Living Strong
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14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
Or in other words, live expectantly of these things following you in your walk with Christ.
Be diligent in seeking these things out in your life with Christ
Or live life to the fullest, because of all that Christ died and resurrected again to give us.
And when we go back to his words just previous to this, we see what Peter was talking about.
Live life expecting and looking forward to your glorious inheritance
Go through every day experiencing the joy and acceptance of God’s Grace
Live in his Awesome and Powerful Word
Let that power of his Word and Holy Spirit elevate you to your proper spiritual place and position in Him
Allow His Awesome and Powerful Word to Change you and make you more like Him
Allow your position in God to bring about God’s Wonderful blessings in your life
As you are being blessed and blessing others, you will be an outlet for God’s Glory to be seen in this World.
Seek the opportunities for that to happen, wherever you do life.
As God’s Word is becoming activated in your life, and as you change into the person that he created you to be, you will begin to receive victory over the enemy.
You will become a person of authority - understanding authority and living in it.
His spirit will make you submissive to the authority over you.
This submission to the godly authority that he has put over your life will bring a godly humility to your life.
A power and a passion to life for and worship Christ in everything that you do. And every relationship you are in.
This submission will give you authority over your enemy and every attack he tries to bring.
Trusting God as Peter says here in - that he is perfecting you and establishing you while he strengthens you and settles you.
I want you to think about those four words this morning. Because I didn’t get to them last week.
Perfecting, establishing, strengthening and settling
I think that it’s important that we recognize that God wants to do these in our lives
And I think that it’s important that we live expectantly of them happening.
Expect that God will Perfect You
Expect that God will Perfect You
This word in the greek is kat-ar-tid-zo.
It is translated in the Bible as to make perfect, mend, fit, perpare, restore
To mend what has been broken or rent
To fit - as find a place for - equip, put in order or complete
Think about those words as it relates to your life.
Think about what each and everyone of us tries to strive for in life and yet we all fall so short of - perfection.
We take these classes, We jump through hoops at the job and in relationship after relationship
still to fall short in all we do.
And the enemy uses this mightily against us.
If you remember from last week, Peter is saying that we all go through these sufferings.
But in the midst of these sufferings, and once we have been through them, Jesus is perfecting us.
He’s mending us.
The enemy makes us think that we are broken. He wants us to feel inadequate and unfixable.
And if we are listening to him, we will find ourselves in the most miserable of places in life.
But God is mending us. He is perfecting us through what Jesus did for us.
We just need to expect that to happen. We need to believe that God is doing that, no matter how bad our failures were
We need to trust in his love and acceptance as our heavenly Father and walk in that mending each and every day.
He is making us fit.
There are many thoughts here in this word fit.
First of all, because we’ve already looked at it.
He has fit us into the space that we belong.
God doesn’t have to put a round peg through a square hole, because he knows that place that he created you for.
If you are here today and sense for any reason that this is the place that you should be or stay, than that is God fitting you in here.
We celebrate that. We give thanks for that, that he has seen it to be appropriate that you lend yourself, and your talents to our family in this place. And we said that as we find that perfect fit, that we are a blessed and we become a great blessing.
Fit can also mean an equipping.
He is making you fit for what He has called you to.
Again, this is where the enemy attacks us and causes us to doubt ourselves and God.
We here pastors and church leaders all of the time, speaking about the task at hand for the Kingdom of God
They tell us that we are chosen and that we are called
And yet too many sitting in church chairs every Sunday feel an inadequacy to that call.
We don’t feel that we can go. We don’t feel that we have what it takes.
And so we wait. However, once we’ve fallen for lie of the enemy in our lives, how many know that we will just continue to wait forever, because the enemy will never let us see what God is really accomplishing in our lives.
But God is making us fit.
It is the same word here used as in
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy
2 Timothy
Now we’ve already spoken about living expectantly of the Word of God having it’s influence and effect on our lives, but here we se that it makes us fit. It completes us and fully equips us for every good work that God calls us to.
You’ve got the goods brother. You are more than able to accomplish that here sister. Oh it may not be your natural gifting and ability, but God is at work here. He will make it your spiritual ability.
You are not down and out.
Jesus has made you every bit adequate. Don’t listen to the enemies whispers today, hear God’s Word very clear and loudly speak over your life and tell you that you are qualified because of the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Live expectantly of that today.
Expect that God will Establish You
Expect that God will Establish You
This again is part of being fit for something, but it goes so much deeper.
This Word here in the greek is stay-rid-zo
It means steadfast, to make stable, place firmly, make firm and to render constant.
When something is established, it is setup on a set of rules or regulations that are based on something permanent with the recognition that it is so.
As we talk about a person, they are established when they are recognized to be the real deal in their vocation, or something else that they have accomplished in life.
So yes, God has fit you and prepared for you what He has called you to.
