YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED - Francis Chan

I'm going to have a Tim and Courtney young Jason come on up um Tim and Courtney Santer who are our missionaries out in Papua New Guinea they've been gone for the last three years with their two boys came home to have another boy and now they're going back uh when do you guys leave Saturday they leave Saturday for another three years out to the jungle so I've asked them to kind of share some prayer requests with us okay we want to say thank you so much for keeping us out over the last three years we've been in Papua New Guinea we've done one term and now we came back for ten months at him when we're going back and God has built a church in the mbmb 50 believers strong and it's his work that we're going back to do and we have the privilege to do it together and so over the next three years one of the goals is to take each of us myself Brooks and Tony we have our co-workers and Courtney in the ladies who each have disciples that were pouring our lives into with the goal that in three years or however long God wants these guys will be the next leaders interpreting the scripture the elders according to Titus and Timothy and hopefully a good portion of the New Testament translated and so we want to share something because the last three years it was a great three years but also a tough three years and that there is in the midst of all this great teaching there was things that I was doing and that we were having strolls in our marriage it wasn't one big thing it was a little things neglect one week the next day translation over this meeting over in excess it never ends there's so much and at one point months later you stand there like what happened how do we get here there's brokenness there's a huge issue and at that moment I'm like what would Francis have you found out I had these problems right now I'm just like well what they think that you know we're not super Tim and Courtney the goal for these next three years is not that do them the same as we've done the last three in our marriage because no one else can be Courtney's husband no one else can be the boy's dad and that's where we want to develop not develop it use the same habits we've developed over the last year and continue that over the next three and so that we can you know in there so yeah marriage is strong it's growing because if he destroys our marriage and we get taken out what happens to the church what happens to the work there and so it's just seen the seriousness and being honest with you guys and if you want to update you know the photo we got a new one out there and you want to pray we can send you stuff but that these next three years we're engaged together knowing the tough days ahead but excited doing to be doing together oh yeah and I just want to say to you guys that I'm very disappointed in you no okay no III shared with them this morning I go you know III had to confess to them that I hadn't been faithful praying for them and I was doing to them what I hate people do to me like a lot of times people go oh you know you guys are fine like there's some extra blessing on us because of what we do it's like well you know what it's weird like I've known Tim since he was in high school and I thought I had Tim's a good kid he was good kid in high school then he went off to mission school now he's out in the jungle translating the New Testament what sin can you run into out there you know that that you know let us be honest isn't there a side of you that thinks that way and that's the same thing people do to me and I'm going man you don't get it what suddenly because I signed up for this now all my you know fleshly desires disappear and I have no sin nature left or whatever else by honestly I was good you know confessing it that man I almost I really did treat them that way and I didn't pray for them as seriously and and then as you know they shared the other night just about struggles they went through in their own marriage and even thinking about calling it quits it just it broke my heart because I just go man oh how stupid could I be I mean who is Satan going to attack I mean seriously if there's an enemy out there and here's a couple that that just has been used to lead 50 people from this tribe to the Lord people who've never heard about Jesus before and now he's translating the New Testament into their language and now they're establishing a church over the next three years who is he going to attack and and so just just just be mindful you know a lot of times we put these pictures on our refrigerators and we go okay that's cute I'll remember these missionaries up there but you know I had to confess that there's part of me that assumed that they didn't need as much prayer maybe as others because again I lifted you guys up to that level and and I hate it when people do that to me because I just go man I'm just a person and I've got my my battles every day - and we need to be praying for them and so as we pray for them recognize praise God some awesome things have been happening out there but he's just like any of us and Courtney's just like any of you you know and now they've got three boys that they're raising out in the jungle while trying to translate the New Testament in their language while fighting all the demonic stuff that goes on out there they tell me stories of the belief systems and the witch doctors and all the other stuff that's happening on that island you go okay we're going to get serious about this really serious about this and so what you guys join me in a word of Prayer over over Tim and Courtney father thank you for loving Tim and Courtney so much and being their rock and guiding them through some of the toughest times of their lives thank you that they stood strong and stayed faithful God right now I don't even know how to pray for them I don't understand everything that goes on in the heavenly places I prayed you would open our eyes to the things unseen and understand that there's a real battle going on it's not just about flesh and blood but something spiritual and how Satan would love to take this young couple down and their boys and guys a church body we just come alongside of them right now and ask for your power that's for your supernatural power your Holy Spirit's power and courage and faith and perseverance and peace give them a joy over the next three years I pray that they really would be a light and that you would establish your church through them in that tribe thank you Father thank you for everything you've done in their lives I thank you that it's because you've restored them you've put your spirit in them that they stand before us today and you've done a great work you've start a great work and I ask that you continue it in Jesus name Amen thanks you guys if you have your Bibles excuse me fighting a cold and when I was spending at fault and just hang out and get sick together I turned it you know each are talking then it starts to coughing you call the back and good um excuse me second Peter chapter one second Peter one if you have your Bibles I think I've put it on screens if you guys would can we stand up and read this we're gonna read four verses together but I would just I I do this just to remind us that what we're about to do is not here a person's opinion and some thoughts that I have from the week but these are the very words of God that we're about to read and so just in reverence for that let's recognize that these words really did come from God and let's treat them as such and have a reverence for this that we don't have for other people's advice or their people's thoughts because this is coming from God himself 2nd Peter chapter 1 Simon Peter a servant an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ may Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises so that through them you may become takers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire father I pray that you would now open our eyes up to everything these verses scream out to us may we treat them with honor not just by understanding them but by living them out God bless us please bless us this morning by letting us understand your word in Jesus name we pray amen and have a seat Simon Peter a servant an apostle of Jesus Christ remember a couple weeks ago we talked about Simon Peter we talked about how he was an apostle but but it's interesting because what he says here he you know some would say an apostle and pretty much everyone would say wow that's really the highest authority that he gives a man here on the earth he's a sent one a cold one from God himself and yet the interesting thing as you know when Peter writes he doesn't start off and say I'm an apostle he goes I'm a servant you know we're really into titles and if any of your doctors you want to make sure people call you doctor you know I am dr. chan I'm mr. naught you know I don't just have my masters dr. chan I'm not but you know if I did I would make you do that and but it's it's it's so beautiful the way Peter starts off he goes I'm a servant first thing you got to know is I'm a servant of God and that's that's really all I need I'm a servant of God and I happen to be an apostle and be called by God to be starting the church and and having this this great calling but it's interesting because right after he says that sign Peter a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ he says to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours now great here he is as apostle and the first thing he wants to say is to make sure you understand that you have a faith that's of equal stand as his it is the first things out of his mouth is first I'm a servant and yeah I'm an apostle but understand we're on the same we're in the same level field right here you and I we've got an equal we've got equal status before God and and I just want us to to think about that for a second because I gotta ask you do you really believe that I mean I mean think about these words those have obtained a faith of equal standing do you believe that you have a faith of equal standing as Peter I mean imagine if Peter imagined we could resurrect him and Peter were standing on the stage right you know Peter walked on water Peter that Peter that walked with Jesus that Peter that Jesus used to penned these words that Peter that Jesus used to really help establish his church and he's standing here would you sitting in your seat believe that you have equal standing with him or isn't there a side of you that goes well he's got this super relationship with God and yeah you guys we got out we got to end this we got to stop thinking that somehow you've got to end this belief that you're some less loved child of God because I think a lot of people really believe that over the years I've heard people make statements many many times where people will go well that's you as I talk about my relationship with God and his faithfulness and his goodness and and man do you know this intimacy I what they kind of well that's you you and you got this thing go kind of like what I was saying I do with Tim sometimes it's almost like well that's different he's a missionary and he was a good kid and he doesn't struggle with this stuff he's he's different and scriptures going on oh wait a second this is Peter speaking okay anything look we've got a faith of equal standing we got we got to quit this understand this this this mindset that that I've got something over you or Tim's got something over you or Peters got something over you he himself says look we have a faith of equal standing you know I I struggle with a lot of different things but one thing that the Lord's blessed me with my is Grace is I really believe that passage of Scripture I really could look at Peter and go it's no different I'm saving him some of you guys know one of my favorite verses is a is James 5:17 where says Elijah was a man just like us talks about the great lies of the Prophet crawl down fire from heaven you know the one that that prayed and it didn't rain for three years and then it says you know but he the lodge was a man just like us I love that verse it's just that constant reminder I I I can tell you right now I honestly believe you look