Download Come ______ to God - Pleasant Valley Church Brantford

Clarify:
God never gives you more than you can handle.
Where does it come from?
1)
Misunderstanding of ____________
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he
will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Satan tempts us to bring the __________ out of us.
God tests us to bring the _________ out of us.
2) Misunderstanding of _________
3)
Misunderstanding of _______
What will happen if I believe it?
When a hard time comes…
- we’ll develop a _________ toward God
- We will ________ our faith
Some who had more than they could handle:
*David, Psalm 40:12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me,
and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
Psalm 69:1-3 1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry
depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I
am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
* Jehoshaphat 2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have
no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes
are upon you."
Clarity- The truth:
Yes, God will give you more than you can handle but
never more than He can handle for you and through you.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the
hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far
beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts
we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but
on God, who raises the dead.
Suffering and trials…
Where is God?
Don’t mistake His silence for His absence.
He is ___________. Isaiah 43:2
What is He doing?
1) _____________ and teaching us:
2 Cor 1:4
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
2) Strengthening our faith in Him -__________ us
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of
Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am
weak, then I am strong.
3) Preparing us, for what He has prepared for us.
4) Working His ________ for the Good
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this
all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every
side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
The frailty of what we are does not limit the power of what
He can do through us!
What can I do:
i)
Come _________ to God. James 4:8
ii)
___________.
iii)
_____________.
As we meet the needs of others, God meets our needs
Proverbs 11:25 (NLT) The generous will prosper; those who refresh
others will themselves be refreshed.
Do you feel you are often misunderstood? Share a time when a misunderstanding led
to a dramatic or comical result.
1. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. How does this passage get twisted into "God will not
give you more than you can handle." ? What do people mean when they say that?
2. How does this false statement reveal a misunderstanding of God? of ourselves?
3. Read 2 Corinthians 1:8. What lesson does Paul want the Corinthians to learn from
the terrible "hardships" he endured in Asia?
4. How does Paul's description of God as the one "who raises the dead" in the next
verse, 2 Corinthians 1:9, strengthen the point he is trying to make in verse 8?
5. According to verse 9, why does God allow us to endure hardships beyond what we
can handle?
6. What does God want us to learn from our weakness according to 2 Corinthians
12:7-10?
7. When we experience situations beyond our control, things that we can't handle,
what should we do? (See 2 Chronicles 20:12)
8. How does Romans 8:28 provide comfort in a difficult time? God has a
purpose! How could knowing that circumstances are beyond your control, but well
within God's control, bring freedom?
9. How might God be using today's struggles and overwhelming circumstances to
comfort and teach us? strengthen our faith and grow us? prepare us? How have you
seen evidence that He is working out His plan even through difficult circumstances?
10. How do you come close to God in these difficult times? How do you feel about
reaching out for help from others when these difficult times come? How can we as a
group help you? Who could you serve, and whose needs could you meet even in a
challenging time?
God never gives you more than
you can handle.