Series: “WIJD” — Sermon #1 “The Realm Of Confident Rest”

Series: “WIJD” — Sermon #1 “The Realm Of Confident Rest”

“I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force! Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”   — Napoleon Bonaparte

Hebrews 4:3 (TPT). “For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest!”    It’s Done!!!

PICTURE OF BOAT IN STORM

Mark 4:11 “He said to them, ‘The privilege of intimately knowing the mystery of God’s kingdom realm has been granted to you, but not to the others, where everything is revealed in parables.’”

Mark 4:35-41. “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. …

And a great (Mega) windstorm (Violent, furious gusts with flood rains) arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’

“Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

I’m here because of obedience.

I have been faithful. Why This!!!

He didn’t say let’s go die in the lake.

He said let’s crossover.  HIS WORD

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace (HUSH involuntary command), be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great (Mega) calm. (All at once.)  But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

Not a gradual settling down.  “Dead calm” (RSV)

“Winds and waves synchronise in the sublime symphony of a solemn silence”

Hendricks Bible Commentary 

And they feared exceedingly, (Mega Fear Terror)  and said to one another, “Who can this be, (What kind of man is this.) that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Jesus calmed the natural storm but now He stirred up a spiritual storm within His followers.

They took Him in the boat “as He was” but now “Who can this be?”

Mark 5:1-3 “Then they came to the other side of the sea, …  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, …”

Lesson is not he can calm your storm. Though He can.

The lesson is that he is majestic, he is king, he is ruler of elemental nature.

Now, what does that demand of you!

Romans 4:17-18 (The Message)  “We call Abraham ‘father’ not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do.”

Romans 4:19-21  “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Promise is a gift not an assignment or a challenge to do something to realise it!

Gods promise is initiated by Him and fulfilled by Him. 

Your part is to REST!!! 

Genesis 17:17 “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” 

Abraham and Sarah laughed at the promise of God.

God uses people who laugh at the impossibility of the situation.

Are you in a laughable place?

WIJD

Ephesians 2:5-6 “…made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,…” 

Hebrews 4:1  (NLT)  “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.”

Hebrews 4:11 (TPT) “So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.”

You are never the starting point.

We will manifest WIJD everyday as we live and operate out of the finished work of Christ.  REST

It’s your turn – speak to the storm!

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