Our text is from the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They thought to frighten Him, but all it did was to create a greater determination in Him. At some point in life, we will face a moment where we will have to say “I Must Do this.” If we rise to the challenge, or fail to meet it; that moment will define our life. Very few people like to be compelled to face things, but there are issues that we must face at a time that we do not choose, but face them we must. We cannot go around it, or climb over it. We must face it head on. There is no perfect life. When we look around at people, it is easy to think that others have it all together.. The truth is that all lives experience challenges. We each have a God given purpose for which we must live. What are the musts in life? We must know who we are. God did not make a mistake when He made us. God had a reason for creating each of us, and it is our responsibility to find that reason. The second must is we have to live by certain rules in life. Time and chance happen to all. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. All the circumstances in life cannot change the plan that God has for us. If it comes into our life, it is there because God has a plan to use it for His glory. Each of us will face issues in life that have the potential to make or break us. How we respond to these compelling issues of life is the key.

Our text is from the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They thought to frighten Him, but all it did was to create a greater determination in Him. At some point in life, we will face a moment where we will have to say “I Must Do this.” If we rise to the challenge, or fail to meet it; that moment will define our life. Very few people like to be compelled to face things, but there are issues that we must face at a time that we do not choose, but face them we must. We cannot go around it, or climb over it. We must face it head on. There is no perfect life. When we look around at people, it is easy to think that others have it all together.. The truth is that all lives experience challenges. We each have a God given purpose for which we must live. What are the musts in life? We must know who we are. God did not make a mistake when He made us. God had a reason for creating each of us, and it is our responsibility to find that reason. The second must is we have to live by certain rules in life. Time and chance happen to all. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. All the circumstances in life cannot change the plan that God has for us. If it comes into our life, it is there because God has a plan to use it for His glory. Each of us will face issues in life that have the potential to make or break us. How we respond to these compelling issues of life is the key.

At some point every child of God needs to go to the book of Job to study and conseder. Job was not perfect, but he is a man who always kept his grounding. Even when all the trouble beset his life, it did not change who he was or his relationship with God. He seemed to have a sense of what to do in the most critical junctures in life. In chapter two when the messengers came to come and bring bad news, Job fell to the ground and worshiped God. The key passage in the whole account is this: “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” The bible did not say that Job did not sin in his questions; he had some of the same questions as his friends. But Job was very careful of what he allowed to come out of his mouth. Job found a way to speak of God’s mercy and to bless the Lord. The bible does not say that Job did not think it or have questions, but it DOES say that Job did not sin with his lips. Our text is God speaking to Job after all the questions and words from Job and his friends. Out text references Pleiades and Orion. These are constellations that have been in place since creation. Pleiades was a signal of spring. When it appeared in the sky, they understood that winter was almost over and that spring was on its way. The appearance of this sign every year was a reminder of God’s promise that has been in place since creation. Our text speaks of the sweet influence. The influences are all of the things that work on us in life that determine our state of mind. What are these influences? What determines how these things play out? Some are being influenced by our wants. We didn't get the things we wanted: The house, the job, the car, the vacation. Out life is more than our wants. Some are influenced by their present moment; what they are going through right now. Job was rocked by many situations. He returned to God; the rock on which his life was built. No matter how the winds of life blew, he was not blown too far from that rock. Some people make decisions based on their current circumstances. It is a mistake to make a life changing decision in the middle of a storm. A moment will pass, but God remains. No matter how bad the winter, each spring the Pleiades will show up. For some, the influences in their life is people. We all have people problems. Job was surrounded by friends. With friends like that, who needs enemies? It does not matter if even our closest friends question us, it is our relationship with God that counts. Far too many people are miles away from God because of the influence of people in their life. God said people will fail us, but He is unchanging. God said we are his children. God says we are redeemed. The greatest influencer of life is pride. Pride has locked more people into a world of coldness and hardness than anything. Too proud to humble themselves. Too proud to admit that they may have been at fault. Pride is deceitful. Pride is the most destructive influence of life. The influences of life are powerful. We must take care to stay grounded to the rock. The influence of our life must be God’s goodness and compassion. What are the influences in our life?