at Moses you look at David you look at Abraham you look at Paul Peter Elijah and I seriously have a faith that goes that they got nothing on me seriously I I do believe that I do look at my life and go you know what God you could do those things through me if you wanted to because I have a faith of equal standing with them but I got to ask you that this morning do you believe that about yourself you got to put aside your feelings and trust the Word of God say some of you you know may go man you don't know what I've done in my life or what I haven't done with my life well you got to trust the Word of God and Peter here he says you've got a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of God our Savior Jesus Christ why is it a faith of equal standing it's because of the righteousness that Peter received from Jesus Christ the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 it says for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God remember what happened on the cross the Bible says that that God made him who knew no sin okay Jesus was sinless right he's perfect she's perfectly righteous no sin he just flawless it's just pure nothing nothing not an ounce of sin in him and it says that on that cross what God did was he turned Jesus into sin he made him sin he made him sin who knew no sin so that we we could become the righteousness of Christ and we changed places Jesus took all of my garbage on that cross and then I took all of his righteousness all of it so we won when God sees me it's the righteousness of Christ that he sees you can't get any more righteous than that that's why that's why Peter says we're in the same place right now I mean Pete it's not like Peter got Christ's righteousness plus Peters added to that and it doesn't really help any that just screws things up and that's why I says do you understand we're in the same place here listen I know some of you guys have done some things in the past and maybe part of you is gone man you don't you don't know i i'm not i'm not as righteous as you that's a lie it's like because you don't know all the things that i've done and it's a lie because the word of god says our righteousness isn't from our efforts and our actions you gotta trust the word of god when we stood in reverence for god's word it's one thing to say that yeah i revere these words nothing to believe it in your heart that as you sit in your seat right now if you believe that jesus died on that cross for you and you really have made a decision to follow him then you have a faith that's of equal standing as Peter you are just as righteous as the one who penned these words Peter himself you and I are no different because we've all taken on the righteousness of Christ because he took all of our sin upon himself at once it's pretty awesome promise and then he says these words may grace and peace be multiplied to you may grace and peace be multiplied to you how many of you I mean were you were you just full of grace and peace this week was it just multiplied could people just see it on your face like man I don't see anyone with that much peace Grace and peace multiplied to you this is God's desire for his children it's funny some guys know our 3rd daughter Ellie who's who's the freak of our family I mean she's just always laughing just does goofy things and I could just stare at her and just laugh you know and she loves to laugh she gets in trouble at school for laughing and I love that it's like yeah just laugh you know don't let him stop you you know just laugh be goofy and then she went through his weird phase for like a month or two where she was like normal and at least I'm like man what's going on with her then you know last few weeks it's like haha Ellie's back she's just as goofy as ever and just oh man yesterday morning I was the loudest side laughed and so long just watching her try to catch a ball it's just it's just hilarious and and and you know how as parents you just love seeing your kids that way when they're just three and laughing and ridiculous and no cares in the world just full of peace and grace because that's what God wants of his children he just wants his grace and peace all over us and some of us aren't experiencing that it's not multiplied to us and here's why how do you get it does God just throw his Grace and peace into you what does it say look at the word look what it says make grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord so how do we get this grace and peace it says you get it through this knowledge of God do you understand that like the Grace and peace it's not some of us try to find grace and peace in other ways some of us want God to do something for us that and then we will get this grace and peace and God saying no don't you understand that this grace and peace is multiplied to you as you know him and the more you know him the closer you are to him the more you'll feel this grace and peace the more you'll have this in abundance it's directly tied to knowing him and I believe that there's some of us and I've struggle is when I look at this passage I really opened my eyes just even some things in my own life sometimes sometimes my Grace and peace and my joy are directly related to how other people are doing and how they're doing in their walk with the Lord or how ministry is going or or how you know someone in my family is doing and so when they're down or they're struggling they're wrestling with their sin it brings me down and everything you know we tie it to these other things like okay if now we're different this person would change then then I'd be you know full of grace and peace but what the Bible says is it's not about that it's kind of like when the disciples you know we're sent out and they came back with joy because the ministry was going so well Jesus stops them and goes hey don't don't go rejoicing in that don't rejoice because ministry is going well because it'll go poorly sometime don't rejoice because you know you see some powerful things happen rejoice that your names written in the book of life rejoice that God knows you because that's the one thing that's stable I mean as you came in this morning as you came in this morning if I said look I'm Jeanie this morning you know what whatever whatever whatever you want you know anything you want let's see you know trick-or-treat here you go what do you want you can have it God God will grant you anything you want this morning anything you want this morning you but you can only name one thing what's that one thing you would have asked for as you walked in this morning think about that would you have asked for greater intimacy with him believing that greater intimacy with him is that is the solution to all of your problems believing that greater intimacy with him a greater knowledge of him would lead you to this multiplication of grace and peace or honestly as you came in were you thinking that it was something else that if there's one thing would get fixed or this one thing would be change that that would lead to this great fulfillment or do you really believe that it's this knowledge of God in this relationship with him in this intimacy with him that that's the greatest thing you could have on this earth and all the other ways of chasing this grace and peace and fulfillment in your life it's just going to frustrate you once you get that one thing it's not going to be enough what Peter's saying is all I just want you know God once I want for this Grace and peace to be multiplied to you but it comes in knowing God and so often we look forward and so many other things but in your heart right now do you believe that I mean think this through do you really believe that knowing God more intimately would lead you to greater fulfillment and grace and peace than anything else on this earth because if you believe that you could have it if you believe that then you would spend more time pursuing him and the things him you know you know the last few weeks we've had this kind of sub theme of our busyness and and trying to just get rid of that and slow down so that it's not because all these things are bad it's because it's replacing that time with God where we grow in our knowledge of him and we grow in this intimacy with him it's not like I'm against all these other you know Mike you know people like oh sorry I emailed you I know you said we can't email we can't email I'm just saying let's just be careful because these things are pulling us away from knowing God better and as we do that we're if we get distracted from that we're going to lose our grace we're loser I I will I do want to read one quote to you quote of the week John Piper from in his Twitter account yeah I know Twitter is you know you get little tweets you know it's for those who don't know it's like Facebook on steroids you you know you walk around go I'm going to the store and send it to a thousand people like oh cool John's going to the store you know and and you're keeping up on everyone else's life and and and so but but there is a good use of it you know and every once in a while you've got this believer that will just send out a thought you know that it gets your mind back on God and but here's here's the quote I don't I don't have to whether someone showed it to me something that he wrote quote one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove on the last day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time Wow that was my same reaction Wow I'm going to read it again I love this one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will to be to prove on the last day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time its pastor John Piper now I don't Facebook I don't Twitter but I was still convicted because I started thinking about the other things I waste my time with and then say things like I don't have time to pray or my prayer life hasn't been good because of busyness because I sure would hate to have a record of all the things my time went into and I know some of you you hear that you think wow if they really did keep a log of all the hours I spent on that versus my time with God see this is this is what I'm concerned about guys it's it's not that these things are bad or social networking is bad it's it's bad because it anything is bad that keeps us from our time with the Lord our time and prayer because it's our knowledge of him that's going to lead us to grace and peace God's not saying hey get rid of all these other things because I'm against them all God's just saying I want you to have grace and peace and that comes from knowing me so take some time to know me know me because the more you know me the closer we are the more peace you'll have the morgue racial experience and that's what he wants for his children that's I love that I love that verse may grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and if Jesus our Lord verse 3 His divine nature has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness ok so if you're living a godly life why is that if you're living and you have that relationship that intimacy with God why is it it's not because you were such a great person or or you earned this somehow it says that his divine power granted that to you in fact I love this phrase he's granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness so God's divine nature has given everyone in this room who calls himself a believer in Jesus Christ he's given you everything you need for a godly life do you believe that do you believe God has given you everything you need for life and godliness it's in the Word of God so then the question is if you are not living a godly life whose fault is that that's right your wife your husband your kid your whatever your pastor you guys we do this we blame don't we and we said well if only my friends that we're supposed to hold me accountable they didn't call me just in time you guys I hear the excuses all the time and I'm going wait a second the stop here what does the Bible say God has given you everything everything you need all things that pertain to life and godliness turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 3 if you have your Bibles 1st Corinthians 3 1st Corinthians 3 I I want to because I want to