Archive for patience
Seeing Through Heaven’s Eyes — A great Easter Sermon
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Seeing Through Heaven’s Eyes
by Leif Hetland ( Leifhetland.com )
**Leif has recently released a book by this same title–SEEING THROUGH HEAVEN'S EYES. You can purchase a copy through Amazon or through Leif's site.
TEXT: For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:20-23).
INTRODUCTION: It is vital to see the world through the eye's of Heaven; but more importantly, we must see people through Heaven's eyes. Its easy to love people you want to love, but it's another thing to love the ones that hurt you. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus says to love your enemy and bless them, which is contrary to the cultural norm. Let's study the way Jesus loved his enemies, despite everything.
ILLUS- In his book, Strength to Love, Martin Luther King, Jr. gives a globally relevant admonition based on Jesus’ words:
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
The God of the Bible is a searching God, seeking to find us, regardless of how alone we feel or how afflicted we are. It doesn’t seem to matter where we have ended up or how we have gotten there. It doesn’t matter into what physical wilderness we have wandered or into what spiritual wilderness we have sought refuge. All that matters is that we are found and that we are brought home. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all tell the same story—the story of how greatly we are loved, how greatly we are missed, and how happy Heaven is when we are found and brought home (see Luke 15).
That includes our enemies.
The King’s Example
The idea of loving our enemies is hard for a lot of people to swallow. But even those who are the most skeptical of Jesus’ claims and the most critical of Jesus’ teaching have to admit—He took His own medicine. He took it without resisting the spoon, without complaining about the taste, and without adding the slightest bit of sugary sentimentality to help the medicine go down.
Follow the narrative of Jesus’ last 24 hours, and see how He took it. What you see and hear is the best visual aid to the Sermon on the Mount you could ever find. Look and listen…and you will fall even more in love with Him than you are now.
Judas.
Jesus chose him as one of the twelve, all the while knowing that one day he would betray Him. For three-and-a-half years Jesus walked with him, talked with him, ate with him, ministered with him. He befriended one who would turn into an enemy when Jesus most needed a friend. That final night in the upper room, Jesus washed Judas’ feet, just as He had done for the other disciples. He dined with the man who would soon turn the tables on Him. He spoke kindly to him, never once berating him for his betrayal. And He fed part of the Passover meal to him with His own hands, dismissing Judas in hushed tones so as not to publicly humiliate him in front of the other disciples (see John 13:21-30).
Peter.
Jesus warned him ahead of time about his defection. To soften the blow, Jesus explained to Peter that it wasn’t all his fault, that Satan had a hand in it, too. For this man who would deny not only his friendship with Jesus but even his acquaintance with Him, Jesus prayed. He prayed, and He told Peter, essentially, not to let the failure destroy him, that He still loved him, still believed in him, still thought he was the right man for the job (see Luke 22:31-32). And after Jesus rose from the dead, He sought out Peter, especially Peter, because Peter especially needed to be found and brought home to the Savior’s loving arms (see John 21:15-19).
Malchus.
He was the high priest’s servant who accompanied the soldiers when they arrested Jesus in the garden. In a rash move to defend Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off a portion of the servant’s ear. Jesus’ response?
Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53).
What an incredible restraint of the angelic arsenal He had at His disposal! On His way to the cross, Jesus wouldn’t allow so much as a sword to be used in His defense. Nor would He let so much as an ear to be sacrificed on His behalf. Finally and beautifully, in His most miniscule but perhaps most regal of miracles, Jesus healed the ear of His enemy (see Luke 22:51).
The other disciples.
Outmanned and out-armed, they deserted Jesus at His most desperate hour. His response? He didn’t call them cowards; instead, He covered for them, explaining that their actions were simply a fulfillment of prophecy:
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’” (Matthew 26:31).
The religious leaders who tried Him.
They accused Jesus falsely and gathered witnesses to testify against Him, again falsely. They hit Him. His response? He didn’t defend Himself, and He didn’t denigrate them. Not returning insult for insult, or injury for injury, He took the fist, silently, bravely, and with a bold resignation that befits a king (see Mark 14:53-65).
The Roman soldiers.
Brutal men, they mocked Jesus, draping His shoulders with a purple cape, thrusting a thorny crown into His scalp, and humiliating Him as they took turns beating Him. His response? Again, He took the blows, turned the other cheek, and did not resist the evil that propped Him up and pummeled Him (see Mark 15:16-20).
The crowd that surrounded Him at the cross.
