"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."We have already covered
"For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.First, notice this. He said, "the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." He is not a disciple of anyone. He did not learn from Peter, or John, or any Man-Made Organizations. He did not go and get a Degree in Theology. He learned DIRECTLY from Jesus. So can you. Pray, read God's Word, Pray, spent time with God, Pray, you get the point.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me."
"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,"Do you know why? Why as a Child of God, you should be anxious for nothing? Fear nothing? Worry about nothing? Why? Why should you, simply as a Child of God, feel more secure in the Future than anyone else? Are you sure that you are right, and all other "Religions" are false? Do you know why?
"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher."Fully Trained. Anointed. Filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. After Jesus died, rather rose from the dead, what did He instruct those who followed Him?
"And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."" {Acts 1:4-5}Here is the reason why? This is the Same reason you should not become as those Jesus warned us about in Matthew 13:20-21
"But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles."If you are not prepared, and you go out there and try to throw around the little knowledge you may have, you may come across a Clever Enemy. One that could and will try, to plant seeds of doubt, even in your own Heart. What will you do? Someone asks you to clarify, there is none by the way, but to clarify or rectify, some of the Contradictions in the Bible, Or explain why Jesus IS the only "I am the way and the truth and the life." and Why "No one comes to the Father except through me." {John 14:6} Or why Jesus said this?
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live," {John 11:25}It is imperative for you, even though you are a Child of God, to spend time with Him. Learning from Him. Learning, Loving, and understanding His Word. Spend time with those of like Mind. Spend the time, however much time God feels necessary, in Preparation, so that God can Justify you. Prepare you to accept His Plan and Purpose for your Life. Trust me, you cannot do it without this. No matter what you may think.
"For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."Every Life
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."Imagine if you were to take a trip to a Third World Country and you witness and child being abused and suffering at the hands of those there. You fall in love with that Child and what nothing more than to save them from this. You offer to Adopt them and provide all the means to make that come to be. Yet? When the time comes, they simply run away, or they simply say "No." There is nothing more you can do. You have no choice. You must leave them in the world in which they live, suffering the things they suffer, now by their own decision. By their own hand.
"and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."We become completely new Creatures. We are no longer part of this World, but we become Children of God. "by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” What does that mean? That means that not only are we now saved from the World and even from Death and Hell, but we can now call God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Begining and the End, the Creator of all there ever was, is or will be, God Himself, "Daddy."
"I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."Ever think about that? Look at Jesus own Words here. He did not say, I Pray you to change the World. As a matter of Fact, He said: "I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." He did not say, I Pray them out of the World, rather to, "keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."You see, as a Child of God, you are in possession of the two most powerful and destructive Words in the Universe. "I Forgive" Once you say those two words, the ones you have just forgiven, leave your hands, and go straight into Gods. God wants you to forgive for four reasons.
"Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.""I flip Burgers." "I drive a Garbage Truck." "I am a Cop." "I am a Janitor at the local School." So? Be the best {Insert here} that you can possibly be. Make that Burger as if you were about to hand it to Jesus. Drive that truck up to the next House as if you were hauling God's own Trash away. Walk that beat as if you were protecting Jesus at one of His massive Rallies. Sweep that floor as if you were sweeping the Floor in the Throne Room itself. It's not about the task. It's about you.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."Make no mistake about it, He means YOU as well. If you are a Child of God, then this is a directive directly from Jesus to you. However, this is why Step 4, so so very important. You NEED God to Justify you. You need a Time of Preparation. More on that next time.
"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."Step One, God Foreknows you. He knew you before your Mother and Father ever even met. He Created you. According to Psalm 139:16-18,
"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you."God Created you the way you are for a reason. He wrote in His Book, you would be this tall, have this color hair, eyes, look this way, etc. Then you were fashioned or formed exactly the way God said for a reason. Jesus even told us this.
"But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." {Matthew 10:30}Think about that. Try to do that yourself. Count the hairs on your head. God has. He numbered them. This applies to everyone. Everyone who is born on the face of the Earth is Created by God. We are all God's Creation. Careful though. We are NOT all God's Children, as some would like you to believe. More on that in a Second. But we are all Created by God. He Foreknows us all.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."He Created all things. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars. He Created the Earth and all that is in it. Then he Created you to be a Blue Collar Worker, slaving away for someone else, only to come home and give your money to yet someone else.
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." {John3:16-18}Read that Part again,
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."It says whoever, anyone, everyone, all, who what? Does not believe, is what? Condemned already. You do not have to do anything but answer "No." God cannot follow up with Step Three, Four, or Five if you say "No." Join us next time for more on this.
"John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”" {Mark 1:4-8}People were coming from everywhere. Some thought John to be a Prophet. Some thought him to be the Christ Himself. He rejected all this. He could have given into the Praise and Glory of Men. But He never did. He even said this in John 3:30-31
"He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all."John never accepted anything but, who he was. Who God Chose him to be. He was Content. He was happy being second fiddle. Why? Because that is who he was.
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."But we are NOT all " Mega Superstar Pastors." There is a role for them. There is a role for Mega Churchs. But you know what? Someone has to be in Parking Patrol. Someone has to Serve as Ushers. Someone has to Sing on Stage. Someone needs to clean the Church. Serve the Hospitality Treats and make the Coffee. Sunday Service does not go on just because the Pastor gets up to Preach. There is a whole lot of people making this happen as smooth as possible.
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.Do you get Stage Freight? Some do. I do not mean they get nervous, I mean they are so frozen in fright that they cannot move or Speak. Pretty hard to be a Pastor on Stage. Can you Bake? I can't. But Hospitality would love to have you. Did you know that you could serve God by baking Brownies with love that people are going to enjoy at Church? Have you ever slapped someone on the Forehead and they became Healed? Raised the Dead? Chances are, you do not have the Gift of Healing. Please do not slap a sick person hoping they get better. Are you a numbers Person? GREAT! The Church needs an Accountant. Do you enjoy going to the Pantry and giving out food to the needy? Are you truly a Pastor? Are you truly an Usher? Security? Are you an Elder? Do you Dream Dreams?
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way."
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