This is the one I really wanted to get to. The one that I (think I) used when I preached this sermon lo those many years ago. "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Sometimes we get a little big for our britches. We think we've got a handle on things and we can do it ourselves. But not only is that not how it is... that's not how it's supposed to be. We're not supposed to do it all on our own. No man is an island. We're all in this together. We need each other. Our self-sufficiency comes in KNOWING that we need each other... and knowing that we have what we need in order to CONNECT with each other. We have love. We have mercy. Forgivness. Grace. Jesus said His grace is sufficient for us. Be HE is our sufficiency. We have everything we need... because we have HIM. I still maintain that the Beatles said it best: Love is all you need. All you need is love. Love is what makes the world go 'round. To live is to love and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. So when we think we can't handle what life has to throw at us... instead of asking God to get rid of some of it, we need to trust that HE is ready, willing, and able to handle it for us, and with us, and through us, and as us. We don't always need to "escape" from things. Sometimes we do. I'm not saying that there are things we shouldn't escape from, or remove ourselves from. But sometimes we go through things because we NEED to go through them. To learn and grow. To prove to ourselves what we are capable of. And here's how it works: People will help us through things. And that's how we will learn to help others through things. Pay it forward, right? Once you know it, you can throw it. Once you know better, you can do better. I strongly believe that you have to do things wrong before you can do them right. Again, learning and growing. So don't think of being self-sufficient as only and always doing things by yourself. Think of it as having everything you need in order to experience this life to the fullest. Jesus's grace is sufficient for us. Everything He is is everything we need. And everything we have. Love is the only thing that can truly connect us to each other. And that connection, that relationship, is what life is all about. We have everything we need, not because nothing is ever "wrong," or challenging, but because we have God. Jesus. Love. Because we have each other. We can't do it all ourselves. And that's ok. Because we're not supposed to. It's not good for man to be alone. Love binds us together. Sometimes His grace comes in the form of a friend. Or a family member. Or a stranger. People loving people and all of us helping each other to make it through!

When we spend (or waste) our three T's (time, talent, treasure) trying to get something we think we haven't got... that's when we miss out on what we have got. That, in fact, is when we rob ourselves of what we have got. The trick is to change our mindset to realize that we have everything we need. Already. Right now. Because we have God. Because we have love. Because we have each other. Look at Exodus 36:7, "For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." A little context here. The people of Israel were bringing offerings in order to get the temple built. And they brought so much that Moses literally had to tell them to stop. It was an overabundance. They had everything they needed. Above and beyond. And that's why I believe we are called to live out of our abundance. If you have TWO coats, give one to someone with none. Don't put yourself in a position where you're going to freeze to death. But don't hoard up all the coats, either. We are blessed... to be a blessing. God has provided all of our need, yes. But what we sometimes don't seem to understand is that we need to give. Love is giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. So this need for love in our lives, it isn't only about getting love. The Divine Order of things is to receive AND release. To receive BY releasing. To release by receiving. Look at Acts 20:35, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." If you want to feel love... love somebody. Give then what you've got. But you can't give what you've got until you know what you've got. And you can't give what you've got if you're running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to get something. I have no lack because my God has no lack. My heavenly Father wanted the best for me, so He gave the best to me. He gave me His only begotten Son so that I could understand my identity AS His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. He gave me His Spirit. The Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth; the ultimate truth of the universe that God is love and He loves you. He gave me His life. Jesus didn't just give His life FOR us, He gave His life TO us. So that we could experience it as HE lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us. He gave us everything. We have enough to do all of the work, and too much. We have an abundance. Jesus said He came that we might have life and that more abundantly. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. Love is what makes the world go 'round. So instead of always chasing what we think we haven't got, and missing out on what we have got, we need to focus on what we have, so that we can give what we have. From a poverty, or slave mentality to a blessed to be a blessing mentality. Being self-sufficient is about more than just having enough for you. It's about having enough to share. Having enough to give away. Having abundance. And living out of that abundance. Giving what we've got because we know we've got it and because we know others need it!

