Part 28: Living The Extraordinarily Blessed Life!

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Georgina Pearson
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1 Part 28: Living The Extraordinarily Blessed Life! Texts: Psalm 1:1-4 (NKJV) - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; [2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. [3] He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. [4] The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Psalm 92:13-15 (NKJV) - Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. [14] They shall bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, [15] To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Colossians 1:27 (NKJV) - To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Part 3 Set Free From Me! A. Since God created this world to bring praise and glory to Himself, He has great plans for it. 1. He has never given up on creation or on mankind. Some of us may have, but not God. He knows that someday this fallen world will be restored to righteousness. 2. Discovering who mankind was meant to be can help release the old paradigms and provide revelatory truth. However, a reluctance to embrace new Kingdom understanding can hinder our progress.

2 a. Science has concluded that failing to absorb new information is a sure sign that that we will never see a reason to change our thinking which would all but guarantee that our lives will never change. b. The problem is that most of us are much slower than we think to embrace live-changing truth. Thank God for being so patient with us! 3. Joke: Break the News Slowly A bachelor who lived with his mother and pet cat went on a trip to Europe. Before leaving, he told his best friend to inform him of any emergencies. A few days after departing, his cat climbed up on the roof, fell off and was killed. His friend immediately wired the message: "Your cat is dead!" Cutting short his trip, he angrily asked his friend, "Why didn't you break the news to me gradually? You know how close I was to my cat! You could have sent a message, 'Your cat climbed up on the roof today', and the next day you could've said, 'Your cat fell off the roof.' Then the next day, 'He is not doing very well,' and finally, 'I'm afraid your cat has passed away,' to let me know slowly that he had died. Your bluntness showed a real lack of consideration and compassion for what I am going through." After a quick memorial service, the bachelor left again to continue his trip. In a few days, he returned to his hotel to find this message from his friend, "Your mother climbed up on the roof today." 4. In Colossians 1:27, Apostle Paul says that God's hope for mankind and the world is anchored in the fact that when Christ comes to live in a believer, He empowers them..."christ in you, the hope of Glory." a. My opinion is that most believers have misinterpreted this verse. Rather than acknowledging that it reveals God's hope for the world, they connect it with the believer's hope of going to heaven. b. It's quite easy to misinterpret this verse since it expresses a profound truth that is easily overlooked.

3 7. When I hear this verse quoted, it is usually in the sense that Christ in us is our hope of glory. a. While that is absolutely true, it's not the meaning of this verse. Christ living in us is indeed the reason we shall someday see Him. Never would it be our righteousness or good works. Without Him, we would have no hope in this world or the world to come. Christ is truly OUR hope of glory. b. However, this interpretation misses a more significant point. 8. To elevate our relationship with God and become the person He meant us to be, at times we must be willing to unlearn what we already know. a. Much of Jesus' ministry focused on what must be unlearned. He would say, "You have heard,...but I say to you...!" After confronting what they thought they knew, He would explain how things really are. b. The Sermon on the Mount challenged His disciples to 'unlearn,' so they could understand a greater truth. Here are a few examples: c. Matthew 5:21-22 (NKJV) - You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. [22] But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. d. Matthew 5:33-35 (NKJV) - Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. [34] But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; [35] nor by the earth, for it is His footstool. e. Matthew 5:38-39 (NKJV) - You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. [39] But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. f. Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV) - You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. [44] But I say

4 to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, [45] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. g. Jesus was saying: Unlearn what you think you know and learn the truth. To discover the true meaning of Colossians 1:27, we must do the same. B. Notice that this verse does not say that Christ in us is our hope of Glory or of going to heaven. That is what we mistakenly infer. 1. Instead, this verse more accurately expresses the fact that Christ in us is 'Glory's hope'! It's the reason 'Glory' has hope. God's hope for mankind and our world is the fact that Christ has come to dwell in believers. 2. Let me explain: If I were to say that Lebron James, who plays for the Cavaliers, is the hope of Cleveland, it would not mean that he is giving hope that the Cavaliers will arrive in Cleveland; they are already in Cleveland. a. It would mean that Lebron James being part of the Cavaliers team gave hope to the city of Cleveland for winning the NBA championship. b. Having Lebron James on the team gave Cleveland great hope that the Cavaliers would succeed. Similarly, because Christ lives within and empowers us, heaven has hope that we will succeed in our task of bringing the Kingdom of God to this earth. c. How could this verse refer to the hope of going to heaven? If you're saved and serving Christ, you're already assured of heaven! C. Here are four reasons why this verse is often misunderstood. 1. First, many believers do not fully understand the sovereignty of God. How could an all-powerful God ever hope to do anything?

5 a. In our human reasoning, if God wants something to happen, it is sure to happen, regardless of the circumstances. After all, He is the omnipotent God of Glory. b. However, that logic would also blame God for disease, famine, death, cancer, and other tragedies. What it fails to consider is that God created a perfect world. c. In His sovereignty, God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose to do good or evil. But they marred creation's beauty and perfection by yielding to temptation. Their choice opened the door for the evil one to introduce pain and suffering in our world. d. While God is sovereign, He has given us the right to even choose our eternal destination of being saved or lost. The choice is ours serve Him or reject Him. e. Though He is not willing that anyone should perish and that all would repent and choose salvation, we still have that choice. f. In our human thinking, Colossians 1:27 couldn't possibly mean that God and heaven would place their hope in us; how could He ever hope for anything? But that's exactly what it means! g. Some may ask why God would give us the right to choose, knowing how easily we could make wrong decisions. But forced obedience is another form of slavery, and God is all about freedom! 2. The second reason for misunderstanding this verse is failing to realize that God relates truth to mankind by speaking anthropomorphically. a. Since His ways are higher above ours than the heavens are above the earth, God must use language that we humans can understand. So, He inspired Paul to write that Christ being in us is the hope of Glory. b. If you're still wondering how heaven could hope for anything, just remember that God is merely speaking words we can understand. c. This same method of speaking is used in several scriptures. In Genesis, God repented for making man; He also remembered Noah. In Psalms, He remembers our sins no more.

