July 18, 2010
Sermon #845
Running Faster Than God
James 1:2 - 8 (KJV) 2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Introduction:
I firmly believe that last Sunday was the worst Lord's Day in my life. It really began several weeks ago.
The oven door on my wife's cook stove locked and would not unlock as long as the power was on. And, you cannot cook on an electric stove with no power. Her brother, Steven told her that he wanted to bless us with a brand new side-by-side refrigerator/freezer and a new stove that would slip into our cabinet space. Mary said that we would give our perfectly good refrigerator/freezer to the church food bank.
Fine! So with the help of friends and two pick-up trucks, we brought the units to our house and put them in the sunroom after we discovered that some kitchen cabinets would have to be modified to accept the new units. Last Saturday the microwave blew up! This is harvest season and Mary is in her canning mode. No way to cook all that food and it's Sunday. I know that I have a meeting all day Monday.
I made the excuse, "The donkey is in the ditch" so we have to get him out. I went and bought a new microwave. First, I had to get the old one out of the cabinet. It was heavy, greasy, and nothing to hold on to.
The result was pain in my back and legs. The new one had an extension that did not show in the measurements - it would not fit. The instructions said that there had to be four inches of air space – we could not use it! Now I had to cut a hole and had to go purchase a saw; but I had to get the old microwave out of the box I had put it in. It was now 9:00 pm. I was tired and in pain. So, I took a shower and went to bed, having accomplished nothing.
Monday I went and taught at the conference. When I returned home, Mary was cooking. She had taken back the microwave that would not fit, purchased another, and one of the men from the church had stopped by to bring us some berries. He had cut out the hole and installed the microwave.
"All right Lord
- I get it. I was sinfully violating Your Sabbath!"
"No, Paul you don't get it – you were running ahead of Me – it did not have to be taken care of until Monday and I had someone to take care of it!"
Timing is everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 11 (NKJV) 1To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
9What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Anytime there is available space and time, the devil will take it.
James 3-4 (NKJV) 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing…Between faith and the answer, you will always find trouble.
John 16:31 - 33 (NKJV) 31Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?
32Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."ILL: One of my problems was that I had the meeting coming up. A secular company produced this meeting. I have never ministered in a program arranged by a secular company. Dr. Myles Monroe and I were to minister together. I have great respect for Dr. Monroe and have never been on a platform with him in my life. People were paying $199 to hear us speak. I have never had anyone pay to hear me before! I accepted the care of that meeting on myself, therefore the stove and microwave problem was enhanced.
Paul wrote:
Philippians 4:6 - 7 (NKJV) 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.Care always brings trouble
Luke 10:38 - 42 (NKJV) 38Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
39And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.
40But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
41And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
42But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Why was Martha "worried and troubled?"
- She was concerned about fixing the meal
- She was concerned because it had to be done – now!
What we should remember
God is in charge
Psalm 24:1 - 2 (NKJV) 1The earth is the Lord'S, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
Haggai 2:8 (NKJV) 8'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts.
- What if we cannot destroy the terrorist? - God is in charge!
- What if the oil pipe cap doesn't hold? - God is in charge!
- What if Israel hits the Iranian nuclear centers? - God is in charge!
- What if my car breaks down? - God is in charge!
- What if my daughter gets pregnant? - God is in charge!
- What if my son gets on drugs? - God is in charge!
- What if I lose my job? - God is in charge!
Get refreshed
ILL: Ministry takes a lot out of me. I needed a Sunday nap!
- Elijah under the anointing
1 Kings 18:45 - 46 (NKJV) 45Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
- Two days later
1 Kings 19:1 - 4 (NKJV) 1And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."
3And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" - Elijah had not replaced what he lost under the anointing
1 Kings 19:5 - 8 (NKJV) 5Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat."
6Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you."
8So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
C. Remember what the Lord has done
Isaiah 40:28 - 31 (NKJV) 28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
ILL: At the conference I told them:
- How the Lord fed my family by a widow
- How the Lord got us through 7 years of school
- How the Lord got us our house
- How the Lord purchased the land for the Cathedral of His Glory
- How the Lord got this building
- How the Lord sent missionaries to the world
- How the Lord opened the doors for worldwide television
Conclusion
Eagles lock their wings and let the storms lift them above the tumult. Mount up your wings. Tomorrow will be a sunny day!
