Wrecked Week 3

I am very excited about what God is doing at OCBC. Our worship team continues to grow as well as the excitement in the church. We are seeing new people come every week, and people are starting to show up for church on-time! God has given us a great mission and vision to reach Ocean City, Maryland. Currently we are in the process of moving our services to our downtown location. Our ministry leaders have been diligently working to prepare us for this move. Personally, I feel like it is a fresh start for our church. Those who have been at OCBC for five or more years knows that we have been through a lot together. God has continue to bless us despite many mistakes and numerous attacks from Satan. I have yet to hear of a church with no problems and those that say that they don't have problems just show that Satan is not really worried about their effectiveness. But as I write this I am encouraged with what God is doing in OCBC and I am proud to be a part of this great ministry.

I have been preaching a series on wrecked and am constantly being reminded by the Holy Spirit that God is sovereign, God is infinite is wisdom, and God is perfect in His love. He has a plan for His people and for His church, and His plan is perfect. In this weeks sermon we concentrated on God's infinite wisdom and I was encouraged to know that we can do nothing that God can't use to bring about good. (Romans 8:28) It was also encouraging to be reminded that God foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:25). No plans that man tries to do will succeed without the Lord's wisdom. . There is no agonizing with God, no hoping He made the right decision, and no wondering if everything is going to work out.

As Christians we are encouraged to ask God for His wisdom. James tells us to ask for wisdom and God graciously gives to all without finding fault. (James 1:5-6) We also should pray for our leaders that they will seek God's wisdom instead of questioning all their decisions. God’s ultimate plan is to bring us to Him, and He will do whatever it takes to get us closer to Him. His divine wisdom will always bring the best for us, and glory to Him. So when life is tough and we wonder why God is taking us through something, we need to trust God. He is good and all-powerful and He is in control. Habakkuk 3:17-18 says this, "Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
 And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."

Wrecked Series

Hey guys,

I started preaching a new series last week called WRECKED! The series has been challenging to say the least. We are attempting to bring clarity to the age old question, Why is there pain and suffering in the world. It seems like every where we look today there is tragedy, pain, heartache, grief, and disaster. The Bible does not ignore suffering. In fact, the Bible says the source of suffering is Sin in the world. We also see that we should not ignore the suffering that is around us. As Christians we are called to be the salt and light in this world. This means we are called to relieve the suffering in the world while God still has us on earth.

In week one we looked at Paul who encouraged us to rejoice always. He encouraged us to be Christians who suffer well. He showed us that we can suffer with a purpose. When we suffer we have the opportunity to love Christ more, to become more like Christ, to speak to others about Christ, to watch others become Christians, and to make Christians more bold in sharing their faith.

This week we looked at suffering being under the Sovereign hand of God. When we realize God is in control then we can trust Him in all circumstances. In Acts 12 we read about the death of James in the church and consequently the deliverance of Peter. The passage tells us that the church was amazed at what happened to Peter, but I ask the question why not James. Where was God when James was beheaded. The answer is God was in control and He had a plan. As insensitive as that sounds, we must learn to accept those two truths if we are going to trust God. If God is not in control of every situation and circumstance in life then He can't be Sovereign.

The truth is that God warned James that He would drink the same cup as Him in Mark 10:39. We also see that Peter would eventually suffer a similar fate years later. But in both circumstances God was in control.

To listen to this message you check out the church's website @ www.ocbaptist.org.

I have also placed notes and passages of Scripture below from the sermon for further study.

From Jerry Bridges book "Trusting God"

1. God is completely Sovereign

2. God is infinite is wisdom

3. God is perfect in love

Passages of Scripture to read this week

The Book of Esther

Lamentations 3:37, “Who can speak have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?”

Ecclesiastes 7:13, “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked.”

Proverbs 21:30, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”

Isaiah 45:7, I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

The story of Joseph - Genesis 40-50

Warnings about the doctrine of Sovereignty

1. Don’t ever use God’s Sovereignty to be excuse for your shortcomings. If you choose to be lazy and then expect God to get you a job because He is Sovereign then you don’t understand this doctrine.

2. Don’t allow the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty to cause us to respond passively to the actions of other people that affect us. We should take all reasonable steps within the will of God to protect and advance our situation.

3. Never use this doctrine to excuse your sin. Well I made a mistake, but God is Sovereign. God can indeed use our sinful actions to accomplish His Will, but He will still hold us accountable for our sin.