Mama said there would be days like this...
Romans 8:31 MSG.
31-39. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.
Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
This scripture tells us loud and clear, nothing or no one seen or unseen can drive a wedge between us and God‘s love! Powerful pointed and descriptive, are the words that God chose to describe His zealous love for His children.
And yet as we have all observed over the years in our walk with the Lord. Far too many, sometimes even ourselves included, have let the issues and challenges we face in life come between and creat a barrier with our relationship with God!
We get sick, we can’t believe God would allow such a thing to happen.
We get missed treated, we get taken advantage of,
We get caught in the middle of life’s situations and they steal our focus from our walk, our source of life and our constant supplier of our every need.
More of us should’ve listened when our mamas said there would be days like this!
Even more importantly what our mommas should’ve said is, “child listen up God has already provided for days like this!” And that’s what our text tells us!
Yes Sometimes, things will happen and we get beaten down by the accuser and by what happens to us in the world,
By a certain situation, or a group of people, or an illness, we may have caused it, or had no control over it happening,
Whatever may be the case, life events always try to weasel there way in-between our relationship with the Lord if we let it.
But I must ask you a question this morning. Who are you and who’s are you? I think far too many of God’s children at times of need...forget who they are and who’s or to whom they belong too!
Many will say they’re a child of God, but far to many don’t act like they are!
Entitlement! Entitlement is one where we here quite often in today’s modern vernacular! This is what the dictionary says entitlement is;
the fact of having a right to something.
"full entitlement to fees and maintenance should be offered"
synonyms: right, prerogative, claim, title, license; More
* the amount to which a person has a right."annual leave entitlement"
allowance, allocation, allotment, quota, ration, grant, limit "your annual holiday entitlement"
*the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment."no wonder your kids have a sense of entitlement"
God wants His children to have an entitlement mindset!
To many children of God, and the church in general we have lost our sense of and our inherit right to lay hold of, all God has done for us!
* All things that are over my head are under His feet!
* I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!
* All things work together for those who love the Lord!
* With Man nothing is possible, but with God All Things are Possible!
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live! I surrender All, I surrender, All to thee my Blessed Saviour, I Surrender All!
When the pitfalls of life come, daily they must be surrendered to Jesus! All means all, even the bits and pieces we think we can solve or take care of need to be surrendered!
Those bits and pieces accumulate to become distractions and focus stealers!
If were not careful, they can become a focal and dwelling point with us and shift our thinking into neutral, or even worse into reverse and you know what happens when the car gets put in reverse...you have to look in the rear view mirror!
And if there’s one thing we don’t need to be doing, is looking behind in the rear view mirror or out the back window into the past!
Illus. By sermon central
“From the example of the past, the man of the present acts prudently so as not to endanger the future."
TBS and we read it just moments ago;
With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.
God would have me remind you who you are, and to whom you belong too, and what your inheritance not has only provided for you, but is ongoing and daily available to you for your provision! Stand up, put on your “I am who He says I am boots” and start walking in what you have been given!
If you’re looking for a glass of water this morning, realize that Jesus went to the Mat with the devil and won the Victory by pinning death, hell and the devil to the Mat so you could have pitchers and buckets and barrels of living water!
Stop having a glass full mentality and start realizing the Niagara Falls size portion of what is available in what you already have access too!
We need to look towards the future, our best days child of “Gods provision and entitlement” are ahead of us, not behind us! We need to learn to let go of the past and realize the commitment God has made to us and assures us of concerning our future!
Let’s read it again;
Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
All those things Jesus overcame and His love for us conquered them all without question! If Jesus is your savior this morning then He is also you’re conquering hero!
Jesus cannot forgive us anymore than we have been forgiven, completely means just that, God is not interested in your past, He doesn’t want to see the syndicated reruns, He doesn’t want to remember!
Back in the day before on demand TV, there would be a segment known “as on a previously seen episode before” and you would get the just of what happen last week to bring you up to speed for what was going to happen next.
