Today we continue our mini-series entitled “A New Dimension of Glory!” This series is under the overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” We have been looking at a fairly long passage in 2 Corinthians 3 for a few weeks and verses 17 and 18 for several days. Let’s go back to these two verses again. The Bible says:
(2 Corinthians 3:17&18 Easy to Read Version)
17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And our faces are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Yesterday I focused on the word change. Today’s message will flow in this same vein. The text says, “We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Let’s discuss this change.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Your desire for growth must exceed your desire for comfort.
a) Paul taught us to learn to be content (Phil 4:11). Being content, for me, means that you know what God has called you to do, you know all the things He has revealed to you that have not happened yet, and you are convinced that they will happen in God’s timing. So you refuse to allow your desire (and Godly expectation) for your tomorrow to rob you of your joy today. You live with an expectation fo what is to come while maintaining the joy of the present. You have learned to live in faith for the manifestation of the future while making the most of every waking moment and present circumstance. That’s what learning to be content means to me. It took me a long time to get to this point.
b) I believe we should ever be striving towards God’s overall expected end (Jer 29:11) for our lives. However, there are some people who mistake being content with being comfortable or flat-out lazy. Some people get to a certain place in life and they feel like they have done enough and experienced enough, so they simply stop. As I pointed out yesterday, growth requires change. Change is often painful These people are tired of the pain associated with change and they are comfortable enough, at their current stage in life, that they simply attempt to remain where they are.
You can only be comfortable when you compare yourself to other people. The text we have been studying (2 Cor 3:18) tells us that the goal of the New Covenant believer is to behold the glory of God. The more we behold His glory, the more we are changed to be like Him. And since we are never truly going to be completely dead to self, to the point where God lives through us every second of every day, our process of changing into His image and likeness must never end. If we are still breathing, then God wants us to be still changing. Little by little. Day by day. The text says, “we are being changed to be like him.” This process of change my never stop until we are standing in front of Him, face to face, in heaven.
c) Don’t let your desire for comfort rob you of God’s desire to see a divine change in you. If you ever feel comfortable where you are, stop for a moment to behold the glory of the Lord. That quick glimpse will remind you that you still have much growing (and dying) to do. Never stop changing!
2. You will never stop changing and you will never be satisfied.
Solomon said, “That which is now already has been, and that which is to be already has been; and God seeks that which has passed by [so that history repeats itself].” (Ecc 3:15 AMPC).
A few verses earlier he said, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecc 3:11 AMPC).
I will speak to these two verses in this point.
a) God’s plan for your life was finished before you were born. It’s like God planned out your entire life, rewound the tape, and then pressed “play” the day you were born. When God looks at your life now, He is looking for what He planned. In this way, as the text says, “history repeats itself.” God is looking for history, or HIS STORY, to repeat itself in your life.
b) In order for you to become the man/woman God destined you to be, God must reveal His plans and purposes to you. He does this by His Spirit. The text says that God plants His plans, from eternity, in your heart and mind, in the present time. These plans then become “a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy.” Once God reveals His plans for your life to you, you live with a sense of purpose and you will never be satisfied until you become what He revealed. No matter how much you grow, no matter how much you accomplish, no matter how many accolades the world showers on you, you will never be satisfied until you become what God revealed. You live your life in a tireless pursuit of your purpose and the more clear your purpose is, the stronger the pull us into your future.
This is why people who know their purpose seem to have a supernatural determination and focus. It’s because the purpose came from God and God will never expect you to do something He has not equipped you to do. His instruction is always equal to His injection. If God instructed you to do it, it is only because He has already injected you with the grace you need to get it done. People who understand this, and who live this way, never get comfortable with where they are. They appreciate where they are, but they also know they have not arrived at what God revealed. They will never be satisfied until they SEE (in their hands) what God REVEALED (in their heart). I pray that you get to the point that you live this way. Once you do, you will never stop changing, because you know you can never stop growing until you arrive at God’s overall final destination for your life.
This is why I often say, “I will not die because I am sick. I will not die because I am old. I will only die when I am done!” This is what living a purpose-filled life will do to your mentality.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for planting Your divine purpose, from eternity, in my heart and mind, in time. I now have a divinely implanted sense of purpose in my heart and mind. It works through the ages — through every time and season, through every level and stage of my life. And I will never be satisfied until I become what You revealed. And I live every day to be more and more like You. I behold Your glory! Instead of comparing myself to others, I compare myself to You. I am being changed to be like You day by day. This process will not stop until I am standing before You in heaven, face to face. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
