The God That Gives

Good morning and welcome to CCC.

Pray

START OBS

I want to begin this morning with a borrowed illustration. It was borrowed from Ravi Zachariah

A prosperous man was making a long journey. In his bag he packed all his valuable jewels and money. A thief started to follow him, pretending to be a friend, and waiting for the opportunity to steal the wealthy man’s riches. The rich man was aware of the man’s motives and thought of a plan. Each night as he would stop at a local hotel he would invite the thief to share the room. Once inside the rich man would say, “Here is a towel you go and wash up for the night.” While the thief took his shower the rich man hid his treasures. When the thief returned to the room, the rich man would go and bathe. While away, the thief searched frantically for the riches. He looked in the rich man’s luggage, searched the closet drawers, under the bed, between the mattresses, and under the rich man’s pillow. The treasure could not be found. At the end of the journey the rich man boarded a train to go home, he yelled out to the thief. “I know why you have been following me. You’ve been trying to steal my treasure. Each night you have looked in my bags, searched the closet, rummaged through the drawers. You’ve looked under my bed, between the mattress, and even under my pillow. The one place you never looked was under you own pillow. The treasure was closer than you thought.”

The treasures or gifts that we need or want in life are sometimes closer than we think. They are found in the Word of God and come from the God that gives.

The first thing we will look at that God gave was

God gave His own blood for the church

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John 3:16-17

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

God gave Jesus to pay your and my price

God gave Jesus to die for the forgiveness of your sin and my sin

Jesus willingly came to earth, endured all He had to endure and willingly gave His life for your life and my life on the cross

What a wonderful, perfect gift from God!

Before we look further into what God gives we must establish a very important truth

James 1:17-18

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“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

All good and perfect gifts come from God!

Do you thank Him for all the gifts in your life????

Think about how many gifts God has given you

Salvation

Freedom

Healing

Maybe a spouse

Kids

Parents

Life here in America

How about another day here on earth to do His will!

These are just a few....be looking for and truly grateful for all the gifts God gives you!

Let’s now look at the God that gives

God Gives Life

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I want to look at 3 kinds of life God gives

Physical Life

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Acts 17:25

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“Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;”

Genesis 1:26-27

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“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Two very clear scriptures that tell us that God gives life. God created us…man…humans

He gave life to all things

You are alive today because God gives you physical life

Eternal Life

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John 10:27-29

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“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

There are many scriptures I could use here to show that God gives eternal life. I landed on this one however because of Jesus saying follow me in response to the gift of eternal life

Follow me comes from a Greek word that means to be in the same way, disciple

I want to spend a few moments here. To follow…to be in the same way..disciple of Jesus is not just a Sunday thing. It is a life changing....heart changing way of life.

God has really been pressing into me just how different Jesus was and still is from religion.

Even here at CCC we fall into religion at times. Jesus hates religion. He didn’t come to give you religion. He came to give you life.....eternal life and to help you walk in the same way He walked.

We fall so short of that walk. Anything we do on our own falls short of Jesus!

God convicted....has been convicting me of just how worldly my heart really is.

My thoughts.

My reactions

My words

My interactions with people

They can all be worldly

I am far from a gentle, humble, truth loving Christian

Follow me is a 24/7/365 walk

A constant walk in sacrifice and love

A persistent lifestyle of dying to self and dying for others every second of every day

No excuses accepted!

If you have eternal life you must follow

Be in the same way as Jesus

Not just at church for most that is once per week, for others maybe Sunday and Wednesday for a few 3 or more days a week.

No this walk is all day everyday!

In good and in bad

In poverty and in wealth

In health and in sickness

No matter the circumstance

No matter the situation

No matter your feelings or energy level

Follow me means the same as Jesus!

Abundant Life

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John 10:10

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“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Abundantly comes from a Greek adjective that means excessive or exceedingly

Many take this to mean abundant earthly wealth.....health and wealth gospel

That is not what Jesus is talking about

God can and does bless His children in physical ways..including wealth but this verse is not talking about that. I believe the devil and his demons to attack us in physical ways looking to steal, kill, and destroy

Look at drugs and alcohol and all that addiction has stolen from people, all those it has killed, and the destroyed families and lives left in its wake. Addiction is a symptom of a sin problem and a tool the devil uses to carry out his mission.....this applies to any stronghold…porn....sex....greed....love of money....power hungry…idols…etc etc etc

He also tries to do these things in a spiritual way as well. The devil wants to steal the joy of your salvation......kill your belief and faith in Jesus.....and destroy you by getting you to reject Jesus and going to hell!

