Courage – 1

                                                                            Courage – 1

Subject – How to Face the Lions in Our Lives

By Rick Welborne

2 Samuel 23:20-23 (NLT2)
²⁰  There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.
²¹  Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.
²²  Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors.
²³  He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT2)
⁸  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
⁹  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

--Why a series about courage, Pastor Rick? I think it is pretty evident that the last two years with Covid has exposed a lot about the world but even more about the church.

--To be perfectly honest with you, I have been shocked by the fear in the body of Christ, especially among those who claim to be Spirit-filled. The Word says much about us not having fear.

2 Tim. 1:7 (NKJV) ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

--Fear manifests itself in so many different ways and I believe we have experienced the full gambit. People react to fear and it is very obvious. Using Covid as an example:

--Fear manifested itself in isolation, anger, division, strife, accusations, insults, backbiting, and good ole back sliding. It was like the church had lost its bearing. Its purpose.

--I just became familiar with a new term associated with churches and businesses called “Mission Drift”. It happens when a church or business focuses on anything other than its mission.

--Instead of focusing on reaching the lost here at home and around the world fear made us concentrate on livestreaming verses live services, social distancing or not, masks or no masks.

--As Covid and fear continued to escalate we began to be divided by vaccine verses no vaccine and then, it was boosters or no boosters. The lines were drawn in the church because we succumbed to fear.

--Fear caused adult children to threaten their parents…if you go to church you cannot see your grandchildren. Walmart, Publix, and restaurants were ok but not church. This is a spiritual battle. 

--Fear caused people to accuse each other of not caring, of being ignorant to facts, of not respecting each other. Pastors we caught in the middle trying to keep sheep from killing each other.

--As I said recently in a message, somewhere between 28-32% of ministers got totally out of the ministry most likely because of fear. Not fear of Covid but fearful of where the church was headed.

--They were afraid they couldn’t keep the church going spiritually, physically, and financially. Afraid to speak out, they chose the easy way out…quit. How sad.

--Can I tell you it can be very difficult to not have “Mission Drift” when you are trying to keep the church unified and the devil is coming to kill, steal, and destroy.

--Thank God, He always has a remnant who remains faithful. I was so concerned about missions thru this.

--Let me say a great big thanks to those who stepped up and increased your mission’s giving. We have added more missionaries, not because more are giving but because many are giving more. Staying on mission.

--Think about this. Look at the bottom line. Churches closing and ministers quitting means less missionaries. Translates into souls not being saved. Satan as a roaring lion devouring. Missions was impacted.

--So what’s your point, Pastor Rick, it is time for the church to be brave and courageous. We should fear God a whole lot more than we do Covid or anything else we face. More is coming, I promise you.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
²  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
³  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
⁴  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
⁵  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 

--I believe it is time that we have courage and trust in the Lord with all our hearts. If things are about to escalate in our world, shouldn’t we be prepared?

1. Courage to Face the Lion.

--Let’s face it, most of us would not have the same reaction Benaiah had when he encountered the lion on that snowy day. Our natural instinct to facing a 450-pound lion is to run.

--Normal people run away from lions and they run as far and as fast as they possibly can. But lion chasers are wired differently. Try to put yourself in Benaiah’s snowshoes. 

--Out of the corner of his eye he sees something crawling through the snow (his vision is probably blurred because of the snow). We have no idea how far away the lion is.

--Finally, like a Hollywood moment, their eyes lock on each other. Pupils dilate. Muscles tense up and adrenaline rushes. Imagine you are watching on IMAX with surround sound. You grip your seat.

--Usually these moments end the same way. Man runs like scaredy-cat, lion chases and catches him, and the lion has a manwich sandwich for lunch. End of story. End of man.

--Not this time, the lion runs and Benaiah chases after him. What? Lions can run up to 35miles an hour and leap 30 feet in a single bound. Benaiah has no chance but that doesn’t stop him. 

--The King of the Beast makes a critical mistake and falls into a snowy deep pit. Probably landed on his feet. No one is eating popcorn at this point.

--Benaiah eases up to the edge of the pit and looks straight into the huge cat’s yellow eyes. Benaiah looks focused and determined and you are thinking…Don’t even think about it. 

