Pressure, I Eat It For Breakfast
I Timothy 6:11 plus verse from Daniel
I. Crab vs Pipe - 6000 ft down, 3mm slit by the saw, 0psi in pipe & 2700psi outside
- Crab pushed into the pipe by the pressure
As we look around our world we see pressure all over. The air around us is always pressure us, the wind blows and we feel the pressure. When we go swimming, we feel the pressure of the water around us.
Pressure is all around us, how do you handle it?
I have loved to swim. Ever since I was 2 years old I have been swimming in pools, lakes and the oceans. I have never had any issues diving down into deep water. I have told you before about my friend Joey. One of the cool thing about going to my friend Joeys house was that he had a lake nearby. Now this wasn’t an ordinary lake. This lake used to be a rock quarry, which means a company dug a big hole in the ground and once they were done mining it, filled it up with water. Joey’s lake went down to 200+ feet. I used to fear swimming across this lake because of the shear blackness of it. At times my friend Joey and I would swim out until the ground dropped off. We would have contest to see who could go down the farthest. We tried everything to get down faster and farther. I couldn’t tell you the true depth of how far we went down, I know it was more than 15 feet down but to us at 12 years old, was a pretty deal. The funny part was, last year I went swimming at the Vivian Road YMCA and blew my ear drum out. True story, this is something I have never done. I was swimming with Timmy and teaching him to jump in and go down. So I dove into the deep end which is 12 feet deep and before I got to the bottom, I felt this pop in my head, heard air bubbles go out and got really dizzy. I wasn’t sure what happened and in talking to Beth I realized I had ruptured my ear drum. It hurt like crazy. Finish story...
(Possibly change this to fit the students I am speaking with. Plaza, new to Jr High, new to High school, college)
Pressure is all around us, not sure in the atmosphere and water but also in our lives because of people and events. We have all experienced pressure from:
* parents: to do well in school, to be successful, to make the right choices
* friends: to be true to them, to be there for them, to help them be better
* teachers: get good grades, turn in all your homework & be ready for test, to be on time
* coaches & instructors: to practice, to perform well, to get it right
* marketers: see the magazines, movies, tv shows of all these people who look great and have such wonderful lives.
EVEN
* ME: I pressure you to be here, to be active, to listen, to be respectful and to live a Godly life...
Some of you even feel pressure (real or assumed) from
* God: to follow Him, to live according to the Bible, to be who He wants you to be.
Pressure isn’t a bad thing, sometimes it can be a good thing. For the crab in our video, it really wasn’t good. Now too much pressure can be a bad thing, a very bad thing. I would guess that all of us could tell stories or share experiences of dealing with people who have experienced too much pressure. Sometimes they end up in our needed to take a mental break at an institution or even death. All of us need to know how to handle pressure, we can’t escape it, we can only deal with it the best we know how.
Pressure is all around us, how do you handle it?
I personally believe there are 3 kinds of people out there when it comes to dealing with pressure. (Slide)
1. Pressure Eater. This person loves pressure and almost thrives on it. They make great leaders who can handle big loads and lots of tasks. Sometimes they wait till the last minute to do a task because it gets their creative juices flowing. Failure for this person is usually big and hard.
2. Pressure Shy Awayer. This person stays away from pressure. If something seems like it will be too hard or to big a risk, they simply won’t do it. They may take some pressure and deal with it but only if they really have to. They would rather not do something than to feel pressured. Failing for this person doesn’t really occur because they never take the risk.
3. Pressure Handler. This person handles pressure as it comes. They try their best to accomplish all tasks and expectations as needed. They don’t go looking for more pressure but they do what need to be done. Sometimes they fail, other times they succeed but they maintain a good level head.
Which type of person are you? Many of you know all 3 of these diff types of people, some of us are combination of these 3 groups.
Move into small groups:
1. What kinds of pressures do you experience?
2. What person are you? Pressure Eater, Pressure Shy Awayer or Pressure Handler?
3. Do you believe the pressure on you makes your a better person?
4. How do you handle the pressure? Working with friends, family, etc.
Sr High - Have them answer using Wifiti...
