Power for progressing Through the Storm
Answers for the Storms of Life • Sermon • Submitted
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· 41 viewsGod's love in times of crisis
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Welcome
Questions people are asking
Community? Gospel, represent Jesus, God transformation
Bible church?
Biblical Illustration
Concrete examples
Christ-centered life
Storms
· POWER FOR PROGRESSING THROUGH THE STORM
1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Passover?
2 days later, the 12
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Jesus betrayed and arrested
57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.
Peter witnessed trial
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Old Peter
Self-confident and self-reliant - Pride
Pride
The fearless became the fearful
Now look at new Peter
Before ascension, commandment of Ministry
But had to wait
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Power – wait – Holy Spirit
Receiving the Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Confused crowd
Boldly preached
3000
Early church
Healing of Cripple – Through name Jesus
Amazed crowd
Boldly preached 2nd time
Leaders angered – same leaders
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
New Peter
God-confident God-reliant
Humble
Difference of Holy Spirit
Peter before Spirit – terrified
After filling – faced trial with same leaders
Probably same fearful emotions – maybe death?
Didn’t back down in the storm
Same power believers today
Same Spirit poured in us today
Empowered for crisis with hope, peace, joy
Transition
Last week
Unique Person
Triune God
Initiates, fulfills, executes
Agent of Creation
Ruah Elohim – Breath of God
God Speaks in creation
Spirit’s breath executes
Agent of Salvation
Hearts, minds open – Gospel
Empowers faith
Author of Scripture
Same breath of creation
Breathed out Scripture – men wrote
Agent of New Creation
After faith – new creation united
Counselor and Helper
Jesus’ teaching revealed and understood
Empowered for His ministry
Conforms us
More than teaching Word
Empowers obedience
Sanctifies
Transition
Is God Personal?
Even with knowledge and understanding
May wonder
God of Creation
Sovereign and sustaining
All powerful, knowing, ever present
Could be God of emotion
Knows personal level
Today
Holy Spirit to our Spirit God’s love
The painful emotions nor crisis doesn’t go away
Loves propels storm – hope, peace, joy
Look at Scripture – God’s love
How far today??
1 John – reason for letter
Warn about false teachers – away from Gospel
How to identify false from the true
The characteristics exhibited
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Saturated with God’s love
And God is Love personified
John experienced love to core
Apostle Paul experienced love and results
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Not just given, poured
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Our storms can’t compete with God’s love
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
God’s love is everlasting and unconditional
Transition
Can you imagine this love – times of crisis
Illustration
Tyler
Didn’t try to figure out response
Immediately ran to me, who loves him
Experience and embrace love, better equipped – immediately come to Jesus
6 Actions to take to come to Jesus – storms
1. Joshua 1:9
Stand firm with foundation of Christ in face of Crisis
Be strong and courageous
Because He is always with us
2. Psalm 109:26
Cry out to Jesus when coming to Him
Bottom of pit of affliction - intensity
3. Psalm 36:7
Come to Jesus immediately and take refuse in Him
4. Psalm 136:26
Have a grateful and thankful heart for God’s love
If you read, you have full sense of God’s love
5. 1 Peter 5:5-7
Cast all of you anxieties on Him, He cares for you
6. Philippians 4:4-7
Prayer - one of if not most important action
A must read
Philippians 4:4–7 (ESV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Challenge for this week
Begin each day in prayer and thinking about God’s love poured into us through the Holy Spirit - PITCHER OF WATER
Continue throughout day staying connected
Pray for Spirit to fill us
Move us
And equip us for the work God has called us to
Power for Progressing Through the Storm
Welcome
· Clarify our church as non-denominational
· Why community church – Show Jesus leading to faith, serving our community, and watch God transform our community
· We could have named it Bible church and why
Biblical Illustration
· Share some events that occurred in the Bible
· Concrete example of the life changing Holy Spirit to empower believers to live Christ-centered lives
· Also a great example of how the indwelling Holy Spirit can empower us to go through times of crisis
· Key Phrase: Power for Progressing Through the Storm
Matthew 26:1-2
1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
· The Passover was a celebration of the time God freed the Israelites from the Egyptians
· On a Thursday
Matthew 26:30-35
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
· That night Jesus was betrayed and arrested
Matthew 26:57-58
57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end.
· Peter was outside watching Jesus on trial
Matthew 26:69-75
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.
