Pressing Into JESUS

              Pressing Into the Savior

There is a difference between ‘pressing in’ and ‘standing close by’ – When you have to be rescued – you ‘press in’ to the person rescuing – you don’t ‘stand close’.

The same is true of our journey with Christ as our Savior. We are either ‘pressed in’ and absorbing everything we can to make it on this journey or we are ‘standing close by’ wishing we were closer or not understanding why we are not absorbing God like we should.

You ever been there?

Paul, in Philippians, puts it like this; “forgetting what is behind and straining on toward what is ahead” – believing God is in control of our lives and pressing into that!

THAT is where the treasure is and THAT is where the blessing is and THAT is where we get a sustaining comfort that will help us endure this life and all its trials.

Last week we studied about putting on the ‘Character Traits of Christ’ and being absorbed by them so that when we encounter problems and trials we are not acting on emotions but instead we are pressing in.

It takes time, encouragement, study and FAITH to get there!

LIFE is about the journey we are on and what we do with it ALL THE WAY TO THE END! You see it matters how you live in Christ.

Philippians 3:1-14 - Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. ² Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴ though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

It IS interesting to note that Paul, An Apostle of Christ, notes first in this Chapter that we should REJOICE in the LORD!

He is ever the encourager to people who desperately need encouragement in the LORD. He KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS what we face in this life. He faced the same and so did the believers in his day!

Our sin has not changed through time – it is still sin. We MUST recognize that and begin to understand the ONLY way to overcome is to be clothed with Christ and His Character Traits!

It does not matter how good we feel we are – we are still the same when it comes down to it. No one is better than the other one. The addicted is no worse than the do-gooder.

It is the affection of the heart turned toward Christ that makes the difference! When Paul discovered Christ and accepted Him as Savior – his life changed – was rearranged. He no longer cared for the things he once had – the money, the prestige, the cream of the crop life he was living became as nothing when he had a true encounter with Christ!

We should be the same! Whatever our live is or was should not come close in comparison to knowing Christ! Do you feel that way?

Is becoming a Christian the BEST thing that ever happened to you?

If so, then we should be showing that in our lives. His LIGHT should be what comes through.

We get that by ‘Pressing In’.

Pressing into Christ means that you are REJOICING when you feel like a HOT MESS!

·        When money problems seem to overtake you

·        When the addiction is just too strong to defeat

·        When the children/husband/family can’t live for Christ

·        When sin abounds and you can’t figure out how to move past it

·        When you have no friends

·        When things are good

·        When a blessing doesn’t seem to be found

·        When blessings abound everywhere

There are so many scenarios I could not name them all but I know this…Pressing into Christ will cause your mind and body to obey the calling that Christ puts on your life!

How do we do this? The Bible gives us answers!

The answers are found in the Bible in Philippians Chapter 4:4-9

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

·        Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice! Be THANKFUL that God loves you and gave Himself for you! (John 3:16) – Don’t be afraid to thank God in ALL things – no matter how small or large…how good or how bad! When we develop an attitude of thankfulness – it colors how we view things in Christ. The same was true of Paul – he knew in his soul, mind and heart that Christ was the BEST thing that had ever happened to him and he WANTED to grow in it! (verse 4)

·        Gentleness SHOULD color our life. We studied last week how to keep from letting a harshness cover everything we do! The Character Traits of JESUS come in to play when we are pressing into JESUS – we WANT to be more like Him! Notice how Paul presses or ‘strains’ forward in believing Christ – it causes him to forget what has happened to him in the past! He encourages the believer in the gentlest of ways! Don’t be harsh any longer but filled with gentleness toward all people. When we press into JESUS – we desire to be gentle! (verse 5)

·        UNDERSTAND that JESUS is near us and there for us to PRESS INTO! He is our Shepherd and Savior and King – Relying on JESUS in this life is key to be able to make it! Press into JESUS and live a life that reflects that Love and Grace that He gives you! (verse 5)

