Boundaries Are Beautiful

The transcription is about rejecting fear and embracing faith in God. It emphasizes that fear is a spiritual force and that Satan uses it to keep people down. The speaker encourages obedience, trust, and gratitude to God. It mentions various biblical passages that highlight God's power and ability to do the impossible. It also emphasizes the importance of staying within the boundaries set by God and not trying to take care of His responsibilities. The transcription concludes with a reminder of God's love for us and the need to accept and embrace His mercy. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 12.25-26 Which of you, by being anxious, can add a cubit to his height? If then you weren't able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? I have a fence inside my house. I sit behind it. I'm clearly visible, but it is my area. It is not for the children. They know it. They visit when invited in. They stay out the rest of the time. They can ask for anything that is on this side. Maybe they get, maybe they don't, but it isn't forbidden stuff. It is a boundary, and it clearly marks the communal area from my singular area. It's a great system. I don't have to worry about tripping over their things. They don't have to worry about all the adulting that goes on on this side of the fence. And we can both interact with each other without the boundary becoming burdensome. Why won't we do the same with the Lord? Why should we worry about five impossible things when we can't even accomplish one impossible thing? We can't add units of height to ourselves, can we? We may resent being short. We may dislike the teasing we get. But we can't, by willpower, make ourselves grow. That is impossible. But we're more than willing to worry about how to pay bills with no money. We're happy to worry about how to eliminate that stage four cancer from our bodies. Why do we do this? We can't accomplish them. Does that mean we should ignore them and go about thinking happy, happy thoughts? No. That would be irresponsible. But why pick up worry about that which is on the other side of His fence? Why not let Him worry about the impossible, and we concern ourselves with obedience and thanksgiving? For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down in the snow from the sky and doesn't return there, but waters the earth and makes it grow and bud and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is my word that comes out of my mouth. It will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do. For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing, and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, the cypress tree will come up, and instead of the briar, the myrtle tree will come up. It will make a name for the Lord, for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off. Isaiah 55, 8-13 Doesn't that sound like maybe he knows what he's about? Our job isn't to worry. It was never to worry. This wasn't one of the commands that we were given, not before the fall, and not after it either. There are 613 separate commands given in the law handed down by Moses. None of them were about worry. Many of them are about obedience, about a joyful heart and thanksgiving to the Lord. We should be acknowledging that he is able to do all things, that he has his hand on all things, and that he is able to do that which he says that he is able to do. If his word says that we should be prosperous, blessed going in and out, able to bless others, to lend those in need without usury, and be able to feed ourselves and our family, then he can certainly take care of the payment of the bills, right? Don't forget the obedience, though. It might be cutting off extraneous costs. That's wisdom in stewardship. It might be changing our shopping or eating habits. It might be getting a particular job. It might be about a lot of things. We aren't called to be passive, but obedient. We aren't promised the ability to do nothing, but to work without being toil. He blesses us, but he doesn't call us to lie about all day and sloth. We will have things to do, sometimes even just receiving a gift, and we will need to do them when and how he tells us to. But we don't have to worry about the end result or how long it is taking or anything else. We just need to obey him and praise him that it's all going to work out. Romans 8.28. We can trust that it will because he is able. 2 Corinthians 9.8. What is he able to do? What isn't he able to do? He can keep us from stumbling. Psalm 116.8-9 and Jude 1.24. He makes us citizens of heaven. Philippians 3.20. Those are very spiritual. I deal with real world problems. Yeah? What about a God who can make the stars sing? Job 38.7. Doesn't sound real, but you can look up the recordings of the frequencies of the stars and planets, and they are very musical, if a bit spectral. What about setting up the basic physical laws of separation of light and darkness? Genesis 1.3-5. Who set the stars in their place and named them? Job 38.31-33. What about the power given to physical things and their forms? Job 39.19. Can you do that one? Read Job 38 and 39, and the first ten psalms. You will have a laundry list of things we cannot do. We cannot even set up reliable systems to do these things automatically for us. We have trouble programming coffee makers. The Lord's hand was on me, and he brought me out in the Lord's Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and behold, they were very dry. He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord God, you know. Ezekiel 37.1-3. Ezekiel was looking at bones, desiccated, long-dead bones, without the benefit of modern science, without cloning vats, without the millions of hours of human effort, ingenuity, research, technology, and development of our modern, cutting-edge medical treatment facilities. Just a guy among rocks and bones. The Lord asks him a simple question. Can they live? Not will they, not how, not can you. Just a simple thing. In and of themselves, can they come to life? Modern science would say, no, they cannot. Once life is gone from something, we cannot put it back. We can take a piece of it, find viable DNA, clone it, and create a copy of the thing that once was. It wouldn't be that thing, but it will be a copy of that thing. Ezekiel didn't even have that to fall back on. He answered in the only way you can answer a question like that. He looked up to God and said, you know. Who is the answer of a broken man? A man who knows that his ego is nothing, his ability is nothing, and all of his knowledge is nothing. A humble man, recognizing that the ways of Yahweh, Lord God Almighty, are far above his own. A man who acknowledges that only God knows what is possible, and only God knows what will happen. A man who sees the boundary and stays on his own side. A man who recognizes fences. God took words and gave them to Ezekiel to say. Words, just words. And look what God was able to do with a human being with free will who chooses to be obedient and to let the Lord do what only the Lord can do. Again he said to me, prophesy over these bones and tell them, you dry bones, hear the Lord's word. The Lord God says to these bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you will live. I will lay sinews on you and will bring up flesh on you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise. And behold, there was an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone. I saw, and behold, there were sinews on them and flesh came up and skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, the Lord God says, come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army. And we're worried about