With Out A Doubt - Part 4

I Doubt I Can Be More Like Jesus

- It's one of the most challenging things about Christianity. 

- The closer I get to Jesus, the more my life is changed. 

As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Matthew 14:13 NLT 

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14 NLT 

That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Matthew 14:15 NLT 

But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” Matthew 14:16 NLT 

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. “Bring them here,” he said. Matthew 14:17-18 NLT 

Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. Matthew 14:19 NLT 

They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. Matthew 14:20 NLT 

About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! Matthew 14:21 NLT 

Compassion + ______________ + ________________ + ______________ = Christlike

Compassion was the foundation of the miracle. 

We should be more concerned about eternity than behavior. 

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 NLT 

You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35b NLT 

-10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ 
Relationship with God scale

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NLT 

 

With Out A Doubt - Part 3

MY GREATEST DOUBT

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them.  Mark 9:14 NLT 

When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked. One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. Mark 9:15-17 NLT

 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”  Mark 9:18 NLT

“How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy."  Mark 9:21 NLT

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.  Mark 9:22 NLT

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked.  Mark 9:23a NLT

“Anything is possible if a person believes.”  Mark 9:23b NLT

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”  Mark 9:24 NLT

Believe

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Love

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:15 NLT

Pray

Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”  Mark 9:26 NLT

Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Mark 9:27-28 NLT

Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer."  Mark 9:29 NLT

I've done all I can do, it's up to you.

With Out A Doubt - Part 2

I Doubt God's Goodness In Times Of Trouble

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT

PROMISE: It happens

PROMISE: If it is not good, it is not over

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 NLT

What are areas in your life where you need to apply this promise?

- Relationships - Health
- Children
- Tragedy
- Self

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. John 11:1 NLT

This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. John 11:2 NLT

So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” John 11:3 NLT

But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” John 11:4 NLT

So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. John 11:5-6 NLT

When you can't see the hands of God, you must trust the heart of God. 

With Out A Doubt - Part 1

Trust God With Everything?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Tough areas to trust God:
5. ____________________________________

4. ____________________________________

3. ____________________________________

2. ____________________________________

1. ____________________________________

Trust begins when we make God a priority, not just a passing thought.

Nothing causes doubt like a draught.

But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. 1 Kings 17:7 NLT

Then the Lord said to Elijah... 1 Kings 17:8 NLT
“Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have

instructed a widow there to feed you.” 1 Kings 17:9 NLT

So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 1 Kings 17:10 NLT

As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” 1 Kings 17:11 NLT

But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

1 Kings 17:12 NLT

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 1 Kings 17:13 NLT

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” 1 Kings 17:14 NLT

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 1 Kings 17:15 NLT

 

God And Country - Part 2

LAW & ALL

CASH replaces CONSCIENCE

I'm not guilty until I'm caught.

Prosperity without gratitude makes us arrogant.

First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.  Proverbs 30:8-9 NLT

Increasingly, we are a nation that is saying, 'Who is the Lord?

The hope was that God's law would shape their conscience.

“So obey the commands of the lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him..  Deut. 8:6 NLT

For the lord your God is bringing you into a good land of.... Deut. 8:7 NLT

It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking.  Deut. 8:9 NLT

When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the lord your God for the good land he has given you.  Deut. 8:10 NLT

“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. Deut. 8:11 NLT

For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.   Deut. 8:12-14 NLT

He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Deut. 8:17 NLT

Remember the lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful.  Deut. 8:18 NLT

“But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.  Deut. 8:19 NLT

Just as the lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the lord your God.   Deut. 8:20 NLT

Increasingly, we are a nation that is saying, 'Who is the Lord?