If you are in a place of bareness and vulnerability this message is for you. Jesus is inviting us to believe Him for miraculous power in these places of bareness. Don’t resent these seasons because it is the place where we become most aware of our weakness and God's strength. If we are weak in the natural we will be enabled to move out in the strength of God. God's strength works to better mature to those who know they are weak.
As Saul, Paul was an up and coming leader, a man of ambition and recognition; but when he came to Christ, he came humbly — not seeking recognition or followers. His focus shifted from himself to bringing glory and honor to Christ. The church is to be built upon the foundation and person of Jesus, not on the personalities of men. Paul lived in a place of complete dependence upon God. Many of us, if we were honest, trust ourselves more than we trust God. Some of us will even lean on Christ a little bit, treating him like an assistant or consultant, wanting Him to help us help ourselves. Spiritual wisdom comes when we fully surrender all control to God. The ways and plans of man are contrary to God, and in His love He will thwart our plans in order to bring us to the end of ourselves.
Tenants of a New York City apartment building were calling 911 because their building was shaking. The operator told them not to worry; that it was just a train passing by and they would be okay. Those vibrations ended up causing the building to collapse. The world portrays sin as acceptable and even enjoyable — it won't hurt you! Just as those little vibrations caused that building to collapse, sin in our life escalates and causes our life to collapse. In the midst of it all, God provides a refuge, a way out, through His Son Jesus Christ.
If you knew today that you only had six months to live what would you do differently? This message gives you some examples of what you might want to do differently. You might want to begin to understand how God feels about His children and stop putting away from your mind the fact that sin separates the lost from God forever and do everything you can to share His love with them. Maybe you would make every known wrong right or get out of every wrong relationship or put away doubtful practices and stop pushing God to see how far you can go. What about being reconciled to God and man as much is humanly possible? For those who make the choice to walk away from sin, and whose value system falls in line with the heart for lost humanity God promises to give you the power of the Holy Spirit. God's power is evident in a holy and transformed life.
In 1 Corinthians Paul is writing to a church out of order and out of sync with God. He greets them knowing that God is faithful to complete the work He has started in them, but there are issues that need to be addressed. There are times when rebuke and correction are necessary. Sin left unchallenged will continue to grow. Paul's first and primary concern is division — not sexual immorality, drunkenness, or other sins that had arisen in the church. Division starts in the heart and results from walking in the flesh and relying on ourselves rather than being Spirit-filled and Spirit-lead. Holy unity comes when we fully surrender to Christ, doing all things for His glory and put others above ourselves.
God desires to make Himself known so He can bring fallen creation back to Himself. The voice of God is always speaking, calling out to everywhere. There is an inner cry in every human being to know God. As the Church, we must not wait any longer to tell the world about Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly asks, how will they know, how will they turn, how will they hear if we don't share the gospel with the lost? The motivating force of our lives has to be the love of God for fallen humanity. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you sensitive to the cry of every heart that does not know Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians Paul is writing to a church out of order and out of sync with God. He greets them knowing that God is faithful to complete the work He has started in them, but there are issues that need to be addressed. There are times when rebuke and correction are necessary. Sin left unchallenged will continue to grow. Paul's first and primary concern is division — not sexual immorality, drunkenness, or other sins that had arisen in the church. Division starts in the heart and results from walking in the flesh and relying on ourselves rather than being Spirit-filled and Spirit-lead. Holy unity comes when we fully surrender to Christ, doing all things for His glory and put others above ourselves.
Each of us has a call on our lives to go into the world and make disciples. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, then we need to be actively following Him where He is calling us. Are we walking in this calling? To truly walk out the call God has placed on our lives we must obey His commands, looking at our lives to see where they don't align with His Word.
If God is not merciful to us we would never be able to occupy the place He has called us to. When we get in the presence of the Holy God and realize how different we are from Him we will begin to feel undone. It is in this place that we realize there is nothing in and of ourselves that we can bring to Him. God will give us revelation of His mercy and faithfulness. God will open our hearts and make us understand that it is not about our promises to Him, but rather His promises to us. It is not about what we can do for Him, but what He has already done for us. It is only by the mercy of God that we are able to stand in His presence. God wants to show His mercy to all of humanity. The ministry of the church here on earth is mercy.
Nicky Cruz shares about the importance of seeing people the way Jesus sees them. We must be able to recognize the needs of others and take a detour from our own lives in order to minister to the lost and hurting around us.