·        There is no need to be ANXIOUS! When we are pressing in – we see that if we don’t have a godly answer we should pray; that we should be thankful ANYWAY – pressing into JESUS even more to gain an understanding that is supernatural! (verse 6)

·        JESUS says there is PEACE when others can’t see peace! This comes from pressing into JESUS! Once we have gotten this kind of peace it guards our hearts and minds in Christ! It is not something that can be EXPLAINED it MUST be EXPERIENCED by the believer and comes through pressing into JESUS!  (verse 7)

Paul ends this section of ‘Pressing into Christ’ with ‘FINALLY’ – you see when we are pressing in – we see LIFE so clearly. It transcends this world. It is a place where you are alone with God and He is molding and changing your heart and mind and TEACHING you how to have that PEACE that passes all understanding.

These things come from His Word and can be such an encouragement and guide for your life! Press into JESUS today and be changed from the inside out! It is such a peace filled place!

"...Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  John 8:32(NIV)

What About The View?

I don’t know about you but when I am going somewhere to stay on vacation – one of the things I think about is the view from the hotel I am in. Is it a good view? Can I see landmarks? Will the view reflect what I paid for?

I don’t know of anyone that says – ‘give me the room with the brick wall view’ – or ‘I want the room with the worst view possible’ - do you?

These same questions are relevant to our walk as a believer in CHRIST.

Guess what? JESUS paid the highest price so we could get the view! God’s Plan is that we would SEE and INVEST in the gift that was given to us upon Salvation! That our ‘view’ in this life would reflect what JESUS paid for!

What is your view right now? Do you have a HEAVENLY view today or a HOPELESS view?

Psalm 119:114 says “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”

2 Timothy 4:1-3 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

Believers have a ‘Heavenly View’ and UNDERSTAND what has been done for them and desire to share that with other people – we MUST share it ‘in view of his appearing and his kingdom’!

This is called a ‘Kingdom View’. We begin to put the Promises of God at work in our lives and the more we live that out the more we understand about God’s Kingdom!

We receive a ‘Supernatural’ ability to see past the daily life we live straight into what God has promised and we see what is coming!

God gives the BELIEVER a Kingdom view – that is opened up as gifts in us and we are able to express these things to others and receive the blessings of life when we live in obedience. Here are a few!

©     Restoration

©     Deliverance

©     Light

©     Hope

©     Joy

©     Faith

©     Redemption

Those who choose not to follow God and believe His Promises and refuse to see the Kingdom View – are caught up in an Earthly View or a ‘Super-Chaotic View’ – These are folks that cannot see God’s Love and do not feel an urge to share JESUS with others. Their lives are on a roller-coaster with no direction.

Things in their lives do not go right and they blame God! They think Christians are crazed and out of touch with reality…they don’t see that JESUS is coming back and that the Word of God is True! They don’t see the ‘VIEW’ that God has for us!

Folks like this have NO GIFTS in this life other than the TEMPORARY and CONFUSION rules in their lives and days are lived out with no direction, peace, love or joy!

Here are some examples of ‘Super-Chaotic’ things going on in their lives:

©     Suffering

©     Brokenness

©     Pain

©     Darkness

©     Hopelessness

©     Doubt

©     Loneliness

©     Loss of things and people

What sets us apart from those with a ‘Super-Chaotic View’ is that we have the HOPE of JESUS that helps us hold on through all the chaos that the world throws at us…there is a VIEW that we see and sense and we KNOW that God is with us because that is His Promise!

We step through these same problems but we have the accompanying GIFTS that are mentioned above to guide us through – ALL BECAUSE OF GOD’S GREAT LOVE! We have THE VIEW!

Are you practicing living with that SUPER-NATURAL view that is given to us as a gift upon Salvation or do you spend your days in SUPER-CHAOS – waiting for the next thing to happen?

It is time to make decisions on how we will live out this life! If we are SAVED and following after CHRIST in obedience there is no decision – it has already been made and seeing the SUPERNATURAL comes as reward and THE VIEW IS GREAT!

