Agreeing with God-Our Purpose
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Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?
We are speaking about our need to walk in agreement with God
If God says…I love you
If God says…I love you
And we say…no you don’t
This will be a limiting factor in your walk with God
If God tells us challenges and struggles will not overtake us
And we say…yes they will
This will limit what you will attempt as a Christian
If God says he will supply all of our needs
And we say, no he won’t
This will limit your generosity and financial effectiveness
There is a power that comes with agreeing with God and agreeing with each other (unity)
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
This scripture needs to be understood in the context it is meant:
Previously speaking about church discipline
So what is our Purpose as a Christian
Someone sins against you-word or deed
(Glorify God)
Definition of Glorify
You go and try to correct them
reveal the glory of (God) through one’s actions.
They refuse
I believe this was and is God’s intention for every person
You take someone else with you
I believe this was and is God’s intention for every person
They refuse
Then the whole church is informed and they are excommunicated
Jesus then says
“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
Talking about their authority as disciples to discipline and make such decisions about the structure and behavior of the church
Jesus then says:
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
Even if the decision is being made by only two Christians in authority
The Father will do it for you.
This is not some “magic” promise that just because two Christians agree about a prayer or action that God will swoop in and automatically grant it.
I HAVE USED THIS SCRIPTURE IMPROPERLY MANY TIMES
It is like saying.
If you push this button a missile will be shot out over the sea
But there are some conditions on this happening
Why you push that button needs to be discussed and agreed upon
The motives and does it agree with the policy of the government
Our prayers need to be rooted in the purpose and will of God
I have prayed for enough people to be healed and then they die
I have prayed for enough people to be healed and then they die
....The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
If you push this button a missile will be shot out over the sea
But this missile cannot be fired until:
Why you push that button needs to be discussed and agreed upon
The motives and does it agree with the policy of the government
I have prayed for enough people to be healed and then they die
That I now use this scripture much less
But..there is tremendous power when we agree with God
Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew D. Patiently and Truthfully Pursuing the Straying Brother (18:15–20)
They are traditionally taken to mean that God pays special attention to the prayers of believers when two or more gather or agree together. But such an interpretation is wrong for two reasons: (1) it takes the statements out of the context of church discipline and the pursuit of the straying brother; and (2) the conclusions that it leads to regarding prayer is contrary to Scripture.
Nowhere in the Bible does God imply that he listens any differently to one person praying than he does to two, ten, or five hundred. If he does hear two or more people better than he hears one, then we must assume that Jesus’ prayers lacked effectiveness when he went off alone to pray (14:23; 26:36–44). James made the point that the prayer of a single righteous person is powerful enough to heal a sick person by drawing on the power of the God who listens to each of his children, together or individually
This video speaks to that definition
How can our life glorify God
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRMwl-6-E4Y
I believe what we are being asked to do as Christians is what God’s intention is for everyone
So how do we do that......
But..there is tremendous power when we agree with God
We need to first of all agree with this:
When We are in harmony with the purpose of our life
God’s Purpose for Your Life
When We are in harmony with his purposes
God’s Purpose for Your Life
We need to first of all agree with this:
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
You are not an accident
The coming together of your parents might have been an accident
But you were not an accident
People say I was a mistake
The reason for that mistake is you!
You were given:
Talents You like to read You are a technology person
Likes & dislikes You like to draw
Introvert or Extrovert You are athletic
You have been created with exactly what you need to do and be what God intended
The problem arises when we try to fit ourselves into someone else’s mold.
(Rick Warren)
So how do you take what God created and have it Glorify him?
God called Moses to speak to the Egyptians (unbelieving and hostile people)
Moses asked a relevant question
God gave the perfect answer
But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back. Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.
Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.
What did that staff represent for Moses:
Income- All of his assets were in sheep
Identity - He was a shepherd / Career
Influence- He moved sheep with the staff
Pushed or pulled them with it
Then he turned Moses staff into a snake and back to a staff
Then he turned Moses staff into a snake and back to a staff
Why?
Throw down
Give me your income
Give me your identity
Surrender your
Give me your influence
And God will do something miraculous with it
All of the great miracles in Egypt were done with that simple staff
Trusting God to use you just the way you are is huge
Ask God -
How can I bring Glory to your name
Know that if you give all of who and what you are to God
He will get Glory from the uniqueness that is you.
Charlie - likes numbers and is super organized (Treasurer)
Heather & Lorraine- like to decorate and design (women’s breakfast)
George- lives in a seniors building (has a bible study)
Sandi- likes writing and creative writing (creative writing class)