May 1 2016 Your Loneliness And God's Presence

YOUR LONELINESS AND GOD’S PRESENCE

Genesis 2:18 – God said, it isn’t good for man to be alone.

Psalm 139:7 – Where can I go from Your presence?

FIVE CAUSES OF LONELINESS

1.  Disappointment.

Psalm 17:13 - Rise up, O Lord, confront them, bring them down, rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

2.  Mechanical world.

2 Timothy 4:9 – Do your best to come to me quickly.

3.  Commercial world.

Ecclesiastes 6:10 - Whoever loves money never has enough, whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with     his income. This too is meaningless.

4.  Busy world.

Ecclesiastes 4:8 - There was a man all alone.  There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.

5.  Artificial world.

Ecclesiastes 6:17 - All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

SIX WAYS TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S PRESENCE

Isaiah 41:6 – Don’t worry because I am with you. Don’t be afraid because I am your God.  I will make you strong and help you. I will support you.

1. Receive Christ into your life.

Galatians 2:20 - I will come in to you and will fellowship with you.

Galatians 2: 20 – Christ liveth in me.

Psalm 26-14 – The one thing I seek most of all is the privilege of living in His presence every day of my life.

2. Walk with God in obedience.

John 15:5 - Apart from me, you can do nothing.

1 Corinthians 2:9 - Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

James 1:22 - Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.

3.  Fellowship with other Christians.

Hebrews 10:25 – Let us not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another.

Proverbs 27:9 - Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart and the pleasantness of one’s friends springs from His earnest counsel.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10- But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.

4.  Wait for God’s guidance.

Psalm 106:13 - But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.

John 11:12 - I still have many things to say to you but You cannot bear them now.

Isaiah 28:16 - He that believeth shall not make haste.

5.  Accept God’s will.

Noah

Abraham

The blessing does not come in discovering God’s will but in the doing of God’s will.

Ephesians 6:6 - Do God’s will from the heart.

6.  Recognize God’s presence.

Psalm 116:8 – The Lord stopped my tears and He kept me from defeat so I walk in the presence of the Lord. I kept on believing even when I felt completely crushed.

John 14:18 - I will not leave you as orphans.

Psalm 139 - Where can I get away from your presence?  If I go up to Heaven you are there. Anywhere on earth you are there. I can’t get away from you.

Psalm 26:14 – Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him.

March 6 2016 Daring To Wait On God

DARING TO WAIT ON GOD

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 9

“God does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is

WHAT TO REMEMBER WHILE WAITING ON GOD

1. REMEMBER THERE’S A NATURAL DELAY BETWEEN PLANTING & HARVESTING!

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven . . . A time to plant and a time to harvest . . . a time to scatter and a time to gather . . .” 

2. REMEMBER THERE’S AN UNSEEN BATTLE GOING ON.

“We are not struggling and fighting against human beings but against evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm—the rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness.” 

3. REMEMBER GOD IS PREPARING ME FOR HIS BLESSING

“There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These troubles test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure, just as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.” 

“Waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We don’t see what is enlarging us, but the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, when we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He prays in us and for us . . .He knows us far better than we know ourselves, and knows our pregnant condition . . . That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:24-28

4. REMEMBER I’M IN GOOD COMPANY WHEN WAITING ON GOD

 “People who lived in the past became famous because of their faith.”

5. REMEMBER GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES!

God says, “At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting—it will happen!” Habakkuk 2:3 (CEV) 

WHAT TO DO WHILE WAITING ON God

1. WRITE DOWN THE LESSONS I’M LEARNING

“At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress.” Numbers 33:2a (NLT)

“Remember what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him.” Deuteronomy 11:2a (TEV) 

2. ACT AS THOUGH I ALREADY HAVE IT

Jesus said, “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NIV) 

3. IMITATE THE HABITS THAT GROW STRONG FAITH

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to IMITATE those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12 (NIV) 

Paul: “KEEP ON putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing.”  Philippians 4:9a (NLT) 

DON’T put my life on hold.

