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Thrive: Finding Your Ride or Die
Lead Pastor: Rollan Fisher
Focus: You will thrive when you allow God to be the author of your relationships.
To Whom You are Hitched
Why It Matters
Thriving in the Bonds of Christ
To Whom You are Hitched
*You will thrive in life when you allow God to be the Lord of your story.
Genesis 24:1-9
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
*When you are actively walking with God and still think you are missing something, God is, in fact, protecting you.
God was the one who inevitably said of Adam, “It is not good for Adam to be alone.”
This applies to marriage, but not only.
There are some with the gift of celibacy so that they may be fully devoted to the Lord.
Why It Matters
*To thrive, God wants to be involved in all of your most important and defining relationships in life.
Genesis 24:42-51
“I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.’ “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken.”
Why does it matter to whom you are yoked?
*To whom you are yoked will either light a fire under you or attempt to smother the purposes of God in your life.
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
What was a yoke in biblical times?
It was a wooden cross piece that was fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they were to pull.
It is a matter of common values and common worship of the one true God in Christ.
God means for you to thrive as you are yoked to life-long partners in pursuit of Jesus.
Think of the Lord saying, “For as long as you are single, I want you all to myself. I want to use your life in ways that are undisturbed by common marital concerns. At this time, worrying about how to please someone else will distract you and demand more of your attention than I want you to give. I want no person before or above me in your life. I love you and will use your life greatly as you wait.” (I Corinthians 7)
Regardless of marital status, the body of Christ, the family of God, is what God gives you to thrive in relationships.
The purpose of God-given relationships is eternal.
God forever has eternal gospel purposes and his Kingdom in mind.
*How do your relationships reflect the pursuit of these things as their foundation and chief aim?
Tony Stark in Age of Ultron:
"We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there... that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?”
Steve Rodgers:
“Together.”
You can not be fully satisfied in life without God-given, eternal Kingdom purpose.
Your God-given relationships are meant to help you thrive by pulling these purposes out of you.
2 Samuel 1:25-27
“How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! “Jonathan lies slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”
Here, David is not speaking about homosexual relationship, but about a covenant bond that was powerful for propelling David into the purposes of the Lord and advancing the Kingdom of God.
Thriving in the Bonds of Christ
*You will be able to thrive during challenging times when God has been the author of your story during the easier ones.
Genesis 24:62-67
Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
The relationships that God authors for you are for both good times and bad.
God helps you thrive in these bonds by giving you those with whom you enjoy life and those who were built to help you walk through loss or mourning.
Do not compartmentalize your life into things you do with God’s influence and those you do without.
True biblical fellowship allows you to thrive by giving you those with whom you share all of life.
What should you be doing with those whom God has given you?:
Rejoice with them in triumph.
Stand with and comfort them in pain.
Pursue greater depths of fellowship with them while provoking them to greater intimacy with God.
Fight to stand as witnesses for Jesus while making disciples together in the world around you (Matthew 28:18-20).
What God has done for you, incarnate for others.
This is what Jesus did for us in his sinless life that he lived for us all the way to the cross.
Once he bore our sins and burdens there, Jesus was resurrected to life eternal and offered it to those bound to him through repentance and faith.
This invitation to eternal thriving is offered not only to us, but is to be offered through us to those who are harassed and helpless in the world without God.
This applies to the rich or the poor, the seemingly successful or obviously destitute - all are in the same place before God without Jesus.
How am I to treat those who stand opposed to God’s Word and the gospel of Christ?
“We are bound to be just and right towards all men as men, whatever their religious convictions, or irreligious notions. Injustice is no friend to truth. We must not fight God’s battles with the weapons of ill-will. For us to hate those who are in error or talk of them with contempt or wish them ill, or do them wrong, is not according to the Spirit of Christ. You cannot cast out Satan by Satan, nor correct error by violence, nor overcome hate by hate. The conquering weapon of the Christian is love...”
-Charles Spurgeon
2 Timothy 2:22-26
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Let’s meet Jesus afresh at the cross today and pray for others to join us there.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2021