At some point every child of God needs to go to the book of Job to study and conseder. Job was not perfect, but he is a man who always kept his grounding. Even when all the trouble beset his life, it did not change who he was or his relationship with God. He seemed to have a sense of what to do in the most critical junctures in life. In chapter two when the messengers came to come and bring bad news, Job fell to the ground and worshiped God. The key passage in the whole account is this: “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” The bible did not say that Job did not sin in his questions; he had some of the same questions as his friends. But Job was very careful of what he allowed to come out of his mouth. Job found a way to speak of God’s mercy and to bless the Lord. The bible does not say that Job did not think it or have questions, but it DOES say that Job did not sin with his lips. Our text is God speaking to Job after all the questions and words from Job and his friends. Out text references Pleiades and Orion. These are constellations that have been in place since creation. Pleiades was a signal of spring. When it appeared in the sky, they understood that winter was almost over and that spring was on its way. The appearance of this sign every year was a reminder of God’s promise that has been in place since creation. Our text speaks of the sweet influence. The influences are all of the things that work on us in life that determine our state of mind. What are these influences? What determines how these things play out? Some are being influenced by our wants. We didn't get the things we wanted: The house, the job, the car, the vacation. Out life is more than our wants. Some are influenced by their present moment; what they are going through right now. Job was rocked by many situations. He returned to God; the rock on which his life was built. No matter how the winds of life blew, he was not blown too far from that rock. Some people make decisions based on their current circumstances. It is a mistake to make a life changing decision in the middle of a storm. A moment will pass, but God remains. No matter how bad the winter, each spring the Pleiades will show up. For some, the influences in their life is people. We all have people problems. Job was surrounded by friends. With friends like that, who needs enemies? It does not matter if even our closest friends question us, it is our relationship with God that counts. Far too many people are miles away from God because of the influence of people in their life. God said people will fail us, but He is unchanging. God said we are his children. God says we are redeemed. The greatest influencer of life is pride. Pride has locked more people into a world of coldness and hardness than anything. Too proud to humble themselves. Too proud to admit that they may have been at fault. Pride is deceitful. Pride is the most destructive influence of life. The influences of life are powerful. We must take care to stay grounded to the rock. The influence of our life must be God’s goodness and compassion. What are the influences in our life?

God created the garden. He created a perfect place for us to live. Adam and Eve were innocent and were created near perfect. God created man to love him. However even in that perfect setting, there was a carnal nature to man. There are not many verses, about how the serpent came around, but we can guess that he had been coming around for a while. Over time, the serpent was able to subvert the word that God had given Adam and Eve and subtly over time, convinced them of something different that God had told them. If we allow sin to be near our lives, eventually, we will succumb to the same temptation. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. Sin took over the world and within a thousand years, God was so disgusted that he destroyed the world. After the flood, in about 200 years, the world was again mired in sin. In Genesis Chapter 11 we are introduced to Abram. He was a man of faith who lived in a wicked city that was a stopover place for travelers. Early in Chapter 12, God tells Abram to get out to get him away from the sin that was in the town. God was pushing Abram out of his comfort zone to a place that was better. Abram obeys and leaves his father’s house. The struck out not even knowing where God was taking him. Like Abram, God is calling us to separate ourselves from sin. God drove Adam from the garden because of sin. He drew Abram away from Horan because of sin. God wants us to step away from the sin that would drag us down. It is time to step into our promise.

God created the garden. He created a perfect place for us to live. Adam and Eve were innocent and were created near perfect. God created man to love him. However even in that perfect setting, there was a carnal nature to man. There are not many verses, about how the serpent came around, but we can guess that he had been coming around for a while. Over time, the serpent was able to subvert the word that God had given Adam and Eve and subtly over time, convinced them of something different that God had told them. If we allow sin to be near our lives, eventually, we will succumb to the same temptation. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. Sin took over the world and within a thousand years, God was so disgusted that he destroyed the world. After the flood, in about 200 years, the world was again mired in sin. In Genesis Chapter 11 we are introduced to Abram. He was a man of faith who lived in a wicked city that was a stopover place for travelers. Early in Chapter 12, God tells Abram to get out to get him away from the sin that was in the town. God was pushing Abram out of his comfort zone to a place that was better. Abram obeys and leaves his father’s house. The struck out not even knowing where God was taking him. Like Abram, God is calling us to separate ourselves from sin. God drove Adam from the garden because of sin. He drew Abram away from Horan because of sin. God wants us to step away from the sin that would drag us down. It is time to step into our promise.

