When Hard Times Hit | Pr. Michael Yeo | 17-10-2021

[Music] [Music] hey church welcome to church of praise are you ready to praise god let's go [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] [Applause] hey [Applause] is oh hallelujah happy praises to you god amen [Music] lord we stand in the midst of a multitude of [Music] those your people redeemed rescued from death [Music] there are no words good enough [Music] i will lift up my voice [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] your presence [Music] humbly [Music] change [Music] hallelujah [Applause] glory give me [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] giving praise [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus christ oh hallelujah oh we praise the lord my jesus my savior lord there is none like you all of my days i want to praise the wonders [Music] breathe [Music] [Music] let us see [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in you [Music] know jesus [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] never cease to [Music] [Applause] let us [Music] [Music] [Music] you shout to the lord [Music] to the kingdom mountains [Music] [Music] forever is [Music] lord nothing compares lord almighty god lord we want to shout to you lord we're going to shout to you and cry to you for our nation malaysia lord lord we want to pray that you take malaysia in your hands lord you take good care of malaysia lord provide for malaysia lord heal malaysia lord lord we pray a lot that you continue to shower your love your mercies and your grace upon malaysia [Music] that [Music] because lord we want to see the nation healed we are see the nation advance our lord lord we want to see the nation getting better and improving for you oh lord lord we want to glorify you lord because you o lord are the king and the god of malaysia thank you lord lord we pray that you continue to bless everyone who is going through difficult times we pray lord they continue to provide for those who need their daily needs and essential needs oh lord we pray a lot that you also continue to heal those who are sick lord we pray that kovit will be gone a lot be gone from the face of the earth we pray that they will be healed completely a lot but we also pray for those who need you a lot in the in their quiet and darkest days a lot when they have no one to turn to lord they can look to you a lot they can seek you a lot lord we pray that you continue to speak to them whisper to them a lot ever so softly ever so lovingly o lord that you're always there for them and that you're always going to be there in the end of the day you're going to hold their hand and walk with them all the way through lord we pray a lot that you continue to speak to the church lord that so many are looking for answers a lot answers that men cannot provide but lord you can you can provide those answers and we pray that you continue to minister to them a lot lord we also want to pray that you bless our time as we spend this lovely day a lot to listen to your word and to absorb everything that you want to tell us today lord let our ears minds hearts and souls be so open to what you're going to say thank you lord for your love thank you love for your grace lord we love you lord we love you so much and we pray that you always stay close to us thank you lord in jesus most precious name all god's children say amen god bless you [Music] thank you sister melissa and her team for a beautiful time of worship shalom everyone and welcome to our service my name is shai naidu and i am your announcer today we would like to welcome all our online newcomers we request you to type i am new in the comment section either on facebook or youtube now it's offering time members can give online via do it now direct bank transfer or touch and go as per the information on the screen please indicate the purpose of giving vision ties etc non-members should not feel obligated to give as giving is reserved for those who understand what giving means a token of what god has first blessed us with let's pray lord we give with joy into your kingdom today may you bless our offering come o lord and walk through these gifts extend your love through us we pray amen there is a breast cancer awareness talk on 24th october next sunday 2 30 to 4 p.m by doctor till chil chun do contact sister sharon to register registration closes on 22nd october so do sign up soon home-based learning and parenting with brother michael trump session 1 took place yesterday for parents who are still interested to join the training you can join session 2 which will take place on 30th october scan the qr code to sign up via a google document and you will surely be blessed this course covers a wide area of home based learning including creating the right space for learning how to identify stress and burnout and even how to manage the mental health of a parent as well as the child who could be struggling with intensive online learning take this one up parents you won't regret the time spent for enquiries please contact sister whaling god never intended christianity to be me god and my bible lifestyle the bible teaches that we also need each other for many reasons cell groups are growing in popularity in christian churches and homes throughout the world as a way for us to make connection we need with fellow believers cell group fellowship whether focused on bible studies or on a wide varieties of activities have a tremendous impact on those who participate pick yours today if you haven't had one go to www.churchill cell groups now yes now have you done it next if you have a prayer request let us pray with you kindly share your prayer requests via the qr code or text the mobile number you now see on your screen all prayer requests will remain private and confidential last week's sermon by pastor alan tan is untitled hide and seek to catch this sermon you may visit all our online platforms i have the great and humble opportunity to once again introduce someone who absolutely needs no introduction most of us know him in many different ways some of us remember the message he spoke that transformed our lives today's sermon is entitled when hard times hit let's welcome our lead pastor pastor michael young shalom everyone and once again welcome to our online platform today we are so glad to have you with us and the title for