09.14.2014 Dealing with the Stuff in Our Lives, pt. 2 - Four Foundational Promises for Blessing

9/14/2014 from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Daughter of the King from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Lord, thank You for the work that Carol has done on this book and for all the girls in Africa who have come to Christ. Thank you for this church in supporting it. We ask for Rachel and Gilbert that Your hand would work that they could come home from the DRC. We pray that this book would receive support and that more and more people would come to Jesus. Thank you, Carol.

It would be of most help if you put your gift in a special envelope.

We started a new series last week – we will look at 2 Peter 1

We are going to start something new that Tim has been working on – there is a great app – YouVersion – a Bible app – and it has all the different translations – but another thing it does – it has ‘live event’ – so that when you come into the building – you can open your phone and it will have the verses starting next week – there will be questions you can answer and if we get around to it- we can put polls up there. Tim has been working on that.

2 Peter 1: 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us [d]by His own glory and [e]excellence.

God’s grace and power is unlimited – so we can be transformed to be like Christ. To live as Jesus lived – that is possible to do. If we hope to experience that – if we wish to be transformed into Christ’s image, we must believe that it is possible because we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

There are a lot of things people can change on their own – you can stop doing certain activities – and start doing others – but you can’t be changed into likeness of Christ apart from the power of Christ.

“trying to help people cope with life on earth in a non-destructive manner” – I think that is what the church often does. Just trying to cope. But He has a greater vision for us – a vision seen in Christ and how God wants us to be transformed.

"If we - through well-directed and unrelenting action - effectually receive the grace of God in salvation and transformation, we certainly will be incrementally changed toward inward Christlikeness" (82)

He is saying, we should slowly, incrementally be transformed. We should see things changing.

How is that going? Where are you on that?

The goal of this series is to help you learn to make this happen in your life.

With this – I can say this – there is nothing in your life that is beyond God’s power to change. Do you believe that?

Now, real quickly – that does not mean – change and transformation – if there is some area you are struggling with – that does not remove temptation in those areas. Temptation you will always have with you.

James 1:13 –

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted [n]by God”; for God cannot be tempted [o]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin [p]is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Temptation is always around us. Being Christlike does not eliminate that. Jesus was tempted in everything. Jesus lived like Jesus.

We can guarantee that the temptation will remain.

There is a difference between temptation and sin. If you don’t get past that – you will never have victory.

Someone cuts you off – and you have an anger issue. And the temptation comes – and we believe we have already failed, and then we go ahead and fail!

When you recognize a temptation – THEN you have a decision point. How will I act? Without God’s grace, you will get angry and act on that.

But when we have God’s grace, we will learn to not respond in anger.

4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

We have been given all these things to become more like Christ. We have it all if we are in Christ. That is first. If someone is not in Christ, he does not have the power to live like Christ. If you have not come to that point where you are trusting in Christ, you don’t have the power. You can change behaviors and certain activities, but you are incapable of living like Christ. You are incapable of transforming your anger into love – without that relationship with Jesus.

But we have these precious and magnificent promises – and through them – we escape the corruption of the world and partake in the divine nature of Jesus. These promises play a huge role in our transformation. All of these thing we have because we came to Christ: 1 – the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

Ephesians 1: - We have been blessed with every spiritual blessings in Christ.

These promises are all that we received when we came to Christ-and it is through those that we can be transformed.

I am going to look at 4 foundational promises for blessing.

1) the promise of identity.

Identity is simply – when you think about you, what do you think? What comes into your mind? Where is your identity? Do you think of a failure/loser/bad person/ ugly person? What comes into your mind? What enters your heart? DO you think greatness/awesome/wonderful person? Both are a mistake!

Here is what God says our image should be.

Matthew 3:16 – this is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.

First – I am a child of God – a child of the King – and then, I am loved – beloved – son. I am a beloved child of the king – and He is well-pleased – so I am accepted –

That is awesome! We can, in one sense, say, I am awesome – but not because of your achievements/looks, or abilities. You are awesome because you are a beloved child of the king, accepted by Him.

What do you think God thinks when He thinks about you? Those two questions – when you think about you, what do you think about – and what do you think God thinks when He thinks about you – are two of the most important questions.

“Individuals who suffer from poor image of themselves have no defenses against group pressures” – the pressure to conform to the world. :”They do not see themselves..

You are a beloved child of God.

Before we get to the second promise – we are loved – and this is so important – and there are so many promises of how we are loved.

Jeremiah 31: 3 The Lord appeared to [a]him from afar, saying,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

When God thought about making you – He thought – I really love this – this is a fantastic thing I am going to make – from the beginning of time to the end of time – He loves you.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses [a]indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Your worst days don’t stop it – because of who God is – not because of what you do. A baby does not do anything to be loved by its grandparents – and it can do anything and still be loved!

We are like the grandchildren that God loves.

Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

Mountains don’t move!

Ephesians 3: 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the [a]saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

This is what we need – to know how much God loves us – how wide it is.

When we do these live events – throw on these verses – verses that tell how much God loves you.

Forgiven

Col.2: 13 When you were dead [a]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

How many? All! Small medium and large! Grande and venti!

We are good with the small, aren’t we? The medium ones – maybe. But the large ones! Oh, the large ones! But to Jesus – He died for all of your sins. His blood was not shed more powerfully for small sins – it does not have more power over small ones than large ones!

This should stop us from comparing sins. Christians do this all the time – usually because we want ours to be smaller. We are usually okay with the past sins – oh yeah, those are forgiven. Present ones – uh oh – and future ones, Oh my! But God died for all your sins.

Third – I am with you – the presence of God.

Matthew 28:20 – I am with you always – this is the great equalizer.

Isaiah 41:10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

God is with us in every circumstance. That is the equalizer over our fear and anxiety.

Hebrews 13: 5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

One of the things we will look at in this series is abandonment. We have probably all felt it. But foundational, God is with us. That means even when we don’t behave the way that pleases Him – He doesn’t abandon us then.

4th – God is for us.

Remember, a while ago I mentioned this saying – one that many quote – we know that God is good intellectually – but we wonder what good God is. This tells us that God is good and that is good for us.

Phil 1:6

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

He began it; He will finish it.

Romans 8: 28 And we know that [a]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

God is not up there thinking about ways to hurt you. But when you are hurt by others, God takes those events and works good through them. He steps into the negative events of your life –and begins working good in it.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Psalm 118:7 The Lord is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.

A couple practices – when you go to bed – examine your day – think – where did God enter my day? Where did I see His hand?

It may start with small things – like getting cut off and He helped me to not get angry.

Or – I was at work and I was able to hold back from saying something negative.

Where was God working? Discerning that. And as you do this – you will see His activity in the mundane areas of your life.

Second – the practice of expectation.

In the morning, Lord, I will order my day for thee – I expect to see God actively working in my life.

Those are easy! You can do those! And they can transform your life.

Let’s pray:

Lord, thank You – thank You that we are Your beloved children with whom you are well-pleased. You have adopted us as your sons and daughters – we are loved, forgiven and you are for us – you are on our side – amen.