Sermon 9-16-07

Old Testament – Job 23:8-12 But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

Epistle – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

Gospel – Luke 8:4-8; 11-15 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop.

Sermon-

The thing that baffles Christians sometimes is the fact that we are attending Bible Class, we are being fed with God’s word, we do our daily devotions, spend daily prayer time with God and it seems like the tests just keep coming. We say “When are things just going to settle down for a little while? Why is God testing me? I have faith, God knows I have faith. Why the tests?” And. based on 2 Corinthians 1, we have talked extensively that God provides difficulties and hardships in our lives to keep us relying on Him. Yet one of the great misconceptions is the phrase “God will never give you more than you can handle.” We say BALONEY to that! God will always, always, always give you more than you can handle because if you can handle it, you don’t need God!

So you say, “I’ve passed the test, I have faith, I’ve showed my faith, I’m relying on God, so why do I still have problems? Why am I in this impossible situation? Why am I in a situation where I simply don’t know what to do? Why am I in a situation that scares the living daylights out of me? And, why am I all alone?” Those are situations that come up in our lives that make us wonder what God is doing and when He is going to back off. Today, we’re going to find out exactly what God is doing.

Last week we talked about the power of God’s Word. The Bible is powerful. The words in the Bible are unlike any other words in this world. God’s Words are powerful because the Holy Spirit accompanies them. That’s why Isaiah 55:11 says “God Word accomplishes what it desires, it achieves the purpose for which it is sent.” That’s why Hebrews 4 says that God’s Word is living, alive, and active. And last week we talked about The Great Deception, thinking that just because all the words in the Bible are made up of letters of the alphabet, that there is no power in them. We also talked about something very similar, a battery. We can’t feel power in a battery either; it’s just a small piece of metal. But we discovered that the battery is powerful when we put it into a clock. If you watch the clock, you can eventually see the hands move. That’s how it is with the Bible. The Bible has power, it doesn’t look like it, and when you touch it, it doesn’t feel like there’s any power, but plug the Bible into your life and you will see the power of God’s Word. The Bible is like the battery, it houses the power that comes from God.

How is an unbelieving world, a world that doesn’t know Jesus as Savior, going to see the power in the Bible? The Bible needs to be plugged in to an object that shows its power– like you! Those difficulties in our lives may be tests, but not all the time. They may be there to get us to rely on God, but I know most of you, and you’re already relying on God. What, then, are those problems there for? Those problems are there so that you will plug into God’s Word and the world around you will see the power in God’s Word and they will see the power of God Word working in YOU.

Maybe you find yourself in an impossible situation; you don’t know what to do. The trick is, you have to make sure the people around you, the unbelieving world, know that you are in an impossible situation. When they know that, then you can say, “Luke Chapter 18 says ‘With God all things are possible’ and the Word of God gives me the power to believe.” Tell them “The Word of God helps me deal with my impossible situation. Even though I am in an impossible situation, God’s Word gives me the power to believe that with God all things are possible, and that’s why, in this impossible situation, I have peace and joy.” You have to show the unbelieving world the power of the Bible so that they see the power in your face, just like we see the power on the face of the clock. You’re in the situation so that the world around you, who has their doubts about God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ as Savior, will see the power of the Bible. That’s what it’s all about.

Maybe you don’t know what to do, what path to go down in life. Make sure those around you know that you don’t know what to do. Then you can say “It says in Proverbs 3:5,6 that God will direct my path; not only does the Bible tell me that but those words give me the power to believe and that’s why I have peace and joy.” Then you’re showing the power of God’s Word.

And maybe the path you’re going down is very difficult. You say, “I just can’t do this, it to too hard for me. I just can’t do it!” Make sure those around you know that you can’t do it. Then you can tell them, “It says in Philippians 4:13 that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; not only does it tell me that but those words give me the power to believe it and that’s why I have peace and joy.”

Maybe you’re in a situation where you are frightened. Life can be terrifying at times. Make sure those around you know you are scared by your situation and then tell them, “The Bible says 366 times, one for each day of the year and one for leap year, ‘do not fear’, and not only does the Bible tell me that, the those words give me the power to not fear, that’s why I have peace and joy.”

Or those times when you feel all alone – make sure people know. But then make sure that you tell them “The Bible says in Hebrews 13:5 ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” Make sure you tell them that God will never leave, never forsake; tell them, “Not only does the Bible tell me that, but it gives me the power to believe it and that’s why I have peace and joy.

Sometimes these situations come up as tests of faith, and sometimes they keep us relying on God, but you have to take the next step. What’s the plan for all of us, according to God? The plan is that repentance and forgiveness would be preached and shown to the world. You have to show people that God is alive; you have to show people God’s power, and the avenue in which people see God’s power is in difficulties.

So many times something happens during the week that really illustrates the topic of the sermon I’m working on. This week, I received an e-mail from our missionaries, Tim and Rita Nickle in Kyrgyzstan, who have an amazing story about a man by the name of Erkin. It’s an amazing story, exactly what we are talking about today. Erkin is a Lutheran pastor in Kyrgyszstan, preaching the truth of the Bible in a town that is basically Muslim. Erkin’s little house church is located close to a Mosque and Erkin and his group have been threatened with being beaten or killed as they continue teaching about Jesus Christ.

So, we have a group of Muslims who believe in a false god. What’s God going to do - send fire from heaven and burn them all up? No! – He wants to convert them! He desires that no one should perish. And how is He going to convert the Muslims? He has to show that He is the One True God, He has to show that He is alive, He has to show that He is a God of Power. And He will show that power through Erkin and his congregation! God’s power won’t be shown if Erkin and his congregation decide to leave town and worship someplace else. Erkin said, “If we leave, the village people will never join our group because they will think we’re just a bunch of weak Lutherans and that our God has no power.” God will show His power to the Muslims by having Erkin and his house church stay where they are and continue to worship in site of the mosque. They may be beaten, they may even be put to death, but they will show that Erkin and his congregation have the power of God to stand up to the false god, Allah, in peace and joy, and to continue to worship because their God, the God of the Bible is a God of power and might and strength and not scared by some false god known as Allah. Erkin and his congregation can be like that clock, they can show the power of the Bible by staying where they are and continue to worship and that’s just what they’re doing! But how do they do it, how do they get that power?

If you were in their situation how you would get the power to do it? You would tap in to the power of God through the Bible, the Word of God. That’s what it’s all about. God’s Word is power. In Kyrgyzstan, Erkin and his congregation are willing to stand up through the threats of beatings and murder because God is a God of power.

That same power is available in you. That same power flows to you as you hear God’s Word this morning. That same power flows to you as you attend Sunday School or Adult Bible Class. That same power flows to you in the Bible Class you attend during the week. That same power flows to you at night before you go to bed if you open up your Bible and read God’s Word. The power that flows to you is the power of God to see you through any circumstance and that’s what the unbelieving world needs to see. If we don’t show the unbelieving world the power of God, we’ve gone through all those impossible situations, all those difficult times for nothing. We’ve blown it, we’ve dropped the ball! But you know what? You never have to drop the ball – because God’s Word is powerful, it will enable you to face anything, because God wants to demonstrate his power… through YOU!

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