They taunted Jesus, quoting Scriptures to Him, daring Him to prove Himself King, if indeed He was one. His response? He bore the daggers of ridicule, the spears of sarcasm. And He didn’t throw them back. He took it all, and He took it with the nobility of a true king (see Mark 15:29-32).
The soldiers at the cross.
The ones who hammered the nails into His hands, His feet. The ones who raised the cross into place. And the ones hunched over a pair of dice, gambling for His cloak. His response? Forgiveness. And not only that, listen to His plea bargain on their behalf: “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’” (Luke 23:34). In other words, Jesus is telling the Father that if the soldiers could only see Him for who He really was, if they knew that He was indeed a king, indeed the Son of God, they would never have done this. Remarkable, when you think about it. Jesus not only forgives His enemies, He defends them.
The two thieves.
When you compare the parallel accounts, you discover that both thieves cursed Jesus (see Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39-40). Never once did Jesus curse back. Instead, He gave a blessing to the one who asked to be remembered. The blessing? The man had just asked that Jesus remember Him when He got to His Kingdom. That’s all. And Jesus gave him Paradise. Paradise! In a few hours of witnessing Jesus’ response to His enemies, one of those enemies was transformed into a friend, and remained a friend forever (see Luke 23:42-43).
We are told that when Peter denied Jesus for the third time, a rooster crowed, reminding him of Jesus’ words earlier that night. He turned and saw Jesus looking at him. What he saw were not the eyes of an enemy but the eyes of a friend. And when their eyes met, we are told that Peter went away, weeping bitterly (see Luke 22:60-62). The next day Peter likely approached the cross, but from afar. He saw Jesus’ enemies, teeth bared like a pack of wolves that had cornered its prey. He heard the insults, the taunts, the mocking, the cursing. And he saw Jesus’ response to them, heard His words and the tone in which the words were spoken. Here is how the example of Jesus impacted him, inspiring his words to fellow believers who were undergoing persecution by their enemies:
For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:20-23).
What Peter saw and heard that day, though it was from a distance as he stood on the periphery, cloaked in anonymity, changed him forever. How could it not? How could anyone not be changed if he or she only knew the story—the whole story—of just how much we are loved?
[Excerpt from chapter 9]
There are always people in our lives that come against us, treat us badly or hurt us. Who are some of those people in your life?
The revolution of love reflects the whole story of Jesus coming to earth to show man who he was intended to be. What will it look like when you show those people love, despite everything?
This week, love them – they deserve love, so they can witness the whole story!
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FINDING VICTORY IN YOUR VALLEY
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FINDING VICTORY IN YOUR VALLEY
by Eddie Lawrence
INTRODUCTION: I read a story about a man who saw an eagle. He said this….Once when I was in Switzerland I saw an eagle, a splendid bird, but it was chained to a rock. It had some twenty or thirty feet of chain attached to its legs, and to an iron bolt in the rock. There was the king of birds, meant to soar into Heaven, chained to earth. That is the life of multitudes of believers. Are you allowing business, are you allowing the cares of the world, are you allowing the flesh to chain you down, so that you cannot rise?
Is this a picture of your life right now? Are you being overcome by life's circumstances? Are you finding it hard to rise up and be who you know God has called you to be? The Scripture speaks to us on our place as Spirit born believers. Listen to what John wrote in 1 John 5…
TEXT: 1 John 5:For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Transition: The above passage is rich in its content. Through God's Love and Obeying the God of Love we who have been born again are positioned to be overcomers. Our victory to overcome is found in placing our faith in the Victor himself…Jesus Christ. There is no situation beyond the reach of Calvary's power. We need to remember this in our seasons of struggle. The enemy desires for us to forget this power to overcome so that we can be overcome.
Let me share with you three things to remember to help you find and live in this victory in your valley.
1. Remember Your Victories
In the Old Testament, the people of God would gather together stones and mark a place where they had experience God in some type of breakthrough or victory.
1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done,His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,…
Psalm 78:41 Yes, again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
Paul reminds us that even the enemy of death cannot stand against the victory that is ours in Christ. Listen to these verses:
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Each time we partake of Holy Communion we are celebrating the victory we have through Christ.
2. Remember Your Valleys
Notice in the following passage mention is made of passing through the valley of Baca.
Psalm 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.
Baca is a word that has dual meanings: It can be translated "garbage heap or dump" and it is also translated "a place of weeping or tears." In both instances, the picture is not a pretty one but one we often face in life.
A. TRASHY TIMES–These are the times of failure, of wasted opportunities, of bad choices and ruined relationships. The place of disposal where life has tossed you into the dump.
