Tear Down the Idols: Control • Ps Nadia Clark (Mother's Day)

Not simply because life is painful, but because our hope is placed in this expectation of control. But the good shepherd, he never promised that things will go according to our plans. He said in John 16, I've told you this so that you can have peace in me. Here on earth, he said, you will have many trials and sorrows, but he said, take heart because I have overcome them. [00:20:25] (26 seconds)  #PeaceInChrist

as the father knows me. What incredible intimacy that speaks of. I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. What a shepherd we have that lay down his life on that cross with open arms, sacrificing everything so that we could know him, so that we could have intimate relationship with him, so that we could come with to him with all our wrongs, with all our struggles, with all the things we don't understand, and say, Jesus, I need you. Would you help me? And he's like, I can because I am the good shepherd. [00:10:07] (33 seconds)  #GoodShepherdSacrifice

And you know the beautiful thing about Jesus is he says, I don't want you just to come to me because I'm gonna whip you harder, I'm gonna drive you harder. He says to us, come to me and I'm gonna give you rest. Why? Because he brings us perspective. He actually says to us wisdom like, don't accumulate wealth in this world, give it to eternal things. Live with my viewpoint. When you live with my viewpoint, you have peace. [00:18:40] (26 seconds)  #RestInJesus

Being real with God, not swiping it under the carpet, but believing for more. I love what Mark nine verse 24 says when the father had his son having epileptic fits being thrown into the fire, and Jesus was coming to heal him. And Jesus said, do you believe? And the father instantly cried out, I do believe, but help me with my unbelief. We can be honest before God with our unbelief. [00:24:14] (21 seconds)  #HonestFaith

He promises to change our will in Ezekiel 36. It says that he will give us a new heart. He promises in Isaiah 40 to renew our strength when we wait on him. See, when we give God access, when we let go of our control, he comes and he brings his restoration. He restores our souls. Only God can, but we've gotta give him access. [00:31:22] (26 seconds)  #GiveGodAccess

We are vulnerable on our own. That is why control is such an illusion because we are not in control. We are sheep vulnerable, designed to have a shepherd. Without the shepherd, we are susceptible to predators. That's why in the same passage of scripture, Jesus said, there is a thief that has come to rob, steal, and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life in its fullness. [00:11:57] (34 seconds)  #WeAreSheep

there are so many things that we face in life where we do not know the way. It's like, God, what what is going on here? What are you doing here? But trusting him is leaning into his character, leaning into his promises that he says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Leaning into his goodness, his promises that he says he will turn all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purposes. [00:29:16] (29 seconds)  #LeanOnHisPromises

the keys to the experts, and it's this moment of letting go of control. You know, for some of us here, God's saying it's time to let go of control. It's time to allow the good shepherd to bring restoration. It's time to lean into his character because he is good, and he's not gonna let you down. [00:30:18] (28 seconds)  #SurrenderToTheShepherd

For example, there is this pressure on us to succeed, to to become everything that others admire, to prove ourselves, to build a life that looks impressive from the outside, to accumulate wealth, popularity, influence, status. But the more we're driven by these things, the heavier life becomes. There's always another level to reach, another expectation to meet, another comparison to make, and we become burdened. [00:18:15] (25 seconds)  #NotDrivenByApproval

Another thing we can be driven by is pressure to have the perfect life, the perfect marriage, the perfect children, the house with the white picket fence, the holidays whenever we want it, life going according to plan. Because there's that part of us that thinks if if things are going perfectly, then I'll be happy. So when life doesn't go according to plan, it can cause us to crumble. [00:20:05] (19 seconds)  #StopChasingPerfection

We are the sheep, and the enemy can be like that lion looking for who he can devour. And the greatest goal is of the enemy is to get us isolated. It's to get us to not trust the shepherd. Yeah. Yeah. To get us to think, well, God just wants to take in my life. God just wants to ruin my fun. I mean, if I had things my way, life would be so much better. [00:13:12] (26 seconds)  #ResistIsolation

but to be led. But again, it's the same. We live in a world today where it is normal to be driven. There are constant pressures pushing us forward, and it produces so much unnecessary stress, anxiety, and it can be exhausting. [00:17:58] (17 seconds)  #RejectDrivenLife

Come on. The way we find peace is allowing him to fight for us. Yeah. It's coming into his leadership, alignment to him, to his slipstream, allowing us to be led by his goodness and his peace. But the thing is to be led by the good shepherd means that we've got to trust him wholeheartedly. [00:20:51] (24 seconds)  #LetGodFightForYou

And the more we built trust, the more it followed me. So the next year when we competed, it came straight to me when I called. When we did the leading competition, it was right there with me because trust had been built. So when it comes to our relationship with God with a good shepherd, have we intentionally built trust? Because building trust with a good shepherd means that we allow him to lead us. [00:22:38] (29 seconds)  #BuildTrustWithGod

They have nothing to protect themselves. They are open to predators because they are delicious to eat. Sorry for all the vegetarians out there. But they are there to be consumed. That's why they need a shepherd. They are not designed to be on their own, isolated. They're designed to be protected. And you know what? We are just the same. We are like sheep. We are prey. [00:11:22] (36 seconds)  #WeNeedShepherd

He's not just friend. He's not just companion. He's called to be Lord. Luke six verse 46, Jesus again speaking to the crowd. He says, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? He doesn't just want our lip service. He doesn't want our religion where it looks like we're following him on the outside, but we're not following him with every part of our lives. No. Meaning, Lord, Lord, it means to do what he says. To follow Jesus wholeheartedly [00:08:30] (32 seconds)  #ObeyJesus

God, aren't you grateful that we have our God that doesn't act like the hired hand? Yes. Come on. That that if you do what's right, then I'll look after you. You know, if if you do what I want you to do, if it if there's no cost to me, then I'll look after you. No. He is the good shepherd. He says, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep. My sheep know me just [00:09:42] (25 seconds)  #NotAHiredHand

This isn't just talking about emotional uplift. It's where God is literally saying to us that he brings us back. He brings our soul back to wholeness. He promises to renew our soul is made up our mind, will, and emotions, and he promises to renew our mind. Says that in one Corinthians two verse 16 that we have the mind of Christ. [00:30:54] (28 seconds)  #RenewMySoul

It means that we lean into him rather than going on our own way. So very quickly, what I want us to do is look at building trust with a good shepherd, and the first thing is that trust takes intentionality. To build trust with God is something we need to choose intentionally because our inclination is to sow to want to trust self. It's to want to go our own way. [00:23:07] (21 seconds)  #ChooseToTrustGod

There is an enemy that is out there to rob, steal, and destroy in our lives, and the more we take control, the more we actually give him permission to access our life. The more we take control, the more we say, I don't want vulnerability, the more we're saying, I'm isolated, I'm good on my own, the more we allow the enemy to prey on our lives. It actually says this in one Peter [00:12:31] (30 seconds)  #ControlFeedsTheEnemy