Am I Misunderstanding God?
Updated: Aug 25
Pastor Stan Mons
Sermon Transcription:
The word the Lord has given me for you is titled, "Am I misunderstanding God?" Am I misunderstanding God? See, God gives light. And I remember being very, very young when the light of God, for the first time, touched my heart. That's possibly the main, if not the only, reason that I ever received security at a very young age that God was real. I never doubted if God was real. I knew He was real. I just didn't believe Him. I didn't believe what He said about me. I didn't believe His gospel. But I believed God was real. But God gives that light, divine light, that allows you now in the spirit to, to see things you could not see before. And He can do that on any area of our life, any moment in our life, any situation we are in where He gives His light, and now we can see what we could not see before.
If not the biggest thing in your life is when the Holy Spirit gives light to your heart, and for the first time you get to see clearly with the eyes of your heart that Jesus paid the price for your sin. There's nothing that could convince you otherwise. You can't unsee it because the light of God shone on your heart. And as we go through life, it is an attitude of humility that raises the question, am I misunderstanding God? You've run into people, I dare to say this, you've run into people that don't like to ask that question, am I misunderstanding God? They think everybody else is misunderstanding God, but they surely, you cannot teach them anything about the, the Lord. Doesn't matter if you bring up scripture or not. They, it could not possibly be that they misunderstood what God meant. The moment you humble yourself and you begin to raise this question, am I misunderstanding God? All of a sudden, you're teachable.
All of a sudden, you're open to whatever the word of God may be saying about you, your situation, how you're doing, where you're going. Your heart is all of a sudden open in a way it wasn't open before because you thought you had it all right. And the moment we begin to consider, maybe, just maybe, I've been off this whole time, maybe there's something for me still to learn, still to get out of the word of God. All of a sudden, we are teachable. Here's what Isaiah 43 reads in verse 4 and 12. It's what the Lord says about those that he fought for and he purchased them. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored and I love you. Here's what God says. He says, "I've paid a great price to purchase you, to trade for you because this is who you are to me. You are precious to me. When I look at you, you look valuable to me. You are honored." That's what God says here. Here we live in a time today where anybody disrespects anybody. People get all pumped up and chest come out. "I was disrespected".
God says you are honored. That is part of who you are. Doesn't really matter if people get it or how people treat you. That's why you can love your enemies. That's why you can return good for when you are receiving evil. You are honored. God himself said, "Precious, I'm going to pay the highest price ever paid for you. I have honored you and I have loved you." Verse 12, first I predicted your rescue. Then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God, says the Lord. Am I misunderstanding God? Allow me to pray over this word as we get ready. Lord, I pray that your divine light may uncover things in our heart, in our mind, in our thinking, Lord, that we may see things, Lord God, we couldn't see before. Some things, Lord, that we may want to give to you, that we may no longer be burdened by them, Lord God. Some things, Lord God, that will give us confidence in you and confidence in what you've called us to do. Lord God, allow us to see today, Lord God, that any misunderstanding, Lord God, may be taken out of our relationship with you today, Lord God, that clarity, times of refreshing, joy may come and increase in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Let's get into the word today. Am I misunderstanding God? Am I for yourself? Am I misunderstanding God? Are my feelings or experiences allowed to speak too loud in my life? You'll find a churchgoing Christian that'll say something along the lines of, "I feel a little far from God, or I got to get closer to God, or I..." All of a sudden, right there, you got to stop. See, God has made very, very clear what he wants you to understand about Him, about your situation, about his son, and about your life, about your death. He made it very, very clear. He didn't leave room for misunderstanding. But when we begin to allow other people or feelings or experiences to play into the part, all of a sudden we say, "Well, I was in service, or I, I went to pray at home in my prayer closet, where, wherever I get alone to pray and to read my Bible. I got alone and, and I just did not feel the Lord's presence. I didn't have like one of these big experiences that I've had before. I really long for the presence of the Lord, and I'm missing it. Are you misunderstanding God?"
When feelings and experiences are allowed to speak too loud, you get all kinds of confusion. And you may have been in a service where you were heavily emotionally touched, but that was because whatever came from the pulpit or whatever songs were being sang were speaking directly to your stupidity of the week. And that stirred your emotions so heavily that you had a great, fine emotional experience because you were reminded of truth. That was not the presence of God. That showed that there was the presence of stupidity. Now, in the presence of truth, and we are terribly, greatly emotional because thank God for the truth, or else I would really be in trouble. But when we begin to learn to call our emotional experience or our feeling the presence of God, or now it's good. Now I know me and God are good. I just had a, we're good. And then you go and do something stupid again. And all of a sudden, you're waiting for the next feel or experience or moment with God. And until that moment, you're somewhat insecure about whether you and God are good. If things are good between you and still having a calling, still having a real purpose in this life, you get a little quiet about talking about Jesus because you know things are not going that great right now. Am I misunderstanding God and living still under condemnation?