We have everything we need because we have God. Jesus. Love. We have everything we need because we have... each other. Love is the bond that connects us to each other. Love is the bridge that allows us to share what we have with each other. Let me say it like this: "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philippians 2:4). Because if I take care of you, and you take care of me, then neither one of us has to worry about ourselves. So this idea of self-sufficiency is more about understanding what we have... and using what we have. Sharing what we have. Giving what we have. If you're always chasing the carrot, but only ever getting the stick... that's too much. That's too hard. Too frustrating. That's not what our loving heavenly Father wants for us. He wanted the best for us, so He gave the best TO us. He gave us His only begotten Son. So that we might not perish, but have everlasting life. So that we might not struggle but experience and enjoy HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love! That's what it's all about, right? Living and loving? Because to live is to love and to love is to live. So if I have love I have everything I need. And, again, love is what connects us to each other. Because it's not good that man should be alone. It's not good for me to try to do everything by myself. It's too much. I can only do what I can do. And that's all I'm supposed to do. That's all I should be expected to do. I can't do your part. That's what makes it YOUR part. But if I do my part, and you do your part, then everything will get done. Like a famous football coach always says, "Just do your job." And that's the thing: There ARE things that I'm very capable of. Things that I know I was put here on this earth to do. So if I do those things... I'm doing my part. But if I don't do those things--even because I might be trying to do things that I'm not qualified or capable of doing--then not only am I probably going to mess things up by trying to overreach, but I'm also robbing the world of the things I CAN do. The things I'm SUPPOSED to do. So, what I think I'm trying to say in my usual roundabout way, is be you. Don't try to be someone you're not. You self-sufficiency comes from God. He is our sufficiency. He created you to be you. Specifically. And that means you don't have to worry about being anybody else or doing things that you're not called to do. Self-sufficiency, to me, doesn't mean isolating yourself and trying to do everything by yourself. It means doing everything you do in love. With love. Through love. Because of love. Doing your part, and linking up with other people to do their part. Things work out better when we work together. There are some things I can't do. That's just the way it is. But if I do what I CAN do--drawing on the power of God that works in me both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure--then I'm doing my part. I think tomorrow I want to focus on that very important word "HIS" good pleasure. Because being self-sufficient, having everything we need, is really about having everything HE (God) wants us to have. So that we can do what HE (God) wants us to do!

I remember preaching a message similiar to this--wow, probably like five years ago now--and when I was done I had to say, "That wasn't what I had planned to preach tonight, it was a break from our usual series, but that's what I had in back pocket." And one of the people who heard the message was like, "I'm glad you finally stopped sitting on it and let it out!" Because I think this is something we need to hear. Especially now. It's a timely message. And, really, a simple message. But one that (hopefully) shifts our mindsets. Here it is: We are completely self-sufficient. Because we have everything we need. Because we have God. Now, having said THAT, let me say THIS: It is not good for man to be alone. We need each other. God works in mysterious ways because He works through people. The reason, and the way, that I have everything I need in my life... is because I have YOU in my life. It's like the old yin yang. Two pieces that come together to make a whole. I have what you need, and you have what I need. But, at the same time, look at Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I have everything I need. You have everything you need. When we gather together... it's even better. Even more powerful. Even more excellent. I have two memory verses I want to use for this Rant series. Philippians 2:13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." And 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." Pointing it--always--back to the Father. Why do we do the things we do? Because it's in our heart to do it. Because it is GOD working in us to will. How do we do the things that we do? Through the power of God. The power of LOVE. It is Him working in us to do. If ever we think, "I got this," it HAS to be because we know GOD'S got us! Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, but because our sufficiency is of God. I know I can't do anything by myself. I'm Ranted many times about how I've always written books, but how it wasn't until I started writing Jesus books that anything ever happened with them. Let me say it like this, "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, sayeth the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). Our self-sufficiency is in Him. Our self-sufficiency IS Him. It's not me. It's Christ IN me. And that's the connection that binds us together. The Christ in me connecting with the Christ in you. The light in me shining on the light in you. I have what I need... because I have God. I have love. I have YOU. We have each other. We're all in this together. So while I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me... things work out better when we work together. I know that if I'm operating in love I cannot fail. Because love never fails. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll always get what I want. But it means LOVE will always get what HE wants. And love wants things like peace, honesty, joy, forgiveness. Love wants to give what it's got. Love wants to give who He is. So... self-sufficiency isn't just about HAVING what I need, it is about GIVING what I've got! That's love. Love is giving!

