INTRO
ƒ{ Paul is the ultimate survivor
ƒ{ He has been through everything
o Stoned
o Beaten
o Locked up
o Lied at, to, on
o Shipwrecked
o Bitten by snake
o Even his conversation was a bit on the rough side
ƒ{ Yet I never saw him complain or curse his crisis
ƒ{ Instead he has learned to be content in whatever state he is in
ƒ{ Perhaps this is another clue to being a survivor
ƒ{ We all have a natural tendency to avoid pain and problems
o Your hand gets too close to the fire...
„X you pull it back
o Your stomach starts to rumble...
„X you look for something to eat
ƒ{ Psychologists say -- when you’re afraid you will want to run or fight
ƒ{ These reactions...
o Pulling back from fire
o Finding food when hungry
o Going into flight or fight
ƒ{ Are all normal responses
ƒ{ So much so that when we go through a tough time
ƒ{ We often ask why me?
ƒ{ We despise crisis
ƒ{ To the point where we do everything to resist it, avoid it, solve it
ƒ{ People have always asked:
o Why do bad things happen to good people?
ƒ{ Maybe the better question is:
o What happens in good people when bad things happen?
ƒ{ The survivors of crisis have discovered all things work together for good to those who love Jesus Christ.
ƒ{ And that your crisis can become the fuel for your greatest breakthrough
o Pushing you
o Challenging you
o Upsetting you
o But ultimately helping you
ƒ{ Somehow recognizing that
o The crisis stripped from you what you didn’t need
o And separated you from those that won’t help
ƒ{ The crisis then provokes you into your destiny
ƒ{ Indecision, complacency, procrastination, apathy; all have to leave the house when crisis moves in
YOU CAN’T CURSE YOUR CRISIS BECAUSE:
1. Your Crisis Give Credibility Through Instability
* When you go through turbulent times with confidence and peace
* You can gain credibility
o Many Christians have no provision for hardships
o And find themselves in a theological predicament whenever they encounter a storm
o Forgetting that God is a God of seasons
o When crisis comes, some believe it always means something is wrong
► This is circumstantial theology
o Paul’s a prisoner on a ship in a storm
o God gave Paul words of counsel and credibility
„X That moved him from prisoner to authority
o Without this crisis
„X He would have never been recognized
„X Nor his counsel needed
o Ship sank -- they made it to safety
o Off the island of Malta
o Building a fire, bit by a snake
„X Shipwrecked and snake bit
o The locals had a circumstantial theology and began to explain how evil Paul was
o That’s why the shipwreck and the snakebite
o In unstable waters
o Paul gains stability
„X To preach the gospel and some of these islanders get saved
o Remember, God built you with the crisis in mind.
EXAMPLE: Chevy Truck Commercial
Built with the storm in mind
o In unstable situations you can show off your stable God
o Jesus preached from a boat
o In an unstable boat
„X He preached a stable message
YOU CAN’T CURSE YOUR CRISIS BECAUSE:
2. Your Crisis Gains Revelation Through Your Frustration
* Let’s go to another boat, Mark 6:52
* One of the fruits of crisis is frustration
* Frustration is when your efforts don’t have a pay off
* The disciples were frustrated
o Straining at the oars, but getting nowhere
* Let’s back up
o After feeding the 5000
o The disciples didn’t get the lesson
* The lesson is:
o No matter what you have in your hand,
o it’s not enough without Jesus
* So, because they didn’t get it through revelation,
* He put them in a situation that caused frustration.
* He loves you too much to leave you the same
„X What you don’t get through revelation
„X He will teach you through situation
CLUE #1 Jesus told the disciples to cross the lake while he went up the mountain
Meaning: you and I aren’t going the same direction
CLUE #2 Jesus put them in the boat at twilight
Meaning: the farther you get away from me the darker it gets
► The crisis was their frustration
► The storm was their situation
► Calling Jesus into the boat was
o The revelation
YOU CAN’T CURSE YOUR CRISIS BECAUSE:
3. Your Crisis Will Turn Your Pain Into Power
* The ability to continue to believe God when surrounded by adverse circumstances is a function we call faith.
* At different seasons of our lives storms and crisis come so that which cannot be shaken remains.
* The ship couldn’t survive the crisis
* But you are built for the storm
* Ford truck commercial -- Built with the storm in mind
* Your crisis:
1. Will show you who’s really on your side
2. Will help you discover who you are
3. May reveal a talent you’ve overlooked
4. Will open your eyes to the needs of others
5. Will make you better
ƒ{ If you remember God loves you and don’t get bitter
CONCLUSION
ƒ{ I have fought a good fight
ƒ{ A faith that can’t be tested is a faith that can’t be trusted.
ƒ{ Remember God
1. Loves Us
2. He loves us
3. He loves us
4. He loves us
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SONG: He Loves Us
