Our Dance with THE Umbrella

Source: John 10:1-21

Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you a Christian? If you said yes, what does that mean to you? Take a few moments and think about it. What are the implications of saying, “I am a Christian”?

Statistics say that many Americans call themselves Christians, but their lives would say otherwise. Our culture has cheapened the term “Christian” to the point that it has lost its power. It’s one reason that I shifted to use the phrase “Christ follower” more and more.

To follow Christ means that we take up our cross daily (Matthew 16:24), die to self and follow in His footsteps, which means being obedient to His Word. It is the acknowledgement that Jesus is the Lord and King of your life, you are not your own for you are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), a very costly price.

That means that Jesus should have the final word in all aspects of our lives, and that is a GOOD thing! When we examine the promises of Scriptures and see that His desire is for us to have the most rewarding life, filled with true blessings, we should be excited to surrender our will to His.

But I acknowledge that many of the faithful struggle every day with doubts and disbelief. I admit that every day I try to take back control in some way or another. And yet, He is faithful to us and willing to forgive time and time again (1 John 1:9).

He Desires Your Good

While Jesus was teaching the disciples, He gave them an illustration of life as a follower. Read the words of John 10:1-6:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.”

Jesus used the illustration of a shepherd and his sheep to describe life with Him.

Provision

The Shepherd watches over and provides food, shelter and care for the sheep.

Plan

The Shepherd leads his sheep, knows his sheep talks with his sheep. They recognize his voice and follow.

Protection

The Shepherd was the gatekeeper, the door to the sheepfold. No one could get in or out except through him. He would go before the sheep and make sure everything was safe. The Shepherd would risk his life to save the sheep.

The image here is that the sheep are the safest and most cared for in close proximity to the shepherd.

BUT there is opposition!

There are thieves and robbers who try to get into the pen another way. They come in and try to get the sheep to doubt the Shepherd. They break down the walls of defense and get the sheep to wander out alone where they are vulnerable and easy prey.

This is why Jesus warned them,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV)

There is an enemy who wants to destroy you and your faith, but trust Jesus and stick close to Him for abundant life! That means a life that is full of purpose and meaning. Notice, it does not mean it always goes according to your plan, but He is with you and will guide you.

So what does this have to do with dating and relationships?

We are starting a new series tonight, and the above passage is laying the foundation for the next few weeks. In this world you are face with a tough question, are you going to live in the corral or out of the corral?

To phrase it another way, are you going to trust Jesus or trust the enemy (the world)?

I recently heard a phrase from Roy Hall, “You are born a winner or a loser…wrong! You are born a chooser!” His point being, making good choices and honoring God with your life is not something that just happens, it is based off of good choices.

Jesus is here to provide for you, He has a plan for you and He will protect you, when you stay close to Him. But, if you follow the opposition you are placing yourself in a dangerous place, a scary wilderness where you feel alone, hurt and vulnerable. He allows you to choose, and when you make the bad choice and wander away, know that He doesn’t give up on you but pursues every wayward sheep that belongs to Him (Matthew 18:10-14).

The Umbrella

Think of an umbrella for a moment. What is it good for? To protect you from the rain. When it’s raining, the safest place to be is directly under the umbrella, holding the handle tightly. The farther from the handle you move, the more exposed you are to the weather. If you let go of the umbrella and walk away from it, you will be fully exposed to the full force of the weather.

You cannot blame the umbrella, for you are the one who walked away from it. If you go and pick the umbrella up and draw it close, it will protect you, though you are still wet from the rain. But the longer you cling to the umbrella the more you will dry off and it will protect you from further rain.

The umbrella is Christ and His Word. The rain is the sin and this world. Stay under the umbrella, be obedient to the Word of God and you will receive the fullest of His protection.

God, in His great love for us, allows us to choose. He desires that you choose to stay close to Him. But, you have your choice. You are free to choose what you want to do. You may choose to “follow your heart” and make bad choices, and you will suffer consequences. BUT, the moment you choose to repent and return to Christ, He will forgive you and accept you back. However, there are still earthly consequences.

The Word of God helps us to see God’s Protection, Plan and Provision for us. God has also granted you the umbrella of protection of your parents. They are there to help lead and guide you into good choices. Obeying them in the Lord is to obey God, and receive His fullest protection. Disobeying them opens up the possibilities of dangerous consequences. You could choose to rebel, but you are hurting yourself and your parents. But when you fix your eyes on Jesus and follow Him, you will see and find great joy in walking through this life with your parents, not in opposition to them.

Desires of the Heart

On of the most exhilarating texts in all of the Bible for me is,

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

What a promise! I admit that the first time, ok the first few times I read and quoted this verse, I believed it meant something completely different than it actually means.

I know that I used to think that if I delighted in God, He would give me the life I planned. Specifically, I thought it was a guarantee that I would marry the girl I wanted to marry. And so, for a season, I pursued God for a girl. (in case you were wondering, that is idolatry!)

But this verse is a promise that in pursuing God, He will grant to us what our hearts truly desire, not what our worldly hearts desire.

When we begin to follow Christ wholeheartedly, and take great joy in following Him, we will find that our umbrella goes from one of those little dollar store umbrellas that don’t really work, to a huge beach umbrella. What I mean buy that, is we find that we are not restricted by Christ but He gives us so much space to dance!

God made you a relational being! He made you a sexual being! He has a plan for you and following Him closely will lead to your fullest satisfaction in all areas of life and godliness.

The world offers cheap imitations, but God offers you the fullest expression. Choose wisely!

Over the next few weeks, I am having few couples come in and share their testimony and story of how God brought them together and how they have learned to follow Christ in their dating, engagement and marriage. Listen closely and hear how God has granted them the desires of their heart and is continually teaching them about His great love for them!