We Can Withstand and Overcome Anything (Part 38) – The Resting Place of God’s Love (Part 4)

by Rick

Note:  Before I get into the Word, I want to wish every veteran a great Veteran’s Day.  Isabella and I served the United States for a total of 46 years.  We are proud to have served, and we salute all veterans today.  

Today we continue our series “God is faithful!”  The Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 4.  In this passage, we are looking at what it looks like to believe God is faithful.  Because of God’s faithfulness towards us, we can withstand and overcome anything!

(2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-13, 16-18 TPT)

1  Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness.

7  We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours.

8  Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option.

9  We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out. 

10  We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. 

11  We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. 

12  So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.

13  We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says, “First I believed, then I spoke in faith.”  So we also first believe then speak in faith. 

16  So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day. 

17  We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, 

18  because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

Yesterday we looked at Ephesians 3.  Let’s go back to it again today.

(Ephesians 3:16-20 TPT)
16 And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power.

17 Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.

18–19 Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!

20 Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.

We will also look at one last passage before we get into the Word.  Here it is:

(1 John 4:13-16 ERV)

13 We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit. 

14 We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and this is what we tell people now. 

15 Anyone who says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” is a person who lives in God, and God lives in that person. 

16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.  God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them.

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things.

1.  God gave us His Spirit so we can know Him intimately.

The Bible says, “We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit.”

— One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to assure us of our relationship with the Father. 

— The Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are in God and God is in us.

— The Holy Spirit assures us of the Father’s commitment to us, and most importantly, He reveals to us how much God loves us.

— The Holy Spirit reveals TO you the plans God made FOR you from the foundations of the world.  These plans were concealed FROM you until the right time.  Once you are Born-Again and you are filled with the Holy Spirit, as you walk with Him, He will reveal God’s plans to you.

— When God reveals His plans to you, it is easy to feel un or underprepared, unqualified, and/or flat-out unworthy.  But this is where the love of God comes in.  After revealing things to you about your divine purpose, the Holy Spirit then reveals to you the love of God.  He does this because you will never open your heart to the fullness of God’s plans until you are convinced that He loves you!

2.  The revelation of the Father is a revelation of love because God IS love.

— The more the Holy Spirit reveals the Father to us, the greater the revelation we get of God’s love.  Why?  Because God IS love.

— The text we have been looking at says, “the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.”  

— The love of God is so amazing that we need the Holy Spirit to reveal the height, length, breadth, and depth of God’s love to us because His love is so different from this world’s concept of love.  The more we know God, the more we get to know true love, and it is the revelation of God’s love that changes us from the inside out.

— Once you are Born-Again, you have all the God inside of you that you are going to get.  It’s not like you get 10% God at salvation, and the more you walk with God, the more Holy Spirit God deposits inside of you.  That’s not how it works.  Once you are Born-Again, you have the fullness of the Godhead on the inside of you.  You have God, but the truth is, God does not have you yet.  You are Born-Again, but you have not died to self yet.  So the more Christ is released deep down inside of you, the more you open your heart to Him, the more revelation you get of Him and His love, the more apt you will be to die to self, and the more you will freely GIVE YOURSELF to Him.  It is at this point that you get to fully embrace the love of God and once you do, your life will never be the same!

3.  Once we know the love God has for us, our challenge is to believe and trust in that love.

The Bible says, “So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.”  Other translations say, “We believe the love.”

— Once the Holy Spirit reveals to us the height, length, breadth, and depth of God’s love, it becomes a challenge for many humans to believe the love.  

— Believing God’s love is hard because we live in a fallen world and we are accustomed to dealing with fallen people.  The human concept of love is far below God’s love.

— Humans have a hard time believing in a love that is truly one-sided and unconditional.

— We live in a world where people say they fall in and out of love all the time.  Human love is not one-sided.  Many humans say they love, but if the love is not reciprocated, the love they claim to have dies out over time.  But God’s love is not this way.  His love is truly one-sided.  He loves you, and it has NOTHING to do with what you do on your side.

— God’s love is not performance-based.  God’s love is grace-based.  This means that He loves you by grace.  His grace is unearned, unmerited, and undeserved.  God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it.

— God’s love is not contingent upon you or your performance.  God’s love is contingent on Him and Him alone.  Our actions do not change His love.  Simply put, this love is hard for many of us to believe.  But if we are ever going to be the men/women God called us to be, we must believe in the love of God!

— Once we believe in God’s love, the next step is to trust it.  Trusting in God’s love frees us to believe the invisible, attempt the impossible, and operate in the supernatural.  

— If you can ever get to the point where you believe AND trust in God’s love, then our text says, “He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” (Ephesians 3:20 TPT).

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:  

Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me.  I LEVEL UP by embracing Your love.  I love You because you first loved me.  You gave me Your Spirit when I accepted Jesus as Lord.  Your Spirit reveals to me Your person.  The more I know You, the more I know true love.  Your love is unconditional, unfailing, and eternal.  Your love is not like anything I have ever experienced in this world.  I open my heart to Your love.  I believe Your love.  I receive Your love.  I trust in Your love.  I enter every day ready to change the world by Your power.  I don’t do this because I am so good.  I do this because I know You love me.  Your love fills my heart through the Holy Spirit.  And with a heart filled with love, I boldly declare: GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!  I declare this by faith.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper.

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