Thursday Greenhouse Gathering – Page 13

“Break Me”

Luke 22:19
How Many Of Us Pray Safe Prayers? Keep Me Safe Lord, Let Me Pay The Bills, Get Me Through This? What if we took a different approach and prayed Dangerous Prayers? Prayers that are so dangerous we couldn’t help but be changed by them!

Break Me

Genesis 32:22-33
1. God Must Break Us Of Our Self Dependence
  - Jacob’s whole life had been on his self reliance: Held Esau’s heel at birth, gained birthright by acting like Esau with mother’s help, Gained Blessing by breeding sheep to look like they had blemish, married Rachel after long time working and now was scheming to save what he could from his brother’s perceived wrath.
  - Jacob’s tries to go back to make sure he leaves nothing behind when he runs into God!
    - He wrestles with God all night! God could have killed him instantly, but instead allowed Jacob to wrestle him until he had to give up!
    - When God was finally ready to help Jacob, He broke his hip ligament…so Jacob schemed to beat his brother and didn’t factor in God coming into the mix! Don’t we all do that sometimes?
2. God’s Greatest Breakings Lead To His BIGGEST Blessings
  - Here’s the kicker…only through Jacob’s breaking did he receive God’s blessing!
  - We impress others through our strengths but connect deeply with others through our brokenness…that’s what happened with Jacob!
  - Through his brokenness Jacob becomes Israel and get’s to live out the promise God made to his grandfather Abraham!
  - Those who are most broken are the one’s God uses the most…He never wastes a hurt!
    - Look at Peter! He denies Christ, goes back to fishing, is restored by Christ and appointed to be the Lead Pastor at Pentecost when 3000 came to confess Christ as Lord! We serve a God of redemption stories!

TakeAway:

Start each day by asking God to give you opportunities to rely on His strength alone.
Are you trying to stay strong in an area of weakness or hold on to something you need to pour out? What’s keeping you from giving it to God?
How has God has used broken areas from your past to help others?

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“Search Me”

Psalm 139:23-24
How Many Of Us Pray Safe Prayers? Keep Me Safe Lord, Let Me Pay The Bills, Get Me Through This? What if we took a different approach and prayed Dangerous Prayers? Prayers that are so dangerous we couldn’t help but be changed by them!

Search My Heart
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 ; Jeremiah 17:9 ; Galatians 5:22-26
  - How many of us are liars? ALL of us can be! Imagine you get a $1000 suit on sale for $100…would you tell your boss at the black-tie company event you only paid $100 or would you try to fit in with the $1000 suits? We all struggle with this!
  - The Biggest Lie we tell is to ourselves…we all have Blindspots.
  - David understood this and with our limited ability we are need of something greater! We need a Savior to shine a spotlight on our heart to show us our real intentions! That’s the scary part…when God shines His spotlight on our heart we have to be willing to accept what He reveals!
Try Me and Know My Fears
- 1 Peter 1:7 ; Hebrews 12:7-11 ; 1 John 4:18
  - What you worry about the most is the idol you are putting above God
  - David is asking God to Refine him and know his fears! He understood that trials are what made him pure! Much like impure metals coming from the earth that have to be folded and pounded…then put into the fire to rid itself of impurities…it always comes out stronger on the other side of the fire than before it went in.
  - We have to look at this the same
  - For Me Personally my Fear of Failure > Fear of God
Reveal My Sins
- Galatians 5:19-21 ; Colossians 3:5
  - David is asking God to show him who he honestly is! Who better than the Creator of the universe to make you aware of your sins?
  - Our greatest fault is to overlook our faults!
  - We must truly see ourselves for who we are to grow!
Lead Me
- Psalm 31:2-3
  - We can’t do it ourselves…we must have something greater lead us!
  - For Me: The Fear of letting others down > God’s view of me! That lead me to a place of being paralyzed at times because I don’t see myself how God see me. In order to follow…I must see how the leader sees me!

TakeAway:

Pray Psalm 139:23-24 to the Lord this entire week and watch Him move!
How does the idea of asking God to search your heart make you feel? Is anything keeping you from praying this prayer? What seems to cause you constant or unnecessary anxiety? How will you begin to trust God with this fear?

Interested in More About Our Thursday Night Bible Study: CLICK HERE