Sunday 19 June 2022

God and You Unlimited

 Scripture: Revelations 19 v 5 - 6:  "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.  

6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

Our God is omnipotent, He is all-powerful!  There is nothing and no-one who can come against Him and defeat Him.  He has always existed and He will never die.  His kingdom will last for eternity, and we will be part of it.  He reigns over the whole universe and He loves you and me.

1 Corinthians 2 v 9: "But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

God is limitless.  Look at the night sky and all you can see through the strongest observatory equipment, and you have only been able to see a tiny portion of the still expanding universe.  And He chooses to love us and send His Son to save us, when He could have sent the flood and wiped out every living thing on Earth, and never given us another thought.

Yet He raised up prophets, judges, teachers, apostles to guide and discipline us.  They were inspired by Him to write the 66 Books of the Bible so we could have a record of His dealings with man, His patience, His truth, His limitless love.  He has prepared a life in Heaven for us of such magnificence that the wealthiest "Solomons" cannot even imagine it.

Jesus is with us, and in our hearts, we talk with Him as often as we like.  He is God's Son, the absolute best of God's ability, who was sent here to die the most agonising death, so that we could make it back to Heaven.  It is God and you unlimited!  Your life matters to God, even if you can't believe you are worth it.  

When you know Jesus, He is the full expression of the Father, full of tender mercies, compassion and understanding.  He has been tempted by Satan without ever yielding to sin.  He did this as a man and not as God, to show us that with Him in our hearts we can resist sin too.  We can discipline our minds and bodies to obey the Lord and live acceptable lives in God's eyes.

There is nothing you cannot do when God is with you.  If He has  a calling on your life, He will equip you in every way to fulfil it.  He will bless and encourage you through everything the world or Satan throws at you to distract you.  You will never be alone.  So do not be afraid to venture forth with confidence when you are about your Father's business, and even if it fails in a worldly way, God will have achieved His purpose.

Atheists and sceptics view the crucifixion of Jesus as a massive failure!  And yet it was the fulfilment of what He came to do.  They don't believe in His resurrection so they fail to understand the mighty power of our Father, who would not leave His Son in the grave.  He will never leave us nor forsake us, so have faith that when you have to go through trials, He is carrying you.

When you see the ways of the world clearly through born again eyes then understand that the Kingdom of God is the exact opposite of the carnal world.  We need to overcome all worldliness in ourselves as our God will not allow one iota of it in Heaven.  He is pure and holy and so must we be.

In the Ten Commandments God says Do Not Commit Adultery.  In the New Testament Jesus says in Matthew 5 v 27 - 28: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

With all the sexual freedom in today's world, explicit scenes in movies, porn sent to your devices, ability to stream whatever strikes your fancy, nudity on display, sex online and so on, it's hard to obey the Lord or burn your Playboy magazines.  Yet, in order to be pure and holy vessels we must prune, delete, get rid of all this plus cleanse our minds of memories and fantasies.

1 Thessalonians 5 v 16 - 23:  "Rejoice evermore.
17  Pray without ceasing.
18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19  Quench not the Spirit.
20  Despise not prophesyings.
21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul made a list of important practices and ended with...abstain from all appearance of evil!  It's different for each of us but needs to be looked at and heeded.  What you think is acceptable but others may frown upon should be adjusted to conform to the will of God.

It takes discipline and a ruthless distaste for the things of the world.  It's the way of the Cross, dying to self, living as a child of God should live.  We must be examples to those coming into our Kingdom.  We are His ambassadors presenting ourselves as a billboard of righteous living.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He will never change to suit our immorality.  We must change to be like Him.  It's not an option.

Micah 6 v 8: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

When we have entered into the Covenant with God Almighty these are the requirements.  To do justly.  To love mercy.  To walk humbly with Him.

It does not sound like much but justice is not the world's form of justice, at the whim of man, but God's absolutely righteous judgment on every issue.  Our own feelings on those issues must be in line with His Word and not political correctness or fashionable sentiment.

We must love mercy.  His mercy on sinners should bring rejoicing in our hearts.  No matter who or what they were or what they did, if  they have been forgiven by God, and even if the media vilify them, they are a new creation loved by our Father.  We must put aside the demands of the world and receive them in the love of Jesus.

Finally, we must walk humbly with our God.  All pride in our own achievements, abilities, trophies must be put to the Cross.  As God says in Deuteronomy 8 v 16 - 17: "Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
17  And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth."

Always give the glory and the credit to God!  He is our healer, our Saviour, our Heavenly Father.  He makes all things possible so praise and worship Him above all.


Prayer:  Heavenly Father, there is none like You!  Thank You for the life we have now and the promise of an absolutely unimaginable eternity.  Raise us up to do the work together that will bring multitudes home with us. Let us always be humble, pure and merciful people. In Jesus' name.  Amen.