Series: The Justified
Message: Faith
Preacher: Mark Johnson
Reflection: Mark Johnson
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jessyka Albert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 4:13-25 in The Message version. Note 1-3 insights or questions.
Reflect: If you had been one of America’s “Founding Fathers,” what would you have wanted for the new country? Unfortunately, there were no “Founding Mothers.” John Adams’s wife, Abigail, took note of this in a rather blistering letter to him, dated March 31, 1776. She writes, “In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.”
Although they ultimately left out the women (and, ironically, many categories of men), the Founding Fathers asserted in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Not a bad list. I’m sure we all covet these rights. A little further on, they also added the entitlement to safety. These make a pretty good inventory of aspirations for establishing a free country.
Well then, what if you were God? What would you want for your kingdom?
Perhaps the most familiar list of what He wants for us is found in Galatians 5:22-23: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. In addition, a description of the kind of people He wants us to be is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: Patient, constructive, generous, selfless, courteous, even-tempered, non-judgmental, forgiving, persistent, trusting, and hopeful.
Again, what a great list! A community made up of individuals with these characteristics would be a very pleasant place in which to live.
But God says He wants even more. He wants us to be His friends (John 16:26).
All right. What makes good friendships?
According to an article in Psychology Today, there are 13 characteristics of a great friendship: being trustworthy, honest, dependable, loyal, trusting, empathetic, non-judgmental, supportive (in both good and bad times), self-confident, fun, a good listener, and able to share humor. I believe these can be narrowed to just five attributes: respect, loyalty, reliability, camaraderie, and trust. In fact, I would go even further, and claim that a great friendship can be built on just two things: trust and trustworthiness.
And I believe that God will save all His friends.
Recalibrate: How can one build a friendship with God? Is the method fundamentally different than what we use in building friendships with other humans? How can we keep our friendship with God from being a “one way” friendship?
Respond: Pray for the gifts of the Spirit and the characteristics of Christ-like love.
Research: Read the American Declaration of Independence. Focus on the charges behind the tyranny attributed to King George III and think about the claims made by Satan against the tyranny of God. Why did he not have cause to “throw off such government,” and what does that have to do with trust in God?
Remember: “So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift . . .” (Romans 4:16, NLT).
Dr. Mark Johnson is executive director of the public health department in Jefferson County, one of the most populous counties in the state of Colorado. He received his medical training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University and is board certified in preventive medicine and public health. He is chair of the vision board at Boulder Adventist Church where he is a regular preacher. Mark is married to Diane Johnson and they have two adult children and three granddaughters.
Play a game of catch or rolling the ball to each other. Show your little one how to roll or throw the ball and how to catch and hold. Encourage them all the time that they are doing well. Keep on with the game, rolling the ball back and consistently placing the ball back in your child’s hands. Share the experience of playing together. Know that God wants His children to learn to share with each other, to play together, and to cheer each other on.
Imagine the owner of the winning World Cup soccer team asked you to be on the team. Imagine he asked you to play in the World Cup and he promised you his team would win. All you had to do was play—absolutely believing that his promise would come true. Since the Garden of Eden, God has been inviting us to play on His team. He has promised that His team, “Team Live Love,” will win — and it has already won! The big question He asks is, “Will you play?” Will you let Him show you how to play the game—and together have the best match of your life? Get outside today and kick a ball around or shoot some hoops, loving every moment.
God gave this promise as a gift that can only be received by faith. Paul writes, in Verse 16, that the promise is not only for those people who live under the Law of Moses. It is for anyone who lives with faith like Abraham. The Jews had a really hard time understanding that God’s promises were not just for them. They were kind of selfish with God, actually. The good news about God’s promises is that they are bigger than any one person, any group of people, or even our entire world. When Abraham had Isaac, he didn’t just have a son, he became the father of many nations. God’s promise was way bigger than just the immediate situation. When you think of your life and the promises God has made, think about how they can be much bigger than just what you’re experiencing right now. Do you trust God’s promises right now? Do you trust God’s promise for the future? What can you do today to exercise your faith in what God has told you He will do in your life?