Being naked is nothing to be ashamed about. Especially not in the context of our relationship with God. He has never had a problem with our nakedness. He created us that way. It wasn't until WE had a problem with our OWN nakedness--and tried to cover ourselves with fig leaves--that He even addressed the issue. And He addressed it by covering us with animal skin. Specifically, to my mind, Lamb skin. He covered us... with Himself. So that even the covering up of our nakedness didn't need to be a hiding of who we really are. That's what you do when you're ashamed; you hide. That's what Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden; they hid from the presence of God. But that's not ever what God wanted for us, or from us. I think 2 Corinthians 6:6 is pretty good definition of what nakedness is supposed to be, "with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love." To me, that's what it means to be uncovered. You're not hiding who you really are. You're celebrating who you really are. Open and honest. Loud and proud. Being who you are no matter what. Letting people see you for who you really are, and then letting them either take it or leave it. I'm not for everybody. I know that. I've said that so many times. And, yes, at the same time, I do try to go along to get along. I try to find common ground with any and every body. I try to be all things to all people, if I can say it that way. Like the example I've been using lately about the fellas at work who like a totally different kind of music than I do. And I mean, they get fired up about it. They don't just like their music. They LOVE their music. So I let them go on and on about it. "This song was so good." I'm not going to necessarily listen to it, but I'm ok with them listening to it. I'm ok with them telling me about it. Because it's not all about me. They're being naked. Exposing what's in their heart. And I don't want to make them feel ashamed of that. I don't want to squash that. I want to encourage that. I want to feed that, so it will grow. We need more pure enjoyment and excitement in this world. We need more people who are not afraid to be who they are. People who are not ashamed of who they are. We need to embrace ourselves, and each other. We need to understand, first and foremost, that God made us the way we are. And He made us that way for a reason. We are--each of us--special and unique. The world needs what we have. Who we are. So rather than hiding it, we need to show it. We need to be loud and proud, in a sense. Not overpowering people, or steam rolling them, but not backing down on the important things in our lives either. Not letting people steam roll US. What's that old line, "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." Who you are is who you are. You make it harder for yourself (and everyone else) by trying to be someone you're not. So don't be afraid to be... you. With pure heart. Clear head. Steady hand. In gentleness, holiness, and honest love!

To me, the opposite of being ashamed is being bold. Instead of being naked and ashamed (naked and afraid) we need to get to the point where we're naked and bold. And you know I'm not talking about stripping your clothes off and running around like a Jay-bird. I'm talking about being bold in being who we are. I'm talking about not feeling like we NEED to hide anything from anybody. One of my favorite lines from the movie Men In Black is when Will Smith says, "Don't start nothing... won't be nothing." But I feel like we've come to a time and a place where we think we either NEED to start something--attacking, or condemning people at the slightest provocation--or we feel like we need to hide so that nobody CAN start something with us. Neither of those scenarios is ideal. What we need to do is live and let live. Stop trying to make people be who WE think they ought to be, and let people be who they are. Listen: God created you specifically to be you. So if you're hiding who you really are, rather than being honest, and naked, and open, and vulnerable, then you're kind of undoing the work of God. If I can say it that way. You're kind of preventing His good work from being accomplished. We need each other. I need what you bring to the table, and you need what I bring to the table. So if either one of us is not being who we are, then there's going to be something missing. I know it comes from fear. Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God once they "knew" they were naked. They were ashamed. They didn't want to be seen. Even though they were naked the day before that and it didn't bother God one bit. It never bothered God. That's how He made us. That's how He wants us. He wants us to cleave to one another. To have relationship with one another. And that can only come from being honest. From not hiding things, or covering things up. That can only come from being who we are and not pretending to be someone we're not. And isn't that what this life is all about? Love? Relationship? Connection? So if you want to truly live--to experience this everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life of Love--you can't do it by being ashamed of yourself. You can't do it by pretending to be someone you're not. You can't do it by trying to fit into someone else's box. That won't work. Ever. You have to be who you are... or YOU'LL be miserable, and you'll make OTHER PEOPLE miserable too. Because I believe we can tell when something is real and when it's not. I believe we crave that real thing so much that even when we "settle" for something less, we never REALLY CAN settle. There's always that pebble in our shoe letting us know that something isn't quite right. And we can ignore that pebble for a while. Keep walking, even if it turns into a limp. But at the end of the day we want something better. Something more. Something real. We want people we can be real with. People we can be ourselves with. Well, you're never going to find those people unless you're loud and proud about who you really are. So don't be ashamed of who you are. Embrace who you are. Is it for everybody? No, probably not. But when you find the people it IS for--when you find your tribe--you'll be able to fit in without covering anything up. You'll be able to ENJOY that connection. That relationship. That love!

