Tassels

But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; - Malachi 4:2

The Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell; Movement Four – Tassels

Idea: God wants to make us into the people we were originally intended to be.

Terms: Prayer shawl, the cross, salvation, healing, restoration, soul, super-whatever, Sabbath.

Rob Bell Quotes:

“The anticipation. The fact that I would do whatever it took to get there. … Not ‘I have to’ but ‘I get to’. Not obligation but celebration. Not duty but desire.”

“I was exhausted. I was burned out. I was full of doubt. I was done. I had nothing more to say. … I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a Christian anymore.”

“Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It’s the presence of wholeness, completeness.”

“Jesus gets what we deserved. We get what Jesus deserves.”

“God isn’t just interested in the covering over of our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally intended to be.”

“It is possible for the cross to have done something for a person but not in them.”

 “…why do I take on so much? …why is it so hard for me to say no? …why is that person’s approval so important to me? …What happens is our lives become so heavily oriented around the expectations of others that we become more and more like them and less and less like ourselves.”

“…it was clear that there were significant numbers of people I was spending a significant amount of time working to please and that my issue was a simple one … Sin. … Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God has made you to be. And anything else you do is sin and you need to repent of it.”

 “…it is possible to be a good Christian and go to church services and sing the right songs and jump through the right hoops and never let Jesus heal your soul.”

“I’m learning that very few people actually live from their heart. Very few live connected with their soul. And those few who do the difficult work, who stare their junk in the face, who get counsel, who let Jesus into all of the rooms in their soul that no one ever goes in, they make a difference.”

“I cannot lead people somewhere I am not trying to go myself. I don’t have to have arrived, I don’t have to be perfect, but I do need to be on the path.”

“Sabbath is a day when at the end I say, ‘I didn’t do anything today,’ and I don’t add, ‘And I feel so guilty.”

Related NIV Quotations

Numbers 15:38-40 - Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.

Luke 8:43-48 - And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

John 5:24 - “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Mark 8:36 - What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Study Points: (My answers started in bold print.)

1. How many times in your life have you felt on Wednesday that you couldn’t wait to get to church on Sunday?  My church story… 
2.  Are you desperately seeking the approval of others? I have, and sometimes still do…
3.  Have you ever felt like you had reached the end of your rope? Are there things in your past that are crippling your future? My Answers: Yes and yes… 
4. What is your vision of the church and your relationship with God? Have you ever felt like you had to get good to REALLY have Jesus in your life? Are you receiving healing? Do you feel like you are on the path? My story… 
5. Rob Bell says, “Success doesn’t fix anything. We have the same problems and compulsions and addictions, only now we have more stress and more problems and more pressure.” Do you believe this, or do you believe that if you can just ‘make it’, then everything will finally be in its place? My Answer: I believe it now… 
6. Do you have a “superwhatever” that is keeping you from being the person God intended you to be? My Answer: Absolutely…
7. What, if anything, does your Sabbath consist of?