Over the past several months I have had confirmation time and time again that I am approved. I have God’s approval and so do you! You are His creation created to walk in the reality of who you are in Him. Confirmation number one comes from Chris Tomlin in his popular song, “Good good Father.” Tomlin expresses this well in the lyrical line, “It’s who you are and I’m loved by you, that’s who I am.” In other words God is love and I am loved by Him and this makes me who I am. Through this revelation I should respond out of love and security in my relationship with God, and with others. The first time fear appears in the Bible was when Adam and Eve sinned. It states in Genesis that they were naked and afraid so they hid themselves. When you feel afraid and vulnerable you will hide behind things. However, there is no reason to hide if you are in Christ. Back to the garden. God sought Adam and Eve and clothed them with the blood and skin of an animal God had created and Adam had named. He also by His grace and mercy put an angel to guard the tree of life and set them out of the garden. If they would have eaten of the tree of life they would have been in the realm of disobedience eternally. But that’s another blog. I John 4 tells us that perfect love cast out fear. God sent His son. Joseph named Him Jesus. He shed His blood and gave His life so that you and I might have life. God turned His back on Jesus so He would never turn His back on us. If you’ve believed this for yourself you are clothed in His righteousness. You are loved by a God who knows you and He created you for His pleasure, there is is no reason to fear… You are approved!

Confirmation number two came when I was reading the passage in Matthew about Jesus baptism. It says when He came out of the water a voice from heaven was heard saying, ” this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” This was interesting to me because Jesus had not done anything other than be obedient to baptism, yet God was pleased and approved of Him through the affirmation of words. Jesus hadn’t opened a blind eye. Nor had He turned the water into wine, caused the lame to walk, or the deaf to hear. He hadn’t walked on water or made a storm to cease. Jesus had not healed a leper or sit down by a well with a woman who needed a savior. The Son of man and the Son of God had not blessed the loaves and fish, washed the feet of His disciples, or prayed, “not my will but thine be done.” You get the point. In the sense of doing right, achieving good, and helping the cause, Jesus had not yet done any of these things, yet God gave His approval of His Son.Therefore I am approved not because of who I am or what I have done but because of who is and what He has done… and you are too!

Confirmation number three happened while attending a pastor’s gathering. The leader of the group made a statement about “sonship.” He went on to say how the enemy in Matthew 4 was attacking Jesus’ sonship. When Jesus was drawn away by the Spirit to be tested in the wilderness Satan said to Him, “If you are the Son of God then do this or do that.” I have always preached this from the standpoint of Jesus answering Satan with the word of God but now I see this transaction in an entirely different light. The previous chapter God had already said, “this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” The very next passage Satan attacks Jesus sonship by saying, “If you are the Son of God?” The question of doubt. Remember in the garden what the serpent said? He said, “Did God really say that?” He was saying the same thing to Jesus in the dessert and he says the same thing to us today. If you really were a _____________ then you wouldn’t feel, act, or think like that. Our identity is in Christ alone! Jesus didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, because He knew He was approved by God… and so are you!

Confirmation number four was a couple of weeks ago when I was teaching on prayer. I was reading passages about Jesus being obedient to prayer when I noticed Jesus never sought man’s approval or was He bothered by their disapproval. He just continued in His relationship with His Father. Check out these passages in Luke’s gospel. Luke 6: 10 Then looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with madness and discussed with each other what they might do to Jesus. 12 In these days He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. Notice this is when they were trying to “decide” that Jesus prayed all night. They were discussing among themselves. Have you ever felt like people were discussing among themselves to either approve or disapprove of who you are or what you have done? Jesus didn’t seek their decision He sought His father’s direction. Then in Luke 5: 14 Then He commanded him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15 Yet even more so His fame went everywhere. And great crowds came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. 16 But He withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. In this passage Jesus was growing in popularity yet He didn’t seek their applause or His own fame, He sought His Father’s face. Here’s what I noticed: Jesus didn’t seek man’s approval because He knew He already had God’s approval… and so do you… You’re Approved!

“We’re Settlers That’s What We Do”

I’m sure most of you by now have seen the Direct TV commercial about settling for cable. If not, here is the basic idea: There’s a family of old time western settlers living in a modern midwestern suburban housing development that interacts with their neighbors (who happen to Direct TV). They interact by saying, “We are settlers, that’s what we do.” This is their response to anything new or different and their neighbors respond with disbelief. For me I can relate with both scenarios. The settlers are content with what they have not realizing there is more, better, and different. While the neighbors are appalled that the settlers would settle for, the way things are while not desiring for things to different. I have settled without even realizing it could be better or different. I have also experienced frustration towards others who have settled for less, when they could have so much more.There is a difference in being satisfied and being content. Satisfaction comes from achievement. Contentment comes from God. I Timothy 6:6-10 says, 6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” In other words if you don’t learn contentment through Christ you will be discontented even when you have achieved great things because more is never enough. Nonetheless, I want to challenge you to not be satisfied with the status quo and not to settle for less then God’s best for you! You can be satisfied with achievements. You can be content in your relationship with God. But don’t ever settle for less because it is easier. Never settle for less because you feel that’s all you deserve at the moment. Believe God, Risk faith and realize that He is a God of more than enough. Never settle for less!

Here are a few things I have observed through the years about those who are settlers:

Settlers Settle With…

1. The Familiar – The familiar can cause you to forfeit your future because you will settle for what you know, instead of exploring the uncertain or the unknown.

2. What’s Easy – Doing what’s easy is accomplished with very little effort. Therefore if something “new” takes effort but doesn’t produce immediate results you will gravitate back towards what is easy. The problem with “what’s easy” is it usually doesn’t produce new or different results. As a matter of fact it often produces a familiar framework that will keep you boxed in and bound to the familiar, keeping you from experiencing something new or better.

3. What They Know to Be Best – Sometimes what you know is all you know. However, what you know to be the best might not be the best, it might just be all you know. Don’t settle just because that’s the way you have always done it or that’s the only way you’ve seen it done. Explore. Expand. Experiment. Open up your mind to new ideas and you might be amazed at the possibilities that will unfold before you.

4. What They’ve Always Done – “We’ve always done it this way” is the greatest deterrent to things ever being different or better.

5. What They Are Comfortable With – We all like to be comfortable. Most of us know our comfort zones well. We also know how “uncomfortable” we feel outside of them. Nevertheless, the God of comfort chooses to make us uncomfortable so we will move. Just like the eagle transitions her nest from soft to prickly preparing her eaglets for flight, God does the same for us. If it were always comfortable you will never move. If I’m lying in bed and Kelly says, “did you check the front door?” I say, “I don’t want to get up, I just got comfortable.” If it is comfortable you won’t want to get up or move. Don’t allow your comfort zone to keep you frozen in the foolishness of the familiar. Get up and move toward your promised future!

6. What They Have the Resources to Accomplish – I’m learning I will never have all the resources I need. I’ve also learned if I am going to accomplish something extraordinary it is going to require great faith and risk. Sometimes what you need is not there until you get there. The Red Sea didn’t part until the children of Israel began to step in faith. There is more in store than what meets the eye. As your vision expands your resources will increase.

7. The Least Resistant Path – The least resistant path is not always the best, but it is usually the easiest. Don’t do what’s easy, do what’s best! Don’t settle for less than God’s best. Settle in your heart today to never settle for less. Settlers settle, that’s what they do. They settle with the familiar. They settle with what’s easy. They settle with what they know to be best. They settle with what they’ve always done. They settle with what they are comfortable with. They settle with what they have the resources to accomplish. They settle with the least resistant path. Don’t be a settler!