Text: Philippians 4:10-13
Main Idea: Open Your Eyes To What You Have and Breathe.
The View from My Place – “Amphibious Faith”
Overview
Imagine life is the ocean, and all of us are trying to stay afloat by treading water. All of our plans, resources and energy are directed towards keeping our heads above water. In this paradigm, our view of God’s faithfulness is determined by the help He provides to keep us afloat. … But what if God wants to show us something else? What if He wants to reveal to us wonders under the water? What if He wants to give us the ability to remain peacefully beneath the waves and open our eyes to attributes of Himself we never could have experienced above the water? And beyond that, what if He wants to teach us to actually breathe under the water.
Praise the Lord when He lifts us up from the waves. There is nothing wrong with asking Him to pull us up. And keep us up. But “above the water” is not the only version of deliverance available to us in Christ. The Lord doesn’t want to subtract from our experience of Him but to add to it. He is just as capable of performing miracles under the water. With that as a preface, I have three exhortations for you this morning…
- Open Your Eyes to Underwater Miracles. Paul said he was content. Contentment while being well fed is an above the water blessing. Contentment while hungry is an underwater blessing. Contentment while living with plenty is an above the water blessing. Contentment while being in need is an underwater blessing. And contentment in whatever circumstance? That’s an underwater
- Open your eyes to the grace He is giving you. Open your eyes to what He is Open your eyes to the daily bread He is providing you. Don’t hold your breath waiting on God to do what you’re asking Him to do, open your eyes – and breathe.
- Open Your Eyes to the Lord’s Presence.
When it comes to the supernatural results we find in the Scriptures, whether it be you won’t find anything in the Scriptures that is more often cited than “I will be with You.” Paul’s secret was a Person not a strategy. “I can do all things through Christ…”
- Open Your Eyes to the Lord’s Promises
- Ephesians 6 instructs us that God’s word is the sword of the Spirit.
- 2 Peter 1:4 – Promise help us “escape”
- “Ephesians 3:20-21 – Exceeding abundantly beyond
- Hebrews 11:35-40 – These believers, God was able to sustain them with a promise that wasn’t to be fulfilled in there lifetime. He was able to help them breathe under the most arduous circumstances.
Clinton Scott says
I know I should wait until today’s sermon (July 26, 2020) is posted to leave a comment but I was excited by what I heard. I want to study the scriptural passages for “Jesus Is Lord of the New” but “buffering” robbed us of our blessing. Pastor Dan was comparing the Old Testament benefits with the New Testament benefits but I did not get the chapter and verse due to buffering. We were incredibly blessed by today’s sermon. Joy bells are ringing in my spirit. I must hear this sermon again when it is posted to the website (yes, it was that good!) and next time, I will pause it to make sure I get each and every verse.