Isaiah 43:2,3
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
31 Jan, 2010
AM
I.
Introduction (Isaiah 43:2,3;
2Corinthians 1:3,4)
A.
Passing through flood waters, raging rivers, the fire? I thought the Christian
life was the blessed life, the easy life, the good life, not the hard life?
B.
Ahhhh… Sometimes doing the will of God is painful. Laying down our desires, in
exchange for His will can be extremely painful.
C.
Some
doors that God opens are hard to go through!
D.
But
I have found that when I did go through them, He gave me something even more
valuable, and now I wouldn't trade it for anything. He gives me Himself!
E.
Be
encouraged.
F.
What
seems to be so hard and painful to go through, God will turn it around for your
good if you TRUST He'll do it and BELIEVE He'll do it.... even though it takes
time.
G.
We
HAVE to learn to worship Him through it all, every day and it will only become
easier.
H.
Illustration:
1.
A
pastor I know tells the story of a lesson he learned in a nursing home in
2.
April would be wheeled into the activity room on her bed for a Sunday afternoon
Gospel music and preaching time, where she would sing the songs, and have a
great time. She often gave her
testimony of how she had gotten saved and how much she loved the Lord Jesus.
She had a great attitude, always smiling and saying good things. The
staff loved her. She was always
happy.
3.
One
Sunday after the meeting he was next to April's bed speaking with her.
She said she wanted to sing her favourite hymn again (which happened to
Amazing Grace).
4.
He
tells the story best.
5.
“While we were singing it together I could tell something wrong was happening.
She stopped singing and started grimacing in pain which was obviously
getting worse. I could see her
whole body and her face tense up as tears started pouring down her face.
I called a nurse over and told her something was wrong.
6.
She
hurried over and said there was nothing to worry about.
She said Bed ridden people like April would cramp up on occasion, with
every muscle in their body tensing up.
It was painful, but no harm, and it would soon pass.
As it subsided, I was sure after this intense pain, April would finally
show to me that there was an angry, harsh side due to her condition.
What she did next shocked me and defined my ministry.
7.
April looked up at me and said, "Will you please forgive me?"
I could not understand that question!
I said, "April, what in the world for?"
She said, "I didn't mean to stop singing, will you please forgive me for
not finishing the song with you?" I
was expecting her to curse God, to curse her parents, to curse the place she was
in, but she asked ME for forgiveness.
I could not imagine hardly a worse condition to be in than this young
girl, yet she asked ME to forgive her for something that was out of her control.
I learned that day there is a God of all comfort.
I learned that day, anything I would go through in life, God could
deliver the comfort needed. I
determined to be more like April, and let the Holy Spirit work out His comfort
through me as April had. People
always ask me why I smile so much ...
It isn't hard to understand.
8.
It
is not that I don’t have problems. It’s because I have a God of all comfort.”
I.
Message
A.
The Christian life is not an easy life
(Luke 9:22-25). Never has been.
1.
Let
us ask Jonah… Was it easy to obey God and go to
2.
Let’s Ask Noah and his wife… Was it easy to spend 120 years building an ark in
the desert?
3.
Let
us ask Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… Was it easy leaving everything behind for the
Promised Land?
4.
Let
us ask David… Was it easy hiding from king Saul for 7 years?
5.
Let
us ask Caleb and Joshua… Was it easy trusting God when their eyes told them to
give up?
6.
Let
us ask Peter and Paul… Was it easy putting up with such intense persecution for
following Jesus?
7.
Let
us ask Jesus… Was it easy doing your Father’s will?
B.
There are Some Things Hard About Being a Christian.
1.
It is Hard to Get Saved.
a.
As a
matter of fact, it is just downright IMPOSSIBLE to get saved!
1)
Matthew 19:22-24 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the
2)
Luke
13:24 “many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
3)
Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith Lord Lord”
4)
Matthew 5:20 “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven.”
5)
Well, that leaves ME out! No matter how much a person tries, they will never be
perfect, never good enough for heaven!
b.
That’s why a person MUST be “born again” (Matthew 18:3;
1)
Baptism is easy to do – but it is not part of the new birth
2)
Joining a church is so easy – but it is not part of the new birth
3)
Praying a prayer is so easy – but it is not part of the new birth
4)
Getting all your sins washed away and forgiven – now THAT is impossible!
c.
It
is so impossible to become a Christian that God HAS to help you get saved (2Cor
6:2), and help you He will, if you would only trust His Son to do it!
1)
Jesus paid off every sin-debt you owe to God. As the Lamb of God, He came to
take away the sins of the whole world!
2)
You
don’t do just a few mistakes, and a sprinkling of sins here and there – you sin
and break GOD’S laws all the time, even without knowing it!
3)
Whether you admit it or not, but you are a sinner, and in trouble with an all
holy God!
4)
But
God will take all your sins (if you just let Him) and place them on His Son, and
then take all Christ’s righteousness, and place it on YOU (2Cor 5:17-21)!
5)
For
YOU, that is impossible to do!
6)
But
for God, well, that is what He is all about! Doing the impossible, to save a
wretch like me!
d.