Digging into scripture is so very important. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time knew the scriptures, they memorized them and knew them very well yet in an interaction with them Jesus says this

John 5:39-40

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“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

The scriptures point to Jesus and eternal life through His sacrifice but knowing that in your head is not enough.

Jesus is telling the leaders that they search the scriptures and think they found the answer but they missed Jesus.

He was right there in front of them and they missed it because it was all about head knowledge not heart knowledge!

Abundant life is a life where you know Jesus and Jesus knows you

Abundant life has nothing to do with physical life and everything to do with a life with and of and in Christ

Remember follow me.....following Christ is the abundant life He speaks of ....

When you have Jesus you have more than you could ever want or need that is the abundant life

God Gives The Holy Ghost

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Being all in…knowing Jesus…following Him are all spiritual things

Things humans can’t do on their own

That is where the Holy Spirit comes in

John 7:37-39

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“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

The Spirit of God lives in you this morning if you are a true Christian.

Jesus has been glorified and all that believe now have the Holy Spirit

Why does God give the Holy Spirit?

He is the down payment on your inheritance

He is also how you can KNOW you are saved

The Holy Spirit brings you into relationship with God and Jesus.....a glimpse of heaven here on earth

Because you are now in the world not of the world Jesus through the Holy Spirit changes who you are

Through the Holy Spirit you are taught the Word of God.

I Corinthians 2:12

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“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

The Holy Spirit teaches us the things of God.

God gives us so much....so many things....countless really are the blessings and gifts from God

I want to quickly give you just a few. I am just going to mention these this morning....in your notes…if you haven’t grabbed a note sheet please do so....if we need to print more we would be glad to do that as well....I am just mentioning them and put them in your notes for you to search the scriptures this week at home.

Rewards....crown of life....treasures in heaven....Revelation 2:10.

Healing both physical and spiritual Acts 3:6.

Understanding Psalms 119:130.

Grace Ephesians 2:8-9.

Our desires Psalms 37:4-5.

Spiritual gifts Ephesians 4:8.

These are all wonderful things. Perfect things and I wish we could spend time going through each one here this morning. Again, I challenge you to take you notes home and look at each of these and look for each of these in your life.

By the way, you should be taking the notes pages home each and every week and searching the scriptures.

What if I am wrong?

What if I misinterpret something.

How do you know that what I am preaching is the gospel truth?

You don’t unless you search the scriptures.

If you have been here long or if you have ever been to a bible study or even Sunday school one thing we believe here is you must have scripture that drives your opinion

No different here

Acts 17:11

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“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Paul said these were more noble…why…because they received the word with all readiness of mind....and catch this....searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so

They searched the scriptures to make sure what they heard was true.

You are called to do the same....never take someone’s word for it always search the scriptures to see if what they say is true

As I said I wish I could spend time with each of the gifts listed above but I felt lead to spend the rest of our time together this morning talking about 2 gifts God gives that I believe you and I miss quite often

Gift of Wisdom

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James 1:5-6

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“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

Need wisdom??? Ask believe and receive!!!!!

God wants you wise…that brings Him glory because you are not wise in you or the world but in and through God.

God’s wisdom always matches the Word of God and never includes sin

So many people…even Christians try to justify sin by saying I prayed for guidance and this was God’s answer....Wrong!

I have heard people say well we love each other…we are engaged and this house came along and we prayed and felt God to tell us it was time to buy the house and move in together!…Wrong....God would never tell you to live together before marriage

I have heard young Christians say well God would rather me be in a committed sexual relationship because I can’t stand the temptation!!

Wrong sex before marriage is a sin....God will not tell you to do that.

I really want that vehicle, camper, fishing boat, jet, golf cart, hunting equipment etc etc etc…and I can’t afford it as long as I am tithing so God wants me to use my tithe for that since I will use it for ministry

Wrong! Sin. You are to tithe to God 10% anything above that is a gift or sacrifice to God.

Wisdom comes from God and must match God’s scripture.

God gives you wisdom

His Word is wisdom

When you ask for wisdom most of the time you will find it in God’s Word.

He leads you to what you need when you need it through the Holy Spirit

God does speak and has spoken directly to me and hopefully to you as well but most of the time when God has spoken to me He has spoken to me through the Word or other people.

If you are struggling with a decision....have you asked God for wisdom?

Have you searched His Word?

Have you asked others to join you in prayer in seeking wisdom.

Have you fasted?

I will do my best to quickly go here for a minute.

Matthew 6:16-18

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“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

I put this section of scripture here for a reason. Many Christians, and religion says that is an old testament practice

They would be wrong.

One of the problems with Christians following religion and not Jesus is many have never heard of or tried to fast.

Notice how Jesus is speaking here....not if you you fast but when you fast.

