One Thing Monday Day 21 You re Not Alone

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1 One Thing Monday Day 21 You re Not Alone What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? - Romans 8:31-32 I have known about Zak Crouch since he was a little boy, but I never had the opportunity to get to know him until he joined Cypress last June. As the son of a pastor he has grown up in ministry and has seen firsthand the struggles and the controversies of pastoral life. Often times the pastor s kids are examined more thoroughly and scrutinized more rigorously than the other kids in church and they find themselves becoming guarded with people and suspicious of people s motives. That is not Zak Crouch. Zak is open and authentic, and loves to be around people, having surrendered his life to the ministry as a teenager. He has an enthusiasm for Jesus Christ that lifts the people around him. He knows how to get involved and he has jumped in to ministry here with both feet. With a degree from Fresno Missionary Baptist Institute he has prepared himself to meet the challenges of the ministry and he has become an important addition to the treehouse, the senior ministry and our TNL program. We are very pleased to have him here and we have grown to love him and appreciate his zeal for the Lord. Each week we have been hearing from the young men who are actively involved in ministry here at Cypress as they present to us One Thing that they consider important for us to consider. Last week Chris Crain presented us with a message on the parable of the talents and reminded us that what you put in is directly related to what you get out and that we are called to serve God with what we have been given. So I am not surprised that on Sunday morning Zak presented his one thing and it fit perfectly with the sermons already presented: You re Not Alone. God didn t call us to serve him with our gifts and then leave us alone to work out the details He is actively involved with every facet of our lives. I have to admit that I chuckled when I heard Zak s sermon title. Zak preached his sermon on the weekend that Caleb and Evan got married and so many of our church members were out of town and not planning on being back for Sunday. I m sure that the thought of being alone on Sunday had crossed his mind? But even though the wedding was held Saturday night, Zak and Philip, Chris and Marcus packed up and took the late night drive to be in their positions on Sunday morning. I am so thankful for these dedicated men! And the Lord blessed Cypress with lots of people and with new guests and He lifted the spirits of those who were there in ways that only God can do. We are not alone.

2 Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the wedding and to those who sent us their encouragements and congratulations and for all those who were praying for no rain, we love you all. God was in the preparation for their marriage, and He was with the couple as they said their vows. He will be with them as they share their life together for we are all the recipients of a wonderful promise made to us by Jesus, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

3 One Thing Wednesday Day 23 You Have a Purpose What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? - Romans 8:31-32 On Sunday Zak told us that we are not alone. As believers who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as the only sacrifice for sin we have been adopted into God s family. Paul tells us very clearly that You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. - Romans 8:9 So when Paul asks the question, What shall we say to these things? this is one of the many things Paul is referring to. You have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you you are not alone. Because you are not alone Zak points out that you have three things: You Have a Purpose You Have Peace You have Assurance You Have a Purpose. There are no accidents when it comes to the issue of being born. God is not surprised that you are here. It was not random chance, it was not the result of good luck or bad luck, you are here because the God of the universe planned you. Your parents may have been surprised, but not God. Zak said that his parents were quite surprised. His Dad was 47 and his Mom was 40. Surprise! But the Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord, in other words, God has something to do with every child who has ever been born. He fashioned us in the womb and he planned how we would look and what size we would become. God has a plan and a purpose for every one of us. But sin also has a plan for us. It wants to destroy us, it wants to thwart the purpose of God in our life by controlling us. God told the first child ever born, Cain, that sin s desire was for him, that it wanted to control and rule him and the same thing happens to each of us. Sometimes we take our weaknesses at times as a sign of a lack of purpose. Because we fall into sin, or because our circumstances are not all that great, or because we have flaws and ailments and physical problems that somehow God s purpose in us has been defeated. Nothing could be further from the truth. In our weakness we are made

4 strong. We are not alone, the spirit of Christ who dwells in us is greater than the power of sin and He has given us the victory. Jesus defeated death, hell and the grave and He has made us overcomers as well. We were created to bring Him glory. As believers we are called to belong, not just believe. There is so much more to being a child of God than just sure acknowledgment that He is there, there is a great adventure awaiting you as you allow the Spirit in you to lead you and bring you into full awareness of your purpose in Christ.