But more than that he has put you in a place where people will see and talk about and be affected by where he has put you.
We would say that they are an established and an accomplished author or poet
They are an accomplished physician or musician and so on.
My brothers and sisters, if we are trusting in God today for our life and for our calling in life (vocation) than rest assured, God will establish you in that calling.
People will see his hand upon you.
They will see the giftings and the abilities that He has put in your life.
Let’s make sure that he receives the glory for them. AMEN???
9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
In the same manner tells us this
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
If you have come to a place of fulfillment of everything that you have set out to do,
First, thank God - He is the one who gave you that dream and also the one who has gotten you to the place that you are at.
Secondly, Know that he is directing or ordaining your steps. Pray and ask him for direction. And when he gives it, be bold to walk into it, no matter what it may look like from your perspective.
If you are not where you want to be yet, the same goes for you.
First, Seek God’s face and make sure that you are walking in the steps that he has ordained for you.
Secondly, be willing to follow where he is leading
And thirdly for both - live expectantly of this. Of your steps being ordered by God. Of God establishing your way and your life.
To establish us, means that God sets us up. Not in a bad way of that term, but in everything that is good.
He places our feet upon something firm and lasting
He provides for us and meets our needs in that calling that he has laid before us
He brings people into our lives and us into theirs for equipping and blessing
He teaches us and leads us and equips us for the recognition of those around us that this is right and real and so
And he waits for us to return the praise to him.
Expect that God Will Strengthen You
Expect that God Will Strengthen You
The word here is sthen-o-o
It means to make strong, and speaks of ones soul. it is the contrast of weakness. To be more able and stronger.
It speaks of Gods ability of making a person more able to engage or to undergo certain experiences.
In our times of trials and tribulations and suffering as Peter calls them here, many times we are worn down and weakened.
The spiritual battle over our lives can be exhausting sometimes.
The enemy knows how to work us over. He knows how to attack our faith and our strength.
The Apostle Paul understood that and knew what the key was.
Listen to what he writes to the church in Colossai
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Colossians
What he had heard about was the faith that they had in God.
He knew that the enemy would try to attack that.
So he says, we are praying for you.
That they would know and understand things spiritually
That they would walk in way that would bring Glory to God.
And all of that through them being strengthened with His might through his glorious power in their times of longsuffering
And that in the midst of that, they would experience patience and joy.
My brothers and sisters, expect to be strengthened in your spiritual walk with the Lord
DO NOT STAY THE SAME, but Grown in Him.
Yes, sufferings will come, and even in the midst of them, according to Paul, we can expect patience and joy.
For it is God who strengthens us.
And I can tell you that Paul knew what he was talking about.
We see that clearly in
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
How can one take pleasure in their sicknesses, needs and persecutions?
How can one boast in their failures and distresses?
I want to tell you that there is only one way - and it will work for us as well - They understand that their strength isn’t based on what they are going through or even how they feel, but the recognize that their strength comes from the Lord above.
It is God that strengthens us.
It is God who enables us.
And I could go on all day about strength and where it comes from, but we don’t have the time.
It’s all over the Bible. If you need strength today, get into your word.
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against me.
Or how about this one where God talks about his servant David as it relates to our last two points of this message
21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.
Psalm
It’s over the Bible church, God strengthens his people
Expect God’s strength today in your life.
Lastly today
Expect That God will Settle you
Expect That God will Settle you
This word settle is them-el-ee-o-o
It means to ground or lay a foundation
to provide a firm basis for belief or practice
It is the word in
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
God wants to settle you.
Kerry Livgren, organist and guitarist for Kansas shares a testimony about the writing of the song Carry on My Wayward Son
Kerry Livgren, organist and guitarist for Kansas shares a testimony about the writing of the song Carry on My Wayward Son
He says that this song was his life.
He was searching out Christianity at the time. And he said this song was autobiographical about his life.
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
In that testimony he shares that he wasn’t settled in life yet. He was searching, But that it was his later commitment to Jesus Christ and finally settled him down.
James speaks about this in the verses that Kerry reflected on to write that song
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
In Ephesians, Paul will write similar things
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
My brothers and sisters, God wants to bring us to a place where we are settled in him.
Where we aren’t being thrown around by doubt and fear and every other attack the enemy brings against us
But where we are settled in his truth. To the point that no matter what is going on, or what the situation around us may feel like - if God said it than that settles it.
Expect this in your life today.
In the midst of your circumstances
In the midst of your sufferings
In the midst of your pain and chaos today
Expect that God is going to katartidzo you today - that he is going to mend you and fit you into place
Expect that God is going to stayridzo - make your life stable and constant
Expect that God is going to sthenoo - make you stronger and more able to face the things that you are facing today
And expect that God will themeleeoo - plant your feet on the truth.
PRAY