DEATH'S STING

A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified. Suddenly, the father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it.

As soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy. His father saw his panic-stricken face and again the father reached out, but this time he opened his hand. There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee.

He said to his son. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. I've taken the sting for you."

The worker honey bees are armed with straight, barbed stingers, so that when a worker stings, the barbed, needle sharp organ remains firmly anchored in the flesh of its victim. In trying to withdraw the stinger, the bee tears its internal organs and dies shortly thereafter. And this is the message of Easter.

We do not need to be afraid of death anymore. Christ faced death for us. And by His victory, we are saved from sin. Christ has taken the sting! 1 Corinthians 15:55 asks: "“O Death, where is your sting? O Grave where is your victory?”

Christ has taken the stinger for us. He has risen!

"BIGGER Than The Mountain"

In 1924 a group of explorers tried to climb Mount Everest and failed.
They attempted twice to tackle the mountain but with no success. The group lost two of its members in the second effort. After the failed endeavor they met with a group of supporters in London to raise funds for yet another expedition.

On stage one of the hikers stood up and gave a rousing speech of determination. He was persuaded that his team could indeed conquer the mountain if given enough time and support. He closed his remarks by stating, "Mount Everest cannot grow larger, but we can."

The obstacles we face and the mountains we climb can sometimes appear daunting and unmovable. The one advantage we have however is that we can grow, we can get stronger, and we can become wiser. It takes a spirit of resolve and faith to climb the mountains of life. Our failures can actually become our successes if we properly glean from our experiences.

Thomas Edison said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Many of us here in North Carolina remember the name Spud Webb.

Diminutive young mister Webb wanted to be a NBA star when he grew up, but he had a long way to go in more ways than one. Always the shortest kid in class, he said he prayed everyday in middle school “God make me bigger”—but nothing happened."

He said he continued to pray every day in High school “God make me bigger”—but nothing happened. Then one day he said in prayer, “God if you’re not gonna make me bigger on the outside…make me bigger on the inside” …and God did!

All 5 feet 7 inches of him went on to be a star player at NC State, and then in the NBA …where he shocked everyone by winning the slam dunk contest in 1986!

Friend, walk up the mountain one more time!
Everest doesn't get any bigger,…. but you can!

HE SPARED NOT

"He … spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all." (Romans 8:32)

The well-known slogan of Hallmark Cards is, “When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best.”

The Bile tells us that almighty God sent us much more than a greeting card when He gave us His own dear Son to die for our sins.

Amazingly, even though we were unworthy and unwilling to receive the gift, God gave us His very best (Rom. 5:8). Truly God held nothing anything back when He “spared not His own Son.”

It is amazing when we think that even though God knew beforehand what this wicked world would do to His Son, He still “spared not.”
It would be as if you would take your own child and cast him into a pit of rattlesnakes. We wouldn’t think of doing such a thing. Yet, this is exactly what God the Father did when he sent His Son into the midst of a “generation of vipers.”

God spared not, knowing the lies, betrayal, humiliation, and the mockery His Son would endure.

God spared not, knowing the scourging, the spitting, and the smiting that would be inflicted upon His own dear Son.

God spared not, knowing the nails that would pierce the sinless hands and feet of His beloved Son upon a cruel cross.

Why? Why did God do it? Because He loved us and knew this would be the only way to provide a way of salvation for us.

If God spared not giving His best to make a way for us to be saved, how can we withhold anything from Him that would help make salvation available to others who are lost?

1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” Do you care enough to give God your very best? Then spare not

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."

One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the Christian.

John 14:26 refers to Him as "… the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost..." Yet, even though this is the work of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit often uses His people to do this work.

That is why scripture also says "… comfort yourselves together
When the Christian yields themselves to the Holy Spirit of God, then they will find that they will be used to comfort those around them.

How is it that the Holy Spirit uses us to comfort one another?

First, the Holy Spirit uses FAITH to comfort people.

In Luke 8:48, Jesus said to the woman who was healed of the issue of blood, "Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole;..." The faith of this woman comforted her. If her faith could comfort her, then your faith can comfort others. When people see someone whose faith is strong, it comforts them by giving them security. When we exercise faith it helps all involved and others who only witness.

Second, the Holy Spirit uses the SCRIPTURE to comfort people.

Romans 15:4 says, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." It is important that we learn the Scriptures so we can use them to comfort people. Nothing is more assuring than knowing that the Bible backs us up.

Third, the Holy Spirit uses PREACHING to comfort people.

According to 1 Corinthians 14:3, one of the purposes of preaching is to comfort people. This is one of the many reasons why it is critical to be at church regularly because you will hear preaching that will not only comfort you in your time of need, but it will help you to know what to say to others in their time of need. Moreover, you should bring those who need comfort to church so they can hear the preaching that the Holy Spirit will use to comfort them.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit uses your LOVE to comfort people.

Philippians 2:1 refers to the “comfort of love”. Why should we love people? Because loving them brings comfort to them. There is nothing like receiving a phone call from someone who loves you and hearing them say that they are praying for you and that they love you.

Fifth, the Holy Spirit will use the BLESSED HOPE of Christ to comfort people.

2 Thessalonians 4:18 tells us to “comfort one another” by reminding them that Jesus is coming again. The hope that one day all sorrow will end because Jesus is coming is a comfort to those who are hurting. One of the greatest tools of comfort is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Sixth, the Holy Spirit uses FORGIVENESS to comfort people.

2 Corinthians 2:7-8 reminds us that when we forgive people, it comforts those whom we forgive. It teaches us that we should not be unforgiving but “ .. ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him”

Bitterness towards someone who's wronged you will not bring comfort to you or them. When someone knows you have forgiven them for what they did to you, that brings them comfort. How is your ministry of comfort? This list by no means says all there is to say on the subject, but hopefully helps us to be a better help to others.

Are you lacking in one of the tools the Holy Spirit uses to comfort others through you? Make each of these areas a priority in your life, and you will find that the Holy Spirit will comfort many people through you too!