A few weeks ago we voted as a council to put a Bible verse to our youth group. This verse I believe represents what I want for our youth group and for each of you to accomplish (more pressure :) ). This verse was written from the apostle Paul to his student Timothy in the first of two letters written to him. Paul used these letters to help Timothy developed ways of dealing with the pressure around him.
I Timothy 6:11 - But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Before we get too much further into this verse I want to talk about another youngster who had significant pressure around him.
The Old Testament book of Daniel tells us the story of 4 people. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshcach and Abednego. These four boys, along with many other Israelites were captured by Babylon and made to serve under King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel and his friends are pressured to do many things they didn’t want to do and were put in situations that they shouldn’t have been in and this created great pressure on them.
1. Pressure to Conform - Daniel 1:3-5
* Daniel and his boys were asked to change the way they ate, drank and spoke. The king had his own plan for developing leaders, but Daniel was following God’s plan. Rather than conforming to the way of the king, Daniel spoke with the man in charge and asked him to put them to a test. He asked that they be allowed to do things their way for 10 days, and if they didn’t look better than the kings men, then they would do what the king wanted.
* You might have guessed that Daniel and his boys were in better physical and mental shape than the kings men and they were allowed to continue living the way they wanted.
2. Pressure to Perform - Daniel 2:7-13
* Daniel was part of this group and would have been killed even though he hasn’t even become part of the story yet. Once Daniel is contacted about this he jumps into action.
3. Pressure to Deform - Daniel 6:1-9
* The jealousy of the other magicians caused them to get the king to pass a law they knew that Daniel would not violate. They wanted Daniel to worship the king rather than his God. If we were to continue reading on we read the story of Daniel being thrown into the lions den because he wouldn’t worship the king. He wouldn’t deform his own faith.
Daniels life was no different than yours. He had pressure from friends, teachers/ instructors and leaders in his life. Because of his unbelievable faith in God and unwavering character, Daniel thrived rather than fell to the pressures around him. He didn’t give in when his way of life was on the line or when his life was on the line. Daniel lived a life that was what God wanted him to live and God blessed him for it...
Some of you might be thinking that there is no way you can do that, or that I really don’t understand the pressure that you are experiencing. To a degree you are right but I have experienced pressure that you have never dealt with either. We will all experience pressure differently but need to handle it all the same way.
Lets go back to our verse in Timothy. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Paul was telling Timothy to continue to serve God. Because Timothy was young, the leaders around him would try to influence him to their side. Paul knew this and wanted Timothy to be aware. Like Daniel, Timothy had pressures from all around him trying to push him to do things against God. Paul was telling Timothy to get away from sin and only pursue the things of God. To focus on what God wanted him to do and not on what the world was wanting him to focus on.
As we close up I want to give you 3 ways in which you can handle the pressure around you. I know life isn’t easy and sometimes people make it hard on us than it should.
1. Trust God, Know His Word - God knows the pressures of the world. His word talks about it all the time. By immersing yourself in God, you automatically give yourself a better chance. This will include prayer & Bible reading.
2. Be Accountable - Find a friend who you can confide in. This is going to be someone who is more than a friend and doesn’t need to be someone your own age. One of the things we are starting this year is a mentoring program with students and adults. Different adults will work closely with a student to help them work through life. Having someone who you can be accountable to and confide in, helps you to unload any burden you may have and get the support you need.
3. Know When to Say No - This might be the hardest of all. A lot of the pressure we feel we put on ourselves. Usually because we are pressured to be the best, so we believe we have to do everything we can. Knowing when to say no (to the right things) will help you relieve some of the pressure. This will free you up to really focus on things that are important. It is better to be deep in a couple things or spread out thin and into everything... (Change this)
These three things will help us stay focused on the things of God. God tells us he will never leave us nor forsake. He wants only the best for our lives, but the best of what he wants for us. Let us leave here tonight doing what we can to relieve the pressure of the world and embrace the call of God in our lives.
