The God of Mission
A Thousand-Foot View of Acts
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace (Wk 17)
The Fullness of the Blessings of the Gospel
I want to encourage you to be still and know that He is God. When we receive the Gospel, we receive a life changing power within us. That power begins to change us from the inside out. We sing songs of praise, and we sing of the blessings God gives us. Please know when we leave this place God allows us to live in the fullness of His blessings. We don’t need to leave the blessings here. We live in those blessings out there!
But out there, we get so caught up in the things of this world, politics, inflation, high prices, wars, civil unrest, LGBTQ++ issues in schools and at work, unrest with neighbors, friends, family the list goes on and on with all the things that distract us from the blessings of Christ.
The Gospel is God’s agent, it is His power. Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The Gospel is that which contains the purpose for your life. It is filled with His blessing. Just like Jesus came full of grace and truth, the Gospel comes with that, and it comes with the abundant grace of God. In the Gospel we have everything we need.
In John 10:10 Jesus says, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” My encouragement for us today is to focus on all we have in the Gospel. Let’s live in His abundance! Let’s live in the blessings He freely and generously gives us!
Now the blessings I am talking about here come from the inside out. These blessings come from believing and trusting in Jesus.
When you do, you can know you’re a child of God, bought with a price, living in His grace and mercy. The blessings I want to focus our attention on are found IN HIM, in a personal relationship with Jesus. These blessings are not found anywhere else. But the good news here is if you have that personal relationship with Jesus, you have all these blessings already. You can walk in them with confidence because of what Jesus has already done! Trust Him!
So let me ask a few questions to help you clarify your true understanding of what you have inside you (IF you know Jesus to be the payment for your sin) or what you CAN have today if you decide to trust Jesus as your payment today.
How do you see yourself? Prov 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Do you see yourself as a person who has it all together? Someone who has no need of God because you can handle anything life throws at you.
Do you see yourself as a person who is so dirty and worthless that not even God can save you out of the pit, you’re in?
Both views are dead wrong!
God loves you as you are
Rom 8:38, 39: 1 Jn 4:9; 2 Thes 3:5. Jesus is your sacrifice your complete payment
How do you evaluate your circumstances? Are your circumstances all bigger than you? Do you feel like there’s no way out? Does it feel like the circumstances are bigger than God?
If we have those attitudes, we will not see the blessings that are staring us in the face because the blessing begins on the inside. The blessing is released from the inside. We get distracted and our faith waivers. The fulness of the blessing of the Gospel starts and ends with faith.
Jerry has been using the example of a farmer in his sermon series. Here is the seed of the Gospel being planted and it is planted only by faith.
The Gospel is a seed within us.
(To be incorruptible means not subject to death or decay it is eternal.)
The fullness in the Gospel of God carries all the life of God; it carries all the blessings of God; it carries all the promises of God. Everything God wants for you came in a seed. That seed is wanting to be released, but if we don’t live from that, if we don’t live from our spiritually renewed nature, if we live from our emotions and allow our own selfishness to rule, then we will miss out on the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of God. We miss out because we stop walking in faith and start looking at all the things around us for answers.
What I am encouraging you to do today is to allow this revelation, that we live in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel, to take over in your heart. I want to encourage you to truly realize the goodness of God and the fulness of His blessing. Realize your true new nature in Christ. When you do, you will begin to think differently, you will speak differently, and you will act differently. The blessing that is within you will come out in how you live your life.
So, what is the Gospel? Michael Rydelnik, the Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody, defines the Gospel in 25 words. He says,
“The wrong things we do separate us from God. Messiah Jesus died, taking our punishment, and rose again proving He is God. Trust in Him.”
It is the good news of God’s love for you. Rom 8:38, 39; 1 Jn 4:9; 2 Thes 3:5
It is the good news of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice for you. Mk 10:45; Heb 10:12
It is the good news of the promise of the Spirit. You have the very Spirit of God living inside you! That Spirit is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Rom 5:5; 8:9; 8:11; 2 Tim 1:14; 1 Cor 6:19;
It is the good news that you are reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:18-20; Col 1:20, 22; Rom 5:10, 11
It is the good news that you are seated with God in heavenly places. You sit with Christ because Jesus took our place on the cross, thus we are in Him. Eph 2:6; Rev 20:4
It is the good news of an abundant life full of strength, not your strength but His strength in you. Eph 1:19, 3:16, 6:10; Col 1:11
It is the good news of the Gospel of peace. You can be involved in all kinds of turmoil around you but walk in the peace that passes understanding. Prov 3:5, 6; Mark 9:50; Rom 12:18; 2 Cor 13:11; 1 Thes 5:13
It is the Gospel of joy – the joy of the Lord is your strength. Walking in joy is where blessings begin. Ex 15:2; Psalm 21:1, 118:14,
It is the Gospel of walking in faith. Seeing the unseen and knowing that God is good enough to supply what you need. Heb 11:1
It is the Gospel of righteousness. There is nothing more powerful than understanding your right standing with God. Understand you are made righteous! You don’t have to feel guilty; you don’t have to walk in condemnation, you don’t need to feel unworthy. Jesus has made you free from guilt, free from condemnation. You are worthy when you are in Him. That is the Gospel! Rom 5:19; Gal 3:11
God wants you to realize these things are all part of the Gospel. Understand these things deep within your spirit, not just intellectually. Allow the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel into your life and let it change you from the inside out.
It is a Gospel of vision, a Gospel of purpose, a Gospel of freedom from fear. No one needs to be living in fear. No one needs to worry. They are contrary to faith and anti-Gospel. Living in the fullness of the Gospel gives no place to worry, fear, anxiety, depression or oh my what am I going to do?
You don’t need to live in a fallen state!
You have the ability in Christ to live in peace, live in the joy of the Lord. You have the fullness of the Gospel within you and that Gospel will impact your circumstances. It may not change what goes on in Washington, but it will change you personally. It will change what goes on in your house, within your sphere of influence. If you walk around with this blessing on the inside, it can’t help touching the circumstances and the people around you.
Let’s look at what David said in
Psalm 103:2, “Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.”
It does not say benefit. It says all His benefits. It is plural. It looks like there are more than two. David doesn’t say both His benefits, he says all His benefits. It goes on to talk about forgiveness of sin and healing. David is looking ahead to what we are experiencing.
Let’s look at what Paul had to say in
Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Later in the chapter he says we are accepted in Christ. The Gospel has blessed us with everything. You get to experience all this the through the grace of God…
Here is a great definition of grace –
Definition of Grace: God’s abundant provision for every need you have, spirit, soul, and body.
There is nothing lacking. Nothing was left off of the cross. Everything that Adam’s sin unleashed, has been restored and then some through the blessing of the Gospel.
So, Paul says we have been blessed with every blessing in heavenly places. By faith you receive the blessings of God. They are where moth and rust cannot corrupt. Those blessings are yours now.
What does Peter say? Look at
1 Peter 3:9, “Knowing that you were called to this that you may inherit a blessing.”
If you were to find out that a rich Uncle, who had you in his will you would be excited about that. You would be anticipating that inheritance. You have something far greater than a rich Uncle! You have an inheritance, a blessing, Peter says.
Do you need peace? Does anyone have circumstances that are complicated? Do you want peace that passes understanding? Do you want joy unspeakable, full of glory? Do you want the wisdom of God and to know what to do?
All of that is your inheritance! That is the blessing of the Gospel that came to you in seed form and is basically waiting on you to accept that fact and to walk by faith in the fullness of the Gospel. This will change your life and the lives of those around you. This is powerful! It begins when we choose to believe it. When you choose to believe that God is for you and not against you. Believe that He will bless you and He will multiply you. Believe God is giving to you pressed down and running over.
Yes, Lord I believe that. This faith changes the way you think! When you trust in Jesus it will change the way you speak. Choose to believe God’s Word at face value.
The Gospel is about a transformed life. You became a new creation through the incorruptible seed of the Gospel. You became something that never existed before. You were spiritually separated from God, and you have been plugged back into God. You are one spirit with Him. You have a new life, a new creation life.