5 One Thing Thursday Day 24 You Have Peace God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 Because we are not alone we can have peace. It is easy to have peace when things are going good but what happens when things go wrong is the real test of our peace. Zak reminded us of the story behind one of our favorite hymns, It is well with my soul. Here is an excerpt from the daily devotional Amazing Grace 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotionals. Inner peace through an implicit trust in the love of God is the real evidence of a mature Christian faith. Only with this kind of confidence in his heavenly Father could Horatio Spafford experience such heart-rending tragedies as he did and yet be able to say, It is well with my soul. Spafford had known peaceful and happy days as a successful attorney in Chicago. He was the father of four daughters, an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and a loyal friend and supporter of D. L. Moody and other evangelical leaders of his day. Then, a series of calamities began, starting with the great Chicago fire of 1871 which wiped out the family s extensive real estate investments. When Mr. Moody and his music associate, Ira Sankey, left for Great Britain for an evangelistic campaign, Spafford decided to lift the spirits of his family by taking them on a vacation to Europe. He also planned to assist in the Moody-Sankey meetings there. In November, 1873, Spafford was detained by urgent business, but he sent his wife and four daughters as scheduled on the S.S. Ville du Harve, planning to join them soon. Halfway across the Atlantic, the ship was struck by an English vessel and sank in 12 minutes. All four of the Spafford daughters Tanetta, Maggie, Annie and Bessie were among the 226 who drowned. Mrs. Spafford was among the few who were miraculously saved. Horatio Spafford stood hour after hour on the deck of the ship carrying him to rejoin his sorrowing wife in Cardiff, Wales. When the ship passed the approximate place where his precious daughters had drowned, Spafford received sustaining comfort from God that enabled him to write, When sorrows like sea billows roll It is well with my soul. What a picture of our hope! When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well with my soul.

6 Tho Satan should buffet, tho trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and shed His own blood for my soul. And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll: The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, Even so it is well with my soul. Chorus: It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul. The Spaffords later had three more children. In 1881, the Spaffords, including baby Bertha and newborn Grace, set sail for Israel. The Spaffords moved to Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony; its mission was to serve the poor. When faced with our greatest fears and disappointments, we eventually just have to trust the Lord. But peace comes as we understand the there is one who is going through the trials with us and we are not alone. Christ is with us, an ever present help in trouble.

7 One Thing Friday Day 25 You Have Assurance No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 The last point that Zak made on Sunday was this: You have assurance because you are not alone. The best is yet to come. Have you ever considered what Paul meant when he said that we are more than conquerors? What does it mean to be more than conquerors? There is so much wrapped up in that short statement by Paul. A single Greek word, hupernikao, is used for the three words translated more than conquerors and it describes an individual who has had more than one victory. He is describing someone who has had victory after victory and has won the campaign and claimed the ultimate victory, not just in the battle but in the war. That s us. We are hupernikao. But how? Sometimes I don t feel like a conqueror, how can God describe me that way? Because it is through Christ that we have been made more than conquerors, through Him that loved us. That is our position in Christ. Because Jesus has defeated death, hell and the grave we can be called more than conquerors and when we understand that we can have assurance even in the middle of tribulation and trial. Job understood this. In the midst of his pain and sorrow he cried out to God to show him why he was suffering. God answered him. It was not the answer Job expected or even asked for but God was there in the suffering with Job. And it causes Job to make this incredible statement about Jesus who was alive at the time Job was suffering: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! Job 19:25-27 We too know that our redeemer lives. But we are not just waiting for the last days to see him, He is with us today. Job understood this and we understand it too. Sometimes we have to go through suffering to understand the value of relying on Christ every step of the way, but to feel His presence is worth anything we might go through. Paul said that at the point of his weakness he was made strong. He said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and it was in reference to his suffering not his accomplishments.

8 Paul s list of things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ is exhaustive. Why? Because we did nothing to earn our relationship with God and we can do nothing to keep it. It is totally of God. So what is left to do? Sounds like God has already done everything? Love Him. Give your life to Him, serve Him with your mind and with your body. Present yourselves to Him as a living sacrifice and enjoy every moment of every day because you are not alone. Your redeemer lives in you.