Faith in the storms of life

Mark4:35-41

40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Mark4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Faith Hope and . . . the greatest of these is LOVE –

However, Faith and Hope also have an important place in our salvation.

What is faith? It is probably the most difficult component of our spiritual makeup.

“Religious faith is what we believe that agrees with the truth of the Bible and of the events and doctrines contained in it. . . .”

By grace you are saved though faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God,

Without faith there can be no forgiveness of sins, and no holiness of life; and they who are justified by faith, live and walk by faith throughout their lives here in this world.”

Heaven is something to die for. .

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Mark gives us a rapid view of the teaching ministry of Jesus as He used parables to help His followers to comprehend, but especially to His disciples to exercise the element of faith in their spiritual development.

Mark deals with some of the fiercest enemies of the soul: the storms of life, demonic activity and, death. Here we will look at THE STORMS OF LIFE 

1 “That day. . .”

Mark 4:34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."

His disciples had the advantage of being personally instructed in everything necessary for salvation.

That same day their understanding of faith would be put to the test.

A. Where Is Jesus When We Face Our Storms?

Jesus was asleep; he slept through a serious and life-threatening storm.

37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped

The hardened fishermen became alarmed at the fury of the storm.

Meanwhile. . .

38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher,. . .

“Teacher”? How slow they were to learn what the Word of God says concerning the very situation that they were facing! (The greatest teacher we have is the Word of God.)

. don't you care if we drown?"

Put yourself in their shoes!

And what about the other boats? There were also other boats with him.

B. We Are Never Alone

When we face our storms, there are other people watching us and listening to us. What do they think about our “faith”?


Even as the moon has no light of its own; what we see from the moon is a reflection of the sun.

We are like a mirror-reflection of what is in our hearts When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are a reflection of the holiness of God.

What people see in God’s people is their concept of the kind of God the Christians believe in.

Living in close proximity to other residents in our communities makes it important for us to be alert to the distractions and the reactions caused by our storms.

“What you are speaks so loud – they’re looking at your walk, not listening to your talk” Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2. To the rescue!

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

There is no doubt that everyone of us here today, is facing a storm of some kind.

Do you believe that Jesus can calm your storm?.

He gave His disciples many parables to help them to understand what faith is and how to put faith to work.

40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Faith has to be put to the test. You will only know how strong or weak your faith is when you go through the storms of life. The greater the storm, the stronger the lesson and the better your faith will grow.

• Don’t ever give up, you’re on the brink of a miracle
• Don’t give up remember God is still on the throne 
• Don’t give up, remember you are not alone. 
• Jesus may be sleeping, but while He is with you in your boat, your boat will not sink.

When you call on Him, He will answer you and He will calm your storm.

3. No Faith!?

The importance of faith cannot be overstressed.

A living or saving faith not only believes the great doctrines of Christianity as true, but embraces them with the whole personality; will, emotions and intellect; and it becomes the source of sincere obedience to the divine will, displayed in life.

41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

How do we face the storms of life?

A. “Who Is This?”. . .

We are much more educated about who Jesus is and what He is capable of doing than what His disciples were.

I can understand their terrifying experience even when and while Jesus was with them in the boat. But . . .

By being filled with the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, we, being the temple of the Holy Spirit have every reason to believe that BY FAITH in His Word, we can face every storm of life because God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’.

No matter how fierce the storm, he will be there for you.

But you have to go through some trials to prove to yourself that your faith is getting stronger so that you can believe that whatever you ask in the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour; . . . Listen to how Jesus puts it:

John 15:7-8 IF you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The question is: How’s your faith? Do you believe that Jesus means what He says?

“I BELIEVE LORD, PLEASE HELP MY UNBELIEF”


By Pastor Ron Roux

Keys to unlock the doors of opportunity

Acts 16: 16-34

“Pleasure in the job leads to perfection in the work”(Aristotle)

Paul was a “mentally talented” /intelligent man.

He was a learned man in Greek Philosophy & Jewish Law, but he found Someone far greater than Philosophical Reasoning and Religious Rituals.

He met Jesus Christ and his life was turned up-side-down.

People have a misconception that spirituality and intelligence cannot blend together-it’s either or.

The mental and spiritual aspects are separate entities of the human body, but they can co-exist.

Paul is a classic example that it can.

He devoted his life, time, energy, mental talents to spreading the Gospel.

He was able to explain deep Theological truths in simple layman’s language, so that people can understand and implement it.

Even though the Gospel was simplified, some still found reason to argue and to be skeptical.

You must have a spirit of discernment-some are trying to win you over to their beliefs, it’s not that they want to know the truth.

 3 Keys to unlock the doors of opportunity

•         Prayer
•         Praise
•         Persecution

Prayer- Verse 25

Be faithful in the gathering of prayer sessions with other believers and by yourself

Jesus will make His Presence known (

Be  intentional-if there are no prayer groups in your workplace/neighborhood/family –start one!

