Sermon 02 August 2009

"A Challenge to Look At Things Differently: Look Through God's Eyes"

Sunday Morning

Pastor Tom

    This Sunday Pastor Tom (Guest) spoke about Walking in joy.

Some key points from the sermon

• We constantly see things through the filter of flesh: We need to learn to see from God's point of view.
• We look for triggers to get from God what we want from God, like we have learned how to manipulate the physical world to get a desired result.  We want God to be like a McDonalds drive through; If I do this, then I get this.  This is not God's Thinking.
• God wants us to understand the spiritual as more real than the physical.  We must believe in the unseen more than what we see.
• We all have afflictions in life, it is what we do with them that matters.
• We have no clue what God is going to do.  When we pray, we should not look at the possibilities in the physical; we need to put our faith in the spiritual, and look for the impossible.
• Bad things can happen to good people, look at Joseph.  God does not fulfill his promises on our time, but on God's time.
• It is more important to understand God's ways than to look for his miracles.
• The trials we all take are not to hurt us, but are there to make us better.  There are a lot of things that need to be pulled away from us.  It is God's way to allow trials to improve us.
• God is patient and merciful with you.  If God dealt with us the way we really are in our hearts, we would be in deep trouble.  But God's mercy and love allow us to go through trials.
• We don't understand things the way God does.  Even Mary, and John the Disciple had hard times even as close as they were to Jesus.
• God will reveal his ways to us if we seek him. 
• God does allow things to happen, but he works good out of them.
• We go through pain, but we come out the other end.  God is making you better.
• We must die to self.  It is not a fun process.  We need to take up our cross and crucify the flesh.  The power of the resurrection can only come after death.
• God may ask you to do things that seem foolish to man.  Even prayer seems foolish to those who do not respect God.  Water Baptism; Tithing; from the outside we can look foolish.  If we invest in God we get the best return.
• Don't think the way the world thinks.  Look beyond and start understanding his ways.
• Go to God and he will comfort you.  Allow God to change your perspective on trials and pain.  God is trusting you to go through the trial and come out.

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