“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me…Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:1,12
Tomorrow (4/17/21) the men begin a six week study called Goliath Must Fall. Louie Giglio reminds us that in the David and Goliath story you and I are not David. We are not the ones who must take on the “giants in our lives.” The Good News is that JESUS is the true and better David. Jesus has taken on the ultimate Goliath – sin. He struck down that giant once and for all through His death and resurrection. Our greatest enemy MUST FALL because the giant of sin HAS FALLEN. Sin is a defeated enemy.
Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
Romans 8:2-3
We are free from sin. Do you BELIEVE this? Do you live each day BELIEVING it is true?
“The battle is not to conquer sin. That’s impossible. The battle is to believe the gospel – that Jesus has conquered sin.”
Jonathan Dodson, Gospel Centered Discipleship
The key to winning our daily battle with temptation and sin is not to focus on temptation and sin, but to focus on Jesus! The key, in other words, is FAITH.
- We trust in the finished work of Jesus.
- We fix our confidence in all Jesus has done for us and all He will do.
- We center our hearts and minds on Him, walking by faith and not by sight.
- We orient our lives around Christ and His Kingdom.
- We see past our pain and loss to how God is working in and through it.
- We encourage those around us to see past their suffering and to believe that God is good.
On Sunday (4/18/21) Jason will preach Acts 16 (the Philippian jailer) – Trust God to do More. This will be an opportunity for us to stretch the muscle of our faith. Imagine Paul and Silas in prison. Did they give in to frustration and despair? No! They sang hymns in worship to the Lord!
In that case, the Lord delivered them from prison. But Paul later wrote to the believers in Philippi from another prison!
“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
Philippians 1:12-14
Sometimes God intervenes to change our circumstances for His glory and our good. Sometimes God leaves us in a challenging situation for His glory and our good. Will we rest in His sovereign goodness regardless? THAT is the test of faith for each day.