What's holding back God's answer you are looking for? part 2

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Hope in the waiting  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:01:29
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Hope in the Waiting

What's holding back God's answer you are looking for? part 2

10 Ways you could be holding up God’s answer!
Last week we dealt with part 1 of the answer
Mainly it could be the enemy hold back the answer, or even other people could be holding it back
Today I want to deal with an even more delicate answer.
Might I suggest that you might be holding up God answer yourself?
Think about it, are there things in your own life that could preventing God from carrying out His will and giving you the answer?
Some things to consider
John 16:33 NASB95
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:28 NASB95
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
From these 2 verses we know bad things will happen, and God will turn those bad things into Good
For Who?
for those who Love God, and who are called according to His purpose
We’ve dealt alot with what it means to Love God
It is of the core principles of Our Church,
Love God, Love People, Make disciples
Love God means to obey God
John 14:15 NASB95
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
But what does it mean “and who are called according to His purpose”
If you Love God (obey God) you are Called…invited…chosen to be a part of His Purpose here on earth
Romans 12:2 NASB95
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Your obedience make you usable to be a part of His will being done!
So let’s pull this all together.
You have bad things happen.....guaranteed
But in-spite of the difficulty you choose to love (obey) God
Which allows God to work His good through you,
The time it takes between the Bad and the good is the time I’m referring to as waiting.
But also waiting for something good, even if things aren’t bad!
The purpose of every trial, difficulty, or bad situation, is always used to bring you closer to God
James 1:2–8 NASB95
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Good God brings out of it, will always revolve around a deepening relationship with Himself
If you don’t develop a deeper relationship, you can’t really say its “Good”
God greatest desire for you is for you to know Him more, for you to grow in your trust and reliance with Him
Today I want to look at :
10 Ways you could be holding up God’s answer!
Now before we get started, let me say this disclaimer
I’m am not saying these are all the reason we can hold up Gods answer
there may be more
Just because I say this is a reason, does NOT mean it is your reason
My purpose in this is to get you to in the place where you can ask God
Is this the reason why I’m not getting my answer?
then listen what He reveals to you
If one of these reason tweak a nerve, prayerfully consider the truth of the matter
let’s get started
We’re going to count backwards. in no particular order.
10. Your need for control.
Proverbs 3:5–6 NASB95
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
You love when life falls according to your plan.
You crave organization. You crave order.
You obsess over having life work the way you want it to.
When things make sense, when you can have or find the answers, or when you’re in complete control over what’s happening to and around you—everything is great.
Faith, to you, seems like a surrender of all that you’ve built your life upon and tried to keep together.
Instead of seeing the truth—that giving God the control allows for freedom, you feel as if you’re going to lose out.
What you fail to see is that when you let God take over, you allow for His plan to be fulfilled,
for true happiness to be found, and for a loss of the stress and constant anxiety you’re plagued with as you try so hard to control what you simply can’t.
9. Your fear of the unknown.
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB95
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
You’re losing out on a deeper relationship with God because you’re afraid of what you can’t see, can’t know, or don’t understand.
Instead of asking questions or searching for answers, instead of digging deeper, or praying, or learning more about faith to discover what you’re looking for, you push God away.
You treat God’s truth as fallacy simply because you’re scared of what you don’t know—but if you don’t search, you’ll never find.
8. Your love of all things material.
Matthew 6:19–20 NASB95
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
You put everything before God: your money, your clothes, your house, your phone, your car, your electronics. The list is endless.
What’s truly keeping you from forming a healthy, deep relationship with your Father is the fact that you value everything over Him, leaving no room for anything deep or substantial in your heart or life.
7. Your focus on the temporary.
2 Corinthians 4:18 NASB95
while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
God’s love is forever, yet you focus so much on things that will not last—material goods, human relationships, emotions, things.
Instead of putting your love and obedience towards faith, instead of resting your heart on what comes after this life, you’re too tied to what’s right in front of you, which is fading as each moment passes.
