July 20 2014 Determining Your Faith During Discouragement
/DETERMINING YOUR FAITH DURING DISCOURAGEMENT
Mark 2:1-5
I. The first step to determining your faith during discouragement: Commitment.
Verse 3 – Some men came bringing to Him a paralytic.
How to Make Commitments:
1. Set a goal.
Philippians 3:13 – One thing I do.
2. Reveal your decision to God.
Psalm 37:5 – Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will.
3. Invest your life.
2 Corinthians 12:15 – I am glad to give you myself and all I have for your spiritual good.
II. Courage.
Verse 4 – Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralytic man was lying on.
How to Establish Courage:
1. Perserverance.
Examples:
- Thomas Edison
- Abraham Lincoln
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken; we are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.
Verse 9 – We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up and keep on going.
III. Also we need to add cooperation.
We cannot overlook the fact that four men carried the paralytic.
Examples of Team Work:
- Mark 6:7
- Nehemiah 4
How to Build a Team:
1. Learn to trust others.
2. Express your appreciation.
3. Communicate your needs.
Philippians 1:3 – I thank my God every time I remember you, because of your partnership.
IV. Finally, there must be complete surrender.
Verse 4 – They lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
Verse 5 – When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Steps to Complete Surrender:
1. Give God first place in your life.
Matthew 6:33 – But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
2. Give God the benefit of the doubt.
Examples:
- Matthew 7:11
- Caleb
You Can Determine Your Faith During Discouragement
