Wesley Chapel Podcast

The theme of this sermon is fear. What will we do with fear? Where will we turn to when we are afraid? The conclusion is that deliverance only comes through Jesus Christ. In this passage, an army was coming against Judah and intimidated the city. The enemy will bring worst-case scenarios to cause us to fear. When we face fear, the temptation is to lose confidence in God. But when Hezekiah heard the intimidation, he instead acknowledged his own helplessness and went to the Lord. He didn’t trust in himself, but sought God. He also sought direction and guidance from the community of faith. We are called as a body, and we are not meant to go through trials alone. It takes humility to go to the community with our trials, but we need the prayers of each other. Isaiah spoke words of encouragement to Hezekiah in his trial. Do not be afraid. We have no need to fear because the Lord is about to do a work of deliverance. When the enemy hears that we are not afraid, he will step up his fear tactics. He will cause us to question God and His ability to deliver us. Turn again to the house of the Lord. Remember God’s promises and how He has delivered you in the past. Spread your fears before the Lord and leave your situation with Him. Acknowledge that it is too much for you, and declare God’s omnipotence and sovereignty. When you come to the Lord in trials, acknowledge who He is. You can trust Him! Hold on to the fact that God will not allow any temporary evil that does not clear the way for greater good. Acknowledge that He is a God of mercy and therefore we can come to Him through Christ. God is greater than anything we are facing. The deliverance we need will only come through Christ.

The theme of this sermon is fear. What will we do with fear? Where will we turn to when we are afraid? The conclusion is that deliverance only comes through Jesus Christ. In this passage, an army was coming against Judah and intimidated the city. The enemy will bring worst-case scenarios to cause us to fear. When we face fear, the temptation is to lose confidence in God. But when Hezekiah heard the intimidation, he instead acknowledged his own helplessness and went to the Lord. He didn’t trust in himself, but sought God. He also sought direction and guidance from the community of faith. We are called as a body, and we are not meant to go through trials alone. It takes humility to go to the community with our trials, but we need the prayers of each other. Isaiah spoke words of encouragement to Hezekiah in his trial. Do not be afraid. We have no need to fear because the Lord is about to do a work of deliverance. When the enemy hears that we are not afraid, he will step up his fear tactics. He will cause us to question God and His ability to deliver us. Turn again to the house of the Lord. Remember God’s promises and how He has delivered you in the past. Spread your fears before the Lord and leave your situation with Him. Acknowledge that it is too much for you, and declare God’s omnipotence and sovereignty. When you come to the Lord in trials, acknowledge who He is. You can trust Him! Hold on to the fact that God will not allow any temporary evil that does not clear the way for greater good. Acknowledge that He is a God of mercy and therefore we can come to Him through Christ. God is greater than anything we are facing. The deliverance we need will only come through Christ.

The purpose of this message is to have a clear perspective in the midst of tragedy in our nation. Our only hope to find justice in this world is in God. The only message for true change is in the Gospel. God sees that there is no light in our world, and it displeases Him. He is grieved and saddened by the darkness. He is grieved that there is no man who can redeem. No man calls for justice. They each have their own cause in mind and try to promote their own agenda instead of pleading for truth. Are we falling prey to these agendas? Are we trusting in men instead of trusting God? We cannot hide or cover our works of iniquity. God sees right through our attempted coverings. He sees our hearts. You will never know peace with God and men if you follow the depravity of your own heart, or other men’s hearts. Turn away from empty words! No man qualifies to redeem man from their sinful ways, but God brought forth salvation by His own strength! Power and righteousness of salvation are from God, not man. Man cannot change our hearts, but God can! He is ready and willing to save, but our iniquities have separated us from God. Our hope is not found in any man; our hope is in the Lord. Our ultimate hope is that Christ will eventually make all things new. Don’t be deceived by lies. Only the message of the Gospel will hold back the flood of the enemy. There is good news--the Redeemer will come to those who turn away from their transgressions! We must declare this good news! We must not allow these words to depart from our mouths. Be faithful to the message of the Gospel, to your calling, to your ministries, to your children. The church is to be a standard against the enemy!

