IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU DEPEND ON
The 8 Keys To A Blessed Life (Beatitudes) – Part 1
Chuck Cotton
March 1, 2015
A common greeting “God BLESS you!” What ...mean?
Ever seen a blessing? makarios=“happy!”
- Today, start a series on Jesus’s Sermon on the Mt
- Begins with8 ways to be Blessed by God (8 wks)
MT.5:3"BLESSED are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
o What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Different from KOG?
I’ll deal in depth with this (series) Hold your Qs
Today: 1st 6 words of Jesus’ SOTM
The 1st word out of his mouth- not a curse, but a blessing!
o What-mean “poor in spirit”?
not physical... material... spiritual poverty! What’s that?
(NLT) “God blesses those who realize their need for him...”
(GW) “... who recognize they are spiritually helpless”
(CEV) “... who depend only on HIM”
(NCV) “... who know they have great spiritual needs”
MEANS: I recognize I’m inadequate to face life w/o God!
PS 146:5 clarifies“The Lord God blesses everyone who trusts him and depends on him.”(CEV) reu
SO...TO BE “POOR IN SPIRIT” MEANS
I humbly depend on God instead of myself
If I want God’s blessing on my life, work, rels, fins, I must... HOW DO I DO THIS? 5 ways. Practice this week
To be blessed by God...
1.I DEPEND ON GOD’S WISDOM, NOT MINE
I listen & follow what God says to do.
PR. 14:12“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”Our ideas often lead to dead-ends!
Ever felt something was SO right, ended SO wrong?
Every one of us could give a testimony on this!
a job... school .. marriage .. parenting.. friendship...investment
You could probably think of painful examples of where u now wish you’d listened to God instead of your feelings. Often wrong!
“Why didn’t I listen to God instead of my gut!”
If you want fewer dead-ends/failures in life... follow:
PR 3:5-7 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in ALL you do, and he will direct your paths. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, respect the Lord and turn your back on evil.” (NLT) How do I get God’s wisdom? PRAY & READ..
JAM. 1:5“If any of you lack wisdom, you should pray and ask God, who gives it generously and graciously to all.”
write God Wisdom & Will is in God’s Word!
To be blessed by God...
2.I DEPEND ON GOD’S STRENGTH, NOT MINE
Noticed that you’re often tired? Run out of energy?
Your strength is limited!finite! exhaustible!
PS. 84:5 “You bless all who depend on you for their
strength.”(CEV) What-do when your strength evaporates?
ISA 40:31“Those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.”
ILL: I’ve been living this verse for past yr.
I could not face the loss of my son in my own strength...
FACT: In the darkest moments of your life- whatever they are-
only God’s strength will get you thru! (Elie Wiesel)
ILL: All ages at SB. Chosen a vs for both young & old
o To you young adults just starting out –memorize...
PS. 71:16 (LB)“I walk in the strength of the Lord.’”
Repeat this affirmation throughout your day!
Get up... during stress...tired... anxious.. lay head down...
o To you faced w the pains & problems of aging... frightening
PS. 73:26 “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart. He is mine forever!” (NLT)
CARD: Hudson Taylor
Remember Paul’s testimony:
2 COR. 12:8-10screen“Three times I begged God to take away my weakness. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need! My power works best in your weakness." So now I gladly boast about how weak I am, because when I am weakest the power of Christ works in me and shows up through me. When I’m weak, then I am strong.
To be blessed by God...God’s wisdom.. God’s strength...
3.I DEPEND ON GOD’S TIMING, NOT MINE
The longer I live, the more I understand the importance of timing
Pro/Amateur pitcher.. Must do the right thing at the right time!
Bible: There are seasons to everything.
Waiting is a season of life you go thru many times
PS. 31:14-15“ I trust in you, O Lord. You are my God.
My times are in your hands.”
Ever been in a hurry when God wasn’t? God is never is a hurry.
God is watching to see if you’ll trust him!
WHEN Lord WHEN?
o Our nature & culture have trained us to expect everything
instantly! Companies compete on speed
ECCL 3:11But “God has set the right time for everything.”
Some of you are frustrated by God’s seeming slowness
Here’s a promise for you...
ISA.60:22b“I am the Lord, and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly." (NCV)
FACT: God can do more in 1 second more than you can - lifetime!
ILL: Seen this over & over You wait and wait
- Adoption, you wait & wait.. Suddenly “Your baby’s ready!
- Land: Waited 15 yrs to get land & bldg.
Yrs of delays, diff, deadends, disappointments
God has 120 acres all picked out! PERFECT TIMING!
- Messiah - it took 1000s of yrs for Jesus to come!
- We’ve now waited 2,000 yrs for his return!
Write: A DELAY IS NOT A DENIAL! No/Not yet
MICAH 7:7“I trust the Lord God to save me, and I will wait for him to answer my prayer.” God blesses that kind of faith
To be blessed by God... God’s wisdom.. strength.. timing
4.I DEPEND ON GOD’S DEFENSE , NOT MINE
o There will always be people who misunderstand you
Even In your closest rels – tempted to defend yourself
o You are most like Christ when trust God to handle your
attackers.
. 1 PET. 2:23screen “When they hurled insults at him, he did
notretaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats back.
Instead, he entrusted himself to God to set things right.”
ILL: To be a leader is to be misunderstood.
The more effective you are- the more you’re attacked
I decided long ago- to not try to answer every lie, criticism
misrepresentation... rumor. LEAVE IT TO GOD!
PS. 2:12“God blesses and protects everyone who runs to him.” Let God be your defender- against accusations, critics,
Next vs -5 metaphors for God’s protection
PS 62:5-7“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protectsand saves me; he is my defender, and I shall not be defeated My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; and he is my shelter!” (TEV)
One of the greatest sources of anxiety: financial worries
It keeps people awake at night.
Causes them to do all kinds of crazy things....
To be blessed by God...God’s wisdom.. strength.. timing.. defense
5.I DEPEND ON GOD’S WEALTH, NOT MINE
PH. 4:19 “And my God will supply all my needs from his
abundant wealth because of what Christ Jesus has done for us” write My job is a channel but God is my source!
Rate yourself with a + or minus- needs work
What’s your step in expressing your dependence on God? Answer: Baptism It’s your public declaration of dependence
ROM. 6:3-5 (Mes/NLT) “This is what happens in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old sin behind and when we came up out of the water, we entered into a new life of grace. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; and when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. We are raised to live a new life”
If you’ve never been baptized as Jesus modeled as an adult
What are you waiting on? Why not?
Could it be that your pride is preventing you?
At the end of this service, we are baptizing at every campus.
Another...
MT. 5:6 “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires;God will satisfy them fully!
Decide now to be baptized today!
PRAYER