April 3 2016 Your Future And God's Faithfulness

YOUR FUTURE AND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

Psalm 34:4 – I sought the Lord and He answered me, He delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 145:13 – The Lord is faithful to all His promises.

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

1.  Helps me keep standing when I’m tempted.

1 Peter 5:8 - Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.  Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith.

1 Corinthians 10:13 - The temptations that you have are the same ones that all people have.  But you can trust God.  He will not let you be tempted more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape.  Then you will be able to stand it.

2.  Helps me keep standing when I’m overwhelmed.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - It is God who gives us the ability to stand firm for Christ.  He has commissioned us, and He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Philippians 2:13 - For God is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose.

3.  Helps me keep standing in the storm.

Isaiah 41:10 - So don’t worry, because I am with you.  Don’t be afraid, because I am your God.  I will make you strong and will help you.  I will support you with my right hand that saves you.

Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

HOW TO RECEIVE GOD’S STRENGTH

1.  Call out to God.

James 4:6-8 - God gives grace to the humble.  So give yourselves completely to God.  Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

2.  Fill your mind with God’s Word.

Psalm 119:25 - I am completely discouraged; revive me by your Word.

3.  Accept support from God’s people.

Galatians 6:2 - By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.

4.  Hold on to God’s promises.

Isaiah 40:29-31 - He gives strength to the wary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

2 Corinthians 4:18 - So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen.  For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.

Philippians 4:13 – I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me.  I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.

November 16 2014 Fully Engaged In My City

Fully Engaged in My City

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” - 2 Chronicles 16:9

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.” – Luke 13:34

“As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” – Luke 19:41

TO BE FULLY ENGAGED IN MY CITY I MUST

1. SEE  that God has a purpose for me in this place.    

“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  - Ephesians 2:10

““For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” - Acts 13:36

2. SEE  the city as the people.

“A vast crowd was there as Jesus stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.”  - Mark 6:34

““Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Matthew 22:37-39

3. SEE God-given opportunities to act.     

“Live wisely among those who are not yet Christians, making the most of every opportunity.” – Colossians 4:5
            
Memory Verse: “But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love.” – Acts 20:24

August 1 2010 Help For Discouraging Moments Under Pressure

Help For Discouraging Moments Under Pressure

(Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.)

Four Things To Remember

1. God has chosen us to be a part of His family
(Verse 2 - who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.)
(Verse 3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead)

2. God is still working in your life
(Verse 2b (TLB) - and the Holy Spirit has been at work in your hearts, cleansing you with the blood of Jesus Christ and making you to please Him.)

*He cleanses
*He changes

Two Benefits
1. Increasing freedom from fear and anxiety
2. No matter what happens, God will help you

(Verse 2 - who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.)
(verse 7 - These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.)
(2 Corinthians 4:17 - For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.)

3. God has secured my future
(Verse 4 - and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you)

*inheritance incorruptible
*inheritance is undefiled
*inheritance is unfading

4. We are protected by God's power
(Verse 5 - who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.)
(Ephesians 6:16 - In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.)
(Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.")
(2 Timothy 1:7 - They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.)
(Verse 6 - In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.)