Acts 3:19-26 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Pastor Kyle continues that the second lesson on turning opposition into opportunity is (2) Keep hope at the forefront of your mind. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 tells us, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The Greek word for “hope” here is “Elpis”, which in the Christian sense means joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation based upon the promises of God. We have been saved from our sin and the wrath of God upon it in Hell, and saved unto eternal life in glory with the Lord in Heaven. The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “hope” as: Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good and glory; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a Biblical/Scriptural sense. It is only called “hope” because it hasn’t happened yet; it is a sure hope because it is going to happen for sure. This is why Hebrews 11:1 declares, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We are standing on the promises of God Almighty and that hope keeps us moving forward in life, maturing and growing in faith, and advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world.
The third lesson on turning opposition into opportunity is (3) Live like Jesus is enough. The Lenten observance of “Carnival”, the Latin-derived name is carne vale, carne - translated as flesh and vale translated as farewell producing "a farewell to the flesh", where Christians make a special point of self-examination, of considering what sinful wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask the living God's help in dealing with. Obviously, this is actually a daily part of the Christian walk improvement. The sinful flesh, the God-rejecting world and the demonic realm of the devil are always present in this fallen world, tempting, luring, deceptive and deceiving so we must worship and walk in the presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and follow Jesus in boldness as our sovereign Lord. We have true sufficiency in Christ. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus promised us, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. All we need is Jesus, so live in awe of awesome God and the His eternal kingdom.
The fourth lesson on turning opposition into opportunity is (4) Pray for spiritual faith to grow and the power of God to become bigger. The Creator God of Heaven and Earth spoke all time, space, matter and life into existence. Though all have rebelled and sinned against their heavenly father, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, falling short of the glory of God. But, by God’s grace, through saving faith in Jesus Christ’s [the Savior of the world’s] death and resurrection for the remission of sin, became sons and daughters of the covenant of redemption and blessed you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
Therefore, as American Episcopal clergyman and author Phillips Brooks stated, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle. ” Through the Gospel, be filled with the Holy Spirit and overcome all by the blood of the Lamb of God and your testimony. Shake the foundation of the natural man and build upon the firm foundation of God and His faithful promises turning opposition into opportunity.
In Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment