TOPIC: PRAISE IN ADVERSITY Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 The quality of believers these days is worrisome. It is hard to see people who are in church because of God. Preachers tend to market God as what He can do and this brings a poor quality of believers who serve God just to have needs met. God always blesses and sustains us but serving him should be all about who He is (Luke 18:8b). THE REVELATION OF GOD NEVER COMES UNTIL YOU GO THROUGH SOME TRIALS. The kind of trials that come our way can cause us to question God but going through crisis is not an indication that we’ve missed God. Just as it is normal to have storms in a sea, so are trials in this life. As long as we live in this world, there will be issues. Anyone that lives a godly life must suffer persecution (2Timothy 3:12). 1) Adversity comes to make us better not bitter – trials are not pleasant but there is a greater glory out of it. Something is happening in the spirit, our lives have been carefully planned, and it’s not a function of chance. There is a way out of pain, loss, tears but that way is UP (Psalm 34:19). Sometimes life will throw us into certain situations to prove that He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. 2) Adversity proves what is in our hearts - Often we go to church just because we want to meet people but God needs to know that when we say we love Him, we mean it through the good and the bad. Love is tested when there is a crisis, that’s why you must respect those who stand by you through thick and thin. If God were to separate you from everything (like He did with Job), will you still serve Him? God is looking for those who say, ‘I’ll serve Him whether I live or die’. 3) Adversity makes us mature – there are things you’ll never know you can handle until you are thrown in a sea. When all is said and done, you can look back over all you’ve achieved and face whatever challenges lie ahead. What you are going through is just a test. Let’s mature to the point where like Paul we can say we have learned to abound or be abased. 4) Adversity helps us learn – if where you are right now does not look good, relax, there is a purpose for what you are going through and it is to become like Christ (Romans 8:28-29). He allows adversity not to destroy you but to shape you. Through it we are being made to be and talk like God, not to lean on people or our resources because all other things are sinking sand. 5) Adversity prepares us for greater glory – storms are normal when you are at sea, that’s why Jesus could sleep through it. The fact that we are breathing is proof that God has been faithful. OUR SEASONS ARE NOT WHAT WE SHOULD USE TO JUDGE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. God is the same today, yesterday and forever; the God on the mountain is the same God in the valley. God is looking for a generation of people who will praise Him in spite of the fact that things do not work out the way we want; people who will praise Him whether things go right or wrong. God is looking for people who will still serve Him when there is nothing around. IN ALL THINGS, LET’S MAINTAIN THE PRAISE AND THE WORSHIP, LET IT NOT BE SEASONAL.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 05:16:01 +0000
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