We live in the microwave generation and expect everything to happen quickly

Research shows that most people expect to wait only 2 seconds for an online video to load

After 5 seconds 25% of people leave the site and after 10 seconds the abandonment rate is 50%

Half the people can’t even wait 10 seconds for something they desired in the first place

Romans 8:26 NASB

Today I want to start with a verse that is out of order in the passage we will look at

This verse says we do not know how to pray and as previously mentioned we don’t want to wait either

We are trying to move through life at warp speed and we try to make our relationship with God fit that mold

But a 10 second wait may not be enough for the Spirit to show us how to pray

This verse says the Spirit intercedes with groaning too deep for words

Certainly most of us have had hearts that were full but didn’t know how to express our feelings

Every time we spend time we God, we don’t have to know what to say and sometimes we just need to open our hearts to Him

You see we are living in a world that is not our home and this wait for redemption takes a toll

This is not a 10 second wait. This wait is a lifetime and we must listen to the Holy Spirit as our guide

The point is, one of the reasons our relationship is not deeper, is that we aren’t waiting on the Holy Spirit to guide us

Today’s believer spends most of their prayer time giving God a want list

But true prayer is when we wait on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show us what to pray because that is what God wants for us

We have been saved with the Hope of salvation. Not hope meaning a wish but hope meaning an assurance

If our hope is in Christ we wait eagerly for that day when our hope shows us Glory

While we wait we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes that voice is simply groanings within our being that we don’t know how to express

Instead of giving up when we aren’t sure what to say, let the Spirit reveal the answer

Most of the time this is more than a 10 second wait

We don’t know how to pray but the Spirit intercedes for us

What if we took some real time and listened to the Spirit, instead of just speaking words

What if we truly prayed what God wanted us to pray

If we pray what God is telling us to pray the answer will be amazing and the blessings incredible

One of the biggest problems we have today, is we are structured for that 2 second wait

Stop trying to fit a Holy God into our worldly mold and instead climb into a new mold, with the Holy Spirit as the guide

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come and be our helper.

Isn’t it time you listened to the one that was sent to help you in the first place

Have you ever listened to the Spirit?

Do you know God?

Today I plead with you to listen, even if it takes a while for you to hear, and then respond.

Probably many of you, like me, grew up hearing about being a good steward

For most of us that was always taught about money

Since God gave you the money, be a good steward of it and tithe, use it wisely not foolishly

Let me start by saying that is all good practice and being a good steward of God’s money is something we should all do

However, today I want to look at that phrase “Be a Good Steward” in another light

In this passage what we are seeing is that we are to be good stewards of everything God has given us

This means our time, our gifts, our money, our friendships, our love, everything

Vs 7
“The end of all things is near”

I don’t know when the end will come but I know we are closer today than we were yesterday.

As people find out that their lives are coming to an end it causes them to reflect on what is really important

They may think about how they have lived and wish they had lived better.

The one thing almost everyone has in common, when that reality sets in, is what about eternity

This verse is telling us that as the end grows nearer every day we need to focus our relationship with God through prayer

When we figure out how to be purposeful about that prayer relationship, we are in a closer walk with God and things become clear

So we need to be good stewards with our time and make sure God gets that time

Vs 8 says “keep fervent in your love for one another”

This world needs a lot more love! If we are good stewards of our love, we will give it freely and often

I’m speaking of course of God’s love. What if we daily worked to show God’s love to everyone we came in contact with

I believe conflict with people would all but disappear and certainly more people would be open to hear the gospel

This seems so easy but in reality it’s probably the hardest thing for most of us to do

The biggest reason this is so hard, is the world has taught us everything is about you……but it isn’t

“Each one has a special gift” We have probably all been told this in our life but most people never explore their gift

Most of us believers have not identified what our special gifts are and so therefore we are not good stewards of them

If we identified our gifts and used them as God intended them to be used, I believe our world would look so much different

When we don’t use God’s gifts in the way He wants, we are not good stewards of that gift

Basically what we see here is that when our gifts are used, they should directly point to the God that gave them

If we are truly good stewards of the things that God has given, (and He gave everything) He is glorified

When our lives glorify God, we receive that Joy of knowing we are being good stewards and living our purpose

The bottom line is that if we as the children of God, work to be good stewards of the things God gave us, people will see Jesus in us

However, you can’t use your gifts for a God you don’t know

Do you know Him today?

Last week we heard a great message about self examination

We all need to come to a place where we have complete assurance of our salvation

If you have not yet gotten to that place, I would love to talk to you after the service today

If you know, without a doubt, that you have the salvation that Jesus offers, then it is time to Grow!

Perhaps you say “We understand this because we have known Christ a long time.”

You see, we are never too old to keep growing

Understand that we all have been given tasks according to how God saw fit to give them

Some preachers, some teachers, some apostles and some evangelists

The point here is that he didn’t appoint any of us to do nothing

He appointed all of us for the building up of the body of Christ

Vs 13 is talking about when we are in Glory and we have become mature

The point is, that until that time, none of us will reach full maturity

Then we will no longer be infants, but for now…

Tossed back and forth, blown here and there, this is how we are if we are not trying to Grow

We have to grow! We begin with the spiritual milk immediately after salvation as an infant in Christ

Infants do not stay infants! As they take nutrients, their physical body develops

As spiritual infants, we need the spiritual nutrients to grow in Christ

Speech, conduct, love, faith and in purity

Like Psalm 92:13 says “plant yourself in the house of the Lord” both physically and spiritually

Plant yourself through your own reading and studying of God’s word

Plant yourself through the corporate teaching and preaching of God’s word

Always devote yourself to a time of prayer daily

If I planted a Satsuma tree, and it didn’t grow to produce fruit, I would cut it down.

When we are planted in salvation, we need to Grow and produce fruit as the sower expected us to do.

Have you been planted in salvation?

Probably every person in this room or listening online has spoken these words:

I NEED A VACATION!!

Life gets hard and sometimes we just feel the need to unplug from everything

I don’t know about you, but after almost every vacation I have ever taken, when I get home, I need another vacation

Unplugging from the daily grind is good, but, while it brings some relief, it adds other stressors too

"It costs more than I planned for; I’m running late to the next place; I can’t sleep in this bed…….. "

Do you know that Jesus said we would have tribulation in this world?

It is not a quick vacation, or stress break, or shopping trip, or any of these things we need:

We need the peace that only God can give.

Jesus was talking to His disciples here, and they had finally believed that He was God

Vs 31 Jesus says “Do you now believe?”

Guess what, now that you finally believe you are about to find trouble

Just like I talked about on Wed night, it is when you act upon those things of God that Satan comes against you

You will be scattered, you will have tribulation, in other words this world is going to be against you!

New believers often have trouble because somehow, they thought, once they accepted Christ, trouble was over

Jesus never ever told us that we would not have trouble, in fact twice in this passage He warns of trouble

So a vacation, while it is good to relax a little, doesn’t solve the problems in our world

What we really need is the peace that only God can give.

So how do we get that?

Vs 33

“in Me you may have peace”

The greatest thing about God’s peace is that He gives it to us freely.

Believing in Jesus, and walking with God daily brings peace greater than anything in this world can give

The next part of vs 33 immediately says “in the world you have tribulation”

You see the peace that God gives doesn’t stop tribulation; while we are in this world, it will come

One of the greatest phrases ever spoken is the end of
vs 33

“take courage, I have overcome the world”

Jesus conquered the grave, and overcame this earthly world so that we too can have that power

Don’t be disheartened when trouble comes, but, instead hold onto that peace in God, knowing He has overcome ALL

Are you finally ready to accept that peace that passes all understanding today?