Sermon Notes
I'm Under Pressure
Pastor Rohan Samuels
Freedom Life Church
November 23, 2024
35 min read
Pressure
Faith
Perseverance
Watch the Full Sermon
Experience the complete message as Pastor Rohan Samuels addresses the pressure we all face and how faith sustains us.
Scripture
Genesis 6:5-8; 14; 18
Introduction: Pressure Nobody Sees
- There is visible pressure… and pressure nobody sees.
- Pressure you post… and pressure you pray no one discovers.
- Pressure that doesn't show up on your résumé, selfies, or Sunday smile, but sits heavy on your chest when the lights go out.
Generational Pressure Examples:
- Gen Z: Anxiety from a collapsing economy, fractured culture, digital identity struggles.
- Millennials: Raising kids, paying bills, healing trauma, surviving past storms.
- Older Generations: Remaining hopeful while the world shifts under your feet.
Reflective Questions:
- What do you do when life demands answers you don't have?
- How do you obey God when you feel stretched, stressed, and spiritually short-circuited?
- How do you lead under pressure that nobody sees?
Truth: Pressure is real, the strain is real, and the temptation to quit is real.
Hope: You are not alone, meet Noah, a man under pressure, yet faithful.
1. The Days of Noah and the Days We're Living In
Scripture: Genesis 6:5-9
Key Observations:
- Humanity's thoughts were "only evil continually."
- Evil was trending, marketed, and engineered.
Tensions for Today:
- Culture vs. God's Standard: Morality mocked, holiness offensive, rebellion celebrated.
- Digital Discipleship: Algorithms shape behavior more than Scripture.
- Customizable Truth: Convictions optional, reality negotiable.
- Generational Idolatry: People bow to trends, influencers, entertainment, not God.
Noah's Example:
- Noah "found grace"—he stood firm in God's standards amidst universal compromise.
- Lesson: You cannot build what Heaven commands and blend with what culture demands.
Apostolic Charge to FLC:
We need Noah voices, voices that refuse to bend, compromise, or dilute the Gospel.
"I will not bow! I will not compromise! I will stand for the Gospel! I will resist the idols of this age!"
2. The Pressure of Obeying Without Understanding
Scripture: Genesis 6:14–22
- Noah was told to build an ark before it ever rained.
- Obedience required faith, imagination, and trust beyond comprehension.
Tensions for Builders Today:
- Obedience makes you look foolish.
- Obedience may isolate you from peers, friends, and culture.
- Obedience is the path to generational impact, your "yes" becomes someone's rescue.
Truth:
- Kingdom demands obedience before understanding.
- Builders often walk alone, misunderstood, or criticized.
Reflection:
- What assignment is God calling you to obey, even though it doesn't make sense?
- How can your obedience today shape future generations?
3. The Pressure of Building Under Public Scrutiny
Scripture: Genesis 6:22
- Noah built in full view of a skeptical world.
- Obedience under scrutiny is heavy, hammering, measuring, building while mocked.
Key Principle:
Some people cannot celebrate your building because they weren't present in your divine encounter.
Application for Today:
- You are building a spiritual infrastructure to sustain future generations.
- Pressure is heavy because the work is generational.
- Build for the harvest, even if you may not live to see it.
4. The Pressure of Building with Unseen Resources
- The Bible never tells us where Noah got the wood, pitch, or tools.
- Truth: God provides what He calls you to build.
Divine Provision Principles:
- God assigns, God funds.
- God initiates, God sustains.
- Obedience activates resources, even if unseen.
Call to Action:
- Build for your family, your business, your ministry, your generation, even without visible resources.
- Faith requires envisioning the finished product so clearly that obstacles cannot distort future reality.
Conclusion: For Every Person Under Pressure
- If you're under pressure, building, misunderstood, or exhausted…
- Remember Noah: your obedience has generational impact.
- God is Jehovah Jireh, provider of all your needs.
Final Declaration:
"I will build. I will obey. I will trust. I will stand for the generations yet to come."
Reflection & Notes
- Where do you feel pressure, nobody sees?
- What is God calling you to obey without full understanding?
- How can you trust God for the unseen resources to complete your assignment?
- Who is impacted by your obedience today for generations tomorrow?