The Gospel is about being free from guilt and condemnation.
Please realize you do not need to live under a cloud of guilt! You have been released. You are free. You have victory. Let go of feeling unworthy. That is not living in the blessing of the Gospel. Jesus died on the cross to set you free from guilt and condemnation. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” Live in the joy of the Lord and in the presence of God in your life.
The Gospel is about loving as we have been loved.
The Gospel is about abounding in grace for every good work.
There are situations around you that God has placed you in and given you the grace to bring healing, to bring solutions, to bring wisdom, to bring help in time of need for the people around you, depending on what the circumstances may be, there is grace for that. Please realize God has placed you there and given you the grace needed for such a time as this. Be bold and get involved. Allow the blessing of the fullness of the Gospel to flow through you! You have the gifts that others desperately need. You are the only answer, in some cases, to people’s trauma or need. That is the power of the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel in you. Realize that power, agree with it, allow God to bless others through you and your giftedness. Let the blessing out.
The Gospel is about joy and peace.
Others will notice when you are walking in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel because they can see you responding to situations with grace and peace and having joy from within that is not touched by the circumstances around you. That doesn’t mean you are always laughing but you are not overwhelmed by negative things around you. You have the joy of the Lord and can minister from His strength in you.
Are you beginning to realize the power of this Gospel? Romans says it is the power of God.
The Gospel is about ceasing from your own works to earn salvation.
You can just give up trying to earn right standing with God. You cannot do anything to make God love you more and you cannot do anything that will cause God to love you less. That was all dealt with on the cross. You cannot earn anything from God. You can do something. You can believe and receive what He has already done and what He has already given.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God are in Him, yes and amen to the glory of God through us.”
All the promises of God reveal God’s heart for His people. All the promises in Him are yes and amen to the glory of God through us. Through us! Believe God is that good and He wants to bless your life. You get to bless others! God’s grace and His blessings are yes. We cannot keep this good news to ourselves! We get to tell His story!
If your life needs a major overhaul God is the one who wants to do it! God is the one who has grace for it to happen. God is the one who gave all these promises to begin with so we would have a place to go and a resource, so say, “Father, show me… “ Where will you find the promise? Not on TV. Only in the Word of God. That is where you will find your inheritance.
If I told you I hid a pot of gold in your back yard, would you invest in a shovel? Would you invest some time digging around to find it? You have a treasure in the Word of God. He tells us about all the promises. That is your inheritance that is the blessing of the fullness of the Gospel that is available to you. How much is it worth to you? Go after it!
Eph 3:20, “To Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.”
There it is again – in us. God wants to do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or think.
So, the blessing of the Gospel is even bigger than we can comprehend, more than we can understand with our finite minds. But it is according to the power that works in us, so what is the power that works in you and me? Well in the scope of all the things we could talk about, it is, first of all, you agree that God wants you to have these blessings. God is good and He wants to bless His children!
But you say, I have too many things that have gone wrong in my life, too many hardships. It is hard for me to believe God has given me all these blessings, I can accept some of them but in my experience God does not or has not supplied.
Here is what I want to encourage you to do. Stop judging the Gospel through the lens of your experience. Look at and judge your experience through the lens of the Gospel. Stop allowing the experience to be your god. If you or someone you know is saying that didn’t work for me or that didn’t work for Aunt Mable and that IF it didn’t work for this person, nothing works. Well, if that’s the case then God’s a liar and we may as well pack up and go home.
But God is not a liar!! His Word is true. I encourage you to look at your experience through the lens of the blessings of the Gospel, knowing the Word of God is true. I encourage you to stop exalting your experience above what the Word says. Look at your experience through the magnifying glass of the Word.
Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare is own Son, but delivered Him up for us all how shall He not with him also freely give us all things.”
All things. If God gave you Jesus, why in the world would He withhold anything else? Why would He withhold any of His blessings? His victory? He has given you His name, His blood, His Spirit. He has given you His covenant, He has given you His promises, His armor, His authority. He has given you the sword of the Word, the keys of the Kingdom. He has given us the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel. When we accept Jesus as Savior and when we are born again, we get the whole package! Just think about that… If God gives us Jesus, why in the world would He withhold anything else?