6. Your need to look back instead of forward.
Isaiah 43:19 NASB95
“Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
Your relationship with God is stagnant because you’re so stuck in the past.
“remembering the Good old days”
You’re always looking over your shoulder, beating yourself up over the past, thinking about what happened rather than what could. You keep neglecting God’s truth—that each day is new in Him. And there is always, always hope.
5. Your negative self-image, or self-deprecating thoughts.
Matthew 10:29 NASB95
“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Your negative self-talk is what’s keeping you back from God’s love.
It’s not that He doesn’t love you, or doesn’t want to.
It’s not that He’s keeping Himself away, or isn’t present.
The truth is, you’re continually speaking with anger and cruelty to your own heart.
You’re convincing yourself that you’re not good enough, instead of resting on His truth—that you are always more than enough in His eyes.
4. Your inability to trust what you know in your heart is true.
You lack faith
Hebrews 11:6 NASB95
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Matthew 13:58 NASB95
And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Ill Man who was brought for prayer after 40 day fast
You know that God’s word is real.
You know His deep love for you, and how He will forever be with and in you, no matter what happens.
You’ve seen miracles and blessings all around you.
You’ve been strengthened in Him. And yet, you’re scared to truly trust.
The reason you’re not able to have a deep relationship with Him boils down to this simple fact—you are doubting what you know is true.
3. Your desire for personal happiness, rather than God-provided happiness.
Psalm 37:4 NASB95
Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
You can’t deepen your relationship with the Father if you’re so stuck on selfish or worldly desires.
This life is temporary, and when you put all your passion and energy into pursuing the things and people of this world, you’ll forever miss out on all that God offers—unconditional love, forgiveness, hope, and eternal life.
2. Your nervousness over the possibility of change.
Ecclesiastes 3:1–3 NASB95
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
Truth is, you’re scared to have a deeper relationship with God because you don’t want things to change.
You don’t want this life to all of a sudden be harder, or for there to be tests of faith.
You don’t want to wake up and have to choose faith over a normal life.
You don’t want anything remotely difficult, when you’ve gotten so used to the ease of your every day.
But faith is challenge. Faith is choice.
Faith is passion and love and commitment for the beautiful, and often unseen things of this world.
Your content in your sin
I was asked recently Why Pastors don’t preach on sin any more
I was then asked when was the last time I spoke on sin
Well here it goes..
Romans 6:23 NASB95
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin is always momentary pleasure for long term pain
Sin always leads to destruction
Galatians 6:7–8 NASB95
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Ill Woman smoking through tracheotomy
Prophesies Received
the prophecies we receive about the great things God has planned for us and the great things that we're going to do for God but then often days months years and even decades go by and these things don't happen we're left wondering why.
we sit back and wonder was that really God and why hasn't it happened and will it ever happen
I have discovered something in my life about prophecy it changed the way I looked at prophecy and how it affects my life and this one that the revelation could change the way that you think about it too and has the potential to literally change the course of your life if you grab ahold of it
here is what I've discovered prophecy
It is an invitation to walk a particular pathway it's not just a vision of some great thing your life might look like somewhere down the track
it's an invitation from God to start to walk a particular pathway with Him today
it's up to us to choose if we will accept his invitation and begin the journey prophecy reveals the gifts and plans he has for you and he is inviting you to walk the pathway into that future
God does not just paint a picture of what your life could or would look like one day and then you sit back and wait for that day wondering when it's ever going to happen
he is presenting you with an invitation to walk a pathway toward that future and he wants you to start that journey now
the invitation started the day you received the prophecy but most of us have believed a lie from the devil that it is holy to wait for God to make it happen
but actually God is waiting for us to make it happen to work the adventure that he has personally planned for you and invited you on
accepting His invitation to walk the pathway into our future requires us to be deliberate and intentional about taking steps to warn it to say yes I am going to do that
I'm going to make that happen
I'm going to take steps to warn it
I'm going to pursue it with all my heart
it may just be small steps to begin with, but the journey of a 1000 miles begins with 1 step.
Let’s pray
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