Living under condemnation means if you do, think, or say something worth of condemning before God, before God's standard, if you think, say, or do something worth of condemning, you feel terribly wrong, possibly guilty, for sure ashamed. That means you still live in the condemnation. The fact that you don't feel condemnation when you're doing fine and you're living nice and normal, and you're being kind to people, and you got your anger under control, and you're giving to the church, and you're contributing a little bit in your ministry. As long as you're doing good, nobody feels condemnation while they're doing good. People only experience condemnation or grace when they grossly blow it. That's where you find out if you still live under condemnation or if that has been removed off of your life. Romans 8:1 that's why the Bible says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." There is no condemnation.
So even though we can blow it and be so wrong, or shoot from the hip and get angry and blur something out we'd love to take back, even though we can grossly blow it. Yes, there is conviction. The Holy Spirit right away shows us, "Not like Jesus again. Thank God I'm forgiven. Let's try this again. I'm going to apologize right now, and we'll see if I can get this right next week. I'm sorry, man." There's conviction. There's a clear roadmap that the Spirit of God has for your life, showing you the way God would like you to walk in, but there's no condemnation that beats you down and says, "There you go again. Good job. You said you'd never do it again." The word says there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Now that's not some kind of scripture you put on the wall and it's kind of theory. That's what you experience if you are in Christ Jesus. Even when you choose wrong, choose evil, choose selfishly, you feel for people, you apologize, but you never feel ashamed and guilty as if you cannot stand before God, as if you might not be used by God. That condemnation does not exist for people that are in God. But the fleshly heart can get so stuck. I've heard and seen it so many times, church. People wrestling in their heart, and they, they believe in God.
They believe Jesus is the only way, but they are so wrestling in their heart about the holiness of God. God is so holy. How could I truly come to him? How could I be fully good? I'm so tired of
trying to stay away from every single sin I've ever struggled with. I'm so worn out. How could I be saying that I'm perfect in the eyes of the Father? How could I be walking around saying I'm forgiven? How, how his commands, I break them all the time. I cannot keep them. I cannot be good. The fleshly heart, that's your flesh. That's not the Spirit speaking. The fleshly heart always wants to pay God back for what he wanted to give away for free. Always wants to say, "Can I just finally get it right so I don't have to ask for Jesus as much anymore? I've been saved for years. Can I not just finally get it right? There is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. That means, church, that condemnation does not come. That it's not available to those that are in Christ Jesus. The Bible tells us that those that are in Christ have died with him. And the law could only condemn, God's law could only condemn us in life. When you have died with Jesus, baptism is a picture of it.
When we have died with Jesus, when Christ's life has come inside of us and that exchange is made where Jesus actually has died our death on the cross and the price for a sinful life has now been paid, and he gives away his life to you and I, and we get to live even though we are now free. We got away with all of it. We have now been set free. A and the law could never accuse us or charge us ever again. The law cannot even see us because we have died with Christ. The payment has been paid, and there is now no condemnation left that
could speak to us. Because as far as the law is concerned, we're already dead. We died in our sins. That's what the law sees as far as it can see. And here you are walking around. Life in your bones. The life of Christ given to you while Jesus had taken on the death. You get to have the benefit of life. And that's, that's the theory. That's the belief system behind this truth that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.
So when you struggle with condemnation, there's a great misunderstanding you have about God. In other words, there are things about God you are not believing yet, or you are not believing any longer. And I just want to tell you and show you in the word that there is so much hope for every single one of us. Church, there is so much hope for every single one of us. Let me read to you John 3:16 and 17 from the NLT. Here's how the word says it. 'For this is how God loved the world. He gave is one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world but to save the world through Him." See, there is so much hope for every single one of us because the word tells us very clearly, God is not nitpicking and trying to find the things that disqualify you. God's intention of even sending his only begotten Son is to seek your benefit, is to seek to give you life, is to seek to save. That's what God has been busy with. So no matter what we walk around with, no matter what we've done, no matter where we've been, no matter where we think, we are stuck and bound for a road that we do not want to go down. It doesn't matter what you are bringing with you to God. There is hope for every single one of us because God is not out to hold you responsible for your wrongs.
