The Insanity of God, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Jeannie Greer some things God does just to prepare you for himself. God wants your heart to belong fully to him, love him to trust him. God calls you first to himself, and only secondarily do is ask.

That means, by the way, to what God is doing in you is just as significant as what he is doing through my Bible teaching ministry pastor, author, theologian JD Greer.

As always, I'm your host Molly that events sure we've all had moments and even seasons when we wondered why God works the way that he dies. Why does he answer prayer there, but was silent here and then out of the blue seemed to randomly perform a miracle today pastor JD explains that God really does have a method to what might look like madness to S it's another lesson from our study in the book, ask if you miss any messages in this series. Be sure to listen@jeanniegreer.com. Now let's join pastor JD as he teaches for chapter 9 verses 19 through 31, Paul was chosen yet he was opposed to Paul was chosen yet God took many years to prepare him. Three Paul was chosen yet the suffered this in many ways. Again, as a pattern for you see, my goal is I want to give some of you hope regarding what God is doing in your life. Hope you see is one of the most powerful forces on the planet and hope enables you to endure some things that you are not able to endure without it matter how strong your character is, or how how how how how strong the support group that you have around you is if you are not a Christian this weekend. My hope for you is that you will learn a little bit about why those who are around you are Christians. Maybe they're sitting next to you this weekend why it is that they seem to be able to go through certain things differently than you are able to go through them and for you not to look at them and admire them.

But for you to ask yourself some questions about you.

I have the same kind of hope. It takes me to the same kind of chapters in my life.

Number one, Paul was chosen yet he was close. People rejected his message they impugn his motives and they tried to kill them sometimes.

Honestly, this is your biggest surprise when you become a Christian because people were supposed to listen. There were supposed to be excited about what God was doing in your life. They were supposed to praise the great decisions that you were making, but certainly what I experienced when I first began to get serious about God.

God begin to do a lot of things in my life when I was in college and I started to share with everybody those around me and there were a lot of people who listen.

But there were a lot of people who didn't even the church did not have Paul's back December 26 afraid of it and believe that he was even a disciple will turn you a question. Are you ready for this.

Are you ready to be criticized, belittled to have your motives impugn passive written about your blogs and newspapers and what happens are you going to keep on preaching notice on the next few verses how often were boldly is used in Damascus. Paul preached boldly. Verse 28 he went in and out among them, a Jerusalem preaching boldly in the naval Lord spoke for 29 implication is boldly a dispute against the Hellenist is my question for you.

What if Paul had not continued to preach boldly, you and I would not be sitting here that's what would happen if my follow-up question for you whose life is depended on you being bold is like a spring on you being bold how important the gospel is do you think it's worth a little maybe a lot of bad things being said about you. There are some things that are so important that it's worth the loss of almost anything is not the gospel. One of those things were talking about a message that determines people's eternity were talking about the difference between heaven and hell were talking about the love of Jesus and our enemy will do all they can all that he can to silent you, Paul, Preaching boldly and thank God that he digs you when I rear somebody's life is dependent on you. Somebody's life is depending on you and whether or not you will respond boldly in this moment determines their future. Number two, Paul was chosen yet God took nearly 2 decades to prepare him something you don't immediately see here is that there's a lot of time that passes in these verses, you always see that these articles and cross-referencing you some clues in his epistles here. I'll give you one of them sacredness up 11 verse 24 five times I received a band of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked tonight and the day I was adrift at sea.

I was in frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers data from our people danger from Gentiles enter the city danger the wilderness danger. See danger from false brothers and toil and hardship for many a sleepless night and hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure. Never make the mistake of basketball things going until a blog right with the written autobiography would call my worst life now right to that's pretty much what is described in verse 24 to 27. By the way most of that happened most that happened in that little white space right there between verse 26 and 27,000 most of that little white space that includes all the things you see their integrity is up 11 Dolts Way E. your white space for some of you are right now.

I know it's frustrating. I realize that I am ready codes for me in I will Laura want to position our recognition. I got these dreams wasted because that's where God is his best work your way you might be the whitespace of singleness might be the whitespace of not having been recognized might be the whitespace of obscurity might be the whitespace of serving on the rest of her prison sentence. I don't know what is what I'm telling you, God does his best work in the whitespace because of the whitespace is how he prepares you for the ministry that he has for you after Billy Graham essay God takes a long time.

