ACCEPT THE SITUATION : EXPECT THE CHANGE
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The Serenity Prayer
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God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
JAMES 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
ACCEPT THE SITUATION
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OUTLINE
1. CREATION
2. POSITION
3. DECISION
4. PERMISSION
5. CORRECTION
6. LIMITATION
7. REVELATION
EXPECT THE CHANGE
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OUTLINE
1. EXALTATION
2. LIBERATION
3. TRANSFORMATION
4. RESTORATION
5. FORMATION
6. JUBILIATION
7. CORONATION
THE MESSAGE
ACCEPT THE SITUATION : EXPECT THE CHANGE
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A) ACCEPT THE SITUATION
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1. CREATION
We must accept the way God has created us. Each one of us has been created by God. An orignal creation of a great artist has great value . Similarly we are the original creation of the greatest artist of the universe , The Almighty God Himself. Therefore we have great value and we should never despise the way God has created us. We are like clay in the hand of the potter and the Lord has created us according to His will.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ROMANS 9:19-20
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?"
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’ "
JEREMIAH 18:1-6
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD :
"Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message."
So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
EPHESIANS 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
PSALMS 139:13-16
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
2. POSITION
We must accept the position God has given to us. God has given us different gifts and abilities and functions according to His will. We must accept the position and function that God has given to us and not aspire to copy somebody else. Like different parts of the body , the Lord has given us a specific role to play and we must be faithful to fulfill the responsibility given to us and develop and utilise the gifts that God has given to us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-31
To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!"
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
ROMANS 12:1-8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
3. DECISION
We must accept God’s decision. When God chooses to act in our life in a mannner that is different from what we desire , we must accept God’s decision. The Apostle Paul prayed for God to remove the thorn in his flesh , the Lord did not grant his request. Instead the Lord granted His grace which would be sufficient for him. King David desired to build a temple for God . But God refused to allow him to do so and instead said that his son would be the one to build the temple. David accepted God’s decision and prayed a moving prayer of gratitude to God.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—
was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 SAMUEL 7:1-29
After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, ’This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" ’
"Now then, tell my servant David, ’This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.
And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning
and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. " ’The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:
When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.
But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ "
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?
"What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD.
For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
"How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
"And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,
so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ’The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ’I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.
O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
4. PERMISSION
We must accept what God permits in our life. God permitted satan to afflict Job . But Job refused to curse God when suffering came into his life. He continued to trust in God and in the end received a double blessing from the Lord. Jesus accepted the cross as the cup which His Father had given him.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOB 1:1-22
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
He had seven sons and three daughters,
and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job’s regular custom.
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied.
"Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,
a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,
when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship
and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
JOB 2:1-10
On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him.
And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
"Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life.
But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
JOB 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
JOB 42:10-13
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.
All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
JOHN 13: 10-11
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"
5. CORRECTION
We must accept God’s correction in our life. God disciplines us because He loves us and wants us to have a great future. We must not become bitter when God corrects us . We must accept the consequences of our wrong actions. King David committed adultery and murder and God disciplined him and said that the child born as a result of his sin would die. David prayed and fasted for the child to live . But when the child died , he accepted the correction of God in his life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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HEBREWS 12:5-13
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
2 SAMUEL 11: 1-27
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David.
When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.
Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?"
Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.
At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
Joab sent David a full account of the battle.
He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle,
the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ’Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?
Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth ? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ’Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’ "
The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.
The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate.
Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: ’Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab."
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
2 SAMUEL 12:1-23
The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.
The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
"This is what the LORD says: ’Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ "
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.
The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ’Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’
But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
6. LIMITATION
We must accept the limitations and the boundaries that God has set in our life. We must not exceed the limits and go into forbidden territory as it will be destructive to us. King Saul overstepped the limits and offered the sacrifice which was the function of Prophet Samuel and in the end lost his kingdom. The mother of James and John wanted Jesus to have her sons sit on either side of Him on His throne. But Jesus said that His Father would given it to those for whom it is prepared.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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1 SAMUEL 13:5-14
The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.
Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter.
So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. " And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
"What have you done?" asked Samuel.Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
I thought, ’Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command."
MARK 10:35-40
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
"You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
7. REVELATION
We must accept God’s revelation for our life. Sometimes the revelation of God may be different from our plans and dreams. It may be difficult for us to accept when it disturbs our comfort zone and leads us in directions which we are not accustomed to. Mary accepted God’s revelation that she would give birth to the Lord Jesus even though it was not her original plan for her life. Paul accepted God’s revelation that he would suffer much for Christ’s sake. Peter accepted God’s revelation to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles which was given through a vision in which he was asked to eat food he had considered unclean. We must also accept what God chooses not to reveal to us. Jesus did not reveal to Peter the plans He had for John.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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LUKE 1:26-38
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
ACTS 9:10-16
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
ACTS 10:9-20
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.
Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.
They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you.
So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."
JOHN 21:18-23
I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
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B) EXPECT THE CHANGE
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1. EXALTATION
We can expect God to bless us and exalt us and prosper us. Jabez cried out to God to bless him and enlarge his territory and God answered his prayer and granted his request. Jesus performed a miracle for his disciples and helped them to succeed where they had failed . We must beleive God to bless us and lift us up.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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1 CHRONICLES 4:9-10
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
PROVERBS 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
LUKE 5:1-10
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God,
he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
2. LIBERATION
We must expect God to liberate and set us free from the bondage of satan. Jesus went around delivering people from sickness and evil spirits. We should not allow the devil to keep us in bondage. The woman who had suffered for 12 years with bleeding expected a miracle when she touched Jesus.She did not allow her past disappointments and failures to rob her faith.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ACTS 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
MARK 5:24-34
So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed."
Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, ’Who touched me?’ "
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
3. TRANSFORMATION
We must expect God to transform our lives and use us for His glory. The Apostle Paul had been an enemy of Christ and a persecutor of the church in the past. But he did not allow this shameful memory to prevent him from serving the Lord. He allowed the grace of God to transform him into a very useful vessel in the hand of the Lord. We must expect such a transformation in our lives and not use our past failures as an excuse to sit idle.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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1 CORINTHIANS 15:9-10
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
4. RESTORATION
We must expect God to restore us if we have failed him. The apostle Peter had denied Jesus three times. But the Lord Jesus had a revelation of the attack of satan on Peter and had interceded for his restoration. Jesus admonished Peter to strengthen the brethren when he was restored . Thus on the day of Pentecost , it was Peter who preached the Gospel which resulted in 3000 people getting saved.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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LUKE 22:31-34
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
ACTS 2:14-18
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
" ’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
5. FORMATION
We must expect God to transform us into the image of Christ. We should not remain in the same spiritual condition without growing into maturity. God loves us as we are but He does not leave us as we are. He wants us to be changed into the likeness of Christ so that those who see us can see Christ in us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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GALATIANS 4:19
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
ROMANS 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
6. JUBILIATION
We must expect God to change our sorrows into joy. We may have experienced tragedies or disappointments which have filled us with great sorrow . But we should not resign ourselves to live in sorrow for the rest of our lives. We must allow the Lord to comfort us and heal our broken hearts and turn our sorrow into joy.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOHN 16:20
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
PSALM 30:11
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
ISAIAH 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
7. CORONATION
We must expect the Lord to crown us when we have finished our race faithfully. We will experience the ultimate change when the Lord Jesus returns. In a moment we will be changed from mortality to immortality . When we see Him, we shall be like Him. We must keep ourselves pure in preparation of His coming. All the suffering we have faced for the sake of Christ will bring us great glory and honour and reward when Christ returns.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-53
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
1 JOHN 3:2-3
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
EPHESIANS 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
ROMANS 8:17-23
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
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