Accept it! It is not just HARD to become a Christian; it is impossible to become
a Christian!
2.
It is Hard to Trust God
(Psalm 37:7)
a.
Not
because He fails, but because our hearts don’t easily rest in His care, and in
His plan
b.
Mark
4:45-51 – Jesus pushed them onto the boat, and into the storm
1)
To
travel without Him physically in the ship with them
2)
They
were toiling in their rowing against the wind
3)
In
the darkness, even Jesus seemed scary
4)
Yet,
He calmed the storm, and made the trip worthwhile!
c.
Look
again at it in Mark 6:35-41 at another time they crossed the same lake. It is
easy to feel that Jesus doesn’t care, and has let you down
d.
Fears overwhelm our faith so easily
e.
Troubles bring on confusion
1)
Why
did God allow this in my life?
2)
Where did God go?
3)
What
happened to all the blessings?
f.
The
hardest thing you will do, is live your life believing God instead of your
senses
g.
Yet,
as hard as it is, trusting ONLY in Jesus is a wonderful way to live!
1)
Singing while in prison
2)
Praying when you have nothing else to hold onto
3)
Praising when tears roll down your face in defeat
4)
Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth
him out of them all.”
5)
Psalm 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy
word.”
6)
Psa
119:71 “It is good for me that I
have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”
3.
It is Hard to Stay Faithful at
Obeying God! (Luke 22:28)
a.
This
is the biggest problem area most Christians have!
b.
People get born again, and start reading their Bible, and start coming regularly
to church, and start praying about things…
1)
And
then times get tough – as they always will
2)
And
then they fall backward, and give in to temptations
3)
Then
they will say “I just can’t live it” “I just can’t be a Christian all the time!”
c.
Yep!
Yes, it is hard to stay up with the Lord, to stay faithful, to be like Christ!
1)
2)
Testifying to people in my life about their need to turn to Christ
3)
Praying about everything
4)
Putting away sinful habits and bad friends
5)
Ministering and serving the Lord in Church every week
6)
Loving the unloveable
7)
Praising God for every blessing AND trial
8)
It’s
HARD isn’t it?
d.
It’s
Hard because:
1)
We
are not willing to endure much at all for Jesus
2)
We
are not walking with the Lord - but usually way ahead of Him, or way behind Him.
Our strength will always come from our private quiet time in worship and
devotion
3)
We
are not drawing our abilities from the Lord – always living on our own strengths
and finding out that we only have weaknesses!
4)
We
are not really convinced that it is worth it
e.
Let
me tell you, doing the will of God is worth it! No matter the cost
1)
Jesus said the will of God is worth it
2)
Paul
said it is worth it
3)
Peter said it is worth it – everything Christ asked him to do, turned out
awesome
a)
Casting the net on the other side
b)
Witnessing to Cornelius
c)
Any
time Peter backed away, was horrible – hiding and denying Christ
f.
So:
1)
Be
prepared for troubles (
2)
Be
ready to lose some things – some time, some money, some friends,
3)
Be
set for the long haul – as long as the Lord gives me breath
III.
Conclusion
A.
Ahhhh… Sometimes doing the will of God is painful. Laying down our desires, in
exchange for His will can be extremely painful.
B.
Some
doors that God opens are hard to go through!
C.
But
I have found that when I did it, He gave me something even more valuable, and
now I wouldn't trade it for anything. He gives me Himself!
D.
The Christian life is not an easy life
(Luke 9:22-25). Never has been.
E.
There are Some Things Hard About Being a Christian.
1.
It is Hard to Get Saved.
2.
It is Hard to Trust God
(Psalm 37:7)
3.
It is Hard to Stay Faithful at
Obeying God! (Luke 22:28)
F.
Some Things Make it All Worth While!
1.
Presence of God
2.
Forgiveness of God
3.
The
Plan of God
4.
Peace of God
5.
The
Joy of God – Hey! living according to the feelings and the failures of the
flesh, this is all impossible! But when lived by faith it is not only possible,
it is joyful!
6.
The
Rewards of God
7.
Ultimately, Heaven Itself
8.
It
is all worth it
9.
That’s why a Christian can pray…
Dear God:
I want to thank You for what you
have already done for me.
I am not going to wait until I see
results or receive rewards, I am thanking
you right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel
better or things look better, I am
thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until people
say they are sorry or until they stop
talking about me, I am thanking you
right now.
I am not going to wait until the
pain in my body disappears, I am thanking
you right now.
I am not going to wait until my
financial situation improves, I am going to
thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the
children are asleep and the house is quiet,
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I get
promoted at work or until I get a job, I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I
understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief, I am
going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the
journey gets easier or the challenges are removed.
I am thanking you right now.
I am thanking you because I am
alive, and more than that, I am alive in Christ!.
I am thanking you because I made it
through today’s difficulties.
I am thanking you because I have
the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better.
I'm thanking you because Father,
you haven't given up on me.
10.
But
you will miss it all if you don’t take up Christ’s cross, and just start
following Him
a.
Salvation – new birth
b.
Sanctification – the godly Christian life
c.
Satisfaction – rejoicing in His presence, and His work in and through you!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |