Made To Last Forever
Nobody wants to fail & God didn’t create you to fail.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
John 10:10 "The thief (devil) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus came not to control your life but to give you life.
Jesus came not to steal life, but to give abundant life.
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Life is the energy, the force, the power of being.
Life is the opposite of perishing. It is deliverance from condemnation & death.
Life is eternal; it is forever. It is the very life of God Himself.
John17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Life is found only in God. God is the source & author of life,
It is God who has appointed Jesus to bring life to man.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Living forever would be a curse for some persons.
Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, detestable people, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone, which is the second death.
1 John 2:7 And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God’s pleasure is living for ever.
A man outside Jesus Christ only exists. Real life is found only in God.
God is the creator of life.
As the creator of life, He alone knows what life really is & what it is supposed to be.
God made you to last forever.
Right now you’re probably thinking only about your immediate future, college, career, marriage, buying a house, starting a family.
Those things are important, there is also another life waiting for you after this one.
God made us in His image.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Isaiah 44:2 (CEV) I Am your Creator. You were in My care even before you were born…
That means that we are unlike anything else created in all creation.
We alone were given the capacity to know God & to love Him & Him to love us
God design you, in His image, to live for eternity.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 God has…planted eternity in the human heart.
It was God’s mind & thoughts, His intelligence & power that created you. Therefore, there is purpose for you.
God has awesome purpose, & great reason for creating & giving you life.
Life is to be full of purpose, meaning, & significance.
Life is not to be empty & lonely & separated from God.
God gave man life so that man could be fulfilled & satisfied & live forever.
God gave man life so that man could live in the fullness of God’s Love, joy, & peace;
& man could fellowship, worship, & serve God in all the fullness of life forever
When you give your life to God there is a transition happening.
From you way of doing things to God’s way of doing things!
From Chaos to transition to destiny!
Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The earth was "without form and void".
• Unshaped & unformed • Barren & empty • Depressing & needy
• Undeveloped & unfinished • Unfruitful & unproductive
• Uninhabited & deserted • Joyless & without hope
The earth was wrapped in a blanket of darkness.
The whole earth, not just part of it, was covered in darkness.
When earth is described as a dark, formless, void;
It was in this ruin, that the Spirit of God “moved” & began to create a transition.
Transition-def; A process of change.
Just before we see a true move of the Spirit of God, there usually is what appears to be “chaos” getting ready to go through transition.
And all things go from chaos to destiny by transition.
Transition is often the most difficult thing you experience in life.
It’s not easily embraced, unless you understand that transition is really only a removal of “created” things, that once served a purpose,
“Chaos” is utter confusion, disturbance, and trouble;
Is there only to form you, to shape you, to build character,
To make a place for things destined by God.
In 2 Kings 2:1-15, we learn that the prophet Elijah is about to be taken up to God – and his student and companion is Elisha.
Elijah asks Elisha what he wants before he leaves him, and Elisha answers,
2 kings 2:9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
2 Kings 2:10 So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."
The question is why would this be a hard thing?
The answer is: because God declared Elijah would be taken up in a “whirlwind.”
2 Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind…
Whirlwind--def; changing swiftly, something that happens very quickly, or a rapid sequence of events, something very destructive, & something that has a terrible destructive force.
During times that feel like a “whirlwind,” most people can only see the turbulence – the storm – the “shake up”.
So they miss out, & never see the promise.
Even many faithful people have trouble seeing God during times of turbulence; all they can see is circumstance,
Not understanding that the “whirlwind” is just a passageway to the destiny God has already declared over their life.
In the Elijah/Elisha story, the prophets tell Elisha, “Your master is going to be taken from you today, & your headship’s going to be taken.”
In other words, you’re about to lose what you’ve had.
No matter the cost or the challenge Elisha stays focus on Elijah.
Because Elisha took heed of an important clue Elijah had given:
“If you can see me when I go.”
Meaning, if you can keep your eyes on the promise, & not get caught up in the whirlwind.
And that’s what Elisha does;
2 kings 2:11-12…suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, & separated the two of them; & Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
Elisha avoided getting thrown off by the whirlwind, and because he “saw it,” received the promised inheritance of Elijah’s spiritual power!
2 Kings 2:14 And he took Elijah’s mantle, which had been dropped from him, and giving the water a blow with it, said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And at his blow the waters were parted this way and that; and Elisha went over.
Often the greatest challenge in transition is not in learning something new…but in unlearning something old.
Begin to cooperate with the Spirit of God as He moves some things out of your life, or “shakes up” some things that are in your life.
Begin to see trouble as an incubator for greatness –
As God births you into your promised destiny…
Taking you from chaos to transition to destiny!
You can not do this alone Jesus said it clearly;
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
You been seeking everywhere & in everything to find what life is all about & you wind up in a dead end road of emptiness & unfulfilled & unsatisfied with your soul thirsty & craving to be at peace.
John17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jesus came not to control your life but to give you life.
Jesus came not to steal life, but to give abundant life.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, “Declares the Lord”, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
