BEAUTY FROM ASHES: REDEEMING YOUR BROKEN MOMENTS

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Sylvia Carr
5 years ago
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1 BEAUTY FROM ASHES: REDEEMING YOUR BROKEN MOMENTS 64

We all make mistakes. Failure is not the end. No two human beings are exactly alike. Each of us has a unique personality, background, life experience, and even DNA.

Whether it s a speeding ticket, a bad business decision, or a failed marriage, we all know the pain of regrets and hurts.

2 We all make mistakes. Failure is not the end. No two human beings are exactly alike. Each of us has a unique personality, background, life experience, and even DNA. But we all share something in common: we ve all made mistakes. We ve all failed. Whether it s a speeding ticket, a bad business decision, or a failed marriage, we all know the pain of regrets and hurts. We often struggle with the consequences of our actions, feeling burned and abandoned in a pile of ashes after everything went up in flames. Yet, in these broken moments, Jesus comes to us with tenderness and grace, offering to do something beautiful in us and through us for His glory and the good of others. Christ extends forgiveness for our sins. He offers mercy in the midst of our mess. Jesus has come to give us a crown of beauty instead of ashes (Isa. 61:3). This study looks at the lives of six people from Scripture whose actions were wrong people who failed unquestionably. Yet in spite of their failures, each one experienced God s redemption. They received a crown of beauty instead of ashes. And so can we. Clayton King Clayton King is an evangelist, pastor, and author. He s the founder and president of Crossroads Summer Camps, Crossroads Missions, and Clayton King Ministries. He s passionate about preaching the gospel, training leaders, and serving the church. Clayton is married to Sharie, and together they wrote True Love Project. Their ministry is located at Anderson University in South Carolina, where Clayton is Distinguished Professor of Evangelism. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 65

REDEEMING YOUR BROKEN MOMENTS Session 1 Redeemed

Session 2 Redeemed from Broken Relationships Genesis

Spirit Numbers 12:1-11,13-15 Session 4 Redeemed from

Redeemed from Devastating Failure Luke 22:54-62;

3 REDEEMING YOUR BROKEN MOMENTS Session 1 Redeemed from Poor Choices Genesis 15:1-6; 16:1-5; 17:18-19 Session 2 Redeemed from Broken Relationships Genesis 27:41; 33:1-11 Session 3 Redeemed from a Critical Spirit Numbers 12:1-11,13-15 Session 4 Redeemed from Crippling Doubt Luke 1:11-20,63-65 Session 5 Redeemed from Devastating Failure Luke 22:54-62; Acts 4:8-13 Session 6 Redeemed from an Unbelieving Past Acts 26:

4 SESSION 1 REDEEMED FROM POOR CHOICES When was the last time you leaped before you looked? QUESTION #1 #BSFLbeauty BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 67

5 THE POINT God s plans are always better than our own. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE I hate waiting. Right up there with spiders, clowns, and cilantro, few things cause me more anxiety and discomfort than waiting to see if someone will come through on a promise. I m not alone. Many of us don t like to wait. And many of us have learned the hard way what happens when we rush ahead and don t wait. Two friends of mine had an opportunity to purchase a piece of property that could have been a great financial investment. If they waited for the property to go into foreclosure, they could have bought it far below market value, held it for a year or two, and then sold it for a huge profit. But because they hated to wait, they purchased the property at its full appraisal price. Six months later, the stock market crash of 2008 sucker-punched my friends, and the value of their purchase plummeted. Because they rushed ahead, they were the ones who eventually lost the property to foreclosure. There is value in waiting especially when you re waiting on God. 68 SESSION 1

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Genesis 15:1-6; 16:1-5; 17:18-19 15:1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.

6 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Genesis 15:1-6; 16:1-5; 17: :1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 Abram continued, Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir. 4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir. 5 He took him outside and said, Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them. Then He said to him, Your offspring will be that numerous. 6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. 16:1 Abram s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family. And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So Abram s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you. Credited (15:6) The Hebrew word translated credited means to reckon or to count. In God s estimation, Abram s faith had the value of righteousness right standing with Him. Through her (16:2) According to the custom of the time, Sarai could adopt a son born of Abram s union with Hagar, and that son would become the family s heir, replacing Eliezer. Covenant (17:19) The Hebrew term means treaty, alliance, or agreement. Parity covenants were made between equals; others, called suzerainty covenants, were made by a superior with binding obligations placed on an inferior party. 17:18 So Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael were acceptable to You! 19 But God said, No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 69

