The Great Commission
MATURING IN CHRIST
Part 5: HOW-TO Overcome Despair
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith – www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS
6:00PM Evening Service at the church –
“Seminary Students will be preaching”
December 14th – Deacon Kurt Ulman
December 21st – Lori Ulman
December 28th – Lynnette Higgins
January 4th – Grace Steadman
January 11th – Walker Spriggs
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
DATE: December 24th – Wednesday Evening
TIME: 6:00pm – 7:00pm
EVENTS:
Prayer, music, singing & praises.
Close with candle lighting
Fellowship and snacks to follow
WHERE WE ARE AT
† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Be Christ Centered
† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Praise the Lord
† Growing in the Lord : HOW-TO Have the Joy of the Lord
† Maturing in Christ: Spiritual Trials
† Maturing in Christ: Facing Serious Illness
† Maturing in Christ: Facing Financial Problems
† Maturing in Christ: HOW-TO Handle Stress
† Maturing in Christ: HOW-TO Overcome Despair
INTRODUCTION
Despair - a state in which all hope is lost or absent; give up hope; lose heart; the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well;
Can be a noun, or a verb…
Today we will look at what causes despair, what God’s Word says we are to do about despair, and how we can “do” what God’s Word says.
I. CAUSE OF DESPAIR
† Hebrews 13:1-6 – Not obeying the Word can cause despair
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
6 So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"
We can not say “YES” to verse 6 if we do not say “YES” to verse 1-5!
† Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
† Philippians 4:12-13
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
II. FOCUSING ON GOD
† II Corinthians 4:8-9; 13-18
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
† Psalm 103:10-12
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
III. HIS PROMISE
† Hebrews 6:15
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
We sometimes have despair because we lack patience for the promises of God…
Our despair can cause lack of faith, and that disobedience can prolong our promise.
The promise land was kept from the children of Israel because of this for 40 years.
And we get upset if God does not jump to our requests within the time frame we have allowed Him.
We need to rethink our position in the kingdom, remind ourselves who we are, and remember who God is.
We have despair because we lack faith in Him whom our promise comes.
† Galatians 6:7-10
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
When we sow impatience, when we lack that faith which then causes despair, when we demand of God and have no patience for His promise, we sow sin…
And the scripture promises that what we sow, we shall also reap, as the children of Israel did for 40 years, causing their promise to be held back.
BUT, if we sow to please the Spirit, which means to remember our place in the Kingdom, and that we pray God’s Will be done, not ours…
That attitude will reap eternal life, not destruction.
And let us not get tired of doing what is good.
One who gets tired of doing good, or the right thing is a selfish self centered person, who says, “All I ever do is good and what’s right, when am I going to get what I deserve?”
With that attitude, keep behaving in that manner, and the Bible promises you will get what you deserve…you will reap what your attitude has been sowing.
But to the one who continues to do good, not for reward, but because it is pleasing to the Spirit…the one who does not tire of doing good, even though he receives nothing for his efforts, to him, the scriptures promise, at the proper time he will reap the harvest if he does not give up.
It says in verse 10, therefore, if you have the opportunity to do good, do it! To all people! But especially to the ones who belong to God.
† Isaiah 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
CLOSING
† Matthew 11:28-30
28 "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."
