SERMON - RENEWING YOUR FAITH IN TROUBLED TIMES part 2 of 2

Renewing Your Faith

In

Troubled Times

Part 2

 

 

Jesus warned of perilous times like the present one.

 

Luke 21: ²⁵"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

 

Christ was telling us, “Without hope in Me, multitudes are literally going to die from fright.”

 

Those who do trust in God’s promises to preserve His people there will be a freedom, a glorious freedom, from all fear. “How is this so?” you might ask. The answer is, ‘True freedom consists of totally resigning one’s life into the hands of the Lord.”

 

Resigning ourselves into God’s care is an act of faith. To resign one’s self into the Lord means putting ourselves completely under His power, wisdom and at His mercy. It also means being led according to His will. If we do this God has promised to accept total responsibility for us and provide us with food, clothing, shelter and, most importantly, to guard our hearts from all evil.   

 

Jesus provided the ultimate example of holy resignation when He went to the cross.

 

Luke 23: ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 

When Christ spoke these words He placed the keeping of His life and eternal future into the custody of Almighty God, the Father. In doing this He was placing the souls of His sheep, Christians, into the Father’s hands.

 

2 Timothy 1: ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day

 

God, through His power, has the power to keep us from all danger, threats and violence.

 

The prophets warn that when God shakes the nations, we will be greatly tempted to fear,

 

Ezekiel spoke:

Ezekiel 22: ¹⁴ Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 

 

Noah Spoke:

Hebrews 11:7 ⁷By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

 

David Spoke:

Psalm 119:  ¹²⁰ My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

 

Habakkuk spoke:

Habakkuk 3: ¹⁶ I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

 

The fear in the voices of each of these men of God was not fleshy fear but was a reverential awe of the Lord. None feared the enemy but all expressed the fear of God’s righteous judgments. They knew and understood, through faith, the awesome power behind the approaching calamities. Rather than fearing the outcome of God’s wrath they feared His holiness.

 

Each of us will experience fear in the coming times of upheaval. Our fear must not be for our fleshy lives of this earth but must be a holy reverence for the Lord.  All over the world people are filled with fleshy fear as they see their nation’s economies deteriorating. They are afraid the economic flood will literally wash away everything they labored for. Such is the cry of unbelievers who have no hope and must not be the cry of those who are truly Christians and children of God.

 

If you are a child of God, a true Christian, your heavenly Father will not forsake you.

 

Isaiah 51: ¹² "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men,
the sons of men, who are but grass, ¹³ that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?

Have no fear of mortal men, have righteous fear of the Lord, and only of the Lord!

 

Isaiah 8: ¹³ The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,     

 

We must stand in fear and awe of God as that fear leads not to death but to eternal life with Him.

Our abiding peace will forever depend on our resigning ourselves into God’s hands no matter what the circumstance.

 

Psalm 37:  ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

 

If you resign yourself into God’s hands He will empower you to endure any hardship. It is His desire that you go about your daily business without fear or anxiety as you trust in His care. Know this and believe it, ‘The more resigned you are to God’s care, the more indifferent you will be to the conditions around you.’

 

If you are truly resigned to His protective power you will not be scared by frightful news. You will not worry and fret as to what the next step must be. Entrust your life, your family’s life and your future life to His safe and loving hands. Our Yahweh Roi, the Divine Shepherd, knows how to protect and preserve His flock because he leads us with love.

 

In closing I ask you the question Jesus posed to Philip, “What do you think we should do?” My response is “Lord, You are the miracle worker. I surrender all of my doubts and fears to You. I know that You will not allow me to faint. In fact, I firmly believe that You know what You are going to do about my problems and I am trusting in You to do Your will.”

 

What is your response?

 

On other subjects I ask that we all pray for one another to remain strong in faith and in being a resource to one another and to fledgling Christians. Be ever conscious of the things you say of one another and the effect ill thought out words will have on others.

 

I also ask that each of us honor any and all requests made of us for any prayers. If you do make a prayer request make certain to follow up that request with any news of a positive nature that tells us God’s greatness.

 

Thank Him for all that He does   

 

(Closing prayer)

 

Heavenly Father, King of the Universe, we come to You with hearts filled with awe and love for You. There is no power anywhere such as You and we humbly beg Your ear. We praise You and worship You for you are our hope and dreams for our eternal lives. It is by the many miracles and acts of kindness that we have gotten this far in our lives. Please know that we are ever aware of Your existence and bow our heads to You and You alone.

 

Father as we face the times in which we live be with us and strengthen our resolve. See us worthy of You and at the time of our deaths allow us to stand before You with the knowledge that we will be with You forever and ever. Be with us and watch over us.

 

Lord, we are ever in Your debt as it is You that supplies our every need. El Shaddai, we thank You.

 

As ever, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord and Savior who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever,

 

Amen, amen and amen.