Turn The Cat Around- Week 4

In one paragraph

This message was the fourth week of Tribe's "Turn the Cat Around" series, returning to the story of Naaman from 2 Kings 5. Pastor Brian used Naaman as an example of someone who was genuinely teachable, and built from that into a broader conversation about what it looks like to develop a teachable spirit and when it is right to resist correction instead. Brian opened by noting that when he sat down...

Read together

1. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Clay quoted Paul on Christ dying for sins as of first importance
2. John 15:7 Lanisha shared this as the verse the Lord told her to focus on, about remaining in him and asking whatever you want
3. 2 Kings 5:1-15 The story of Naaman read aloud as the main sermon text
4. Jeremiah 18:6 Brian quoted it on God as potter and Israel as clay in his hands
5. Hebrews 12:1-12 Read aloud as a passage about discipline, connected to Naaman's story
6. Psalms 139:23-24 Brian quoted it as an address for developing a teachable spirit, asking God to search the heart and point out what offends him
7. 1 Corinthians 9:27 Brian cited it briefly on beating the body and making it a slave, in response to someone suggesting you can correct yourself
8. Proverbs 27:6 Brian quoted it on wounds from a sincere friend being better than many kisses from an enemy
9. Hebrews 13:2 Mentioned in connection with showing hospitality to strangers who may be angels, tied to the discussion of strangers correcting us

What was said

• Write down the names of two or three people in your life who actually have permission to call you out, and if you can't name anyone, reach out this week to one person and ask them to be that voice for you.
• The next time someone corrects you, resist the urge to dismiss it and instead take it to the Lord and ask him whether there is anything in it he wants you to receive.
• Pray through Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24 on your own this week, specifically asking God to point out anything in you that offends him and to lead you from there.
• If you owe someone an apology, send it this week without putting the word 'if' in it, owning specifically what you did and asking plainly for forgiveness.
• Identify one area where you have been saying 'God hasn't convicted me of that yet,' and sit with the Holy Spirit long enough to ask honestly whether that is actually true.

Talk about it

1. Lissa described the enemy coming at her physically during worship, and others shared the lies or distractions that hit them when they try to engage. What does that resistance tend to look like for you, and how do you push through it?
2. Brian said the deepest desire of his heart for Tribe fam is that we would move on the spectrum toward self-feeding and taking our relationship with Jesus seriously, rather than coming to be entertained or intellectually tickled. Where do you honestly land on that spectrum right now?
3. Brian asked two diagnostic questions: how many people can you name who can call you out, and when was the last time that actually happened? What did those questions stir up for you?
4. Brian quoted John Wimber saying God will sometimes offend our minds to reveal our heart, and said a teachable person can eat the meat and spit out the bones even when correction is delivered poorly. Can you think of a time when the delivery of a hard word made it tempting to throw the whole thing out? What did you do with it?
5. Brian said there are times to be Teflon rather than clay, specifically when correction is being used to manipulate or control, when it is from the enemy, or when it is not confirmed in God's word. How do you personally tell the difference between correction you need to receive and something you need to let slide off?