What is something you regularly lose / misplace?
Top Things People Lose or Misplace:
Parking Spots
Passwords / Usernames
Television Remote
Phone
Hair accessories
Socks
Keys
Purse / wallet
Pens
We can lose a lot of things in life and life will go on…things will still be okay.
But…what about if we’re losing heart and lacking hope?
What about those times when we’re losing confidence…we’re finding it hard to believe things will take a turn for the good? What about those times where you’ve experienced one defeat after another? What about when we’re feeling overwhelmed…growing discouraged…and life’s got us down?
We’ve all been there…some of us are there now.
I want to speak specifically to us as Christians in America. When we look at our nation…it’s easy to begin to lose heart.
I also want to speak to us as individuals & families. Life isn’t easy. Storms come our way that we never asked for. Troubles blindside us. Struggles threaten to sufficate what little hope we have left. Again…it’s easy to begin to lose heart. You may feel as though all hope is lost…but I’m here to declare…ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST. Today…Jesus offers hope…He’s sent me to share the secret to your not losing heart.
In Luke…Before Jesus’ death…He graciously takes the time to give His disciples a bit of a heads up. “Guys, there are some tough days in your future. I’m going to return and when I do…things are going to be incredible…but…before I do…life on earth is going to get rough. People are going to hate the things of God…they’re going to do whatever they please…things aren’t going to be easy.” Jesus is preparing these guys for the discouraging days ahead. And then in Luke 18:1…Jesus gives them the secret to not losing heart. It’s so uncomplicated…it’s easy to miss.
Luke 18:1 (ESV) - “He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
Complicated problems don’t always require complicated solutions. Today…you may be here and you may be losing heart…lacking hope…growing discouraged…life may have you down. Jesus has sent me to remind you…Prayer is the secret to not losing heart.
Acts 27 & Ephesians 3 (two passages in which prayer proves the secret to not losing heart)
FIRST - ACTS 27 (This resonates with my spirit in relation to our nation)
Things start off fairly uneventful. But quickly…they’re making slow headway…the journey grows increasingly difficult. They find themselves blown off course by the wind. Before too long…there’s no real direction for their lives…they’re at the mercy of the winds. Time has been lost…and the days are growing increasingly dangerous.
So…Paul…a man with a discerning spirit…looks at the direction things are headed and it doesn’t take much discernment at this point to realize…if we keep heading the direction we’re headed…it’s going to be disastrous. The very foundations we’ve been standing on…the ship we’re sailing is going to crumble. Everything of value would be lost. And so…Paul…sees and he recognizes they’re headed for trouble…they can’t keep going the direction they’re going and expect to survive…and he warns them, “Don’t go that way.”
Like Paul…there have been voices that have tried to warn us. And as in this passage…we haven’t listened.
Paul told them what would happen…but they refused to listen. Instead they followed the advice of the so called experts. They chose worldly wisdom over Godly wisdom. They rejected and refused to listen to the Word of God. They allowed the Godless majority to set the course. It seemed as though they were bent on their own distruction.
So they chart their own course.
At first…they’re pushed along by a gentle South wind. Everything seems to be going okay…smooth sailing. In their eyes…at the moment…the man of God…appeared to be the fool. But they quickly learned…charting their own course would prove to be their downfall.
Before long…what began as a breeze leading to greater opportunity…became a storm that threatened to do them in. It swept down on them quickly. Everything seemed okay…but before they knew it…things were out of control.
They didn’t even see it coming. Now…they’re wondering how they ended up in this situation. They’re sailing along…convinced they can reject the Word of God without any consquences. But now they’re caught…they’re in too deep…they’ve lost control…they’ve lowered the sails…and they’re finding themselves driven deeper into the storm they were warned about. They’ve ended up in a place they don’t recognize…a place they never imagined they’d end up.
They’re experiencing the results of ignoring Godly wisdom.
By verse 18…they’ve taken such a battering that they’ve lost their good senses. Confusion has set in.
The sun hasn’t shined on them in so long…the storm hasn’t let up…things seem to keep getting worse every day. So much so that verse 20 tells us they, “finally gave up all hope of being saved.” They lost heart.
But…when all hope seemed lost…there was a man…who in the middle of a raging storm…was in the belly of the ship…on his knees. There was a man…when all hope of being saved seemed lost…committed himself to prayer…to hearing from and getting a word from God for the situation and time he found himself in.
They were at a point…we are at a point as a nation…you are at a point in your life, job, family…where prayer is not an option.
Example: Options on cars
We are living in a time where it is easy to lose heart…and We can’t afford to treat prayer as an option or an add on to our lives.
The storm is raging. As believers…we’re not immune to the storm. Like Paul…we’re on the ship with everyone else…and the ship we’re sailing on is headed in the wrong direction…we’ve charted our own course…we’ve sailed wherever the wind took us…confusion has set in…and things are starting to fall to pieces.
