Breaking Down Paper Walls: Embracing God's Transformative Love
Summary
In today's message, we explored the profound truth that while God loves us just as we are, He loves us too much to leave us that way. This is a reflection of His role as a perfect parent, who, like any good parent, desires growth and transformation for His children. We delved into the concept of "paper walls," which are the excuses we create that appear as real obstacles but are, in fact, flimsy barriers preventing us from reaching our full potential. These excuses often masquerade as legitimate reasons, becoming our "becauses"—the justifications we hide behind when faced with challenging questions about our actions or inactions.
We examined how these paper walls are often rooted in fear—fear of failure, change, or even success. This fear blinds us to opportunities and keeps us from stepping into the fullness of what God has for us. Jesus, throughout the Gospels, frequently called out these excuses, sometimes in ways that seemed harsh, because He understood the potential that lay beyond them. He knew that living behind these self-imposed barriers would lead to regret and missed opportunities.
The parable of the talents served as a poignant illustration of this truth. The servant who hid his master's money out of fear missed out on the opportunity to grow and contribute. His excuse was not accepted, and he faced the consequences of his inaction. This parable challenges us to confront our own excuses and recognize them for what they are—barriers to the abundant life God desires for us.
Ultimately, the message is a call to action. It invites us to examine our lives, identify the paper walls we've constructed, and courageously move beyond them. God, as our loving Father, calls us out not to condemn us but to propel us into the life He has planned for us. He knows our potential and desires for us to live fully, free from the constraints of fear and excuses.
Key Takeaways:
1. God's Love and Transformation: God loves us as we are but desires our growth and transformation. Like a good parent, He is willing to challenge us to move beyond our current state to reach our full potential. This process may involve discomfort, but it is ultimately for our good. [00:55]
2. The Nature of Excuses: Excuses often appear as legitimate reasons but are actually paper walls—flimsy barriers that prevent us from moving forward. These excuses are rooted in fear, which blinds us to opportunities and keeps us from fulfilling our potential. [03:29]
3. Jesus' Call to Confront Excuses: Jesus frequently called out excuses, sometimes harshly, because He understood the potential that lay beyond them. His love compels Him to challenge us to move beyond our fears and excuses to embrace the abundant life He offers. [08:45]
4. The Parable of the Talents: This parable illustrates the consequences of living behind excuses. The servant who hid his master's money out of fear missed out on growth and contribution. This story challenges us to confront our own excuses and recognize them as barriers to the life God desires for us. [19:33]
5. A Call to Action: We are invited to examine our lives, identify our paper walls, and courageously move beyond them. God calls us out not to condemn us but to propel us into the life He has planned for us. He knows our potential and desires for us to live fully, free from the constraints of fear and excuses. [31:39]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - God's Unconditional Love
- [00:55] - The Perfect Parent
- [01:24] - Paper Walls: Excuses vs. Reasons
- [02:42] - The "Becauses" We Hide Behind
- [03:29] - Excuses as Lies
- [05:01] - The Importance of Recognizing Excuses
- [06:54] - Excuses as Tyrants
- [08:45] - Jesus Calls Out Excuses
- [10:28] - The Opportunity of a Lifetime
- [12:46] - The Nature of Excuses
- [14:43] - The Harsh Reality of Excuses
- [19:33] - The Parable of the Talents
- [25:56] - The Consequences of Excuses
- [31:39] - A Call to Action
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
2. Matthew 25:14-30 - The Parable of the Talents
3. Luke 9:59-62 - Jesus Calls People to Follow Him
#### Observation Questions
1. What does John 3:16 reveal about God's love for the world and His expectations for us? How does this relate to the idea that God loves us too much to leave us as we are? [00:27]
2. In the Parable of the Talents, what were the different responses of the servants to their master's instructions, and what were the outcomes of their actions? [19:33]
3. How did Jesus respond to the excuses given by those He called to follow Him in Luke 9:59-62? What does this tell us about His perspective on excuses? [11:33]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the concept of "paper walls" relate to the excuses made by the servant in the Parable of the Talents? What might these paper walls represent in our own lives? [22:35]
2. Why might Jesus have been so direct and seemingly harsh when addressing excuses, as seen in Luke 9:59-62? What does this suggest about the importance of overcoming excuses in the Christian life? [11:33]
