RECAP of Chapter 6
- Sherry Braswell
- Jul 16, 2020
- 5 min read
Good Morning Sisters,
Who is the Lord of your life?
Are YOU in your own way? Where are you in your surrender?
Are your eyes on yourself or on Christ?
“I’ve really been wrestling with this chapter.” Ashley said as she began to teach. “God has been preparing me way before tonight”.
She was on fire!!! If you weren’t able to get on the call you definitely want to watch the recording. She hit the bullseye in the spirit. She did a WONDERFUL job of breaking it all down in terms we could all relate to and understand. VERY VERY POWERFUL!
This chapter is a challenging one...a convicting one. It is a GAME CHANGER...a very in depth chapter that we need to marinate and meditate on. This life is not mine. When I accepted Jesus as my savior I accepted HIS WILL. Instead of going down the “I” tunnel I’m going to trust Him. Christ is our example. He laid down His rights for us. These foundational truths are not the most comfortable to think about but critical for our freedom. The world needs us to shine HIS light and we cannot do that unless we understand that it’s HIS righteousness and not our own that we seek.
Accepting Jesus and becoming a follower of Jesus is NOT the same thing. They are very different. This chapter is a conviction to righteousness. It is both sobering and exciting.
The author goes into great detail describing the character of sheep. “At first I was offended. Sheep are dumb.” Ashley said. “We are also dumb when we make decisions outide of our covenant relationship with Christ.” No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detailed direction, than do sheep. We can be on the wrong path because we get in our own way.
We follow Him because only HE knows the right paths for us. Only HE knows our pain, our weaknesses, our past, our heart, our hurts...He made you and He knows you. When left to our own devices we can mess things up. Without a shepherd the sheep will keep doing the same destructive habits over and over again. If we’re left to ourselves we’ll be eft to death, destruction, discouragement and deception.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
Mark 8:34 is the hallmark of this chapter. “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Jesus is having a conversation with Peter here. This is a great parallel to this chapter. When we have personal pride and feel like we know what is best for our lives we’re aligning with the enemy. We’re elevating our will above that of God’s. This is what Satan did and the reason for his fall. Jesus was telling Peter what He was about to endure. He laid down His will and surrendered to His Father. Jesus rebukes Peter because he was thinking of himself and thinking as man thinks. Suffering is a big part of following God. I know this is not a popular thing to talk about but it’s true. It’s part of our Christian life. None of us like to deny ourselves. None of us like to do uncomfortable things. But this is the only way to our freedom, the only road to true satisfaction, fulfillment and joy.
Are you in a place of surrender? Are you doing things for His name sake or for your own sake?
The Lord wants us to get into alignment with Him so He can be our shepherd of our soul. What are some of the things that get in our way? The author does a great job of explaining 7 of those. There are seven fresh attitudes that have to be acquired. They are progressive.
Instead of loving myself most, I am willing to love Christ best and others more than self. Love is not a feeling, but an act of the will.
Instead of being one of the crowd, I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the group. Most of us want to belong. Don’t sell yourself out, don’t conform to this world. You were created to stand out. Do not forego your uniqueness, don’t try to fit in.
Instead of insisting on my rights, I am willing to forego them in favor of others.
Practice saying “No one owes me anything.” You are not a victim. With this attitude you
Positioning yourself to receive everything. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about HIM.
You can be free from yourself and others. The more you take your mind of off yourself
The more freedom you’ll have. Jesus is our example of this. He laid down all of His
Rights for us.
Instead of being boss I am willing to be at the bottom of the heap. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you.
Instead of finding fault with life and always asking “why” I am willing to accept every circumstance of life in an attitude of gratitude. Don’t fall into the pit of self pity as it’s a pit of self righteousness. As a follower of Christ we’re not trying to escape trials but thrive and shine.
Instead of exercising and asserting my will I am willing to learn to cooperate with His wishes and comply with His will.
Instead of choosing my own way, I am willing to choose to follow in Christ’s way; simply to do what He asks me to do. It is simple...it is straightforward obedience.
Ashley taught on 1 Peter 2 which has 25 verses. She encouraged us to read the whole chapter as God is asking us to do things here that are impossible to do in our own strength. Dying to ourselves is being a follower of Christ. We pick up our cross when we choose to love a sister above ourselves.
We cannot love ourselves more than we love Christ. When we die to ourselves we don’t have any more rights. It’s not easy, It’s not possible to do without the Holy Spirit.
If you’re experienced a lot of injustice in your life please know that God sees it ALL. He is a restorer. He is a vindicator. He is a redeemer. Our suffering is NOT in vain. We will get rewards in Heaven for what Jesus did for us. Is that AMAZING or what?!!! God is a rewarder. He sees our pain and struggles. He tells us to learn room for His vengeance. God’s justice looks very different from ours.
It’s an honor to follow Jesus. It’s not easy. We have no right to say “Life ain’t fair.” We must keep our eyes on JESUS and what HE did for us! It’s all about HIM and HIS righteousness.
Recording:
Access Password: 2s^zCU!0
***Please note that we have a limited amount of storage capacity with Zoom each month. Recordings will be kept for two weeks and then deleted.
Tonight we have our prayer call @ 7pm. Karen is leading. On Sunday we are praying for our nation. Rita will be leading us.
Sundays are open to invite your husbands, neighbors, anyone who would like to pray for our country. We are being called to intercede and we must RISE to that call.
I will be sending out an August schedule within the next week or so
Women of Faith Study
“A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23”
Wed. 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29
7-8 pm on Zoom
Wed. Link:
Password: 196078
Prayer and Praise
Every Thurs & Sun in July
7/9, 7/12, 7/16, 7/19, 7/23, 7/26, 7/30
7-7:45 on Zoom
Thursday link :
Password: 778244
Sunday link:
Password: 922285
I look forward to praying with you tomorrow.
Love,
Sherry :-)
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