2 Corinthians 12:8-10;
"Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. 9 But he replied, “My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. 10 Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong."
We all have seasons that we will go through.
We all have storms and hardships... that we will face.
And at times, we can find ourselves at our weakest during those storms and hardships, unable to find any strength within us.
Some of those storms and hardships we face, we do so because of the very decisions we choose to make.
And some of those storms are caused by the decisions others have made.
We all have and will face pain, heartache, struggle, and have found ourselves weak, broken, bruised, and battered.
Often it's during those times that we end up putting the blame on God for allowing it to happen, when God is not the one to blame.
God was with you through it all, and He is still right there beside you, ready to pick you up and give you the strength needed to carry on.
I know there can seem to be times where when we've given our everything over to God and asked for help and healing that it seems like God doesn't care or desire to help or heal us.
That is far from the truth. He does care, and he does want to heal you.
It is during those times that we need to get into God's grace, because it is in His grace that we find comfort, peace, love, hope, and strength.
You are not alone in what you are going through...
Put your hope and faith in God....
And trust Him, He will make a way...
And His strength will see you through....
We cannot preach Jesus Christ crucified, without first believing in the resurrection power of God through His Holy Spirit…
Because it was the Holy Spirit which raised Christ from the dead…
The very same Holy Spirit which quickened (awoke/brought to life) our very spirit man, when we came to the knowledge of, and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior…
• Romans 8:11...
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
That very same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead over 2,000 years ago is still very alive and active today, because God is an eternal God, He always was, and always will be…
And if God always was, and always will be, then His power is still very active and alive today…
• Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
What we have to remember is this…
God is not moved by the words we speak, the length of our prayers, or by how much of His word we have memorized…
God is moved by our faith…
It is through our trust, faith, and obedience to God, that we find ourselves in His presence, as well as in His favor…
• Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
It is through God’s grace that we are saved… - Ephesians 2:8
It is through God’s mercy that we are forgiven… - Ephesians 1:7
It is God’s love that compels us to do be in and do His will…
- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
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2 Peter 3:8-9;
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
I was posed the question, “Does God love some people more than others?”
God loves everyone, but God cannot accept everyone, and that is because of sin. When Cornelius and Peter were together talking about Christ and salvation, Peter said to Cornelius in Acts 10:34-35;
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him."
God showed the great love that He has for us when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. The Word says "For God so loved the world..." And that love that God has is not just for a select group or region of the world. God loves us all, and He loves us all unconditionally. We are the ones that put conditions on love, as well as make love circumstantial. There are many times when we can feel that God may love others more than us, but that is not the truth, God loves each and every one of us unconditionally. God's love for us never changes, what does change is, our love for God. It is through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we come to know and receive God's true love for us.
John 3:16;
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Ephesians 4:7;
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Romans 5:6-11;
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Acts 10:34-35;
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him
Romans 8:38-39;
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Faith Takes Work
Luke 9:23: Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
If we want to get more out of our relationship with Jesus, then we have to be willing to put more into it. Jesus said that if we desire to follow Him, then we have to deny ourselves, which means we have to admit that we are sinful and evil and do not want to continue living that way and that we need Jesus.
We have to deny the ways we have been living and deny the desires that our flesh has become accustomed to, and we have to pick up our cross daily, we have to be prepared to sacrifice everything, and follow Jesus.
Jesus left His kingdom in heaven and came to earth so we could know how to receive forgiveness and salvation through His sacrifice. Jesus gave up everything for us, and He is asking that we give Him all of us. There are so many times when we come before the Lord and ask for something, whether it be to help in financial matters, home and work issues, or even for guidance and direction, and we pray and feel that we have not received the answer, when the truth is, we probably have received the answer, but it’s not the answer we were looking for.
The answer that we received is part of the plan God has for our life, and sometimes, when that happens, we fall back and fail in our faith, because we are not trusting God, because we are holding back from giving Him all of us. Our lives have become so busy that we give God less and less of our time, and still expect Him to give us more and more. And one of the biggest things we ask for from God is faith, faith to overcome and get through our circumstances.
Romans 10:17: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If we want to have a stronger deeper faith in God, then we have to make time for Him, be in His word, and pray without ceasing. If we are not willing to lay down everything we have to give our time to God, then how can we expect Him to give us the desires of our hearts. So many times we ask God for a stronger faith, and then sit idle and wait for the faith to come. The only way to obtain a stronger faith is to keep pushing in and drawing closer to God.
James 2:18; But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
In this passage, James was saying that if we have true faith in Jesus Christ, then our faith will be known by the live we live, the love we show, and the works we do; works alone cannot give us faith, nor can works save us. But if we truly have the faith, then we will do the works, not because we have to, but because we want to, for our love of God, and each other. Our relationship with God is just like any other relationship we have, it requires communication, trust, and yes work, we have to work to maintain a good, strong relationship.
Naked and Afraid
Genesis 3:9-10;
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
· Have you ever found yourself just as Adam did, naked (your sins exposed) and hiding yourself from the presence of God?
· Of course you have, we all have. We are even told this in scripture;
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” - Romans 3:23
Just as Adam, we were oblivious to our nakedness, until the knowledge and revelation of God came into our lives.
· Prior to salvation and learning of the ways of Christ, we were taught that it is only the strong who survive, and that in order to make it in the world, and make it to the top, we have to do whatever it takes to get there, even if that means cheating, lying, stealing, and hurting one another, because it’s all about us…
· However, after salvation, we come to learn, know, and feel the conviction of the decisions, actions, thoughts, and words in which we used, not only upon others, but ourselves as well.
· We are told that if we just ask God to forgive us, that He will and we will be cleansed and free of all our sins, and can then live a life with God…
· The problems that we face are not just that of seeking God and asking Him to forgive us of all our sins…it is acknowledging all our sins, not just the ones that are noticeable to us, as well as others, but those which are deep rooted, and we’ve just put off as human nature…Yet we hold onto them, knowing that they are wrong, but find ourselves afraid and ashamed of confessing them to God, because someone else besides God, may find out what and how we’ve been living…
· Therefore, we begin to hide these sins away, believing that we are not just hiding them from others, but hiding them from ourselves, our memory, and even from God…
When the truth is, we cannot hide anything from God, He knows and sees everything we do and think.
· Proverbs 28:13 If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.
· Hebrews 4:12-13;
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
· However, today, I am speaking more beyond just our hidden sins; I’m also speaking to the wounds, which we have suffered through.
· So many find themselves hiding in fear and worrying that when their nakedness is exposed and the secrets, the fears, all the worry and doubt, all the Heartbreak the pain the suffering, the failed and broken relationships, all the flaws, and mistakes...that when all this comes forth, they will find themselves unwanted, undesirable, unlovable, rejected, and shamed…the suffering brings forth further pain, and then comes the blame. Many who find themselves wounded and heartbroken, tend to cast the blame upon themsleves, and because so, they begin to beat themselves up, and they further the suffering bring forth heavier burdens…burdens that should not be carried…burdens that are not meant to be carried…
· We place so much upon ourselves, that we end up completely weighed down and unable to find the strength to pick ourselves up…we find ourselves tired and run down, and unable to find any rest or peace…
· Matthew 11:28-30 – Come to Jesus for peace and rest
· 1 Chronicles 28:20/Hebrews 13:5 – He will never leave us nor forsake us
· John 14:27 – Jesus has given us a peace, not the peace that the world gives, but a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that calms even the darkest, most heart wrenching storm…because it’s the peace of God….
· 1 Corinthians 13:7 – Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things
· James 5:16 – Confess your sins your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, they you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much
· 1 Peter 5:8 – And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins
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