The Basket Case Series

The Basket Case

introduction: Have you ever met someone that you would call a basket case. They are so distraught that they cannot function. It happens often when someone in the family passes or when you're dealing with someone who is going through some serious health issues. They have difficulty making some of the simplest decisions.

I know there has been times when we have gone through some serious attacks of the enemy when trying to make a decision was impossible and you're lucky if you are able to just get up out of bed and get through your day.

When we look at scriptures we can see many times that people were basket cases. Abraham whenever he would go into a new land would make some serious stupid decisions like telling his wife to tell them that she is his sister.

How about when David chose to flee Israel because his son Absalom chose to come against him. Or even greater when he chose to number how many fighting men 2 Samuel 24 and God’s was serious upset with him and gave him three choices 3 years of running from his enemies, 3 years of famine or 3 days of plague and he chose the 3 days of plague and 70,000 people of Israel were killed until he built an altar and sacrificed a oxen in an act of repentance.

Again we hear the story of the people of Israel after returning to captivity of 70 years still didn’t get that they had sinned and they married foreign wives and began to worship the idols. They were more interested in their own comfort and desires instead of honoring God. Because of that we hear of them repenting, rebuilding the wall and even the temple, but for 500 years God really didn’t have anything to do with Israel again until Jesus comes to earth.

Then men tried their best to come against him because they didn’t want their lives disrupted, nor their authority.

One such man was called Saul. He trained with one of the greatest leaders called Gamaliel. Was being trained to become one of the ruling council, part of the Sanhedrin. He was literally being groomed because he was considered such a prodigy.

However, in Acts 9 we see that everything changed when he had an encounter with Jesus. He tried so desperately to use his knowledge of what he had been taught to argue with the Jews to help them convert to Christianity.

Acts 9:22-25 Saul's preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. NLT

You see even though Paul had a lot of head knowledge and now had God in his heart he had to really be trained to be able to do God’s work.

For three years he went off to Arabia, and then for another 7 years just learning and listening to what his marching orders were going to be. Even though he was qualified more than most to preach to the Jews, God wanted him to be a light to the gentiles. Because he obeyed two thirds of our New Testament is written by Paul.

I want to challenge you this morning to consider your own life and what God has called you to do and what He is calling you to do now.

1. God’s directions may be different than your qualifications.

-Prov 16:1 Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word. Message

-Prov 16:1 We can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God's hands. TLB

-God’s direction His plans always work out if we will seek His direction. In other words, go for it make all the plans you want to do whatever you think best, but in the end if they don’t align up with what God wants it’s going to fail.

-There are many times that God has told me that something is going to happen and I get so excited that I try to help God out as if He needs my help. What usually happens is He’ll bring me back and give me a spanking and then puts on the right trail.

Just because something sounds good doesn’t always mean that is what God wants for your life! listen friends it’s important that we get this because we are not just stumbling ourselves, but we will lead to other’s stumbling as well. Sometime the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut no matter how much you want to put your two cents worth in. Get out of God’s way He can handle it much better than you or I and if you feel it is from the Lord check and see if it’s scriptural.