This podcast covers Lesson 11 of The God-Dependent Woman Bible Study.
Jesus Satisfies Your Heart with Himself
A relationship with another human cannot satisfy a spiritually thirsty heart. Only God can. And, His plan to do that included coming to earth to take on a human body and live as a human among us. Enter Jesus, the one who demonstrated God’s love for women.
Jesus demonstrated God’s love for women.
- Jesus Christ entered into the midst of His Jewish culture, influenced by Greek and Roman traditions, with a radically different value system in the way He regarded women. His compassion for women elevated their position in society and gave them equal relationship with Him.
- Jesus spoke to women publicly when a rabbi wouldn't speak publicly to his wife.
- Jesus let them travel with Him during His public ministry and support Him with their own money.
- He taught women openly and continually when the rabbis didn’t consider them able to be educated.
- Jesus defended them when they were criticized.
- He was sensitive and compassionate toward them and healed their loved ones.
- Jesus made them the first witnesses to His resurrection when women were considered to be unreliable as witnesses.
- Jesus never spoke condescendingly to women, never made derogatory jokes about them, nor did he ever humiliate them. Women who knew Him loved Him, wanted to follow and serve Him! [See Live Out His Love and Satisfied by His Love Bible Studies for more on this.]
- His warmth, personal attention, tenderness, sound teaching, and compassion toward women were revolutionary. And why shouldn’t He be compassionate toward women? Jesus is fully God. He created us and is the one who understands women.
Jesus is the one who understands women.
- As Creator, He designed us with a mind to know God, emotions to love God, and a will to obey God. We are designed with a mind to know God, emotions to love God, and a will to obey God. That comes in the package we receive at birth.
- Our female minds need to be filled with the knowledge of Him so that our hearts may respond with great love for Him and our wills can choose to obey Him.
- Jesus knows us backwards and forwards. He knows our emotional nature, our need for security and significance, and even our hormones! He understands our need to nurture and to be loved—both from those humans closest to us and from our Creator God.
- Here’s a key truth I want you to grasp. A relationship with Jesus satisfies every spiritual need that you have. Every single one of them. You don't need to go anywhere else to get those deep needs satisfied.
Jesus is the one who meets your spiritual needs
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5)
- Do you need forgiveness? Jesus does that. Do you need healing and hope for dire circumstances? Jesus does that. Do you feel like you are in spiritual bondage? Jesus can free you from that. Do you need assurance that you are loved? Jesus crowns you with His love and compassion. To be crowned with compassion means to be surrounded with it so that you have a sense of God’s favor and protection. A satisfied heart can go forward with complete assurance that our God knows how to love you well!
- God promises to satisfy your heart’s desires with good things. You will be so satisfied that you will feel renewed and released to soar like an eagle. And, He fills us with everything we need to feel satisfied.
- Our God created us with a spiritual thirst for a relationship with Him. A relationship with another human cannot satisfy that thirst. Jesus Christ satisfies your thirsty heart.
Do we pray as if everything depended on God or us?
True or False? “Pray as if everything depended on God. Work as if everything depended on you.” FALSE
When you work like it depends on you and pray like it depends on God, it’s too easy to start taking credit for the work you do. Or, your efforts fail and you blame yourself for not working hard enough. Or, others blame you for not working hard enough.
The two aspects of trusting God are this: The first one is that you must depend on Him as you step forward and do your part His way. And, the second aspect is that you must trust Him to do His part in the areas over which you have no control. So, getting back to our saying, it leaves out the trusting God while you are working to do your part His way. This saying is not good advice.
Reasons why God wants us to depend on Him more than on ourselves
- To live by God’s power to deal with people. (13:4)
- To gain assurance that you are in Christ by your faith in Him. (13:5)
- For our disciples to do what is right even though we may fail. (13:7)
- To stand for the truth. (13:8)
- To be fully restored/matured in pure devotion to Christ. (13:9)
- To be concerned for disciples’ growth more than your own personal reputation. (13:7, 9)
- To build others up and not tear them down. (13:10)
- To rejoice, mature, encourage others, be united, and live in peace with other believers. (13:11)
Let Jesus satisfy your heart with confidence that you can depend on Him. Then, live each day as a God-dependent woman!
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