He wants to take responsibility for the runs of the children that he has made fearfully and wonderfully in the womb. He is not out to hold you responsible for your wrong. He has decided, no matter what, I'm going to be on your side. No matter what. No matter what you've done, no matter how long you make God wait, no matter how long you, you kick against him and say, "I want to do my will. I want to live my life." He says, "I have decided to be on your side." And just in case there is misunderstanding, God gave us the scriptures. And in a very special way, the New Testament was largely written because there were so many misunderstandings about God.
And so today, as we raise the question personally, am I, is it possible that I am misunderstanding God? We're raising a question that is very reasonable. So much of the portion of the New Testament was written because the church was not getting it. Misunderstanding to those that believe in Jesus. You may have nothing else. As a matter of fact, everything else you have may be sin. Those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of Almighty God, the Bible says a lot of never to you, the word never, God himself. And when you read scripture to filter out misunderstandings, when God uses the word never, what that means, church, is that there is no situation that could occur in your personal life. There's no situation that you can make happen.
There's no situation that could happen to you. There's nothing you could cause that all of a sudden makes you an exception to this. When you read God saying never, that means there is nothing in the universe that could turn your life into the exception. It's to filter out misunderstandings. When God starts to use the word never. I'm going to start with Hebrews 13:5: "Don't love money. Be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." You know, some of the main things I hear Christians struggle with is the idea that God is going to fill them. He's not going to answer my prayer. He's not going to make a way for me. He's not going to deal with my career problem. And, everybody's struggling with fear, anxiety, worries, you name it. He says, "I will never, your situation will not be an exception. I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." There has never been a moment that God was not with you before you got saved, after you got saved. The word tells us that, that
he holds the world in his hand, and we go, "I feel so far from God."
He says, "I will never abandon you." It's so easy to develop a misunderstanding when we start to listen to other things, but the voice of the Lord, what he has given us, to remind us, to filter out misunderstandings. And all of a sudden, we are face to face now with a dilemma. Am I actually going to believe God? Am I going to believe that there is so much hope for my life? Because if this is true, if He will never fail me, if He will never abandon me, well, that changes things. If I have a God, the God, the Almighty One, who will never fail me and he will never abandon me. I cannot create a situation in which I become to the, the exception to the rule.
God, you mean to say never. I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. If I believe that,
I mean, that's going to change how I live. That's going to change what the endeavors I'm going to step into. That's going to change the stuff that I now dare to undertake. That, that changes how I approach people because now I'm approaching people in a way that I'm probably not going to experience failure, and I'm also not coming alone. A lot of things that are all of a sudden you don't have to be scared anymore. They're not intimidating anymore. They're not a problem anymore.
See, the majority of the problems that we experience throughout our life make us feel like we're in it alone and we don't have the strength to turn it all around, and nobody's helping. God says, "I'll never fail you. I will never abandon you." Do we believe with all of our heart the good news? Because this is good news. Do we believe the good news, or do we say, "Well, my situation, my uncle, my feelings, and my experiences. They all play into this." And honestly, Sundays are great, but the rest of the week, kind of struggling with this. What do we believe? Who do we believe? John 6:35 reads this. Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever," I love that word. "Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." Now, we know from the story Jesus is talking about the satisfaction of the heart.
Never again feeling want. Never again feeling drivenness to try to make something out of life. But to actually have satisfaction in the heart, to never feel empty, to never feel hungry for the world ever again, but to be set free.
Jesus says, "Whoever comes, never thirsty, never hungry, and your life and your mistakes, you're not going to be the exception to the rule. Never thirsty, never hungry. Whoever comes, I'm going to provide. I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to feed you. I'm going to satisfy your heart. I'm going to meet you. I'm going to give myself to you. You will never be the exception to this." Psalm 55:22. "Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken". See, one of the sayings I strongly dislike, I give people grace, but on the inside, take care. I taking no care. I be casting my cares on the Lord. I don't need to care. If I start caring about everything there is to care about in my life, I am going to lose it. And it can become such a common thing to try to take care of everything and try to be so responsible with everything that we forget what God says. Cast the cares that you do have. Cast them on the Lord, and he will sustain you. That's the first part. In other words, when you are carrying so many things or people or situations that you are caring for, you can feel like it's too much. Well, guess what you haven't been doing?