The reality is God is not withholding anything. What’s happening is we are choosing to be fearful. Choosing to worry, choosing to doubt, choosing to feed our flesh with garbage. Choosing to do all those things means you are not choosing God and it is for that reason the blessings are being withheld.
Blessings come through faith and trust that Jesus is Who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. This is faith in the Gospel. I encourage you to get back to believing that you are the righteousness of Christ. He will reward you as you diligently seek Him.
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
What that means is God does not change. God is not fickle. He doesn’t make up one set of rules for some and another set for someone else. There is no shadow of turning – there is no variation in God. Every good gift, every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation.
God is good. Taste and see that the Lord is good. All this power, all this blessing of the Gospel comes from the inside. Please understand that God is good, God is for you, God’s mercies are new every morning. God has given you His promises, His name, His Spirit, His covenant His Word and on and on. God has given all of this because He wants you to be blessed. He delights in your blessing. As a parent and a grandparent I delight in seeing my children and grandchildren blessed. I don’t want to see them suffering. God is a much better parent than I am! He wants to see me blessed. He wants to see you blessed.
All this begins with our heart becoming convinced. First thing you must be convinced in is that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death was for you personally, His resurrection is your resurrection and His life is your life. Choose to believe that from your heart. Confess it with your mouth – Jesus is Lord.
Choose to believe His joy is your strength
Choose to believe you am accepted in Christ
Choose to believe all things are possible because you believe
Choose to believe you hear His voice
Choose to believe that His favor surrounds you as a shield (Psalm 5:12)
Choose to believe you are blessed in your going out and in your coming in
Choose to believe God – without faith it is impossible to please God
Choose to believe you live with Him in heavenly places
One more passage 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness. And the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- A good farmer cultivates the soil of faith: Blessings of the fulness of the Gospel come from the inside out. You must believe by faith. You are bought with a price living in His grace and mercy. You have all these blessings because of what Jesus has already done! Trust Him!
- A good farmer sows the seed of the Gospel: The Gospel is a seed within us. The incorruptible seed of God’s Word comes into us when we get born again. That incorruptible seed carries all the fullness of the blessings of God.
- A good farmer cares for their plants: Realize your true new nature in Christ. When you do, you will begin to think differently, you will speak differently, and you will act differently. The blessing that is within you will come out.
- A good farmer reaps a harvest – the harvest of the fullness of the Gospel comes when we realize we get to live in God’s grace and His grace is what motivates us to share in His life.
Please hear me in what I say next. Are you listening? The world is trying to tell you that you are good in yourself. That is not what I am saying! We are fallen creatures, no one is righteous because of the good things they do. What I am saying is we live in His goodness. There is no one good but God. When we trust that Jesus paid the price for sin, we receive His goodness and righteousness in us.
When you accepted Jesus as Savior, you may have not realized everything that took place. As a boy I certainly didn’t. Now you know. Now you know what has been deposited in you. This is exciting!
We get to live in all the fullness of the Gospel!
We get to be a blessing in this world. Go live in fullness! Proclaim it freely to those around you. The world is in desperate need of the message of the fullness of the Gospel!
If you have never publicly proclaimed your faith is Jesus, today is the day. Come receive the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel for yourself!
Receive the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel today. Remember The wrong things we do separate us from God. Messiah Jesus died, taking our punishment, and rose again proving He is God. Trust in Him.”
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
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Power
POWER
Overview
Romans 6:1–14 was a pivotal passage in Paul’s letter. On the one hand it was the culmination of Paul’s presentation that those who are spiritually dead can have life—through union with Jesus! It was also the launching pad for another presentation: an affirmation of freedom to live a righteous life. Here, in brief, is the line of thought Paul has.
