Weightlifting 4 I The Weight of Fear

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

If your fear decreased, how much time and energy would you gain back?

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude

A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. Interlude

Come, see the glorious works of the LORD: See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. Psalm 46:1-11 NLT

Many are familiar with the “Serenity Prayer.” As you read the full version today, consider how it might impact your attitudes and actions.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.” Reinhold Niebuhr

Consider praying the Serenity Prayer and having an honest conversation with God about your thoughts!

Do you enjoy storms?

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41 NLT

Sermon Insights:

This is the most important question you may ever ask in your whole life: who is this man?

How do you answer that question: who is this man?

Rather than be judgmental of the disciples’ lack of faith, it is perhaps better for us to realize that we likely would have been terrified and faithless if we had been fighting for our lives as well. How have you come to trust Jesus in nearly impossible situations?

Why do you think the disciples were MORE terrified of Jesus than they were of the storm?

Lord, thank you for preserving this moment in history so that I can learn to trust you when I am facing tumultuous unknowns in my life. I trust that you will allow the storm to go on for a time and that you will give me what I need at the right time. Teach me to trust you as I increase my confidence in your power and presence in my life.

What is generally your first thought in the morning?

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. Colossians 1:11-23 NLT

Read this out loud until you believe it: because God honors Jesus’ death, and my sin has been completely paid for, then God has brought me into his own presence, and I am holy and blameless as I stand before him without a single fault. I must believe this truth and stand firmly in it so I don’t drift away from the assurance I received when I heard the Good News.

Lord, I don’t deserve your kindness. Thank you for sending Jesus to fill me with your life and love. Teach me how to live with endurance, patience, and joy as you love others through me!

Is there anyone in your life that has proven to be wiser than you thought originally?

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. Proverbs 9:1-12 NLT

Those who fear the LORD are secure; he will be a refuge for their children. Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:26-27 NLT

Sermon Insights: Faith isn’t faith until it takes a risk…taking an action and believing God is going to meet us there.

Portraying wisdom as a caring and concerned woman is a picture of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling, but is a part of the God who actively loves you, cares for you, listens to you, and invites you to live better than you would on your own.

How will you access wisdom today?

What is wisdom inviting you to do, say, start, or stop?

Does it feel riskier to trust God or trust yourself?

Lord, teach me to truly fear you so that I can be secure and be beneficial to those who look to me for guidance.

What has to be true of someone for you to want to respect and love them?

Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. Isaiah 53:1-11 NLT

What does REAL power look like?

How has Jesus’ sacrifice changed your life?

“My righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.” It was the “LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.” How does this help us 1) fear God, and 2) trust that he loves us?

Lord, thank you for giving up more than I can know so that I can be whole. I fear and love you!

Weightlifting 4 I The Weight of Fear

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