We live in a world that does not need much of anything. We have wealth and abundance. Yet far too many don’t know what they don’t have. We in the church take Jesus and His presence for granted. Imagine a lost world who do not know HIm. To Far too many, church is a few songs and a three point sermon. They do not have a real understanding of what it is to be in the presence of Almighty God. In our text, the man at the gate Beautiful relied on others to get him there. Those who begged at the temple gate relied on the goodwill of those on their way to worship and the feeling of generosity that many of them would have. Everyone there knew his name and his story. How many walked by daily and took no heed of of this man or his plight? How many were too busy to pay attention to the need that was right before them? This man was brought to the temple every day. He was so close to the presence of God, but because of his situation, he was not allowed inside. On this day, Peter and John were walking by. These men were in the upper room and received the Holy Spirit in the previous chapter. Peter tells the man to “look on us” Not only was he going to engage the man, but he wanted him to understand that they understood his situation. The man was asking for money, not a miracle. He was asking for just enough to get by for another day. He needed healing, but he didn’t know what he needed. He was asking for money because that is what he thought he needed. Peter and John told him that they didn’t have what he was asking for, but they did have what he needed. Imagine what was going on in this man’s mind. He was born lame. Every day since his birth, he had to be carried to where he was going. Imagine the scene when Peter lifted him to his feat and he could walk. He could have gone running to his family to show them, but he chose to go into the temple to praise God. He entered the temple shouting and jumping and praising God. He was asking for money, but he received healing; he received Jesus. Every person in the temple knew of the healing. Each of us who have the holy ghost know the joy of living for the Lord. We all encounter people in our lives. We know people at school and work. We know the problems they have. We know what they are asking for, but we know what they need. They need Jesus. We have what they need. They don’t need another feel good sermon, they need and encounter with Jesus. They need someone to say, I don’t have what you are asking for, but I have what you need. They need joy unspeakable and full of glory. They need a fire shut up in their bones. They need to be baptized in Jesus name and to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Peter was not the healer, he was simply the vessel. The world thinks it knows what it needs, but what the world really needs is Jesus.

We live in a world that does not need much of anything. We have wealth and abundance. Yet far too many don’t know what they don’t have. We in the church take Jesus and His presence for granted. Imagine a lost world who do not know HIm. To Far too many, church is a few songs and a three point sermon. They do not have a real understanding of what it is to be in the presence of Almighty God. In our text, the man at the gate Beautiful relied on others to get him there. Those who begged at the temple gate relied on the goodwill of those on their way to worship and the feeling of generosity that many of them would have. Everyone there knew his name and his story. How many walked by daily and took no heed of of this man or his plight? How many were too busy to pay attention to the need that was right before them? This man was brought to the temple every day. He was so close to the presence of God, but because of his situation, he was not allowed inside. On this day, Peter and John were walking by. These men were in the upper room and received the Holy Spirit in the previous chapter. Peter tells the man to “look on us” Not only was he going to engage the man, but he wanted him to understand that they understood his situation. The man was asking for money, not a miracle. He was asking for just enough to get by for another day. He needed healing, but he didn’t know what he needed. He was asking for money because that is what he thought he needed. Peter and John told him that they didn’t have what he was asking for, but they did have what he needed. Imagine what was going on in this man’s mind. He was born lame. Every day since his birth, he had to be carried to where he was going. Imagine the scene when Peter lifted him to his feat and he could walk. He could have gone running to his family to show them, but he chose to go into the temple to praise God. He entered the temple shouting and jumping and praising God. He was asking for money, but he received healing; he received Jesus. Every person in the temple knew of the healing. Each of us who have the holy ghost know the joy of living for the Lord. We all encounter people in our lives. We know people at school and work. We know the problems they have. We know what they are asking for, but we know what they need. They need Jesus. We have what they need. They don’t need another feel good sermon, they need and encounter with Jesus. They need someone to say, I don’t have what you are asking for, but I have what you need. They need joy unspeakable and full of glory. They need a fire shut up in their bones. They need to be baptized in Jesus name and to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Peter was not the healer, he was simply the vessel. The world thinks it knows what it needs, but what the world really needs is Jesus.

