Turn on the light - In my feels

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

• If my following Jesus is a free pass to an easy life - everyone chooses that

  • It ceases to be a faith choice and becomes an insurance policy

We follow God by faith - in the midst of that we are trying to reconcile our emotions with the truth

Jeremiah 17:9–10 (ESV)

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Your heart will lie to you

Here's what I've found: Many times my feelings aren't right - but they are real

I'm not telling you not to have feelings - we are people of feelings and passions

I have to learn to process my feelings through faith and not process faith through my feelings

ACTS 1:15: They start the process of Judas' replacement

Matthias and Justus

What we have here are two men who were equally faithful, equally dedicated to Christ.

• They were so much equals, that the disciples couldn’t choose one over the other.

• What you ended up with is a decision that was so split, they couldn’t make a decision on their own.

So, they pray that God would (Through His divine, providencial will) select the next apostle

Acts 1:26 (ESV)

26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Let's talk about Justus:

• Justus was the loser

• He didn’t get picked

  • Have you ever experienced the heartbreak of someone who didn’t get "picked"?

That very thing happened to David

2 Samuel 12

David finds himself crying out for mercy - asking for God to spare the child

We have documented the actual prayers that David was praying during this time in his life:

Psalm 51:10–12 (ESV)

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

When David's feelings and faith didn't line up, David:

• Realigned his heart

• Restored his joy in God's presence

• Received a willing Spirit

Do you know what we have in common with David?

• Our heart gets misdirected

• We make bad decisions

• Sometimes we get in our feels

But do you know the difference between us and David - 

• The judgement for our sin has already been payed for

• David had to pay for his sin - but we live in a day of grace - Christ paid for ours

I have the blessing of skipping the repayment for my sin - I just have to come face to face with repentance!

Like David - when I come face to face with the struggle between my faith and my feels

I need God to:

1. Realign my heart

2. Restore my joy in His presence

3. Receive a Spirit that is willing for obedience

"Part of Christian obedience, right from the beginning, was the call to play (apparently) great parts without pride and (apparently) small parts without shame." - NT Wright