Choose Your Own Reality

In one paragraph

The congregation gathered around Isaiah 62, specifically the parallel realities contained in verses three and four: that Jerusalem is both forsaken and the Lord's delight at the same time. Pastor Brian used that tension to ask a practical question, which he framed as "choose your own reality." The message worked through scripture to show that God's delight in his people is not earned by their...

Read together

1. Isaiah 62 Main passage read aloud and discussed throughout the sermon as the basis for the 'choose your own reality' conversation
2. Song of Solomon Congregation member cited 'one glance of your eye ravishes my heart' as scriptural grounding for God delighting in our worship
3. Psalm 150 Congregation member cited various ways to praise the Lord including loud clashing cymbals as an example of coloring outside the lines in worship
4. Revelation 5:9 Congregation member read verses about a new song being sung declaring Christ worthy, redeemed from every tribe and tongue
5. Hosea 1:2 Congregation member quoted God telling Hosea to marry a prostitute as an illustration of God redeeming Israel despite her unfaithfulness
6. Zechariah 3:1-6 Used to illustrate two parallel realities: Jeshua's filthy garments representing sin and the Lord's choice to reject Satan's accusations and claim Jerusalem
7. Romans 8:33-34 Read to show that God has given us right standing and Christ pleads for us against any accusation
8. Deuteronomy 9:4-6 Read to show Israel was given the land not because of their goodness but because of God's covenant promise and the wickedness of other nations
9. Isaiah 50:8-9 Read as a declaration that God is near and no accuser can declare his people guilty

What was said

• Read Isaiah 62 this week and sit with the two realities in verses 3 and 4, the forsaken city and the city of God's delight, and ask yourself honestly which one you are living in day to day.
• The next time you catch yourself excusing a pattern in your life by comparing yourself to someone doing worse, stop, name the excuse out loud, and ask the Lord to search your heart instead.
• Try coloring outside the lines in your personal worship this week, whether that means singing something unrehearsed, praying out loud in your own words, or simply telling God something specific you love about him with no script.
• Spend a few minutes with Romans 8:33-34 and read it as a direct answer to whatever accusation you have been agreeing with about yourself lately.
• Come to the prayer gathering at 8:45 on Sunday morning and pray with Lanisha before service.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about coloring outside the lines in worship, and the congregation shared several Bible stories of people who did exactly that. Which of those examples stuck with you, and why?
2. Brian described two parallel realities in Isaiah 62 verses 3 and 4: being forsaken and desolate on one hand, and being God's delight and bride on the other. Which of those two realities do you find yourself living in most days, and what shapes that?
3. Brian talked about how we tend to measure the grass stains on our own lives against someone who seems to have it worse. When have you caught yourself doing that, and what did it actually accomplish?
4. Brian said his family had been camping in Mongolia for 54 days and only realized how dirty they were when they walked into a clean hotel lobby. Where in your life do you find yourself around people or situations that reveal your need for something cleaner?
5. Brian closed with the line: my sin does not change my righteous nature any more than my goodness changed my sin nature before I was saved. What does it look like in practice to choose that reality on a day when the accusations feel loudest?