The Moment of Increase | Sarah Jakes Roberts | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

The Moment of Increase

Sarah Jakes Roberts

ONE, A Potter's House Church • Oct 9, 2024 • 64 min

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

Summary

In this powerful message from John 11, Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts unpacks how spiritual increase often comes disguised as heartbreak, loss, or altered plans. Through the story of Martha and Mary grieving Lazarus, believers are encouraged to recognize that true surrender involves honest grief and abandoning 'recycled faith' for a fresh, direct belief in God's resurrecting power. Even when God does not respond according to personal timelines, His care is deep and His restoration is always worth the wait.

Themes

Spiritual Increase in DisguiseGrief and SurrenderMoving Beyond Recycled FaithSpiritual Decline vs. GrowthThe Power of Godly CommunityGod's Care in Disappointment

Key Points

1.
Human development encompasses growth, stability, and decline, and spiritual life follows similar stages.
2.
Spiritual increase often comes disguised as heartbreak, unexpected loss, betrayal, or difficult obstacles.
3.
Believers can suffer an unseen decline in hope, faith, and courage even while remaining outwardly productive and busy.
4.
True surrender is inherently tied to grief because laying down our plans, expectations, and ideals is painful.
5.
Jesus demonstrated in Gethsemane that praying through agony and mourning what must be surrendered is part of obeying God's will.
6.
God permits believers to grieve and believe simultaneously, allowing deep belief to ultimately overcome sorrow.
7.
Overcoming current trials requires moving beyond recycled or inherited faith to discover new aspects of God's power and character.
8.
Jesus reveals profound truths about His nature—such as being "the Resurrection and the Life"—during moments of deepest distress and questioning.
9.
When personal faith feels fragile, God connects believers with spiritual community to help hold, strengthen, and transfer belief.
10.
God's care for His children does not always match personal expectations or immediate timelines, but His restoration is always worth the wait.

Sermon Moments

“Spiritual increase often comes disguised as heartbreak, betrayal, or unexpected loss.”

“You can be producing results on the outside while experiencing a quiet spiritual decline on the inside.”

“Surrender is grief—if you wait for laying down your plans to feel easy, you will never surrender.”

“Even in agony, Jesus prayed nevertheless; mourning what you surrender is a normal part of entering God's purpose.”

“You don't have to stop grieving to start believing; you can grieve and believe at the same time until belief overwhelms grief.”

“Recycled faith won't break today's obstacles—God is calling you to believe something new about His character and power.”

“Jesus reveals His deepest identity to us in our moments of greatest disappointment.”

“When your faith feels weak, God provides godly sisters and community to help carry and stir up belief.”

This Week

Admit and express honest pain and grief to God rather than suppressing it or pretending to be fine.

Identify areas where spiritual decline may have set in due to overbusyness, and build in intentional rest and prayer.

Release personal definitions and timelines of how God should answer prayers, surrendering to His higher plan.

Lay down "recycled" or inherited faith and ask God for fresh, direct belief for current trials.

Reach out to godly community and trusted believers when personal faith feels weak or overwhelmed.

Reframe recent heartbreaks, losses, or obstacles as potential opportunities for spiritual increase and character growth.

Offer yourself as a daily living sacrifice, willing both to lay down old expectations and pick up God's new purpose.

Remember This

Spiritual increase often arrives disguised as pain or loss, calling believers to move beyond recycled faith and embrace fresh belief through honest surrender and godly community.

A Challenge for You

Offer yourself as a Living Sacrifice; bring your grief and your belief to the altar, touch agreement with community, and declare that every good thing God put inside you must come forth in Jesus' name.

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