If you are saved and do NOT follow after CHRIST in obedience – and you see some of these things happening and you have a sense of chaos in your life – TONIGHT is the time to make that change! Don’t wait! Begin to pray and ask God to make a change in you so that you can see the Supernatural Kingdom View God has given you as a gift! Ask God to forgive SIN in your life and turn your life over to Him!

If you are here and NOT SAVED and have no clue of how to get the gift of SALVATION and what comes with it – Let’s talk and fix that immediately! God’s DESIRE is that ALL find Him and seek Him!

Here are some steps toward obedience in your life with the LORD:

©     Develop a desire and a hunger for PEACE that ONLY comes through JESUS! Seek HIS WORD and read it with an open heart and mind! John 14:26-27

©     Depend on Godly council – Surround yourself with those that KNOW the LORD and believe His Promises and let them help you! ASK them questions and get rid of some of the folks that are causing you to be in chaos! Proverbs 24:6

©     When circumstances are not what they should be in your life – begin to look Heavenward and see that VIEW FROM THE TOP! God intends that we look past this world and SEE what He is preparing and providing! Be encouraged and in LOVE WITH JESUS! Philippians 2:13

©     GET IN THE WORD and let it change you! The WORD of God is alive and you have to ASK God to fill you with it and show you it’s GREAT TRUTH! It will help you develop strength where there is no strength and will give you guidance where there was none and peace, joy and help you see the GRACE that God has placed over you and on you and through you by the GIFT OF JESUS! Psalm 119:105

©     Begin a PRAYER LIFE with JESUS and He will give you a KINGDOM VIEW that will never go away! You can’t have a relationship with someone unless you invest and get involved with them! JESUS is the same! Talk to him like He is your best friend all the time – not just specific times…center your thoughts on Him and all His Promises! He will fill you up with godly desire! James 1:5

So do you see that VIEW that was paid for so dearly by the LORD? Are you looking past this life and peering into what is to come and find that your FAITH is growing and being nurtured in CHRIST?

I am hopeful that you do and if not – Let’s talk! I would be happy to help you find it!

Deal Breakers

Psalms 18:1-3 “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

When we are not willing to let everything in our life revolve around God – This awful cycle begins to take place in our life.

We find that Trouble often brings on the need for temptation. Once we have given in to temptation we find ourselves disappointed that we are not stronger.

Once we become disappointed we often get discouraged with our own behavior that someone else may or may not know about.

After a period of disappointment over not being able to overcome temptation that was brought on by trouble in our lives – we give in to discouragement and begin to think that this is all there is to life!

Discouragement in a situation or temptation always brings us to think that we are a failure in this life – which ALWAYS brings us back to trouble and we start this cycle all over again with the next temptation that comes along in life!

Do you KNOW what or who your enemy is? Does this sound like your cycle? The ‘enemy’ is ANYTHING THAT KEEPS YOU FROM GOD! People let these issues keep them from God every single day!

God’s Promise is that we can bypass this kind of cycle when we make Him LORD OF OUR LIFE and begin to live that way each and every day!

Is it hard? YES – Does it take practice? YES – Do we fall sometimes even though we KNOW the right way? YES! That is why getting together and gaining strength is so important! GROWTH must take place in our lives!

None of us are perfect – but BECAUSE we serve a PERFECT GOD who brought us forgiveness, love, mercy, grace and so much more in JESUS CHRIST – when we center ourselves on Him – we work toward the goal of living like Him and transforming ourselves to what God WANTS us to be! Romans 12:2 –“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

When was the last time you felt TRANSFORMED by God? Can you remember? – Then more than likely you are somewhere in the cycle of feeling like a failure.

Here is the GOOD NEWS! You can make that change today and get off this cycle FOR GOOD! You can begin to look to God in your life every single day and become what He says you are!

Romans 12:2 tells us that once we are saved and become His child; we develop this ‘discernment’ and when we are tested by troubles and temptations we CAN OVERCOME by renewing our mind in Christ and living that out in a daily way.

