A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO GOD’S CHILDREN
OUTLINE
1.DO NOT LOSE YOUR FAITH AND CONFIDENCE
2.DO NOT BE WEARY IN DOING GOOD
3.DO NOT BE HASTY IN DECIDING YOUR DESTINY
4.DO NOT FEEL FORSAKEN AND WEAKENED
5.DO NOT FORGET GOD’S TIMING
THE MESSAGE
A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO GOD’S CHILDREN
1.DO NOT LOSE YOU FAITH AND CONFIDENCE
The word of God tells us not to lose our confidence which has great reward. Our spiritual victory depends on our faith. Peter walked on the water as long as he looked to Jesus and had faith in him. But he began to drown as soon as he lost his faith.He was filled with fear because he started looking at the storm and the waves. In our own lives we can walk in victory as long as we are firm in our faith in God’s goodness and faithfulness. But we will drown in our problems and difficulties if we lose our faith and begin to doubt and fear.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Hebrews 10;35
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
Luke 8;49-50
49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”
Matthew 14; 29-31
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Romans 4 ;19-21
19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
2.DO NOT BE WEARY IN DOING GOOD
The word of tells us not to become weary in doing good for in due time we shall reap our reward. Sometimes difficulties and trials makes us feel like quitting . We feel it is not worth suffering so much. We feel that we may not have got the results we expected. We may feel like stopping the good work that we are doing. But God says do not stop the good work you are doing. Cornelius kept on praying and doing good even though he did not know the true God. But God rewarded him and revealed the truth to him. Daniel kept on praying until the answer came. He did not stop praying when the devil prevented his answer by 21 days. Jesus continued to heal the sick even after hearing the shocking news of the murder of his cousin John the Baptist. When the devil has not become weary in doing evil ,surely God’s children should not become weary in doing good. So keep on doing the good work and you will be rewarded.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Galatians 6;9-10
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Acts 10;1-4
1.There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.
Daniel 10;12-14
12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
Matthew 14;13-14
13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
3.DO NOT BE HASTY IN DECIDING YOUR DESTINY
The word of God tells us that we are chosen by God and ordained to bear fruit. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Sometimes due to discouragement we feel like finishing our race. Elijah once felt that way. He wanted to die. But God told him that he still had a long way to go. Peter went back to fishing and but God restored him because He still had a lot of work for Peter to do. Even in our lives let us not be hasty in deciding our destiny .Let God ’s perfect will be completed in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
John 15;16
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
I Kings 19;4,7
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
John 21; 3 , 17
3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and [a]immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Jonah 4;9-11
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
4.DO NOT FEEL FORSAKEN AND WEAKENED
The word of God tells us that God is always mindful of us and will never forsake us. He promises strength when we are weak and weary. However sometimes we feel that we are forgotten and forsaken. Especially when our difficulties are prolonged and our strength grows weak. But it is precisely in these moments that we must beleive in God ’s faithfulness. He has promised to renew our strength like the eagles. When old feathers fall away the eagle waits till new feathers grow on it .Then it begins to fly once again. Even in our lives sometimes the old feathers which had helped us fly in the past begin to fall away. However let us not panic but wait till God gives us new feathers and start flying again.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Isaiah 40 ;27-31
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 49;14-16
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
Genesis 16;13
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
Psalms 115;12
The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.
Luke 5; 4-5
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
5.DO NOT FORGET GOD’S TIMING
The word of God tells us that God has a time for everything. In the first miracle that Jesus did at Cana he waited for God’s time. When Abraham had to sacrifice his son Isaac. God waited till the last moment to stop him . In the life of Joseph he was tested severely till God’s time came for him to be delivered. So let us remember the timing of God in our lives and not lose hope.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
John 2;4
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
Genesis 22;10-12
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Psalms 105;19
Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.
Galatians 4;4
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
