One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” —Luke 23:39-41

Introduction

You made your bed, now

in it.

What goes around…

Sometimes we assign

to Jesus for something he did not say. (Galatians 6:7-10)

Week 1: Is it true that doubting is

?

Doubt doesn’t

you from being blessed.

Faith is moving

with what God is calling you into even in the midst of your doubts.

Week 2: Is it true that God

wants you to be happy? No, God wants

Reveal Answer

for you.

“We too often fall prey to the lie that, ‘Possessions plus peaceful circumstances, plus thrilling experiences, plus perfect appearance equals happiness.’” —Rev. Paul Rasmussen

Holiness is the

to happiness.

Week 3: Is it true that God won’t give

more than you can handle?

The phrase “God won’t give you…” implies wrongly that God is the one

you more than you can handle.

From cradle to grave, we are created to

God and one another.

God never expected any of us to handle everything on our

.

When struggles come that are more than you can handle, God calls

in to help.

This Week: Is It True That You Get What You Deserve?

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the sum of a person’s actions decides their

in the future.

The

operates on a “You get what you deserve” mentality.

“What you deserve will be down to you, and you alone.” —Chris Murray, Songwriter

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches the

.

What Does the Bible Say? (Luke 19:1-4)

Think of the profession you most despise and then think of the

one of those people.

Jesus infuriated law-abiding citizens when he

people who had wronged them. (Luke 19:5-9)

The religious leaders hated Jesus because he did not give Zacchaeus what he

. (Luke 19:10)

The problem is that we want justice for those who have wronged us, yet we want

for ourselves.

Worse, we want to punish people we don’t even

so they get what they deserve. (John 8:2-5)

According to several later manuscripts, Jesus wrote on the ground the sins of each of

. (John 8:6-11)

Jesus doesn’t give Zacchaeus or the woman what they deserve. Jesus gives them

.

Jesus was not crucified

. (Luke 23:32-33, 23:34, 34:39)

Without one ounce of evidence of any good deed, Jesus promises

. (Luke 23:40-43)

Paradise was a term for the place of the

dead prior to resurrection.

Jesus came from heaven to show us that we don’t get what we deserve; we get

! (Ephesians 2:4-9)

At communion, we come to remember that Jesus

so that we don’t get what we deserve.

We are the

on the cross, and we give thanks that Jesus is giving us something that we do not deserve.

Action Step

Pray, “Jesus, remember me” and trust his goodness to give you what you

.

My additional notes:

.