my sermon today is when hard times hit when hard times hit i'm sharing my thoughts from first peter chapter 5 verse 6 to 11. now peter wrote first peter just before emperor nero began persecuting christians throughout the roman empire now about 30 years earlier peter fearing for his life had three times denied knowing jesus but now the writing of the letter empowered by the holy spirit and having learned how to stand firm in an evil world peter now encouraged other christians who were facing pressure to deny their faith now peter believed and lived what he wrote in this letter because he was later executed by the romans for believing in and preaching jesus christ now one of the most crucial lessons to learn as a christian is how to handle hard times how to handle hard times now in this fallen world hard times are a certainty it may be the physical suffering that goes with living in these frail bodies that get sick and die or it may be the grief of watching a loved one suffer and die or it may be problems stemming from our own sin or from others sins against us and it may be also the common pressures of life of getting our job done or providing a living and wondering how we are going to pay the next bill it may also be the emotional suffering of struggling with feelings of inadequacy feelings of loneliness anger worry or fear and yes of course it may be some undesirable outcome from this prolonged pandemic but wherever it comes from hard times are unavoidable it is also significant that in jesus parable of the sower two of the three souls that failed to produce a crop represent people who did not know how to handle hard times the rocky soil pictures those who receive the word joyfully at first but do not sink down roots so that when afflictions do come they fall away and the tawny ground reflects those who seem to grow for a while but then allow the worries of the world to choke out the word so that it does not bear fruit unto eternal life now the point here is this if we don't learn how to handle hard times when it comes we may not turn out to be the man or woman god plans us to be and the reverse is also true if we do learn how to handle hard times we will come out stronger and better for it as they used to say hard times will make us grow bitter or better depending on how we handle it so the question is how do we handle hard times when they hit us now in our passage today peter gives us four strategies for handling hard times when they hit and number one is this when hard times hit us submit to god's protection and god's care first peter 5 6-7 therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of god that he may exhort you in due time casting all your cares upon him for he cares for you now because god sets himself against the proud and shows favor to the humble peter here admonishes us to humble ourselves to god in hard times now we live in a world where to admit anything negative about ourselves is seen as weakness but it is not weak to say i need help from god in fact it is wise the thing is this we are prone to forget two things in a time of intense trial number one we forget about god's control over our circumstances and secondly we forget about god's concern for us even in hard times peter says casting all your cares now the greek word translated care comes from a word meaning to divine now what that means is the cares of this world will divide our minds so that we cannot concentrate on anything else especially god's faithfulness now someone has defined worry as a small trickle of fear that meanders through the mind until it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained now in other words anxieties will distract us from the productive things god wants us to do and consume us by diverting all our thoughts into these channels of fear and so it is imperative that when hard times hit we need to intentionally focus and submit to god's protection and care now first peter 5 6 in the philips translation it says you can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him for you are his personal concern now i once heard the story of a boy who was walking along the road carrying a heavy look now a man came along in a horse drawn cut and offered him a ride now the boy climbed into the cart but he kept the heavy load on his shoulders now when the man asked him why he did not put the load down on the card the boy replied that he didn't want to burden the horse now the thing is this like the boy we have climbed into the cut of salvation through christ now whether we are letting down our lord or not god is in fact bearing our lord perhaps it is time for some of us to stop being so stressed up by situations we cannot change and to start living by surrendering our concerns to god treat worries as we treat sins hand them over to the lord one by one as they occur so the question is this do hard times come between you and god or do they press you closer to him when hard times hit submit to god's protection submit to his care the second thing is this when hard times hit keep your guard up against the devil's plots first peter 5 8-9 be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking womb he may devour receive him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world now no sooner has peter got us to relax by casting our cares on the lord that he wants us to be careful about the devil as one man puts it god does not make his children carefree in order that he may make them careless now the devil's best trick is to convince us that he does not exist or that he doesn't bite anymore now two boys were walking home from sunday school after hearing a strong sermon on the devil and one said to the other what do you think about all these satan's stuff now the other boy replied well you know how santa claus turn out it's probably just your dad now the fact is in challenging seasons we are especially vulnerable to the enemy of our souls how do we watch then against the devil's strategies number one is this we need to exercise self-control peter says be sober which actually can be translated be self-control as in first corinthians 9 25 paul says everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things they then do it to receive a perishable rift but we and imperishable now many of us live career controlled lives socially controlled lives or even media controlled lives but