Are we examining our hearts to find out if we are doing that? Not really. We would rather pay attention to others and let them know where they should be on the cycle of LIFE!

God has written His Love Letter to each of us individually so that we can use it to LIVE right here on this earth…Not so we can use it to beat others over the head with! It is personal and loving and can reach into the very heart of us to help us if we are willing.

People are so beat up in this life - Living on the very edge because they are filled up with discouragement and failure.

I spent many years living in defeat and failure and insecurity – not believing that I was who God made me to be. When I began to examine the Scripture and study and memorize Scripture – God began to speak into my heart and SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE!...by His Word. It has been an amazing journey and I would not change a thing because my relationship with JESUS is the most wonderful part of me! The ‘trouble’ I have experienced along the way has helped me in helping others overcome!

Are we thinking like this? Maybe it is time that we did!

Let’s CHANGE OUR LIFE CYCLE today!

David wrote Psalms 18 to the LORD when he had been rescued from his enemies. What has God rescued you from? Do we recognize what God is doing for us?

Ways to ‘Change your LIFE Cycle’…

©     Changing Trouble into trouble – Wait a minute…I thought you said God would…YES we will still have trouble – but when God is our center – we don’t focus on the trouble! It is amazing really – how God transforms the believer! When He is ACTIVE in the center of us - TROUBLE becomes so small that we are not even focusing on it! God is magnified instead of the trouble! (Psalms 69:30)

©     Change Temptation into FAITH – When we get to a place in our lives that God is the center and we are focusing on Him – our temptations fade away in the face of FAITH in God to remove them! When was the last time we asked God to remove temptation from before us and walked in faith that He would? When we are seeking God – temptation can’t be in the same space! (1 Corinthians 10:13)  We can endure temptation when we are living by Faith in God! Where are we living today?

©     Change disappointment into JOY! When we are focusing on God in our lives and we move away from magnifying trouble and we step in Faith instead of temptation – disappointment has no friends and turns into JOY! Don’t we need some JOY today? (Psalm 19:8) When we are hiding God’s Word in our hearts and living it out – we are FILLED with Joy!

©     Change discouragement into encouragement in the Lord! He IS our encouragement! We just aren’t looking where we should look! God did EVERYTHING for us – so that we would not be separated from Him! When we begin to recognize it – we really are amazed! Every day we should be looking for encouragement in this life! It ONLY comes from one place! – GOD. (Romans 15:4) Don’t we need some encouragement today?

©     Change failure into success! When we are not walking in this cycle but rather LIVING out what God intended we find that our lives are pointed in the direction of SUCCESS! This does not mean monetary success – it means that we are letting God control WHATEVER is going on in our lives so that it ultimately gives Him glory! Someone else will see what God is doing for us and they will desire the same thing and we can help them get off the cycle of pain shown above! Don’t you want to help someone else today move closer to God? That is what He intended our lives to do! (Joshua 1:8)

My question is – Are we moving out of the realm of trouble, temptation, disappointment, discouragement and failure and MOVING INTO the realm of focus on God – transforming, faith, joy, encouragement and success?

You want your life to change? You want your focus to be on something other than your problems? You want a fresh start?

GET MOTIVATED in the LORD today! Don’t wait!

Where Are You In My Weakness God?

2 Corinthians 12:9 ~ “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Definition of GRACE ~ The Power of God to do for us what we CANNOT do ourselves.

We could never do anything to deserve the GRACE of God – it is freely given from God.

Have you ever had the thought that you were weak? Not able to overcome something of this world?

Guess what? Paul felt the same way!

God intends that in our weakest moment we are seeking Him for POWER that will get us through that weak moment. He doesn’t want us to WORK THROUGH IT ON OUR OWN! Instead God wants us to depend on Him to get us through!

Ephesians 6:10 says “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” – This verse doesn’t say anything about being strong on our own WITHOUT God! The design of God is that humanity would look to Him and reach out for strength when all else fails!

