GOD CAN TURN YOU INTO A MIRACLE!
OUR DILEMMA – Too many believers are trying to be Christians without Christ!
I. MANY HAVE A WRONG VIEW OF THEMSELVES AND BLAME EVERYONE ELSE:
- They fail to understand the problem and its cause:
- “It must be my parents fault … I’ll change them or reject them!
- “It must be my mate or families’ fault … I’ll change them!
- “It must be my Church’s fault … I’ll change churches!
- ‘It must be my Countries fault … I’ll change it.
- “It is the devil’s fault.
- Many people have a tendency to look at a problem, identify who and what is wrong and take charge to try to fix it but for many of us is – when you finally identify the problem, you may discover the problem is yourself!
- We need to understand that we need God to take us, broken down poor excuses for a Christian, husband, dad and pastor and give us the miracle of forgiveness and begin to make us a miracle because anything short of a miracle won’t help!
II. MANY PEOPLE ARE IN NEED OF SPIRITUAL HEART SURGERY AND ARE TRYING TO ACT LIKE CHRISTIANS WITHOUT CHRIST!
- Many have forgotten Matthew 22:36-40.
- We are to “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”
- Before we try to “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
- And before you try to keep His commands.
- If you believe God saves you but it is your own job to change yourself without God’s help, you will become an exhausted failure:
- Many of us need either a heart transplant or we need heart arteries surgery. Please mark how well you are loving Him first and keeping His commands by comparing your spiritual heart to your human heart and arteries:
CLEAR (HEALTHY) ONE HALF BLOCKED (AT RISK) FULLY BLOCKED (CRISIS)
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III. MEASURING THE GROWTH OF THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE:
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(Galatians 5:22-23)
- I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit LOVE growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit JOY growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit PEACE growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit PATIENCE growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit KINDNESS growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit GOODNESS growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit FAITHFULNESS growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit GENTLENESS growing in my life.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit SELF-CONTROL growing in my life.
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IV. MEASURING YOUR GROWTH BY THE GREAT COMMANDS AND THE GREAT COMMISSION AND THE EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS;
Begin to see your progress not only in BELIEVING in Him but LOVING HIM and TRUSTING HIM. Identify your present personal progress towards becoming a reproducing spiritual adult disciple.
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- Measuring my love for God (with all my heart, soul, mind, strength and obedience (Matthew 22:36-38 and John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep my commandments”).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I love people as I love myself. (Matthew 22:39-40 and John 13:35 “Love each other as I have loved you).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - How faithfully I submit to Jesus as my Lord, (Boss) of my beliefs, emotions thoughts, actions, habits and relationships. (Matthew 28:18 and Luke 6:46).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am going where He sends me. (Matthew 28:18-19).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am going to make disciples, followers, apprentices of Jesus. (Matthew 28:18-19).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am baptizing those who believe. (Matthew 28:18-19 and Acts 2:41).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am receiving/accepting/including those the Lord adds to His Church. (Acts 2:47).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am faithfully, steadfastly, loyally continuing in my being discipled. (Acts 2:42).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to learn and teach the Apostles Doctrine. (Matthew 28:18-19 and Acts 2:42).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to share life with (fellowship) with others being discipled. (Acts 2:42).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in The Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:42).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to pray with and for God’s will. ( Acts 2:42).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to share all I have with other believers. (Acts 2:44-45).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly worshiping publicly with other Christians. ( Acts 2:46).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly meeting with Christians in homes. (Acts 2:46).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly watching for things to praise the Lord about. (Acts 2:47).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am steadfastly continuing to receive other believers the Lord adds to His family the church (Acts 2:47).
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V. MEASURING MY GROWTH BY MY PERSONAL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES:
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- I faithfully read my Bible.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am having daily personal devotions.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am regularly memorizing Scripture.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I regularly pray.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I faithfully share what I believe about Jesus with others.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am growing in my ability to understand the Bible and find answers to my own questions.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am experiencing a growing desire to grow up and mature as a disciple.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am being apprenticed for a leadership position.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I have someone in my life that holds me accountable for my thoughts, actions and habits.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am able to teach the essential doctrines of the Church.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I have a proven ability to identify people and problems and develop godly solutions for those problems.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I have the SKILL to lead people to become spiritually mature Christians.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I have the WILL and commitment to lead people to spiritual maturity.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Others have seen my life mature and grow.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6. - Others have seen my marriage mature and grow.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Others have seen my family mature and grow.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - When I discover needs around me I take the Initiative in finding solutions.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I am effective in helping resolve conflicts between Christians.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - My life and faith have been tested.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Someone has personally taught me how to pray.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Someone has taught me to how to share my faith in Jesus with others.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - Someone personally taught me how to trust God, deal with my finances and I began to tithe.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I’ve been offered help so I could learn how to learn how to break addictions and bad habits.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 - I’ve been offered help with my family or relationship difficulties.
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VI. IT IS NOT THAT WE ARE A GREAT PEOPLE… IT’S THAT WE HAVE A GREAT GOD!
- OUR PART is to “work out my own salvation in fear and trembling” but we do that by remembering.
- GODS PART is to remember the second part of the verse, “For it is God Who is at work in you” Philippians 2:12.
- Dear reader, the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the key! If He can take my life, marriage and family and make us a miracle, He can do the same thing for you!
- The Scriptures teach us in Luke 19:10 that “The Son of man has come to seek and to save the Lost”. It does not say that He came to restore WHAT man had lost, his health, wealth and happiness. He came to restore lost man himself. He came to make us a miracle!
- The key then is that God can take a sinner and make him a miracle! He can take a marriage and make it a miracle! He can take a broken family and make them a miracle! And then He will use that family as a living advertisement of what he can do with a life!
- Since the only one you can make decisions for is you, ask the Lord to help you get your eyes off of your mate and your children and begin on yourself! You are responsible for yourself and so I ask you to take your broken heart to the Lord and allow Him to begin, moment by moment, day by day, week by week, to help you rebuild your life and family. I have watched, sometimes very impatiently, for my children to one by one fall in love with the Lord and be restored to me and to each other.
VII. WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?
- Bill Putman www.answersforreallife.org
- Teaching tools for GODISNOWHERE APP.
- LIFE SURE IS CONFUSING – A free book by Bill Putman.
- “Handbook of Christian Apologetics”, Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli, Monarch Publications, 1995
- Building Blocks for Christian Faith, J. P. Holding, http://tektonics.org/jesusexist/jesusexisthub.html
- A Ready Defense, Josh McDowell, Here’s Life Publishing, Inc., San Bernardino, CA 92402
- Answers to Tough Questions about the Christian Faith, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, 1980, Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., San Bernardino, CA 92402
- The Trinity Series, Glenn Miller, http://www.christian-thinktank.com/trin01.html
- Know What You Believe – Richard Helsby – knowwhatyoubelieve.com
- Defending You Faith: Reliable answers for a new generation of sceptics and seekers, Dan Story, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, 1997
- Knowing God – J.I. Packer – Inter Varsity Press.
- Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis – HarperCollins Publisher
- “Building Blocks for Christian Faith, J. P. Holding, http://tektonics.org/jesusexist/jesusexisthub.html
- Evidence That Demands A Verdict Volume 1, Josh McDowell, Here’s Life Publishing, Inc., San Bernardino, CA 92402