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.”
We have looked at all six points. For the last few messages we have been focusing in on the last one. I will continue to do so today. Further, in our last message we looked at what the Apostle Paul learned. Let’s learn some more from what he learned.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s see.
1. The goal should be to learn and grow as you walk 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.
2. Paul had to learn that his ability to accomplish what he was called to do actually had nothing to do with the amount of earthly resources he had; it had everything to do with God. Whether Paul had much or little, either way, he could not place any confidence in those things. His confidence had to be in God. This is the mindset Paul learned to live with: “Whether I have everything it looks like I need or I don’t, I can still do all things through Christ, because He is the one who is giving me the strength to do what I am called to do!”
3. Your ability to fulfill your purpose can never be contingent upon your access to “things”. Your ability to fulfill your purpose is only truly contingent upon your access to a person, and that person is JESUS!
4. Paul did not develop his confidence in Jesus by reading a book. He developed his confidence in Jesus through encounters with Him. This is the way we are supposed to live. Thank God for His book (the Bible), but the purpose of reading the Book is so you can LIVE what it teaches. Pursue divine encounters with God. This is the only way you can get to the point where you are convinced that you CAN do ALL THINGS through CHRIST, who gives you the strength.
5. Reading the Book puts the thought in your mind. But having the encounter emblazons the experience in your heart. Once your heart is changed, you are never the same.
6. Satan can convince you to question and eventually even dismiss a thought, but it is hard for satan to cause you to dismiss an encounter. Your experiences are YOUR experiences, and no one, not even satan, can take them from you. This is why you must pursue true encounters with God.
7. Enter every day seeing yourself AS JESUS IS, in this world. This is how you will encounter Him and He will encounter you!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. My victory is not contingent upon what I have or don’t have. My confidence is not in things. My confidence is in You! I am IN Jesus and Jesus is IN me! Jesus obtained my victory. My job now is to simply receive and maintain what Jesus already obtained for me. I do this by pursuing encounters with You Father. I encounter You daily and You encounter me. As I do, I build a set of experiences that no one can take from me. It is because of my experiences that 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.