diseases. We're worried about unpaid bills. We're worried about promotions. With mere words, God made life rise up within bones and gave breath to forms that became human. Oh, but that's God, you say. He doesn't move like that anymore. No? Maybe because we've stopped believing that he can. Jesus saw a need in Matthew chapter 14. People that he had been teaching were hungry. The disciples wanted them to be dismissed, to let them fend for themselves, and these were men who had just returned from preaching and seeing miracles come to pass. Jesus clearly marks a boundary. But Jesus said to them, they don't need to go away. You give them something to eat. Matthew 14, 16. The disciples immediately informed him of the lack of resources on their side of the fence, a few loaves, a couple of fish. Jesus smiled and told the people to sit in the grass. John 6 tells us there was a lot of grass in the area, which is kind of a weird detail, but it's also true and slightly unusual for the region they were in. It was more patches of scrub than meadows, but it was an important detail. Jesus did nothing outside the will of the Father, and the will of the Father is the Word. Jesus had them sit down in grass, right? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Psalm 23, 1-2. Jesus used the Word to step into the disciples' side of the fence, but only to set up another smaller one containing just himself. He wanted them to be alive to his vision for them in this problem. He wanted them to be alive to their own vision for the multitudes in this problem. So he got beside them and asked the Father to bless the bread and the fish, and he gave it to the disciples. Now, perhaps they remembered Psalm 23 and the promise of verse 5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. They passed out the food, letting the Father's plenty run over. Now, Jesus could have done it, but he wanted them to. He told them they could. They bought. So he got beside them. He empowered them with the Word. He let them see the Father can use them as easily as Jesus because it is about the faith and trust to give God permission to do what God wants to do. Free will and dominion, remember? There is trouble coming because there's always trouble coming. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6, 34, Therefore, don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient. We don't need to think about the future in order to figure it out. Today has enough figuring for the human mind. Again, we're not to be blind toward the future, but the Lord has boundaries ready. We can be prudent and good stewards of our resources, laying up our supplies and resources for our own use and to bless those around us. And we can let the Lord worry about how the future will shake out. We can seek him to find out where the fences are. We can be obedient in the one he's put us in, opening our ears and eyes to what the Holy Spirit wants us to see, to see the vision he wants us alive to in this moment. Don't try to jump the fence. You'll end up jumping the shark, and we all know how well that goes. Let the Lord take care of his end. Trust and have confidence that the Lord has his end well in hand. Don't you try to take care of his end. In no time at all, you'll be over the fence, out of his yard, and out of the blessing place. If you aren't in his yard, you're in the territory of the curse. Nothing good happens there. The Israelites were to go into the Promised Land. They chickened out, denied the ability of the Lord to do it, and refused. God chastised them, and then let them walk outside his yard. The very next day, they decided, No, we've changed our mind. They rose up early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, Behold, we are here, and will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned. Numbers 14.40 Moses begged them not to. He told them they had their chance, and God had spoken. You disobeyed him the first time he spoke. Don't do it again. But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain. Nevertheless, the Ark of the Lord's Covenant and Moses didn't depart out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites who lived in that mountain, and struck them and beat them down, even to Hormah. Numbers 14.44-45 Don't try and fix God's sides of things. Be obedient when he tells you to do something. Be obedient in his corrections. When we are obedient, good things happen, because we remain in the place where good things come down upon us. We stay where he can bless us, instead of marching in the place where he has to hold back punishment. Trust in the Lord. Seek him. Get into the word with intent. Ask him to show himself to you. Renew your mind to the things of the Lord. Listen to him. Praise him. Enter the place of discovery with praise as you enter his courts with praise. Obey him with joy and absolute confidence. Remember, with him, together, hand in hand, there is nothing that is impossible. He has the power, the authority, the ability, the grace, the mercy, and the love. We have dominion and free will. Let him do what he wants to do. When he wants to do, and how he wants to do it. Do what he wants you to do, when he wants, and how he wants you to do it. You'll find that everything works out for his glory, which is why we are here, to give him glory. Amen. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Jonah 3, 1-4. These people were horrible, but God wanted them to know what the deal was. He wanted them to know the judgment was coming. God doesn't snicker behind the clouds and smite us as soon as we step off course. He loves us, and he wants us saved. Like during Passover in Egypt, the Lord was trying to hold back the death they had earned so they could enjoy his mercy. Exodus 12, 23. We need his mercy. We need to acknowledge it and understand it. It's ours to have because he is our father and our father is ever merciful. It is such a part of him that he sits on it. Exodus 25, 17-22. It is his hindmost bit. It kept Moses alive in the foolishness of his request to see God himself. Exodus 31, 21-23. It's always on offer. It's up to us not to spurn it. He offers it always, but if you reject it, then you have rejected it. Don't take backsy because this is serious. In Jonah 3, 5-9, the people of Nineveh believed Jonah. They repented. They humbled themselves before God and took his mercy. He was able to save them for a time. But Nineveh didn't stick with God. They forgot. They turned back. And in Nahum 3, 1-7, the destruction of Nineveh is prophesied and proclaimed and accomplished in 612 B.C. by the Medes. Lot was given great mercy in Genesis 19. He and his family flee from Sodom and are told to go to the mountains. Instead, they go to a smaller city, Zor, where Lot asks to be allowed to go, thereby saving all the inhabitants there. But then he fears the people of the town, who were spared, but didn't repent or change their ways that we know of. And he goes to live in the hills. Just like the Israelites, Lot had been told to go to the hills first and had bought. Then he changed his mind later and went anyway, outside of the instructions of the Lord. And nothing good happened. Genesis 19, 30-38. In times of trouble, in times where the Lord is moving mightily all around you, follow His guidance. Accept, obey, and never turn back. Never change your mind. Stand on His character. Double down and let His mercy be your seat. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us that God has sent His only-born Son into the world that we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear, too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loved us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.