Old Peter
· The old Peter was full of self confidence
· Pride
· And so fearless he was willing to die for Jesus
· Ironically, Peter was terrified that he too might die, he denied Jesus 3 times
New Peter
· Before Jesus ascended the be with the Father, He commanded His disciples to carry out the Ministry He began on earth
Luke 24:44-49
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
· The power they were waiting for was the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-4
[1] When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
· Event confused large crowd
· Boldy preached Gospel
· Early Church being formed
· 3000 to faith
· Some days after trial Peter along with John healed a crippled man all through the power of the Name of Jesus
· The crowd who witnessed this were amazed and lead Peter to boldly preach the Gospel a 2nd time
· This angered the Jewish leaders
· Same leaders who arrested Jesus and put Him to death
Acts 4:1-3
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day…
New Peter
· God confident and God reliant
· Humble
Difference Holy Spirit makes
· Peter without the Holy Spirit was terrified of what could happen to him so He denied knowing Jesus 3 times.
· The Peter with the Holy Spirit faced the same Jewish leaders on trial
· It would seem to reason that the fearful emotion was still there, probably thinking he and John would also be put to death
· The Holy Spirit made all the difference during the storm Peter and John were facing
The Holy Spirit is poured out into us – PITCHER OF WATER
Transition
· This same power is available to us today as the Holy Spirit resides in us
· The same remains true today for all believers.
· The Spirit resides in us giving us power to go through times of crisis with hope, peace and joy
Transition
Last week
· We looked at Scripture regarding the role the Holy Spirit has in the life of believers to live Christ-centered lives no matter what circumstance we are facing
· Here are a few of what we learned
Holy Spirit is A Unique Person
· The Triune God
· God the Father initiates His plan for all of history and creation. God the Son fulfills this plan. And the Holy Spirit executes it.
The Agent of Creation
· The Hebrew uses the phrase ruah elohim meaning the Spirit is the “Breath of God,”
· God the Father spoke creation into being and the Holy Spirit executes this as God’s breath
The agent of Salvation
· The Spirit opens our hearts and minds to the message of the Gospel before we are even aware of it.
· He then empowers us to come to faith in Jesus
The Author of Scripture
· The same breath of God that created the world also created the Scriptures by empowering its human authors to write it down.
· So we can trust that the Bible is the very Word of God.
· And because He wrote it, we can trust Him to help us understand, interpret, and apply it
The Agent of New Creation
· When we come to faith, He makes us a new creation united with Christ
· Holy Spirit as the author of spiritual birth
· We are now Christs and part of God’s family
Counselor and Helper
· He reveals and helps us understand all Jesus had taught
· Empowers us to carry on Christ’s ministry on Earth
The one who Conforms Us
· The Spirit thus does more than teach us God’s Word
· He also helps us to obey it.
· The Spirit helps us mature spiritually to be more and more like Jesus
Transition
· Well, even with this knowledge and understanding of the Holy Spirit,
· We may still wonder if an all powerful God who created the world
· Who is completely sovereign sustaining the world.
· A God who knows all and ever present,
· Could also be a God with emotions
· A God who knows us on a personal level
Today
· We are going to look at what the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit concerning God’s love for us
· And how this love can propel us through the storms of life with hope, peace, and joy.
· Again, we are going to Scripture to learn these valuable truths
· We’ll see how far we get today
· If eyes glaze over or if we hear snoring, we’ll wrap up and continue next week
1 John Context/Exegesis – Very broad perspective of this letter and why it was written
· Written by the Apostle John
· To warn the listeners that there are false teachers who are trying to lead them away from the truth of the Gospel
· Letter informs readers how to identify false teachers from those who have truly come to faith in Christ
· And the characteristics each exhibit
1 John 4:7-19
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Apostle Paul is another who has fully experienced the love of God and its life changing results
Romans 5:5 – God’s love not just given, but poured
…God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 8:18 – Our storms can’t compete against God’s love
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:35 – God’s everlasting love is unconditional
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Application
Can you imagine what God’s unconditional love can do for us during our storms?
Illustration
Tyler running to me
· He didn’t think about the immediate crisis
· He didn’t try to figure out what his response would be
· He just immediately ran to his dad, the one who loves him so much
· So, as we learn and embrace the gift of the Holy Spirit and all He does in our lives, we are better equipped to come to Jesus in our times of crisis
· Can you imagine how much moreGod’s unconditional love for us during our storms
· To help us immediately come to Jesus in times of crisis
Here are 6 actions we can take to go to Jesus when facing trials (Located in Pamplet)
1. Joshua 1:9 - Stand firm facing the crisis
2. Psalm 109:26 - Come to Jesus, cry for help
3. Psalm 36:7 - Come to Jesus, take refuge in Him
4. Psalm 136:26 - Be thankful
5. 1 Peter 5:5-7 - Cast your anxieties on Him
6. Philippians 4:4-7 - Rejoice and prayer
Conclusion
· The Spirit’s work is essential to our continued growth in Christlikeness
· And for our usefulness to God in ministry for His kingdom.
· We can do nothing for God until God Himself dwells within us and leads us.
· Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us, move us, stir us, and equip us for the work God has called us to do.