point something out to you because this has been a wrestle of mine sometimes um sometimes I pray to God as though he were stingy you know sometimes I pray to God as though he's like I don't know if I'm going to give you power of that sin I don't know if I really want to hold back some of my power right now trying to save up for the end times you know like there's some sort of you know what I mean like the God was he going to give me this is he going to give me that and we talk to him as though we have to talk him into something rather than it being his desire and he think man I gave you everything I give you freezing 1st Corinthians 3 verse 21 it says let no one boast in men for all things are yours whether Paul or Apollo's or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God's you know tossing me why are you fighting about well I think this guy should lead I think this guy yeah I think this this is you know you're talking about people because don't understand it's not this quarrel over who's better than Who because it's all about this gun who's giving you anything he's given you life death the future whatever is his is yours god I mean does it sound like a stingy God here he's saying no don't you understand the world or life or death or the present or the future all are yours and your Christ under saying you're a child of God everything that's God's is yours I love how he says in the in that chapter earlier in in 1st Corinthians 2 verse 9 he says no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him no ayah seen no ear has heard no mind no heart has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him ok you may think you understand how much God's given you anything you know you know your minds never even imagined that well you can't imagine what I have in store for you crazy verse that goes that you have no clue what I have in store for you no human mind has been able to conceive how great the things are that I'm about to hand to you because don't you understand life death everything I love you you're my children what's mine is yours I've given that freely to you second Corinthians second Corinthians chapter 9 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 verse 8 says this God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work ok what has God given you God is able to make all grace God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency do you believe that about yourself that you have all sufficiency in all things at all times that's a pretty heavy statement that you have all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work so whenever we complain is like well you know I didn't have this I didn't have that God saying no no you don't understand was he say I gave you everything everything everything you could ever need all things at all times all sufficiency so you can abound in every good work so you believe that again about yourself so if you are not abounding in good works whose fault is that it's not God up in heaven going well I just didn't want to give you you know too many good works I don't want to empower you to you know I give you everything if you like death whatever is mine is yours and that's why I say here you know and second Peter man I've given you everything all things that pertain to life and godliness this is God's blessing on us but again look at what he says in verse three his divine nature is granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence again how do you get this how do you get this all sufficient everything pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him man I can't emphasize it and then he says it again it's through knowing him it's this knowledge of God but but understand what the word knowledge means because we're not talking about just knowing about him yeah I don't know how many times I don't have to say this but I really want you to get this it is not enough to know the right things about God the demons in Hell have good theology they do they believe the right things about God they know the right things about God this is not about you coming in a room and me just telling you true things about God that's important that's part of it but at some point this is about knowing him this word go nose go we've talked about this many times is about a relationship it's about an intimate knowledge you guys know in fact scripture uses the word in the sense that it says that Cain knew his wife and she bore him a child so what does know there mean a little bit more than head knowledge okay I know a lot of you okay but it's just this idea of what I mean by no here though it's not knowing about a person it's not an acquaintance it's about knowing that's why in the end remember in Matthew 7:21 it says a minion come to me and say man but I did this I did that and what does God say to them depart from me I never knew you you knew about me you knew a lot of things about me you even believe some of these things were true but did you know me was there a relationship there you see this grace and peace are multiplied to you as you know him more and more this is everything that that's pertain to life and godliness it's given to us as we know him more and more it's through the knowledge of him through knowing him and so I got to ask again do you do you love him the person this is this is always what God's wanted the great command and even in the Old Testament was not you shall know the right things about God it's you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul all your mind otherwise this is a religion to you and I'm just a guy up here spouting off commands and now has not God's desire and that will get you nowhere do you see God as a person and a person that you love you love him or do you just love the idea of this being and this power that's why I hope you didn't come here this morning to tap into some sort of supernatural power but you came here because you love a person is a person of God this person who created you and loves you and sent his son to die for you so you could take on his righteousness and you fall in love with this person and you trust this person and you