BUILDING TRUST: God
as Our Role Model Building Trust
answers the questions, "What does it mean to say God is our Father? In what
sense is He our Father? and How can we look to Him as a role model in our
parenting?" While there are many books about
parenting, there are none that look directly to our heavenly Father to see how
He parents us. It is only logical that we look to Him, our perfect Parent, for a
role model and guide in our parenting. The goal of this book is twofold, to
help us better understand God, our Father and our relationship with Him, and to
use that understanding to develop in our children the trust and love that leads
to obedience to the parents and to God. Chapter
Topic
To Comfort Others WIC
Opening (March 2, 2004) Two old friends who had not seen each other for many years chanced to meet. One asked his friend, “How’s it going? How’s your life been all these years?” The other man moaned, “Terrible, just terrible!” “Why, what happened?” “ Five years ago my only child died in a car accident.” “I’m so sorry. But, after all these years, I hope you’ve adjusted. You know, things could be worse.” His friend was taken aback, “It got worse. After our child died, my wife and I couldn’t get along anymore. She left me for my best friend and business partner four years ago.” “What a blow that must have been, your best friend and your wife in one stroke! But, you know, things could be worse.” Now the friend was upset. “Could be worse? It was worse. After my partner left with my wife, I couldn’t keep our business going, and two years ago I had to declare bankruptcy.” “I’m so sorry, but I still say things could be worse.” By this time the friend was irate. “There is no worse. I am just now coming from the doctor. He told me I have cancer that is inoperable and I will be in great pain for the month I have left to live. How could life be any worse!” “Please accept my condolences on your imminent death. But, I still say it could be worse.” The friend was dumbfounded. “I lost my child, my wife, my best friend, my business, and now my life. What could possibly be worse?”
“Well,” he replied, “It could have happened
to me!”
I. People call me an expert on suffering. A. Life: Until I moved to Tucson, my life was a train wreck. I was a victim of incest. My father went to prison when I was in high school. My parents divorced shortly after. I lost part of my hearing in car accident in college. My first husband left me with a 6 year old daughter and a 6 year old son. I’ve had 3 miscarriages. My 2nd husband died, leaving me with a 3 year old baby, a clinically depressed teenage daughter and a son going off to college. And those are just the highlights. B. Book: Based on 2 years of research in the Bible after child told me he lived with his grandparents because neither of his parents wanted him and asked me why God let that happen to him. I discovered the Bible tells us 12 different reasons God lets us suffer. Today touches on one reason, Ch. 8, To Comfort Others With the Comfort God Has Given Us. C. I am here to tell you that no matter what we suffer, God is with us. We usually don’t know it because we don’t think to turn to Him. But He is there and He will comfort us. Who doesn’t know the story of the footprints in the sand? We need to be reminded. The girl who wrote it, was Mary Stevenson. She was from a poor family. She lost her mother at age seven, during the Depression of the 30’s. In 1936, during on e of Mary’s down times, when she was locked out of her home, Mary observed the neighbor’s cat leaving footprints in the snow. She pleaded to God for His guidance and was rewarded by penning the words to one of the most beloved, inspirational poems. She was 14. II. No one has a life without suffering. No one. Do we feel like Jeremiah?
LA 1:12 Is any suffering like my suffering that was
inflicted on me, that the Lord brought on me in the day of his fierce anger? -
Haven’t we all felt that way at times?
A. Yet,
in our suffering, God comforts us. As
Job said, JOB 36:15
But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their
affliction. B. The theme for the year is on relationships. ECC 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. The three strands are you, God, and someone suffering. C. Whatever we suffer, we seek help and comfort from those who have experienced the same kind of suffering. We do not go to someone without children to seek help with a wayward child or to someone never married to seek counsel about a marital problem. Women who have fought breast cancer can help other women who are fighting it. Widows can help widows. Those who have suffered miscarriages or divorce can comfort others who are facing these troubles. III. Our sufferings should teach us, to enable us to be compassionate toward those around us who are afflicted. Biblically, we are commanded to be compassionate. We are to learn from our suffering and extend to others based on what we know they are suffering.
