Against all odds (part 3)

The God of rest/God of provision

God provides rest and nurture in the middle of your wilderness

Illustration: Family dynamics. A dysfunctional family will have family members who have to step up for those in the family who are not doing their job. This creates families where Mom is Dad’s mom, the sister is Mom’s mom, and the Brother acts like the uncle.

We bring this dysfunction to our relationship with God. God is calling us to become functional again. How do we begin do this? In three ways:

Wait: How do we wait as you work. Waiting is an proactive, engaged attitude. This doesn’t mean to do nothing, but to expect that God will act as we go about our life.

2. Rest: Work from a place of rest. Not working to be able to rest. This will allow you to come better prepared for a time of work once you have spent time away with God.

The Book: In the Bible we read:

The Hook

For me: This summer God called me to be away with him… God showed me. If I hadn’t taken time to be away with the Lord...

For me: This summer God called me to be away with him… God showed me. If I hadn’t taken time to be away with the Lord...

The push back: reasons people don’t wait...

The Took: What it means for you is

3. Listen: You become patient to wait for him.

The Book:

For Me:

The push back:

The Took: what are things that God is calling you to let go of?

Toward the end of the Sermon: Satan tempted Jesus by asking him to provide himself with Manna. Jesus responded that God used this miracle to show Israel that humans don’t life out of Manna alone but out of every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

Do you wait patiently for God’s word?

God finds pleasure not on your grades, or your abilities to show how religious you are. His greatest pleasure comes from you willingness to wait for him to show his kindness on you:

Scenarios of not waiting for the Lord:

Not waiting for a godly man or woman to be in a relationship

Making plans without praying for discernment

God is calling us to allow him to be the redeemer of our lives. He is calling us to live against all odds, to see his loving kindness to work his way in our lives against all odds.

Jesus, the Bread of Life: Knowing Jesus means knowing everything that needs to be know about who God is, how he provides for us, and how to persevere even when we are at our very lowest.