If you're going to allow Christ in your life, it's a decision
Life is a
Decision.
If you're going
to allow Christ in your life, it's a decision.
Behold I stand
at the door and knock, if anyone open the door I will come in Rev 3.20
It's your
decision to open the door.
Every stage of
your development in God is a decision.
God won't force
himself on you.
He's got more
to give you than you could ever imagine.
You must decide
to seek after God.
1 Praise and
Worship is a Decision
eg.
1. King David
understood this - He spoke to his soul,
The real him
(spirit) spoke to that which was down
Ps103
1Bless the
LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His
holy name.
2Bless the
LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3Who pardons
all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4Who redeems
your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and
compassion;
5Who satisfies
your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the
eagle.
He reminded
himself of all the reasons he had to praise God.
That his first
duty to God was to praise with ALL that he had.
Ps 34
1I will bless
the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my
mouth.
2My soul will
make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3O magnify the
LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4I sought the
LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
2. Mary
understood the need to praise God
in her
situation, pregnant not married.
Lk 1.46/55
46And Mary
said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47And my spirit
has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48“For He has
had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all
generations will count me blessed.
49“For the
Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50“AND HIS
MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51“He has done
mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud
in the thoughts of their heart.
52“He has
brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53“HE HAS
FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54“He has given
help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55As He spoke
to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants
forever.”
My soul does
magnify the Lord
2 Receiving
from God is a Decision
Ps 84.11 No good thing will He withhold from them that
walk uprightly
If He's not
withholding and we don't have - what's
the problem?
Maybe we're not
receiving.
Abraham had the
promise of a son/heir - held on to it and received it
Heb 11.17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him,
offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to
sacrifice his one and only son,
Having got the
promise keep faith and patience until you receive
Heb 10.36 You
need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive
what he has promised.
3 Exercising
Your Faith is a Decision
Disciples in
boat Jesus asleep storm
Mk 4.
35That day when
evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves
broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern,
sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t
you care if we drown?”
39He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died
down and it was completely calm.
40He said to
his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41They were
terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey
him!”
Note
v40 Jesus said,
"why are you so fearful"
ie more fearful
than you need to be
Jesus said,
"How is it you have no faith"
I can’t see any
faith because your fear has overtaken it. You are more fearful than you ought
to be.
They had
faith, -
they believed Jesus Christ was the
Son of God
Jesus was
saying,- why is it you did not believe I would save you?
They didn't use
the faith they had.
Exercising your
faith is a decision.
Faith is
necessary to receive anything from God
Heb 11.6 And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Fear is not
from God
2 Tim 1.7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us
timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Mark 2
1 A few days
later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come
home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not
even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came,
bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could
not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof
above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying
on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins
are forgiven.”
6 Now some
teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does
this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God
alone?”
8 Immediately
Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts,
and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to
say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take
your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take
your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view
of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never
seen anything like this!”
They brought in
on a bed one paralysed.
Jesus seeing
their faith.
How did He see
it?
They did
something - took action on their believing.
4 Doing
Something for God is a Decision
2 Tim 1
6For this
reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through
the laying on of my hands. 7For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but
of power and love and discipline.
Stir up the
gift that is in you by the laying on of my hands, the gift is in you, use it.
1 Tim 4
12 Don’t let
anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
Let no man
despise your youth.
Don't let age
or other circumstantial things get in your way of doing the will of God, God is bigger than them.
Jer 1
4 The word of
the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I
formed you in the womb I knew a you,
before you were
born I set you apart;
I appointed you
as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas,
Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord
said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you
to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with
you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord
reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words
in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot
and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Don't say I
cannot speak
Don't be afraid of their faces
I have put my
words in your mouth.
Summary
If you've been
waiting for God to do something supernaturally in your life - He's waiting for
you.
Life is a
decision - Yours
Decide to do it
and Go For IT
You Need to
Decide Today
1 You are going
to praise the Lord
Even if:-
You don't feel
like it,
You don't
understand it,
You don't want
to
It's the
essential 1st step in receiving from the Lord
You Need to
Decide Today
2 You're going
to receive
The blessing of
the Lord makes rich and He adds no sorrow with it
Prov 10.22 You've resisted
the blessing of the Lord because you thought it was Godly to go without. It's
time to receive.
You Need to
Decide Today
3 To use your
faith
I'm going to
use it whenever my circumstances look hard.
Abraham
believed God he would have son/heir even though his body and Sarah's denied it.
You Need to
Decide Today
4 To stir up the gift that is in you for God
Don't go home
and say that was a good sermon (or lousy sermon).
God wants you
to do something for Him, the labourers are few,
but rewards are great.
JUST DO IT
The days are
short.
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Rev Dr Howard Sands is the International Director of Beautiful Feet Task Force, is available as a speaker for churches, outreaches, business & missions.
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