Sunday 1st December 2019

Sunday 1st December 2019

LIKE A CHILD_WEEK 1 

MY GOD IS FOR ME 

 

My God is for me! 

 

 

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, How did that happen if you are like me we must have skipped a few months of the year. Advent though is a time of waiting and taking our time to wait for the coming of Jesus. So we start our Advent journey today.  

 

Today we start a new series, for the four weeks of Advent . Like a child. 

 

In Mark 10:15 we see Jesus surrounded by children. Parents who have heard of Jesus and his ministry and want their children blessed by him or simply to be touched and near him.  

 

The disciples though are upset. Why is someone as important as Jesus being bothered with children. Don’t these parents know that he is the son of God. Too important to be bothered by children.  

 

Take your children away they say.  

 

And Jesus didn't like that at all. In fact, Mark said He was indignant, He was really upset and He said, 'No, no, no, no, no; let the little children come to me!' 

 

And then Jesus said something that I believe is really important for us to internalize. In Mark Ten, Verse Fifteen, Jesus said: 

 

I tell you the truth, anyone who does not receive the Kingdom of God… 

 

We all know what comes next  

 

…if you do not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child He will never enter it. 

 

Or as the message translation says : 

 

Unless you accept God’s Kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” 

 

We must receive the Kingdom of God like a child. Jesus was implying that we should have a very child-like faith and trust in God.  

 

And so, for the next four weeks, we will look at four of the different attributes of God from the perspective of a child. Let me tell you the ones we're going to cover. Today, we're going to talk about the goodness of God. A  little child would say it this way:  

 

"My God is for me." And maybe roar like a lion or dinosaur.   

 

Anyway, next week we're going to look at the presence of God and a little child would say that: 

 

"My God is with me." 

 

In week three we're going to look at the grace of God and a child would say: 

 

"My God forgives me." 

 

And then in the fourth week we're going to look at the Virgin Birth, the power of God. The theological term is the Omnipotence of God, He is All-Powerful. And a little child would say: 

 

"My God can do anything!" 

 

Unless you have faith like a child you cannot experience all that God wants us to experience. 

 

Today let's talk about the goodness of God from the perspective of a child. A child would say, "My God is for me." 

 

I you were like me you would have been taught songs like these, "Jesus loves me this I know…" help me out, "for the Bible tells me so!"  "Jesus loves the little children, red and yellow black and white they are precious in His sight!" And the little children, they just take on this real simple child-like faith, "My God is good and my God loves me and my God is for me!" And they have this faith maybe for years until maybe one day something happens, something they didn't want and didn't expect.  

 

I don't know what it might have been for you, but I've known little kids who believed in the goodness of God and then one day their parent's marriage started to struggle and so the little child kneels down by his or her bed and clasps his or her hands in pray and prays, "God please help my Mom and Dad to have a good marriage." And then, mum and dad divorced and the child's world is wrecked and the kid starts to wonder, "Where was God in that? If God was for me why did that happen?" 

 

Or, the little kid wants a dog,  And so the kid wants a dog and he gets a little puppy dog and the dog can shake and beg and it's the kid's best friend you know. And then one day the dog runs out in the street and the dog gets hit and killed by a car. And the kid's like, "Where's God in this? I thought God was good, I thought God was for me, why did this happen?" 

 

Or, the kid has a really special relationship with his grandma and Nana or Mimi or Granny or whatever he calls her goes into the hospital. And he prays and prays and prays and knows that God is going to heal his Nana and Nana doesn't come home. And he starts to wonder, "Where is God in this?" And the longer he lives the longer his list grows where he wonders, "If God is good and if God is for me, why are all of these things happening?" 

 

And tragically, sometimes some people conclude, "Well, I guess God just isn't for me," or "I guess God just really isn't there," or "I guess God isn't really good." 

 

And the reality is that may be where some of you are. You grew up and you called yourself a Christian and some things happened and now you say, "I'm not really sure what I believe."  

 

Or some of you, you may just kind of be here today, but you're really not sure where you stand on all of the religious stuff and is God there and is He real and if He is, is He good and why are these different things happening to me?  

 

Video: Kyle 

 

 

So, that's just to bring encouragement to your day and make you feel better! But the reality is that's where so many people live; how can I presume that God is for me or loves me?  

 

For me this verse has followed me in my Journey of ministry,: 

Jeremiah 29:11 to me is one of the greatest verses in Scripture that shows clearly that God is for us. God says this, God says: 

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 

 

I believe with all of my heart that our good God has plans for every single one of you and He has plans to prosper you and to bless you, to give you hope and to give you a future. When we seek him with all our heart.  

 

I know I can look back at life and I am sure you can too. We look at life and see God had plans for us, maybe we took a few wrong turns but God has been patient with us and we know that he will continue to do the work he started in our lives.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 God is for me! 

 

 Paul asked this question in Romans 8:31, he said: 

 

If God is for us, who can be against us?  

 

I love the power of this. If my God who is All-Powerful and Ever-Present and All-Knowing, if He is for us, than who can be against us? Now, how do we know that God is for us? Verse 32 says: 

 

He (meaning God) did not spare His own Son… 

 

God loves us and is so much for us that He sent Jesus to give His life for us: 

 

…how will He not also, along with Him (Christ), graciously give us all things? 

 

When you realize that God is for you it changes the way you look at your life. If God is for you who can be against you? Our God has plans to bless you and to prosper you, to give you hope and a future.  