God’s GRACE is a gift to the believer because it is by that GRACE that we set about to make changes in our lives to reflect the Lord. We realize what God has done for us and we begin to weigh that GRACE in the face of that thing that makes us weak in this life…when we see we can’t get through the temptation without relying on God’s GRACE – we love it all the more and realize it is such a GIFT!

Do you use the GRACE of God to get through troubles and temptations in this life?

·        The illness that can’t be cured

·        The accident that happened and changed my life

·        The lack of money when I need it most

·        The children that won’t do right – even though I have taught them

·        The alcohol that I want to give up

·        The pills that I want to quit taking to dull the pain of life

·        The enjoyment from doing something I know I should not do

·        The seeing something I want and can’t have

The GROWING believer seeks to make changes in their lives and replace these troubles and temptations by looking at God and never taking our eyes off of Him.

You see, the trouble and temptation do NOT go away – our vision becomes clearer concerning where we need to be looking! This is the gift of GRACE at work in our lives!

©     GRACE strengthens us in our weakness in this life. We begin to develop Christian Character when we are depending on God in ALL situations in this life! God will use our troubles and temptations and ability to overcome them to build bridges to other people! His GRACE is alive! When we give our weakness to God – we are learning to become Christ-Centered! Our belief enriches our faith! Hebrews 11:33-35 says “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.”

©     GRACE suffices in the storms we face! The word ‘suffice’ or ‘sufficient’ means enough. God gives us just what we need to come through the storms of life and KNOW HE IS ENOUGH! Philippians 1:20 says “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” – God gives us ENOUGH COURAGE to make it through the storms! Jesus was God’s gift to us to support us, to strengthen us and to be our security when all else fails! His GRACE helps us see these great Biblical Truths!

©     GRACE seasons the believer to see that we never LOSE ANYTHING even in troubles and temptations! 2 Thessalonians 1:3 says “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” – God takes our GROWTH in HIM and uses it in our daily lives so that others can see His POWER working in us! When we are growing in the Lord we realize that the growth is more important that the trouble or temptation. We realize that God has given us a gift in the knowledge we are growing with! We realize that the Promises of God are true!

God is EL SHADDAI – God ALMIGHTY – one that is sufficient! God has the ability to cover all the weak spots in us! We have to let Him and BELIEVE Him in order for His Power to be at work in us!

God’s GRACE rests over or upon us like a tent or tabernacle. We begin to really understand this when we LET GOD TAKE OVER in our troubles and temptations!

We find that Paul openly admitted that he was weak in some areas and that made his testimony that much more powerful!

When was the last time that we admitted we are weak and in need of God? When was the last time when we got real with each other and let God soften our hearts.

In order to feel the POWER OF GOD upon/over us we have to admit what we are weak in and get filled up on HIS POWER.

God’s response to Paul’s prayer is so tender and loving. God has no condemnation or judgment toward His children! He WANTS us to understand that His GRACE is sufficient in all our troubles and temptations!

What LOVE this is! Do you know that LOVE tonight? Admit to God the troubles and temptations you have and let Him cover you like a tabernacle or tent! Let Him take the burden and replace it with love and joy and peace!

He doesn’t need us to be perfect – He did that! He needs us to admit to Him what we can’t do and let Him DO IT!

God’s GRACE is really amazing!

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

Be Intentional For Christ!

Definition of ‘Intentional’ – Being deliberate; doing something on purpose; a voluntary action done deliberately; determination to act a certain way.

Have you ever done something intentionally?

      Have you ‘intentionally’ followed directions even though it appeared you were lost?

      Have you ‘intentionally’ followed the bosses direction even though you could not see the outcome?

      Have you ‘intentionally’ taught your children how to act – yet not knowing if they would really act the way you have shown them?

As you can tell from these questions; we make ‘intentional’ decisions every day and follow them through even though we don’t know the outcome. That is because we were born to live on purpose – intentionally -  in this world through the Power of Christ! That is why it is so important to understand what we believe and why we must believe it and live it out!