--You think, just walk away or actually run. Who in their right mind chases lions and surely no one would jump in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. No rifle, no pistol, no shotgun.

--Benaiah walks away. Yippee! Wait a minute! He is just getting a running start! This is definitely a leap of faith. A 450-pound lion against a 200-pound man without a gun. He dead. 

--Two sets of tracks leading into a pit. Foot prints and paw prints. You lose sight of both of them and all you hear is a loud roar and a loud battle cry…and then, silence. Oh no!

--We all expect to see the giant cat covered in Benaiah’s blood crawling out of the pit but it is Benaiah instead.

2 Samuel 23:20&23 (NLT2) ²⁰  There was also Benaiah, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. 

2. Courage to Trust God.

--This is a fact…God is in the business of strategically placing us in the right place at the right time. In other words, God is good at getting us where He wants us to go. Here’s the catch:

--Many times the right place seems like the wrong place, and the right time may seem like the wrong time. Encountering a lion in the wild is typically a bad thing. Deadly bad.

--No one probably would have given Benaiah any chance of winning the battle with this lion. Like the pastor’s wife where I got saved, she gave me no chance of continuing to live for God.

Quote – Rick, you were the person I gave the least hope for living for God because you came with so much junk in your life.

--We have to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He will get us where He wants us to be even if it means facing down a huge lion. Fast forward two verses.

2 Samuel 23:23 (NLT2) ²³  He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard. 

--Romans tells us that God works all things together for our good if we love Him. Benaiah’s resume…Killed two champions, an Egyptian warrior, and a lion in a pit on a snowy day!

--Because God had set him up and because He was courageous, God exalted him for the service of the King.

3. Courage Brings a Blessing.

--Here’s the point of being courageous for God:

Batterson – God is always using past experiences to prepare for future opportunities. But those God given opportunities often come disguised as man eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny.

--We can run in fear from the lion or Covid or our greatest challenges or we can chase our God ordained destinies by seizing the opportunity before us. 

--As I look at my life I recognize the greatest opportunities were the scariest lions. Pastoring this church. I had to be brave and courageous. 

--During the Black Plague of the 1300s when it came to the question, “Do we minister to people or isolate ourselves because of fear of death.” Their response and motto…We die at our post.

Joshua 1:1&6-9 (NLT2) ¹  After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said,
⁶  “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.
⁷  Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.
⁸  Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
⁹  This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Fruit of Holy Spirit - 1

                                                              The Fruit of Holy Spirit - 1

Subject: Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit - Love

By Rick Welborne

Galatians 5:22-26 (NKJV)
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
²⁴  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
²⁶  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

--Tonight we are starting a new series “The Fruit of the Spirit”. It is all about walking out our faith every day.

--Notice the verses about the fruit of the Spirit are in opposition to the verses that speak about the works of the flesh…Notice the difference:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV)
¹⁹  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
²⁰  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
²¹  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

--Because we are making a determination to walk in the fruit of the Spirit and because to do that we have to avoid the works of the flesh. 

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NLT2)
¹¹  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

--Sometimes we can be accused of being narrow minded even judgmental when it comes to sin but let us be very clear…the Word of God says people who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

--But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit there should be the evidence of fruit in our lives. If we do not have the fruit of the Spirit, we more than likely are not filled with Holy Spirit.

--Please do not try to tell me that someone who is hateful, has no joy, restless, impatient, rude, mean, unfaithful, coarse, and has no self-control is filled with the Holy Spirit. They are filled with something for sure.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) ²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³  gentleness, self-control. 

--Let us look at how the Holy Spirit can help us to produce and manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: The initial physical evidence is speaking in tongues. Ongoing evidence – fruit of Spirit.

1. The Fruit of the Spirit - Love

--Love, as the fruit of the Spirit, is a supernatural thing...there are times we need God, to love others. There are times that people can be difficult and we need more than what we have in the tank. 

Romans 5:5 (NIV) ⁵  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 

--Even though love in the Spirit is a supernatural thing we cannot take away the human element and our responsibility. Let me give an example:

Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
²  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
³  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
⁴  and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
⁵  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

--The fruit of love is supernatural but we continue to grow in our walk with Christ. What these verses are saying is that everything we go through is either helping us grow spiritually or frustrating us. 

