Today we continue our series entitled, “God Loves You”, under the overall theme for the year of, “Supernatural Manifestation.” We have been looking at the following two passages and we will go back to them today:
The Apostle John said:
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
(1 John 4:16, 17 KJV)
King Solomon said:
God has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
(Ecc 3:11 AMP)
I made the following statement about these two scriptures:
“The Bible is clear that God made plans for us before the world began. The challenge for us, when we are born and begin to walk through life is to: (1) accept Jesus as Lord, because our journey begins with Jesus (2) receive the revelation of God’s plans through the Holy Spirit, (3) fight the urge to feel unworthy and to disqualify ourselves before we ever get started, (4) renew our minds to believe what God believes about us, (5) wait on God’s timing for the things He revealed to come to pass, and (6) launch out to experience what God revealed when the timing is right. Now, what I just said in these six points is much easier said than done, but the pursuit of it becomes the joy of the journey with Jesus.”
I have discussed all six points already, but I am led to go back and further discuss the last one.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s see.
1. The Apostle Paul’s confidence in God came from his experiences with God.
a) Most Christians are familiar with Paul’s famous declaration that he could DO ALL THINGS through Christ (Phil 4:13). Let’s read the verses leading up to this statement, in order to get the proper context. The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content with what I have and with whatever happens. I know what it is like to not have much and to also I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. I can do all things through Christ, for he is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” (Phil 4:11-13)
b) Paul’s famous “I can do all things”, statement, is not a statement of confidence in his own abilities. No. It is a declaration of faith in his confidence in God. Paul knew he could do all things, because he was not the one doing it. It was God, living in Him, providing the words and performing the work.
c) Paul had to learn what Jesus learned through experience as well. They both learned that any human who understands they are a carrier of God, and who will allow our infinite God to flow through them in the earth, is a human who can do all things. Jesus learned this just like Paul did, through experiences with the Holy Spirit in the earth. This is why Jesus said, “It is the Father, living in me, He gives me the words and He performs the work” (John 14:10).
d) The secret to Paul saying that he could do all things is found in the opening part of his statement. Here is the secret: Paul said, “I have learned to be content with what I have and with whatever happens.” Paul learned, through experiences, that God would see him through whatever challenge he faced. When Paul had more than enough or not enough, when Paul was struggling or striving, he kept his eyes ON Jesus and his confidence IN Jesus! But this did not happen overnight. Paul had to LEARN some things to get to this point. And how did he learn them? Through experiences!
2. If you only know God through His book (the Bible), then the truth is, you really don’t know God. God must be experienced.
3. Thank God for all you learn while reading His book (the Bible), but your learning turns into living through encounters!
I will talk more about this in the next message, but the final thing I will say is this: You will never be able to boldly declare that you can do all things through Christ, until you actually see yourself AS JESUS IS, in this world!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. My victory is not measured by what I have or don’t have. My victory is not contingent upon earthly conditions, situations or circumstances. My victory has already been secured. My victory is in Jesus. That’s why I can say — whether I am up or down, whether I have more than enough or not enough, whether the world sees me as struggling or striving — that I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST! Christ is the one who gives me the strength to do whatever I must do. So like Paul, I have learned to be content in whatever situation I find myself in. Because situations change, but Christ does not. Circumstances fluctuate, but Christ remains the same. That’s why I can boldly declare, that as Jesus is, so am I, in this world! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
