Quiet Times Search

• Admit my sin and weaknesses
• Ask for help from God and others
• Commit myself to serving God, no matter my shortcomings

• They saw a immoral Samaritan woman, Jesus saw a lady who could change the city - John 4
• They saw a demon-possessed Legion, Jesus saw a man who could change ten cites - Mark 5
• They saw a impetuous pebble, Jesus called him the Rock - Matthew 16:18

God saw us for who we really were and yet treasures us like jewels in his hand.

The power that raise Jesus from the dead is available for us who believe

When we begin to understand how powerful God is, it will revolutionize our prayer lives

The Bible resonates with the awesome power of God:

• The highest heavens cannot contain you - 2 Chronicles 6:18
• He is outside of time - Psalms 90:1-2
• The clouds are dust of his feet - Nahum 1:3
• God has made everything we see and all that we can not

God is nowhere need us as far as this power but on person level he is wants to be right next to us:

• Yet he is not far from each one of us - Acts 17:27
• He reveals his thoughts to man - Amos 4:13
• God knows us completely - Psalms 38:9

Human power is nothing in the face of God's awesome power

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation - Habakkuk 3:17-18

What we think about and focus on really does affect our attiutde - The Power of Positive Thinking

Habakkuk fortold:

• The coming destruction of Jerusalem 
• The Babylonian captivity that would follow

Habakkuk grieved over the coming destruction but he did sink into despair

Joy in God was a choice, Babylonians or no Babylonians

To maintain his joy, he counted two truths

• His difficult times would not last forever
• His source of joy lay in the God he loved

His loving God was the one constant in his life

Must we bring you water from this rock? - Numbers 20:10

Sometimes we say "I did the best I could" but instead, we should say "I should have called you sooner"

An independent spirit often keeps us from doing our best

Moses became a humble, obedient servant yet in a moment he lost everything that he had worked so hard to gain

• The Israelites were thirsty and grumpy
• They complained about the lack of water
• Moses angerily rebuked them and struck the rock twice

His prideful self-reliance cost him the opportunity to lead them to the promised land.

What would it mean for you to rely on God?

You are his successor, yet you have not humble yourself - Daniel 5:22

Belshazzar, refused to learn from his grandfather's mistake

Nebuchadnezzar long refused to bow before the Lord

God humbled him by cause him to live like a wild animal

Belshazzar dishonored God when he brought out gold cups from the temple for a drunken, idol-worshiping party

Daniel explained to him, hos days as king had come to an end - Daniel 25:30

It does not help to dwell in the past, but it is a good biblical idea to learn from it.

What lessons from the past jump out at you?

Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven - Matthew 19:21

He was a good man who kept God's commandmetns,yet he was aware of an empty place in his life

Jesus called him to leave everything behind and follow him

The rich man wanted to follow Jesus but not as much as he wanted to hang on to his stuff

This reluctant young man ended his life as a sad case of unfulfilled potential

Neve see Jesus' call to follow him as a deal breaker

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine - Mark 14:36

We sometime have a difficult time with the idea of a loving God when we go through difficult times

A life of without suffering is prefered and you will would probably do anything you could to avoid it

Even as Jesus prayed for relief, he remained completely and single-mindedly submitted to his Father's will

At the moment of truth, he was willing to go through with the appointment God had made for him

Nothing tests your submission to God's will and plans like adversity

Even when there was no hope, Abraham kept hoping of becoming a father of man nations - Romans 4:18

Hope - a sense of expectancy even when the circumstaces suggest packing it in and giving up

At age 100 years  Abraham still had no children

Humanly speaking, Abraham had every reason to wonder if God had forgotten his promise

Abraham remained convicted God would keep all his promises

God blessed Abraham and his wife with a son - he became a father of many nations

Those who trust in me will never be put to shaem - Isaiah 49:23

Has God given you an yet-to-be-fullfilled promise? Have you grown weary in waiting?

He healed my eyes and yet you don't know where he comes from? - John 9:30

The Jewish reglious leaders constantly opposed his and couldn't see past their own legalism and tradition long enough to see the miracle

The blind man and others understood who Jesus was because he witnessed the miracles with open minds and hearts

Jesus demonstarted God's power, the man did as Jesus said, and receive the gift of sight:

1. Spit in the dirt
2. Wiped mud in his eyes
3. Told him to wash

The Jewish leaders took issue to Jesus "working" on the Sabbath

Ex-blind man: If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it - John 9:33

When we receive spiritual insight that changes our lives, we need to tell others what God has done - we were blind but now we see!

Then Jesus wept... "See how much he loved him!" - John 11:35-36

Jesus was never afraid to show his emotions

He knew how the saga of Lazarus' death would end that day and the people would winess a spectacular miracle - yet he cried as he approached his firend's tomb

Reason for tears?

• Felt other pain
• Death had invaded his friend's lives
• Disappointment from their lack of faith

Jesus was perfect in love, holiness, and his ability to express emotion

Summary

In Gerar, Isaac lied about Rebekah being his wife. 

Observations

Genesis 26:5 - Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions

• Abraham had not received the law yet
• He was described as one who kept the law by living by faith and obedience
• A man who lived by faith could be described as one who kept the law

Genesis 26:9 - I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me

• The son repeated his father's lie's [Genesis 20:2]
• Faith in God's promises causes fearless work with Him
• This time it was not God but Abimekech who protected and commad that the woman not to be touched
• The Philistine king emerged as the righteous one
• God continued to be faithful with Issac for the sake of future generations
• If Isaac's marriage had ended here, there would have been no Israelites

Application

The first step toward helping children live righteously is for the parent to live rightly. What kind of example I am setting for my children?

Prayer

Please help me to see what I am projecting onto my children by the life I am living

We try to give to many causes and the result is we have little joy in our giving
It is not man's duty to contribute to every good cause that passes his way
Only when we draw a circle around our beneficence that we become what God likes - a cheerful giver

Not only was Jesus joyful but he was mighty

He stayed in Palestine and kept his heart close to a few chosen hearts - became increasingly influential

He made himself mighty by limiting himself

The difference between a mighty river and a swap is the river has banks (boundries)

What is success? It is to do the thing we were created to do
"I have finished the work you gave me to do" - Jesus to the Father

He was only 33 years old - yet he did the greatest piece of work ever accoumplished on the earth

The "fine" in fine arts is the because of the limitations which they impose
There is no leeway in music, a little sharp or flat and the song is not right