Covenant Baptist Church
Perfect Love Pt 5 - Learning to Surrender (Matthew 14:22-32)
Sermon Guide for 10/29/17
Locations & Times
Covenant Baptist Church
5440 SW 37th St, Topeka, KS 66614, USA
Sunday 10:45 AM
Are your past experiences with God – your victories and your failures – having and current impact on your journey with Him right here and now? Should they?
Fear is an indicator. It points to the tendency we all have as human beings to function independent of God and to be self-reliant.
Discipleship to Jesus is ultimately a journey of learning to surrender to Jesus – learning to let Him show us how to live our lives just as He lived His life here on earth.
Fear is felt most intensely when we sense that we don’t have the power, wisdom, resources or capability of handling our fear.
We have the tendency to forget our moments of surrender and God’s faithful response to us in that and we have the tendency to neglect reflecting on our failures long enough or honestly enough to allow the Holy Spirit to help us to learn from those moments.
Remember Moments of Surrender:
Reflecting on times when we do not surrender:
It is when we reflect on moments of fear and learn to ask ourselves what were we thinking or what were we afraid of, that we grow from our failures to surrender.
We really are learning to walk on water if walking on water can be understood as a picture of the power of surrendering to Jesus and His Perfect Love for us.
Growing & Going Challenge:
Start a journal or a simple list of moments when you surrendered to Perfect Love and what the result was and what the experience was like. You can write down what God showed you about Perfect Love; what you learned, what you felt and the impact it had on you. But also keep track of moments when you were fearful, anxious or worried. Jot down the circumstances and what you were thinking and how you were feeling as well as how things turned out.
This doesn’t have to be extensive or long. Its purpose is to facilitate remembering success and reflecting on failures. That means you should be intentional about looking back at the journal on a regular basis but also during times when you are struggling to surrender. As you do, always remember Jesus is present and near to us. Even when Peter let fear take over Jesus was right there to pull him up to safety. He is the same Jesus today and loves you every bit as much as He did Peter which is perfectly.
Start a journal or a simple list of moments when you surrendered to Perfect Love and what the result was and what the experience was like. You can write down what God showed you about Perfect Love; what you learned, what you felt and the impact it had on you. But also keep track of moments when you were fearful, anxious or worried. Jot down the circumstances and what you were thinking and how you were feeling as well as how things turned out.
This doesn’t have to be extensive or long. Its purpose is to facilitate remembering success and reflecting on failures. That means you should be intentional about looking back at the journal on a regular basis but also during times when you are struggling to surrender. As you do, always remember Jesus is present and near to us. Even when Peter let fear take over Jesus was right there to pull him up to safety. He is the same Jesus today and loves you every bit as much as He did Peter which is perfectly.
About Covenant Baptist Church
Our vision is to go make disciples – people who are in a growing relationship with Jesus.
http://www.cbctopeka.comOnline Giving
Now you can use your VISA/MasterCard debit or credit card to tithe or give to special funds at CBC. Be sure to select the fund you are donating to. It defaults to the “general” fund, but you will have options to give to other things specifically, like the “building fund,” “benevolence” or “missions.”
https://cbctopeka.churchcenteronline.com/