--God provides the power we need but we have to be disciplined to use or implement it into our lives. Tribulations can put us under or they can teach us perseverance. We grow!

--As we walk in Holy Spirit and we face tribulations, He gives us supernatural power to be able to persevere which in turn helps us to increase in character. And as we grow in character, we have hope in God.

--As we tie this to the fruit of love in our lives, you and I can grow more and more in our faith, in our walk, and in our love because Holy Spirit is right there pouring into our lives. 

2. We Are Motivated by God’s Love.

--The God Who saved us has provided the greatest motivation for us to live in and operate in the fruit of the Spirit - Love. So why should we be motivated to have the fruit of love?

Romans 5:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
⁹  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
¹⁰  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

--How could Stephen pray for those who were stoning him unless something supernatural was going on in his life and spirit man?

Acts 7:60 (NKJV)
⁶⁰  Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

--Stephen was full of Holy Spirit…how important is it for us to be filled with God’s power when we have to deal with people who want to bring us harm?

--Hopefully we do not have anyone or any group who is wanting to stone us (take us for granite) but be assured your love will be tested by family, friends, co-workers, brothers, and sisters. It will happen!

--When you are in the middle of your battle or your test, what do you see? Because Stephen was truly full of the Spirit’s power…he saw Jesus at the right hand of God and he saw God’s glory.

--Again, what do we see when faced with difficult people? Do you see anger, revenge, hatred, bitterness and trying to figure someway to pay them back? You are not Spirit-filled!

--Try to grasp this…He was praying for the very people who were trying to destroy him, who were actually killing him. That’s love…supernatural love…that is the fruit of love birthed out of Holy Spirit. 

3. God’s Love Overcomes Evil

Romans 12:17-21 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
¹⁸  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
¹⁹  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
²⁰  Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
²¹  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

--Please do not try to tell me that you love God if you do not love your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

1 John 4:19-21 (NLT2)
¹⁹  We love each other because he loved us first.
²⁰  If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?
²¹  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. 

--Let me give you a personal example of struggling to love a brother, a fellow pastor, a friend! I took this young pastor under my wing…loved him, fellowshipped with him, and blessed him financially.

--I helped him get started in the ministry, to launch his church…Life Church even gave to him to help him get started. I let him preach in my pulpit. I considered him a very close friend.

--One day I met him on the tennis court to play tennis and I saw several men from our church getting out of their cars. Being innocent and naïve I asked what they were doing there.

--I got one of the biggest punches in the gut when this pastor said boldly and proudly…Pastor Rick, I am coming after your people, especially the ones with money. I was hurt and I was in shock.

--I got my composure enough to say to him…If you will steal another man’s sheep, you will steal another man’s wife…it is spiritual adultery. He called me a very disrespectful name.

--He said, I will build the fastest growing church in Central Florida and it will be the place to be…and I do not care how I do it. I told him it would never stand and I walked away.

--My flesh wanted to lay hands on him but I didn’t. One day while driving past his church that was growing fast (he stole about 7 families from our church – friends), God spoke to me.

--Rick, do you want me to bless you? I knew it was a set-up. I answered, Of course I do. Pray for this pastor and his church every day! After some intense arguing (I lost), I said yes, Lord, I will pray for them.

--I learned a valuable lesson during that time, you can’t hate or stay angry with someone you pray for every day. I started having compassion for him and found myself weeping over him. This is weird!

--I saw him in a restaurant one day and he was broken…The Lord said for me to go pray for him. All of a sudden supernatural power came over me and the fruit of the Spirit (love) filled my heart.

--He shared how life was going horrible at his church and I wept and prayed for him. I was obedient. He kept going the same direction…his church fell apart, and yes he committed adultery…lost his family.

--God blessed me, those people came back to our church and the same fruit that helped me love this pastor also helped to love these families as they returned…it works. 

1 John 4:13&18 (NKJV)
¹³  By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
¹⁸  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 

Courage to Get Out of the Boat – 5

                                                         Courage to Get Out of the Boat – 5

Subject – Courage

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 14:22‑33 (NKJV) 

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 

23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 

26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 

28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 

30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." 

