[September 7. 2008] HELP IS THE WAY
- pastor Dennis Leonard (Heritage christian Center in Denver, Colorado, the US)
Mark 4:35, 37
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
Mark 5:1-6, 15
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadareness. And when He had come out of the boar, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, whohad his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tomls, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. Then theycame to Jesus, and saw the one sho had been demonpossessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afrad.
1. You may feel as though thedeck is stacked against you.
a. Maybe you beleve you were born on the wrong side of the tracks.
b. Perhals you feel you are an underdog because of your gender or your skin color.
2. The Bible says that Jesus was anointed to preack the gospel to the poor. (Luke 4:18)
a. Jesus came for those who are poor spiritually as well as those who are financially challenged.
b. No one cared about the poor the way Jesus did.
3. There maybe times in your life when lofe itself becomes so difficult, you don't know what to do.
a. There is only One who will reach into your darkness and lift you up. He will be with you in your storm.
b. If you love the Lord, you will face challenges, difficulties, and your faith will be stretched.
c. Whether you like it or not, storms cause you to grow up spiritually.
4. If you are in a storm today, the enemy will do all he can to get you to turn back; but God wants you do keep walking by faith.
a. God will teach you His ways in the middle of your storm.
b. You may e going through the biggest storm of you life, but if God be for you who can be against you? (Romans 8:31)
c. You must rememver the storm can't destroy you, because Jesus is in the storm with you.
5. The reason the storm came up while Jesus and the disciples were in the boat was an attempt to stop them from getting tothe other side.
a. Jesus had an appointment with some devils on the other side of the lake, and the storm was trying to prevent Him from getting there.
b. This passage shows that a storm always precedes a miracle.
c. God was sending help to a troubled man, and somehow the demons knew the man's help was on the way.
d. How do you know that it was demons that sent the storm; because Jesus rebuked it!
6. The man in our text, the one with the unclean spirit; found himself in big trouble.
a. He was isolated, living alone and no longer connected tohis familyand and friends.
b. He was a living man who was living in a dead place.
c. The Bible tells us that this man had reached a point in his life, where he was out of control.
7. Perhaps today you are living in a dead place.
a. You are alive, but dead on the inside.
b. Perhaps you are someone who goes to work and to everyone around you, you are just a number.
c. You may be hurting so badly today that you push people away can the pain only gets worse.
8. There are some storms you can't get through by yourself.
a. You serve a God that keeps coming afteryou, in spite of life's storms.
b. You serve a God that will never give up in you and will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
c. Even if the odds are greatly against you,God says lift up your head and rejoice for I AM with you.
9. Even if your world has been turned upside down, Jesus will keep you from losing your mind.
a. Ir will be Jesus that will reach out to you, even if everybody else gives up on you.
b. It doesn't matter how big your devils are, they don't compare to your God.
c. When God is on your side, you have to believe that help is on the way.
10. With God's help, you can overcome impossible odds.
a. With God's help, you can be healed, set free, and overcome every bondage in your life.
b. You must remember that in every crisis, you have Jesus Christ.
11. The Bible syas that after the storm, Jesus made it to the other side.
a. The mand ran out to see Jesus and began to worship Him.
b. If you will begin to worship the Lord in spite of your devils, your help is already on the way.
12. Rememvber that even as the storm raged on, Jesus kept coming.
a. I am telling you that the storm in your life is a sign that help is on the way.
b. Remember you serve a restoring God, and your story isn't over until you get back everything the enemy has stolen from you. (Joel 2:25)
