20180922 Parsha 151 Tree of Life Messianic Congregation Houston.
Give up, give in, or give it all you’ve got
Blessing
Today is the day we close out the Torah cycle that we have been on since the beginning of Tree of Life back in February 2016. We had decided to do the three year cycle rather than the more traditional One Year Torah Reading Cycle.
This morning we have read some of the traditional scriptures for Shabbat of Tabernacles. But as I was preparing this week, rather than a message focused on the Feast of Sukkot, I felt the prompting of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit to go a different direction. Perhaps there is someone here today or in our social media audience that needs to hear this message.
I want to look back over the Journey from Genesis 1 to Deuteronomy 34 and throw in some lessons that we can learn from Yeshua’s own time here on earth. When studying Torah, we find innumerable life lessons illustrated by the various characters beginning with Adam and Eve. I see some concern on some of your faces. Don’t worry, we will still be concluding at noon.
You may be seen this type of poster before. It says, In life you have three choices, Give Up, Give In or Give It All You Have.
We see in the characters of the Bible examples of choices that faced these men and women. Fortunately, the Bible didn’t sugar coat these people. It portrays the good, the bad, and the ugly. They were real people, faced with real choices and they had to make real decisions. Sometimes they failed miserably. Sometimes they tried to ride the fence. Sometimes they were victorious.
Adam and Eve had a choice, to obey one of the few commands that God gave them or listen to the siren call of Satan to be like God. The first couple gave in to a pride that caused the end of Paradise and the introduction of sin for all mankind.
Noah had a choice. Would he believe God and begin the ridiculous task of building an ark that would take him 120 years to complete. All the while he and his sons were building this ark, those around him mocked him. No one would believe him. 120 years! Think of it. Some of us can’t stand to be derided and made fun of on Facebook by people we may not even know. But Noah kept plugging along, every day, heading to the forest for another log. I’m sure in that 120 years he got discouraged. I wouldn’t doubt that he might have wanted to quit. But he never gave up. As a result, he and his family were saved from a watery grave.
It seems like the life of Abraham was one crisis of choice after another. He was a wealthy man in Ur, but God called him out to go. Can you imagine how that conversation might have gone?
Abraham: Where do you want me to go Lord?
Adonai: I’ll tell you when you get there.
Abraham: Which direction do I go?
Adonai: Just saddle up the camels and I’ll tell you.
This was not an easy journey. He was leaving his home and base of business to go to a foreign land. People were not always friendly. Sometimes he was attacked by armies. He fought back. He tracked hostile forces that had captured his nephew Lot from Beersheba all the way to Damascus. He never gave up.
God promised him he would be the father of many nations. This was a little tougher for Abraham. Sarah was barren so how could this be. Abraham Gave In to the advice of his wife Sarah and fathered Ishmael by Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar. This gave birth to a people group that has been at odds with Israel even to this day. Abraham gave in and the cost was great.
Abraham gave in to fear when he traveled to Egypt and allowed Sarah to be taken away by the Pharaoh. It was almost a disaster because Abraham gave in to fear.
Many years later, Abraham and Sarah were rewarded with the miraculous birth of Isaac. But then Adonai told Abraham to take Isaac up to a mountain and sacrifice him. This was a three day journey. Three days is a long time to think about killing his son, the son of promise. But this time Abraham did not give in to the fear of losing his heir. He did not give in to selfishness or self pity. He never gave up. He took Isaac up the mountain and there prepared the altar and laid Isaac on it. Abraham was prepared to give it his all. The son of promise. His miracle son. He gave God his all, even though God had prepared a ram for a sacrifice. Abraham gave it his all.
Joseph was a character that had every reason to give up and give in. His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. But he didn’t give up. He worked hard and became the head of Potiphar’s household. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. But Joseph didn’t give in. Falsely accused he was again imprisoned for three years. But he didn’t give up. He kept his faith in the God of his fathers. Adonai was faithful to Joseph and he was redeemed from prison and became the second most powerful man in Egypt. He never gave up to despair or bitterness towards God for his circumstances.
When his brothers came calling in Egypt to buy food Joseph had the perfect opportunity for revenge and some would even say it would have been justifiable. His brothers didn’t recognize Joseph but he recognized them. Joseph tested them to see if they were the same jealousy ridden men that had sold him into slavery. Here was Joseph’s chance for justice. He could have them killed or at least thrown into prison. But Joseph didn’t give in to hate. He didn’t give in to a spirit of revenge. Instead he gave in to a spirit of love and forgiveness.
What do we do when life throws us down the stairs? When you face huge challenges, what is your response?
I was in a class earlier this week and one of the students related how they lost a daughter a full term. He described the emotions that surrounded his wife and him for a long time. The despair was suffocating. He faced a season of anger at God for allowing this to happen to him. He was capturing a scene from the life of Pat and myself over forty years ago. We lost our first child at full term.
My friend’s experience was a re-run of ours. Tony and his wife did not give up on God. They didn’t quit going to church. They didn’t give in to bitterness. Were they hurting and suffering? Absolutely! Did they question God? Of course they did. Was he angry at God because they lost a baby girl? By his own admission, yes he was angry.
But he and his wife never stopped believing. They grieved, as would be expected but they never lost sight of the promises of God.
He will never leave us or forsake us.
He’s a friend that is closer than a brother.
His grace is sufficient.
Today in this room there are those who are fighting your own battles.
You may be suffering from health issues. I know some of you are because you have asked me to pray for you.
You may be battling addictions of one sort or another. Don’t give up on the mercy of God. He is there to help you overcome those addictions that are holding you back from your highest potential.
Are you trying to recover from the loss of a loved one? Loneliness and depression can rob you of the joy that you once had. The Lord can restore that joy. Will you still miss your father, mother, spouse, or child? Certainly you will, but the Lord can give you a peace that is beyond any explanation.
In the darkest days of WWII, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed a university class. He had the following advice for the students.
“never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
He was fighting a physical enemy, and some may argue quite correctly a demonic enemy as well. But notice something that Churchill said. Never yield to the “apparently” overwhelming might of the enemy. The giant you face in your own life may appear big and all powerful, but rest assured.
1 John 4:4 You are from God, children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
I will leave you with these words from Yeshua, the One who never gave in, never gave up, but gave all He had.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have shalom. In the world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!”