–In John Ortberg’s books he tells the story of his grand-mother passing away...grandfather says to John’s mother. Come see if you want any of her junk out of the attic...especially this old set of dishes.

Ortberg: When she opened the box she found some of the most exquisite china she had ever seen. Each plate had been individually painted with a pattern of forget-me-nots. The cups were inlaid mother of pearl. The dishes and cups were rimmed with gold. The plates had been handcrafted in a Bavarian factory that was destroyed during the Second World War. So they were literally irreplaceable.

–Ortberg’s mother had been in the family 20 years and had never seen these dishes. Her grandmother was given these dishes over a period of years such as confirmation or b-days.

–Why had no one seen these dishes? Because these dishes were so valuable every time when one would be received it would be carefully wrapped in tissue, put in a box and stored away for a special occasion.

--No occasion that special ever happened. Ortberg’s grandmother went to her grave with one of the greatest gifts she had ever received unopened.

–Ortberg’s mom was so proud of them she used them every chance she had. The dishes finally made it out of the box. Stay with me, we are still talking about getting out of the boat.

1. Two ways a recipient can respond to getting a gift or being given an opportunity to get out of the boat.  

–First, the gift or opportunity is so valuable or risky that we cannot chance taking it out of the box or getting out of the boat. These people realize that if the gift is taken out of the box that things may not go well.

–Second, the opportunity is of such value that it must be risked...Do we believe God or His challenge to us are valuable enough for us to take a chance? The gift or opportunity may never accomplish what it was intended.

–To leave the gift in the box is to thwart the desire of the giver. No tragedy like the unopened gift. 

--Of course I think about the baptism of Holy Spirit power. How sad is it to receive such a wonderfully divine gift and be given supernatural power that is never used for God and for His Kingdom? 

Acts 1:8 (NKJV) ⁸  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

--We watch movies with make believe super heroes and wish we had some kind of power that could be used for the good of all mankind. Yet, we have Holy Spirit available and we keep Him in a box.

–For us to stay in the boat thwarts the desire of the One on the water...there is no tragedy like a missed encounter with Jesus on the water.

2. Along with the gift or opportunity to get out of the boat there will always be a choice.

–The choice is whether or not you will open the gift and use what was given to you or will you stay in the boat or walk on water. Are you willing to take a risk for Jesus? He may be setting you up. 

–Does your life follow the pattern of the risks are too great to take or I have to take this risk because this opportunity may not come my way again? This may be a set up by Jesus. Peter choose the second way.

Dale Brunner: It is important to see that Peter did not ask Jesus for a promise...‘Lord, promise me I won’t sink’—But specifically for a command... ‘Lord, if it is You, command me.’ Peter didn’t ask for a guarantee, just an opportunity.

–The disciples who stayed in the boat were like grandmother...followers of the safe way. They did not want to risk brokenness or failure. They treasured safety over growth.

–You see the Lord was passing them by not trying to bypass them...In reality He was inviting all of them to get out of the boat. We believe followers of Christ with this kind of courage. Missionaries and evangelist. 

–We believe our mandate is not come out of the boat, but to manage the boat, and send out the extremist with our support. The eleven did not want Jesus to pass them by but to pass them up.

--Lord, give me a safe, comfortable life with you...not a mission, a mandate, or a command but a promise. We really believe God is interested in our comfort but His Word teaches us differently.

--A nice ride in a boat may be enjoyable and even surviving a tremendous storm can give us a story to tell, but to be a water walker…wow!

Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV) 

25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

–You see...the boat can feel good, but just because something feels good does not make it right...It can actually feel so good we can convince ourselves it is right but:

Proverbs 21:2 (NKJV) 

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. 

–Let me give athletes credit who were brave enough to get out of their boats and to make a bold stand...that does not make it right!  So what is the point? What about Christians?

3. We are given an opportunity to receive a gift from God and to get out of the boat and walk on water.

--Will we have the courage to do it? Will we receive all God has for us or just sit quietly in the boat?

–If people can stand up so strongly for something that is totally contrary to the Word of God why can’t we stand up and walk out of the boat for something righteous.

