Transformational Ministry Part 3. Man’s Problem All Bible quotations are NKJV unless otherwise noted.

Review 1. Spiritual healing –Man was created a communal being –Finding Biblical solutions to life’s problems in such a way as to bring transformation of the life (acts, attitudes, and affections) into service dedicated to the Kingdom of God –Normal Christian life: one stage of glory to another 2. Role of the church in healing –We are a family ideally suited for spiritual healing –We use the Word to calibrate each other’s spiritual gyroscopes

People Have Problems Marital problems Parental problems Lack of confidence Abuse: physical & sexual Depression Drugs, alcohol Bitterness, hatred  Source of most problems: relationships

Two Great Laws Matthew 22: Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Focus on Law Pharisees thought the law was a way to righteousness –Woe to you scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:23a) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith… –Justice and mercy have to do with love Christians fall into the same error (2 John 5) And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. Example of telling teenager not to sleep with girl friend –Saying “God says so” –Saying “Love means protecting and guarding her”

Importance of Motives Our motives count: 1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. We must be motivated by love!

Man does not love his neighbor Relationships are Broken Because he does not love God (1Jo 4:19-20) 19.We love Him because He first loved us. 20.If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Man and God Man is unable to fulfill God’s plan (Rom. 8:8) So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. It’s not getting better (so much for evolution…) Every man is born a sinner, dead in our transgressions (Eph. 2:3) among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. How hard is it to teach a child to sin?

Boats in the Desert You can do lots of things with boats in a desert: good works But the boat will not float Three approaches: 1. Don’t even try to maintain the boat: invest in the desert and pray for no rain. 2. Try to survive while the boat rots 3. Keep the boat polished and hope it’s good enough When God sends the water of his Holy Spirit to save some, they float, but don’t know how to sail! Parents can (and should) help their children be prepared for the flood, but cannot cause it.

Goal of the Church: Healed Relationships Healing in relationships: horizontal healing –Horizontal is a reflection of the vertical –We cannot see the relationship with God directly –We can see the horizontal (Matt. 25:40b) ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Horizontal Relationships Reflect the Vertical Relationship You love God as much as the person you like least in your church (1 John 4:20) If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen Men’s prayers will be hindered if they do not live with their wives in an understanding way (1 Pet. 3:7) Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered Conclusion: problems in relationships can and do indicate problems in our relationship with God Consider each problem in relationships a chance to learn to love God and others better

Healing via “How-To” Books They usually solve problems with formulas –If they work for an unbeliever, they don’t need God –No transformation takes place (Rom. 12:2, 2 Cor 3:18) –Focus on behavior: leads to legalism

Cannot Attack Horizontal Problems Horizontally Example: an unbeliever asks for help with his wife –Real problem: broken relationship with God –Marriage advice is putting a band-aid on a gushing wound –He may feel better, but later dies from blood loss!

Person in a Pit

We Are Not Interested in Making the Person Feel Better Scripture does not talk about feelings as much as we do –Need to provide release –Not relief from their problems –Surgery does not feel good

Pain of Healing is Good Pain The pain does not compare to the glory (2 Cor. 4:16-18) 16. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18. while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. A promise: Acts 14:22b strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

Too Many Shepherds Focus on the Horizontal Example: –“My wife doesn’t trust me” –Was due to sexual immorality, deception, bitterness on the wife’s part –Basis is wrong understanding of God’s plan for marriage and of God himself –No simple one-step solution Getting the relationship with God right may make the person feel worse in the short run –With it comes recognition of sin and repentance

Summary 1. Source of man’s problems: relationships 2. We need to be motivated by love Is love your primary motive? 3. We don’t learn how to “sail” until after we are in the Kingdom Who is teaching you how to live the Christian life? 4. We need to get the relationship with God right before we can hope our horizontal relationships will be right Pick a relationship problem you have. How does that problem reflect where you need to grow in your relationship with God?