Thrive.Church Weekly Message

[Genesis 1:1-3] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. [3] Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Without God, there is ________________.

Real ________________ is the honest pursuit of ________________.

Anything that can't stand up to ________________ isn't worth basing your ________________ on.

[Isaiah 40:8] The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."

Trends change, kingdoms fall, but God’s Word remains ________________.

[Luke 24:44] Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled."

[Matthew 5:18] I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

The ____________ is more scientifically ________________ than any ancient text.

[Isaiah 40:22] God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.

[Job 26:7] God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.

Science is always ________________, but God's Word stays the ________________.

[Matthew 16:18 ESV] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Church is the people of God on ________________.

Rise: to move from a ___________ position to a ______________ one.

[Matthew 26:36-41] Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” [37] He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. [38] Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” [39] Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” [40] Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. [41] “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

[Matthew 14:22-24] Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. [23] After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. [24] Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

Some storms are part of God’s _________________.

The _________________ you’re in might be the _________________ God is using to grow your faith.

[Matthew 14:25-27] About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. [26] When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!" [27] But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"

What _________________ you doesn't _________________ God.

[Matthew 14:28-29] Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." [29] "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

Faith doesn’t wait for _________________ conditions.

[2 Corinthians 5:7] For we live by believing and not by seeing.

[Matthew 14:30-31] But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. [31] Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. "You have so little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"

Even when your _______________ falters, ______________ still reaches.

[Psalm 121:1-2] I look up to the mountains--does my help come from there? [2] My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

Jesus didn't _________________ the storm until He _________________ it.

[James 5:13-16] Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. [14] Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. [16] Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

[Daniel 1:3-4] Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah's royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. [4] "Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men," he said. "Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon."

The enemy doesn’t just want to ________________ you, he want to ________________ you.

[Daniel 3:16-18] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. [17] If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. [18] But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."

Real faith says God __________, believes God ____________, but trusts even if He ________________.

[1 Peter 4:12-13] Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. [13] Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

God doesn’t promise to keep you ___________ the fire, He promises to be ____________ you in it.

[Daniel 3:24-25] But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?" "Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did," they replied. [25] "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!"

You are never ________________ alone.

[Isaiah 43:2 ESV] When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

God promises to ________________ be with us.

[Daniel 3:27] Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke!

The only thing the fire destroyed was what _____________ them.

[James 1:2-3] Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. [3] For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Your ______________ is not the end of the ________________.

[Genesis 28:16] Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”

[Joshua 5:13-14] When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, "Are you friend or foe?" [14] "Neither one," he replied. "I am the commander of the LORD's army." At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. "I am at your command," Joshua said. "What do you want your servant to do?"

Sometimes we need to be ___________________ before we can be ___________________.

[Isaiah 55:8-9] "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. [9] For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

God doesn’t join our ___________________, He invites us to join ___________________.

[Joshua 6:3-5] You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. [4] Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. [5] When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams' horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town."

The path to the ___________________ always begins with ___________________.

[Hebrews 10:36] Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Faith means marching even when ___________________ is moving.

[Joshua 6:20] When the people heard the sound of the rams' horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

The God who calls you to ___________________ is the God who brings the walls ___________________.

[Joshua 1:9] This is my command--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Just because you don’t see ___________________ doesn’t mean God isn’t ___________________.

[Luke 18:1-7] One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. [2] “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. [3] A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ [4] The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, [5] but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” [6] Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. [7] Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?

[Galatians 5:25 NIV] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

It is possible to ___________________ the promptings of the Spirit.

[Acts 16:6-8] Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. 7 Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. 8 So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit ___________________ our direction.

[Acts 16:9-12] That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" 10 So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. 11 We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

We need to allow the Spirit to ___________________ us.

[Acts 16:13-15] On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15 She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. "If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my home." And she urged us until we agreed.

We need to ________ on God's direction not just _____________ it.

[Acts 16:40] When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.

Sometimes the Spirit doesn’t give you the whole ____________, just the next _____________.

[Galatians 6:4-5] Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

We can ___________________ from others, but we are not to ___________________ ourselves to others.

[John 10:27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

If we’re not walking with God ___________________ we won't recognize His ___________________.

[Proverbs 19:21] You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.

The goal is not to follow ________ plans, but to follow His ________.

[Philippians 4:6-7] Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

God’s will and path is always accompanied by His _____________.

If the situation is beyond _________ control, it’s in ________ control.