It is easy to look at life and conclude that even as much as we have that we are still missing so much. It can be finances, health or our spiritual lives, we feel that we do not have enough. What we do not realize is that even though we may be in a drought and that our resources are not sufficient, if we turn what little we have to offer to HIm, it is more than enough. When we place it in His hands, we place it in the hands that formed the Heavens and the Earth out of nothing. Nothing in His hands are more than enough for everything. All we have left, is all that He needs to sustain us until He sends the rain. In Mark we read the story of the widow woman who placed all she had into the offering. Even though her offering was much less than the others, Jesus recognized that because her sacrifice was much larger than all the others who gave. All we have is all that He needs from us. Many will give some. God can find some everywhere, but to find those who give all is more rare. All is a personal thing. We each have our own all. The only all that will make a difference is the all that we give. David faced Goliath. They tried to fit him with armor, but Saul’s armour would not work for David, so he faced the giant with five smooth stones and a sling. All that David had to offer was all that God needed. A small boy set out one day with a small lunch. He joined a crowd of over 5000 people watching Jesus teaching. Jesus told the disciples to find food to feed the multitude. They went through the crowd and only found the small boy and his lunch. Jesus took all that that young man had, and used it to feed all the people and it was more than enough. All that we have to offer is all that He needs to make a miracle. In our text, Elijah finds the widow woman and asks for water. She goes immediately because it was easy to provide that. Next he asks for bread. Now he was asking for all that she had left. It was her last meal. Elijah tells her to proceed with her plans, but to bring him a cake first. She argued a bit further , but she ultimately obeyed and provided all she had. She gave up what would sustain her for a moment, but God provided for her needs for much longer than the immediate need. What do we have left to give? Some have wasted what we were given. Some have fallen on hard times and do not have much left. If we give all that we have to Him, it is all that He needs to make a miracle. He can restore and make whole.

It is easy to look at life and conclude that even as much as we have that we are still missing so much. It can be finances, health or our spiritual lives, we feel that we do not have enough. What we do not realize is that even though we may be in a drought and that our resources are not sufficient, if we turn what little we have to offer to HIm, it is more than enough. When we place it in His hands, we place it in the hands that formed the Heavens and the Earth out of nothing. Nothing in His hands are more than enough for everything. All we have left, is all that He needs to sustain us until He sends the rain. In Mark we read the story of the widow woman who placed all she had into the offering. Even though her offering was much less than the others, Jesus recognized that because her sacrifice was much larger than all the others who gave. All we have is all that He needs from us. Many will give some. God can find some everywhere, but to find those who give all is more rare. All is a personal thing. We each have our own all. The only all that will make a difference is the all that we give. David faced Goliath. They tried to fit him with armor, but Saul’s armour would not work for David, so he faced the giant with five smooth stones and a sling. All that David had to offer was all that God needed. A small boy set out one day with a small lunch. He joined a crowd of over 5000 people watching Jesus teaching. Jesus told the disciples to find food to feed the multitude. They went through the crowd and only found the small boy and his lunch. Jesus took all that that young man had, and used it to feed all the people and it was more than enough. All that we have to offer is all that He needs to make a miracle. In our text, Elijah finds the widow woman and asks for water. She goes immediately because it was easy to provide that. Next he asks for bread. Now he was asking for all that she had left. It was her last meal. Elijah tells her to proceed with her plans, but to bring him a cake first. She argued a bit further , but she ultimately obeyed and provided all she had. She gave up what would sustain her for a moment, but God provided for her needs for much longer than the immediate need. What do we have left to give? Some have wasted what we were given. Some have fallen on hard times and do not have much left. If we give all that we have to Him, it is all that He needs to make a miracle. He can restore and make whole.