want to be led by this person and the more and more you know this person the more grace and peace you experience in your life and when you're separated from this person because you haven't had the time with this person it drives you nuts because he's the love of your life and you just go man I got to kick everything else out and get together with this person the person of God because I love him and the more I love him the more I know him the more grace and peace are just thrown at me multiplied at me and the more I just see that I have everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises he has granted to us his precious on his great words his precious and very great promises did you guys read first Peter over and over a couple weeks ago in a sturgeon as you did you meditate did you love it did you read those promises and go wow these are these are great this is so precious one of my um one of my concerns in churches and with Christians and followers of God is sometimes it appears that over time the promises get boring to you ever met people like that or seems like yeah I know I'm saved no I don't to go to hell I know it's it's almost like blah blah blah blah blah and I don't get that because when I read like like reading 2nd Peter I've read it before I know these promises but as I read them again I go wow this is awesome do you still do that with the Word of God like like I've been a Christian almost 30 years from now and I will tell you I love the Word of God more than I did when I first believed I loved it more than I did last year I love his promises they're more precious to me than they were a couple months ago every every time I read like I'm going BAM I'm not equal standing with Peter it's awesome you know and I think while he's giving me everything like I can't even conceive everything he's given to me that's a good promise these are precious promises my fear I just I it saddens me when the good news becomes old news to you you know rather than you getting more and more excited about your salvation all the time and more and more excited about the precious promises of God I find people do get bored with God's promises sometimes and consequently they get more excited about other things in the world so when you're not excited about God you'll you'll be really excited about your new job or about your house or even about your kids and you'll you'll notice that you can even become obsessed with these other things that aren't necessarily bad but your obsession with those things is a sign of something deeper a symptom of something deeper that that fulfillment isn't being met in God because there's oldham I used to sing something you guys probably sang it to turn your eyes upon Jesus and when that turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace I always remember that phrase because I would have moments where I'd be so close to God and so tight with God I'm in that prayer time and I'm just locked in and just fellowshipping and enjoying his presence I think to myself man why did I love all that other stuff why was it so excited to go surfing the other week or why were they so excited about this this is this but but when you look full and his wonderful face and you're just right there with God you go man everything else seems strangely dim and I've always remember man that's like that song I used to sing like I don't care about anything else right now I'm not all stressed out I know I got to have this got to have this so I'm just going I've got this and everything else really seems dumb right now everything that I used to long for and strive after and I gotta have got a half God half that God I have is the sign it's a symptom of something else that you're missing this relationship with God because when you have it everything else just seems to dissipate and is great and precious promise of God by which he's granted to us his precious and very great promises through them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire see if these promises that through them it says you may become partakers of the divine nature think about that phrase this is loaded isn't it four verses and as partakers of the divine nature through the promise we can become partakers of the divine nature okay when you and I are born we're just born with a human nature we're just flesh and blood and the somehow through these promises because these words aren't ordinary words through these great promises we can actually be partakers not just in our flesh our flesh-and-blood nature human nature he says you can be a partaker the word is Koinonia it's a fellowship somehow man I look up here somehow somehow this isn't just a human body up here like it's a weird thought that I'm a partaker of the divine nature that somehow God is in me now and somehow he has empowered me and and he and I have this Koinonia this fellowship this partaking of one another like we're joined together see this wasn't true when I was born this wasn't true through all my life this became true when I understood his divine promises his precious promises and I got it and I believed and I believed in this exchange that could take place that he would take my sin and I would take on his righteousness and then I would take in his spirit and I become partakers of this divine nature and that's a great promise and it says it's through that that I escape the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire so because of that I can ask a is this what you want this is what you long for more than anything else is this this fellowship this partaking of the divine nature that and and because this is what the people in the Bible wanted you're more like Moses Moses says you know God if you don't go with us I want your presence with us that was there that was the idea in Exodus 33 goes if you don't go with us I don't want to go because the greatest blessing I could have is to have God with me God with us that was a beauty of Christ coming in the earth as a Wow God is with us that's insane see but some of us have gotten bored of that promise it's okay I know God lives inside of me I'm a temple the Holy