Resistance to Commitment - Part 1

Welcome to the intense podcast with Charles Stanley 13. September 27 and unresolved issue or secret then that you refuse to deal with today.

You will learn a lesson from the life of Jonah offering the motivation you need to erase any resistance to commitment. If God is who he says he is, and we believe that God only wants the best for all is that while what ideologues on the it is circumstance ever resist being committed to what God is called us to be what God has called us to do. We ask the question why even while we ask that all of us could probably point out some time in our life when knowing the purpose of God. Knowing the plan of God for life we deliberately willfully resisted God, why would we do that, why was the look at the life of Jonah in the life of Jonah is a perfect example of a man who knew what God was calling them to do. Yet, in spite of that resisted God's call resisted what God was asking up. Let me begin by simply asking you this. What is it that you know right now that God is requiring of you, but your holding your mom what is God challenging you to give up what area of your life is he challenging you to alter what relationship is he saying to you several that matter in your business is God challenging you to commit to him is that your wealth that is requiring you to commit to him. Is it your faithfulness to them. What is it that God keeps bringing up the you you see if you really want to be obedient to God and your assisting him in your commitment. What happens is he keeps bringing this issue up you get on the praying he brings it up you get on the praying he brings it up again so usually what we do, we either eventually deal with what God is bringing up, always cease to pray, you won't keep praying God keep bringing it up one or two things will happen. You will deal with it or you will stop praying was lucky Jonah's life for a moment if you recall, in the first chapter the first verse. The Scripture says the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Ameritas, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, the great city and cry against them for their wickedness is come up before me and so God is said to Jonah I want you to go to Nineveh and I want you to say to them, thus saith the Lord. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

He went down to Joppa found the ship which was going to Tarshish paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord listen anytime you running from the presence of the Lord you going down he went down the Joppa down to the side inside the ship, always going down, down, down, so when he got down there.

The Scripture says in verse four that God hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm of the seas of the ship was about to break.

And of course Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship and going fast asleep, so the captain comes out wakes them up. He says to him man what are you doing sleeping down here, wake up, come up on deck: your God, that he may deliver us from this storm.

And so when he came up on deck, they cast lots to find out whose fault it was that God sent the storm because believing in their different gods and they had all kinds of bone of attitudes about magic and so forth. In the mysteries of the season, the skies, and so they said let's find out whose God has caused the storm so when they cast lots. Of course it fell upon Jonah so they said to them, they said where you're from, what is your occupation what your people what country you're from.

This was his answer. He said I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land in the script to says that he told them that in verse 10 that he was running from the presence of his God so they kept on questioning him, and finally he said just pick me up and throw me overboard. And if you do that, the storm will seas really didn't want to do that and so then they began to pray to Jonah's God. They cried it all. Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and so fondly when the storm did not cease. The Scripture says in verse 15, so they picked up Jonah threw him into the sea and the sea stopped its raging do you know why some of you are raging on the inside. You've got a Jonah aboard my friend something in your life that you will surrender something in your life that you won't give up something in your life that you won't face you absolutely refuse to deal with it and the storm keeps raging on the inside and you think somehow you gonna get the storm to seize and keep holding on to what is not of God in your life. It'll never happen.

That's not the way God operates through motherboard and it's interesting that the Scripture says Scripture says the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah so the fish swallows of Jonah afterwhile something happens here. The Scripture says in chapter 2 verse one Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.

As you read this chapter, you see a man in in true distress. Jonah pray to the Lord, and he says are called out of my distress to the Lord. Expect if you'd ever been distressed with distress. Write them in the searches as he answered me, and I cried for help from the depth of shield from the grave he said you heard my voice for you have cast me to the deep into the heart of the seas and the current engulfed me the current inside of the great fish and all thy breakers and billows passed over me. Here he was being tossed to and fro in the inside of this fish in the water covered verse five. Water encompassed me to the point of death, the great deep engulfed me weeds were wrapped around my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains, the earth, with its bars is around me forever, but thou brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God I miss in verse seven. While I was finding a way he thought it was dynamic. This is it.

While he was dying, he said. I remember the Lord and my prayer came to the end of our holy temple in verse nine that which I have filed. I will pay you listen you can imagine why he would make a vow before God to go to Nineveh. That is what he was saying is I made a commitment to you, Lord, and in this very desperate moment of my life anything God just get me out of here. He says I will go to another vow do exactly what you say you little warning. Don't wait till God has you in the clutches of pressure until you are willing to say yes Lord, I'll do you will you know why Jonah took this ride on the whale.

