February 15 2015 Perseverance Under Pressure

Perseverance Under Pressure

Seven things to give us perseverance under pressure:

1. Realize we are strangers in this world.

Verse 1 – To God’s elect, strangers in the world scattered.

John 17:15-16 – My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Don’t drive the stakes in too deep, you’re moving up in the morning.

2. Realize we are chosen.

Verse 2 – Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.

Three things about being chosen:

1. Our salvation is not haphazard.

2. God is willing to take risks.

3. We have value.
 
3. Realize the power of the resurrection.

Verse 3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  In His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:19 – If only in this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Psalm 33: 13-22

4. Realize the riches of our inheritance.

Verse 4 – An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you.

Four facts about our inheritance:

1. It’s untouched by death.

2. It’s unstained by evil.

3. It will not fade away.

4. It’s reserved, set aside, for you.

5. Realize the protection of your salvation.

Verse 5 – Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of Salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Three meanings of protection:

1. You have a guard out front.

2. He identifies the problem.

3. He communicates the danger.
 
6. Realize the positive results of pressure.

Verses 6-7 – In this you greatly rejoice through now for a little while you may have had to suffer 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.

Suffering brings out the gold in life.

Four things about suffering:

1. It’s seasonal.

2. It’s necessary.

3. It’s revealing.

4. It’s sanctifying.

7. Realize you have present power.

Verse 8 – Though you have not seen Him, you love Him.

July 15 2012 Making The Most Of Your Problems

How To Make The Most Of Your Problems

James 1:2-6
Verse 2 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

I. Four facts of Life You Need to Know
Consider it pure joy because you know.

1. Problems are a certainty.
Verse 2 - Whenever you face trials

2. Problems are unpredictable.
Verse 2 - Whenever you face trials

3. Problems are variable.
Verse 2 - Trials of many kinds.

4. Problems have a purpose.
Verse 3 - Realize that they come to produce in you.

3 Purposes of Problems (vss. 3-4)

• Problems purify my faith.

You know that the testing of your faith.

• Problems fortify our patience.

The testing develops perseverance.

• Problems develop my character.

So that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.


God’s Number One Purpose In My Life:
To Make Me Like Christ

II. How to Handle Your Problems

1. You need to rejoice.
Verse 1 - Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials.

2. Request or pray.
Verse 5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.

3. Learn to relax.
Verse 6 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt.

The Result

Verse 12 - Blessed is the man that perseveres under trial he will receive the crown of life.

March 25 2012 Pressure In The Life Without Limits

Pressure In The Life Without Limits

Mark 14:32-36

Hebrews 5:8 - Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.

1. All must go through the press.

Mark 14:32 - Then Jesus went to His Disciples to a place called Gethsemane.

Luke 22:44 - His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

1 Peter 1:6 - Though now for a little while you may have suffered grief in all kinds of trials.

2. We must reserve time with God.

Mark 14:38 - Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

3. We must release our all to Christ.

Mark 14:35 - Not what I will, but what You will.

Hebrews 4:9 - There remains than a rest for the people of God.

4. We see the results.

Mark 14:42 - Jesus said, “Rise let us go.”

Lesson - Every time we come through the press of life victoriously we have a new inner quality to give away to those around us.

2 Corinthians 1:5 - For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort over flows.

5. We are never forgotten.

Luke 22:43 - An Angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.

Isaiah 40:31 - They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

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.)