If there’s ever been a time to be in the belly of the ship on our knees…the time is now. We’ve got to get a hold of God…before the ship goes down.
Paul got a word from the Lord. He prayed…and He heard from God.
It gave him hope
It gave him courage
It gave him direction
It gave him the ear of those around him.
It enabled him to bring encouragement to those around him…who had lost heart.
It resulted in a harvest of souls.
It got him where God needed him.
Paul…knew…the secret to not losing heart is prayer. Paul knew that when we pray…things that in the natural shouldn’t happen…happen. Paul knew that when we pray…the odds are always in our favor. Paul knew…when we pray…God can take the most difficult of circumstances and turn it out for our good and His glory. Paul knew…that when He prayed…He prayed to a God who is able to do immeasurably more than he could ever even ask or imagine.
EPHESIANS 3
v. 20 - “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”
Most of us have probably heard that verse and maybe even quoted it. But what we may not be aware of…is the context in which it was written.
v. 20 is written at the conclusion of a prayer for a group of people who were in danger of losing heart.
Ephesians 3:13 - just before Paul prays for the believers in Ephesis…Paul writes, “I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you.”
The Christians in Ephesis were in danger of losing heart. When you lose heart…you lose stamina…you lose morale. You get to a point where you say, “What’s the use? Why keep trying?”…and you give up. That’s what Paul sensed was a real possibility in Ephesis. They were discouraged…they were weary…so he says, “Don’t lose heart!” And then…He prays.
He prays for spiritual strength, the indwelling of Jesus, that they would have a knowledgge of God’s love that is based on personal experience, and that they would experience God in all of His fullness (in the midst of the storm they were going through).
v. 20 - is encouragement for those who are on the verge of losing heart.
(1) God is able
when I’m not…He is.
the things that overwhelm me…never overwhelm Him.
He is all powerful and all knowing. He is everywhere…all the time.
He is able…because He is not idle…He is not asleep…He never takes a vacation…He is not dead.
Whatever your facing…whatever storm you’re going through…you don’t have to lose heart…because the God you pray to is ABLE!
He is able to heal…save…keep…provide…deliver…direct…protect…
Ask Abraham if God is able? Ask Daniel? Ask Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
All could have lost heart…but saw miracles because they believed God was able.
Whatever it may be…GOD IS ABLE.
(2) to do immeasurably more
shovel vs. back hoe
Let me ask you…do you ever create words?
Paul created a word and he uses it here. It had never been used before.
The word we translate as, “immeasurably more” or “exceedingly abundantly more”…has three parts…and it means “infinitely above and beyond and beyond all human measurement. To an inexpressible extent.”
Basically it boils down to this: God’s Ability is Off the Charts!
It can’t be measured. There are no limits to what God can do.
No matter what you’ve experienced to this point or ever heard of God doing…God can do more.
(3) than all we ask
That means He hears us when we pray.
That means it’s impossible to ask God for too much.
Whatever you ever ask…no matter how big or impossible it may seem…you will never have asked for something to big!
That means…none of us should ever be guilty of praying small prayers!
(4) or imagine
That means…God even knows what I’m dreaming for!
He knows those things I hold dear to my heart…those things…those hopes…those desires…going through my mind that I haven’t even had the nerve to verbalize!
That’s good news! Sometimes we don’t ask for what we imagine.
We dream of a lot…but ask for less.
I’m glad God knows even what I’m dreaming for but have been hesitant to ask for.
I don’t need to lose hope…because my God is able! In His grace…He even responds to my imagination!
Think about it…if God is able to do excessively above and beyond anything I can even imagine…I should pray for and believe for greater things!
His plans are bigger than our plans!
He knows it all and can do it all!
Whatever you ask or imagine…God’s response is always, “I can do more!”
(5) according to
“as determined by”
(6) His power
Not by some other power, idea, concept, formula, idea, attempt, or plan.
Not by our power or our might…but by His Spirit.
His power is limitless. His power doesn’t dwindle over time.
His power never needs renewed. His battery never needs jumped.
Don’t loose heart…
You serve a God who’s power enables Him to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anthing you could ever ask or imagine.
(7) at work within us
If we are a Christian…we have His power in us…is it at work in us?
Is it operative, active?
Prayer…in combination with whatever measure of faith you have…makes God’s power operative and active in our lives.
Prayer is the Secret to not losing heart.
CLOSING
The society we find ourselves living in…naturally lends itself to our losing heart. There are days ahead that your not losing heart will depend on you developing a consistent effective prayer life now…in advance.
The circumstance you may be going through…very naturally can lead you to begin to lose heart. In fact…you may already be there. You lost heart a long time ago.
Today…Jesus offers hope and a solution.
Prayer…to a God who is able…is the secret to not losing heart. It’s the answer to hope that’s waivering or been lost.
Prayer for: Courage & Hope for those who are losing heart.