James 4:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

–Every day we are bombarded with so many who are coming out...unrighteousness is being displayed every day for all to see. The flaunt it in our faces. 

–We even entertain ourselves with the garbage that is contrary to God’s precepts and justify it as though we need time to unwind. We need to be entertained. 

–Listen to your pastor, sin is anything that separates us from God and the soul who sins will surely die. Eze.18

–Jesus is coming soon...He is...and He is not coming back for a hunkered down church hiding in the boat, riding the waves, and enduring the storm.

Ephesians 5:25‑27 (NKJV) 

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 

26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 

27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 

–Can I cry out to you from the bottom of my heart...get out of your boat...get out of your mess...get out of your sin...step out into the water and walk to Jesus.

–So many are coming out these days and are so proud of it...It is time for Christians to have a coming out party...coming out of the boat. Come out of their fear and timidity. 

–God, give us courage to stand...courage to get out of the boat...courage to walk on water. David said to Solomon...Get out of the boat:

1 Chronicles 28:20 (NKJV) 

20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God‑‑my God‑‑will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 

–If we are not living the life God intended us to live we have what Gregg Levoy calls the common cold of the soul.

Gregg Levoy: The Common Cold of the Soul

To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,

Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed—

Until weeks become months and months become years,

and one day you are looking back on a life of deep gut-wrenching honest conversations you never had;

Great bold prayers you never prayed...exhilarating risk you never took,

Sacrificial gifts you never offered...Lives you never touched.

And you are sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul and forgotten dreams,

And you realize there was a world of desperate need,

And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself—

You see the person you could have become but did not;

You never followed your calling...You never got out of the boat.

Wonderfully Complex – 7

                                                               Wonderfully Complex – 7

Subject – More than Conquerors

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Last sermon in this series:

1. In discovering your soul print you will discover that God allows you to go through certain seasons on your journey.

2. In discovering your soul print you will discover that often there will be divine delays.

3. In discovering your soul print you will discover that without a crucifixion there is no resurrection.

–Today I want us to see how God truly wants us to find our soul print and to be more than conquerors.  

1. In discovering you are more than a conqueror; you will have to recognize your compensatory skills.

–David was not your typical hero type...the youngest in Hebrew meant also the smallest. The reason he was the most unlikely in the story was because he was the runt of the litter. I know that pain.

–While others were prepared for battle (sword and spear) David was prepared in guerilla warfare with sheep. His compensatory skill was using a slingshot...big deal...this skill would eventually make him king.

–We all know that David’s defeat of Goliath was supernatural, but also his compensatory skill.

Batterson: If David isn’t an expert marksman with a slingshot, there is no way he defeats Goliath; he most definitely does not become king; and he therefore never produces a royal lineage that includes the Messiah.

–A skill given by God and developed by David is used to help him be more than a conqueror! David probably complained about taking harp lessons...He soothed King Saul’s troubled spirit and he met Jonathan.

–You never know what skill God will use...God used Noah’s building skills to build the ark, Joseph’s interpretation of dreams, Esther’s face and figure, the Magi’s knowledge of the stars.

–No skill that we have is unredeemable or unusable in God’s grand scheme. David’s skill of song writing has touched people for over 3000 years and most of those came out of very trying situations...out of pain and trials.

–You may not like where you are right now or what you are going thru but it may just be possible that God is helping you to be more than a conqueror by developing your character.

–God always finishes what He starts as long as we do not quit on Him. The worst circumstances often produce the best character and just adds to our story. True of David and true of us.

2. In discovering you are more than a conqueror, you will have to deal with your control issues.

–One of Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest) powerful statements was: Chambers: Let God Engineer. What he was saying was that we must let God be in control...let Him be sovereign. 

Batterson: Most of our emotional problems are symptoms of one deep-rooted spiritual problem: lack of trust in the sovereign God. It’s our lack of trust in Him that results in high levels of past-tense guilt, present-tense stress, and future-tense anxiety.

–Sadly, many of us find our confidence in the things we can control, but it’s a false sense of confidence. Having confidence in God is not circumstantial, it is providential. 

–Too often we allow our circumstances to get between God and us. Holy confidence puts God between us and our circumstances. When we do that...God takes care of the giants.

