It is possible to rally emotional energy around an ambition that grieves the Holy Spirit. We can get so wound up emotionally we don’t even realize what’s happening.
Lord lessen my reactions. Deepen my response.
The table of demons (1 Cor 10:21) serves the appetites of the flesh. The table of the Lord is about the desires of the spirit.
James 3:15-17 Wisdom that does not come from above, is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. NIV
You can hear the contrast in these two kingdoms. Peace-loving, gentle, full of mercy verses, “Strap on your swords boys it’s time to take control.”
Jesus came introducing a kingdom that was not of this world. Peter pulls out his sword ready to take control and Jesus tells him to put the sword away. The Kingdom Jesus was introducing teaches us when someone steals your coat to give them your cloak also. The Romans had a legal right to require the Jews to walk for one mile carrying whatever the soldier needed transported. Jesus taught, not only to have a pure heart in a frustrating moment like this but to actually offer to go an extra mile.
The Jews had all these frustrations with this oppressive Roman government. Their Messiah was known to be a descendant of David, Israel’s most pronounced military leader. The Jews were looking for real action. Not this “love your neighbor” nonsense.
Let your love be your argument. Enemies will be left speechless.
An Armenian nurse had been held captive along with her brother by the Turks. They killed her brother right in front of her. Somehow she escaped and became a nurse in a military hospital. The very man who had murdered her brother in front of her was wounded and captured then brought to the hospital where she worked. Something within her cried out "Vengeance." But she nursed the man back to health. Once the man recuperated he recognized her and asked, "Why didn’t you let me die?" Her answer was, "I am a follower of Him who said, ’Love your enemies.."
The table of demons will serve up the finest tasting vengeance. But once you’ve had your fill you find yourself curiously empty, even more so than you were before.
Lord lessen my reactions. Deepen my response.
Clara Barton, was the founder of the American Red Cross. Her friend once brought up something very cruel someone had done to her. Barton dismissed the conversation as if she didn’t remember. Insistent, her friend, “Don’t you remember this terrible wrong against you?” “No,” Barton answered, “I distinctly remember forgetting that.”
We all tend to be better at vengeance than we are at grace. Vengeance just comes naturally but it doesn’t have to. The process of strengthening your inner man takes place over time and you gradually your inner man becomes stronger and stronger.
2 Samuel 3:1 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. NIV
Jesus demonstrated his priority of power in the spirit rather than the pursuit of power in the natural realm. God wants you to be mighty on the inside! He wants you to be strong on your inner man! There is this inner well that exists within you and left untapped it leaves you weak on the inside. God wants you stronger in spirit than the outside. He wants your appetites for the things of the spirit to be stronger than the appetites for things on the outside.
Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. NIV
We Bring GP2RL Action Point::
Purpose to sacrificially pursue God’s presence this week in a way that requires your outer man to serve your inner man.
THE TABLE: HUMAN AMBITION / EARTHLY WISDOM
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant
stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to his disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
JAMES 3:15-17 Wisdom that does not come from above, is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Purpose to sacrificially pursue God’s presence this week in a way that requires your outer man to serve your inner man.
Other verses to read to help explain the action point this week:
EPH. 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. NIV