It Crushed Me But It Didn't Kill Me | Jontheris Tate | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

It Crushed Me But It Didn't Kill Me

Friendship Baptist Church • Dec 5, 2024 • 106 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In times of intense trial and heavy pressure, believers can feel completely crushed by life's hardships, yet these severe seasons are designed by God to draw out His purpose within us rather than destroy us. By examining Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we learn the necessity of maintaining a continuous, intimate prayer life with the Father before and during our deepest afflictions. Although persistent prayer may not always remove painful circumstances, it imparts divine strength to endure, conforms our hearts to God's sovereign will, and empowers us to keep pressing forward.

Themes

Prayer in SufferingDivine Purpose in TrialsSurrender to God's WillSpiritual Discernment in RelationshipsPerseverance and Endurance

Pastor's Points

1.

Abide in conversation with the Creator

2.

Accept the content of your cup

3.

Advance in spite of contradictory companions

Key Points

1.
Abide in conversation with the Creator through continuous prayer.
2.
Accept the content of your cup by surrendering human desire to God's divine plan.
3.
Advance in spite of contradictory companions who spiritually check out during your trials.
4.
Some crushing burdens in life are not caused by demonic attacks, but are divine assignments permitted by God to fulfill His purpose.
5.
Gethsemane serves as a spiritual olive press where life's intense pressure squeezes out the valuable divine oil deposited inside believers.
6.
Jesus demonstrated that prayer must be an ongoing lifestyle practiced before afflictions hit, rather than an emergency measure used only during trouble.
7.
True prayer is designed not to alter God's sovereign path, but to surrender human desires and conform the believer's heart to the Father's divine will.
8.

Sermon Moments

“Life is like an onion: the more you peel it, the more it'll make you cry.”

“Gethsemane is known to be an olive press where they crush the olive under pressure to extract the precious oil inside.”

“Jesus prayed before the affliction hit, proving prayer must be a lifestyle rather than an emergency measure.”

“Prayer is really the slender nerve that moves God and conforms our hearts to His divine will.”

“Be careful of companions who are awake during your highs but sleep through your lows.”

“Prayer does not always remove the cup of suffering, but it supplies divine strength to deal with the cup.”

“It crushed you, but it killed Him—Jesus swapped places on the cross so that you could live.”

This Week

Establish a daily habit of proactive prayer before crises occur, making dialogue with God a lifestyle rather than an emergency reaction.

Surrender personal desires regarding difficult circumstances by explicitly praying "nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done."

Evaluate your inner circle to ensure you are surrounded by mature prayer partners who can stand with you in painful seasons.

Refuse to hold resentment against companions who fail or check out spiritually during your dark hours; leave them in God's hands and keep praying.

Reframe current pressures and trials as spiritual olive presses meant to produce endurance and refine your inner character.

Bring honest, transparent emotions—including sorrow and heaviness—to God in prayer using affectionate, personal intimacy.

Keep moving forward in obedience each day, choosing to press toward your divine calling despite past setbacks or present discomfort.

Remember This

While severe trials may crush your heart or circumstances, persistent prayer grounds you in divine strength, conforms you to God's will, and ensures that the crushing season will not destroy you.

A Challenge for You

Bring your crushing burdens to the altar, surrender your heart completely to God's will, and trust Him to strengthen and fix what seems broken in your life.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.