I spent the last week at camp with my wife. We were tasked to serve as cabin counselors during the week, Monday through Friday. Let’s just say we had a very interesting week.
The experience was so brutal and difficult that we both left feeling defeated and upset. Chelsey and I aren’t parents, we aren’t terribly gifted with children, though we’re learning. Neither of us had ever been counselors before.
But God was present at the camp. He was with us. But there were many challenges. There was so much pressure. And we were so new. I became so overwhelmed with the experience that I actually had a mental breakdown, and had to leave the cabin.
And I was no longer a counselor for the rest of the week. I failed. I missed the mark. I did not complete something I had been assigned to. That was shockingly difficult for me.
It was late at night, and there had just been a thunderstorm, it was pitch black and I was carrying my suitcase, my bag and my bedding through the dark night, the rain and the mud, toward the lodge. And I stopped under a street light in the middle of the camp.
And I just looked up. And thought to myself: What went wrong? I don’t quit things. I don’t get overwhelmed and give up.
But I came to the lodge. And I came into my room there. And on the wall it said, “redeemed.” I didn’t sense any conviction from the Holy Spirit that I had done something wrong. I simply sensed God’s mercy and love toward me.
For the rest of the week I had to sit around the tables and deal with the glances of those who now saw me as the officer who couldn’t handle it. The guilt and shame was intense. But in the end, we finished out the week, and then we came back.
And I knew God was calling me to speak today about what it means to be redeemed. And in particular, when we confront failure in our lives. When we fail in our eyes, in the eyes of others even, God doesn’t see failure. He sees redemption.
First point today, God redeems broken situations.
It reminds me of a scripture from 2nd Cor 1:8-10 which says, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,”
Have you ever been in a situation in your life when you were under such intense pressure you despaired of life itself?
I’ll tell you this, Paul learned through his pressure, to rely on God, not on himself. Believe me, in those moments at camp, I had to rely on God completely. Sometimes we feel so locked into difficult circumstances that we feel it’s like a death sentence. It feels that way at the time, have you been there in life?
But, God raises the dead. He takes that situation that seems like a death sentence, and he brings you back to life through it.
God delivered Paul, and so God also delivered me, not from the situation, but through the situation.
We human beings naturally want to rely on ourselves. We want to do things our own way. We want to access our own strength and use that strength. That’s why this world is so messed up, because we refuse to rely on God.
That’s why we don’t pray in the morning before we leave the house. That’s why we forget to read our Bible, that’s why we don’t pray at night. That’s why we don’t ask God the next right thing to do throughout the day. We try to run our own lives. And then things don’t go right.
That’s our second point today, require yourself to rely on God. Pray when you don’t feel like it. Simply remind yourself, “No I need this!” I argue with myself you guys, when I’m tempted to roll over and go to bed, I’m tired. I stop myself and say "Justin, you get over there and get on your knees right now. You know what happens in your life when you don’t. Let’s go, now!"
Command yourself to pray. Command yourself to read the word. You say to yourself, self, in the name of Jesus, keep God first. Command your soul to turn to Jesus. Your soul is going to want to do it’s own thing. But you take over and say no, I know what to do, I need to pray.
But don’t you worry, because God will also help you to rely on Him. And He does that through tough situations that require us to rely on God, because we’re totally overwhelmed.
In those situations we need to rely on God’s strength, but also, on God’s wisdom. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and says we didn’t rely on human wisdom, but we relied on God’s wisdom.
When you feel a sense of failure, of shame, of guilt, you have to turn to God and verify that. Lord is that from you?
Sometimes God will convict us, if we sin. He will very much convict our hearts and say that wasn’t right, you must repent of that. And we do. We weep. We ask Jesus to forgive us anew, and we repent of that sin, we turn away from that sin. And we feel his forgiveness rush in.
But what about what seems like failure? But it really isn’t failure. It’s God’s mercy. It’s God goodness.
Point three, trust God’s wisdom over your own. You have to remind yourself: I’m redeemed. It doesn’t matter what other people are saying, what matters is what God is saying. It doesn’t matter what my own mind is saying, with those condemning thoughts of guilt and shame, what matters is what God is saying.
God is saying, you’re redeemed.
What does that word redeemed mean exactly? For that let’s turn to the 1828 dictionary. Noah Webster was a man two hundred years ago who felt God had called him to create a dictionary. And I believe that’s true so I’ll look back to that 1828 dictionary and see what it says.
It says this, “Ransomed; delivered from bondage, distress, penalty, liability, or from the possession of another, by paying an equivalent.”
