God's Great Investment | Week 3 | God with Us Series
Christmas Series: God with us
God with Us: He has always been Investing!
In the Old Testament
His Identity
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26 NIV
His Truth
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34 NIV
God with Us: He gave us everything in Christ
In the New Testament
His Son
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38 NIV
His Spirit
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 NIV
God with Us: Our lives are the return on his Investment!
Investor’s
Investee’s
Those who do poorly on the show struggle with three things:
Pride
Poor Preparation
Half Hearted/Misguided Commitment
Those who do well on the show consistently demonstrate three things:
Thorough understanding of who they are and what they have
They have a sense of humility
Committed and willing to make sacrfifices
God is the ultimate Investor
You are a living poem, a work of art, a masterpiece of my making!
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
Words of Knowledge
We believe the Lord wants to heal a deviated septum.
We believe the Lord wants to heal a blood disorder.
We believe the Lord wants to heal a spinal fissure (An annular fissure is a condition that affects intervertebral discs. In an annular fissure the outer part of the disc, which is made of strong fibers arranged in concentric layers, begin to fray, break or separate from the bone to which they are attached).
We believe the Lord is providing added protection over our families and marriages.
We believe the Lord is providing increased peace, joy, and strength to those who are overwhelmed, anxious, empty, tired, and burnt out.
Words of Encouragement:
It’s time for the Church to engage, the victory is ours. We only have to fight the good fight of faith and win.