Divine act-supernatural things happen when we pray

Praise –Verse 26

It lifts up the down-cast spirit/burdens

It opens the door for God to visit with us (He resides in the praises of His people)

It breaks yokes and sets people free

It creates opportunities for miracles

Persecution

Mathew 5:10-12

There are Cost implications to serving Jesus, but the rewards outweigh it .

Persecution is a cost you must pay if you want to be His disciple; some are paying with their lives/die, but they count it a joy

It prepares the way for miracles-as in the case of Paul

It prepares the way for provision-as in the case of Joseph

It prepares the Way for expansion-as in the case of the early church

It prepared the way for salvation-as in the case of Jesus

Don’t sit on the ash heap when you are persecuted at your workplace, in the family, neighborhood-

Start praying for them

Start praising God in the midst of the difficulties

Paul & Silas were imprisoned not for any wrong-doing, but for rebuking /reprimanding the slave-girl.

Her owners had them arrested because it messed up their finances

Why did Paul rebuke her when she spoke the truth?

Her heart did not agree with what her mouth was confessing (Romans 10:8-10**)

If she did she would not have been a fortune-teller

Conclusion

A great door for ministry is opening. Therefore:       

• Guard yourselves
• Be Steadfast in faith
• Be courageous
• Serve and do everything with love for God and His creation
• Endure persecution by changing your perception about the circumstances & situations to it
• Stay positive by committing your feelings/emotions to the Lord. Don’t become weighed down by it stand up and stand out in the midst of the persecution.

Paul took pleasure in His work as a servant of the Gospel. How about you?

By: Pastor Alicia Lawrence

Your greatest challenge can be your greatest achievement

1 Kings 3:5-15

Text V 9

Intro:

Each individual has a unique task to accomplish in life-no matter how insignificant; so does

each family (both biological and spiritual).

This is evident in the lives of David and his family.

David had to lead and rule over the Hebrew nation and to lead military campaigns.

Solomon was the successor of David-plus he had a unique task to build God’s Temple 

since his father was disqualified for the task because his hands were blood-stained.

He realized that the task was greater than was humanly possible-“I am only a child” is

an expression of dependence.

Solomon knew exactly what his challenge was and was therefore able to make it a

prayer request.

His challenge: lack of wisdom

His greatest achievement: known to be the wisest person who ever lived in ancient times. 

V 6 : Know your roots

It is important to know your family background. Why?

·         To break family curses/bondages

·         To continue in the inheritance of the saints

·         To learn from and emulate your predecessors 

2 .V  8: Know your challenge

·         The Hebrew nation was NO ordinary nation. God chose them to be His

witnesses under the Old Covenant

·         He knew that they had to fulfill a specific mission/task. There was therefore no

room to be irresponsible and careless

·         The people were too numerous to count

3.V 9 :  Know your solution

·         Solomon requested discernment and wisdom to govern the people

and for moral & ethical matters

·         Challenges and situations are intended to develop the gift already within you

Therefore count it all JOY whenever you face trials of many kinds—James 1:2-4

·         Trials also reveal what gifts God has placed in you

(Verse 16-28)

God granted Solomon’s request because his motives were pure. It was not to take any glory

for himself, but to fulfill his mission  and in so doing ,he brought glory to God.

• He excelled in his role as leader. This is evident in his 40 year reign over the Hebrew nation.
• His fame spread far and wide.
• He was the wisest, richest and most famous king who ever lived
• He was a great teacher
• He spoke more than 3000 proverbs
• He was a songwriter and poet
• He led and conquered great military campaigns
• He built the Temple and other great projects

**(See 1 Kings 4:29-34 &

** 2 Chronicles 9:13-28)

Start and end well!!

Solomon unfortunately did not END his life on a higher note than what he had started.

In spite of all his many successes he failed dismally on a number of things:

• He failed to maintain the sincerity and wholehearted devotion to God 
• Don’t become proud or sidetracked by the influences of the world.
• He failed to bring his successor, Rehoboam, into a relationship with God. The kingdom was subsequently divided during his reign.
• He also failed to lead an exemplary life before his children 
• He became careless about his family‘s commission to a higher purpose
• In spite of ALL the wisdom, he missed the opportunity to handover the baton to the next generation of his bloodline.

Solomon’s greatest challenge became his greatest achievement, but this very same

achievement brought about his failure too

To avoid Solomon’s mistake, abide in Christ i.e  stay  in alignment with His Spirit!!!

By Pastor Alicia Lawrence

OVERCOMING AN ABUSIVE PAST

We all have a personal story.  Where we come from, who we are, and our personal history all have an influence on what we are today. The chapters of our lives continue one after another; each chapter is a unique story.

