have probably caught Peter off guard since he had spent all night trying to fish with no luck, and on top of that, this was the first time he had met Jesus. But, this was an invitation for Peter to have hope.
Regardless of the fact that Peter had only heard Jesus speak and had just met him, Luke wrote that he said, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5) Here we see Peter accepting Jesus’ invitation to hope! We can see that in this invitation Jesus is asking Peter to set aside his own thoughts and trust in his guidance. We have this same invitation, and by accepting it, our thoughts are transformed. We see John Piper define biblical hope as, “A confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.” When Peter lets down his nets, he has this type of confident expectation in what Jesus has said. And we are called to live like that too. It could look like taking a step of faith or setting aside our own plans and ideas of what our lives should look like and trust in what God has called us to.
Jesus also extends an invitation of Peter to believe. When Jesus asked him to put down his nets, Peter and his friends witnessed a miracle. Jesus not only filled their nets but overflowed them to the point that their boat began to sink!! Upon seeing this, Luke writes, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (Luke 5:8). We see that Peter saw this miracle and accepted Jesus’ invitation to believe. And just as we are invited to hope, we are also invited to believe, like Peter was. By accepting this invitation to believe it transforms how we live. Barry told us that our belief in Jesus should lead our lives to look more like Jesus’ life. This means living like Jesus at work and home and school, wherever we go. Although we won’t do this perfectly all the time, Jesus empowers us to live as his people in this world for his glory.
The next invitation Peter receives is the invitation to love. After Peter and his friends witnessed this miracle and Peter confessed that Jesus is Lord, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:10-11) Here Jesus invites Peter to be a part of his ministry in the world! This love of Christ enabled Peter to love people like Christ had loved him, and with this, his priorities changed. Now, instead of seeing himself and his needs as most important, he saw loving God and people as his first priority. He was no longer a professional fisherman, instead, he ministered to others and started churches, he preached and was persecuted and then, according to history was crucified upside-down because of his love for God and people. By accepting this invitation Peter is putting himself second, something we are invited into as well.
We are called to live our lives completely for the glory of God, just like Christ did. Unlike Jesus, we won’t always get it right, we will fail and mess up and probably be frustrated with ourselves at times, but through His grace and forgiveness and power we can follow God and accept each and every one of His invitations. God is alive and moving, and every day He is inviting us to take part in His story of the redemption of the world through His daily invitations to hope, believe and love.
By Sydney Gautier
Confess and Be Healed
By Russ Jackson
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
As a young Christian, this was one of the first verses that I memorized. I wish that I could say that I chose this verse for its deep meaning to me, but the truth is it was assigned to me by a Sunday school teacher.
Regardless, this verse has meant much to me all these years. If anyone reading this has doubts, fears, bad habits, or secret sin that seems overwhelming, keep in mind the first part of this verse: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” What you are feeling and experiencing right now is totally normal. There isn’t anything that you are going through that hasn’t already been experienced by others, and I would go so far as to say that anything that you have been or currently are being tempted with has also happened to Jesus. Let’s all pause for a moment to take this in. Yes, I am saying that Jesus has been tempted just the way you are being tempted now. In Hebrew 4:15 we read, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” We have all of our temptations in common with Jesus with one minor difference: we sin.
One of the many things I love about our family at New Circle Church is that we do not pretend to be perfect. From least to greatest we all openly share the one trait of sin. Sin happens when we are tempted and give in to that temptation. We own it, we repent, we make amends as possible, and we move on.
Now to address the second part of this verse: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Need I say more? We have a great Father who knows our needs and our failures and regardless of all the times that we have been warned and encouraged, provides a way of escape. It’s like being in a burning building. We have choices to make—real life and death decisions. Will you panic and curl up into a ball, or perhaps run around in a frenzy and die? Or will you keep a clear head and exit via the fire door? It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet how many times do we succumb to the temptation and take the easy way out, not realizing that it is killing us spiritually?
I’ll tell you a secret that can save you years of going down the wrong road and then more years of regret and uselessness (I speak, sadly, from personal experience). We are told in James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Find someone you trust that cares about you and speak out loud the darkness that is in your heart so that you may be healed. It is really very simple, but it is also plenty scary.
Our adversary, the Devil, would love to separate us and tear us apart by whispering things like, “Don’t tell anyone.” “They will just think you a terrible and awful person.” “As long as they don’t know, it’s not real.” “No one is really as bad as you are, so they won’t understand, they will only condemn!”
On the other hand, Jesus says, “Confess and be healed!”
Acts 3:19&20 we read, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”.
You may be thinking, “Yes, but it’s all my fault that I am the mess that I have become,” and you would be right, but Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He puts no qualifications on this rest. He doesn’t say, “You can only come to me if you didn’t do it on purpose, the rest of you are on your own!” No. He makes no qualifications except that you come to him. It is as true for the believer as the unbeliever. If you have become weary and heavy-laden, the answer lies in Jesus—not in trying to make yourself righteous on your own.
Granted, there is a time to step back and contemplate the vastness of God’s mercy to us, but do not let this momentary pause keep you from vital action. After all, you are only delaying His healing in your life. This grace that we extend to unbelievers is also extended to us who believe. Jesus is still standing at the door of your heart asking permission to come in. It seems foolish to not accept so great an invitation.