A. 10
times in Ex.-Deu. we are told not to mistreat the slave, stranger or alien
because we were aliens, slaves and strangers. Because we know God’s comfort in our own suffering, we must
comfort others.
B. Through Paul, the Holy Spirit commands and
encourages us:
2CO 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow
over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted,
it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same
sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you
share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. IV. Mary Stevenson, aged 14 suffered. In her suffering, she comforts us by reminding us of the comfort we have in the Lord. Footprints in the Sand One night I dreamed I was walking
along the beach with the Lord.
I. God’s love for us is different than our love for Him A. Different kinds of love. 1. Bible: Agape, Philo, and Erotic 2. Romantic, parental, love of a parent
B. A parent’s love for
child is different than a child’s love for a 1. Parent for child a. Provide for and protect b. Teach, coach, nurture, train 2. Child for parent
a. Unconditional. Until
teenage, always trusting,
b. Until teenage, hero
worship (My Mom/Dad can
c. Dependent II. God’s
love for us is agape love: Agape
love is what Paul describes in 1Corinthians:
1CO 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it
is not proud. 5
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.:8
Love never fails.
We know this is the perfect love God has for us.
A. He is patient. 2PE 3:9 The Lord is not
slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
B He
is kind. LK 6:32
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners'
love those who love them. 33
And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?
Even `sinners' do that. 34 And if
you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?
Even `sinners' lend to `sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to
get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the
Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as
your Father is merciful.
C. Does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud. He is
the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that is on the earth. It is ludicrous to
imagine He could or would envy anyone or need to boast.
It is not a matter of pride. He
hates pride.
PR
15:25 The
LORD tears down the proud man's house D. He is not easily angered. PS 103:8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.:9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him E. He keeps no record of our wrongs. ISA 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
PS 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so
far has he removed our transgressions from us.
F. He
does not delight in evil: PS 5:4 You
are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
G. He rejoices with the truth.
In Mathew, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth.” 30 times.
Jesus said, JN
14:6 Jesus answered, "I am
the way and the truth and the life. F. He always protects. His love never fails. PS 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him
Although unattainable because we are imperfect,
this is also the love we are to have for one another.
JN 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. 35 By this all men will
know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
1CO 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am
only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but
have not love, I gain nothing.
1JN
4:7 Dear friends, let us love one
another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God. 8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed
his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might
live through him. 10 This is love: not that
we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for
our sins. 11
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one
has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is
made complete in us.
1JN 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If
anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For
anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he
has not seen. 21 And he has given us
this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
This is the love He has for us and the love we are to have for one
another, but it is NOT the love we are to have for Him. III. God also has paternal love for us.
A. He
is our creator. PS
139:13 For you created my inmost
being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
B. He is our Father, our perfect Father.
In teaching the disciples to pray, Jesus told them, MT
6:9 "This, then, is how you
should pray: " `Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name
DT 1:29
Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30
The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for
you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31
and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father
carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."
PS
103:13 As a father has compassion
on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
PR
3:11 My son, do not despise the
Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because
the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
MT 7:9
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! IV. This is not the love we are to have for God either. So what IS the love we are to have for God? Just as God has Agape and Paternal love for us, we are to have two distinct kinds of love for Him. A. We are to love Him as a child loves her or his parent.
1. Pure child-like love:
MK 10:13
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the
disciples rebuked them. 14
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. 15 I
tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little
child will never enter it."
2. Trusting love, like a child:
PS 9:10
Those who know your name will trust in you,
PS 13:5 But
I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
PS 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord
our God.
PS
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord
I say, "You are my God."
PS
33:21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love rest
upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
PS 52:8 But
I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's
unfailing love
PS
56:4 In God, whose word I praise,
God I trust; I will not be afraid.
PS
62:8 Trust in
him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
PR 22:19 So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.