B. TRAGIC TIMES–These are the times when you are pinned to the mat, cornered in the ring, and facing "inevitable defeat." These "no way out" moments tax and test us to the hilt. Will our God come through? These are times of tears and weeping.
Quote: A man by the name of William Ward said, "We should be thankful for our tears: They prepare us for a clearer vision of God."
What testimonies could you share today of being rescued from the trash heap or of God reversing your circumstances when it seemed impossible?
3. Remember Your Victories Often Come Through Your Valleys
Notice this passage again…it says they made a spring and were strengthened in the valley of Baca. Isn't it true that it is often in the struggle that we find the strength of God?
Wow…from the garbage dump to the palace! From under the heel of the enemy to your heel on the head of the enemy. These are the turnaround situations God specializes in. These are the stories created through the power of the cross and the favor of God that is now upon us who were once sinners. Yahooooooooooo!!
Psalm 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.
Is it not true that as New Testament believers we have a Spring inside of us now through the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit brings to us the refreshing strength and grace of Christ to live in victory in all circumstances. Even death has no hold on the believer. Whatever it is that we need, Christ will supply it to us through His Spirit.
Illustration: Allow me to read to you from a devotional that once appeared in OUR DAILY BREAD:
In northern Chile, between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, lies a narrow strip of land where the sun shines every day! Clouds gather so seldom over the valley that one can say, "It almost never rains here!" Morning after morning the sun rises brilliantly over the tall mountains to the east. Each noon it shines brightly overhead, and every evening it brings a picturesque sunset. Although storms are often seen rising high in the mountains, and heavy fog banks hand their gray curtains far over the sea, Old Sol continues to shed his warming rays upon this "favored" and protected strip of territory. One might imagine this area to be an earthly paradise, but is far from that! It is a sterile and desolate wilderness! There are no streams of water, and nothing grows there.
We often long for total sunshine and continuous joy in life, and we desire to avoid the heartaches that bring tears to our eyes. Like that sunny, unfertile part of Chile, however, life without clouds and even an occasional downpour would not be productive or challenging. But though showers do come, they will also end, and the sun will shine again. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5).
Let me remind you of the Psalm of David we call the Shepherd's Psalm. Here are a few verses that tie in with finding victory in the valleys of life and even death.
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
POEM: VISION ACROSS THE VALLEY
I stood upon the hillside
In driving mist and rain.
The wind was round me whistling
A sobbing, sad refrain.
But away across the valley
The hill was bathed in light,
And in its golden glory
Was radiantly bright.
But would I reach that hillside
This valley I must tread:
The glory of the sunlight
Is to the valley wed.
And so, methought, how often
The story of our years
Is but a glimpse of glory
Through vision cleared by tears.—F. H. Oakley
CONCLUSION: Are you in a valley right now in your life? Let me encourage you believer…..you are still an overcomer through the One who has overcome. His victory is now your victory. His strength is now your strength. Have faith. Remember this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
For those of you who do not yet know Christ….place your faith in Him today. When you do, He will forgive you, fill you with His peace and power that will enable you to rise up in Him and overcome.
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The Race, The Rehearsal, The Ring
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The Race, The Rehearsal, The Ring
by Eddie Lawrence
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 9: 24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1. YOU'RE IN A RACE
-The race of the Christian life is a marathon not a sprint.
-You must train for the long run which requires more work than running a 40 yard sprint.
-People who can do well in a 40 yard sprint are terrible in a marathon if they have not trained for the long run.
-Christians are runners in for the long run.
-Fortunately if you trip up in a long run, you chance of recovery is much better than in a sprint.
-If you do not realize you are in a race, then you will not enjoy the prize that could be yours.
2. YOU'RE IN A REHEARSAL
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize…..27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
-What you do everyday builds into you what you will need for every test. This is the discipline of the Christian life.
-Learn to pray daily so you do not exist on a 911 kind of prayer life when you only call on God in an emergency.
-Learn to give on a daily basis so that you will have sown what you need to have harvest when you are surrounded by famine.
-Learn to use God's Word daily so that when the enemy comes, your sword is handy and you know how to use it.
-You don't build a storm cellar during a storm, you prepare it ahead of time. Do the same with your life.
-See everyday as a rehearsal preparing you for those big tests.
-As a matter of fact, it is the daily workouts that equip us for the big tests.
3. YOU'RE IN A RING
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
-Paul saw purpose in ever step he took, each day he lived. This is the right way to have big picture thinking. You see how "today's choices" impact "tomorrow's results."