For many of us pain is the inescapable result of past abuses. The source of such pain varies from different kinds of abuse, such as verbal abuse – constant degrading insults and humiliation; emotional abuse – unhappy homes and unfair punishments; physical abuses – beatings, bullying,  Sexual abuses; Religious abuses; unbiblical compulsions to do religious duties without reason.

Abuse of any kind is always accompanied by shame and guilt.

For the child of God there is good news. We are not left alone to suffer these painful past experiences. The Holy Spirit helps us; we don’t have to go it alone.

Very often our abuses, especially when these are caused by unloving parents, leave a root of bitterness hidden in our souls.

These inherited weaknesses that become our hidden secrets often make us feel insecure and ineffective for any social activities.  We sometimes even feel unfit to call ourselves Christian.

God’s Word to us brings comfort.

Rom 8:1 There is no condemnation to them in Christ Jesus

Rom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.  28 and we now that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

The involvement of the HS in our lives includes restoration from the deep scars of psychological wounds we have received by our past mistakes and the abuses we have suffered; the wounds we carry deep in the subconscious mind.

ILLUST;

Oprah’s one programme included a woman who previously was a “perfectionist freak”. Suddenly, something happened to her that caused her to change to such an extent that her home was no longer fit for human habitation. She had abandoned all efforts at cleanliness and she was living in absolute filthy conditions. The clean-up people who were hired to clean her hose, were totally disgusted and warned of the threat of a neighborhood health hazard.

What happened? How can a person change so radically, so suddenly?

Some people’s lives have also been affected by the role models they admired as a child. Parental role models that fail the expectations of a developing personality, can cause arrested psychological development causing a distorted concept of reality. The result often leaves such a person incapable of healthy association with others.

When we enter into the experience of heart holiness. Or heart purity, we can begin to

apply the promise of God’s Spirit living in our hearts.

 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry “Abba Father”.

1. The spirit Helps us in our Weakness

While personality is fixed in our mother’s womb, our characters develop according to our immediate environment which begins from the moment we are born.

Many are the weaknesses of the under-developed; or undeveloped persons. “Arrested child” or emotionally disturbed characters enter society with its many demands on inter-action with others.

Certain phobias (unrealistic fears) develop through being exposed to some scary situation. A motor car accident can cause a person to be afraid of driving a vehicle in heavy traffic. Many kinds of psychological disorders are developed along the path of our growing up. These deformities (infirmities) can have a major negative effect upon our adult lives and even in our spiritual journey with God.

It is precisely here that the Holy Spirit “helps us in our weakness” so that we can function normally in the spiritual realm.

The Holy Spirit reaches deep into the subconscious mind and restoringly touches the point of our scars and wounds. 

2. We do not know what we aought to pray for

. . . but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express

Because of our inhibited psychological and spiritual growth, we are afraid to ask for what we really need. Our prayer life is stunted and we don’t realise that God knows our shortcomings and He really cares and understands what others cannot comprehend.

Jesus intercedes for us by teaching us how to pray and what to pray for. He also awakens within our hearts the intense desire for a heart that pleases Him. He brings about a hunger and a thirst for His righteousness.  As the Apostle Paul puts it, one preacher lays the foundation, another builds upon that foundation, but God causes us to grow.

3.  He who searches our hearts. . .

27 and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. 

1Jn 5:14  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1Chr 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, we will reject you forever.

Why does God search our hearts?

The “heart” (soul) is the seat of the conscience. It is naturally wicked, and hence it contaminates the whole life and character. That is why the heart must be changed, regenerated before a man can willingly obey

 The heart contains all the hidden subconscious memories that affect our behavior.

Until our hearts are cleansed by the experience of “sanctification”, we will be bound by our old habits that impede the fruit of the Spirit from developing.

4.  He Knows the mind of the Spirit

He intercedes for the SAINTS

27 and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints. . .

The Holy Spirit searches our hearts to reveal to us the source of our hurts so that we can ask him to help us in dealing with these problem-makers within us.

Ps 37:4  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart

The process of spiritual development and the overcoming of our inherited psychological confusion, begins with the new birth (being born again).

Jesus says:  (Jn 15:7,8) If you remain in me and my word remains in you, you can ask for whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Conclusion

Nobody can claim perfection of any kind. We are fragile human beings. We are vulnerable to pollutions in the air we breathe; in the food we eat; in the water we drink and, most of all, we are vulnerable to spiritual deception.  We need God and the work of the Holy Spirit; our Helper in times of need; our Protector against spiritual interference and our Guide though life’s turmoil.

One of the most difficult to treat is psychological disorders created while we were the most vulnerable.  Our human development begins from the moment of conception. A calm and loving parental environment goes a long way in bringing a healthy child into the world.  The subsequent environment depends to a great deal on love.

The sooner the child gets to know Jesus as its Saviour, regardless of the possible  psychological disorders, the better for that child to overcome any physical and spiritual challenges that belong in this world.   

By pastor Ron Roux