The reason he took around is because he rebelled against God. He refused to fulfill the commitment he made to God as a prophet. He committed himself to God.

God made a call to his life. He refused to be obedient to God, so God put the pressure on.

Sometimes we cry out to God, we sold Lord I don't know why I'm in this mess. Yes we do.

We got ourselves in this mess. We are where we are because we deliberately disobeyed God, we heard the call of God. God began to do their hearts in a certain area of your life. He's telling us what to do how to do it, how to go about we sell no Lord not listen to while you are healthy and strong you are in control is very easy to say God not now when you get in the belly of the whale live rent and is he says he thought he was dying.

That is one point in your life where you willing to be obedient.

Don't force God's hand to put you under such tremendous pressure before your obedient so the Scripture says, of course, that the whale, fish vomited him out on the shore. Look, if you are in chapter 3, verse one. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time he didn't have to come the third time, just the second time came the second time as the rows go to. None of the great city proclaim to it. The proclamation which I'm going to tell you. So Jonah Rose went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk.

He cried out and said yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Never we talk about and ask the question why would you and I resist God.

All of us have made some commitment him in some fashion or knowing God is you know him already.

Why would you not resisting well.

One of the primary reasons we resist and refuse to fulfill our commitment to God is number one. We are afraid we become fearful. We are fearful. First of all the real failures what God called you to do some area of service in your life, you think all God suppose I fail afraid of failure. Afraid of criticism. What will they say if I don't measure up to their expectation. Afraid of exposure they going to see my weaknesses. They're going to see my faults, they're going to see the depth that I'm not that is good is all to be on that is capable as I'd like to be all that they'll see that there are other people who more capable than I am and most of the people who can do a better job than I can do and so we are afraid of exposure.

Afraid of failing.

Afraid of the unknown. Suppose I do what God says do what's going to happen. Then listen the act of faith is being willing to place your trust in the wisdom and the will of God without knowing the outcome. How many times has God required of you. Something you said, Lord, but suppose this is what you did. You paraded before God. All the things that could possibly happen. And when you build your case. Looking at your own case, you became so Fairview several God is no way for me to do that. Suppose anyone of these things happen, then what will happen to me. You see, if you my friend will be honest. One of the primary reasons we don't obey God as we are afraid of the results of the circumstances because we don't know the circumstances we don't know the ultimate outcome we sell Lord. But if you just tell me what's going to happen and assure me that everything is going to be all right then I'll do it.

That is in obedience and that is in faith that's trying to fit God into your mole and trying to make him fit into your plan so that you not trusting God not obeying God you just following by site not by faith. He's not going to do that.

Let me ask is how many blessings have you missed in your life because you are afraid to trust God, what have you missed in your business life because you are afraid to trust God. What if you missed in your relationship to others wouldn't open up wouldn't be honest wouldn't be open when become transparent. You know what you miss you miss deep abiding friendships and fellowship. What if you missed in life because you are afraid to give your money to God with I give got 10% have what's going to happen. What I have left. I contacted my friend he will multiply.

That's what will happen to what you see, if you don't trust them.

You say what is suppose. I give got a tablet kid who allowed you want to get your bills paid off. Start giving to God first. You see, if you sit back and you got it all figured out what you're saying is what I'm afraid of the circumstances and until you can assure me what's going to happen. I'm not going to do it. My friend, you will ultimately elderly devastatingly fail in the eyes of God. If you don't place your trust in him you afraid of failure.

Afraid of criticism.

Fearful about people going to see exposure to see you just the way you are.

Is it the unknown, the troubles you is that the reason you won't follow through on your commitment to Jesus Christ as a second reason that we failed to follow through in our commitment, and that is just pure selfishness. And here's the problem, or is this what you omitted the Lord will hear my plans that doesn't happen. The fit in the what I want to do and more often than not one of the primary reasons we don't obey God is because what God is requiring of us doesn't fit our plan that doesn't fit what I will doesn't doesn't fit my schedule doesn't fit where I want to go doesn't fit what I want to do and so we say Lord know that that's not what I want to do that we don't say that we just casually and quietly go about doing our own thing and what we're saying is Lord, your plan doesn't match my plan. I choose my plan over your plan. So what we do is we really bail against God out of a pure motive of selfishness. Your plan doesn't meet my only tell you why Jonah refused to follow through on his commitment to God as a prop. He was very prejudice against the Ninevites. The Ninevites were about 500 miles east of Jerusalem and they were a threat to the people of God.