-Shadowboxing is the picture of a boxer fighting an imaginary opponent. Again, the idea is Paul saw himself constantly in the ring preparing so that when the test comes, he's ready.
Illus-Imagine an olympic boxer going to the olympics having done nothing between the time he qualified and the beginning of the Olympic games. These months of not preparing, more than likely, would spell an early defeat when the bell rang on round one of his first boxing match.
Conclusion- Don't ever let up or give up! As the writer of Hebrews says, "Looking unto Jesus…." Keep your eyes on him.
Realize you are in the race, every day you are preparing for the next test and the great day when you stand before Jesus the Christ.
See the value of shadowboxing so that you can continue to be useful and useable in the purposes of the Kingdom.
It takes a long term commitment in order to run in the long term race. Maybe you need to renew your commitment today….
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The Secret of Possessing Your Soul – sermon
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Luke 21:16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
The context of the above verse speaks to a tumultuous time in the last days when tribulation and persecution abounds. In the environment of accusation, betrayal, and rejection, Jesus teaches us that patience will be needed to gain and win the victory over one's soul that will be tempted to cave in and flee. Let's look at the this lesson about patience and see what this truth holds for us.
1. Patience is the means by which our soul is possessed.
2. If you do not possess your soul, your soul will possess you.
3. Obviously, there is a contradiction between you and your soul.
4. Since it takes patience to possess the soul, it has to come from a superior source. (Gal. 5:22)
5. Notice it is your soul. You are not to attempt the possession of someone else's soul. This is witchcraft.
6. It is your patience. You are given patience so that it becomes your possession. In order to possess the soul, one has to possess patience.
7. The decision to wait is the key to possessing the soul.
Jack Taylor says that we take control of our soul by "stubborn endurance."
So then, patience is the key to possess your soul and it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Through the help of the Holy Spirit you can endure and expect God to be faithful to you in every circumstance. Whether here or in eternity His reward will be faithful.
——-
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What Will I Cry? – sermon
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my sermon subscription subscribers requested an outline on Isaiah 40. As I studied it, this is a message of encouragement I begin to see.
WHAT SHALL I CRY?
by Eddie Lawrence
Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“ Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert[a]
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he[b] said, “What shall I cry?”
In Isaiah 40 the Prophet tells of the voice crying out to God's people to get ready. This was fulfilled by John the Baptist who was the forerunner for Jesus himself.
All through the rest of the chapter the writer tells us how great God is and that He rules over all and will have His way. It also contains some powerful truths of what God says He will do for HIs people. Now we know that He does this for us through Christ. So I encourage you dear believer to know four things that I have selected from these verses. I want to cry them out to you.
I will cry:
1. GOD'S STRONG ARM WILL BRING YOUR REWARD
Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
-When it is all said and done, what God says will be done!
-Claim that truth for your life as you are surrounded by a mountain of seemingly impossible circumstances.
-He is faithful. You are His child. He will not abandon you.
-Do not think anyone or anything is greater than your God.
-Remember He is for you, not against you.
-He's got a strong arm and strong hand.
-Read all the great things Isaiah 40 reminds us that God has done.
2. GOD WILL SHEPHERD YOU IF YOU WILL FOLLOW
Isaiah 40:11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
-Though He is all powerful, He is also so gentle and loving.
-Notice the terms used to describe how He sheperds:
a. He gathers (He can brings things together, people together, you together with Him)
b. He carries (How many times has He carried you when you could go no further. Remember the footprints in the sand poem).
c. He gently leads (He is not a demanding tyrant. He is a gentle leader, expecially when we have childlike hearts.)
3. GOD WILL GIVE YOU POWER WHEN YOU ARE WEAK
Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
-If you are weak and without strength, you qualify for a God encounter with His power.
-Claim this verse in your weakness.
-There is something about your weakness that draws the power of God toward you.
4. GOD WILL RENEW YOU WHEN YOU WAIT ON HIM
Isaiah 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But 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.
-God honors patience.
-The person willing to wait on God wins.
-If you want to fly, then learn to die. Die to wanting to do things your own way to speed them up.
-Renewal is so needed when we are tired, weary, and battleworn.
-What does verse 31 tell us about the heart of God? He is drawn to those who are willing to wait upon Him.
-So often we think the opposite. We think we can get Heaven's attention by running out on an impulse that we call courage. It often requires more courage to wait than to charge off into a hunch. Wait on the Lord and He will renew you.
CONCLUSION – When the heat is on, and the enemy tries to get you to doubt just Who your God is. Then just cry these things out over your life. It will help you to cry out!
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