Overwhelming Work Never Ending Grace Purity 818

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a view of the Grand Canyon comes to us from a friend who visited there back in April while on an epic road trip that took them throughout the Southwest and terminated in California. With views like this, we are not surprised that our friend fell in love with Arizona, as they were surprised to admit that Arizona Arizona will apparently forever have a piece of my heart now. I know, uh, that a canyon is perhaps not the best way to visually represent Hump Day, but I would imagine that those canyon walls sure look like a mountain to the people at the bottom of it. Also, and it sort of visually represents how I feel this morning as I contemplate the mountain of tasks that seem to be surrounding me as I have decided to prepare for the ministry work I've committed myself to in the upcoming weeks and months as summer will way to back-to-school season. So this morning I thought I would give a little advice on what to do when we feel overwhelmed with work or have realized the responsibilities that are involved with the promises or commitments we have made. While my suggestions may be adopted by anyone in general, I will be specific in saying that we will rely on the Lord to help strengthen and guide us as we seek to climb out of the valley of the things we agreed to do, or to keep going over the mountain of things we have to do from here to there. And I guess that's where I will begin, at the end. Okay, so we are talking about stress. We've got things to do, we have limited time and limited resources, and just thinking about all, all of it can cause us to freak out, to grow anxious or become depressed. Unfortunately, in my experience, I can attest to the fact that the world, the flesh, and the devil seem to love to pile it on when we have made— we we may have overextended ourselves or have agreed to things that we didn't realize would entail what they entail. So if the work itself wasn't bad enough to deal with, we will be distracted and led astray by our emotions or temptations to make decisions that don't help or can make matters worse by squandering more of our limited resources. Ask me how I know. So back to the end. While some of us may be on a journey with no end in sight and with with an uncertain destination, we can find a measure of peace in doing what we can do for today and making short-term goals to not only measure our progress but to motivate us with the fact that we can accomplish some things in a short time, even if it may take months or even years to accomplish our long-term goals. So we contemplate our ends, What do we need to do and what can we do by the end of the day, the end of the week, or the end of the month? Instead of growing anxious because of all the things, uh, because of all the situations and tasks that are on our plate, we can divide and conquer it by being realistic and intentional in assessing and prioritizing the things that need to be done now versus the things that can wait can be done later. So what needs to be done today and what can wait? Also, in this assessment, we should also consider the things we can complete and the things that will be an ongoing issue or require a sustained effort to complete. Once we get an idea of that, we can choose to take our take on our work in various ways. We can take on each task one by one and press in until their completion, until their completion, or we can split our time and energy between tasks in equal or unequal measures to begin an overall campaign of activity that will result in, quote unquote, everything getting done before crucial deadlines. So yeah, we have to know those, those deadlines too. That's the end, uh, that's the end, right? And, uh, and we need to be diligent to meet them in a way that will not cause unbalance with the rest of our lives. A broad approach that takes everything into consideration and balances your efforts in small increments over time is preferable to leaving things to the last minute in terms of our peace. So avoid the temptations to be lazy. But at the same time, be wise in knowing your limits and be sure to get some rest when you need it. This is all just general advice that anyone can take, but I wouldn't be doing you any favors if I didn't remind you that your relationship with God is continuous and the Lord can help you in your efforts to dig yourself out of the hole you are in or to climb over the mountain of work you have to surmount. Without God in our lives, we could, we could probably manage to get things done, and we will have varying levels of success in performing our tasks and in avoiding making dumb decisions that will hinder our progress. But when we walk and talk with him in our everyday lives, we can benefit from his presence, his wisdom, his strength, and his rest. The very fact of our covenant relationship with the Lord is a game changer. His grace is enough, and it liberates us when we know that no matter how we perform in this world, that we are approved of and accepted by God. We can watch the pressure and the stress of the things that usually cause us fits disappear. The amazing thing about grace is that we can't— we can fail. Failure is an option. Quitting is an option. There really is no ca— there, there really is no worst-case scenario with God. No matter how we mess up, God will still love us. We can even literally die of shame and embarrassment of failing at our accomplishments, and God would be there to welcome us into his arms. God knows our plans. He knows our pain. God knows our struggles. God knows our situations. But he never leaves us or forsakes us in them. And we— he will be able to, uh, he will be available to us to comfort us and to encourage us through the things we need to do. So as we plan, as we prioritize, and as we work to get 'er done, we shouldn't forget that we are not alone. God is with us. And just knowing that and being able to go to him for comfort, guidance, and strength will give us his power to persevere, overcome, or endure the things that this life will bring, bring to us. Although the things I have committed myself to and the work that is involved in doing them can seem overwhelming when I look at them, when I remember that God approves of me regardless of my performance and that he is with me all the time, those tasks don't seem so scary anymore. I'll either do a good job or I won't. I'll either get 'er done or I'll have to humble myself and admit that I took on more than I was able. But, even if I do less than what I would have liked, I won't die, and even if I do, God will still be with me. So don't be afraid of the big ol' pile of work before you. Don't be afraid of the opinions of others if you fail. God loves you, and you will never be rejected by Him when you put your faith in Jesus and follow Him to the best of your abilities. God encourages us to stretch ourselves to do the impossible, but He has already accepted us as we are. But instead of staying where we are, let's follow the Lord and see what we can, can do with His, with this life. Let's see where the Lord has to take us. And let's see what we can accomplish when we walk with him. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Isaiah 40:29, and it says, he gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Today's verse tells us that with God— well, let's say with God, and Although today's verse tells us God gives us— gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Pretty straightforward. And all the people said amen. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we've got God on our side, guys. We know his grace, and it will be with us to carry us wherever the Lord wants us to go. Grace is God's divine unmerited favor. It doesn't run out at salvation. As his adopted children, God wants us to know his love and his care for us. If we ask for his strength, we will receive it. While God's power in us may not result in miraculous works or signs and wonders, his strength can be called on to help us to accomplish things we never thought we could, or to endure trials and tribulations we never thought, we would never have thought we could survive. God's strength is in his presence, and when we continually abide in him, we can cast out fear and have hope and joy as we walk through this life. So if you're feeling weak, uh, power— or powerless, ask your Heavenly Father for his help and receive his strength. As always, um, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Clinton Arnold's Powers of Darkness, and we're in chapter 14, and today we're going to share a section that's called Discerning the Demonic. And so it's all about discerning the spirits. So if you want some help or, you know, or some advice on discerning the demonic in your life, those influences of the power of darkness in your life, go to mt4christ.org and check out today's blog post, and you'll see it at the bottom. Yeah, and so yeah, when we face, when we face overwhelming work or new situations that are stressful and we don't see a way out and we see a lot of work to be done, um, we gotta walk with God. We gotta ask for his strength and we'll receive it, and we'll receive his wisdom and guidance. And we may be called to walk in our path for a while. Before we can, you know, get to a place that's good or find a new path, you know, a new way, a new life, a new job, a new ministry, whatever. Or, you know, things will change. We don't know. All we know is what's before us today, and when we're faithful to accomplish what we can into, you know, you know, in today You know, we're following the Lord. You know, we draw close to his presence. We can overcome, we can endure, we can accomplish things, we can accomplish the impossible, but it might take some time. So there's nothing to be too overwhelmed about. You know, I'm preaching to the choir this morning because I've decided to do the Bonhoeffer class, and man, I like to do PowerPoints. Uh, very time-consuming though. And I love his book and I want to share all of it, but I don't think that's very practical. So we're working it out bit by bit. And meantime, my, my Freedom in Christ classes will start in a couple weeks, and I do have to do a little preparation for that. And I've agreed to do some web hosting, so people are contacting me about setting up the Zoom meeting and which I've already done. Uh, so accomplish what you can. And mean, in the meantime, I want to fill, fill myself with, um, uh, with some teachings that I've, uh, recently, uh, purchased. And, um, you know, so I always think that, you know, we can only give what we have. And, um, as we serve, as we, as we seek to you know, help people, we also need to fill ourselves and be strengthened by God's truth and, you know, God's wisdom and ways. So we either, you know, and that's either through reminding ourselves of what we already know or learning things we didn't know, or just, you know, or a combination of both, a new way to look at something we've already known. You know, all these resources that are out there, these Christian resources, be it the Bible or Bible commentaries or books by, um, books by Christian authors that, you know, examine the Word of God, they're all tools. They're all invitations for a relationship with the Lord, and we have to be discerning in what we spend time in. Even good things can be a distraction. Because all the work I do, I probably shouldn't sit down and watch 9 hours of, uh, of Christian teaching. Or should I? You know, um, you don't know. Maybe you need— maybe you need that to do what you need to do. I don't know. But we have to be wise and discerning and, uh, choose it, uh, choose it, choose it wisely. Um, so we'll see how that goes. We'll see how it is. And the good thing is when you prepare ahead of time, you know, there's grace in the fact that you don't have to do everything today, that you could do it as it comes, or you can go in totally unprepared. So, um, you know, or somewhere in between. The Lord loves us no matter what, thank God, and he can help us. You know, we don't have to be perfect even though it says— the Word says be perfect. We're going to take some time to get there. It's called glorification, and God will be welcoming us into the kingdom before we do that. So that's a fine balance in this life of faith where we have to measure our expectations and the Word of God and give ourselves grace and mercy when we need to, and to you know, press in and, and, uh, stretch ourselves when we need to grow, you know. So I encourage you to do it with God, because everyone can do work, you know, and anyone can try hard, anyone can, you know, apply themselves. But when we do it with the Lord, we can receive, you know, peace in, in the midst of it all. We shouldn't forget our relationship with the Lord because he certainly won't forget us. So I encourage everyone to, um, to keep walking and talking with God, as I say. And if you need more instruction, there's, um, there's my, uh, discipleship classes that I did in 2021 that are on the podcast for Victory Over the Darkness, Freedom in Christ, and and, um, the Bondage Breaker. So, um, so those things can help, um, and, uh, the Lord will help. So if you can't— don't have time for a class, go to the Lord in prayer and just ask him for strength and for him to be with you, and he'll help you every step of the way. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We love you so much because of the things you've done for us, the fact that you showed us the truth of Jesus Christ and we don't have to worry about death anymore, um, and that you love us no matter what, uh, we do. Um, it's an amazing thing, your grace and, uh, your love for us. And so we thank you for that, Lord. And we just, um, we pray for the people listening today that they would know that, that they're loved by God, they're approved by you, and that their performance really doesn't matter what, um and that while we— you encourage us to do good works, it's not our good works that make us approved. So, um, Lord, we pray for people to take a deep breath and to rest, um, for a moment and get some peace, get some strength from you, and then press into whatever the day has for them. Prioritize what you need to do and see the things that you can accomplish and what you can accomplish and, uh, all the way walk with the Father as he guides you. Lord, we pray for you to bless the people who are listening and to answer their prayers and give them the strength and that rest that they need as they go about this Wednesday work day for most of us. Um, and, uh, Lord, so we just pray that you go before us, open our eyes to good things you want us to see, and, oh, and lead us into the good things you would have us do. To represent you here on the earth. Lord, we love you, we thank you, we praise you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.