Chicago Hope Church
Church • Chicago, IL • 27 members • 6 followers
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CONNECTING PEOPLE TO LOVING GOD, LOVING OTHERS, AND SERVING THE WORLD
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Is Anything Too Hard? This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:26-27 Have you lived with a difficult situation that remained unchanged no matter how fervently you prayed? If so, you may have begun to doubt God’s ability to intervene. Have you wondered if your problems were beyond God’s power to help your difficult marriage? out-of -control finances? failing health? a wayward child? God’s Word to Jeremiah is a powerful declaration of who God is and what he is able to do. He is the one true God, the sovereign ruler over all the earth. The rhetorical question “Is anything too hard for me?” is actually a statement of God’s supreme power in all circumstances. If anything were too difficult for him, he would not be God. If God is not sovereign over all, he is not sovereign at all! Because nothing is too hard for God, we can rest assured that nothing in our lives is outside of God’s purposeful control. We may not understand why God hasn’t answered our prayers as we wish, but we do know that greater difficulties are opportunities to draw closer to him. We can have peace in all circumstances when we have absolute confidence that nothing is too hard for God. THANK YOU, LORD, that nothing in my life is beyond your reach; nothing is too large or difficult for your powerful hand. Help me to remember that you display your power best in my impossible situations. Give me greater understanding of who you are so that my trust in you will be complete. No prayer is too hard for him to answer, no need too great for him to supply, no passion too strong for him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for him to deliver from, no misery too deep for him to relieve. Arthur Pink (1889–1952)Please pray.
Listening Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 Because both of my daughters were born in China, I tell them they are my favorite Chinese characters. You probably know that the written form of Chinese contains thousands of characters, some of which require dozens of brush strokes to create. What’s more, some of these characters are pictographs—pictorial representations of physical objects. The character for sage, for instance, is of particular interest. Consisting of a large ear and a small mouth, it implies that a wise person is someone who listens well and speaks little. When it comes to our search for peace, we should ask ourselves what life would be like if we developed larger ears and smaller mouths. Why is it sometimes so difficult to listen? Perhaps because we think we know more than we do. A child complains about her homework for the hundredth time and we tell her to get to work and stop being lazy. But what if her complaints are a symptom of a learning disability and not laziness? Have we really listened, allowing ourselves to consider that more might be going on than “meets the ear”? Some of us have difficulty listening because we have an urge to fix things. A wife tells her husband she feels down and he tells her she’s got to start exercising more regularly. A friend worries about her son’s inability to keep a job, and we tell her to stop worrying. She can’t do anything about it anyway. Often our advice goes nowhere. That’s because we’re either telling people what they already know or offering advice they aren’t ready to hear. In such instances, we often withhold the thing they need the most—a listening ear. To fine-tune your listening skills, consider spending the next couple of days straining to hear what others are trying to say. Put down the phone, take a break from your computer, turn off those video games, and really listen to the people around you. Help them to experience more of God’s peace by giving them your full attention. Father, give me the grace to hear what others are saying. Teach me wisdom as I listen, both for words that are spoken and for those that are not.Please pray.
Peace in Your Relationships The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken! Isaiah 65:25 Birds and cats are not normally best friends. That’s why the video I watched surprised me. A couple had documented the relationship of a crow and a stray kitten for a period of eight months. For several hours each day, the crow and the kitten could be seen playing together. Whenever the kitten began to cross the road, the crow would start squawking at it or hop around, pushing it back toward safety. The crow would also feed the kitten with its own preferred cuisine—a diet of worms and bugs—no doubt saving its life. Now that’s one nice crow and one fortunate kitty! Watching that video of the two unlikely friends reminded me of God’s promise that one day the lamb would have nothing to fear from the wolf because every creature in the world would reflect God’s peace. It made me think, too, of Paul’s words to the Romans: “We know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering” (8:22-23). Some of the pain and suffering we endure comes from the strife we experience in relationships, broken and twisted by sin. We find it hard to get along with certain people at home, at work, and at church. Because of what Jesus has done for us and because his Spirit lives in us, nothing is impossible for the God who is able to heal even our most fractured relationships. Don’t wait for the Second Coming to begin to pray about your own difficult relationships. Ask God for grace and wisdom for yourself and the people you find difficult. Who knows what unlikely friendships you may be able to forge as a result of God’s peace at work within and through you. Father, help me to be ruthlessly honest about ways I have contributed to problems in my relationships. Help me to repent and to be willing to do whatever it takes to respond to the grace you will give me as I seek greater peace in the way I relate to others.Please pray.