• KEEP ON  PRAYING

“Keep on asking, and you WILL be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you WILL find. Keep on knocking, and the door WILL be opened!” Matthew 7:7 (NLT) 

• KEEP ON SERVING

“Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.”  Romans 12:11 (NLT)

• KEEP ON GOING TO CHURCH

“Don’t give up your habit of meeting with other believers. Instead keep on encouraging each other!” Hebrews 10:25 

• KEEP ON SOWING

“Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which ones will grow—perhaps they all will!” Ecclesiastes 11:6 (LB)

• KEEP ON BELIEVING

“You must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true . . .” 2 Timothy 3:14 (LB)

TRUST GOD INSTEAD OF PANICKING

“Even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you.” Psalm 56:3 (CEV)

June 28 2015 Making Freedom Last

MAKING FREEDOM LAST

Luke 8:39 - Return home and tell how much God has done for you.

FOUR WAYS TO MAKE FREEDOM LAST

I. Stop thinking your present position cannot be changed.                                

A) Verse 27 - For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tomb.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR THINKING

1.  Stop listening to the voice of the past.

Philippians 3:13 - Forgetting those things which are behind.

2. Decide to break out of the rut.

Philippians 3:13 & 14 - Strain towards what is     ahead and press on toward the goal.

EXAMPLES

Peter - Matthew 26:75

Samson

II. Start to understand your personal value.

A)  Verse 30 - Jesus asked him what is your name?

HOW TO SEE PERSONAL VALUE

1.  Listen to what God says.

Matthew 10:30-31 - The hairs of your head are all numbered.  You are worth more than many sparrows.

2.  Listen to your friends.

Proverbs 17:17 - A friend loves at all times.

III. Step into the power of Christ.

A)  Verse 28 - When he saw Jesus, he cried and fell at His feet.

Verse 30 - My name is Legion.

HOW TO STEP INTO POWER

1.  Confess our need.

1 John 1:9

2. Surrender to the authority of Christ.

Romans 12:1 & 2

IV. Shoulder the price of permanent change.

A)  Verse 39 - Jesus sent him away saying, return home and tell how much God has done for you, so the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE NEW POSITION

1.  Replace old habits with new ones that help.

Romans 12:21 - Overcome evil with good.

2.  Let discomfort become part of your life.

Nehemiah

3. Double up.

Hebrews 10:25 - Let us consider and give attentive courteous care to watching over each other, studying how we may stimulate each other to helpful deed and noble activities.

4. Determination.

5. Depend on God.

2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit that God has given us fills us with power, love and self-control.

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

January 12 2014 The Great Invitation

The Great Invitation 

Matthew 4:18-22

To experience real fellowship with Christ, we must leave our position of distance and come into the circle of intimacy and service with the Master.

Four Lessons to Learn

1. Invitation To Intimacy.

Matthew 4:19 – Come, follow Me.

Matthew 4:18 – Jesus saw two brothers.

Genesis 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

2. Invitation To Intervention.

Matthew 4:19 – I will make you.

Matthew 16:18 – I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Philippians 1:6 – He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

2 Peter 3:18 – Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:25 – Let us not give up meeting together as some in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.

3. Invitation To Investment

Matthew 4:20 & 22 – At once they left their nets. They left their boat and their father and followed Him.

Moses: He counted it greater honor to follow God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season and to enrich himself with all the riches of Egypt.

4. Invitation To Increase.

Verse 19 – I will make you fishers of men.

August 11 2013 Trusting God During Adversity And Misunderstandings

Trusting God During Adversity/Misunderstandings

Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish that which is now being done, the saving of many lives.

5 Ways To Hang On In Adversity

1.  He knew the practics of survival.

3 Things To Remember
• He didn’t give in to self pity.
Genesis 39:3 - The Lord gave him success in everything he did.

• He didn’t give in to bitterness.
Genesis 45:15 - He kissed all his brothers and wept over them.

• He knew God sees everything and cares.
“But the Lord was with Joseph.”

2.  We see the plan of God.
Romans 8:28 - In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Psalm 37:25 - I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.

3.  Remember the promises of God.
Romans 15:4 - For everything that was written was so that we might have hope.

Psalm 9:10 - For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 34:6 -I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me.

Philippians 4:19 - My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

4.  The people of God.
Hebrews 10:24-25 - Spur one another on, encourage one another.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - The God of all comfort comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others in trouble.

Genesis 39:21

Genesis 40

5.  There is God’s presence through Christ.
Rom 5:10 - When we were God’s enemies we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.

1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.

Genesis 49:22 - Joseph is a fruitful bough.  Whose branches run over the wall.

Two Words In Turning To Christ

• Repent of your sins.

• Trust in Christ alone.