18/05/2021
Title: Radical Trust in God
Text: Isaiah 40:28-31
Prepared by: Nelia Gutierrez
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Intro:
Radical meaning is : Arising from or going to a root or source basic proposed a radical. Back to basic.
We need to build our Radical trust in GOD in this way.
1. They accept suffering
One of the most powerful things I’ve read in recent memory is Brother Yun’s story of being a persecuted pastor in China, as recounted in the book The Heavenly Man. After facing weeks of torture, including electrocution, starvation, beatings, and having needles shoved under his fingernails, he was thrown in a box that was four feet long, three feet wide, and four feet high, where he would stay indefinitely. The day after he was put in this mini cell, he felt prompted to pray for a Bible — a ridiculous idea, considering that many people were in prison at that very moment for being in possession of such contraband. Yet he prayed anyway. And, inexplicably, the guards threw a Bible into his cell the next morning. He writes:
I knelt down and wept, thanking the Lord for this great gift. I could scarcely believe my dream had come true! No prisoner was ever allowed to have a Bible or any Christian literature, yet, strangely, God provided a Bible for me! Through this incident, the Lord showed me that regardless of men’s evil plans for me, he had not forgotten me and was in control of my life.
Story of Brother Yun.
Bible Verse: Psalm 34:19 | NIV
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
Supporting Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 |
· Praise is to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Note: In our life, we need to think different side and look up and thanks GOD for Our life.
2. They accept the inevitability of death
inevitability meaning: the quality of being certain to happen.
Note: Many of us fear to die because they are afraid to lose their money, material things, or the not yet finish to their some life busy.
But when you facing the most fearful trouble or trails you wish you want to die or filling you are Zombie live but not dead inside. Most of us that exactly felt but GOD says to us.
Bible Verse: Romans 8:35
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
"For your sake, we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NIV
Note: Trouble hardship is not a punishment it is our enemy us a soldier in Christ we need to be prepared for any kind of battle.
Supporting Verse: 2 Timothy 2:3-14
3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer.
5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.
6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed
