Sermon Central
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The Blessing Of The Unfinished
Contributed by Wilson Murphy on May 9, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Thank God for the things God helped you finish, but also the things He didn’t let you finish.
The Blessing in the Unfinished
Ps 119:85-87
85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
Luke 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
1. God has a way of holding back the famine until; you have spent all, until it will affect you the most.
2. This is where some of you are right now; you’ve done your own thing, now we find our self in want.
3. Being in want is the first step to change
15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
4. The expression used was strong “ he glued himself to”
A. Desperation forced him to join himself to someone for support.
B. The very thing he was running from was now necessary
5. There will come a time when you will depend on somebody
* 16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
A. You can tell the last step to going down: things start looking good that never looked good before.
6. “He almost”
A. Thank God for what he brought you through
B. BUT ALSO: for the things he stopped me from
C. And the blessing in the unfinished
7. Cause “I Almost” many could say this
A. “I Almost”
i. Overdosed but I didn’t finish it
ii. Drank myself to death but I didn’t finish it
iii. Ruined my life forever but I didn’t finish
8. But just in the nick of time “I came to myself”
A. He almost but he didn’t finish
9. Just in the nick of time I realized that I need to get back to the fathers house
A. Just before I let my anger get the best of me, “I Came to Myself”
B. Just before I committed suicide, “I Came to Myself”
C. Just before my life was destroyed, “I Came to Myself”
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
10. Somebody here is in a storm and you see the wind boisterous
A. And you are scared to death
B. You feel so far from the boat
C. All you can see is trouble
11. Somebody here feels as though they are starting to sink
A. Take courage Peter BEGINNING to sink cried out, “Lord, save me.”
B. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him
12. There is a blessing in what God refused to let you finish.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