Not Under Law, But Under Grace (Rom. 6:14)
(Digression: are we then free to sin? [6:15–23])
How can we legally be freed from the Law? (7:1–3)
Why must we be freed from the Law? (7:4–6)
(Digression: if the Law is so closely linked to sin, is Law evil? [7:7–12])
What happens to a believer who tries to relate to God through Law? (7:13–25)
What happens to a believer who relates to God through the Holy Spirit? (8:1–8)
(What is the source of our victory experience? (8:9–17))
Keeping this simple line of thought in mind can help us understand the powerful teaching of this vital New Testament passage. We often picture Romans as a doctrinal book, full of deep and difficult truth. However, there are some who think the Book of Romans is totally practical. In seeking to understand the human condition, Paul simply looked around him, and saw people experience a daily demonstration of the reality of sin.
In seeking to explain faith, Paul simply went back to Abraham. He saw that for Abraham faith meant unwavering trust in God’s promise. And in turn his unwavering trust led Abraham to respond to God’s word. He was submitted. (Remember that word)
Another example of Paul’s practicality was when he turned his attention to how faith works in us to produce a righteous life. He explored how we find the freedom to be righteous. Oh, it is good to know that sin in his life (and ours) had for him and has been for us “rendered inoperative.” In other words, we no longer have to obey it.
But we do still feel its pull, don’t we?! At times when we honestly want to respond to God, we may find ourselves choosing the opposite way. So, you ask – What does it take for us to live victoriously? How do we experience the flow of the divine power?
Paul’s answer was simple, but surprising. “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under Law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). We must be released from the Law to live a Christian life under grace and experience freedom. (Remember the word freedom.)
Chapters 7 and 8 in Roman’s hinge on this point. So, let’s look at some answers he provides.
How can we legally be free from the Law? (Rom. 7:1–3)
Paul turned to marriage for an illustration. A married couple is bound to each other under the Law until one of them dies. The death of a partner frees both, so that the living partner is free to remarry. Our union with Jesus is a real union too, so when He died, we were legally released from any obligation to the Law. God considers us to have “died to the Law through the body of Christ” (v. 4), and so to be free from any past obligation to live “under” it (6:14).
Why must we be freed from the Law? (Rom. 7:4-6)
This is an extremely significant question. It is, in fact, central to the Bible’s whole teaching on the Law and the believer. What Paul said here is that the old nature (our “sinful passions”) is aroused (literally “stimulated,” or “energized”) by the Law!
(v 8 Do not covet produced in me every kind of covetous desire.)
And the result of this stimulation is that we produce sin’s deadly fruit. But since we are “not under Law,” we can relate to God in a new way! This new way is by the Spirit, who speaks to us directly from within. And, while Law energized the old nature, the Spirit stimulates the new nature! The result of the Spirit’s ministry is that we produce the fruit of righteousness.
Scripture is clear about our two natures. The old nature and new nature blend to form my conscious self yet they are distinct.
The point is: The old and new natures are channels through which our lives are controlled, either by sin or by God
The problem I hope to address today is: How are these two channels opened? What can we do to experience God’s control?
We see the energizing principle at work everywhere. The child who is told, “Don’t touch the cookies, they’re for company,” finds his hunger for a cookie increased! The forbidden seems far more desirable. Those covetous desires Paul spoke about.
The believer has two natures. The Old with its focus on self. That nature is self-centered. It always focuses on MY way. That is sin dwelling in me. The New Nature with its focus on submitting to the Spirit. There’s that word submit again. The new nature is Spirit focused. The new nature looks to fulfill His way and results in a righteous life.
It is either MY way or HIS way. Can you trust Jesus to be everything you need enough to submit – and to let go of your own selfish desires to His loving control? Trust, Submission. Jesus is enough – let go of that issue. Trust Him with it!
When we approach life through the Law, all marked off by “do’s” and “don’ts,” our old sinful nature is charged with energy. That goes back to don’t eat the cookie.
But when we approach life in God’s new way, seeing each challenge as an opportunity to let God express Himself through us, we are on the way to victory!
