Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20000123.htm

FUNCTIONING BY GOD'S POWER FOR BASIC DAILY LIVING NEEDS
Part VI: Crisis Management By God's Power
(1 Corinthians 10:13 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. Job 5:7 states " . . . man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." (NIV)
    2. Though that is so, the Christian is still to have peace in the world in the midst of troubles, John 16:35.
    3. Nevertheless, the process of interacting with the Lord to gain such peace has to be right or life can be unbearable! This lesson is a comprehensive guide for using God's power for crisis management as follows:
  2. Crisis Management By God's Power, 1 Corinthians 10:13 et al.
    1. Step One - Believe in Christ as Personal Savior from sin. Since one can have peace while in trouble only in Christ (John 16:35), the first step is to believe in Christ and be related to Him, Jn. 3:16; Jn. 1:12-13.
    2. Step Two - Confess known sin as a believer unto the Lord for restoration to fellowship with God and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. If the believer harbors sin in his walk with the Lord, he does not enjoy the Lord's bl essing, for God won't even hear his prayer for help in crises, cf. Psalm 66:18 NIV. Thus, he must confess it for restoration to fellowship and empowerment with God, 1 Jn. 1:9; Gal.5:16-23.
    3. Step Three - BELIEVE the TRUTH that WHATEVER EARTHLY crisis a believer faces, it FITS INTO the WONDERFUL ETERNAL plan of God FOR the believer's benefit and God's glory.
      1. In eternity past, God chose the believer in Christ to become holy and without blame in His heavenly presence in the sphere of His infinite love, Ephesians 1:3-4.
      2. Thus, whatever crises the believer now face are allowed by GOD as part of His predestining work en route to getting him to that glorious final destination in heaven, Ephesians 1:5.
      3. Additionally, God has worked so that the believer who obeys God in His power will always have an effective, eternally-valuable ministry according to that eternal divine plan, 2 Timothy 1:8-9. Knowing this equips one to be optimistic eve n in the most challenging of crises.
    4. Step Four - Identify and USE God's "escape hatch" for spiritual VICTORY in the trial.
      1. Every crisis provides ample temptations to sin by way of heeding the lusts of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of this earthly life, cf. 1 John 2:15-16 in light of Genesis 3:6.
      2. However, all temptations are common to mankind's experience so what we face is nothing that God can not equip us to handle, and God never allows a believer to get into a temptation that is harder than his maturity or knowledge level can handle, 1 Corinthians 10:13a,b. Besides, God always provides a way of escape in the temptation the believer faces if he but looks for that escape "hatch" in the temptation.
      3. Thus, the believer should seek to identify God's "escape hatch" in the trial so that he avoids falling into sin while experiencing his trial, 1 Corinthians 10:13c.
    5. Step Five - ADJUST to GOD'S ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE found in SCRIPTURE that NEUTRALIZES the pull of the "world, the flesh and the devil" that fuels the crisis into the trial.
      1. Man had no stress, no crises before he sinned, Genesis 1:27-31. Sin marked the origin of stress and trials of a crisis sort for man, cf. Genesis 3:6 with 3:7-24.
      2. Well, Satan (Gen. 3:1-5), the world (Gen. 3:6; 1 Jn. 2:15-16) and the sin nature (Gen. 3:7-13; Rom. 7:15-24) are three sources of evil that, if heeded by the believer, lead to bondage and unrest!
      3. Scripture's insight neutralizes the force of these tempting enemies as the believer can use it to identify realities and trust God in countering what he must, providing him victory, Isa. 8:19-20; Ps. 1:1 -6.
    6. Step Six - STAY ALIGNED with God's SCRIPTURAL WILL for future crisis needs, Ps. 1:1-2, 4-6.
    7. Step Seven - If lacking Bible insight in a crisis, get help from believers "in the know," Eph. 4:11-16.
Lesson: To handle life's crises in a COMPREHENSIVE way, (1) believe on Christ as Savior and (2) confess any harbored sins performed since becoming a believer. (3) Then, trust that the crisis still fits into God's eternal plan for us, (4) and lo ok for God's "escape hatch" against SINNING in the event. (5) Adjust to God's perspective of the crisis as SCRIPTURE reveals it so as to neutralize the pull of Satan, the world and the sin nature to react to the crisis with sin. (6) STAY aligned with God this way, (7) and get help from knowledgeable believers if lacking the insight for the crisis at hand.