"Just be yourself," we say, "and people will like you." Well, truth be told, some will and some won't. That's the chance you take. And that's why so often so many of us are afraid to be naked. Afraid to be ourselves. Afraid to bare our souls. Because we're convinced that NOBODY will like us if we show them who we really are. I try very hard in my life to only encourage people. If someone tells me--I mentioned this before where a couple of guys are work are really into music and are always talking to me about it... even though their music is NOT my music. But I let them talk about it. Because it's important to them. If someone tells me about something that they are excited about, I try very hard to NOT squash that. Because in this day and age it seems pretty rare that people get genuinely excited about anything. So if someone does, and they then share that excitement with you... don't be a wet blanket. Don't rain on their parade. At that point all you're teaching them is 1. Don't be excited about things or 2. Don't share the things you are excited about with me. The world needs more excitement. The world needs more people who are passionate about things. And trust me, I get it, there's not always a lot of time in the day to BE excited. Between working, and taking care of everything else that needs to be taken care of, there isn't a whole lot of time or energy left over. So, again, when somebody DOES have some nakedness, some honesty, some vulnerability, some excitement about something... why do we squash that? Why do we feel the need to make people feel bad about what they love? About who they are? I don't get it. Like... if someone is excited about something, and we're not... is it jealousy? "I don't have something like that in my life so you can't either!" That's sad. And it not only spoils THEIR fun, but it isolates us from them. It takes away any chance WE could have of making a connection with them or being involved in something. If your band--that I don't listen to--has a new album coming out... I don't have to listen to them to be excited about it for you and with you. Let me say it like this: "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). We don't have to judge people. Or tell them, "Uh... you're naked." We can just let people be who they are and we can empathize with them. We can let them be excited, and we can be excited with them and for them. And, on the flip side, we can let them be sad and we can be sad with them and for them. Real relationship is not about making people be who WE think they should be. Real relationship is about letting people be who they are and sticking with them through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I'm telling you, when you let other people be who THEY are, chances are they will let you be who YOU are. You can cleave together. You won't have to cover things up or hide things. Relationships built on lies WILL fail. They have to. Because whatever is hidden WILL be uncovered and come to light. But if you're open and honest--some people still might not like you, but the people who do will be the people worth having!

To be naked is to have nothing hidden. To be honest. Vulnerable. To let people see who you are. Who you REALLY are. Now let me show you something interesting in Genesis 3:7, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and mede themselves aprons." Let's track this: In Genesis 2:25 we see that, "...they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Adding this to that leads me to believe that the reason they weren't ashamed of their nakedness is because they didn't even realize it. It was just how things was. It was the natural order of things. There wasn't naked AND clothed at that point. There was no reason to even think of covering up. It wasn't embarrassing, or shameful, or anything. It just was what it was. They had that bond with each other. Nothing in between each other. They were cleaved together. One flesh. They were on the same wavelength, if I can say it that way. They didn't need to HAVE secrets from each other. They simply lived in harmony with each other--and with God. They weren't concerned with things like clothes. They weren't concerned with things like good and evil. They walked with God in the cool of the evenings and everything was well. No worries. It wasn't until the serpent started to hiss in Eve's ear that things got twisted. See, God created man in His image. So for the serpent to say, "You have to eat from this tree of knoweldge of good and evil to be like God..." That was a lie. But Adam and Eve swallowed that lie. They believed that they weren't already like God, and it made sense to them that they would have to do something to become like Him. Unfortunately, it seems like that's still our mindset a lot of the time. We think we need to do in order to be. When the truth is, we do BECAUSE we be. What's inside comes flowing out. You have to fill yourself up with what you've already been filled with. That's the only way it works. You can't cover yourself. Only God can do that. And He DID do that. He saw man's attempt to cover his own nakedness, and--not because God had a problem with nakedness, but because man did--God took it a step further. From fig leaves to Lamb skin. God covered us... with Himself. Because He created us to be naked... but He never wanted us to be ashamed. When that mind shift took place where all of a sudden we KNEW we were naked, and didn't like it... even then God stepped in and said, "It's ok. I've got here. I'm going to cover you with myself and that way you don't have to be ashamed of who you are. That way you can still enjoy relationship--with me AND with each other." Because there is no way to have real relationship without that openness. That honesty. That vulnerability. It's not shameful. It's brave. Shutting your heart down SEEMS like the safe play, because that way you can't get hurt. But keeping your heart open is the RIGHT play. Because that way you don't miss out on what's available to you. You don't miss out on the LOVE that is available to you. With an open heart, with a naked, childlike faith, we can experience everything God has for us. Everything He has already given to us!