You haven't been casting, because the word says, "Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you." You're going to be sustained. You're not going to go under on it. You're not going to be overwhelmed. You're not going to be broken. You're not going to be split in half. He will never let the righteous be shaken. You're not going to be overwhelmed by it. You're not going to be overtaken by it. Cast it on Him. He will sustain you. Never will you be shaken. That's what he says about your life. Romans 10, verse 11. As the scriptures tell us, "anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced". The ESV translates that as ashamed or put to shame. As the scriptures tell us, "anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced". This is one of those promises God has given to his children that I have had to hold on to in my life dearly because this is one of the things that was never a struggle for me until I got saved. It is when I got saved that any time I knew what God wanted to do, I would develop worry, concern, even fear and anxiety about how in the world is this going to get done. I'm going to start something that I'm not going to be able to finish. I'm going to give up something that I'll then never be able to, to get back, or I'll, I'll go here and what if stuff doesn't come together? I know I have a word from the Lord. What if people don't listen to Him?
Like this disgraced thing. This, like, left good try, but no. Disgraced, ashamed, not able to live the life even that you are called to live. Becoming ultimately a failure in the eyes of people, in the eyes of the Lord. But God says anyone, anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced. Well, that changes things again. If I will never be disgraced, if I will never be put to shame. In other words, if He's always going to cover me from me ending up in disgrace, me ending up in a shameful situation. If He is always going to cover me, then I don't have to be afraid to live anymore. I don't have to be afraid to try anymore. I didn't have to be afraid to step out and go and do the small thing that God put in my heart. The person that he seems to be speaking to my heart to go talk to them on the street. If I'm not going to be ashamed, if I'm not going to be disgraced, I have no reason anymore to hold back, but to listen to God and to not misunderstand Him, but to believe that He is with me, that He is for me, that He's not going to let me be disgraced and that He's going to cause me to be a witness, as He said He would.
John 11:26: "Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" And I want to suggest you fill in your own name there this morning. "Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die." Do you believe this, church? God has always and is currently out to save, bless, and embrace you and, and change for you what you cannot change yourself. It cost him the highest price, and he gladly paid it for the joy the word says that was set before Him. Don't misunderstand God. There's not a situation you can get yourself into. There's not a certain amount of mistakes you can make, and then it kind of voids the warranty of the promise. There's not a situation you can create or go through that makes Him want to throw you out as if you had become trash to Him. Even though you would love to just be accepted by him and be with him, there's not a situation you could possibly come up with that makes him want to throw you out. But now that you know that, now that you have heard God's good news and that you understand whatever misunderstanding may have been there, that you understand now the good news. He does honor the way that you respond to it.
Let me show that to you in the word. We'll read John 16 and 17 again, but we will also read verse 18 together. Now verse 16, "for this is how God loved the world. He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son." The question this morning is, do you believe in the Son of God who will never abandon you? Who will never fail to provide for you? Who will never let you be shaken? Who will never let you be ashamed or disgraced? Who will never let you die? But He will give you eternal life. Do you believe with all of your heart in that Jesus, that that is who He is to you? Do you believe that you are never the exception? Because that is what your flesh and the enemy alike will try to make your mind and heart believe, that somehow you're the exception.
Somehow you're not included in this. Somehow you're going to be left out. Somehow you did too much, or you did too little. It's always something. Do you believe in the Son of God that has been preached to us by the scriptures, by the word? Never abandon you. Always with you, never ashamed. Church, we have to choose to believe. That's such a freeing thing. I remember walking such a journey with one of you, coming to the understanding that we can choose to trust the word of God. We can choose to believe the word of God. We're not waiting for God to do that for us. We're not waiting for God to, enable us. He has given us his word. He's invited us to believe it. He's paid for our sins. We have been set free to such a degree that we can actually respond to God if we would like to do so. To believe Him, to choose to crucify the flesh, and to say, "I know my wrongs. I know my sins. I know my feelings. I know my experiences. I know what other people say, but I am going to believe God at his good word. I am going to believe God at his word. I'm going to speak for God according to his word. I'm not going to add to it. I'm not going to subtract from it. I'm going to believe what God has said." If you would stand with me for a moment, see if you've ever had misunderstanding about God. Am I misunderstanding God?
When you're living in misunderstanding, you still experience that condemnation from time to time when your thoughts, words, or actions are worthy of condemning. When there's misunderstanding, that condemnation can find a grip. But when the light of God begins to touch your heart and your mind, and you begin to see the truth, what does the Bible say? The truth will set you free. When the light of God, the truth of God, begins to shine in our hearts, and we now see what is actually going on, a sinner like me, a poor example of a Christian like me, is never going to be abandoned, never ashamed, always taken care of, always favored.
He is never going to abandon me. Lord, it's like my heart forgot that in measure. If you have been living under a misunderstanding at all, I want to invite you to come and join me here in the front at the altar so we can pray together.
-Pastor Stan Mons