Service he's going to take time to prepare you. You just need to be a mirror, you need to take the whitespace seriously not wasted all my life all my life has been spent trying to run out of one whitespace in the, the next world to be in written biggest mistakes that I made because God was sweetly trying to teach me who he was and how to relate their number three Paul was chosen yet he suffered. Paul was chosen yet he suffered get to choose one word to characterize this for 17 years is the word suffering National Guard exception Avenue and right is a chosen instrument of mine saw how much he must suffer suffering.

You see, is one of God's primary training tools for his people.

Suffering does not mean that you doing something wrong, partly always prepare you the word instrument, the God used in verse 15 is a chosen instrument of mine in Greek is more that really ought to be translated vessel. It's the same word the Paul uses sacred needs for what he said we have this treasure the Holy Spirit in an earthen vessel of vessel has no value of its own. It has no power of its own, it's a conduit for power or value that come from something else. What Paul was saying what he said vessel integrity for dichotomous uses words we have this treasure in earthen vessels of the people would know that the surpassing power and compromised come from God is yet Windows conversion. Paul had seen himself as a pretty valuable tool for God.

He was academically smart.

He was persuasive with his words. He must be pretty awesome. But God did not want him to be an instrument that God used God wanted him to be a vessel of his surpassing power and the only way that he could do that is to break down. Paul's confidence in his own abilities and humble him Saul the mighty you to become all the small so God took 17 years to humble him and break him because only then would he be filled with God's power, not his own. There is a tribe in Mesopotamia in ancient tribe. It was famous in the union in the ancient world for its pottery a lot of placement pottery but there was one unique thing that this tribe did with its pottery that set it apart after they would finish making these beautiful pots will all be design on them and beautifully sculpted.

They would then take it and hold it above a rock and throw it down and shattered in 100 pieces, then they would melt, gold, and they would piece back together this plot using the melted gold is the adhesive to hold it together so that the value of the pottery having been broken and put back together was now exceedingly more than it was before it was broken. That is what God does with his people as he does not want an unbroken instrument.

He wants those who are infused with the power of God and the only way the accomplices that is by breaking you see as I read Paul's epistles. I would tend to think knowing Paul that what I would find is a really smart guy who would always make me feel inferior and always making me wish that I could be more like him. But that's not what I get when I read Paul's epistles. I see a guy was broken.

I see a guy with humble dependence on God's power.

I see a guy who says things like argumentative me in my flesh.

Nothing good dwells on that I'm the chief of sinners, one who says there's no possible way that I could do what God wants him as God was doing and what you know that you are and all that Matthew was trying some successes not do his accolades he learned it through suffering. This statement is doubtful whether God can bless, or use a man greatly until he's hard and deeply it's doubtful whether God even use a person greatly until he hardened deeply or this whenever this went. Dependence is the objective weakness is your advantage. See weakness is how you learned operating the power of God and sufferings. What else you get in touch with your weakness. Suffering is also where God purifies your heart a strip sure your idols if you listen sometimes I think we do wrong. When we try to find a silver lining in every bad thing that happens to us. I didn't get in the medical school UNC, but I got in the lineup from my spouse and now everything is awesome. You know, just like that's not that's not always how it works and if you are captives always feel like you gotta be able to explain the good thing in your life that happened out of a bad thing when you come a lot of things. Richard is going to put you in despair to usually elicit some things God does just to prepare you for himself because he wants you to love and trust him more than it to the phrase in verse 15, chapter 9 is a chosen instrument of mine. God wants your heart to belong fully to him, to love him to trust him. God calls you first to himself, and only secondarily to a task that means, by the way that what God is doing in you is just as significant as what he is doing through you because we glorify God.

