Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.13UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.07UNLIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.53LIKELY
Sadness
0.53LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.67LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.21UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.68LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.92LIKELY
Extraversion
0.07UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.81LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.52LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back again!
This morning we are going to be finishing our sermon series on “The Bible Doesn’t Say That!”
And like we have been doing for the past four Sundays, this morning we are going to be looking at one of those popular phrases we hear (AND SAY) that is not quite as accurate as we think they are.
And this morning we are going to be looking at the phrase “God will not give us more than we can handle.”
Who has heard that phrase this morning?
Probably everyone in here.
Who has used that phrase?
Don’t be shy raise your hands.
I admit that I have too!
And of course it comes from , which is where our focal passage will be taken from this morning.
And, while you are finding in your Bible, I will say that most of us have probably uses the phrase “God will not give us more than we can handle,” before.
And we do so innocently, not really thinking about what we are saying or how it is subconsciously interpreted.
We say it when we are trying to be helpful, usually when someone is going through a rough patch or when they have lost someone they care about deeply.
We want to offer comfort to the person and sometimes we don’t really know what else to say.
And even though I’ve said it many times myself, when I look back and times when someone else has said it to me, it is really not as helpful as I have thought it was.
Because when I hear it, I immediately think two things.
“You have no idea what I’m going through,” and...
“Where is God at?”
And if we are going to be completely honest this morning, most of us think the same thing, but we do not want to admit it.
I am going to tell you this morning, GOD WILL GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE AND GOD DOES GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE.
And I also know that that goes against everything you have ever been taught and believe, so before you dismiss me as a heretic, let’s get into the Scripture and let’s look at it.
Again, we are in , and I will begin in verse 12.
Stand with me if you are able.
Paul writes . . .
Scripture Focus
The Pastor is Crazy
So, now that we have read the passage, it sounds as if everything I just said goes against what Paul is writing here.
But I am going to tell you that it does not.
In this entire passage starting in verse 1 and going all the way through verse 14, Paul is warning the Christians there in Corinth about their spiritual condition.
And he is using Israel’s history as an example.
And without getting into an entire dissertation on the history of Israel, for our purposes this morning we know a couple of things about the history of Israel.
First, when Israel was obedient to God and trusted God, things went well.
Second, when Israel was disobedient and went their own way, things went bad.
Third, when Israel repented and returned to God, things returned to going well.
Fourth, when they turned from God again, things went bad.
Do you see the pattern here?
When Israel was placing their faith in God and following God, things went well, NOT MEANING that they never had any trouble or hard times, but rather THEY RESPONDED to God’s leading and God’s direction.
This built their trust in God and also led to a better outcome in the end.
HOWEVER, when they went out on their own, what happened?
The hardships still came, but now instead of relying on God’s leading, they were operating under their own power and their own authority, and BOOM they couldn’t handle what came their way and complete disaster struck.
The problem came and they COULD NOT handle it.
And the exact same thing holds true for us.
We read it in both services last week . . .
And we know that it is very true.
Good and bad come to us all, regardless of who we are or what our relationship with God is.
The key is HOW WE RESPOND, when trouble comes.
Do we turn to God and place our faith and trust in God?
Or...
Do we go out on our own trying to solve our own troubles?
And, of course we are going to answer, “We turn to God....”
We say that, but many times we DON’T DO IT.
We follow the pattern of Israel and we follow God for a while and then when things start going good we start doing things our way and forget about God.
And, we get a little haughty and high-minded.
Trouble comes and we tell ourselves, “I got this, no problem!”
BIG MISTAKE.
Remember Proverbs . .
Prob
But we will do it every single time.
That is why Paul says in our passage . . .
We get a little full of ourselves, think that we are doing good, and think that we are above anything or any temptation . . .
And this is exactly when we are the most vulnerable.
We have let our guard down and now Satan is going to move in for the attack.
You don’t know it but he has you exactly where he wants you because . . .
We think we can handle the problem, and then we find out we can’t.
So, then we have to make a decision.
#1-Humble ourselves before God or #2-keep doing what we are doing.
And sadly enough, a lot of times we decide on #2 and things get worse, and worse ,and worse.
We get weaker, and weaker, and weaker.
And then we get angry and bitter and cry out to God, “where are you?
Why am I going through this?”
Mainly because, WE CANNOT HANDLE IT.
We are in a situation that we cannot handle whatsoever.
And we continue to go the way we are going and the anger and bitterness leads us away from God.
We give up and say “I’m done with it!”
And part of the reason we do this is because we know that we have been taught that if you are a Christian, God allowed the problem to happen.
And, if you are a Christian, God allowed it.
Because as a child of God, nothing can happen to you unless God allows it.
Now, let’s be clear.
I DID NOT SAY GOD CAUSED IT.
I said, GOD ALLOWED IT, meaning that whatever it is, for whatever reason, God is allowing it to continue.
You may have caused it, the devil may have caused it, or it may have just happened, but there is a HUGE difference between God CAUSING and God ALLOWING.
So, don’t go around blaming God for bad things that happen, because the sin and evil that is present in the world, along with our own free will causes things, not God.
So, God has allowed this thing to continue to take place and you can’t handle it, what are you to do?
WELL, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TURN TO GOD!
Which is exactly what Paul is trying to get us to realize in this passage.
Too Much Temptation!
So, let’s look at verse 13 now . . .
So, there is a lot packed into this one little verse of Scripture and we are going to break it down.
First, Paul writes, No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.
Now, I looked up the word “temptation” and it means, “a test, a trial, or temptation (the same way we use it-enticement to do evil which springs from our own desires).”
So, what Paul is saying that in this life . . . .
We will be tested
We will go through trials or TROUBLE
We will be tempted
And, if you have lived, you know these things to be true.
However, again just like what Jesus said, Paul says that what we face is common to man, meaning that it is no different than what could happen to anyone.
And I say, “could” here because different things happen to different people for different reasons.
We don’t have the time or the understanding of God to really answer the question “why.”
So, Paul tells us that what we are going through is not out of the ordinary for humanity as a whole.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9