God s Unbelievable Offers Ephesians 3: 20, 21

Transcription

1 MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, MAY 24, 2009 CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA by Reggie A. Braziel, minister God s Unbelievable Offers Ephesians 3: 20, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or Imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, For ever and ever! Amen. Introduction Probably everyone of us at some time or another has received an UNBELIEVABLE OFFER in the mail or by telephone. -How many of you have ever received one of those envelopes From ED MCMAHON telling you YOU MAY BE THE NEXT WINNER OF THE PUBLISHER S CLEARING HOUSE SWEEPSTAKES? -For years I received mail from THE READER S DIGEST SWEEPSTAKES office informing me I may be among the finalist In their BIG GIVE AWAY! As it turned out that little word MAY was a mighty big word! *How many of you have ever gotten one of those phone calls Telling you you had WON A FOUR DAY, THREE NIGHT VACATION to some exotic place. What they forgot to tell You was you would have to pay your own way to get there.. and that they would take you out on a HIGH PRESSURE Trip to look at some REAL ESTATE they d like to sell you.

2 But through the years, most of us have learned that UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS usually turn out to be just that UNBELIEVABLE. Like the OLD SAYING GOES. If it sounds too good to be True, it probably is! ********************** While the PRODUCTS man offers us may never turn out to be as Great as they promise they are.god MAKES SOME PRETTY UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS IN HIS WORD. But before We look at GOD S UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS, let s carefully Examine the ONE WHO MAKES THESE OFFERS TO US.after All, NO OFFER is any greater than the ONE WHO OFFERS IT! Paul says in verse 20, Now to him who is able to do Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according To his power that is work within us (Ephesians 3:20) Paul is telling us that there is A REALM in our RELATIONSHIP With GOD most of us have never been to before. God Is Able When someone says to you, I will help you out if I m able.what are They saying? They are saying, I will help you out if I have the STRENGTH..the ABILITY.the TIME.and THE RESOURCES to help you.

3 When PAUL says God Is Able.he is reminding us GOD Has limitless strength.limitless ability..limitless time And limitless resources to help you and me! God Is Able To Do Immeasurably More Than All We Ask.. You nor I have ever ASKED GOD to do something that exceeded His ABILITY to do it! -We have NEVER asked GOD to do something that exceeded HIS STRENGTH. -We have NEVER asked GOD to do something that was OUTSIDE the realm of his ABILITY. -We have NEVER asked GOD to do something that extended Beyond HIS AVAILABLE RESOURCES! WITH GOD, YOU AND I ALWAYS GET MORE THAN WE ASK! -YOU ASK GOD TO PROVIDE YOUR DAILY BREAD.and HE GAVE YOU MORE DIDN T HE! HE FILLED YOUR CABINETS, YOUR FRIG AND YOUR FREEZER WITH FOOD! -YOU ASK GOD TO PROVIDE A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD..and GOD GAVE YOU MORE THAN A ROOF DIDN T HE? HE GAVE YOU A NICE HOME TO LIVE IN! -YOU ASK GOD TO PROVIDE CLOTHES ON YOUR BACK and HE S GIVEN YOU A WHOLE CLOSET FULL OF CLOTHES HASN T HE! GOD IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK!

4 God Is Also Able To Do Immeasurably More Than All We Can Imagine You and I have NEVER EVEN IMAGINED all the things GOD is ABLE TO DO! You and I could CHALLENGE GOD to do the most incredible The most impossible.the most unbelievable thing we could Think of.and GOD COULD DO IT, PROVIDED IT WAS WITHIN HIS WILL. -GOD could have made A SINGLE DROP OF WATER Instead HE MADE OCEANS. -GOD could have created ONE STAR.instead HE CREATED GALAXIES. -GOD could have created a SINGLE KIND OF BIRD, instead He created THOUSANDS OF VARIETIES. -GOD could have created ONE FLOWER, instead HE CREATED countless varieties of flowers. -GOD could have made A HILL, instead he created MAGNIFICENT MOUNTAINS. -GOD could have made EVERY MAN exactly alike and EVERY WOMAN exactly alike, but instead HE CREATED every single man and woman with UNIQUE DNA that distinguishes us from every other human being on earth. YOU SEE GOD IS ABLE TO DO THINGS THAT GO FAR BEYOND OUR WILDEST IMAGINATION OR EXPECTATIONS!

5 And it is this SAME GOD, who offers you and me Some UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS in His Word! Let s briefly examine a few of GOD S UNBELIEVABLE OFFERS! ********************* Unbelievable Offer #1: You Give Me Your Limited Resources, I Will Give You My Limitless Resources JOHN 6: If the Lord could take a LITTLE BOY S LITTLE SNACK and Turn it into enough food to feed over 5,000 PEOPLE How could You or I ever doubt that GOD COULD DO INCREDIBLE THINGS With the LITTLE WE GIVE TO HIM? -In MALACHI 3:10, God promises if we will give him just a little of Our income our tithe/ our 10%..that He will throw open The floodgates of heaven and shower so much of His blessings down Upon us we won t have room enough to store them all! AND YET.How many Christians still refuse to TAKE GOD UP ON THIS INCREDIBLE OFFER? How many Christians Are still scared to death to give a TITHE? -In MATTHEW 17:20, Jesus promises if we will give GOD just a tiny Bit of our FAITH.FAITH the size of a grain of mustard seed that we will be able to MOVE MOUNTAINS. AND YET.How many of us continue to wrestle over and over Again with the same MOUNTAINS, the SAME PROBLEMS and Never TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GOD S UNBELIEVABLE OFFER?