See, not just by what we do for him, but by who we become in him made me made me do that again request the case, God calls you first to himself, and only secondarily to a task, and that means that what God is doing in you is just as significant, if not more so than what he is doing through you because we glorify God, not just by what we accomplish for him, but by who we become in him is preparing some of you for himself and these most painful times of your life like Tim Keller says most painful times in our lives of our lives is usually when God is removing an idol from us. That's what God is doing for some of you in your singleness 40 doing your pain 40 doing your disappointment is doing in your security is what he's doing in the portrayals it's what he's doing in your failure to quit fighting God on his chosen you for trusting. You have to trust him sometimes was not even about you. Listen, here's another big mistake we make a lot of this blog will suffer if God is committed to explaining to us what happening and I write like is a contract I got other do anything because it was up. You explained to me and I'll go through it. That's not going to happen. Sometimes the information you have to trust what God says that God is good. I showed you what is doing the cross of Jesus Christ on the wall with them, trusting Paul was chosen that he suffered always chosen Getty was opposed. Paul was chosen yet God took many years to prepare your chosen you are pose your chosen that God takes many years to prepare you any delays your chosen you suffer so let me end this by reflecting for just a few minutes on that word chosen because see that word is the key to understanding everything else that's happening now will tell you the concept of being chosen by God is hard to understand now realize raises a lot of really difficult questions, but it is very easy, is it not to look at the apostle Paul's life and see very clearly that Jesus shows him. Paul's not looking for Jesus. Paul is not on a spiritual quest with unanswered questions, reading some books about how to know God always heading to Jerusalem to kill the followers of Jesus. Paul was not looking for Jesus. Paul hated Jesus. Jesus chose him. Jesus, not him off his horse and Jesus revealed himself to him. Your conversion may not have been that dramatic, but the exact same patterns were working you if your heart belongs to Jesus. It is because he chose you. Paul's conversion first Timothy 116 was a pattern for my and your conversion now again I realize that raises some really difficult question what God chose me to have free will. While the Bible says that you do what God choose me.

Why didn't he choose acrobatic. I'm not going to unpack all those things here and to be honest with you I'm not sure that I'm smart enough to unpack all those things.

Consider two things that I know the one God is not a mercy to anybody. So I'm not in the place to be lecturing God about who he should be choosing who he should not be the fact that I'm chosen to ensure mercy because I deserve hell inserting you and everything one of his guys. I'm not a place to lecture God about how he shows mercy to someone number two, the sweetest doctrine in all of my life is that God chose me. So how do you know that your chosen because I believe in love.

Jesus in Scripture says there is no way that I would do that, apart from the Holy Spirit first Corinthians 12 three no man can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit flipping through 13 is God who works in me both the desire and then to do of his good pleasure.

John 113.

Those of us who have received Jesus were born out of the will of the flesh.

Now the will of man, but they were born of God. Ephesians 29 says that even the faith that I have in Jesus is a gift of him to me to the fact that I love. Jesus is not something that came up inside of me for something that he gave to me that means. Listen, I'm not here because that was some good inmate God and look out back out or something good in him. I see it that's Star Wars that's not Bible member Star Wars back in the 80s. Rio member member of the sea will loose our group saw Darth Vader's helmet some good in you at the that's not how you work in Berkeley.

Jesus did not see you there was no good in you or in me. I was spiritually dead.

I was in my trespasses and sins of the people Jesus raised out of the grave losses of life left in that one sees in life and I would want to call him out.

The grapes know they were dead.

There's only one category.

Deadness debt is nearly did ride there's a reference. There's only Jack there is only dad, that means that for me to follow Jesus is not because I had good in me. I was just like Paul. I was against God's will my life. I hated him and he pursued me in here why here's why that is so comforting to me if I did not begin to follow Jesus because of my goodness.

Jesus is not depending on my goodness to keep me following him saying see if it was a good moment in which I found Jesus will happen to me in my bad moments to one thing I've learned over and over and over again is that my flesh is wholly evil and of God took his mercy away for me for even a second. I would turn away but see I have this assurance that Peter began a good thing in the Philippians 16 on the map. The apostle Paul will complete all the way to the day of Jesus Christ. And so, though I am unable to line fickle. The lime blown about all different kinds of temptations God started and what God started. He is going to complete. Charles Spurgeon said it this way. I have no questions that God chose me because I'm quite sure that if God did not chosen me I should never have chosen him, and I am sure he chose me before I was born or else he never would've chosen me afterwards. They must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason to myself why he should've looked upon me with special love talks like I'm forced to accept the doctrine ever pastor friend about four years ago got involved in a moral failure, and I realize that there are some guys who go through that may have become sacred penance with his was genuine, but is totally broken, resigned out a ministry as he should have been talking with him one day I told him I said you have to let this idea that God chose you cannot let that become sweet to you, I simply remember telling him that but about two months ago he texted me and said you may not member this but one day you made the statement to me like the idea that archers become sweet to me is I want to know that the last four years.