3. How does the fear of failure or change contribute to the creation of excuses, and how does this fear prevent individuals from experiencing the fullness of life that God desires for them? [22:51]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you used a "because" as an excuse. What was the underlying fear, and how can you address it to move forward in faith? [03:12]
2. Identify a "paper wall" in your life that is holding you back. What steps can you take this week to begin dismantling it? [05:01]
3. Consider the parable of the talents. What is one area in your life where you feel you are "burying" your potential out of fear? How can you take a step towards investing in that area? [19:33]
4. Jesus called out excuses to help people reach their potential. How can you lovingly challenge a friend or family member who might be hiding behind excuses? [08:45]
5. What is one specific opportunity you have been hesitant to pursue due to fear or excuses? How can you take a step of faith towards it this week? [11:49]
6. How can you remind yourself of God's love and His desire for your growth when you are tempted to make excuses? What practical steps can you take to keep this truth at the forefront of your mind? [00:55]
7. Reflect on the idea that God loves you too much to leave you as you are. How does this truth motivate you to embrace change and growth in your spiritual journey? [32:12]
Devotional
Day 1: God's Transformative Love
God's love is unconditional, yet it is not complacent. He loves us as we are but desires our growth and transformation. Like a perfect parent, God challenges us to move beyond our current state to reach our full potential. This process may involve discomfort, but it is ultimately for our good. God’s love is active and dynamic, always seeking to bring out the best in us. He sees the potential within us and is committed to nurturing it, even if it means pushing us out of our comfort zones. [00:55]
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3, ESV)
Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel God is calling you to grow or change? How can you embrace this transformation with trust in His love?
Day 2: The Illusion of Excuses
Excuses often appear as legitimate reasons but are actually paper walls—flimsy barriers that prevent us from moving forward. These excuses are rooted in fear, which blinds us to opportunities and keeps us from fulfilling our potential. By recognizing these excuses for what they are, we can begin to dismantle them and step into the opportunities God has for us. It requires honesty and courage to confront these self-imposed barriers and to see beyond the fear that sustains them. [03:29]
"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." (Romans 12:11, ESV)
Reflection: Identify one excuse you have been using to avoid taking a step forward. What would it look like to move past this excuse today?
Day 3: Jesus' Challenge to Excuses
Jesus frequently called out excuses, sometimes harshly, because He understood the potential that lay beyond them. His love compels Him to challenge us to move beyond our fears and excuses to embrace the abundant life He offers. Jesus sees the greatness within us and knows that excuses only serve to limit our growth and potential. By confronting these excuses, He invites us to live more fully and freely in His grace. [08:45]
"And Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:62, ESV)
Reflection: What is one fear that is holding you back from fully embracing the life Jesus offers? How can you confront this fear with faith today?
Day 4: Lessons from the Parable of the Talents
The parable of the talents illustrates the consequences of living behind excuses. The servant who hid his master's money out of fear missed out on growth and contribution. This story challenges us to confront our own excuses and recognize them as barriers to the life God desires for us. It is a call to action, urging us to use the gifts and opportunities we have been given to their fullest potential. [19:33]
"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property." (Matthew 25:14, ESV)
Reflection: What talent or opportunity have you been hiding out of fear? How can you begin to invest it for God's kingdom today?
Day 5: Embracing God's Call to Action
We are invited to examine our lives, identify our paper walls, and courageously move beyond them. God calls us out not to condemn us but to propel us into the life He has planned for us. He knows our potential and desires for us to live fully, free from the constraints of fear and excuses. This is a call to live boldly and intentionally, trusting in God's plan and purpose for our lives. [31:39]
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)
Reflection: What is one step you can take today to move beyond your paper walls and embrace the life God has planned for you? How can you trust in His guidance as you take this step?
