Sermon - Through the storm
- Last week I preached on waking up, & getting to work for our Lord that saved us & is
returning for us.
- Now, this week the Lord has put the word storm on my mind quite a bit & I
honestly hadn’t thought of a storm coming. At least not in a figurative since.
- There’s a lot of things that happen in our lives that we aren’t really ready for.
- We should be ready though!
- Listen to it again this week, Awake my bride, awake!
- Think about Mordecai we talked about Wednesday night.
- He paced, back & forth waiting to hear how Esther was doing.
- He never once stopped to call on God.
Q- Is that our method?
Q- Would we know who to call on in time of trouble?
- To be a child of God means you have the most ultimate Daddy there is, was, & ever
will be!
- Daddy is going to take care of His children!
- Open your Bibles now to psalm 91:1-16
Psalm 91:1-16
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
- This was a psalm that was sang with one group singing a line & the other group
singing the next. Almost like a response to the first.
- Then, at verse 14 it reads as though God is responding.
Q- Can you imagine this song being sung?
- This is a picture of our faith in our God, & His response.
Prayer
> Probably the hardest thing to give to God & let him take care of it is, our health. We
say a prayer, ask for help, & then begin worrying about it again. Well there’s a
vitamin out for Christians now that ensures you will have the greatest health.
> Q- Do you know what it is?
> B1.
- Be a Christian! The storms come, they devastate our lives, but we’re still alive.
- I know you could say, but so many didn’t survive the storm, but they did.
Q- How did they?
- They did it in Christ.
Romans 6:8
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
- There’s no sickness, no disease, no calamity, no power on the face of this creation
that could ever take us from the hand of Christ!
John 10:28
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
- I testify to this storm, because on days, I feel good. Then from no where, a simple
task of getting up out of a chair, getting out of the car, or especially walking turns
into, If I move this way I’m met with this sharp shooting pain, & if I move too fast my
body just freezes up.
- Then when I push through this pain, the storm is on the horizon, because tomorrow
will be worse.
Q- Does any of this get me down?
- I would love to tell you no, but that’s not all true.
- Majority of the time I shrug it off, but there are times that I stop & think I can’t
keep going.
Q- What motivates a person to put aside these moments, not just my case, but events
that affect each one of us?
Q- Where Do we find comfort?
- I find myself lying in bed talking with the Lord.
- How could You use me Lord?
- I push to use my shortcomings as an example of what not to do in life.
- I’m sure you’ve noticed this is my tactic, & teaching style.
Q- Could I be a good example if I were the spry, average 35 year old man?
- I don’t think so.
Q- What does the world look for, & draws them?
- Things that are strong, powerful, above average.
- Jesus was seen as none of these.
- Matthew 13:55-56
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
- Isaiah 53:2
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
- I know in just those two example, you don’t come away with me saying I wouldn’t be
as effective if I were (healthy).
- Here’s my point though, let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 4:8-18. When we get to verse
12, & then verse 16. It’s going to come together.
- My question,
Q- How can I keep going, & how can You use me?
- The answer is revealed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-18
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- Verse 12, my life symbolizes the death Christ endured. So that, others might
have life!
- The events in our lives, just like the stars & celestial bodies in the sky, show the
handy work of our God.
- We may suffer, some by far worse than others.
- I read of a 65 year old woman in Iran was imprisoned for spreading propaganda,
the Gospel, the other night.
- But God uses each one of these moments for His Glory
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
- In pain, in distress, in depression, in heartache, in sickness, & yes even in health God
reveals His Glory in us, because we were crucified with Him, & are now alive with
Him!
- Don’t ever let the enemy win with saying, I can’t, because all of us were made to
declare the works of the Lord!
- My last verse Psalm 118:17
Psalm 118:17
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
Q- How do we shrug off these moments?
- I will declare the works of the Lord, Jesus is Alive!
- This day may slow me, but I’m heading to eternity, where Jesus is already.
> I am a soldier in the army of God by BJ Morbitzer
I am a soldier in the army of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my Code of Conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. If He needs me in the Sunday school, to teach the children, work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn, He can use me because I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all of my need. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. The devil cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him. I am a soldier in the army, and Im marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not run around. I am a soldier, marching heaven bound.
- Let’s not give up.
- If There’s anything pressing you, & you need relief, let’s pray.
- As Jesus was so pressed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed.
Q- How can we find relief if we never pray?
