The Power of 1: The Kingdom is Unavoidable

 

The Power of 1: What God Can Do Through You!

SERMON NOTES Pastor Brad Myers

Today: The Kingdom is Unavoidable! May 26, 2024

 

The Kingdom is Unavoidable

Q) Have you ever felt like someone was avoiding you?

What’s unavoidable?

• Means: Adjective: Unable to be avoided.
• Translates: It’s Inevitable; It’s Inescapable, It’s Undeniable
• Willingly or Unwillingly
• But it’s unavoidable…

Psalm 139:5-10 (NLT)

Thought: Even though the Kingdom of God is unavoidable we can make ourselves unavailable to it!

Q) Have you ever just wanted God to leave you alone?

• When we’re not doing the right things or what He needs us to do.
• After Adam and Eve sinned, heard God coming and hid.

Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)

• A great storm erupts at sea.
• Sailers cast lots as to who’s responsible: Jonah!
• Jonah tells the sailors he’s on the run.
• Sailers: How do we calm the sea?
• Jonah: Throw me overboard.
• First tried to row back then gave in and threw him overboard.

Jonah 1:17 (NIV)

Jonah 3:1-3a (NIV)

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” ³ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh…..

• Unavoidable Kingdom transmitted to the inevitable.
• Jonah was going to Nineveh.

WHY?

Thought: God doesn’t give up on us just because we make ourselves unavailable.

Two things God uses on us: realities and possibilities!

1. The reality of our current situation.
2. The possibility of future situations.

Thought: The reality of your current situation can be altered if you believe in the possibility ahead of you!

Unavoidable becomes inescapable. (You can’t get away!)

³ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh…..

• Jonah couldn’t escape.

Thought: Sometimes God’s instructions conflict with our personal feelings.

Why? Because God’s grace is always greater than human feelings.

• God wanted to save the Ninevites, but Jonah didn’t…
• He saw them as unworthy of God’s grace, compassion and love.

Q) What are we really talking about?

Thought: We need to always anticipate an unavoidable, inevitable, inescapable, undeniable, intervention of the Kingdom of God into our lives..

Thought: The unavoidable Kingdom of God is always up to something great with you!!

Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)

• Jesus preaching a sermon from the water’s edge.
• Because the crowd was so large, He had taught them from a distance.

Luke 5:3 (NIV)

• He gave the benediction then narrowed His attention to the owner of the boat, Simon (who would later be called Peter.)
• What began as a message to the masses now is a message to an individual.

Luke 5:4 (NIV)

Thought: In one short statement, Jesus told him where to go—into the deep. He told him what to do—let down your nets. And He told him what to expect—a catch.

Jesus’ personal instruction creates whining!

Luke 5:5 (NIV)

Thought: What Peter didn’t realize is there are a couple clues that will let you know when you are in the vicinity of receiving something great from a Kingdom that is just unavoidable.

God is not allowing anything you do to work.

You feel that you have done everything you can—run the numbers, gone job hunting, read the books, gone to counseling, but it still isn’t working. When this happens, I would like to suggest to you, like Peter who struggled all night only to end up with an empty net, that you are exactly where God wants you to be.

1. What God ask you to do doesn’t make sense

• Any Sea of Galilee fisherman will tell you that putting a net into the deep waters during the day is not the way to catch fish.
• What Jesus asked Peter to do not only contradicted his experience, knowledge, history, background and training, but it also contradicted his instincts.
• It didn’t make sense!

Luke 5:6 (NIV)

• Peter: The Power of 1 through a Unavoidable Kingdom!

Q) How many fish does it take to break a net?
Apostle Paul would tell you!

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

Unavoidable Kingdom has all-encompassing authority

Psalm 103:19 (NKJV)

The Kingdom of God is Just Unavoidable!