–We want to be in control. We want to control others. We want to control God Himself. Him working for us!

Batterson: Lack of trust is more than refusing God’s help. It is a prideful attempt to help God by doing His job for Him. We play God by trying to control everyone, everything. But God hasn’t called us to be God. He’s called us to be ourselves. And our control issues are really trust issues. The less we trust God, the more we have to control.

–The loss of control feels like a loss of life. All of us will be faced with our mortality when we find out that we are not in control. Nothing is more spiritually or emotionally exhausting than trying to hold it all together.

–On the other side there is nothing more freeing in the world than relinquishing control and submitting your life to the Sovereign God. Self-confidence is crucified. Self-confidence must die. Paul said:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) 

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 

20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 

–You do not belong to yourself...you belong to God...you were bought by the blood of Jesus so give up your desire to control what you do.

1 Corinthians 7:23 (NIV) 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 

Romans 6:15-18 (NIV) 

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 

16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey  whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 

17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 

18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 

–What’s the point...stop trying to control your life and give up control to the Lord and to Holy Spirit.

3. In discovering you are more than a conqueror, you will have to recognize your unconquerable-ness. 

–Oswald Chambers not only said “Let God Engineer” he also coined the post powerful word “Unconquerable-ness”. He took the phrase “more than conquerors” and added a twist.

Chambers - No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit, it is an inner unconquerable-ness.

–David had this unconquerable-ness about him. He would not step back or step down. He knew that this fight with Goliath was his date with destiny. He saw God in all this:

1 Samuel 17:45&47 (NIV) 

45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 

47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 

–You will see God is doing the same in your life...It starts with little opportunities of faithfulness and small victories. God uses this to build confidence...not confidence in yourself. A holy confidence in God.

Batterson: In a sense, our faith is really a by-product of God’s faithfulness. God proves Himself to be faithful, and it builds our faith as we connect the dots.

–We must realize that it was God who delivered us from the paw of the lion and the bear and that He will also deliver us from the giants in our lives. No matter how big your giant is. 

God can give you an inner unconquerable-ness; it always starts with small wins. Winning the small battles will give us the confidence that God can even do greater things in our lives.

–Each wild animal that David conquered...each new psalm of worship that he wrote to the Lord, each time he practiced using his sling was moving him closer to his day of destiny. It takes time and it takes faithfulness.

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 

–God is ordering your steps just like he did with David...there will be delays, there will be seasons, and there will be disappointments along the way...that’s just life. 

–There will be times that it seems others go before you...brothers off to war while you watch the sheep, but be faithful God will redeem all this time as we are faithful. David’s oldest brother wished he had kept his mouth…

1 Samuel 17:28 (NKJV) 

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle." 

–There was coming a day David would be king...Eliab’s king and commander...what he did not know, and maybe what you are not seeing, is that God is not finished yet.

–The longer we live the more we should thank God for the disappointments in our lives, these disappointments may prove to be divine appointments.

–They may come disguised as divine delays or perceived disadvantages but if you will remain faithful to God, He will redeem your disappointments.

–Let God engineer and let Him build in you your inner unconquerable-ness!

Trust God or Trust Our Emotions – 5

                                                     Trust God or Trust Our Emotions – 5

Subject – Battling our Emotions When a Test Comes

By Rick Welborne

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NKJV)
⁷  But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
⁸  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NKJV)
¹  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
²  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
³  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
⁵  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
⁶  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
⁷  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸  Love never fails…

¹³  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

Mark Twain – If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and man.

--Let me give you this example about man’s best friend…I have heard married men and women say about their spouse…they are not only my husband or wife; they are my best friend.

--Let’s compare our spouses to our dogs…men, let’s say we lock our wives and our dog in the trunk of our car for, let’s say, an hour. Who do you think will be glad to see you when you open the trunk?

--The dog will still love you and be loyal to you, while your spouse may have you arrested or not speak to you for the next twenty years, if ever. Human beings struggle more to forgive than dogs do.

--It is obvious that the people we love the most are the ones who can hurt us the most deeply. Our goal is to learn to love people like we have never been hurt. Why is this necessary?