Letting It Go Let’s do a quick recap! To win the battle over temptation: 1. Predetermine Your Pattern of Temptation 2. Protect the Condition of Your Heart 3. Pray for God’s Help! Prayer gives you an inner strength to overcome. We’re told in Matthew 26:41 that the consequence of not praying is that temptation will overpower us! Prayer is the strongest defense you have against temptation. It’s your ammunition in the battle! Throughout the Bible, we’re shown time after time how God definitely answers prayer: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace; Daniel in the lions’ den; Jonah in the whale. God provides help when you call on him. So when you’re tempted, PRAY! Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us that he not only understands your temptation, he’s already been through your temptation! Repeat: he knows and understands what you’re going through! Hebrews 4:15 says he was tempted “in every way, just as we are.” He was tempted to hold a grudge. He was tempted sexually. He was tempted to disobey. He was tempted to take the easy way out. He was tempted to get ahead and exert his power and gossip and get angry for the wrong reasons. But he overcame temptation . . . and so can you! Sometimes we don’t pray because we’re not sure we want to end the battle! If you talk to him about your anger, you can’t continue to be angry. He’ll ask you to release it. He’s going to tell you to forgive. He’ll want to bring healing to your heart. 4. Point Your Attention Elsewhere Temptation always begins in the mind . . . with a thought. It never begins with an action. The very moment a tempting thought enters your mind, give it to God. Pray. Read Scripture. Doing this automatically points your attention in the opposite direction of temptation. Realize that whatever gets your attention gets you! The more you think about something, the stronger a grip it has on your life. When you’re upset, you think about it. And the longer you turn it over in your mind, the more upset you become. Next thing you know, you’re not simply upset, you’re angry! So instead of focusing on the temptation, switch your concentration to WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?). And what would Jesus do? He’d pray. It’s hard to hold a grudge against someone when you’re praying for him! Know It! You’ll never be the person God wants you to be by holding on to sin in your life. So go ahead. Release it. Give up that grudge. Give him your anger. Be willing to walk away from your hurt. Quit living in the past. Let go of your failures. Allow him to help you become all he wants you to be! Read It! Psalm 50:15; Matthew 26:41; Hebrews 4:14-16; James 1:14-15 Pray It! Tell God that you’re realizing your area of weakness is not giving him your temptations immediately. When something enters your mind that shouldn’t be there, seek his help to surrender it quickly!Please pray.
