Sunday, May 25, 2008 Rev. Kris Steele 
Scripture reading: Romans 8:24-28
24For in* hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes* for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes* with sighs too deep for words. 27And God,* who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit* intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.*
28 We know that all things work together for good* for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Sermon Title: "FOR ME?" Sunday, May 25, 2008 Rev. Kris Steele
REV. KRIS STEELE: Sometimes in life our
greatest adversity can lead to our greatest
opportunity. We may not see it at the time, but if we
are able to keep a good, positive attitude, I believe
that God will use events in our life to help us become
the person that he wants us to be.
We have to understand sometimes God may allow
things to happen in order that we might grow and move
forward in our lives. Adversity can push us towards
destiny. Sometimes we need that little nudge to get
us moving in the right direction, a little pressure to
help us get there, and more importantly, realize who
God is.
Sometimes it's hard to understand why things
happen, but I want to remind you that our job is not
always to understand. Our job is to remain faithful
and trust in God. God knows the gifts and the talents
that he has placed within each and every one of us.
He knows what we are capable of. God can use all
kinds of situations, events and circumstances to move
us in the direction we need to go.
I want to talk to you about the importance of
being determined to fulfill God's destiny in your
life, God's purpose for your life. I want us to
consider what it means to persevere in order to reach
our potential in Christ.
Also, I want to encourage anyone who may be going
through a difficult situation, to not give up. The
Bible says in Romans 8:28 that God works for the good
of those who love him and have been called according
to his purpose. In fact, the Bible says that in all
things, God works for the good.
Now this does not mean that all things that
happen to us are going to be good or pleasant or
comfortable. Evil is very prevalent in our world, but
the Bible does say that God is able to turn each and
every circumstance around and use it for good in order
to accomplish his purpose for us.
Our job is to trust in him, to accept and not
reject pain and difficulty, to know that God is with
us, and the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. I
believe that God has a great plan, a perfect plan for
you and me, but that plan is probably not going to
come about without some sort of adversity, without
some sort of opposition. Really, when you think about
it, if everything was easy, and we never had to use
our faith, then we would never reach our full
potential.
The problems we face in life will either make us
better, or they'll make us bitter. They can thrust us
forward and cause us to become closer to fulfilling
God's purpose, or they can defeat us and cause us to
shrink back.
I'm afraid that too many people today instead of
standing strong and fighting the good fight of faith,
when things don't turn out the way they want or when
things go bad, they get all negative and turn sour.
They wind up settling for something less than God's
best.
We can't just run from everything that is hard.
Know that in going through the tough times of life, we
develop character and that is when God is doing work
in us. I want to encourage you that when times get
tough, instead of getting discouraged, view those
obstacles as opportunities to grow.
Let me tell you a story about a farmer that had
this old mule. One day, unfortunately, this mule fell
into an empty well. Now the well was about 40 or 50
feet deep, and this old farmer was so disappointed
because he really loved this old mule.
After studying the situation and analyzing it
all, he finally realized that it was going to be
impossible to save that old mule. The well was just
too deep and too narrow, and the mule was stuck,
crammed down there at the very bottom.
As much as he didn't want to, the farmer figured
that neither the mule, nor the well was worth saving.
So he decided that he would just go ahead and fill
that well in with dirt, to bury that old mule and put
him out of his misery. So he called several of his
friends over to help him shovel that dirt, and they
began to do just that.
One shovel at a time they began to fill that
well. When the mule felt that dirt hit his back, he
realized what they were trying to do to him, and he
began to panic. He screamed and hollered and tried to
kick. I'm sure he must have thought to himself, poor
me, I've fallen into the bottom of this well, and
nobody is going to help me get out. In fact, they're
trying to kill me.
As he sat there having a pity party with that
dirt getting heavier and heavier on his back, a
brilliant thought came to his mind. He decided that
when he felt that dirt hit his back, instead of
letting it bury him, he would just shake it off and
step up. No matter how tired that mule became, he
just kept shaking it off and stepping up.
Do you know after three or four hours that old
mule was able to step triumphantly over the wall of
that well and walk out into freedom? Now what's
interesting about this story is the very dirt that was
trying to bury him actually was what saved his life,
all because of the way that he responded to his
adversity.
Throughout our life we're going to have some dirt
thrown at us from time to time. We've got decisions
to make when that happens. Are we going to fall down
into a pit of self-pity and be buried under our
problems, or are we going to do like this old mule did
and shake it off and step up?
Let me challenge you today that when times get
hard, don't go around feeling sorry for yourself. I
want to challenge you today to have a champion-kind-of
attitude. I want to encourage you today to learn to
shake it off and step up.
Sometimes our adversity can push us towards our
destiny. God can use all kinds of situations and
events or circumstances to move us in the direction
that we need to go. Sometimes we need a little push
or nudge to get us going in the right direction. God
knows the gifts and the talents that he has placed
within each of us. He knows what we are capable of.
You will be amazed at what you can do under
pressure, what God can accomplish through you. I want
to encourage you to put a smile on your face, to keep
a good, positive attitude and to know that God is
working to accomplish his perfect and good will in
your life. In the name of Christ, amen.