Posted by Rev. Harley Schwartz
February 14, 2016 -
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Our lives are filled with a variety of circumstances. Those that are positive and fulfilling we generally describe as our "ups." Those that are negative and unrewarding we generally describe as our "downs."
We have found that life is filled with ups and downs, good times and bad times, successes and failures. We relish the "ups" and we dislike the "downs". The two are interconnected. The downs help us to appreciate the ups. The ups help us to bear the downs.
Every Christian should get consolation from knowing that the God we serve is one who stresses the "ups" of life and helps us to see the "downs" only as temporary lulls on the journey toward the Canaan land.
As the steeple of every Church points up, so does our faith point to God. In times of sadness, loneliness, or fear, all we need to remember is that God sits high and looks low and knows our every need.
Turn to Jesus, He'll make everything alright!
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," Ephesians 3:20 This text focuses on Paul as he closes his letter to the Ephesians with a doxology of hope and encouragement. Paul was trying to accomplish the impossible in Ephesus. He wanted Jews and Gentiles to work together in Christ and to love each other in the Lord. To those who said such a feat was impossible and unheard of he responded that God is able to do all things, even those things we have not even imagined.
Paul told the Ephesians that there is a power working within every believer that, when unleashed can do much more than we ever imagined. In verse 18 he noted that this power within us prepares us so that we "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;" It is the hidden power of God that will help us to understand and interpret the events we will face and to know the limits of our own ability while trusting the limitless grace of God.
THE MIRICLE IS NOT IN THE FAUCET
A man who lived in the desert all of his life was brought to the city for a week to visit. At the end of his visit, he was asked if there was anything he’d like to take back to the desert with him; the man pointed to the faucets. He thought they were miraculous: turn them and out comes water. He wanted to take them back to the desert. That day he learned that the miracle is not in the faucet but in water tanks, plumbing and water source behind the faucet. Behind every blessing we see today is a link to heaven. Your education is faucet, but that’s not your source. Education alone does not guarantee blessings. Your job, talent, abilities or skills alone are not the miracle, they are the faucets. The miracle is what lies behind the faucet! The world watches the joy of a believer and is amazed! The miracle is not in the smile and the happiness, but what lies behind the smile. It’s the assurance that God will provide and make a way for us. The song writer said, "This joy I have, the world didn’t give and the world can’t take it away.”
Finally, brothers and sisters, as believers we must keep our eyes on the goal, which is to lose whatever stops us from making heaven our home.
Christ told his disciples that we should make heaven, not the world our number one priority. In Matthew 6:33 he said, "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Making heaven our home is our Goal.
Living by faith and trusting in God is our goal.
That means there are some things we need to lose.
We need to lose our frustrations, to gain great confidence that God will make a way. There are many today who are weighed down by the burdens of life. They are weighed down by worry and depression. We need to lose that heavy weight; the greatest losers become confident winners in the Lord.
We need to lose our fears, to gain new courage. There are too many of us who are afraid to grab opportunities. We need to lose the heavy weight of fear. They greatest losers become fearless winners in the Lord.
We need to lose our despair, to gain new hope. There are many in the world today who have given up on God. They feel that everything is so messed up that it cannot be repaired. So broken it cannot be fixed; so soiled that it cannot be cleaned. We need to lose the heavy weight of despair. The greatest losers join the ranks of the hopeful, who cry out, "We fall down, but we get up."
We need to keep our eyes on the prize and get rid of anything that is weighing us down.
Hebrews 12:1 says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..."
If you want to win lose yourself in the Lord!
The greatest loser becomes the winner!
If we lose our doubts we win greater faith!
If we lose our frowns we win a smiling personality!
If we lose our stinginess, we win a generous spirit!
If we lose our bitterness, we win a brand new sweetness!
If we lose our weakness, we win a new found strength!
If we lose our confusion, we win a life of peace!
If we lose our defeated heart, we win the spirit of victory!
What we lose makes it possible for us to win the rewards that God has in store for us.
What we win is calm in spite of our circumstances!
What we win is blessings instead of our burdens!
What we win is happiness instead of hardships!
What we win is determination in spite of our discouragements!
What we win is help in spite of our handicaps!
What we win is faith in spite of our frustrations!
What we win is salvation in spite of our sins!
What we win is Jesus!
Give me Jesus, who picked up an old rugged cross for me!
Give me Jesus, who died out on Calvary!
Give me Jesus, who arose from the grave Early Sunday morning!
Give me Jesus, who stands today and the right hand God offering crowns of glory to all who are willing to lose the world and win the victory in heaven!