6 2. If someone offered you $ in return for your $10.00 you d do it wouldn t you? If someone offered you A BRAND NEW CAR for your Beat up jalopy.you d do it wouldn t you? If someone offered you A SIRLOIN STEAK in exchange For your baloney sandwich, you d do it wouldn t you? 3. I GIVE GOD MY LIMITED RESOURCES, HE GIVES ME HIS LIMITLESS RESOURCES..Sounds like a pretty Incredible deal to me! Unbelievable Offer #2: You Give Me Your Weakness, I Will Give You My Strength II Corinthians 12: The Apostle Paul had some sort of physical handicap or weakness. He tells us he asked GOD on three separate occasions to take it Away, but instead of taking it away, GOD GAVE HIM HIS STRENGTH IN RETURN.

7 ILLUSTRATION There is an old INDIAN legend about TWO WATER JARS. Every day, the MASTER would carry the two water jars on his shoulders to the Well and fill them with water. One of the JARS had a big crack in it, while the other jar Was flawless. One day, the CRACKED JAR said to the Master, I wish You would remove this crack! I wish you would make me Whole and perfect like the other water jar. How can I be Of any use with this crack, I just leak water almost as Fast as you put it in. As the Master walked home, he said to the CRACKED JAR, I want you to show you something. Do you See all these beautiful flowers on your side of the road? The Cracked Jar said to the Master, Yes I see them. Do you see any flowers on the other side of the road? The cracked jar looked and said, No, not a single flower. The Master said, Do you know why there are flowers on Your side of the road and not on the other side? The Cracked Jar said, No I don t. The Master said, The reason there are flowers on your Side of the road is because every day as I walk home from The well, THE WATER inside you leaks through the crack And waters all the flowers along the roadside. By the Time I get home, you have very little water left inside you, And yet I USED YOU TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING The OTHER JAR could not do. 2. This is how GOD sees our life too. What we may consider A great weakness in our life, GOD sees as an opportunity To reveal HIS GREAT STRENGTH.

8 3. You may have a SITUATION in your life now that is Overwhelming..one that seems to be draining you of Your passion, enthusiasm and energy. And perhaps you have been asking GOD to change that Situation. to remove it from your life.and You still don t see that situation getting any better. REALIZE THIS: If God chooses NOT to change that Situation, HE WILL GIVE YOU HIS LIMITLESS STRENGTH TO ENDURE IT! 4. I GIVE GOD MY WEAKNESS, HE GIVES ME HIS STRENGTH! Sounds like a GREAT deal to ME! ******************** Unbelievable Offer #3: You Give Me Your Earthly Life, I Will Give You Eternal Life Matthew 19: I don t know about you, but to me this is one of the saddest Stories in all the BIBLE. This man had everything this world values: -He Had YOUTH -He Had WEALTH -And He had POWER and POSITION

9 2. But in exchange for those things, JESUS was offering this Rich Young Man eternal life. -In exchange for his TEMPORARY YOUTHFULNESS Jesus Was offering him the CHANCE TO LIVE FOREVER! -In exchange for his TEMPORARY RICHES that would all be Left behind upon his death JESUS was offering him ETERNAL RICHES that could never be taken from him. -In exchange for his TEMPORARY RULE over a small earthly Kingdom JESUS was offering him the opportunity to LIVE ETERNALLY IN GOD S KINGDOM. 3. JESUS was making an INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE OFFER to this Rich Young Ruler..but verse 22 tells the sad, sad story. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, Because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:22) 4. The Lord was offering him THE SIRLOIN STEAK and he Chose the BALONEY SANDWICH. 5. This UNBELIEVABLE OFFER is a LIMITED OFFER. You see the OFFER OF ETERNAL LIFE expires once someone Draws his or her last breath. No one will be able to Accept this UNBELIEVABLE OFFER after he or she dies. This is why it is so CRITICAL that one accept Christ now, not Later. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. None of Us is even promised tomorrow. Every day one puts off decision to accept Christ is the Equivalent of playing Russian Roulette With One s Eternity. 6. I GIVE GOD MY EARTHLY LIFE, HE GIVES ME LIFE How could I possibly go wrong by accepting God s offer?

10 CONCLUSION Give God Your Limited Resources, He Will Give You His Limitless Resources. Give God Your Weakness, He Will Give You His Strength. Give God Your Earthly Life, He Will Give You Eternal Life How Can God Make Such Unbelievable Offers? It All Goes Right Back To Ephesians 3:20. GOD can make these offers HE is able to do immeasurably More than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that Is at work within us. You see, God is offering us the very best life we can possibly have here on earth, and an even greater life once our life on earth is over..eternal life in heaven. And so tonight I want to leave you with this question: Wouldn t someone have to be a fool to reject God s unbelievable offers?

11