7 THE POINT God s plans are always better than our own. Genesis 15:1-6 We ve all made poor choices. Whether it s something huge, like losing millions of dollars on a hasty property purchase, or something more minor, like sending a hasty when you were frustrated none of us is immune to this experience. Not even the great men and women of the Bible. What expectations do we typically have when we take steps to follow God s leading? QUESTION #2 Consider Abram, for example. Abram was hand-picked by God to be the father of the Jewish nation. We first meet Abram in Genesis 11:26-31, living in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans (an area in modern day Iraq). God chose Abram, who would later become Abraham, to build a nation through which the world would be introduced to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. God promised Abram He would give him a son, and through his bloodline all the nations on earth would be blessed (see Gen. 12:3). His descendants would be greater than the stars in the sky (see 15:4-5). This promise did not come without challenges, however. Sarai, Abram s wife, was unable to have children. Worse, at the time God promised to make a great nation of Abram, she was 65 years old. Abram was 75. In spite of how impossible this seemed, Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness (v. 6). It was Abram s faith that God recognized. God still speaks to us through His Word, through His Spirit, and through other believers. He still challenges us to step out in faith in order to go places and do things we ve never done before. And He still doesn t always give us the entire picture; He expects us to trust Him, as Abram did (see Heb. 11:1-3). It s our faith that pleases God. Even when we don t know what He s doing, we must remember God has a plan. Disaster strikes when we reject that plan and take matters into our own hands when we think we can help God with His plan. Unfortunately, that s exactly what Abram tried to do. 70 SESSION 1

8 MAKING PLANS How do you feel about making and following plans? Use the space below to record your typical emotional reactions in the following situations. Choose two. When you make plans When you wait for a plan to mature When plans go wrong When plans go right What emotions do you experience when your plans line up with God s plans? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 71

9 THE POINT God s plans are always better than our own. Genesis 16:1-5 It s easy to take the first steps of faith, but it can become more difficult as time passes and it seems like God isn t coming through. The period between the promise and the fulfillment is where Sarai grew anxious. She likely stared down at her body every day with awareness of her ever-increasing age. She began second guessing God and she devised a plan. Notice her words: Sarai said to Abram, Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family (v. 2). Sarai went so far as to blame God for her inability to have a child. In the ancient world, anything belonging to a slave including a child could be considered a possession of the master. Therefore, Hagar s child could technically be viewed as the child of Sarai. How have you experienced spiritual growth during a time of waiting? QUESTION #3 Abram slept with the maidservant, and she conceived. But immediately the scheme began falling apart. Animosity grew between the two women, and then Sarai became upset with Abram. Earlier, Sarai had given Hagar to Abram as a wife for him (v. 3). Now, Abram relinquished any rights and restored Hagar to her former role under Sarai. As Sarai s possession once again, Sarai could do whatever you want with her (v. 6). Before we judge any of these people too harshly, let s consider their situation more closely. Abram believed in God, but he had no Bible to consult about God s character. Abram and Sarai had no community of faith, church, or small group to pray with them or encourage them. All they had was a promise, and it didn t seem to be materializing even after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years (v. 3). That s a long time to wait for a promise to come true! Still, instead of scheming, it s far better to let God be God. None of us is big enough, smart enough, or strong enough to do His job. 72 SESSION 1

10 What does this passage reveal to you about the heart of God? Genesis 17:18-19 QUESTION #4 God tells us all we need to know when the time is right and when we are ready. Abram and Sarai couldn t see God s big plan to create a nation, but God saw it. Abram and Sarai couldn t open a barren womb, but God could. When they had unsuccessfully tried things their own way, Abram and Sarai refocused their attention on God and His plan. Neither His promise nor His character had changed. He intended all along to deliver on His word, and indeed He did. Sadly, it often takes the pain and frustration of our own failures to point us back to God. We have to come to the end of ourselves and exhaust our limited resources before we can really surrender control to Him. It s only after we ve made a series of poor choices that we yield ourselves fully into His hands. God renewed His promise to Abram and Sarai. In His timing, He gave them a son when they were, respectively, 100 and 90 years old (see 21:1-3)! From that child came the nation of Israel. And, ultimately, through the nation of Israel another baby was born. That child was also born to a woman who wondered how she could have a baby, because she had never slept with a man. God s plan was still unfolding, and His Son Jesus was born to the virgin named Mary. God s ways are never predictable, but they are always reliable. So trust Him. And wait. How can you develop deeper trust in God s timing and God s plans? QUESTION #5 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 73

THE POINT God s plans are always better than our own. LIVE IT OUT How will you focus your energies on God s plans this week, rather than your own? Consider the following options: Confess.

11 THE POINT God s plans are always better than our own. LIVE IT OUT How will you focus your energies on God s plans this week, rather than your own? Consider the following options: Confess. Talk to God about your sins especially the ways you have abandoned His plans in favor of your own. Confess these to God and ask for His forgiveness. Pray constantly. To the best of your ability, spend a quick moment in prayer before you make any decisions this week. Ask for God s guidance each time you make a choice, and recommit yourself to following His plan. Let go. Identify an area of life in which you have been following your own plan rather than God s anything from your entertainment choices to your career. Take whatever steps are necessary to let go of that path and return to where God wants you to be. You may never become fond of waiting, and that s OK. You may never become fond of not knowing the end of God s plans, and that s OK, as well. All that s required is for you to trust that He is God and, therefore, His plans are better than your own. My thoughts 74 SESSION 1

64 BEAUT Y FROM ASHES 2015 LifeWay

64 BEAUT Y FROM ASHES 2015 LifeWay 64 B eauty from ashes We ve all messed up. God's mercy brings redemption. No two human beings are exactly alike. Each of us has a unique personality, background, life experience, and even DNA. But we all