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what do you do when you find yourself in a situation that's just totally overwhelming you know you're in over your head you know you don't have what it takes what do you do one reaction is to of course throw up your hands and just curl up into a little ball and roll around like a rly pully and hope it goes away that doesn't work out so well but Christians might be tempted to step throwing up their hands in despair throw up their hands in reverence toward God and Proclaim their nothingness and lean on him in the way they understand to ask him to make it easier I want to recall a story from the New Testament Jesus tells this and he says that there was a Pharisee and a Publican who went to pray and the Pharisees just sort of bragged about how well he was doing and how grateful he was that he was so blessed of the Lord because he was such an outstanding individual and the Publican just beat his chest and he wept openly and said Lord forgive me I'm a sinner and Jesus asked which of these two went away Justified if IED and the answer is the Publican the Publican was willing to recognize his limits he was willing to recognize his faults God has designed life to show us our inadequacies now what is the purpose of that demonstration the purpose is so that we have greater motivation to draw nearer to him to find out more about him to become more like him to submit more fully to him to accept the help that he sends and so on if you find yourself in a situation where you have to choose between what the Pharisee did and what the Publican did the obvious correct answer is what the Publican did but here's my question for you are those the only two choices do we know of any other examples in the scriptures where someone was in a similar situation but reacted differently and how did it go what does it mean to be justified to be justified means to be forgiven of all of your past sins how is that different to sanctification think of justification as cleaning off the chalkboard of erasing it erasing ing your past sins it doesn't necessarily change the future it just takes away the punishment for the past if you go and do all those same things again if you maintain your inadequacy you're going to have to repeat this cycle over and over again and even then the best outcome is a blank slate sanctification is the process of filling the empty chalkboard with better things than what was there before it requires growth it requires learning the third option is sanctification the example that we can pull from is one that we usually use as an example of what not to do but there are elements of the story that also demonstrate what to do and this is the story of the Rich Young Ruler he came to Jesus and he said good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life and Jesus said why do you call me good only the father's good now people don't understand that why would Jesus say that he wasn't good if he's our example in all things we read that he is in he was in the express image of the father he was the demonstration of what the father would do if the father father were here on Earth so how could that not be good Jesus was calling attention to the fact that this man was using these pleasantries and honorary terms when in his heart he didn't really see Jesus that way now he probably didn't know that yet but he was about to find out but Jesus already knew and he he said essentially keep all the Commandments and the man said I've done that what else is there and Jesus looked on him and he loved him and he said sell everything you have give it to the poor and come follow me and the man went away Sorrowing and that's the part of the story we don't want to copy but if we back up a few steps what did this man receive that the Pharisee and the Publican did not the Publican went away Justified he was forgiven of his past sins but this young man was taught how to be more like God he came to Jesus asking what can I change change to be more like God and Jesus said sell everything you have give it to the poor and follow me when you face situations that are above your pay grade so to speak when you have problems that you don't know the solution to questions that you don't know the answer to needs that you don't know how to meet and so on desires that you don't know how to fill it's good to go to God and say forgive me I'm a sinner it's better to continue and please show me what I lack we get into the Trap of seeking peace the same way that everyone else does by poorly defining it as the absence of challenge but Jesus said that he gives us a peace that's not of this world he said that he overcame all things he's come to put all things under his feet and he will do that when he returns he said that those who love him and seek Him and Obey him will do the same he will teach them how to do it he'll teach them more about his example than we know and give us the power to emulate it in our own [Music] lives that is sanctification that is his peace it's not the absence of difficulties it's the power to overcome them it pleases God when we submit before him but submission is not limited to throwing up our hands or beating our chests and saying I can't do it I can't do it it's so hard or even saying please help please help that's a step better but it gets even better than that Lord show me what I lack and be open to being answered in this prayer through God's servants when that man came to see Jesus he didn't accept him as God In the Flesh he saw him as a righteous teacher and probably a prophet and this is part of what Jesus was trying to point out when he said don't call me good only the father is good he was saying you don't realize that the good in Me is from the father and you're not submitting to that as you would the father he already knew that that guy would struggle with what he was about to say turn to God and don't just beat your chest and talk about how bad you are ask him for forgiveness for sure do that every time until you don't need to anymore because you're not making intentional mistakes but on top of that absolutely ask him what you lack and when he shows you the ways that you're different from him make the change rise up rise up and receive his peace because you can only have it to the degree that you become like him