Our spiritual lives do not work that way! And thank God they don’t! Because the goodness and the abundant life that God has for us to live, does not depend on what happened to us yesterday! And thank God it doesn’t!
You know what God sees from all our yesterdays, from all our 10 hours ago, from all our 5 minutes ago’s? He only sees His Sons price of our forgiveness and perfection when you or whoever tries to bring up something from the past.
Jesus Blood covered it all!
Jesus sacrifice took care of the past once and for all. God only looks at your future, your past to Him is no more, its tossed in the sea of forgetfulness!
If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
The answer is abundantly clear, there is nothing God is not willing to do or any place God is not willing to go to help one of His children!
Gods willing to do His part, He already has, but we have to be willing to put on, what He has given us everyday and walk in it.
Eph. 6:13-15 MSG.
13-15. Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them.
You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon.
The Forgiveness Jesus offers, has its privileges, freedom from any and all condemnation is one of them. Condemnation is another thing that Jesus pinned to the mat along with the devils use of it in your life to the Mat forevermore!
Romans 8:1-3 NKJ.
1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh
If the law could not keep us on the straight and narrow before Grace came onto the scene, than its certainly not going to do it now, is it?
Laws are given for guidance, Gods laws were given to guide us towards His grace, Grace was given to do what the law could not do, establish a new and direct relationship of love and forgiveness with reward through faith in the relationship Jesus, Gods gift of Grace provides!
2nd Cor. 5:17-18 AMP.
17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. (its dead as a doornail, quit trying to give it CPR) Behold, the fresh and new has come!
18But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
Illus. by Shane Hargrave
Good news bad news...
A farmer went to his banker and announced that he had bad news and good news. "First, the bad news..." "Well," said the farmer, "I can't make my mortgage payments. And that crop loan I've taken out for the past 10 years--I can't pay that off, either. Not only that, I won't be able to pay you the couple of hundred thousand I still have outstanding on my tractors and other equipment. So I'm going to have to give up the farm and turn it all over to you for whatever you can salvage out of it."
Silence prevailed for a minute and then the banker said, "What's the good news?"
"The good news is that I'm going to keep on banking with you," said the farmer
Spiritually speaking far too many Christians are like the farmer. They can’t do this and they can’t do that and accept defeat from the old way of the past, but keep trying to resuscitate it as they try to embrace the new God has for them!
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
God is ready! Are you ready for what God’s love is ready to do for you?
God wants us to start walking in His Blessings and abiding in the vine, receiving everything that He has for us! All the blessings we enjoy freely today, were all made possible by Jesus finished work on the cross
The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.
Don’t ever let your past keep you from your future, Gods not going to and neither should you,
Its time to come on over to Gods way of thinking;
* God thinks of you as the head and not the tail
* God thinks of you as the top and not the bottom
* God thinks of you as abundantly blessed and not in need
* God thinks of you as healed and whole not sick and troubled
* God thinks of you as an over comer not as an underachiever
* God thinks of you the very same way He thinks of his own son Jesus
I say it again with an invitation to turn the page once and for all on yesterday’s way of thinking and come on over to Gods Marvelous and miraculous way of thinking!
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
Luke 12:47,48 the Voice
47 Now if a servant who is given clear instructions by his master doesn’t follow those instructions but instead is complacent and apathetic, then he will be punished severely. 48 But if a servant doesn’t know what his master expects and behaves badly, then he will receive a lighter punishment. If you are given much, much will be required of you. If much is entrusted to you, much will be expected of you.
Paul Harvey used to say you know what the news is, and now it’s time for the rest of the story...
Sometimes we play off the enormity of what we have been given, but the fact is one day we all will be held accountable for what we did with what God has entrusted us with!
Know that God has put His blessings on you, and that only you can keep them from happening in not only your life, but also in the lives of those around you
Learn to walk in those blessings and realize that you are worthy of all of them,
claim your inheritance and make them yours today and don’t forget to share what God gives you with the same measure of liberality!
