There is a problem which every person faces.
No rehab can fix it.
No medication can fix it.
Some people may struggle with one type of addiction - others may have other struggles. But this is something everybody who has ever lived has faced...
It is: death.
Death is the great leveller.
No matter whether rich or poor.
Sometimes I walk down the street and I think, "Not one person alive today will still be alive on this planet in time to come (if the Lord tarries)".
I look at old photos from the 1800s, and I think, "None of these people are still alive".
Death came because of sin - but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!
God promises to raise us up from the dead, when He comes.
And we have proof of that promise - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
No other ideology or religion provides a solution to the problem of death; and certainly no other religion has the proof on the table to back-up its claim. But God raised Jesus Christ from the dead as proof that He has taken away our sins, and proof that He shall raise us up also on the last day.
He was seen by His disciples after His resurrection. He was seen by over 500 people. The Apostles were eye-witnesses. They saw Jesus physically ascend into the clouds in heaven.
And the angel promised them, "He will come again in like manner as you have seen Him ascend."
Jesus is coming again! The dead will be raised. And we shall forever be with the Lord.
He has promised to share His throne with us for ever and ever!
Imagine if a monarch invited you to share his or her throne with you. That's what God has promised us in Christ!
Actually we already have it inside us now. The indwelling Spirit of Christ is a guarantee - a foretaste - of the eternal glory that will be ours when Jesus comes.
We have it now! Christ is in you. We have eternal life now. It's only out body which is waiting for resurrection.
Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world!
Christ in you is greater than any addiction - greater than any temptation. There is no mountain that cannot move in His Name!
I want you to walk out of this place today knowing that Christ who is in you is greater than anything in the world. He is greater even than death.
He has dealt with sin. He has given us His own righteousness.
He doesn't want us to struggle to overcome sin or anything else. He has already done the work.
The Book of Hebrews invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Someone said it means to come boldly to the throne of love-gifts. Isn't that nice!
Come boldly to the throne of love-gifts.
What father would not delight to give love-gifts to his daughter or son.
God desires us to come boldly and freely receive His love-gifts today.
Sometimes I think God delights in giving love-gifts when they are least deserved!
It doesn't matter how you've sinned. It doesn't matter who you've hurt. You can have a good conscience today.
And God can even heal the people we've hurt.
I imagine a big tap here today - and we're going to ask the Father to turn it on today. Turn on the flow of His grace.
He doesn't want you to struggle - He just wants you to soak up all of His grace. It is God who works in us both to will and to do what He desires.
The work is all His.
Come and receive from His goodness today.
No rehab can fix it.
No medication can fix it.
Some people may struggle with one type of addiction - others may have other struggles. But this is something everybody who has ever lived has faced...
It is: death.
Death is the great leveller.
No matter whether rich or poor.
Sometimes I walk down the street and I think, "Not one person alive today will still be alive on this planet in time to come (if the Lord tarries)".
I look at old photos from the 1800s, and I think, "None of these people are still alive".
Death came because of sin - but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!
God promises to raise us up from the dead, when He comes.
And we have proof of that promise - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
No other ideology or religion provides a solution to the problem of death; and certainly no other religion has the proof on the table to back-up its claim. But God raised Jesus Christ from the dead as proof that He has taken away our sins, and proof that He shall raise us up also on the last day.
He was seen by His disciples after His resurrection. He was seen by over 500 people. The Apostles were eye-witnesses. They saw Jesus physically ascend into the clouds in heaven.
And the angel promised them, "He will come again in like manner as you have seen Him ascend."
Jesus is coming again! The dead will be raised. And we shall forever be with the Lord.
He has promised to share His throne with us for ever and ever!
Imagine if a monarch invited you to share his or her throne with you. That's what God has promised us in Christ!
Actually we already have it inside us now. The indwelling Spirit of Christ is a guarantee - a foretaste - of the eternal glory that will be ours when Jesus comes.
We have it now! Christ is in you. We have eternal life now. It's only out body which is waiting for resurrection.
Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world!
Christ in you is greater than any addiction - greater than any temptation. There is no mountain that cannot move in His Name!
I want you to walk out of this place today knowing that Christ who is in you is greater than anything in the world. He is greater even than death.
He has dealt with sin. He has given us His own righteousness.
He doesn't want us to struggle to overcome sin or anything else. He has already done the work.
The Book of Hebrews invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Someone said it means to come boldly to the throne of love-gifts. Isn't that nice!
Come boldly to the throne of love-gifts.
What father would not delight to give love-gifts to his daughter or son.
God desires us to come boldly and freely receive His love-gifts today.
Sometimes I think God delights in giving love-gifts when they are least deserved!
It doesn't matter how you've sinned. It doesn't matter who you've hurt. You can have a good conscience today.
And God can even heal the people we've hurt.
I imagine a big tap here today - and we're going to ask the Father to turn it on today. Turn on the flow of His grace.
He doesn't want you to struggle - He just wants you to soak up all of His grace. It is God who works in us both to will and to do what He desires.
The work is all His.
Come and receive from His goodness today.
- Shared at Transformations Chapel Service
Surfers Paradise, Qld
Tuesday 17th February, 2015
Surfers Paradise, Qld
Tuesday 17th February, 2015
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