Spirit said well what is that this is insane I'm partaking with God and and God is not just next to me but he's actually inside of me and there's a there's a fellowship there's there's a mending there's a there's a union with God a partaker of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that's in the world because of the sinful desire and because we're partakers of God we can escape the corruption of this world see what a spirit allows us to do is live in another world you know how you ever see a person get trapped by sin it's like a whirlpool isn't it like a vortex it's it's a you know how you get deeper and deeper and deeper in it and yours going man I can't get out you know that this is the corruption he's talking about of our sinful desire you know how you take that first drink and it's like I feels that little buzz I feels good it's like everything is better now and you take another one and another one then pretty soon you get addicted and pretty soon you're this alcoholic and you just you just feel like you got suck so far down in this whirlpool you're going man how can I get back out of here you know you smoked a little pot it's like wow life is so much easier and it just gets sucked deeper and deeper and deeper and you this addict now it's like how do I get out of there lust it's like wow you start looking at her and then her and then and then this one website and this other website and then pretty soon it's like man I can't get out again this relationship and it goes further and further and further and the longer you stay in it you just get sucked in and pretty soon you just feel trapped and that's the corruption of the sinful world is yeah it looks really good at first you know as I do I can do this and I'll make me look better and you get caught and is absorbed and this this is this arrogance and this look you got to have and everything sucks you in down further and further and further and the Bible says it's somehow by this partaking of the divine nature we can escape all that you know and that's why we're in this room is because God granted that to some of us and he put that power in us and the more we knew him the more we were able to escape I'm not saying it's not without effort because the next verse says make every effort but we'll get to that next week I just want you to understand that God doesn't want you to live that way he doesn't want his kids and bondage trapped feeling like they can't get out but it starts with you believing in these promises of God that he's given you everything you need and there's no temptation that will ever overcome you that you can't handle he'll always give you a way of escape many things you're dealing with other people have dealt with it too and they made it out why by His divine power some of you maybe when I when I talked about knowing God I'm gonna have Jim the worship team come up but honestly listen to me some of you don't need to sing this morning that the worst thing you can do is sing a few songs right now and end the day some of you know that you don't know God you know about him because maybe you were raised in church and you could quote a bunch of verses but when you hear me talk about knowing a person knowing the nosecone knowing a person you go man I don't have that with God I just think of him as his being up there that I got to do these things and you guys that's that's not Scripture that's not what he wants from you he wants you to know him and you can know him today you can have that exchange of your old self and all that sin and take the righteous today you could walk in here knowing nothing about God and walk out of here being on equal the same standing as I and having the same faith as Peter and and everyone else in this room who knows Jesus not insane that you have a faith of equal standing as ours just like that because it's not about us it's about the righteousness of Jesus and he can put his spirit in you that will help you escape the corruption of the sinful world you've been trying to find fulfillment and grace and peace and all these other things and God says something to come through knowledge of God knowledge of him and maybe you came here wanting something else but maybe God's opened your eyes and you realize okay so it's not it's not money it's not this relationship it's not all those other stuff it's knowing God yeah that's what's going to free you and that's what's going to give you the peace and the grace that you've been looking for and so that's you you can get baptized today and begin this relationship with God you can pray with someone we have some prayer some some pastors and just some some some counselors to pray with you maybe some of you say you know what I do know God but I've walked so far away from and I'm stuck in the sin cycle and I need to escape because I haven't felt that peace and that grace and so long in fact let me ask you this what's that one thing in your life right now that you don't want anyone else in this room knowing about what is it what's the one thing in your life you don't want anyone else in this room to know about I mean living with the shame of that and hiding it it's kept you from really knowing him and enjoying him this morning I would just love for you to get it out pray with someone get out of this little whirlpool you've been in and believe not in me but in the scriptures and his great promises that you have power over that you've got everything all things that pertain to life and godliness and I'd love for someone to pray with you and remind you of God's promises so if that's you you don't need to sing with the rest of us in fact it'd be better if you just spend some time praying with someone and you got a bunch of people here that will love you not judge you because we were all there okay no one's here to judge you we're here to release you and have you experience of freedom that God wants you to have

Channel: venetable

Views: 53,638

Rating: 4.9033232 out of 5

Keywords: Francis, Chan, Crazy, Love, Forgotten, God

Id: wQpVVfktiAw

Length: 54min 0sec (3240 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 30 2011