What is the experience of the believer who places him (her) self under the Law? (Rom. 7:13–25)
I don’t understand my own actions. I don’t do what I want—I do the very thing I hate. Because I don’t want to do the things I do, it’s clear that I agree that what the Law says is good and right. I’m that much in harmony with God, anyway. But somehow, I’m not in control of my own actions! Some sinful force within me takes over and acts through my body. I know that nothing good exists in the old me. The sin nature is so warped that even when I desire good, I somehow can’t do it. Sin, dwelling in me, is to blame for this situation. It all seems hopeless! The fact is that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. In my inmost self I delight in God’s law. But another principle wars with the desire to obey and brings me as a captive to my knees before the principle of indwelling sin.
Romans 7:15–23 (author’s paraphrase) Lawrence Richards
Paul goes through all that just to say he cannot keep the law and we need to understand we can’t either.
Paul’s effort to keep the Law, with which he agreed, had failed. The sin nature kept enough control over him to make it plain that no matter how he tried to keep the Law, he fell far short of the holiness and goodness it reveals.
Paul found striving to keep the Law through self-effort resulted in keeping the sin nature activated That sounds so hopeless… so what are we to do?
What happens to a believer who relates to God through the Holy Spirit?
Romans 7 ended with a cry: “What a wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v. 24) “Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” v 25
Victory answered. “There is now no condemnation … because through Christ Jesus the law [principle] of the Spirit of life set me free from the law [principle] of sin and death.”
Sin within is overcome by a new and powerful principle, that of “the Spirit of life.”
Put simply, Paul found his answer in realizing that even as a believer he could not keep the Law … but at this point in his life he was no longer trying!
Paul no longer felt any obligation to try! Paul had finally accepted himself as a sinner, with no hope of pleasing God IN HIMSELF. So, Paul turned his gaze back to the Cross, and found joy in the thought of “no condemnation.” We can do the same!
But then Paul made a greater discovery!
When he stopped trying, and instead relied on God to express His own divine life through Paul’s personality and giftedness, then “the righteous requirements of the Law” were “fully met” in him (v. 4). Yes, Sin lived in Paul and sin lives in us. But Christ lived in Paul and Christ lives is us too!!
Romans 5:17,
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one-man Jesus Christ.”
We reign with Jesus in this life. We are part of His Kingdom now! We are heirs with Jesus – we have everything we need. The hard part for us is to live in that fact. We keep striving for things we think we need and we already have it! Jesus really is all we need.
Let me compare Romans 7 and 8 to see the continued progression of Paul’s thoughts.
I struggle to keep the law vs I yield myself to Jesus.
If Paul concentrated on keeping the Law rather than on trusting Jesus, his old nature was stimulated, and he sinned. So is ours!
When Paul concentrated on trusting/ yielding/surrendering to Jesus, the Spirit energized his new nature and he found himself living a righteous life. So can you!
Paul realized the battlefield of self-effort can be replaced with Spirit Enablement.
We either battle with our minds and self-will or we rest in our relationship with Jesus. Our obligation, then, is not to the Law, but to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit (vs. 12, 14). The Law has been replaced by an intimate, personal relationship with God. (V 14 …those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.) Personal!!
Trying to strive to be good results in sin. Walking in relationship with Jesus results in the requirements of the Law are fulfilled in you.
How can relationship be the key to moral victory? How does relationship produce righteousness? Paul showed us that as we deepen our relationship with the Lord, the Spirit of God gains more and more
control over our lives. Then the Spirit will “give life to your mortal bodies” (v. 11). Yes, in our mortality we are in the grip of sin. Let me be clear, sin is not our master. We do not have to obey it. You see the
resurrection of Jesus paid for that. It has always taken resurrection, life from the dead, for God to express Himself in human beings. And resurrection is exactly what God provides for those who “live in accordance with the Spirit” and “have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (v. 15).
Earlier in his letter, Paul says all men are spiritually dead; they desperately need righteousness and can only receive it as a gift. Then, in Romans 8, focusing on the Likeness of Jesus (Rom. 8:18–30). This is Paul’s explanation of how the Gospel produces righteousness in a believer. God has chosen to shape redeemed men in the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ (v. 28). It is our destiny to be like Jesus!! God is committed to produce the fruit of the Spirit in us!
