Hebrews 12:2

Looking unto Jesus,

the Author and Finisher of our Faith

I. The Present. We all must realize:

A. Phil. 1:9-18. The things that have happened we consider to be bad, but God will turn these things around and get much good from them. Paul could have become very bitter when he looked back at his life at all the things he had given up. Instead, he was grateful and wanted others to understand that the bad things in his life had actually caused the gospel to be advanced. We must see this in our lives, or we will become bitter.

B. Rom. 8:28-34 - (Go through this passage verse by verse) We know all things work for the good of those that love God, and if we truly love God, we must now put our knowledge into action, and believe what these verses teach.

C. Ps. 76:10 - "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shall thou restrain." The things that have happened are bad, but God will get glory out of it, so let's let Him get all the glory He desires.

II. The Future. The situation we are in has not changed. What do we do about the situation once we decide to follow God's commands and reach toward His goals for our lives?

A. Acts 4:23-33 - When all the church knows what has happened, let the church pray together, not for God to stop the rumors and such; or that the church would have a restored, glorious reputation; for we are not in this world to build our reputation. Let us pray that God would give us power to overcome and glorify God to the people in Foristell. God will always do what He said He would do.

B. Psalms 78:41 - The sin of Israel is that they limited the Holy One of Israel. God had performed many wondrous things for Israel (against Egypt), yet they forgot what He could do, and looked instead at what they called "impossible situations". Let this not be our sin. Let us believe that God can do anything! Remember all the wondrous works God has wrought in this church and community in the past, and believe that God can do it again. The article in the newspaper about the town of Foristell turned out to be an article about this church. God can do things like that again. BELIEVE HIM!

C. Matt. 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Forget what people think of you or your church. Consecrate instead on making your works glorify God. Remember that the natural man may say that you're crazy, but in his heart, he'll know you're right.

D. Heb. 12:2-4 - Look to Jesus, not to the bad things that have happened. Consider Him lest you faint and be weary in your minds. You can think about your troubles until you are absolutely worn out physically and mentally. Your mind becomes cloudy and you can't make a Godly decision about anything. This is exactly what Satan wants.