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Contents Under PressureSeptember
29-30, 2001 THE PRESSURE OF PAINFUL EXPERIENCE! IF YOU
HAVE ANY INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE YOU WILL HAVE CONFLICT! *** Col. 4:14 “Our dear friend…Demas send greetings.” [New
International Version] *** Philemon 1:24 “My coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas…”
[Message] *** 2 Tim. 4:10 “Demas has deserted me because he love the
tings of this life and has gone…” [New Living Translation] *** Psalm 23:1-5 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” [NIV] 1.
HOW NOT TO DEAL WITH OUR PAINFUL EXPERIENCES! A.
DON’T IGNORE FROM THEM! *** Leviticus 20:4 “And if the people of the land pretend they do not know what the man has done…” [Living Bible] IGNORING
YOUR HURTS NEVER HEALS THOSE HURTS! B.
DON’T RUN FROM THEM! *** Psalm 55:8 “I would hurry to my place of escape, far away from the wind and storm.” [New Century Version] C.
DON’T HIDE FROM THEM! *** Psalm 32:3 “When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.” [NCV] WE’RE JUST
A COLLECTION OF HURTING PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOUND A PERSON
AND PLACE OF HEALING! *** James 5:16 “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you.” [NCV] D.
DON’T REHEARSE FROM THEM! *** Job 5:2 “To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.” [Today’s English Version] DON’T
REHEARSE YOUR HURTS, RELEASE THEM! E.
DON’T BE BITTER ABOUT THEM! *** Job 18:4 “You are only hurting yourself with your anger.” [TEV] BITTERNESS
ALLOWS THE PAST TO CONTROL OUR PRESENT! 2. HOW TO DEAL WITH OUR PAINFUL EXPERIENCES! *** Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” [NIV] A.
BY LETTING THE SHEPHERD SETTLE THE SCORE! “You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” THE SHEEP
LET THE SHEPHERD HANDLE THE ENEMIES! *** Romans 12:17,19 “Never pay back evil for evil. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it.” [Living Bible] YOU CANNOT
GET BETTER BY TRYING TO GET BACK! *** Col. 3:13 “Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” [Living] B.
BY LETTING THE SHEPHERD SOOTHE MY WOUNDS! “You
anoint my head with oil.” HAVE YOU
EVER NOTICED THAT IT IS THE LITTLE
THINGS THAT DRIVE US CRAZY! *** Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages
their wounds” [NCV] HOW DOES
HE BANDAGE OUR WOUNDS? ·
WITH FELLOWSHIP! *** Galatians 6:2 “By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.” [NCV] ·
WITH PRAYER! *** James 5:13 “Are you hurting? Pray” [Message] ·
WITH WORSHIP! *** Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go
to the Lord’s house.” [TEV] ·
WITH MINISTRY! *** 2 Cor. 1:3-4 “All praise to the God! Father of all
mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through
hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is
going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God
was there for us.” [Msg] C.
BY LETTING THE SHEPHERD SATISFY OUR NEEDS! “my cup
overflows” NO PERSON
CAN MEET ALL YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS! YOUR CUP
WILL OVERFLOW WITH: 1.
HOPE! – Romans 15:13 “I pray that God
will help you overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit’s power within
you.” [Living] 2.
LOVE! – 1 Thes. 3:12 “And may the Lord
make your love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as
our love overflows toward you.” [NLT] 3.
JOY! – John 16:24 “Ask, using my
name, and you will receive, and your cup of joy will overflow.” [Living] YOU’RE
INVITED TO A BANQUET OF HELP AND HEALING AND HEALTH! WILL YOU
COME? |