I've been thinking about this idea--not about naked people, calm down--for a while. Because I think it goes way past just not wearing clothes. I think nakedness is vulnerability. Openness. Honesty. I think it's about showing people who you are. And look at this: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). That's the first time the word "naked" is used in the KJV, and it number 6174 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance. It means, "nude." Pretty plain and simple. There was nothing between husband and wife. No secrets. They were cleaved one to another. Holding nothing back from each other. And here's the most important part--here's the part that I'm going to focus on for the next few days--they were naked... and they were not ashamed. Now according to dictionary.com "ashamed" has three meanings. 1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace. 2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval. 3. bashful; timid. And, of course, those three definitions all kind of go together. If you're distressed or embarressed that kind of restrains you from doing things. It makes you feel bashful, or timid. But the thing of it is, it comes from judgment. Either from others or, more likely, from yourself. Can't nobody judge or condemn you like you can judge or condemn yourself. Because while other people might think they know what you've done... you were right there. Doing it. I think not being judged, or condemned, is a main goal for a lot of people. There aren't that many people out there who can say (and mean) "I don't really care what people think about me." That's a rare trait. Most people will do just about anything in order to get the response from people that they want. What's that old saying? "We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, in order to impress people that don't matter." Something like that. My point is: We put so much effort and energy into displaying this false front--covering ourselves--because we're naked and ashamed. Even to the point where we'll hide the things we love because we don't want people to be able to tell us that we shouldn't love them. We don't want people to make fun of us. So we deny who we really are in order to fit into somone else's idea of who we're "supposed" to be. Instead of cleaving to each other and building strong, meaningful relationships we build social media "friendships" where even if we tell our deep, dark secrets, it's more or less to perfect strangers. People that aren't really in our lives enough to make a huge difference. Like we want that intimacy so badly, but also want to keep everybody at arm's length. That doesn't really work though. It can't. The people in our lives need to be IN our lives. And we need to be able to be real with them. Good, bad, and ugly. We need to be able to cleave to each other. To lean on each other. To stop putting on a false face and let people see us for who we really are. To be naked--vulnerable, true, honest, and intimate--and NOT ashamed!

Acts chapter 3 has an interesting story about a man who was "...lame from his mother's womb" (Acts 3:2). This dude sees Peter and John, two of Jesus' disciples, and was, "...expecting to receive something of them" (Acts 3:5). He was a beggar. He couldn't work, because he had been born lame. So he just sat, hoping that people would have enough mercy on him to give him money. Well, when he looked at Peter this happened: "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I unto thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). The dude was expecting something, but he got a whole lot more than he bargained for. Kind of like the old saying, "If you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day. If you TEACH a man to fish he'll eat for a lifetime." Jesus--in this case working through his disciples--isn't really interested in putting a band-aid on. He wants to go to the root of the problem and SOLVE the problem. Total cleansing. Total healing. Now watch this, and this is where I want to end this Rant series, really hammering home the point I've been trying to make, "And he leaping up stood, and walked, adn entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God" (Acts 3:8). This man who never in his wildest dreams ever thought he would be able to walk... who had never known walking... born lame from his mother's womb... this man who was doing the best he could just begging for another day of survival... had an encouter with the goodness of God that could only leave him praising God. He didn't tell Peter and John how much he loved Jesus. He looked at them expecting--EXPECTING--to get something from them. Almost as if he was entitled to it. "I'm poor. I can't work. Gimme some money." And, look, I'm not trying to get down on this guy. I can't imagine what it's like to go through your entire life like that. Pretty hopeless, I'd say. People carry you to a good spot so you can beg other people for money so you can make it one more day. That's the BEST you can hope for? Yikes. But then, again, he got more than he bargained for. Not because of anything HE did... but because of WHO Peter and John were. Because they had something to give that was exceedingly, abundantly more than what he could ask for or even think of. He didn't ask for healing. He just wanted to be able to buy some food. But what he got was restoration. He got put back to how he was supposed to be. Healed. From lame... to walking. Leaping. Dancing. Using those legs like they were the best things going. And using his mouth to praise God. It was his natural reaction. It was the only possible reaction. So let me end with this: We don't "praise" God in order to try to get something from Him. That's backwards. We praise God because we have gotten something from Him. Because we have gotten healing, grace, mercy, restoration, forgiveness... LOVE from Him. We love because He FIRST loved us. So we know He gives before we even ask. We know that what He has for us is better than what we could possibly even imagine for ourselves. And that, friends, is praise-worthy. That is how we praise Him, and that is WHY we praise Him!