What would you say to the person listening today who maybe hasn't entered into a relationship with with God through Christ by faith at this point, or for the Christian listening today who wants to better live out, have these be manifested out of their lives?
How do they go about some practical ways to go about doing this? Yeah, I think that, one, humility is the key to getting more of God's grace if you're a Christ follower. God is attracted to humility, and so when you're really honest before God, that moves the heart of God. I think, you know, you look in culture today, we need to mourn our sin, right?
We should be mourning the sins of our culture. I think this whole idea of meekness, bridled strength that relies on God's sovereignty, not our own power, that's a relevant word for us today. You know, everybody's striving, you know, it's just a constant power struggle. Well, the Christ follower says, hey, we have strength, but it's bridled strength because we're going to rest in God's sovereignty.
God is the one who has all the power. I think then we look at what are we hunger and thirst for? What are we really after in life? If it's not the Word of God, the Son of God, right, the Church of Jesus Christ, we've got to kind of look and say, hey, what's missing in me? Blessed are the merciful, and we certainly need that in today's culture, right, where we understand what grace does, and when we give people grace, when we show people mercy and give them second chances, how powerful that is, and how transformative it is for a culture.
Certainly the pure in heart for Christ followers. We're going to make sure that we're cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we want to see God work. Talking to a group of pastors the other day, they're like, we need to see a work of God, and we need to see God at work in our culture right now, and then peacemakers obviously. Keeping peace is one thing.
Making peace is another thing. I mean the gospel is the peace plan, right? That changes people's lives forever, and then I just think this whole idea that you're going to follow Jesus Christ, and you're not going to have trouble, and you're not going to have struggles.
When you look at the founder of the faith, Jesus Christ himself, who ends up nailed to a tree, and that somehow you and I would be able to live lives different than that, contrary to that, without pain, without struggle, I just think you look at your savior, and he told us this, right? You can expect it, right? So don't be surprised when it comes. Be disappointed when it doesn't come, I would say, because maybe you're not living a righteous Christian life that draws any sort of distinction, and then I think for people who don't know Christ, listen, the whole key then is you're going to rely on you. You're going to rely on him, so I'm sharing the gospel with two or three different friends of mine right now.
Just are you going to go with you? You bank it on you, and you know the Bible would say that if you'll just humble yourself and lay yourself low before God and say, hey, I acknowledge I'm a sinner, I'm in need of a savior, and I acknowledge my faith this savior is Jesus, and I want Jesus to come into my life and to fill my life, that he'll cleanse you from all your past, present, and future sins. He'll write your name in the book of life. He'll give you eternal life the moment you believe. So it's not like you get it when you die, you get it when you say yes to Jesus. That that'd be the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive on the planet, and so I would say, man, I would run towards this gospel, this good news, and stop relying on myself and start trusting in the savior in his work for me.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-03-23 08:17:02 / 2024-03-23 08:19:04 / 2