Quotes
God does love you as His child, just the way you are, but God loves you too much to leave you the way that you are. And as we're gonna discover today, if necessary God like a good parent is willing to hurt your feelings to get you to move on from the way you are, so that you can become everything you could be and everything you should be and everything God knows that you have the potential to be. [00:00:57]
Excuses we've said are kind of like paper walls from a distance they seem like actual obstacles that keep us from doing things, that keep us from moving forward, that cause us to lose all kinds of opportunities, but they seem so real, they seem so intimidating that again, we just don't go charging through those paper walls that are actually excuses. From a distance again, they seem like actual obstacles. [00:01:46]
Our becauses aren't always the causes. There's a difference between a because and the actual cause. It's an excuse oftentimes that's masquerading as a cause. It's actually just a paper wall. A manufactured cause. And our language with this tips us off as we said last time. And when we catch somebody else, trying to masquerade an excuse as a reason, what do we say? We say, "You're just making stuff up." [00:03:20]
Excuses become bosses that tell us what we can do, what we can't do, what we can try, what we shouldn't try, who we should approach, who we shouldn't approach, the opportunities we should take advantage of, the opportunities that we shouldn't take advantage of. They become... Our excuses become little kings, little tyrants, little lords that we can't actually follow Jesus. [00:07:18]
If you take this idea and follow Jesus through the gospels, you will be shocked at how many times He calls people out in this regard. And He rarely calls them out gently. As strange as it sounds, sometimes Christ comes across very unchristlike, but that's what someone who cares, who genuinely cares about a person actually does. [00:08:32]
At the root, at the root of just about every single excuse, even the ones that have it becauses attached to them, even the ones that we've done such a good job disguising as actual reasons, at the root of every single, just about every single excuse is a fear, something we fear. The fear of embarrassment, the fear of failure. In some cases, the fear of success, the fear of change, the fear of loss, the fear of admission. [00:22:36]
You allowed your fear to blind you to opportunity. You allowed your fear to create an obstacle, that wasn't even an obstacle it was... Your fear it blinded you to the simplest thing you could have done so that when I returned, at least you would have something to show for the money I loaned you to invest on my behalf. You had an opportunity, but now that opportunity is gone. [00:25:24]
Weeping and gnashing of teeth is not an indication of pain and suffering. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is an indication of intense frustration, intense disappointment, intense regret. You're telling me I could have moved through this, and instead, because of my fear, I hung back. You're telling me there was an opportunity I missed. You're telling me there's something I could have accomplished, something I could have done for the world, for my family, for my health and I didn't do it. [00:27:47]
If you're not careful, if I'm not careful, if we're not careful, we can excuse our life away. We can, you can excuse a marriage away. You can excuse your family away. You can excuse your relationship with your kids away. You can excuse your health away. You can excuse your faith away because of something somebody said to you, something somebody pointed out to you and you've been unwilling to press through for whatever reason. [00:29:49]
If you step way back and take the message and the life of Jesus into account, if we're gonna fear something, we should fear missing out on what we could do and should do. You should fear missing out on what you could do and should do for the people and the world around you. If we're gonna fear something, maybe we should fear living behind self-created, self-inflicted, lie infested paper walls. [00:30:37]
The good news is, God loves you just the way you are, regardless of which side of the wall you're on. But God loves you too much to leave you the way you are. So He's gonna call your bluff, He's gonna call your bluff. He's gonna call you out. He's gonna call me out. He's gonna say your reasons aren't reasons. your becauses aren't really the causes, they're just paper walls. [00:31:56]
And the really, really good news is God wants better for you. And we will pick it up right there next time in part three of paper walls, moving beyond the excuses that hold you back. [00:32:38]
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