Living intentionally in the Power of Christ is a place of freedom, purpose and peace! God designed our plan so that we would have those things - but we MUST choose to live intentionally to get them!

Joyce Meyer has a quote that I love …”You can’t walk in love for free…it costs something.”

Philippians 3:10-14

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

It costs us this life to live free and live intentionally. However, the love of Christ is worth the life! Paul explains in this verse that coming to 'know' Christ makes us intentional! He goes on to explain that it is a work in progress and plays out over time and ends when we are called home to be with Christ. We should NEVER give up on our Faith in Christ! Paul tells us to press on toward the goal to win the prize! LIVE intentionally in this life for JESUS! 

There is no way to show we really believe in Christ BUT by being intentional in our faith. That is how we really begin to see God at work in our lives. We see Him authenticating what the Bible says in our daily life!  He uses that intentionality in our lives to show others the way to Him!

Pressing into Christ leads us to levels that are not understood by mankind. It is a GOD THING! When our intention is to follow through and desire to live more like Him every day – to KNOW HIM and His great POWER – our decision is ALWAYS rewarded in Christ!

True believing is not an act of understanding Christ only – but a work of the whole heart in giving that act of understanding away to others! This brings much glory to the Lord because He is the one that is doing the work- through us and around us! We have no idea how He is using us and our lives for Him – when we are living out life intentionally!

Here is a formula for this!

Faith + Believing = Intentionality

This formula can be illustrated by thinking about a plant in the ground that is thriving, growing and producing. The life of a Christian that is active in Faith is the same way!

The roots are VERY deep below the ground…this is a picture of our Faith! The Bible says we are rooted in Christ! Colossians 2:7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Believing is the plant itself that is grown from the roots! We are ALIVE in Christ when we take our faith and give it ACTION! The Bible says we are ALIVE!  Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Being ‘Intentional’ is the flower and the fruit! The Bible says The ONLY way we will bear fruit is to be in Him – GROWING! We will be known by our fruit! John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

We must be determined to live out our purpose before God! We have to have a sense of ‘intentionality’ in our lives where God is concerned. If we don’t - we spend our time instead just being one of many, many people in churches across the world that never move or do for God.

We should WANT to be found in Him!

This week begin discovering how to be ‘intentional’ in your walk with Christ! Be decisive about who He called you to be!

Ask Jesus to help you be more intentional in your walk with Him. He WILL DO JUST THAT!

Next week we will study the avenues God gives us to live out that intentionality!

The Power of the One and Only…

The Power of the ‘One and Only’ is the power that we need to live this life here on earth! Everything else will fail us in one way or another.

©    personal power will fail you

©    friend’s power will fail you

©    corporate power will fail you

God gives us His GREAT gift in that when we get saved – we have the POWER to change our lives through Jesus Christ. We cannot do it on our own. That is why Jesus is called the ‘ONE AND ONLY’ – there is no other. There is no other way!

How do we get this Power and what do we do with it?

John 1:12 says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

There is a formula here for the person that accepts Christ as Savior.

Receive + Believe = Become…

So many people in this life stop at ‘Receive’ and never get to the ‘believe and become’. They do not invest in Jesus and let Him do work in their lives.

Christians fall into three categories in this life:

©    Those that never experience belief. They ‘receive’ Christ but never do anything with it in this life. They often question everything about the Lord and never walk in the fullness of His love because they don’t move forward in their relationship with Jesus. They come to church on Sunday morning and feel as though they are walking with Jesus. They ask questions like – ‘why do we need to come to church more than one time’ or ‘why do you have to hear from Jesus’ – ‘why can’t I just live my life’. They say things like – ‘I don’t have to go to church to hear from God’ or ‘God doesn’t work in my life’. ….These folks never experience the rest of the formula for a relationship with Jesus.

