Sermon - The pursuit of increase
- I was thinking about Columbus again, & what I call our passions.
- When we set our hearts on something. There’s not much that can sway us from
achieving what we have our hearts set on.
- Something we strive for, more than anything is, to be increased.
- Which means we actually complete what we set our hearts on.
- That Word increased, it doesn’t just stand for finances, or happiness.
- There’s something inside of us that feels like we’re so full we could explode,
because we did it.
- David used the great Words of, my cup runneth over in Psalm 23:5.
- What He was describing was, he was so blessed that the blessing had was
overflowing onto others as well.
- God has a special purpose for David. Not only was he a great shepherd, he
was a great warrior too. Not only was he a great Poet, he was also a great
King.
- In all of these attributes God had only one that was the most significant.
From his bloodline the King of Kings, the Messiah, would be born.
Q- Did David have to do something to make such a blessing overflow from him?
- Look at the list of things David strived for.
Q- Did any of these things change this blessing?
- There’s our message this morning. We have a blessing that cannot be removed or
changed.
- Let’s hear the blessing now,
John 14:12
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
- It is from this blessing that the world is blessed.
Prayer
- Think of what all Jesus did.
1. He healed the sick.
2. Gave sight to the blind, & restoration to the lame.
3. He Commanded the elements.
4. He raised the dead.
Q- How could we do more than He?
- Remember David? He was a small shepherd boy, but faith was greater than
anything.
- We know of David’s faith in the fighting of Goliath, but his faith was there
before Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:37
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
- David faced a bear, & a lion. While he faced them, he knew God was would deliver
him.
- There’s the blessing, & it’s the greater work we perform throughout this lifetime.
- The blessing is our heart. I know that sounds strange, but look at the heart &
character of both David & Jesus.
- Whenever there was a need, their heart poured out for that need. They had
great compassion, & their drive was unmatched when they were striving to do
what God had put it on their heart.
- The unconditional blessing lies in the character of a person.
Q- Are you willing to be blessed?
- Everybody immediately says yes, I am, but that’s not true.
Q- Could David have defeated the lion, bear, or Goliath if he thought he could do it
without God?
- No, he would have failed.
Q- How many times do we believe I can do this by myself?
- The unconditional blessing doesn’t begin until we receive it first!
- Listen to this,
Matthew 9:17
17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
- When grapes were taken to be fermented. They were placed in a new bottle made of
fresh animal hide. If you put the juice in an old bottle, the juice would swell & the
bottle would burst. In a new bottle, the bottle swells with the juice.
- Mankind is represented by these bottles. Before any of us receive Christ as our
Savior, we are the old bottle. God is not going to pour His blessing, his Spirit, into this
old Bottle/body. If He did, we couldn’t contain it.
- When we have faith in Jesus, like David had faith in God fighting the Lion, Bear, &
Goliath, we’re changed. We’re the new bottle.
- God pours His blessing into us, & we grow in His great works, & great Power.
- When The Apostles received the Holy Spirit At Pentecost, they were accused of
being drunk.
Acts 2:13
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
- It was new wine alright. It was the fruit of the Spirit.
- Listen!!!
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
- These People had understanding that no one knew, & Love that was very
uncharacteristic of so many of these people.
- They could only be a bunch of drunks to act the way they were.
- All That are In Christ are changed, & one day at a time, we grow more & more to
resemble the one inside of us.
Q- Have you ever tried to wrap a guitar, or a giant stuffed dinosaur?
- Yeah, it’s not going to take long before everyone’s going to know what’s inside the
wrapping.
- The pursuit of our increase ends when we’re so filled up of Christ, that that
blessing can’t be hidden.
1 John 3:1-3
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
- Day by day we are leading up to the day we see Him! In that moment, we are
changed. This old vessel can no longer look like it used to. It will look like the One
who has inhabited it.
- We will be made like Him!
- This blessing will never end!
- When you accept that Jesus is your Savior, you are filled with this new wine.
- This new wine is the blood of the Passover, the New Covenant, & the Holy
Spirit.
- These hopes, & these truths reside inside of us, & from them we grow.
- Let’s allow Him to grow, & resemble Him more & more each day.
Prayer