if we are to beat the devil at this game we need to live self-control lives second thing is recognize the devil for who he is your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking room he may devour the devil is number one a dangerous foe peter uses the metaphor of a lion in describing the devil how would we react today if there is indeed an escaped lion prowling in our streets secondly the devil is an accuser peter calls him the devil now the name means accuser or slanderer the devil he accuses joke before god he said to god job only loves you because you bless him the devil also accuses god to eve he said to eve god is keeping you from being like god and he also attacks us he says to us we cannot be useful because we cannot be holy and the other thing about the devil is that he uses deception in order to trap christians peter says that the devil walks or prowls another version about like a roaring lion the brown means to roam through quietly as in search of prey or plunder we have an enemy who is a sly and cunning hunter he doesn't show up in a red costume with horns and roaring to us i want to kill you the devil is also one who ultimately wants to destroy the believer seeking womb he may devour peter says john 8 44 says the devil was a murderer from the beginning satan desires not just to tempt us but to destroy us and thirdly we need to stand firm in the faith peter says resist him stay fast in the faith now what does it mean to stand firm in the faith it means resisting the devil with what is taught through scriptures when christ resisted the devil in the wilderness he applied the word of god in its proper context the other thing standing firm also means setting apart our life for jesus we see this in looking at the armor of god as mentioned in ephesians the essence of the armor of god is simply a life set apart for god the breastplate of righteousness the belt of truth and goes on thirdly we need to stand firm it means living in an atmosphere of prayer jesus told the disciples to pray lest they enter into temptation now i came across a bbc article the other day entitled texas man nearly dies after being beaten by severe snake head now the man was working in the garden when he killed a snake by cutting off its head but when he pick up the snake's remains the head of the snake bit him now it seems a snake's bite reflex can still be triggered up to several hours after death a parallel biblical truth can be seen here at the cross jesus dealt a death blow to satan however with the limited time he has he will spend every last breath in attempting to harm christians and stop the work of the church when hard times hit submit to god's protection and care keep your gut up against the devil's bloods and thirdly when hard times hate strengthen your faith in god strengthen your faith in god now in verse 10 to 11 peter says but may the god of all grace who call us to his eternal glory by christ jesus after you have suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you and to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever amen now trust in god is strongly implicit in these verses but unfortunately trusting god has fallen on hard times in christian circles now for some it is viewed as about the most impractical advice you can give anyone and yet from cover to cover the bible extols the practical benefits of putting our trust in the living god as the way to deal with our problems so how can we strengthen our faith in god during hard times there are at least three ways as suggested in verse 9 and verse 10. number one is this remember who god is he is the god of all grace he is not the god of a little bit of grace he is not the god of a lord of grace he is the god of all grace his grace is like the ocean a limitless supply that keeps breaking over our lives time and time again it will never run out or dry the second thing is that remember god's calling he called you to his eternal glory in christ he didn't call you to condemn you but to bring you to his eternal glory in christ and thirdly remember god's promises peter says god himself will perfect establish strengthen and settle you now perfect means to man it was use of peter mending the fishing nets it means god will put you back together now the word establish means to stand us up on our feet it means god will support you and the next word is strengthen which is a term used in sports it means god will give you the muscle to do what you need to do and settle means to lay the foundation jesus use it to describe the house founded on the rock that we stood the storm and so it means god will put your feet and my feet on solid ground so that's the overall idea is that no matter what you are going through right now this is what god has in mind for your future to perfect you to establish you to strengthen you and to settle you and so the bottom line is this we are in good hands because we are in god's hands when hard times hit submit to god's protection and care keep your gut up against the devil's plots and strengthen your faith in god and lastly when hard times hit us persevere through hope in god's grace first peter 5 6 says god may exalt you in due time and in verse 10 he says but may the god of all grace after you have suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you now the phrases in due time and after you have suffered a little while tell us that we would have to wait on god and persevere to receive his blessings galatians 6 9 says and let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart now isaac is an example of how god would want us to respond to hard times now in genesis 26 we learned that there is a famine in the land isaac goes to king abimelech of the philistines in tehran now the lord had warned isaac not to go to egypt but to settle in gerard as a foreigner now god promised to be with him and bless him and his descendants there fulfilling his oath to abraham and so isaac obeyed and he settles in jura now god blesses isaac for his obedience and he reaps a great harvest in his new land becoming wealthy but unfortunately the philistines became envious and so king abby malek tells isaac to move away and so isaac moves into the nearby valley of gerard and after some glorious overwhelms with the local herders he finds a well for himself which he names rehoboth after that he moves to beersheba where the