2. We Still Need You Here Lord

3. “We need you here Lord.” 
Many years ago, Andrew Blackwood wrote a book entitled, “We need you here Lord.” 
This morning, we raise the question, how many times do we realize, “We need you here, Lord.”

4. “We need you here Lord.” 
At the great moments of life:  weddings and funerals.
At the great crises in life:  serious illnesses or health problems, accidents, or serious storms.
At times of relationship crises:  in our marriage, with our children, or on our job, or in our business..

5. “We need you here Lord.” 
Are there not other times when we need the Lord? 
Growing old without God is a sobering thought.
Starting out on your own as a young person without God is a truly sobering thought.

6. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
Savior help us
with the pesky little irritations
that keep us from acting like Christians

7. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
if you would give us something big and glorious to do
we like to believe we would do it
with sparkle and dash
and a rosy glow in the heart

8. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
but these pesky little things that bother us
typewriter ribbons that don't work right
and faucets that drip
and shoestrings that break
and cars that don't start

9. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
and these pesky people that bother us
the idiot who toots his horn in the traffic jam
and the neighbor who doesn't return the lawnmower
and the newsboy who is late
and the waitress who never gets anything straight
and - dare we whisper it? -- the members of our families

10. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
why do we have to act like Christians when we are irritated?
why can't we be as stupid and inconsiderate as everyone else?

11. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
you were irritated, Jesus
you got splinters in your finger
and people got on your nerves
you could have kicked and screamed
just like us
but you didn't

12. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
You may have been tempted
when you hit your hand with a hammer
but you remembered.
Then, when someone was driving a nail through your hand
you still remembered
and prayed for the man who was killing you.

13. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
Maybe the minor irritations aren't so minor
maybe through them you are preparing us
for heavy duties and responsibilities
help us, Savior

14. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
when things get out of order
give us the gumption to fix them

15. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
When people get out of order
give us the grace to remember that we are Christians
and you really meant that bit about the turning the other cheek.
It's our job to try to be reasonable
if we do our part, maybe the others will get the hint.

16. For Grace to Meet Pesky Irritations
Remind us that we are Christians, Lord
especially when we are irritated
we pray in your name
Amen

17. Yes, the question is, are we living daily, close to God?

18. How well do we deal with life’s “pesky irritations”?

19. Are we different from those who are around us in the world?

20. Be different from the world
(Rom 12:1-2 NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

21. Have we allowed the world around us to squeeze us into its mold?

22. Phillips Translation
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould.”

23. So are we really different in the way we treat people, or do “pesky irritations” cause us to act like “other people.”

24. Do we realize what God wants us to be?
1 Peter 1:14-16 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

25. We are to show others God’s way.

26. Our purpose is to praise God.
1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; {10} who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

27. “You shall be witnesses to Me”
(Acts 1:8 NKJV) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

28. Tell them what great things the Lord has done for you,
(Mark 5:18-19 NKJV) And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. {19} However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."

29. Bring Glory to God
(Mat 5:16 NKJV) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

30. They may glorify God
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

31. Confess Christ
(Mat 10:32-33 NKJV) "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. {33} "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

32. Citizens of heaven
(Phil 3:20-21 NKJV) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, {21} who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

33. Be good at Work
1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

34. Have a Great Home!
(Eph 5:22-25 NKJV) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. {23} For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. {24} Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. {25} Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

35. Live Close to God
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.9 Lament and mourn and weep! Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

36. Conclusion Life is filled with perky irritations,
And with temptations,
But we as Christians are to “rise above it.” 
We are to be better than those who are around us.
“We need You here Lord,” –

37. Conclusion “We need You here Lord,” –
Let’s ask God to help us overcome the temptations of life. 
When we are tempted to be less than we should be.
Are we telling others of the Savior?
Have you been obedient to the Lord?