August 2 2 Samuel 11.26-12.13a, *Ephesians 4.1-16
“Pray – for Deliverance” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
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Our text this morning finds the Apostle Paul in verse 1, begging
God’s people to live a life worthy of the calling to which they have been
called. Paul was begging them, as he suffered in his prison cell. He begged
them to listen to God with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing
with one another in love. He was begging them to make every effort to maintain
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Paul was like God. Throughout scriptures God begs us worshippers
to examine our lives, to be humble, gentle, patient in ways that create
a loving and peaceful and united atmosphere.
That is a tall order for any of us. The good news is that
according to verse 7, all of us whether small or great have a measure of grace.
That is, we all have something in our hands and in our hearts that helps us
create an atmosphere that is loving and peaceful, that is filled with
humility, gentleness, unity and peace. We have it and God is blessed
when we use it.
This week I have been reflecting on the idea that God designed
us with a sense of urgency in mind. Paul is begging God’s people because the
needs are urgent. So much of what God has created is created in urgency. The
urgency in our lives reminds us that we depend on God. We depend on God for our
every breath, our every heartbeat, our every drink of water, every meal, every
kind word, and every gentle gesture.
Our needs are urgent because if we go a day or two without our
basic needs being met, then we move quickly into a crisis mode, a mode of
deprivation and even suffering.
We have all been in a crisis mode. We all know what it feels
like to lack and be deprived of something or someone. We have all suffered in
one way or another.
Our needs are constant. That is how God created us, and God is
always with us in our crisis, our need, and our suffering. So, in trusting God
we remember that God is everywhere and has something for us to bless us in our
time of need. Our need is great and so is our God.
For God is above us and below us, the one who as verse 9 reminds
us, ascends and descends. We do not have to look far to see that we are
surrounded by the majestic and the mysterious. Our God is an awesome God! So
when Paul begs us to speak the truth in love, in verse 15, we know we have
access to Divine power that enables us to speak the truth in love.
Our words have power. Just as God created with a word, according
to John that says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has
been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind. 5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 14 The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us.
Our words have power. Every word we speak creates. Every move we
make creates something. Every word we speak creates something. There are times
we want to be silent and God wants us to speak. There are times we want to
speak and God wants us to be silent. God, has a purpose and a plan. For God’s
sake, we need to speak when it is time to speak and be silent when it is time
to be silent.
What happens when we pray before we speak? When we pray before
we speak, the spiritual fruit of self-control becomes stronger and stronger,
and that is a good thing.
We have power to speak. We have power to speak the truth. Truth
can be very elusive and complicated like an onion with many layers. We know
that the truth is the light and that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.
At times the truth is stranger than fiction. At times the truth
is hard to swallow and hard to believe, nevertheless, the truth does set us
free when it is spoken in loving ways.
A woman shared the story that she was not as close to her father
as she longed to be. When he was well into his senior years, she dared to share
with him gently some of her most sacred truths. At the end of one loving,
truth-telling conversation she suddenly burst into tears, hugged her father
with all her might, and felt relieved of a burden that had shackled her and her
family for decades.
We can speak by the power of God. We can speak the truth and we
can speak the truth in love. The truth is so powerful that we do well to speak
carefully and prayerfully.
Speaking the truth can lead to a war of words, a war of the
heart, according to Pastor Paul Tripp. When we have something hard to say,
those words should be spoken for God’s sake more than our sake and our selfish
will.
As we are motivated by love we speak without calling names,
without put downs, and without threats. Truth stays pure because it is not bent
and twisted by motivations such as fear, envy, greed, selfishness, or anger.
Pastor Tripp tells the story of his 16 year old son Justin who
was very easy to parent. He was easier since Tripp believes a parent’s job is
to stir up our children’s gifts and build in them a sense of their need to
change for God’s sake.
Justin was going to spend a weekend with friends, but he asked a
friend to lie for him because he was planning to go somewhere else.
By Saturday night, his friend felt so guilty for lying for
Justin that he told his mom and his mom called the Tripp home. Pastor Tripp
answered the phone. When he got off the phone he says he was livid. He walked
upstairs to his wife Luella and said, “Guess where our son is…” and he told her
he was not where he said he would be. She could hear the sarcasm is his voice;
looking at his face, she said, “I think you should pray.” He said, “I don’t
think I can even pray for my son, now.” Luella said, “No. You should pray for
you!”
After prayer, he calmed down enough to realize God was clearly working
in the details of this family situation. The friend felt guilty enough for
lying for Justin. His mom was responsible enough to call his parents and his
wife heard God’s call to pray in the nick of time.
When Justin came home, instead of getting up in his son’s face,
he waited a few hours, went to his room, asked him to turn the stereo down so
they could talk. He calmly began by asking, “Justin, did you ever think about
on your average weekend how much God loves you? One thing led to another and
Justin said, “Who told you, Dad…?”
He went on to tell his son that he had made some good choices
and was living a good life. “You have been living in the light, but tonight you
took a step toward darkness. You manipulated your friends, told stories that
were not true…why do you want to choose that?” After speaking calmly, he turned
to leave hoping his son would reflect seriously on his life.
When he reached the door, he heard his son say, “Dad, don’t
leave.” Tears were streaming down his face as he said, “I want to live in the
light but it is so hard. Can you help me?” That son was reconciled to God and
to his family. Something was created and it was very good!
This father was glad that he did not speak to his wayward son
with inflammatory words while the veins were bulging on the side of his neck,
or with darts of rage flashing like lightening in his mind. He was glad.
A certain mother was separated from her husband for four years.
They had a son in college who had been lying about going to class. When she
found out, she gave her son the option to go to school, get a job or get out. So,
he moved in with his dad and he became very distant to his mom.
She was in great anguish and feared losing her son, and wondered
if she should remain distant or pursue her son. Wise counselors advised her to
pursue – send an occasional text and greeting card and wait for him to grow up
and come back to the mother who had invested many years of love into his life,
which he would eventually appreciate.
The counselors gave her hope that she could one day have a
conversation where she would be able to ask him what she did to hurt him and he
would be able to tell her clearly and they would be reconciled as mother and
son once again. Speaking the truth in love is not easy, it may even take time,
but it always creates something good. Amen.
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