Michael Koelling: Pressure

Pressure is a very weird obstacle to overcome.
Pressure makes some people function better and paralyzes others.
Pressure is found in our every day lives.
Pressure is found in our jobs, in our school work, in our relationships, in our friendships, in our families, in our minds and will definitely be a part of our future.
Releasing that pressure in the right way and at the right time is our ultimate goal.

2 types of pressure we are going to talk about they are Building and Killing.

1. What is an example of building pressure?

Pressure to do what is right, attend church, accountability.
Building pressure is the good kind of pressure that will ensure your future is successful.
Building pressure is doing right because others are counting on you.
Building pressure does just that it builds you.

It builds character, it builds a good reputation, it builds spirituality, it builds strength physically/spiritually/emotionally.
Building pressure is what will catapult you into your future because your foundation is solid.

No solidification then no future.

Many people have a continuation of destruction in their relationship to God because they refuse to build on a good foundation.
Building pressure is you choosing the right friends, right relationships, right paths to follow in this life.

Those friends that tell you the truth, those family members who see your greatest potential and not your greatest weaknesses.

John 14:6 (NLT) "Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

2. What is an example of killing pressure?
Pressure to do what is wrong, drink, language(foul and negative), smoke, people who pull you away from God, not toward.

Proverbs 24:10 (NLT) "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small."

This is amazing yet so scary to me humans dwell in this pressure to compete, pressure to outdo, pressure to try to be better than any other human out there and I define that as a killing pressure.

This type of pressure kills your dreams, kills your potential, kills your spirit, kills your mindset, kills your individuality.

Healthy competition is great on any level but don't misunderstand what I'm saying here.

What are some ways to overcome pressure others put on us?

Be confident in your mission.
Be unique not engaged in being everyone else.
Don't fulfill the killing pressure.

I believe that spending all my time trying to mimic who, what, why, and where everyone else is, is sin.
God designed me to be me for Him.
Be unique for Him, His purposes, His design for my life.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 (NLT) "Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character."

What are some of the ways we bring the pressure from others upon ourselves?

Hypocritical living is the Christians worst nightmare.

Hypocritical-Professing qualities you don't possess or are in contradiction to.
The greatest single cause of atheism are Christians who say one thing with their mouths and walk out the door and live out another.
When you say what you are stay what you are, live out what you are, there is a cause within you dying to get out!

Building pressure is again our goal.

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT) "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."

What promise does the Bible give us if we can stay faithful to God’s Word and not give into the pressure we face daily?

Matthew 9:17 (NLT) "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved."

Jesus explains that He has come not to "patch up" the old institutions of Judaism, but to institute a new covenant altogether.
The new covenant doesn’t just patch up the old; it supersedes it.
They put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved: Jesus’ reference to the wineskins is His announcement that the present institutions of Judaism could not, and would not, contain His new wine.

He would form a new institution, "The Church, which would bring Jew and Gentile together into a completely new body. (Ephesians 2:16)

Not just rules and regulations but grace, mercy, truth and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
God's eternal plan destroying the works of the flesh.

Earning goodness, holiness, and Godliness was no longer given through the law but through Jesus Christ.

Jesus reminds us that what is old and stagnant often cannot be renewed.
God will often look for new vessels to contain His new work, until those vessels make themselves unusable.

Remain mold able not moldy for God to continue to use you.

Genesis 39:10 (NLT)"She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible."

Psalm 119:143-144 (NLT) "143 As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. 144 Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live."

When the pressure is Great allow God to be greater.
When the stress is great allow God to be greater.
When the depression is great allow God to be greater.
When the demands are great allow God to help you carry them.

Matthew 11:28 (NLT) "Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

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