It gives the picture of the fact that we were once held in ransom by the devil, because of our sin. Our sins meant Satan had authority over us. We were condemned under the power of sin, doomed to hell.
But, God sent his son Jesus Christ to pay off our debt, to become a ransom sacrifice by dying on the cross.
It pictures a ransom that was paid to set you free. You were held as a captive, and God paid the ransom payment and you were set free.
Your liability for your own sins, which was complete, is now eliminated. You once owed a massive debt for the sins you committed and it’s just penalty was hell. But now, Jesus took those sins and said, "I’m going to pay the amount. I’m going to do it by dying in their place."
Do you understand that what happened to Jesus on the cross was that he was actively taking the penalty you deserved? That’s what Jesus did on that cross. He paid your penalty, the cost for your sins, in His own blood. A ransom sacrifice, meaning you are set free.
You are redeemed. That’s our fourth point today, you are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice. You are set free. That happened at the moment you first truly believed the gospel and were born again. And it’s current to this moment in time as well. It keeps running into the future as you continue to believe on the Lord Jesus.
The message is not yes and no. It’s not off one day on one day, it’s consistent, it’s ongoing, it’s a journey together with the Lord. And the Lord has not left you. Maybe you walked away from Him, but He doesn’t leave you. He’s here. It’s not yes and no, it’s yes.
As it says in 2nd Corinthians 1:18-22: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Fifth point today, every promise God has made in scripture is “yes” in Christ.
What does it mean to be redeemed? It includes forgiveness, your ransom paid. However, it’s more than that. Forgiveness is one thing, my sins are forgiven, which is wonderful, but I’m also adopted. I’m now considered a brother to Jesus Christ, where we will share in his power and authority in the next life. I’ve been gifted the righteousness of Jesus. I’m royalty right now, though still in exile, until heaven.
God’s promises, a new Earth, yes in Christ. Sins forgiven, yes in Christ. Adopted as a son of the Lord, yes in Christ. Empowered for service, yes in Christ. Spiritual gifts given, yes, in Christ. The Holy Spirit within, yes in Christ. It’s all yes in Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to earn some of it, or work toward the promise, the promise is already yes right now.
Yet we have a response to make, and that is through Jesus we declare, “Amen!” What does that mean exactly? It’s faith.
Point number six, your part is to believe it. We believe that its really true that every promise of God is yes in Christ. God helps you to believe. But we must believe it. Otherwise we’re calling God a liar.
It’s crucial that you believe that every promise of God is yes in Christ. And it continues in verse 21 saying that it is God who causes us to stand firm in Christ. That looks into the future and expects that God will sustain us forward into the future as well.
We’re told three things that prove this reality of yes in Christ, first, he’s anointed us. Second, he’s set his seal of ownership upon us, and third he’s given us the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our heart.
To be anointed is to establish someone for service to God, oil would be poured upon the head of the person being set apart for service.
To be marked is to be established as someone who is owned by God. A mark on the skin in times past would indicate ownership. God marks us as his own.
To be given the Holy Spirit in the heart is to be in holy relationship with God. God guides our life daily by His Spirit within us. He directs what we do each day through this deposit of the Spirit.
Point number seven today is that you’ve been anointed, marked, and plugged into God by the Holy Spirit. And this proves your inheritance is true and real.
If I ever wonder or worry if I’m really a child of God, I ask the Holy Spirit within, Lord please testify if I’m a child of God. We worry like that don’t we? And God is so very often quick to reply to me, you are truly a child of God Justin. And I love you.
Or, the Holy Spirit will say, I love you, but something is off, you have a sin in your life that needs to be dealt with. And I’ll begin to pray and repent before the Lord of whatever the issue might be. But in all my ups and downs over the last 10+ years God has never left me for a moment. He’s not forsaken me. And he hasn’t forsaken you. He’s with us. And he’s speaking to us.
In conclusion today, remember in the moments like I experienced last week, underneath the street light in the dark rain, wondering what went wrong, God has not left you. You are still His. He will redeem your situation. And though I felt so alone in that moment, I wasn’t alone.
He sent out an army to find me. And lead me to safety. His angels surrounded me. And though the pain was tough in those days, he walked me through it. And he’ll see you through too. Trust in Him. Even when you’re totally overwhelmed and you despair of life itself, cry out to Him. He hears you. Even when you don’t feel he’s here, He’s here.
Let’s review our main points today:
1. God redeems broken situations
2. Require your “self” to rely on God
3. Trust God’s wisdom over your own ideas
4. You are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice
5. Every promise of God is “yes” in Christ
6. Your part is to believe it’s true “Say Amen!”
7. The Holy Spirit within proves your inheritance is real
