Adversity (2 of 5)

ADVERSITY (2 of 5):

Adversity will affect us all at some point in our lives.

4.   Adversity can be: God’s way of conquering our pride.

Pride is:
– Egotism.
– An over-emphasis on ourselves.
– Self-centeredness.
– More concerned about our:
           – Feelings
           – Desires
           – Goals
           – Performance
           – Position
           – Attention
      Than we are about:
           – Other people
           – The will of God
           – The plan of God for our lives

We:
– Want to be on center stage
– Want to be recognized
 – Want to be seen
– Continually refer to ourselves
– Want to do what we can to get attention
    (often with total disregard to the feelings of others)

We all want to do the best we can do, but pride causes us
to take the credit ourselves (and we forget that we can accomplish
nothing without the skills, and talents that God gave us).

Question: How does God feel about pride?
– God hates pride (Proverbs 6:16, 8:13, 16:5).
Note: Whatever God hates, should NOT be a part of our lives.

One way to determine if we are prideful:
The adversity of contention shows we are prideful
(Proverbs 13:10).

The adversity of destruction, is a consequence of pride
(Proverbs 16:18).

The adversity of shame, is God’s way of humbling us
(Proverbs 11:2, 29:23; Luke 14:11; James 4:6-7).

God wants us to have the heart and attitude now, that will be normal in heaven.
Question: What is the attitude in heaven?
– (Philippians 2:10; Revelation 4:9-11).

5. Adversity can be: A reminder of our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

It reminds us of our dependence on God
(we are who we are because of what He has given us).

When we learn how to glory in our infirmities, we will
be able to experience the power of Christ in our lives.

When God works through our weaknesses,
we are free to give Him all the praise.
Benefit:
Those who are impacted, or who see His work in us,
can be motivated to praise Him too.

6. Adversity can be: Our motivation to cry out to God.

In our time of need, when there seems to be no hope,
God is there, and waiting to hear from us – His children.

God responds to the cry of His children when they are in adversity
(Psalms 34:17).

Adversity motivates us to cry out in the right ways.
Question: How should we cry out to the Lord?
– We should cry out to the Lord with our voice, and not just our thoughts (Psalms 3:4).

Question: Why?
– Because we are acknowledging His presence.
– We should cry out to the Lord daily (Psalms 86:3).
– We should cry out to the Lord with humility (Psalms 9:12).
  Note: Some translations use ‘afflicted’ (which means ‘humble’)
– We should cry out to the Lord with a pure heart (Psalms 66:18).
– We should cry out to the Lord with praise (Psalms 56:9-10a).