©    Those that receive Jesus and believe Him but never put it into practice. They say things like – ‘I believe Him but I am not going to step out in faith’ that is for other people… or ‘I believe God in my life – but the preacher is the one that should be visiting other folks’. Their walk with Jesus becomes stationary over time because they are not actively pursuing Jesus on a daily basis. They eventually lose their closeness because there is no activity in Jesus.

©    Those that Receive Jesus and Believe Jesus and Become Jesus. These are people that these other two groups call on when things go bad in their lives. These are the people that believe Christ and have a personal relationship with Him on a daily basis. These folks run after Jesus and never want to do anything else and their lives reflect it. These folks BELIEVE that Jesus is the One and Only and invest their lives in that.

This is why John, who writes this book of the Bible, calls Jesus the ‘One and Only’. He has such a personal, beautiful walk with Jesus that he can think of Jesus and KNOW He really is the One and Only! He personally understands the formula. He received Jesus, He believed Jesus and he wanted to become more like Jesus.

Where are we in these categories? The beautiful thing is that when we receive Jesus – we receive His GRACE and the GRACE is the key that unlocks the door to the POWER that we need to live a life in Him.

John 1:16 says “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

God does not hold back anything from any one that is saved. We hold ourselves back from receiving and living in the Power of God. We settle in this life and live in sin and wonder why God doesn’t come to us.

God, on the other hand, says ‘I am right here’ waiting for you to turn from your sin and live out a life full of promise with me leading! You have to make one step right after another and believe God all the way.

In this verse – we see in the original Greek that ‘from the fullness of His grace’ means that we receive ‘GRACE UPON GRACE’ when we get saved.

God gives us the keys to make this life work! What this means is that we receive the ‘BLESSING OF CHRIST added to Grace and the blessings are layered upon the person that keeps their eyes on Jesus and moves toward Him.

Grace means unmerited favor of God upon us. Jesus died on the Cross to give us that and he arose from the grave in the Power of God and reigns in Heaven today to make intercession for us to the Father. Because Jesus never ends our grace never ends. That is a free gift to us upon Salvation!

John goes on to say that the believer that is using the formula of ‘Receive + Believe = Become will RECEIVE the ‘GRACE UPON GRACE’…never ending…as we become closer and closer to Jesus.

What is Grace Upon Grace in the believer’s life?

©    Blessings of this life. The Christian that believes God and is active in Him receives the blessing of God upon their life and walks under the umbrella of His love. This is not a monetary blessing but rather a blessing of the heart that helps us see that All things work together for good to those who love God. To those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

©    Pardon for sin. The Christian that believes God and asks forgiveness for sin. The Holy Spirit is alive and active in this person and there is conviction when there is sin present. All we have to do is ask God to forgive and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. (1 John 1:9)

©    Protection from the Evil one. Those who are walking close to God have an armor that protects in ALL situations. When we put on the whole armor of God we are protected against the fiery darts of the Evil one. (Ephesians 6:11)

©    Sanctification – a building up of our faith. We are happy to die to sin and LIVE in Christ. It becomes our life work. We won’t give in and we won’t give up! We desire God more than we desire sin! (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

©    Peace while living in this world. With a close walk with Jesus there is peace that passes all understanding. Living in that knowledge makes you be able to cuddle up with Jesus and sleep anywhere and walk through the storms of this life with confidence that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. (Philippians 4:7)

©    The Promise of Heaven. The believer that is united with Christ and walking out their life as a living testimony to Him; the one who ‘receives, believes and becomes – will enter the gates of Heaven when we close our eyes on this earth. That is the ultimate promise of this life to the believer. We WILL fellowship for eternity with the One and Only. (John 6:40)

Who does this ‘GRACE UPON GRACE’ come to?

The weary, the addicted, the broken hearted, the lost; those that need mercy and forgiveness; those seeking healing.

God will come to us where we are in life with His love, mercy and GRACE.

The question we are faced with is – are we willing to not only receive Him but to believe Him and not only believe Him are we willing to become what He says we can become?

To live in the Power of the One and Only…