(Due to technical difficulties, the audio\u00a0recording of\u00a0this sermon is unavailable.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Palm Sunday<\/p>\n
Over the last few weeks, we\u201d\u2122ve been thinking about the trials that every Jesus-follower WILL inevitably go through (When Life is Hard<\/em>, MacDonald).<\/p>\n We don\u201d\u2122t get to choose and control all the circumstances of our lives.\u00a0 And, in fact, God, in His love and wisdom, brings hard times to each of us for our good.<\/p>\n The KEY is how we respond to the hard times.<\/p>\n Do you believe that God really loves you and is bringing more mercy into your life through the hard times?<\/em><\/p>\n The answer to that question will determine how we respond in the hard times.<\/p>\n We begin Passion Week, or Holy Week, today\u201d\u201dthe week of Jesus\u201d\u2122 sufferings and torturous death on the cross, which was NOT the end because Jesus rose from the dead and is our Living Savior!<\/p>\n But for our purposes here this morning\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n Jesus chose to walk the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha\u201d\u00a6He chose to carry the cross down the \u201cPath of Suffering\u201d to the \u201cPlace of the Skull\u201d and die there\u201d\u00a6all in obedience to God because He believed God loved Him and wanted His\u201d\u201das well as our\u201d\u201dultimate good, and that the pain and suffering would end in a glory that could not otherwise be seen!<\/p>\n So this morning, and this week, as we think about Jesus\u201d\u2122 suffering\u201d\u00a6I want us to think about our own response to hard times and compare ourselves to Jesus so that we can be encouraged to be like Him, especially in the hard times.<\/p>\n 12\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13\u00a0<\/sup>and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14\u00a0<\/sup>Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15\u00a0<\/sup>See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no \u201croot of bitterness\u201d springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16\u00a0<\/sup>that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17\u00a0<\/sup>For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Refusing the hard times can ruin us spiritually.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Trials can lead to DISCOURAGEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n 12\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13\u00a0<\/sup>and make straight paths for your feet<\/p>\n When someone has drooping hands and weak knees, they\u201d\u2122re clearly discouraged.<\/p>\n Discouragement comes really quickly, especially when life knocks the wind out of our sails.\u00a0 Circumstances change in an instant and we weren\u201d\u2122t expecting the change, we don\u201d\u2122t like the change and suddenly hope fades and we\u201d\u2122re discouraged\u201d\u201dwith hands drooping and knees buckling.<\/p>\n \u201cmake straight paths for your feet\u201d<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n We make straight paths for during our trials when we recognize God\u201d\u2122s presence with us, His resources for our problems, and His purposes for working trials for our good.<\/p>\n Trials can lead to discouragement.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Discouragement can lead to DISLOCATION<\/strong><\/p>\n so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14\u00a0<\/sup>Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n God\u201d\u2122s goal in your trial is to heal what is lame.<\/p>\n God\u201d\u2122s goal is to give you the character of Jesus, to make you holy.<\/p>\n But if we squirm and wiggle and try to get out from under the trial, something is going to pop out of joint.<\/p>\n I thought about a time when I was in the gym a few years ago when I read this passage.\u00a0 I was doing squats and ended up hurting my lower back, not because I had too much weight, but because I didn\u201d\u2122t stay in the right position, I didn\u201d\u2122t keep the right form while lifting.\u00a0 With the right form, lifting weights will strengthen your muscles and help prevent injuries that can come from weak muscles\u201d\u201dit can heal what is lame, as our text says.\u00a0 But, if your form is bad, you can really get hurt!<\/p>\n (EXPLAIN)<\/p>\n When the weight of a trial is bearing down on us, if we try to get out from under it, chances are, we\u201d\u2122re going to dislocate something, something is going to pop out of joint\u201d\u201dwe\u201d\u2122re gonna get hurt!<\/p>\n But God wants to make us holy through the trials.<\/p>\n C.S. Lewis talked about holiness as \u201cjust being free from myself\u201d.<\/p>\n Free to love others and God as we were created to do!\u00a0<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n Holiness is the soul-satisfying, saturating presence of God in your life\u201d\u00a6[and] striving for peace and holiness is the way we are to remain under God\u201d\u2122s loving hand and to see Him at work in our painful circumstances.<\/p>\n Discouragement can lead to dislocation.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dislocation can lead to BITTERNESS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n 15\u00a0<\/sup>See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no \u201croot of bitterness\u201d springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;<\/p>\n We fail to obtain the grace of God when we refuse to depend on God in the hard times.<\/p>\n Sometimes we grit our teeth and just survive.