Hard Shoes To Fill! Beware Of Fear...

HARD SHOES TO FILL! BEWARE OF FEAR!

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

I. LISTEN TO THE WORD: STAY WITH GOD! TAKE HEART! DON'T QUIT!

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait,

I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 27:14 (NIV) Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 (NLT) Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently

for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 (MSG) Stay with God! Take heart. Don't quit. I'll say it again: Stay with God.

A. STRENGTH IS MORE THAN MUSCLES AND BACK-BONE.

STRENGTH IS BEING STRONG=== MENTALLY, MORALLY, EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICAL

AS WELL AS SPIRITUALLY.

B. Strength requires MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL POWER...

Strength requires SELF-CONTROL...

C. We must learn to OVERCOME OBSTACLES and RESISTANCE.

Strength is the ability to resist being moved or broken by force.

It is the power that ALLOWS PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS in a determined and

effective way.

II. WE CAN CLEARLY IDENTIFY MAN'S BATTLES ARE ABOUT ATTITUDES AND

CHOICES. WHAT BUILDS SOME, CAN DESTROY OTHERS?

A. We must quit BLAMING our CIRCUMSTANCES and ENVIROMENT for where we are.

IF WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO REJECT THE BUILDING STONES, they will become

STUMBLING BLOCKS.

B. Often the difference in a STUMBLING BLOCK and a CORNERSTONE can be our

STRENGTH, DETERMINATION AND DAILY MENIAL CHOICES...

Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone

which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the

Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of

God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall,

it will grind him to powder. 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables,

they perceived that he spake of them.

C. HUMBLE SURRENDER vs. DESTRUCTION...

Consider your ways? Consider your choices...?

D. STRENGTH IS THE CAPACITYFOR EXERTION OR ENDURANCE.

Marathon and long-distance runners have a term: SPLATTING..

To splatting is coming to the point of exhaustion and every muscle and fiber and WILL POWER

is at the BOTTOM and one so desires to quit that their body wants to shut down.

E. Any serious athlete that trains has LEARNED RESISTANCE is how to prepare and build

power of ENDURANCE to overcome OBSTACLES. Most people learn to AVOID OBSTACLES

and RESISTANCE.

F. Did you know the WORLD LOVES TO WATCH PEOPLE THAT HAVE PRACTICE AND

PRACTICED until they OVERCAME... People will pay big money to watch disciplined people

in sports, music... until they have developed extra-ordinary talent.

G. WE MUST BE MORE THAN JUST TOUGH. TOUGH IS A BISTER & CALLOUSES ON YOUR

HAND. TOUGHNESS IS A HEAVY BURDEN... Toughness can lead to a lose of feelings

and cruel behavior.

NEVER CONFUSE TOUGHNESS WITH STRENGTH ---

TOUGHNESS IS PAIN AND DREAD AND HEAVINESS ---

STRENGTH BRINGS JOY, LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENT OF REAL GOALS.

III. WHAT BRINGS VICTORY?

STRONG? SPEED? SIZE? FINANCES? POWER? WISDOM?

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the

battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor

yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

A. LET US REASON WHAT BRINGS VICTORY?

SISERA--- THE STRONG GENERAL ---

RA was one of gods of Egypt...Sisera was a worshipper of RA.

Sisera was a MIGHTY GENERAL and he was used my God to come against a backslidden Israel.

No one could defeat Sisera ---

SISERA THE MIGHTY, UNDEFEATED GENERAL WAS WHIPPED BY A LITTLE WOMAN

WHEN SHE DROVE THE TENT STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD.

B. SAMSON WAS CALLED OF GOD IN A MIGHTY WAY.

WE ALL KNOW HOW STRONG HE WAS!

Deliah a weak woman was the beginning of the end.

C. SOLOMON WAS STRONG AND WISE...

Yet he was WEAK AND FOOLISH... His wives' false gods in the back yard?

IV. STRENGTH IS USING GOD GIVEN TALENTS AND RESOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH.

WE ARE JUST USING GOD'S GIFTS --- WE DO NOT POSSESS ANYTHING...

WE MUST NOT TRAPPED BY SITUATIONS AND HABITS...

BE STRONG --- NEVER STUMBLE BUT GROW...

2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to

the pulling down of strong holds;)

V. GOD CALL SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE AND THE SHOES WE ARE CALLED TO FILL

SEEM SO BIG, I CAN'T DO THIS WORK...

A. NOW MOSES IS DEAD...

ASK ANY JEW --- MOSES WAS THE GREATEST LEADER EVER...

Joshua 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I