Sermon Central
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Giving God Permission
Contributed by John Gaston on Sep 8, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: God wanted to spare Israel, but couldn't because there was no intercessor. God wants to save us, heal us, direct our lives, our work, etc., but won't force His will on us against our wills. If we want His life, we must surrender our lives.
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GIVING GOD PERMISSION
Ezek. 22:30
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There was a preacher who had a little three-year-old daughter named Tori. She’d just become a Christian and learned that Jesus was in her heart.
2. One day she was with her mother at a shopping mall when a woman policeman came running in, looking for a thief. Tori, being terrified of the officer, clung to her mother.
3. When the officer left the store, Tori looked at her mother and patted her chest and said, "That woman almost scared Jesus out of my heart!"
4. Sometimes life can produce circumstances that seem to threaten our walk with God. But fear not, Jesus isn’t going anywhere!
B. TEXT
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them...” Ezek. 22:30-31.
C. THESIS
1. What did God NOT want to do? Destroy Israel. Was He successful? No! How could it be that the All-Powerful God was powerless to save Israel?
2. What could possibly stop God? His own laws, which would not allow Him, as Judge, to also act as defense attorney. That would be partiality (Deut. 10:17). He needed someone to be an intercessor for Israel, but He found no one. What was the result? Israel was destroyed, contrary to God’s professed will.
3. God has given us free will*, the right to determine our own course, to live our lives as we see fit. Not only that, but God gave us dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). God won’t “make us” do anything, even though He’d like to.
4. He’d like to SAVE you, but He won’t without your permission. He’d like to HEAL you, but He won’t without your permission. He’d like to DIRECT your life, your choice of a SPOUSE, the raising of your KIDS, etc.
5. He actually knows what’s best, what you’re best suited to do, who would be best for you to marry, which job you should take, where would be best for you to live, how many kids you should have, what you’ll be most successful at, and what will make you happiest.
6. But unless you ASK HIM to save you, heal you, guide you, etc., He won’t do it, because He is a “gentleman” -- God politely waits for you to ask him for assistance; He won’t take over your life against your will.
7. GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU TO “GIVE HIM PERMISSION.”
I. BARRIERS TO GIVING GOD PERMISSION
A. WE TEND TO BE SPIRITUALLY LAZY
1. People say, “If God wants me to have it, He’ll give it to me!” It’s just as foolish to say, “If God wants me to have money, He’ll give it to me.” Why? Because God told us we need to put forth effort if we want to have money – work!
2. Prov. 10:4 NLT says, “Lazy people are soon poor.” Many Christians are lazy in PRAYER, lazy in REPENTANCE, lazy in OBEDIENCE, lazy in prompt RESPONSE to the Spirit’s direction, & lazy in READING the Bible. So they’re poor in blessings, in health, in forgiveness, in answers to prayer, and in gaining what’s been promised.
3. But God honors passion, zeal, importunity in prayer, working for the kingdom, etc.
B. NOT WANTING TO GIVE UP CONTROL
1. We all like to be in control. We feel helpless when we’re sitting in the passenger seat of a car and someone else is driving! Old people fight to keep control of their finances and driver’s license. Married couples conflict over how the family will be run.
2. Just as we don’t want to give up control in earthly life, we resist giving up control spiritually. Even the Lord Jesus struggled to pray, “Not my will, but Your will be done!”
3. God can do more in five minutes than you can do in five years. That’s why it’s better to let God be in charge!
C. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
1. Trusting God is the first step. Reading the Bible helps us know about God. God is a person who keeps His word, regardless of how much time passes. You can counted on Him!
2. Surrendering your life to God does take courage, but God said, "For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for Me shall gain it" Matt. 16:25, Living Bible.
3. The only way you can get the God-kind of life is to give up your own. Same is true of your – Sickness, finances, Marriage, Fill-in-the-blank.
4. God is saying, "GIVE IT UP! Surrender it to Me!" "Quit hanging on to the rags of your life; give them to Me!" Victory comes with allowing God to have it all. Die out to your efforts, dependencies, your plans for your life. LET GOD THE YOUR SOLE SOURCE OF SURVIVAL!