The purpose of this message is to have a clear perspective in the midst of tragedy in our nation. Our only hope to find justice in this world is in God. The only message for true change is in the Gospel. God sees that there is no light in our world, and it displeases Him. He is grieved and saddened by the darkness. He is grieved that there is no man who can redeem. No man calls for justice. They each have their own cause in mind and try to promote their own agenda instead of pleading for truth. Are we falling prey to these agendas? Are we trusting in men instead of trusting God? We cannot hide or cover our works of iniquity. God sees right through our attempted coverings. He sees our hearts. You will never know peace with God and men if you follow the depravity of your own heart, or other men’s hearts. Turn away from empty words! No man qualifies to redeem man from their sinful ways, but God brought forth salvation by His own strength! Power and righteousness of salvation are from God, not man. Man cannot change our hearts, but God can! He is ready and willing to save, but our iniquities have separated us from God. Our hope is not found in any man; our hope is in the Lord. Our ultimate hope is that Christ will eventually make all things new. Don’t be deceived by lies. Only the message of the Gospel will hold back the flood of the enemy. There is good news--the Redeemer will come to those who turn away from their transgressions! We must declare this good news! We must not allow these words to depart from our mouths. Be faithful to the message of the Gospel, to your calling, to your ministries, to your children. The church is to be a standard against the enemy!

Our most joyful times are not while doing self-satisfying activities, but when we are self-forgetful. What would the world look like if we always lived in this self-forgetfulness? The Gospel challenges us to take what we’ve been given and give it all away, instead of hoarding it for ourselves. God will give us all of who He is if we will give all of ourselves to Him. Lay down your fear of what you think you should be. Give of yourself sacrificially to your community. Don’t live in fear of what you are losing by giving all of yourself. Reflect on the immense love and grace of God and this will cause you to give of yourself. Give grace to others as you’ve been given grace. All of your resources are not from yourself anyway. Prayerfully, don’t live so self-focused. Don’t let thoughts of self have a stronghold in your life. Learn instead to look to the interests of others. The fear of losing by giving too much of yourself will prevent you from looking to the interests of others. Live out a humble attitude as seen in Christ. Jesus took the lowest form so that we may have life; likewise, give of yourself, through the power of God. We can’t do this on our own, so yield yourself to the work of God in you. Don’t oppose Him! Do you recognize what Christ has done for you? Are you willing to join Christ in His humiliation? Live for the glory of God. Sacrifice your life now and you will inherit so much more in eternity. If you sacrifice for Christ’s sake, you may lose everything else, but you will have Christ. In the end, we will lose everything else anyway. Seek the glory that is to come.

Our most joyful times are not while doing self-satisfying activities, but when we are self-forgetful. What would the world look like if we always lived in this self-forgetfulness? The Gospel challenges us to take what we’ve been given and give it all away, instead of hoarding it for ourselves. God will give us all of who He is if we will give all of ourselves to Him. Lay down your fear of what you think you should be. Give of yourself sacrificially to your community. Don’t live in fear of what you are losing by giving all of yourself. Reflect on the immense love and grace of God and this will cause you to give of yourself. Give grace to others as you’ve been given grace. All of your resources are not from yourself anyway. Prayerfully, don’t live so self-focused. Don’t let thoughts of self have a stronghold in your life. Learn instead to look to the interests of others. The fear of losing by giving too much of yourself will prevent you from looking to the interests of others. Live out a humble attitude as seen in Christ. Jesus took the lowest form so that we may have life; likewise, give of yourself, through the power of God. We can’t do this on our own, so yield yourself to the work of God in you. Don’t oppose Him! Do you recognize what Christ has done for you? Are you willing to join Christ in His humiliation? Live for the glory of God. Sacrifice your life now and you will inherit so much more in eternity. If you sacrifice for Christ’s sake, you may lose everything else, but you will have Christ. In the end, we will lose everything else anyway. Seek the glory that is to come.

Paul addresses issues in the Corinthian church, such as division. Members of the body are not to be competing against each other. Each part of the body is essential to each other. Without love, we are nothing. Nothing else doesn’t matter if we don’t have love. We can do even the most noble acts, but if it’s without love, but it means nothing. We must do the will of God, and that is to love. Love is always about others, not ourselves. Even our religious works can be done selfishly. Love is pouring our lives out for others, as exemplified in Christ. We are called to suffer long with the weaknesses of others and to bear one another’s burdens. Be gentle and kind, not contentious and combative. Love does not envy others; it rejoices in others’ blessings. Love does not boast in itself or think it greater than it is. Being grateful of all we have is the greatest enemy of pride. Love is not rude; it respects others. Love does not seek its own welfare only. Love leads us to govern our emotions and feelings with others. Love thinks no evil of others, and is not critical and fault-finding. When we love others we desire to think well of them. Love does not find pleasure in others’ sins. Love covers all things. Love is ready to believe the best of others, and hopes for this. Love endures all things even if persecuted or maltreated. Don’t lose sight of love with other cares. Divisions are caused by focusing on other things. Go on to perfection--perfection of love. Leave behind childish, carnal ways. You need to go to God in order to do this. Do not resist the Holy Spirit. Repent and receive God’s perfecting grace. The Holy Spirit will pour out God’s love into your heart.