\u00a0 Other times we completely lay down and become the victim.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u201d\u2122re just surviving, you\u201d\u2122re not getting the grace of God\u201d\u00a6[And] trials don\u201d\u2122t accomplish their beneficial work when you respond with a victim mentality.<\/p>\n Because neither approach latches on to God and His grace and strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both \u201cwhite-knuckling\u201d it and playing the victim are both all about me\u201d\u201dmy attempt to be strong so as not to admit my need or my milking my weakness for attention.<\/p>\n Bitterness causes trouble in your life.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n When a toxic mixture of anger and disappointment enters your heart, it wraps around your soul, clouding your judgment and distorting the way you see everything.<\/p>\n And it can \u201cdefile\u201d you and others.<\/p>\n This word is used in another place to describe the way demons \u201ctorment\u201d people.<\/p>\n Bitterness will torment your soul\u201d\u201dand the lives of those around you\u201d\u201dif you led hard times take you there.<\/p>\n Dislocation can lead to bitterness.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Bitterness can lead to PROFANE LIVING<\/strong><\/p>\n 16\u00a0<\/sup>that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This verse is a little confusing because the OT never states that Esau was sexually immoral\u201d\u201dbut, maybe he was.\u00a0 In any event, one thing is clear about Esau\u201d\u201dhe was unfaithful to God in an instant because the things of God didn\u201d\u2122t mean anything to him.<\/p>\n \u201cUnholy\u201d\u201d\u201d\u201cprofane\u201d\u201d\u00a6the things of God are meaningless.<\/p>\n And if we refuse the hard times, we\u201d\u2122ll find that bitterness gives way to this profane living\u201d\u201dwhere the things of God don\u201d\u2122t matter to us anymore.<\/p>\n The Message<\/strong><\/p>\n Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God\u201d\u2122s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n If you aren\u201d\u2122t submitting to His work in your life, you won\u201d\u2122t be able to hold in your anger, bitterness, and resentment.\u00a0 You resent what God has given to other people, and you feel like you\u201d\u2122ve been bypassed.\u00a0 The anger seethes in you, and it\u201d\u2122s going to come out.<\/p>\n Bitterness can lead to profane living.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Profane living can lead to DISQUALIFICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n 17\u00a0<\/sup>For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.<\/p>\n The Message<\/strong><\/p>\n You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God\u201d\u2122s blessing\u201d\u201dbut by then it was too late, tears or no tears.<\/p>\n This is a scary verse!<\/p>\n C.S. Lewis often said that if we live our lives refusing to humble ourselves before God and refusing to say, \u201cThy will be done\u201d, God will eventually declare to us, for all eternity, \u201cThy will be done\u201d.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n The land of disqualification is the off ramp to hell.<\/p>\n Psalm 106:15 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>\n God gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.<\/p>\n How can you know if it\u201d\u2122s too late for you?<\/p>\n If you care, it\u201d\u2122s not too late!\u00a0<\/p>\n So, surrender to God and His ways in your life TODAY!<\/p>\n Refusing the hard times can ruin us spiritually.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u201d\u2122s the conclusion\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n Our relationship with God will not stand if it boils down to God\u201d\u2122s giving us an easy life on earth and eternal life beyond, without any sorrow or hardship.\u00a0 Life in God is all about fulfilling HIS purposes.<\/p>\n And hard times are His way of making us like His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n So\u201d\u00a6this Passion Week, as we think about how Jesus suffered for us\u201d\u00a6let\u201d\u2122s imitate Jesus and surrender to our Father\u201d\u2122s perfect ways in our lives, no matter how hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u201d\u2122s depend fully on God\u201d\u2122s grace to strengthen us in, and through, the hard times.\u00a0<\/p>\n And, as we do, we\u201d\u2122ll see God change our hearts in ways we never thought possible.<\/p>\n Because you see, this life is not about me, it\u201d\u2122s not about you\u201d\u00a6It\u201d\u2122s all about Jesus!\u00a0 It\u201d\u2122s all about the world seeing Him in and through us, especially in the hard times!\u00a0<\/p>\n VIDEO\/Time of Reflection BEFORE Communion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message by Chad Kelly (Due to technical difficulties, the audio\u00a0recording of\u00a0this sermon is unavailable.)\u00a0 Palm Sunday MacDonald It is not far from the mark to say that 10 percent of life is what happens to you, and 90 percent is … Continue reading Spurgeon<\/h3>\n
Do not fret over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.<\/h3>\n
Tchividjian<\/h3>\n
There\u201d\u2122s nothing like suffering to remind us how not in control we actually are, how little power we ultimately have, and how much we ultimately need God.<\/h3>\n
The Danger of Hard Times<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Refusing the hard times can ruin us spiritually.<\/em><\/h3>\n
Hebrews 12:12-17 (ESV)<\/h3>\n