6 d. So, we may ask how God who knows everything can ever forget? These are all examples of using human expressions to help us mortals understand. 3. The third reason for misunderstanding this verse is that the word Glory has different meanings. a. Glory does not always refer to heaven. It could describe His divine nature, as when Moses asked God to show him His Glory. b. It also speaks of the majesty of kingdoms, both earthly and spiritual, as the glory of Solomon's kingdom. c. Luke 12:27 (NKJV) - Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. d. Matthew 25:31 declares that the Son of man will come in His glory with all His angels, depicting both His divine nature and the majesty of the kingdom of God. 4. The fourth cause for misunderstanding is because of our fallen nature and many mistakes. Surely someone as intelligent and all-knowing as God would never risk the future of the world into the hands of such flawed mortals...or so we reason. 5. Remember that Colossians 1:27 isn't about going to heaven. It's about the strategic purposes of the Kingdom of God and the mystery of His divine plan for the ages. a. All the hopes of the Kingdom, or of God's Glory, have been placed in us. He intends to use the very creatures who the enemy robbed of their position and purpose to achieve His Kingdom objectives. b. It further reveals the mystery of how God saves and empowers us, and then makes us capable of doing extraordinary things all because Christ lives within us! c. God has placed all His hopes for establishing His Kingdom upon us. He has no other plan. Christ in us is Glory's hope! This is the Gospel message and there is no other gospel than this!

7 D. Why is it so important for every believer to understand that God has placed His hope for redeeming the world in us? 1. This is a concept the devil hopes you will never understand how extraordinarily powerful you really are! 2. If God has placed His hope in us, we are more powerful than we could ever imagine. When Christ comes to reside within us, we are no longer the weak, aimless creatures that we were after the fall. a. Instead, this message reveals that through Christ, mankind can return to the same powerful dominion and authority Adam knew before he disobeyed. This is why Paul declares: b. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. c. Paul didn't make this statement because he was such a strong, gifted apostle; or that with a little help from God, he could be successful. He was declaring that all of us, through the empowerment of Christ, are capable of extraordinary achievements. 3. Heaven has directed all its resources toward helping the church comprehend this incredible revelation: a. Colossians 1:26-27 (NKJV) - The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. [27] To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. b. To whom is Paul referring in verse 27? It's to them --the saints! c. God willed to make it known; it is God's will that we come to know this most important of all mysteries: Christ in us can change everything! It is upon this revelation that Glory places all its hope. 4. What an amazing verse! God Himself has so much confidence in you and me that He has placed the future of His Kingdom in our hands! Do you realize what this implies about 'who you are' in Christ?

8 5. In a soccer match, a 16 year-old young man in Georgia was kicked in the head and lapsed into a coma. a. He had learned a few words in Spanish from some of his friends. But when he came out of the coma three days later, he could speak Spanish fluently! b. Undoubtedly, he picked up more words than he realized. While everything he heard those kids say was being stored in his brain, it took a kick in just the right place to activate those words and make him aware of what he could do. c. The same is true of every one of us! E. Most believers have not even begun to fulfill their potential. 1. They continue to live ordinary, mediocre, mundane lives that pose no threat to the enemy. 2. Worse still, most believers seem content to be ordinary. Instead of aspiring to do great things in our world and for God, their dreams are too small and shallow. 3. Why are we so content with a life of quiet desperation and anonymity when we have been created for greatness? Even more perplexing is how believers often work against themselves and sabotage their own efforts to fulfill their purpose and destiny. 4. What causes this to happen: the world or the devil? It is true that both oppose us. But those are not our worst enemies. Our greatest enemy is often ourselves. Subconsciously, we have been programmed to make decisions and do things that hold us back and keep us from achieving the best life has to offer. That's why I'm teaching this Free From Me series. F. Something within is working to make us fall. 1. Romans 7:15-20 (NKJV) - For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. [16] If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. [17] But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

9 [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. [19] For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. [20] Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 2. John 8:31-32 (NKJV) - Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. [32] And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 3. This series is about the very real phenomenon that so often sabotages our success and happiness. a. Because of what is within, that we don't even realize is there, we make decisions and act in ways that work against us and the goals we are trying to achieve. b. These things within become the enemy's weapons that cause us to destroy ourselves. This is Paul's lament in his epistle to the Romans: c. Romans 7:24 (NKJV) - O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 4. From my last teaching, let me remind you of eight reasons why we subvert and sabotage the happiness and success we have worked so hard to achieve. Like weapons of self-destruction, the enemy tempts us to use them against ourselves: a. Shame b. Self-destructive thoughts c. Compulsions d. Fear e. Despair f. Resentment g. Pride

Part 29: Living the Extraordinarily Blessed Life!

Part 29: Living the Extraordinarily Blessed Life! Texts: Psalm 1:1-4 (NKJV) - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of