Paul addresses issues in the Corinthian church, such as division. Members of the body are not to be competing against each other. Each part of the body is essential to each other. Without love, we are nothing. Nothing else doesn’t matter if we don’t have love. We can do even the most noble acts, but if it’s without love, but it means nothing. We must do the will of God, and that is to love. Love is always about others, not ourselves. Even our religious works can be done selfishly. Love is pouring our lives out for others, as exemplified in Christ. We are called to suffer long with the weaknesses of others and to bear one another’s burdens. Be gentle and kind, not contentious and combative. Love does not envy others; it rejoices in others’ blessings. Love does not boast in itself or think it greater than it is. Being grateful of all we have is the greatest enemy of pride. Love is not rude; it respects others. Love does not seek its own welfare only. Love leads us to govern our emotions and feelings with others. Love thinks no evil of others, and is not critical and fault-finding. When we love others we desire to think well of them. Love does not find pleasure in others’ sins. Love covers all things. Love is ready to believe the best of others, and hopes for this. Love endures all things even if persecuted or maltreated. Don’t lose sight of love with other cares. Divisions are caused by focusing on other things. Go on to perfection--perfection of love. Leave behind childish, carnal ways. You need to go to God in order to do this. Do not resist the Holy Spirit. Repent and receive God’s perfecting grace. The Holy Spirit will pour out God’s love into your heart.

The heart of the Gospel is not in doing, but in being. We are children of God, not because of what we do, but by faith. By doing, we become burdened and don’t experience the beauty of our adoption. This will prevent us from sharing this experience with others. What is the root of your desire for doing, earning, or controlling? Continually check yourself. Do you feel that you have to do something because you’re a Christian? This is bondage! Duty causes us to find the quickest solution, even if it’s built on a shotty foundation. Love should be our motivation. Fully accept this love of Christ. You cannot go and bring the love of Christ to others if you have not fully received it. This love is not responsive based on our successes or failures. Our lives should be an overflow of Christ’s sacrificial love, not motivated by guilt. Grace defines you now, not the standards or pressures you have put on yourself. During times of failures, do you still feel the love of God? Or do you feel that God’s love has lessened? His love will not lessen based on our actions. Knowing this will turn your thoughts away from yourself. Acceptance of this love frees us to be motivated by love. You have worth because you are loved by Christ, not because of anything you’ve done. The pressures and standards which used to define and crush you have passed away. When we embrace this, we are then able to share this with others. If our sharing is done out of duty, when we fail, we will become discouraged. We must be patient with ourselves and with others. Do you feel pressure? Or do you feel the love of God? Does crushing obligation drive you? Or does the sufficiency of Christ allow you to be who you are?

The heart of the Gospel is not in doing, but in being. We are children of God, not because of what we do, but by faith. By doing, we become burdened and don’t experience the beauty of our adoption. This will prevent us from sharing this experience with others. What is the root of your desire for doing, earning, or controlling? Continually check yourself. Do you feel that you have to do something because you’re a Christian? This is bondage! Duty causes us to find the quickest solution, even if it’s built on a shotty foundation. Love should be our motivation. Fully accept this love of Christ. You cannot go and bring the love of Christ to others if you have not fully received it. This love is not responsive based on our successes or failures. Our lives should be an overflow of Christ’s sacrificial love, not motivated by guilt. Grace defines you now, not the standards or pressures you have put on yourself. During times of failures, do you still feel the love of God? Or do you feel that God’s love has lessened? His love will not lessen based on our actions. Knowing this will turn your thoughts away from yourself. Acceptance of this love frees us to be motivated by love. You have worth because you are loved by Christ, not because of anything you’ve done. The pressures and standards which used to define and crush you have passed away. When we embrace this, we are then able to share this with others. If our sharing is done out of duty, when we fail, we will become discouraged. We must be patient with ourselves and with others. Do you feel pressure? Or do you feel the love of God? Does crushing obligation drive you? Or does the sufficiency of Christ allow you to be who you are?