Intro:
1. On our recent trip, we could not find a motel anywhere that had vacancy
a. We were so tired, and prayed and prayed we could find a motel
b. We finally found one, it was called the Miracle Motel
2. God still intervenes and answers our prayers
3. Psalm 125:1-3 - An example of one of the many verses that say you can
trust in God.
4. You can trust in the Lord because of his good Characteristics
I. Characteristic: Generosity (john 7:37-39)
A. When God gives, he give generously
B. God promised the Spirit, whom Jesus called the "helper"
1. Notice he didn't promise a "measure" of the Spirit, but he
promised "Rivers" of living water
2. Stipulations
a. You must come to Jesus
b. You must believe in Jesus
3. How are you to come to Jesus with belief (or faith?)
a. (Matt. 10:38-39) Take up your cross, die to self
b. (Malachi 3:10) Give your all to God, and don't worry.
God says give me the best and I will double it, triple it……
C. We were reminded of God's generosity at Niagara Falls
1. Tons of water thundered down the river and over the falls
2. We were quite overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water
3. Jesus said the Spirit would not be a trickle, but RIVERS
4. God is Generous when he gives, but we have to give first
D. Are you trusting in God's Generosity?
1. We gave up a lot of things to go into ministry, especially security,
but God has always taken care of us.
2. Some have made decisions to change jobs for God for a lower
income had to change their standard of living initially.
3. I know some have literally put their last dollar in the collection
plate, but God took care of you and blessed you with an
anonymous financial gift.
4. Song: "Be not dismayed what'er betide…" Do you believe it?
II. Characteristic: Sustainer (Matthew 6:25-30)
A. God will sustain you much more than beasts because he loves you
B. A stipulation is placed on this:
1. (v.34) Seek FIRST his Kingdom and his Righteousness
a. That means I think of what God wants first, not what I do.
b. The problem is we think first of our wants and needs, and
we don't trust God to take care of us.
2. Abraham was sustained and richly blessed by God. (Gen. 12ff)
a. Abraham became a rich man
b. He didn't AIM to become rich, he was willing to give it
all to God without question, even his son, Isaac.
3. Our problem is we doubt God, and try to do it ourselves,
a. Mark 11:23-24
b. Abraham tried to do it himself, the result? Ishmael
C. On our recent trip, we had problems with the Van and prayed over
it, all of us laying our hand on it at a gas station. I was desperate
1. The first time nothing happened. It still ran very bad
2. Stacey asked me if I really thought God would fix it, I said no.
3. We stopped at the next exit, and I prayed again, giving all worry
completely to God. Not another problem with the van.
4. I was so dense, my first reaction was "Maybe we got some
bad gas". How did that make God feel?
D. Our problem is when we don't really believe
1. We pray for God to remove an impossible mountain, and then
we pick up our garden shovel and picks and go to work when
God has the bull-dozer and dynamite
2. How does it make you feel when your spouse asks you to do
something, then goes and does it themselves with the
explanation, "I didn't figure you would do what I asked, so
I did it myself."
3. How do you think God feels when we do that to Him?
III. Characteristic: Fatherly (Hebrews 12:5-11)
A. One of the things Fathers do is discipline their children
B. Discipline is a good thing
1. It shows you are not illegitimate
2. It shows your Father loves you
3. It has good results
a. That we may "share in his holiness"
b. We may yield the "peaceful fruit of righteousness"
C. On our recent trip we ran into a lot of road work
1. Huge jackhammers were tearing up the road.
2. We got so impatient and tired of all the construction
3. However, there were very smooth nice portions of road, the
the reason? -- Road repair and construction
4. Sometimes God has to let the jackhammer work you over
5. If you refuse the jackhammer, the potholes will only get bigger
D. Keep trials in perspective and thank God for them
1. The road will get smoother, but you must first endure the
jackhammer
2. It may hurt, but God will cause it to work for your benefit
3. James 1:12
Concl:
1. You can trust in God because of his characteristics
a. He is Generous
b. He is a Sustainer
c. He is Fatherly
2. Take Inventory:
a. How much do you give to God
1) Financially
a-To the weekly offering
b-To help support missions
c-To help a needy person (You can do it personally instead of
putting off on the church treasury)
2) Of your time
b. Are you too busy to give to God
c. Do you work so much to better yourself financially that God gets
left out of the picture?
d. Are you "robbing God"?
3. Are you ready to step out in faith, and let God uphold you?
4. Pray
believe
trust
choose His way, not yours
5. You will find your miracle motel just when you need it.