On Sunday, March 25th, we were blessed to have Chadi Melki, Director of Cedar Home, an orphanage for girls in Beirut, Lebanon, as guest speaker. Below are the notes for his sermon.

1. 1.Greetings from Lebanon, Cedar Home, Church
2. 2.Thank you for having me.
3. 3.An Encouragement: Philippians 4:4-7 [+/-]Philippians 4:4-7 [4]Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. [5]Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6]do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7]And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
   
• a. A powerful passage.
• b. It is hard these days to give thanks in all things.
• c. Look around, pain, suffering, illness, no money, hardship, war?
• d. Still you should rejoice, WHAT? This is what Paul says
• e. Because our God is all powerful. An Awesome God
• f. The Bible is full with stories of His great work.
• g. Examples:
  1. i. passing through a barricade in van
  2. ii.The elders being stopped at a checkpoint
• h. Still God sometimes does not let us through without any harm.
• i. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 [+/-]2 Corinthians 12:8-9 [8]Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. [9]But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (ESV)
  
• j. So God says nope, deal with that live in that situation, I am going to make you better, grow you there.
• k. See our God is not a pampering God, But an encouraging God.
• l. You might say how do we rejoice in pain? We don’t.
• m. We rejoice in Christ our Lord even when it is painful
• n. He never promised heaven on earth but He promised GRACE
• o. God loves us more than we can imagine and there is nothing we can do for Him to love us more and there is nothing we can do for Him to love us less
• p. In difficult times we need to remember God’s power in our lives
• q. Lamentations 3:18-26 [+/-]Lamentations 3:18-26 [18]so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." [19]Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! [20]My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. [21]But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: [22]The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; [23]they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. [24]"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." [25]The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. [26]It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
  & Jeremiah 29:10-14 [+/-]Jeremiah 29:10-14 [10]"For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. [11]For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. [12]Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. [13]You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. [14]I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (ESV)
  
• r. We need to rejoice in the Lord so He will protect our heart and minds from the whispering and thoughts of the devil and people around us so that we do not lose concentration.
• s. Example : opening seen from the passion of the Christ
• t. Dad’s passing
• u. Are you suffering today. Do you have a wide river you are trying to cross, a high mountain. Cling to Him, ask Jesus for Grace. He will be there for you. And always rejoice in His salvation even if you don’t see it.