7 KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING HOW GOD WORKS IN OUR LIVES
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OUTLINE
1.PURPOSE
2.PLEASURE
3.PROMISE
4.PATTERN
5.POWER
6.PURITY
7.PROGRESS
THE MESSAGE
7 KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING HOW GOD WORKS IN OUR LIVES
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1.PURPOSE
God works in our lives to fulfill His plans and purposes in our lives . His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts . We should not expect God to be our servant waiting to take orders from us to fulfill our plans and purposes . The resources of God are not there to be used according to our whims and fancies . We should
understand that God uses His power and might to fulfill His plans and purposes . God works according to His own timing and strategy and we should work together with Him to fulfill His purposes.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Romans 9:16-23
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
Isaiah 55 :8-9
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
2.PLEASURE
God wants His ministers and servants to fulfill His good pleasure . We cannot serve God according to our own pleasure . We are expected to please Him in our service to Him. Sometimes we fail to realise this and claim that we are serving the Lord even though we are only doing what is pleasing to us. We must examine ourselves whether
our service to God is pleasing to Him . Jesus received the testimony from God that " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased ".
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Psalms 103:21
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
Matthew 3:17
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
3.PROMISE
God works in our lives according to His promise to us . His promises to us reveal His plans and purposes for our lives and He will work in our lives towards fulfilling His promises to us. We should not expect Him to work in our lives according to His promises to others . God has a unique plan and purpose for each one which is different
from His plan for someone else . He wants us focus on what He has revealed to us about our own lives and not question Him about His plan for someone else. He discouraged Peter from becoming curious about His plan for John . We should be like Mary who submitted herself to plan of God for her life even though it may have shattered her own plans .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Luke 1:38
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
John 21 : 21-23
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
4.PATTERN
God works in our lives to make us like His Son Jesus . God wants us to be transformed in to the image of Christ .Apostle Paul told the Galatians that he travailed in birth until Christ is formed in them . Christ is the pattern for us to follow. We should not be attracted to anyone else in this world and ask God to make us like them.Sometimes we make heroes of mere mortals and long to become like them . We should not forget that our patttern is Christ Himself and that God works in us to make us like Jesus.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Romans 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Galatians 4:19
19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
II Corinthians 3 :18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as [b]by the Spirit of the Lord.
5.POWER
God works in us in His power . We cannot be effective in the Kingdom of God using our human power and wisdom and wealth and influence. Satan cannot be overcome with any human resource. We are entirely dependent on God's divine power and strength to labour effectively in the Kingdom of God. Jesus was endued with divine power as he went about setting the captives free during His ministry on the earth. God wants us to serve Him in the same way as we minister to suffering humanity.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Acts 1: 8
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 10 :38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Ephesians 3:20
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
6.PURITY
God works in us as we offer ourselves as a clean and pure vessel in His hands . God cannot use impure and dirty vessels . If we want to be used by God as an instrument in His mighty hands we must be careful to maintain our purity and holiness . Only then we become a vessel of honour ready to be used by the Master for every good work.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
II Timothy 2 :19-21
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, ]sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
7.PROGRESS
God works in us to make us progress to higher level of maturity and usefulness. God does not want us to remain as spiritual babies feeding only on milk. He wants us to grow up and become strong and able to receive the strong meat of the word of God . We should be able to take the responsibility of teaching and developing others . We should become leaders whom God can entrust with important duties and responsibilities in His Kingdom. We should not remain spiritual babies always depending on others to do everything for us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Hebrews 5 :12-14
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are [c]of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
I Corinthians 13 :11
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
