Blindspot in our Christian living - do you realize? A lot of times we focus a lot on the outcomes (fulfilling KPI, family salvation etc)
If you are not living life in full, what is the purpose of not falling sick?
Doing nothing (out of your human nature)
Believing everything (genuinely, sincerely on God's promises) --> let it activate your spiritual senses
Doing the best out of what God is working in you believing mind
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:17 NIV)
What obstruct you from magnifying Christ is SELF (big I) --> springs out every moment without you activating it... The self is always driving you.. Even if you are born again, self still want to be praised, recognised
The way to counter Self is to acknowledge thus weakness and live with spiritual fear and trembling - of not knowing, wanting god to show me, strengthen me -- acknowledge him in everything that you are doing, deciding...
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NIV)
We always have emotional fear, but we seldom has spiritual fear, knowing you cannot rely on yourself.
Faith - is when you have nothing at all
When your faith rest on God's power, you will go as far as God's power (infinite)
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16 NIV)
- Human nature
- Effort = success?
- Grace = success? BUT grace not only gives you success, but also instill in you the effort and perseverance for the effort, and makes your effort paid of, includes hardship and failures
- God driven - see all things in his grace so that you are driven in the spirit, you see his intervening hands in all things
- The only enemy to god's grace is self (our human nature to always want to be recogniZed)
- Outcome
- Gain credit vs Php 2:13 it is He who works in me to will and to act in his purpose
- Totally powerless against sin vs grace (favour of God, kindness in Him who forgives in His persistent love Ro 5:20) when sin increases, grace increases all the more. Through law, we know standards, but through grace, we embrace god's love and righteousness
- Spiritually undiscerning - ignorant to the way of the cross (submission)
- God gives us weakness so that we can anchor on God's power (submit to him)
- I'm so blessed - what calls you to say this?
You can't do nothing, unless you know the harm of doing something
- If you don't leave it to him, you will become more self reliant
2. live by faith
- I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV)
- Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1 NIV)
- Justification by faith
- Ro 5:18-19. Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19 NIV)
- Therefore
- Don't dwell in The sins and mistakes you have done, even as Christians
- The truth of justification will not render you helpless, it stops the accusations you receive and move you forward in god's will
- Don't lament over the wrong, do gos's will (God, how, how to walk in your will..... Keep battling with sins in his grace) -God wants you to see him sanctifying you, doing things that make you more and more Christ like
- Live by faith in the son of god
- Reminded of his sacrificial love, lived to love
- Not about not doing wrong, but are you doing right? (Do the will of god)
- Hsve faith in him (who could do all things) allow you to transcend your human nature, but incline to Christ nature, pursue careful obedience
- Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)
- God can do much more, through his power in us through faith
- So pray to receive the faith to accomplish much more
- Trust god with the outcome (see that your worth doesn't come from your achievement, do things with the right attitude than to get praised. Faith may not give you the right result, but faith gives you the right motive)
- Look to the justification Christ done for you, and let faith set you free from the guilt and pull you from lamenting and do his will
- Re: salvation. Receive faith that let you rejoice for you've suffered for the gospel, though you are still waiting.. Rejoice, for you are praying for the right thing, your reward in heaven is great. Faith gives you another hope for more amazing outcome