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Sunday May 09, 2021
When I think of Mother’s Day I think of the child in the womb!
Isaiah 44:2 (NIV)- “This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb,…”
Your birth was no mistake and your life is no fluke of nature!
You see, you are alive because God created you with purpose and you are the work of His hands.
God prescribed every detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other feature. He custom made your body just the way he wanted it.
Psalm 139:16 (NLT)- “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
GOD NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE!
YOU ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT! AND WE ALL BELIEVE THIS!
But then LIFE HAPPENS and we become like a guy in the Old Testament of the Bible who said this.
Jeremiah 20:18 (NLT)- “ Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.”
“WHY IN THE WORLD AM I HERE?” JEREMIAH QUESTIONED HIS PURPOSE
HAVE YOU BEEN TO THIS PLACE?
BUT HERE’S THE AMAZING THING ABOUT WHAT WE JUST READ
Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NLT)- “The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah you’re not an accident!
Jeremiah went from this to “why was I born.”
LIFE HAPPENED!
SOME VERY SIMILAR WORDS WERE SAID ABOUT ANOTHER MAN IN THE BIBLE.
Galatians 1:15-16 (NLT)- “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.”
Paul, you’re not an accident! And Paul lived his life this way!
2 Timothy 4:7- (NLT) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
Doesn’t this sound much better than “Why was I ever born?”
Paul died saying “my life was not an accident! Paul knew why in the world he was here! And he lived his life that way! Paul lived with PURPOSE!
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I WANT TO KNOW HOW.
Philippians 3:8-10 (NLT)— “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,”
Paul is like “I WANT TO KNOW HIM! I WANT TO BE ONE WITH HIM!”
You see Paul’s life had already been transformed by Jesus Christ. Paul had already experienced Salvation! But yet he said “I want to know Him.”
Do you want to be saved or do you want to know the Savior.
Do you want the fruit or do you want to abide in the vine?
Do you want the medicine or do you want to know the Physician?
Do you want the provision or do you want to know the Provider?
- Paul discovered what is most valuable
Ephesians 1:4 (MSG)- “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love,”
Paul knew it was about relationship! That’s why he said “I want to know Him, I want to become one with Christ.
Paul knew God’s love!!! The things that Paul once thought were valuable were now worthless.
PAUL HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD’S LOVE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND HE REALIZED “I’M NOT AN ACCIDENT!
Paul realized that the God of the universe was pursuing him through His Son Jesus Christ and Paul was standing up shouting
“YES YES I WANT TO KNOW YOU, I WANT TO BECOME ONE WITH YOU AND NOTHING ELSE IS MORE VALUABLE TO ME!
“Heavenly Father my relationship with you is the most valuable thing to me!
GOD HAS ALREADY SAID YOU ARE THE MOST VALUABLE THING TO HIM.
How did Paul die knowing that He accomplished what he was in the world for.?
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WAS THE MOST VALUABLE THING TO HIM IN THIS WORLD!
THE SECOND REASON PAUL DIED KNOWING HE WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT.
II. Paul protected the most valuable thing to him.
Philippians 3:12-14- “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Paul said, “There’s NOTHING that’s going to come between me and my relationship with my Heavenly Father!
Paul said, “I FOCUS ON THIS ONE THING, FORGETTING THE PAST AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD.
Wait a minute doesn’t HE SAY “ONE THING” yet he mentions two things. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. What is this saying?
You can’t look forward to what lies ahead until you stop holding on to the past.
What you’re holding on to in the past is coming between you and a life-giving relationship with God!
Paul realized the most valuable thing to him was a relationship with God and knowing Him and He protected that.
He was going to forget the past and press forward!
No hurt, betrayal, rejection, lie, bitterness, sin, achievements, no person was going to keep Paul from what he valued the most! NO DISTRACTIONS IN THIS WORLD!
CONCLUSION: What is the Holy Spirit saying to you today through this message.
Have you responded to the pursuit of God? He longs to have a relationship with you. He created you to love you!
Maybe at one time you responded to God’s love for you but now you’ve allowed something else to come between you and your relationship with God!
Today we’re going to make a commitment to the most valuable thing in the world. A relationship with God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
And we’re going to protect the most valuable thing!