Common Trouble? Uncommon Faith!

COMMON TROUBLE? UNCOMMON FAITH!

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

I. INTRODUCTION:

A. Did you hear about the lady that was bitten by a RABIED SKUNK?

The doctor came into her room and informed her: YES, THE SKUNK

HAD A BAD CASE OF RABIES. RABIES IS A HIGHLY CONTAGEOUS

DISEASE. NOW YOU ARE INFECTED WITH RABIES.

The doctor told her that rabies was deadly and there was no cure.

She would die a terrible death. She would go crazy and foam at the

mouth, then her fever would rise and she would die.

The lady grabbed the doctor’s clip board and pen. Then she started

writing with great speed.

The doctor asked: ARE YOU WRITING YOUR LAST WILL?

The lady said: ABSOLUTELY NOT, I AM WRITING DOWN A LIST OF

PEOPLE I PLAN ON BITING!

B. Would you admit TROUBLE LIES AHEAD IN YOUR MARRIAGE,

YOUR FAMILY, YOUR JOB OR YOUR CHURCH IF IT HAS BECOME

A DUEL INSTEAD OF A DUET?

C. Many years ago I pastored this old lady.

At testimony time she was often the first to stand and testify.

Her words always began something like this...

NO ONE KNOWS HOW MUCH TROUBLE I HAVE HAD THIS WEEK.

THE DEVIL RODE MY BACK! I did not sleep any? No one knows

the trouble I have seen? Praise God!

D. Have you ever thought you were having: DOUBLE TROUBLE?

E. TROUBLE:

An ill effect on one’s peace of mind.

To agitate mentally or spiritually.

To worry or disturb.

Mistreat or oppress, to afflict.

To put to exertion or inconvenience.

To be in confused motion.

Unrest, disturbance.

II. TROUBLE IS PART OF LIFE! TROUBLE IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD.

TROUBLE IS NEUTRAL. IT IS WHAT YOU DO WHEN TROUBLE COMES

THAT WILL DEFINE YOU.

A. Christians are not EXEPT FROM TROUBLE, as a matter of the reality

of life --- FAITH WILL DEMAND AND PUSH YOU TO THE LIMITS OF YOUR

FAITH.

KJV

Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

LIVING

Job 14:1 "How frail is man, how few his days, how full of trouble!

B. Do you understand TESTING IS A PROGRESSIVE PROCESS?

TESTING IS A PART OF LIFE. Not just Christians are tested, every

living, breathing person will be tested.

Life has a way of increasing in DIFFICULTY and in TROUBLE?

KJV

1 Cor. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common

to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above

that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

MESSAGE

1 Cor. 10:13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond

the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember

is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past

your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

C. Our enemy wants you to think you are alone and no one has ever

been in this valley. Look around you?

Sure, there are BONES in this valley?

But you must have heard, there are some VERY DRY BONES GOT UP AND

LEFT THIS VALLEY. They walked out in UNCOMMON FAITH.

III. WHAT ARE YOU PROJECTING? WE ESTABLISH REACTION PATTERNS.

MOST CHRISTIANS REACT TO TROUBLE.

FEW CHRISTIANS EVER LEARN WE CAN’T REACT TO TROUBLE.

WE MUST ACT BY FAITH! GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW UNCOMMON FAITH!

A. WE FEEL LIKE GRASSHOPPERS. Thus we act like grasshoppers?

Others will see us as grasshoppers?

B. Our spirit person PROJECTS ATTITUDES.

We establish REACTION PATTERNS.

Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which

come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers,

and so we were in their sight.

LIVING

Numbers 13:33 And we saw some of the Anakim there, descendants of

the ancient race of giants. We felt like grasshoppers before them,

they were so tall!"

C. OFTEN TIMES REAL FAITH DOES NOT ALWAYS ROAR:

SOMETIMES UNCOMMON FAITH IS THE QUIET VOICE AT THE END OF

THE DAY SAYING: I WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW.

D. SECURITY IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLE:

BUT RATHER THE PRESENCE OF THE SON OF GOD.

NO MATTER WHAT THE TROUBLE IS...

IV. IS LIFE TROUBLESOME?

HAS LIFE BECOME A THISTLE? A THORN?

JUDGES 7 INTRODUCES US TO A MAN NAMED ACHAN.

ACHAN MEANS TROUBLER, ONE WHO TROUBLES.

A. Achan says: It is just a little bit of gold? A few changes of clothes?

Achan never spends a penny and never wears his clothes to church?

Achan seemed to think SIN DOES NOT HURT.

B. There is still a valley in the middle east called the VALLEY OF ACHOR.