That statement has sustained me in my darkest hour, he said because I look at my life and I'm so ashamed is as I look at my life and feel despair. I look at the grace that God showed me and I realize that I just squandered it and threw it away if it were not for the understanding God shows me when I was dead in trespasses and sand and though I sin against him is great for God's grace in the is greater that what he started. He surely will finish. I would have despaired even of life itself. I know that you're doing with him doing with some people in here that you're looking at your life in your same but it's just a mess. Time when you started and you God is going to finish it and when you can hold on to God he's holding onto you and you need to let that become sweet. You see, I do not know all the answers to the questions about the doctrine of how God chooses people what I do know is this amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now I found I couldn't find myself cello and road and lost right was blind was blind but now I see because God gave me so I longed my imprison spirit lay fast found it's in the nature of my design. I defused a quickening right. I rose the dungeon flame with white. My chains fell off my soul was free hi Rose, my fourth and followed that's what I understand that God shows.

Paul also shows me that is fully in charge of the world evangelization process.

God is not sitting in heaven right now. Remus Vance will wait a minute, my little premature that every drop domination thing we fundamentals Muslims. Yet they went around when I said that when I got home from a mean I got really difficult to deal with this. Know that God shows the number one public enemy of the church in turn that into his premier apostle tells me that God is fully in charge of the evangelization process and I can go forward in boldness, even when nobody else is listening to me because God is the one was going to ensure that every tribe, nation under heaven is to be around the throne and see that it and keep me from sharing Christ that she empowers me to share Christ cannot empower you so from our perspective now we see the Paul one, but from Paul's perspective then even at the end of his life. As the axis swinging through year servicing what he was losing from your perspective now doesn't seem like you're losing don't you think God will be as faithful to you as you watch the Paul you you your chosen instrument. You are unstoppable to see when I am opposed. I was, boldness, and when he delays taking many days to accomplish what he is promised, I'll respond with faith and when I suffer. I'm to respond with resurrection hope to see we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken, we are struck down, but not destroyed. Always you see carrying about in our bodies. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ in the life of Jesus may be manifest in your bodies you see bosses death is at work in us, but life through that is at work in you as it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long for your sake we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered day, but in all these things through him, we are more than conquerors. To him who loved us. I am convinced that neither death nor life in prison about empowerment and present living document to come. Nothing shall be able to separate me the love of God that is in Christ, I know that I have committed to him I had.

I know who I have believed, and I'm convinced that he is able to keep what he has committed to him and I know that what you started. He will finish some. We are chosen chosen your chosen, you can file you can't fail. You cannot sometimes is awful. I don't want to see me.

Had Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and there were times when he was in prison. There were times when his grandson turned his back on in the charged and understand what is that one vision is for help to your friends don't tear past your present or future look to Jesus and hear him say you are chosen for telling me you're listening to Senate life there author and theologian Jamie Greer here in our home church in the stomach church in Raleigh, Durham, North Carolina. We are firmly committed to the great commission and is part of our work towards that mission. Set a goal to paint thousand new churches in this generation were not just doing that to beget more churches with the sending me we are equipping and providing resources for other churches to plant and grow because in the end all one body we want. You are Senate life listeners to be a part of that mission to where ever you are three new churches just beginning in St. Louis, Missouri, Orlando, Florida and Myrtle Beach South Carolina viewing one of these areas or have family or friends in the cities who need a local church community.

Listen up and write these church names down to Storyline church in St. Louis. One family church in Orlando and co-sway church in Myrtle Beach. We'd like to get you a copy of it that we created just for our Senate life. I don't think the book of acts, volume 2 covers chapters 927, 866-335-5224 request about when you get online. Katie clear.com. I might even event speaks for joining us this week will see you Monday on MetLife. Jamie