Faith in Action
Faith in Action • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What do I do when I face problems
What do I do when I face problems
Persuasive Preaching: A Biblical and Practical Guide to the Effective Use of Persuasion Effective Preaching Patterns
(1) Motivated Sequence, (2) Problem-Solution, (3) Refutation, and (4) Cause-Effect
Motivated sequence
Motivated sequence
“Houston we have a problem”
Famous words that have echoed throughout History and have been repeated ever since they were first uttered during the 1970 Apollo 13 mission. The cause of these words, an oxygen tank exploded causing a scenario that spelled out utter doom for those involved.
Perhaps you have been in “Houston we have a problem” situation. Things seem to greater for me to handle and I am about to crumble.
They could be:
finical
emotional
Health issues
Family situations
Marital problem
Work
Jesus tells us:
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Tribulation- primarily means “a pressing, pressure” (see A, No. 4), anything which burdens the spirit
Vine, W. E., Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr. 1996. In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 2:18. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.
We can all say that Jesus wasn’t lying.
But what I what to look at where does our faith play when it comes to trial, tribulations, and being overwhelmed.
Luckily for us the Bible is full of stories of men and women who when faced with “Houston we have a problem” situations found strength, and victory through faith.
Problem-solution
Problem-solution
Before we go any further we need to answer this question, “What is faith?”
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
So how do we respond to our problems with faith?
Out of the all the stories of facing unbearable situations with Faith, for this message I chose to look at Hezekiah, the King of Judah.
A little back story:
At the time of our story Assyria is concurring everyone and has fixed its eyes on Judah, where Hezekiah is king. In an attempt to stop the certain destruction Hezekiah attempts to payoff king Sennacherib, but when the new King took the throne he once again had His sights set on Judah.
Then the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on? You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me? Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem” ?’
Because of the certain doom the kings spokesman ask that the one delivering the message speak in their native language so that the people would understand what was being said.
imagine being in that position-
lingering doom and destruction and you are trying to negotiate so others wont find out whats happening?
have you been there? it continues
The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; he can’t rescue you from my power. Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord by saying, “Certainly the Lord will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’
“Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each may drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
The taunting to make the situation even worse.
It is not like the situation isn’t real. In fact the words that are spoken are true. Assyria was conquorering everything and everyone.
What do you do?
Refutation
Refutation
Sometimes it feels like we can do nothing. No matter how much strength we have or how much we try we can hold it all together. it is impossible!
if Hezekiah was here today he would understand what it is to lose all hope, and see certain destruction ahead, and not be able to do anything about it.
Rescue
On May 23, 1939, the submarine Squalus, a five-million-dollar vessel, sank off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The famed McCann rescue bell was used for the first time. Through this bell-shaped valve, men were able to reach and to rescue the thirty-three men trapped inside. When the rescue squad reached the stricken submarine, they tapped with metal on the hull in an effort to locate the sailors. The imprisoned men, answering in similar fashion, asked in the language of the Morse code, “Is there any hope?”
The Bible does minimize the situation that we face. They are real problems, real Red Sea moments, but when things seem to great, the bible reminds us “but God”.
Cause-Effect
Cause-Effect
Hezekiah response-
When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple.
Hezekiah doesn’t minimize the situation, in anguish he tears His cloths, showing His distress. But He does something in Faith, He “went into the Lord’s temple.”
2 kings 19:14-19
Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:
Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.
In Faith Hezekiah Goes to God. Faith is the reality by which we live- God is on the throne, and He is our deliverer!
When we face situation that seems to great to handle Hezekiah shows us what faith looks like.
“God this is too big for me so I bring it before you!”
“God this is impossible for me, but nothing is impossible for you!”
Those are declarations of Faith!
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
We must believe that God exists and He is the same yesterday today and forever!
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians
We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again
We were burdened beyond our strength , but we relied on God who raises the dead.
Listen to what He says here:
He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again
He has delivered, He will deliver, We have put our hope in Him!
That is faith in action when facing problems.
God response to faith
King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.
So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest on every side. Many were bringing an offering to the Lord to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.
1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Why Worry?
Why Worry?
Dale Carnegie wrote of interviewing Henry Ford when Ford was seventy-eight years of age. He had expected to find a gaunt, nervous old man. When asked if he worried, Ford replied, “No. I believe God is managing affairs and He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”2