Fasting is something that should be a regular part of a Christians walk!

Fasting is giving something up to seek God and wisdom and guidance or intercession.

Fasting can be to seek God and grow closer to Him

There are many reasons to fast

Most fasting is food, for some that is not possible so giving up something else is acceptable but it is not the act of giving something up that is fasting, no it is replacing the time you would have spent on whatever you gave up, food, Facebook, secular reading etc and spending that time in prayer and study of God’s Word truly seeking Him

One reason fasting, especially food is not practiced much today is it requires commitment and suffering.

I have done a full food 3 day fast, still drank water, and it was amazing but it also was hard but the thing was every time my stomach yelled at me because it was empty I would pray and I gained so much by putting God first and foremost.

I challenge you to pray about fasting and ask God to lead you in this......

The final gift I want to look at this morning is

God Gives Peace

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John 14:27-29

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“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.”

Jesus leaves you peace.....the Holy Spirit.

When you lack peace you lack Jesus

Wisdom gives you peace because the more you know God the less worry and anxiety can be present because God is greater than whatever you are worried or anxious about

It truly is that simple

Replace you with the Word of God.

Ask God for wisdom to overcome your fear and you will be filled with peace

Jesus was serious when He spoke those words in John

Let not your heart be troubled

Troubled comes from a Greek verb meaning of uncertain affinity; to stir or agitate

I want you to notice something....Jesus says let not your heart be troubled…stirred or agitated.....

YOU HAVE A CHOICE

give into the trouble....

give into the worry....

give into the anxiety…

give into the depression....

give into whatever it is

or Seek Jesus and His peace.

Peace requires faith.

Faith that Jesus is who He says He is and has in fact overcome the world.

If that is true and you believe that is true then what are you worried about....

what are you anxious about…

what are you depressed about?

This world doesn’t matter.....

that is part of Jesus’ peace by the way....

this earth is temporary what matters is eternity and if you are saved here this morning your eternity is sealed and the perfection of God and Jesus and Holy Spirit and heaven await you......

why are you troubled again?

Let it not be afraid.

We spoke about perfect love casting out fear just a couple weeks ago.

God was serious....

when He is present fear is thrown out of the way

Many say you don’t understand

You don’t know what they did to me

You don’t know the trauma I have endured

You don’t know the hurt that I have felt

You don’t know

I would challenge that with You don’t truly understand what you did to Jesus

You don’t understand the trauma you caused Jesus

You don’t know the hurt you cause Jesus

Yet when you didn’t know Him He died for you!

He paid your price

He shed His blood to cover your sin

He became your sin and the sins of the whole world

You did that to Him and He died to forgive you

If God would send Jesus and if Jesus would come to earth be rejected

and beaten

and nailed to a cross by His own creation just to give them a chance at forgiveness

what do you as a child of God have to be troubled about or to be afraid of??????

God gives you peace.......

My routine on Sunday mornings is to get in and review the sermon and then go on to prepare everything else from making coffee to making sure the media in the back is ready to go

This morning I started with secret place time and got smacked in Romans 1. God was very active and I had to pray about many things that I was convicted about.

Once I got through that I did make the coffee and then began to review the sermon and as I got to this point I felt God leading me to close differently than I had originally planned.

Psalms 46:10

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“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Anyone who knew Coach Jamie Alexander, first of all you were blessed as he was a great man of God and loved you like Jesus loves him

Second you knew Psalms 46:10 because he would have told it to you several times. This was his favorite passage in the Bible

Big A lived this passage. He lived this truth. He understood this truth in a way that brought it to life for all who met him

This is peace. Be still and know that I am God.

Brothers and sister in Christ, we need to be still. This is not still in terms of lack of action

This is still in your spirit and mind and heart because you KNOW that God is God

You know that God is in control

You know that God already has it worked out

You know that God has given Jesus to die on the cross for your sins

You know that you have accepted Jesus and God says therefore you are His

You know that because you are saved you have God inside of you in the form to God the Holy Spirit

Be still and know that I am God

That is peace.

Jesus is peace

I don’t know what is stealing your peace this morning but you do and God does.

Just as I gave many things over to God this morning after He showed me I was wrong you now have the opportunity to give whatever is stealing your peace to God

Leave it at the altar and leave here forgiven and free!

Maybe God is encouraging you this morning that you are still because you know He is God.....will you live that out in public this week

Will you seek people out to share that with this week

When you are truly still because you know that He is God you will tell that to anyone you meet because you want them to know God and enjoy being still because He is God!

God is your peace, won’t you come to Him so you can truly leave here this morning and be still because you know He is God!

STOP OBS

Invitation

Be still my soul