Can You Appreciate God for What He Has Done
Can You Appreciate God for What He Has Done
Let’s Give God Some Praise!
Last week we took some time expressing and getting to understand why it is that God allows us to go through the refining process. As we learned that refining process can be quite demanding and trying on our lives.
One of the things that I did not mention is that not everyone survives or makes it through with the trails of life that God allows you deal with.
So my question today is for those of you that have experienced a portion of the refining process, can you look at your life and say without a shadow of a doubt that I’ve been through some things, and I know that it had to have been the grace of God that has bought me through.
Now after recognizing that: Do you appreciate God for what he has done for you? I’ve got to ask this question because I really want you to think seriously if you appreciate what God has allowed you to go through and come out of.
How do you act or respond with those around you when you appreciate all that they do for you? How do act or respond to God?
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
The word of God says be confident of this very thing. I need to change this up and give it to you in a different tone. You see those challenges and trials that you have gone through up until this point: they were just a drop in the bucket for what God has in store for you if.
When it comes to refining, this can be a long drawn out process, for some of us we are going to have experience some serious heartaches and discomforts, for some of us we may even wish that it would end and we don’t have to endure no more. Because we are a stubborn people and hate to conform to change and the way of God.
But I need to share a word, the refining process that you go through is under your control.
James 1:2 (KJV)
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
James 1:12-22 (KJV)
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
You are in control of what degree of difficulty or refining you experience in life. If you insist on being stubborn and continue to do your life the way you choose to do it and not the way that God has prescribe you to do it, then the trails that you endure will be twice as bad because you are following your own lustful desires instead of following the word of God.
PREACH!
There is not one adult in here today that does not know the correct way of serving God. You know and I know that you know what you are supposed to be doing to be in the will of God. You know God’s expectations and how you are supposed to be living.
I shouldn’t need to tell you every week to stop smoking, stop drinking, stop cursing, stop lying, stop cheating and on and on. You know the way of God!
The word says do not be hearers only. Like right now you are hearing but when you leave here you are not doers. You are like a person living two lives, you look in the mirror and you are not sure which one you are looking at, the sinner or the pretender.
There is going to come a time when one of those trials that you fall into is going to get pretty hot. You are going to look to your right and look to your left you may look above you and behind you, but I need to tell you that the only place that you are going to be able to look and get an answer is to God. Somebody ought to say Amen!
James 4:7 (KJV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
PREACH!
Its past time of being double minded. Submit yourselves to God and flee from the temptations sin. You have got to get your lust under control. It is time to let go and let God be in control
I asked you from the beginning do you appreciate God, and if you do appreciate God: just how are you showing him?
James says humble yourselves in the sight of God, show him that you are willing to sell out and do all that you can do to keep your life on track with him.
I need to tell somebody, that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life with Christ Jesus.
Let’s go all the way back to that first verse in Philippians be confident of this one thing that whatever God has to do, whatever he has to take you through, whatever steps and chastisement is needed to get you to humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord: God will see it through he will not give up and that good work that he started in you he will finish in you no matter the cost to you.
That is food for thought. I need you to think seriously do you really appreciate God and all that he has bought you through and if you do appreciate him, are you showing him in the manner that he has prescribe?