Wednesday, August 6, 2014

VISION CHANGER




Today’s Bible readings are Ezra 3:1-4:23, 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, Psalm 28:1-9, & Proverbs 20:24-25


1 Corinthians 2:9
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Are you perishing because of a lack of vision? I want to take a moment to encourage you today. You may be going through difficulties of many kinds but I assure you that God has great things in store for you! Even if you have been in a season of difficulty, know this, God has great things planned for your future.

I know you may be wondering how I can be so sure about that. The answer is simple; BECAUSE GOD LOVES YOU!

This verse makes it clear that your wildest dreams can’t even compare to what God really desires to do in your life. Think about that for a moment. Take your greatest dream of what life could be & multiply that times infinity. That is how awesome God’s plan is for your life. It is not an overstatement. It is fact.

There has never been a person who desires to do good things in your life more than God. He has the very best gifts in store for you. Here are a few of them:

1.      He desires to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 Luke 11:11-13

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”


Why does God desire for you to have this wonderful gift?

·       He wants His love shed abroad in your heart. (Rom. 5:5)


·       He wants you to have supernatural gifts. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)


·       He wants you to bear His fruit. (Gal. 5:22-23)


·       He wants you to have power. (Acts 1:8)




2.     He desires for you to have the gift of eternal life.


God wants to spend eternity with you. It is His will that you would accept the gift that He offers so that you can live with Him in heaven.

John 3:16-17

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Think about that for a moment, you can live forever with God is a very real place called heaven. That is an incredible offer. It is an amazing gift. There are some who say they don’t believe in heaven or hell. I can assure you that everybody is going to spend eternity somewhere. Those who have repented & put their hope & trust in Jesus Christ will spend it in a heaven & everybody else will spend it in hell. There is no gray area for this one.

3.     The gift of Jesus.


God gave His own Son for you. Seems hard to believe but it is true. Jesus took our:

·       Pain


·       Sickness


·       Sin


·       Punishment


·       Death


·       Shame



·       Unrighteousness


In exchange He gave us His:

·       Strength


·       Healing


·       Forgiveness


·       Peace


·       Life


·       Acceptance



·       Righteousness


What an awesome exchange. When I think about these things it makes me want to shout! As awesome as this all is, there is even more that God wants to do with us & through us if we will surrender to His plan for our lives. There is no limit to where things could go if we let Him have His way in our lives.

Think of the many lives that have been turned around by the grace of God. Now if you would, imagine your life as one of the most radically changed of all. It can happen. Stop letting a lack of vision cause you to perish. It is time for the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the vision of God!!!


Pastor Richard Schlotter

                       

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