Unsinkable Man God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 The Titanic, the largest and the most luxurious ship of its time, was a shipbuilder’s delight. Because the ship featured a double hull that included sixteen watertight compartments, the Titanic’s builder boasted that the ship was unsinkable, that “not even God could sink this ship.” But at midnight on April 14, 1912, the great ship, with 2,224 souls aboard, ploughed into a huge iceberg at twenty-two knots, and two and a half hours later lay at the bottom of the Atlantic. The unthinkable had happened—the unsinkable had sunk. The builders of the Titanic had good reason to be proud of their workmanship—but no grounds for their boasting. Majestic though the Titanic undoubtedly was, God was more than her match. So it is with mankind. There is an undeniable majesty about man, the pinnacle of God’s creation—a uniqueness that is undeniable. Nothing else in creation comes close. Man knows it, there’s no point in denying it, and it is perfectly appropriate for mankind to rejoice in it. But when man boasts of abilities that he does not possess, he gets into trouble. Like the Titanic, man is far from unsinkable. It is precisely when man comes up against God that he discovers the awesome grandeur of divine law and the majestic glory of divine standards. It is then that he begins to take on water and sink under the weight of divine indignation and the burden of human failure. No amount of effort on man’s part can bail him out. He may boast of his superiority, claim invincibility, and believe in his own sufficiency, but he will sink nevertheless. He can’t sail on as he should, and he can’t save himself either. This is where God’s grace comes in. God is willing to do for man what he cannot do for himself. Salvation will not happen for man because of his efforts but because of God’s intervention. Paul explained, “God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. . . . so none of us can boast about it” (Eph. 2:8-9). Perhaps it is hardest for a man to admit that he needs saving at all, and that, if he does need saving, he can’t save himself. Proud boasts drip too easily from a man’s lips when a call for help is more appropriate. Another ship, the California, was within twenty miles of the distressed Titanic, but her radio operator was not listening, so the calls for help were never heard. But God is always listening.Please pray.
God Has No Favorites And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. 1 Peter 1:17 When artists portray Justice, she wears a pure white robe, stands erect and blindfolded, and holds a pair of scales in one hand and a drawn sword in the other. The symbolism is clear. Justice is pure, straight, and impartial, and she only punishes those whom the weight of evidence condemns. She plays no favorites, she tolerates no injustice, she accepts only truth, and her fairness is impeccable. When many people look at the kind of justice meted out in the modern world, however, they see a different picture. Justice, at times, seems to be able to peer over her blindfold and recognize ethnicity, for there is no doubt that a disproportionately high number of minorities feel Justice’s sword. And her scales do seem weighted in favor of the wealthy, since the best lawyer money can buy is usually much more adept at persuading her than a public defender fresh out of law school. And this is the state of affairs in lands where Justice is revered! In lands where Justice is not admired, little or no attempt to administer true justice is attempted. No wonder, then, that many oppressed and mistreated peoples are crying out for justice. There is good news about God’s justice, though: “Remember,” wrote the apostle Peter, “that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do” (1:17). Peter was not speaking, in this context, about the judgment of God that will determine whether a sinner’s eternal destiny is heaven or hell. Rather, Peter was referring to the type of life expected of the one whose sins have been forgiven through God’s action. As Peter reminded his readers, “You know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. . . . He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1:18-19). And so Peter assured them, “You were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News” (1:22). God’s impartial evaluation here discussed is all about life after we “have been born again” (1:23). God rightly expects a life of obedience from his child. The life of God’s child should reflect the family likeness! That is why God tells his children, “You must be holy because I am holy” (1:16). The believer need not fear that his sins will be judged. They have been dealt with by Christ’s death. But the believer’s redeemed life will be examined by a Judge who has no favorites—but who calls those he examines his children, and who loves us without end.Please pray.
Extraordinary Value A few years ago, an issue of Coin World carried exciting news for coin collectors: The Philadelphia mint had a printing problem on a number of 1995 pennies. The result? The words “Liberty” and “In God” are out of focus. Surprisingly, this mistake makes the coins more valuable than their street worth. Early estimates reported each penny could be worth somewhere between $175 and $225! Think of the above illustration in light of the way God views you. Instead of getting frustrated the next time you have a bad hair day, try to focus on your value instead. Maybe there are more serious problems on which to focus your attention. Is there someone in your church, youth group, or school with serious health problems? For the teen girl or guy who has the rare disease alopecia (which involves losing one’s hair), a bad hair day would be a welcome event. Even having hair would be a tremendous blessing! Maybe your friend has a rebellious brother, an unwed pregnant sister, or an uncle who’s battling cancer. It’s hard to help others see that these trials and hardships can actually have positive value. It’s especially hard when you fail to see the value in your own hard times or blunders. But when you focus on the positive, your friends will be more inclined to do the same. Will you allow God to transform the mistakes and failures in your life into something valuable? You see, God has the divine power to make good things happen out of your mistakes. He can turn a disaster into a blessing . . . if you’ll let him. He wants to use your hurt, your past, and your failures to help someone else who may be struggling with the same thing. If your heart has been broken, you’ll never laugh at someone else in pain. If you’ve ever failed at something important to you, you’ll never be happy about a disaster in someone else’s life. If you’ve ever been wrong about something, you realize you don’t have the right to gloat about an error you see in someone else’s thinking. If you’ve ever realized how serious your personal sin is, you’ll find it impossible to be arrogant and judgmental about another’s sin. And if you’ve received God’s forgiveness, you’ll be gracious to those around you. Know It! Surrendering every situation to the Lord is the only way to turn lead into gold, pain into joy, and defeat into victory. Let him transform your weaknesses into his strengths. Read It! 2 Corinthians 10:17-18; 11:24-30; 12:9; Ephesians 1:17-19 Pray It! Ask God to help you see the positive value in your mistakes.Please pray.
Ownership Imagine you own a brand-new shiny apple-red Volkswagen Bug. You take it to the local auto mechanic to have some minor repairs done. And while your car is in his possession, he uses it to pick up his kids from school and haul groceries home. You’d probably be a little angry when you came for your car and found lettuce leaves and shoe prints on the backseat. Let’s suppose your dry cleaner wears your new suit to a fancy dinner he’s attending. You happen to see him at the restaurant. He stutters and makes a few excuses, but there really is no excuse! He’s wearing the suit that you own. And he’s doing it without your permission! Try to look at your life in the same manner. The gifts, talents, skills, and abilities you have were given to you by God. He actually owns them; he’s merely letting you use them for the time being. When you give your life totally to Jesus Christ, you automatically yield your rights to him. So it’s no longer, “My way! My will! My rights!” Your heart’s cry becomes, “Your way, Lord. I want your will. My rights are no longer my own. They belong to you. I don’t own my life anymore. I am totally yours.” So doesn’t it make sense that when you’re about to decide how to use this opportunity or that talent, that you should seek direction from the Owner? Just as you would want your mechanic to ask permission to drive your car, God wants you to seek his guidance for every area of your life. Think of the Prodigal Son. The story begins as he approaches his father demanding his rights: “Give me!” The father sadly gives him what he wants, and the son quickly squanders all he has. In his poverty, the son realizes that when his father owned his rights, he was actually happier than when he had demanded ownership himself. The end of the story shows the son approaching his father with a much different request: “Make me.” Note the attitude change? The son went from a vain “Give me!” to a humble request—“Make me.” He asked that his father make him only a servant. He realized he had given up his rights as a son. Know It! If your life truly belongs totally to God, you’ll give up your status, your position, and your rights. Read It! Luke 15:11-32; Galatians 5:1, 7-9; James 4:7-8 Pray It! Thank God for loving you so much that he wants to saturate your life with himself.
Please pray.
Jesus, poor, unknown and despised, have mercy on us, and let us not be ashamed to follow you. Jesus, accused, and wrongfully condemned, teach us to bear insults patiently, and let us not seek our own glory. Jesus, crowned with thorns and hailed in derision; buffeted, overwhelmed with injuries, griefs and humiliations; Jesus, hanging on the accursed tree, bowing the head, giving up the ghost, have mercy on us, and confirm our whole lives to your spirit. Amen. John Wesley, 1703-1791, English churchman and founder of Methodism 2000 Years of Prayer He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)Please pray.
I will trust in You! You are my strength and comfort You are my steady hand You are my firm foundation; the rock on which I stand Your ways are always higher Your plans are always good There's not a place where I'll go You've not already stood When You don't move the mountains I'm needing You to move When You don't part the waters I wish I could walk through When You don't give the answers as I cry out to You I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You! Lauren Daigle, "Trust in You", excerpts Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 (NLT)
