On Sunday 26 April my friend and pastor Tope Koleoso preached this sermon online at Jubilee Live. I found it very encouraging and relevant to todayโs situation. Here are some brief notes or you can watch the video.ย At the end of the sermon we sang the outstanding and topical song โPsalm 23โ which I have embedded at the end of these notes.ย
1) Recognise the Mess
โWhat do you do when life takes a bad turn? How do you handle it when opportunities suddenly seem like losses. How do you handle it when life seems like a mess? There is a message in the mess.
(a) recognise reality ย (Exodus 13-15)
This is a transition to a new normal. We have to bridge the gap between the old and the new.
(b)ย recognise you are not alone.
You may be in isolation but you are not isolated. As a child of God you belong to a family.
(c) Recognise this will pass
2) Respond to the Mess (IN FAITH)
(a) Respond practically (Deuteronomy 11:32)
Things will change permanently but it will end. Who will you be when this is all past? How you handle this moment may determine the trajectory of your life? Some handle it with passivity, anxiety, or unreality.
Some will emerge the same or worse, but some will come out better stronger and newer. Use the time wisely. Use it working. Beware of laziness.
โLook carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.โ (โญโญEphesiansโฌ โญ5:15-16)โฌ โญ
(b) Respond with faithย (Ephesians 5:15; James 2:17)
Spirituality: your help comes from God not what you can fix yourself. This is a Time for you to grow in faith. Everyone can take a step forward at this time. Hearing the word of God is how faith comes.ย This is a time of solitude and an opportunity for you to hear the voice of God. You cannot let this moment go by and you learnt nothing.
The word of three lord is established for ever.ย This virus will not outlive the word of the lord
(c) Respond courageouslyย (Exodus 14:13; Joshua 1:9)
Fear has a way of blighting lives.Be silent. Itโs not a time for gabbling. We need calm and space to listen to God.ย Sometimes people who talk a lot is because they already have fear in there.
โFear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the lord.โ (Exodus 14:13)
He will deliver you too. The battle is the Lordโs. That you may do good and your life preach the gospel to all around.
If heโs going to deliver us why does he let us go through all that?
โGod is calling you back to him no matter how much a mess your life is. He wants to come into your mess and fix it. The messiah is there in the mess. The lord will visit everyone who says this is me and my mess I need you.โ @topekoleoso @Jubilee_Church https://t.co/QGprDR6pqH
โ Adrian Warnock (@adrianwarnock) April 27, 2020
3) Reasons for the Mess
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There are many.ย He wants us to grow in dependence, devotion to him, in deep conviction,
There is a miracle in the mess. He wants you to find it. God takes care of us. We are going to come through this by the grace of God and look and see the catalogue of things heโs done. Learn to be thankful for the little things.
โWeeping may tarry for the night but joy comes with the morningโ (Psalm 30:5)
โGod is calling you back to him no matter how much a mess your life is. He wants to come into your mess and fix it.ย The messiah is there in the mess.ย The lord will visit everyone who says this is me and my mess I need you.โ
โAnd all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.โ (1 Corinthiansโฌ โญ10:4โฌ)
He goes ahead and makes provision for you.
This is the biggest message in the mess:
You are not alone. the lord is your shepherd and your salvation. He goes before you. He is your defender. He is behind you all the days of your life . . He fills and you anoints you makes your cup run over. No weapon fashioned against you shall prosper. He will guide you. He will refresh you. Therefore not fear
โTrust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.โ (โญโญProverbsโฌ โญ3:5-6โฌ)
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More from Tope Koleoso
We are called to be Watchmen. Who has God placed on your heart to pray for and to help during this time? #BridgingtheGap pic.twitter.com/W1hxV7Kapk
โ Tope Koleoso (@TopeKoleoso) April 1, 2020
Jubilee Church Live YouTube
More from Adrian
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2020/04/do-you-need-some-soul-time/ โ