The Patience of the Servant King

Last in a series on the Gospel of Mark by Pastor Craig Diestelkamp

Scripture: Mark 5:21-42

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What does it mean to be patient? Patience is endurance. Patience is love for the long haul. It is bearing up under difficult circumstances without giving up or giving in to bitterness. Patience means working when gratification is delayed. It means taking what life offers – even if you are suffering – without lashing out. Someone said. patience is a great idea until we have to wait. When we come to Mark chapter five we find this compelling story of how Jesus ministers according to God’s plan not according to our schedule. Why does God ask us to wait? Why is learning patience so important?

Patience has always been a part of God’s plan
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalm 27:14 NKJV)

Patience is part of the plan of God. It’s something he writes into the script of our lives. Abraham had to wait 25 years for a son to be born. Israel waited 430 years to be delivered from Egypt. Moses waited for God on the backside of the desert for 40 years. David waited seven years in the wilderness for God to make him King.

Patience is important because it produces maturity
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:4 NKJV)

What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is that we are waiting for.

Patience is important because teaches us trust

• When Jesus asks us to trust him He is reminding us that…
• We get much more than we bargained for.
• His love is not incompatible with delays.
• He is always up to so much more than what we can see.

Patience is important because it requires relentless hope
Wailing is the hardest work of hope.- Lewis Smedes

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Flapping, Gliding, Soaring

Craig’s Benediction

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The Good Shepherd – Part 1

Message by Christoph Zurcher

Scripture: Psalm 23

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The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Trusting in the Lord

Message by Christoph Zurcher

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3-4; Philippians 4:4 & 7

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Using God’s promise to Abram and Sarai in Genesis as an example, Christoph shows us the importance of trusting completely in Him.

Waiting for God

Message by Matt Donovan

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Waiting is a part of life

None of us like to wait and none of us are very good at it. Waiting cuts right at the heart of self-centeredness.

Waiting for God
“It’s one of the greatest stresses in Life.” – Oswald Chambers
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” Psalm 37:7

Biblical examples of waiting

• Abraham and Sarah
• Israelites in Egypt
• Promise of the Messiah

Why God asks us to wait
God works from a different timetable than we do. 2 Peter 3:8

What God does while we wait
“What God does in us while we wait is just as important as what it is we are waiting for” – Ben Patterson
“He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead.” Hebrews 11:19

Active waiting

• Not passive, it’s active.
• We are not standing still.
• It’s a discipline.

What God really wants to give us
“We do not see the answer, we trust the answerer. We do not gain the victory; we are united with the victor.” PT Forsyth

Three Essentials

• Trust
• Humility
• Hope

“God gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might he increases in power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:29-31

In What Do I Believe?

Guest Speaker, Christoph Zurcher.

Scripture: Isaiah 26:4

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(The YouTube video played at the beginning of the message can be found here.)

Due to technical difficulties, these opening remarks of Christoph are not included in above audio file:

“Have you ever found yourselves in a situation where you trusted your GPS to take you to your destination and you ended up somewhere else because your GPS device got confused? You did everything right, you followed all the instructions but you still didn’t get where you needed to go! Frustration sets in. That’s why my daughter suggested that I should name my GPS so I could yell at it!….”

Standing Firm In The Faith

Pastor Craig Diestelkamp

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Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

In chapter 3 Paul’s concern is focused on the “faith” of the Thessalonians. Paul’s great desire was for all believers to being strong and stand firm in the faith. He wrote to the Colossians and said, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7). The key word is “faith” and Paul mentions it five times in this passage.

1. He sacrificed and sent Timothy to them. 1 Thessalonians 3:1 – “Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone,”

2. In sending Timothy, he sent them the best. 1 Thessalonians 3:2 – “and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ,”

3. Timothy went to “strengthen and encourage.” 1 Thessalonians 3:2 – “…to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,”

4. Three components of powerful faith.

Knowledge
Acceptance
Trust

5. Faith strengthens us for two important things! 1 Thessalonians 3:3-5 – “that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”

1st Morning: Trust People, Trust God

Pastor Dru Johnson

Ezra 1