Let me remind you of what Paul said in Romans 6:22, “But since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God (that’s the submission which gives freedom), you have your fruit which results in sanctification – and the outcome is eternal life!”
God is committed to help us be like Jesus. He understands that takes time. Jesus asks us to let Him show us how to give up our selfish desires. That does not come naturally.
This divine commitment means ultimately the renewal and transformation of the whole creation. It means that one day sin will be demolished and that we will be “brought into the glorious freedom of the
children of God” (v. 21). It also means that we now have hope. In 2 Cor. 3:18 Paul spoke of a progressive transformation, of a growth in Christlikeness which we can expect to take place. “We … are being
(Passive – done by another) transformed into His likeness,” Paul wrote the Corinthians, “with ever-
increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). As the Spirit of God shapes the likeness of Jesus within us, we need never concern ourselves with Law. When we let go of the need to be in control the life of Jesus will overflow in spontaneous righteousness.
What the Law never was able to produce, the Spirit of God within us is producing, even now. Rest in Him! There is a Primary difference between life based in law and life in the Spirit. When you are focused on the law you work toward a personal code of conduct. That is contrary to the Gospel. We cannot save ourselves by self-effort.
The Gospel is that Jesus has already done what is necessary.
My encouragement to you is to let go of personal striving and let the Holy Spirit flow through your personality and giftedness.
Let me share with you a personal testimony that I trust will be helpful in explaining what this looks like…
My stated goal at work is to give glory to God. I love my job because it is a perfect fit for my Spiritual gifts. However, over the last couple of months I have not enjoyed going to work. I was making suggestions to help make the dining room more efficient, but no one was listening and making the changes I thought needed to be made. I was not getting the recognition, the respect, the glory I thought was due me.
Have you noticed how many times the word “I” was used in this illustration? Then through Scripture readings, and a book called Understanding People by Larry Crabb the Spirit got my attention.
While driving to work it became clear that I was not focusing on giving glory to God as I thought. My thinking had become selfish, and I wanted recognition. I was literally living this passage.
I repented of my selfish desires and began to praise God for the Spiritual gifts He has given. I asked the Holy Spirit to remind me of how God wants to move through me to bless others.
Are you ready to repent of your selfish desires? I know many of you have situations in your life in which you are fighting against the leading of the Spirit. Lately I have been asking myself am I, in this moment exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit? If the Spirit reveals to me I’m not I stop and repent. Sometimes that repentance is several times during the same conversation or situation.
I have also been reminded several times lately that we are to do everything without grumbling or complaining. I can do that inside my own head – it’s still wrong. I still must repent. So do you. Come as we sing.
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Live Like a Champion – Week 29
The Promise of Good Works in Christ!
Who is Jesus? If you take some time to look at things on the internet you will find many think he lived on earth. Some think he was a good teacher. Some think he was a philosopher. Some think his claim to be God ludicrous, and some who believe Jesus to be the Son of God.
There is a lot of talk about fact checking stories these days. I personally think going directly to the Source of Truth is the best place to do our fact-checking. The inspired Word of God has a much better answer.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points to Jesus. The entire Bible is about Jesus. It is not about us – although we sometimes think it is just about us. It’s not.
The Bible is clear it is about Jesus, who He is, and what He has already done.
“The Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them. Whoever turns aside from this object, even though he wears himself out all his life in learning, he will never reach the knowledge of the truth.”
You see my friends, when we find Christ in Scripture, we will know better how to be His followers. We will understand better who He is. We will also understand better who we are in Christ.
In Jesus, we find our true identities.
My Goal Today
My goal today is to help us see, understand, and live in our identity in Christ. It is my desire that when you leave here today you will have the tools with which to fight your strongest temptations.
The best way I have found to do that is to know who I am in Christ. I want to help you understand who you are in Christ.
Many of you have heard about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. What you may or may not realize is in that passage Satan attacked His identity. In Luke 4 verse 3 and again in verse 9 Satan says “IF” you are the Son of God.