lord appears to him and reminds him of his promised blessing now after isaac ticks another well there king abby malek and his man visited and proposed a covenant with him since it's clear that the lord is with isaac and so isaacs and abby malek's men then celebrated a feast and exchanged hopes promising not to harm one another now there are three takeaways from this story in genesis 26 number one is that christians are to expect hard times genesis 26 verse 12 to 15 says isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest god blessed him so much so that the philistines began to envy him and they got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wealth now the point here is this receiving god's blessings does not mean having an easy life the two should not be equated the second lesson is this christians are to persevere during hard times now in verse 17 to 22 isaac came in the valley of gerar and settled down there isaac dark again the whales which were dark in the days of his father abraham and one day as isaac's servants were digging in the valley they came on a well of spring water and the shepherds of gerard quarreled with isaac's shepherds claiming this water is ours and so isaac named the well issac means quarrel because they quarreled over it and then they dug another well and there was a difference over there one as well so he named it signa accusation and he went on from there and dug another well but there was no fighting over this one and so he named it rehoboth white open spaces saying now god has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land isaac faced continued adversity keep in mind that in ancient times few things were more important than wales it was an arid land where water was rare and yet was needed for both people and livestock and whales were difficult to dig through the hard rock and often this was done without success so losing his wealth was a serious setback for isaac actually but despite the difficulties isaac did not throw down his shower and quit he could have sat around cried and complained about the disappointment but he knew that would only lead to further disappointments so the point here is this every crisis can be an invitation from god for us to move from being good christians to great christians frame our hard times as a challenge and we become more tenacious and able to deal with it and even grow from it and thirdly christians are to believe that god will bless them despite hard times it is important to understand that as followers of jesus christ we persevere not because we believe in the power of perseverance we persevere because we believe in the power of god now this is what we see in this narrative of isaac now in verse 24 to 25 that very night god appeared to isaac and said i am the god of abraham your father don't fear a thing because i am with you and i will bless you and make your children flourish because of abraham my servant and so with that assurance from god the bible says isaac built an altar there and prayed calling on god by name he pitched his tent and his servant started digging another well so we can only persevere when we believe god can bless us in any way now take note no matter how many whales the philistines stopped up or stole god just blessed isaac again with another wealth until the philistines finally gave up now in verse 32-33 later that same day isaac's servants came to him with news about the well that they had been digging we have struck water now isaac named the whale sheba of and that's the name of the city beersheba of well to this day now he was not normal to find good wealth so easily it was only by the blessing of god that this could be done and in fact abby malek admitted as much in verse 28 when he said to isaac we see clearly that the lord is with you now the thing is this hard times are not evidence of god's absence but of god's presence it is in our experience of being broken stressed and carrying our crosses that god does his greatest work in us when your wells are filled with sin pick up your shower and don't stop digging another well of god's favor is waiting to be found when hard times hit submit to god's protection and care keep your gut up against the devil's plots strengthen your faith in god and persevere through hope in god's grace now as he did with isaac your covenant keeping god will bless you with wells of living water from the valley of jerah to the city of beersheba that is your spiritual inheritance let us pray dear lord jesus thank you for your word today though we cannot escape hard times we are not without your grace to face them when hard times hit we will trust in your protection and your care and at the same time we will keep our guard up against the devil's plots by exercising self-control recognizing our enemy for who he is and remaining steadfast at all times increase our knowledge of your word our desire for godliness and our passion for prayer strengthen our faith in you o lord by constantly reminding us that you are the god of all grace who calls us to eternal glory and who promise us to perfect establish strengthen and settle us because we know you can be trusted we persevere through hope in god's grace we believe that you will bless us despite hard times when one will is dried up another will be found your blessings are endless and eternal in jesus name we pray amen thank you pastor mike for that insightful message the only way you are going to reach places you have never gone is if you trust god's direction to do things you have never done we have come to the end of our service we hope you have been blessed by today's sermon let me now pronounce the benediction the grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all amen amen dear viewers like us on facebook subscribe to us on youtube and click the bell to receive notifications on our latest content have a fruitful week ahead and stay safe bye [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Church Of Praise Johor Bahru

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Keywords: Church of Praise, Johor Bahru, Johor, JB, Bukit Indah, Horizon Hills, Love God, Build People, Share Christ, Online Sermon, COPJB, Pr. Michael Yeo, Dr. MG George, Pr. Alan Tan

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Length: 54min 4sec (3244 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 16 2021