Sermon Outline December 28, 2014 ~ Confidence in His Care ~

Transcription

1 Sermon Outline December 28, 2014 ~ Confidence in His Care ~ READING FOR WORSHIP GUIDE: II Corinthians 9: 6 & 10; Galatians 6: 7-8 Sunday 12/28 Proverbs Ch. 28; II Corinthians 9: 1-15 Monday 12/29 Proverbs Ch. 29; Galatians 6: 1-18 Tuesday 12/30 Proverbs Ch. 30; Numbers 32: 1-32 Wednesday 12/31 Proverbs Ch. 31; Matthew 11: 1-30 Thursday 1/1 Proverbs Ch. 1; II Corinthians 10: 1-18 Friday 1/2 Proverbs Ch. 2; I Corinthians 13: 1-13 Saturday 1/3 Proverbs Ch. 3; TEXT: II Corinthians 9: 6 10; Galatians 6: 7-10 II Corinthians 9: 6 & 10 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. GOD LOVES ME! 1. The word of God builds us spiritually, emotionally, and even physically by creating positive tension that strengthens our faith. a. The passage of Scripture we read in II Corinthians tells us in verse 10 that our God is One who supplies not only the seed we need to sow, but the harvest that we will reap. God is an all loving, all protecting, all providing God. God does it all! b. Yet verse 6 in the same passage of Scripture places responsibility on the believer in Christ by reminding us that we reap what we sow. 1

2 c. Galatians 6: 7-8 supports this as it reads: 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 2. Let s apply this spiritual principle to our entrance into a new year. (My own wrestling to remain healthy while facing anxiety, fear, and anger) WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SOW? a. Christ wants us to be healthy in our spirits, souls, and bodies. b. Christ can t give us healing and wholeness in our souls and bodies while there is anxiety, fear, and anger in our minds. c. These are trap doors of negative destructive emotions that rob us of God s gift of health. i. Numbers 32: 23 Be sure your sin will find you out. ii. For many of us the hidden sins of anxiety, fear, and anger are revealed through the maladies (sickness/illness) of our bodies. d. We are responsible for the emotions we sow and therefore the harvest we reap. TRAP DOORS OF DESTRUCTIVE EMOTIONS 1. ANXIETY produces stress and is the road to pain. It s produced by unfulfilled responsibilities. (Cleaned our office at home and recognized that every piece of paper on my desk at home represented an incomplete task or decision not executed) 2

3 2. FEAR is devastating to our emotional and physical well-being. It comes from the anticipation of pain. (Afraid of being hurt) 3. ANGER throws poison into the system that no antibiotic can ever counteract. It grows from incomplete communications, taking things personally, and making assumptions. 4. All steal God s gifts from our lives. a. Resentment and ill will bring about more arthritis than wrong diet. b. More asthma is caused by repressed fury that by pollen and cat fur. c. We waste time entertaining self-pity, remorse, and evil surmising (supposing something is true without evident to confirm it). THERE S GOOD NEWS FOR 2015! 1. Matthew 11: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 2. We must DEVELOP for our own preservation an absolute confidence in Christ s loving care! a. GOD LOVES ME!!!! b. Only when your mind is at rest can your body and emotions build health. DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST S CARE Things God Equips Us to Do Ourselves II Corinthians 10: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are 3

4 not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV) 1. ATTITUDE OF PRAISE a. Keep your mind in an attitude of praise and faith. a. Praise is your weapon/tool. b. Discipline yourself to praise God especially when things aren t right. 2. USE YOUR GOD-TOOLS! a. We use our God-tools for fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. (Message Bible, v.5) b. What does God say in the Word about your situation? c. Have you lifted a prayer asking Jesus to come in? 3. PERSONAL AFFIRMATION! a. Speak over yourself the Word of God! b. Daily, remind yourself of who God created you to be. c. Employ affirmation when anxiety, fear, and anger enter your thoughts. MY DAILY AFFIRMATION Place your name in the space where love resides and speak over yourself God s design for your thought, words, and actions. is patient, is kind. does not envy, 4

5 does not boast, is not proud. does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs. does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. never fails. (I Corinthians 13: 4-8a NIV) 5