Thrive.Church Weekly Message

[James 4:2-4] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. [4] You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

Walking with God isn't _________________.

[Genesis 16:5-6] Then Sarai said to Abram, "This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she's pregnant she treats me with contempt. The LORD will show who's wrong--you or me!" [6] Abram replied, "Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit." Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

God _________________ finds us.

[Psalm 34:17-19] The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. [18] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. [19] The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

God sees you in your _________________.

[Genesis 16:7-8] The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. [8] The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai," she replied.

God sees you for who you will _________________.

[Genesis 16:11, 13] And the angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means 'God hears'), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress. [13] Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, "You are the God who sees me." She also said, "Have I truly seen the One who sees me?"

We serve a God who _________________ us.

[Genesis 21:14-16] So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar's shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. [15] When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. [16] Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. "I don't want to watch the boy die," she said, as she burst into tears.

[Genesis 21:17] But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, "Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.

The same God who ______________ her before ______________ them now.

[Genesis 21:19] Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.

Your provision may be _________________ than you think.

[Psalm 139:7] I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

[Job 33:14] For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.

God ______________ us to ______________ with Him.

[Micah 6:8] No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Walking with God doesn't just take you somewhere, you become someone ___________________.

[Genesis 5:22-24] After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. [23] Enoch lived 365 years, [24] walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

God wants us to ______________ with him _____________.

[Hebrews 11:5] It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying--"he disappeared, because God took him." For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.

Don't ______________ from God's presence.

Walking with God means being in _____________________ with God.

[Amos 3:3] Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?

It's not about God walking with ______________, it's us walking with ______________.

[1 John 2:6 ESV] whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

[Hebrews 11:6] And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Faith pleases God more than ______________.

[Romans 12:2a] Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world

To walk with God is to walk against the ______________ of culture.

[Matthew 6:7] “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

God does His best work in what we think is ________________.

[2 Chronicles 33:7-9] Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. [8] If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands--all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses--I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors." [9] But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.

Sometimes transformation begins when everything else ________________ ________________.

[2 Chronicles 33:11-13] So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. [12] But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. [13] And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!

Rock bottom is often where _____________________ begins.

[2 Corinthians 5:17] This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

[Romans 7:18-19] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. [19] I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

Change requires ___________________.

[1 John 1:9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

God transforms the person who ____________________.

[Ephesians 4:22-24] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God--truly righteous and holy.

You weren't meant to transform ________________.

[Job 33:14] For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.

Comparison is the thief of _____________ and the destroyer of ___________________________.

[Psalm 73:1-5] A psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. [2] But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. [3] For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. [4] They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. [5] They don't have troubles like other people; they're not plagued with problems like everyone else.

Comparison will _______________ your ______________________.

[Psalm 73:13-14] Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? [14] I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.

God’s faithfulness to _________________ _____________ is not evidence of Him ____________________ you.

[2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV] We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

Clarity comes in God's PRESENCE.

[Psalm 73:17] Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Worship doesn’t change your __________________, but it changes what you're _____________________ on.

[Psalm 73:23-24] Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. [24] You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.

God doesn’t rush ________________________.

[Galatians 6:9] So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

God's delays lead to _____________________________.

[Exodus 13:17-18] When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, "If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." [18] So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.

God is never in a ___________________, but He’s never ____________________ either.

[Luke 16:10] "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.

Your worth is not tied to your _______________________.

Self-control is doing the right thing ________________ of how you feel in the moment.

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