Jonah didn't want them to repent.

He wanted God to destroy the people of Nineveh and let me show you why that's true click back to chapter 4 from he gets so upset.

Look, if you will, in verse one. He says he pray to the Lord said to him, please, Lord, was not this what I said while I was still a mountain country. Therefore, in order to forestall this. I led to Tarsus. I knew that though the gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore, now, Lord, please take my life for me.

Death is better than life.

You know what he wants.

Rather than be obedient to God and his God.

He's performed this tremendous miracle among these healers and here's Jonah up here. Here's a PayPal after the what is that he's He's in verse five. Then Jonah went up from the city set east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under the shade until he could see what was going to happen in the city and what was going to he was going to stay there 40 days. God said four days ago to wipe this place up. You don't repent. So people repent, and all over the place in God's awakening the city.

He set up on the hillside, hoping God's judgment is going to rain down verse six of the Lord God appointed you ponder visionaries pointing something else.

He appointed a planting global Jonah to be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort and Jonah was extremely happy about the plan is unhappy about the MobileMe and happy about the plant was his priorities is not about the way you felt some time totally listen totally unconcerned about spiritual things and concerned about something that had no no lifetime value to it all and listen what God did got so his attitude but got upon the worm got upon the worm when Don came the next day it attacked the plant and it withered. So here is another whiteness he was going to happen in all the shades gone.

It came about when the sun came up they got upon his got upon some got upon a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint, big with all of the soul – thanks Lord death is better to me than life. God said to him. Jonah give a good reason to be angry about this plan. He said I have a good reason to be angry even to death, and the Lord said you had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and what you did not cause the grow which came up overnight in Paris tonight should not have compassion all Nineveh, the great city which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between the right hand, the left as well as many animal is an interesting though that ends the book here was Jonah. He didn't get his way with God. Have you ever pounded because you didn't get your way. No, I'm not going to do that. That's not what I want to do selfishness that he was prejudiced because he was afraid the Ninevites were going to attack God's people and so he refused to be obedient to got to listen is what I want you to see sometimes the reason we disobey God is. We have God's plan all misconfigured. We think a lot if I do thus and so here's what's going to happen. What you must remember is this, if God tells you to do something.

God knows the beginning the in the middle of the ultimate results and God also knows if he's telling you to do it.

He's telling you to do it for a divine reason which you and I are not to question but rather old Bay. That's the reason God tells us to do something. Look, if you will.

The Scripture says he disobey God for his plans then fit God's plans. He was prejudiced and I think that two other things not mention concerning us and that is sometimes we set a got all I can do. That's too costly, what is that going to cost me or Lord, that will inconvenience me which you see the real problem was selfishness. ECF selfishness will absolutely destroy us, what we have to ask is Lord what document my step two I committed myself to living in submission to your divine authority, whether I liked it or not that's living on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But there's 1/3 reason I believe that sometime we resist the Lord and that is we have a poor self-image. Oh God, not me. You gotta be talking about somebody that you there's no way to be talking about me. You must be talk about him or her or let me give you a list of prospects that you could call on you. You can ask all of these folks are good.

Yet they do a much better job not you could be calling me look at me.

You remember the six chapter judges when God came to speak to Gideon about freeing the Israelites from the Philistine bondage about his names of the Lord, who is Christ approached him while he was down there working at the mill and Angel dressed him by saying all valiant warrior who made all valiant warrior, not me. He says while my family is the least in all of this from the size that he said he said you I feel so inadequate you can be listen.

That's the kind of people.

God is looking for people who are in adequate apart from God adequate in him, but totally in adequate.

Apart from you see we resist being committed to God because we refrain we don't we don't know what's going to happen.

Selfishness, poor self-image, don't how to respond to these things. Suppose I get in the middle of this Lord and I can handle it.

Then what any show you something. Whatever God called you to do, my friend. When he gets you in the middle of it. You bet your life. He's going to be in the middle of it with. So whatever he calls you to do is go take your hand he's gonna walk with you through that every single step of the way all he's looking for his commitment all the more to do is to follow through on what you said to him use that I receive you as my Savior. My life thank you for listening to resistance to commitment.

If you like to know more about Charles Stanley intact ministry that night and had started writing this podcast is a presentation intact ministry in Atlanta, Georgia