3. Love Obediently, like a
child: JN
14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command.
JN
15:9 "As
the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father's commands and remain in his love. 11
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be
complete. 12
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14
You are my friends if you do what I command.
1JN 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who
loves the father loves his child as well. 2
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying
out his commands. 3
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
4
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has
overcome the world, even our faith.
DT 12:32
See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
4. Love
with awe and reverence, a sort of fear, like a child:
PS
19:9 The fear of the LORD is
pure, enduring forever.
PS 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts
have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
PS
119:120 My flesh trembles in fear
of you; I stand in awe of your laws.
PR 1:7 The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge
ECC 5:4
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in
fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is
better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6
Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple
messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you
say and destroy the work of your hands? 7
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
ISA
29:23 When they see among them
their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will
acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the
God of Israel.
B. Passionate love:
be In Love with God
1. REV 2:4
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did
at first.
2. Do
you remember what you did when you are first in love
-fantasized being with him: PS 36:9 For
with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
PS 73:23
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
PS
73:24 You guide me with your
counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
PS 139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! PS 139:18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. -wrote and read love notes and poetry (Secular: Read from “Sonnets from the Portuguese” by Elizabeth Barret Browning )
God’s love notes :PS
18:1 I love you, O LORD, my
strength. PS 18:2 The
LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take
refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. DT 23:5 However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you -thought, hummed or sang love songs. What are you favorite love songs to God?
PS 63:3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
SS 8:6
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as
strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing
fire, like a mighty flame. END WITH A Hymn and a prayer
God to the Rescue This curriculum is for 10 Weeks. This unit includes the Bible lessons on The Red Sea, Gideon, Elijah, Elisha, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel in the Lion's Den, the birth of Jesus, the resurrection of Lazarus, Peter in Prison, and Paul and Silas in Prison. The purpose of this unit is to teach that throughout time, God has come to the rescue of people His people trouble. Before Jesus’ resurrection, special people were able to help and save others because God had chosen them to possess the Holy Spirit and had chosen them to be God's presence on earth to rescue His people. Now, because of what Jesus did for us and our belief in Him as Son of God we too have the Holy Spirit to touch others’ lives. Finally, we don't live in worry or fear because we all can trust God to do what is best for us Lessons from Women in the Bible The purpose of Lessons from Women in the Bible is to teach that God uses women throughout the Bible to bring about His plan for mankind's salvation and that the lessons learned from their lives apply to all of us. This set of lessons includes 12 lessons. In addition to lessons on the lives of the four matriarchs, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca and Leah, are lessons on Eve, Miriam, Rahab, Esther, Ruth and Naomi, three Marys: Mary, Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene, and Sapphira. The Lord Disciplines Those He Loves This curriculum is for 10 weeks. The Biblical stories that illustrate God's punishment of sin are Adam and Eve, the Israelites in the desert , kings Saul, David and Solomon, and Ananias and Sapphira. The purpose of this unit is to teach that the first and most important commandment is to love God and that we show God we love Him by obeying His instructions. In the lesson on Anaias and Spphira we see that whether or not one believes in Jesus, disobedience to God is punished by Him for Jesus’ sacrifice brought forgiveness, but we are still answerable for our behavior. Finally we see that it is out of love of their children and love of God that parents teach their children to be obedient, to them and to God. Sermon on the Mount This curriculum encompasses the Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 5-7. The purpose of this curricula is to help the student understand how God thinks, how God wants us to think and behave, and what the rewards are for doing it God's way. In the process we see how the commandments given to Moses and the commandments given in the Sermon on the Mount fit together and the Bible supports and explains itself. There are 22 lessons. Why God Lets People Suffer This curriculum is for 14 weeks. After we look at what we mean by suffering, the kinds of suffering, and the many reasons for suffering, we will spend 12 weeks learning that each reason for suffering is illustrated in the Bible and will learn how to apply those lessons to our lives. The last week we show how to go from our initial faith to joy in our suffering. |