 

There are three things that help us see God is for us and when we do we can grow in our faith. 

 

1. When I realize that God is for me I don't hide from God but I run to God. 

 

 

Unfortunately when you don't trust God your nature is to run and hide just like Adam did in the Garden after he and Eve sinned. God said, "Where are you?" And this is how Adam replied, he said in Genesis 3:10: 

 

I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so… 

 

What did he do? The Bible says so he hid himself from God because he didn't trust the nature and goodness of God. 

 

It's kind of like a little kid who sneaks some Christmas chocolate and eats them and takes them out of the wrappers and eats so many that the kid has to go hide behind the curtains to eat all of the chocolate and hide all of the wrappers, they say  I don't want to get caught!" or "I'm not sure where I stand!" So we hide from God which is what so many of us do. 

 

 

And when you realize this, that if you're a follower of Jesus, you've been adopted into the family of God through Christ, you are God's son, you are God's daughter; and when you realize that, you won't hide from Him because He is for you.  

 

 

I love what Proverbs says, Proverbs 18:10: 

 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower… 

 

What do the righteous do? Scripture says: 

 

…the righteous run to it and are safe. 

 

Many of you, you're going to stop hiding but you're going to run to Him today and you will be safe. When you realize God is for you, you don't hide from Him but you run to Him. 

 

The second thing is  

 

2. When I realize that God is for me I don't live for God's approval but I live from God's approval. 

 

And this is a game changer. When I realize that my God is for me, that I don't have to live for His approval, but I live from His approval. In fact, Romans 5:8 says this: 

 

God demonstrates His own love for us in this: That while we were still sinners… 

 

Long before we did anything right, in fact, when we were just sinning against our God: 

 

…Christ died for us. 

 

He was so much for us and loved us so much when we didn't deserve anything from Him He showed us His love through the ultimate sacrifice of the death and the resurrection of His Son. That's how much God is for us. And so, for those of you that walk around always afraid, "Well I did good now, so does God love me?"  

 

"Oops, I did bad is God upset at me?" 

 

"Oh, I helped someone out, God loves me!" 

 

 

You know, when you realize that God is for you, you don't live for His approval, but you live from His approval. Like a little child who recognizes that the parents love the child just for who they are not for what they do.  

 

 

And number three a massive game changer: 

 

3. When you realize that God is for you, you won't fear what happens to you because you know that God is working in you.  

 

When I realize that God is for me I don't fear something I don't understand that's happening to me because I understand that God is working in me.  

 

In fact, I love these two portions of Scripture, Romans 8:28 says: 

 

And we know that in… 

 

 

…all things… 

 

 

…good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 

 

We serve a God who is so much for us and He is so good that He works in all things to bring about good. I love Philippians 2:13 that says: 

 

For it is God who works… 

 

Where? He works: 

 

…in you to will and act according to… 

 

What kind of purpose? Scripture says He: 

 

…works in you to will and act according to His good purpose. 

 

When you realize that God is for you, you don't freak out when something bad happens to you, because you realize that God is working in you to bring about good according to His purpose for those who love Him. And this is a massive game changer, because some of you right now you're going, "Why is this happening to me? God, you could do something for me!" One day you'll realize God is actually working in you so He can do something through you.  

 

We have all had set backs in life. Times when we thought that God would open doors for us and we were turned down. When I worked in IT I was only one of three women that worked in my department. We did the same job as the men, every time promotion came up I would be turned down… This went on for years and I only got promotion a few months before I volunteered for redundancy to go and study for ministry.   

 

The need for approval that I could do my job was great then, for someone to say that I was promoted because I was good at my Good was what I was after. I had done the job for years but had been passed over so many times. I realise now that I don’t need approval from anyone other than God.  

.  

 

 

 it doesn't matter what any man says, if God is for you who can be against you?" 

 

And what you need to know is something happened inside of me at that moment. I wanted to know, "God why is this happening to me? Why aren't you doing something for me?" What I didn't realize is God was doing something in me and He was giving me a resolve that honestly, everything that happens today, in one way or another was born out of that moment. It doesn't matter what denomination, what group of people, what anybody thinks about me; if God has called me to do something, then there's not a person in the world that can stop it! If God is for me who can be against me? 

 

And I want you to understand if God is for you, who can be against you? There is nobody, there is nothing that can stop the purposes and promises of God. And if you're facing something right now that you don't like, man I understand that, I understand the setbacks; but what I realize is sometimes setbacks are setups for what God wants to do. And if there's anything in me that's strong today, if there's any character that's real, if there's any faith that's deep, if there's any resolve that is deeply grounded in the truth of Christ, it was not born through the good times, it was born through the trials and the tragedies and the things that I didn't want that my good God who is for me was working in all things to bring about good. Why? Because I love Him and I'm called according to His purpose.  

 

 

Now, I've walked with Him for a lot of years and the longer you walk with Him the more He builds your faith like He's built mine. When I look back now I realize, God has been with me in my yesterdays, my God has been for me in my yesterdays, and since God has been for me in my yesterdays, I can trust Him with my tomorrows.  

 

Since my God has been for me in my yesterdays, I can trust Him in my tomorrows because my God is good and He is for me and He is for you and He has plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. If God is for you who can be against you? 

 

 When you realize that He is for you, you don't hide from Him. Stop hiding, you run to Him. You don't live for His approval you live from His approval. You don't worry what happens to you because you know He's working in you. 

 

To God the father 

God the son 

God the Holy spirit 

Amen.  







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