Satan was daring Jesus to prove His identity by turning stones into bread or jumping off the Temple so angels would catch Him. Jesus didn’t have to prove His identity. Jesus knew Who He was. He understood His identity because He knew what Scripture said about Him. Quoting Scripture withstood temptation.
I would like to attempt to help those of you in the sound of my voice to do the same thing. Understand your identity IN Christ according to the Truth of God’s Word. We all need to be able to withstand Satan’s attacks on our identity. It is my contention that when we know who we are in Christ it makes all the difference in the world.
Satan attacks us by lying to us about our identity too. We can use Jesus as our example and counter those same attacks with Scripture and let Satan know that we know who we are when we choose to be in Christ, and then he can’t trick us as easily.
If Satan can keep us off balance wondering who we are or what our purpose in life is, he can paralyze us and keep us from fulfilling our God given calling.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, (complete) equipped for every good work.
We are to interact with Scripture in order to be equipped for the calling of God in our lives. And if you profess to know Jesus as your Savior, you have a calling for ministry.
Those who are in Christ have a responsibility to build up the body.
What we do with and for others depends on what we understand God does with and for us. What God does with us is what we do with others. God builds us up and we build others in the body.
So let me remind you of your identity in Christ. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. I will be lifting out the phrase “in Christ” throughout these verses. Please take note. The prepositional phrase is significant.
1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will: to the saints and believers in Christ at Ephesus.”
Notice that the object of the people’s faith is Christ Jesus. They are believers “in Christ.” The people to whom Paul is writing have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ.
They have heard the message of the Gospel and believe Jesus is the Son of God, Whose death burial and resurrection is the payment for their sin. Paul is writing to these believers.
In v 2 Paul offers a blessing to the readers
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul then follows in V3 with a word of praise. He is praising God as he writes to the people in Asia Minor.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
The verse starts with praise then what follows are the reasons for that praise worthiness…
If you have a position in Christ, you have something that is absolutely praise-worthy!
First: You are Blessed in Christ.
This is one of the ways we make Scripture about us. We read we have received blessings and we figuratively or actually kick back and say I can relax. It says here that God pours out His blessings on me.
What does it mean to you to hear that the God of the universe has blessed you already with EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING?? Not just some, not a few, but EVERY blessing! (if you are in Christ).
Maybe you’re sitting there saying my life is not all that blessed. Being blessed is not my experience – at times maybe – but being blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing isn’t how my life is.
Who is your faith in? Do you have faith in faith, or do you trust in the finished work of Jesus?
“In Christ performs a characteristic role in the description of God’s acts and gifts of kindness toward his people. In some sense, it would seem, God’s acts towards believers are performed through Christ or are in some way conditioned or associated with Christ…such usages of in Christ primarily have to do with the role of Christ in mediating the work of God toward believers.”
Here is a thought for you. Maybe the reason you don’t experience blessedness is you have a belly button view of your life. You have become good at using people to make you feel good instead of living in Christ. You are not allowing Jesus to mediate God’s love, grace, forgiveness, and blessings in your life because you are too focused on yourself.
Second: We have been chosen in Christ.
Not only are those who are in Christ holy, they are also blameless. What Paul means here is if you are in Christ, you are seen as being without fault before God. That is for now… here on earth – not waiting for us in heaven. It is to be lived out here on earth. That is important!
Third: Those who are in Christ are adopted.
Fourth: In Christ we have redemption
The fourth point is found in verse 7.
7 In Him (there’s that phrase again) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
Your redemption is the will of God and it’s the work of Christ on the cross. You cannot earn it, you cannot pay for it, you cannot go out and get it – you receive what has already been done for you.
So far in this message we have seen that it is God who blesses, God who adopts, God who chooses, and God who redeems. All of this is done in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Fifth: You are sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit
V 12b “to the praise of His glory.” (Because Jesus has redeemed)
V 14 “to the praise of his glory” (because the Holy Spirit has sealed us)
You can listen to Jack’s message here:
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Eph 1:5). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
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