--As surely as you are listening to this message today you can count on the fact that someone is going to break your heart, someone is going to abandon you or leave you. You will be hurt.

--Someone is going to say something that is going to hurt you, someone is going to disappoint you, someone is going to let you down, lie to you, stab you in the back. Someone is going to reject you!

--There’s a really good chance that most of you listening to me today have been hurt and wounded like this. You may be remembering their face now.

--It may have been the mom or dad who walked out when you were a child, the spouse who cheated on you, the sibling who has not talked to you in 20 years, a child who rejected you and your God.

--The truth is, on some level, we all have given our love and our heart to someone who rejected it. We were wounded and felt betrayed. Now you feel the love supply is diminished. I can’t do that again.

--You don’t even know if it is possible for you to love like that again or you have made a conscious or unconscious decision not to put yourself out there again…the risks are too great.

--Let’s face it, any of us can love when everything is going well, when our politics agree, when our theology is the same, when our marriage or our church is in a honeymoon phase. No one lives there all the time.

Matthew 18:7 (NKJV) ⁷  Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

John 16:33 (NKJV) ³³  These 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."

--Getting hurt is a part of life…it is inevitable but it does not have to be the end of the story…the end of your story. God does not want us to be walking wounded or part of the walking dead club.

--God intended for us to be healed and whole. He intended for us to be able to love like we have never been hurt. Why? That is what He has done and we are made in His image.

Luke 23:33-34 (NKJV)
³³  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
³⁴  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

1. Stop probing the wounds.

Psalm 38:2-8 (NLT2)
²  Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.
³  Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.
⁴  My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.
⁵  My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
⁶  I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.
⁷  A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.
⁸  I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. 

--Listen to David anguishing over his foolish sins…he is wounded…his wounds are festered…he is in pain and he is filled with grief…he is almost to the point of dysfunction because he wouldn’t deal with his wounds. 

--This is not how God wants us to live, He wants to give us a new beginning, a new story, a fresh start. He wants to heal what has been broken. He wants to reconcile what has been torn apart.

Luke 4:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 

Jensen Franklin – This is about understanding biblical forgiveness and reconciliation and establishing healthy boundaries. Love without limits is not about codependence or irrational thinking, and it is not an invitation to be used as a doormat or a whipping post.

--Biblical forgiveness is more about your spiritual health than it is about letting the other person off the hook. Forgiving them is about freeing you!

2. The bottom line is about healing relationships.

--Unfortunately, the body of Christ is full of parents who are estranged from their own children. Some of us have not spoken to family members for more than 20 years. Of course, not by choice.

--Some grandchildren have never even met their grandparents. Some believers who were abused or misused when they were young still harbor hurt and resentment. Hard to have good relationships now.

--Some (I will dare say many) in the church live with spouses, children, or parents where there is strife, anger, and continual hurt but no one will make the move toward reconciliation because of pride or bitterness.

--Some people have lost loved ones and now are too hurt to figure out how to love the ones that are left. The truth is, the only thing that will heal these relationships is love. Listen to the love chapter…relationships.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NLT2)
¹  If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
²  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
³  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
⁴  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
⁵  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
⁶  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
⁷  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

--One of the reasons your pastor reads these verses at weddings is because there is no place like marriage that tests your willingness to work on relationships. Marriage is tough.

--Love is a powerful force. Paul is saying that we place these gifts of power over loving one another and having good relationships. Prophesying, having discernment, moving mountains without love will fail.

--I dare you to take the test…what test, Pastor Rick? Read 1 Cor. 13:4-7 (NLT2) in light of your home and in light of how much you love and see how you do. Many in the church can’t even get 50%...sad. 

⁴  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
⁵  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
⁶  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
⁷  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

3. What really matters most.

--When we choose to love God, love ourselves, and love others we can learn to love despite what happened to us way back then…what they did way back then…when we love we can heal generations of hurt.

2 Corinthians 5:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

Franklin – It is never wrong to love, it is never out of order to love, you do not compromise when you love, you never lower your standards when you love. 

--Do you remember what Jesus said when He was asked what is the greatest commandment?

Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)
³⁷  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
³⁸  This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

--What matters most is that we love like Jesus did…we love like we have never been hurt.