Has your life turned out the way you hoped it would? Are you everything you want to be? Things often don’t go the way you wish they would. When that happens, it hurts. When you’ve been knocked down time and time again, when the circumstances of life conspire against you, it’s hard to hold onto your dreams. But, you were born for more than this! And today, we are going to learn how to be all you were meant to be, how to unleash your full potential, and how to take wings and fly! The discovery of the “why” will change your life
The Best Day of My life was when I received Jesus 21-22
This is the good news of the Gospel.
You were born into this life to be born again.
#1 Once we were enemies.
We were alienated. (ἀπαλλοτριόω) a stranger shut out from God.
We were enemies, (ἐχθρός) someone who is hostile
We were wicked. Wicked works are anything we did displeasing to God.
#2 Now we have been reconciled.
We were reconciled by the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus made it possible for us to have our sins wiped out
That brought us into harmony with God!
The Best Way to live my life is in holiness 22
You were not created just to be happy.
If you seek happiness, it will escape you.
You were not created just to be a good person.
There is no one good but God. Matthew 19:17
You were saved to be holy.
Holiness is something achievable.
holiness ἅγιος hagios, means separated to God.
Holiness means that we surrender our mind, body and emotions to God.
Present yourselves to God. Romans 6:12-14
The Best hope to reach your potential is to continue steadfastly in the faith 23
Your potential in this life isn’t a destination; it’s a journey of daily surrender.
#1 continue in the faith.
This is talking about perseverance.
#2 Become grounded.
This means you have a firm foundation of faith.
#3 Be steadfast or firm in your faith.
Don’t be easily moved.
This is the hope of the Gospel. This is our why. This is why you were born again. You were created to be holy! Surrender yourself to Jesus! He wants you to pursue him every day. If you master the foundational principle of dedicating yourself to him, he will make you holy. The greatest day of your life is the day you discover why you were born again.
MESSAGE
Has your life turned out the way you hoped it would? When you were a starry eyed kid, making grand plans for your life, how’d that turn out for you? Are you everything you want to be? Is there some beautiful butterfly inside of you still waiting to break out of its homely cocoon?
Or, has life dealt you a little bit of reality therapy? Things often don’t go the way you wish they would. When that happens sometimes we get smacked with the proverbial 2X4, and believe me, it hurts. When you’ve been knocked down time and time again, when the circumstances of life conspire against you, it’s hard to hold onto your dreams.
But, you were born for more than this! You were born with wings. You are not meant to live your life crawling in the dust. You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities in Christ. If you know that, you can change your life. And today, we are going to learn how to be all you were meant to be, how to unleash your full potential, and how to take wings and fly!
You may have heard the phrase, “you’re not living up to your full potential.” But what does that really mean? Do you know what it takes to reach your full potential? The question, “Am I reaching my potential?” is not the same as asking, “How do I rise to the top?”
Today, I’m not going to tell you how to become a millionaire, or how to get that promotion that you want. I’m not going to tell you about the magic of residual income, or how to be the best version of yourself. I’m not going to show you how to be a rising star or how to have a winning personality.
What I am going to do is explain to you why you were born. Some people say that there are two great days in a person’s life: the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born! But even better than that, I say that the two greatest days of person’s life are the day you were born again, and the day you discover why you were born again.
Because the discovery of the “why” will change your life! Today we will tell you why you were chosen to be born again.
Let’s start with verse 21 & 22
The Best Day of My life was when I received Jesus as Savior 21-22
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death,
This is the good news of the Gospel. This is the message of the Lord’s Supper. This is the one truth that we must proclaim above all others. You were born into this life to be born again.
There are two simple, salient truths that the Apostle brings to our attention that we want to emphasize today. #1 Once we were enemies. #2Now we have been reconciled.
Paul uses three horrific words to explain the way we were. first we were alienated. Second we were enemies, and third we were wicked, as demonstrated by our works. To be alienated (ἀπαλλοτριόω apallotrioo) is to be a stranger who is shut out from God. Before we were born again, we had no way to reach our full spiritual potential. It was impossible. An enemy (ἐχθρός echthros) is someone who is hostile and distrusted. And the key is that we were covert enemies. We were enemies in the mind according to the verse. You can’t always identify an enemy by the way he dresses, or even by the way he acts. You can always identify an enemy by the loyalties he maintains in his mind and heart. Our loyalty was not to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wicked works (πονηρός poneros) are the underhanded things we did covertly and overtly to undermine the kingdom of God.
So there was no way we could ever reach our spiritual potential because we were not spiritual.
But we were reconciled (ἀποκαταλλάσσω apokatallasso) to God by the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus made it possible for us to have our past sins wiped out and to have us brought into harmony with God! The day I trusted Jesus as Savior was the best day of my life!
You were born for more than this! You were born with wings. You are not meant to live your life crawling in the dust. You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities in Christ. If you know that, you can change your life. The two greatest days in your life are the day you were born again, and the day you discover why. You can reach our full potential in Christ if you continue steadfastly in the faith!
The Best Way to live my life is in holiness 22
So why were we born again? Was it just to get fire insurance and keep my tender tush out of hell? That’s pretty nice. Or was there another reason. Today I’m going to give you your why. I’m going to tell you why you were born again and why you were created, and the reality of it will change your life if you let it.
You were saved to be holy. That’s right. That’s why. That is what should occupy you the rest of your life. Read on in verse 22:
And now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through His death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.
You were not created just to be happy; you were created to be holy. If you seek happiness, like an elusive butterfly, happiness will escape you. If you seek holiness, you will get both happiness and holiness.
Nor were you created to be a good person; you were created to be a holy person. You ask, what’s the difference? There is a big difference. As commendable as it is, you can try all you want at being good, and it will elude you. Jesus told us in Matthew 19:17, there is no one good but God. Try as you might you cannot make yourself good enough, honorable enough, or perfect enough to ever please yourself or God. Being good is just a myth. You will still struggle with vile passions and evil thoughts. And you will one day come to the realization that you are still a sinner in need of a savior.
Holiness, however is something achievable. The word holiness is ἅγιος hagios, means separated to God; it is something that is reserved or set apart for sacred use. Holiness means that we give our mind, body and emotions to God to be used by him. Holiness is a total devotedness to God. Rather than try to make myself good enough for God, I give myself to God and he makes me good enough. He takes my simple daily sacrifices and blesses me. He presents me holy, blameless and above reproach.
This is the gist of Romans 6:12-14
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
The two greatest days in your life are the day you were born again, and the day you discover why you were born again. You were saved to be holy. Holiness is your purpose. You can’t reach our full potential in Christ unless you continue steadfastly in the faith!
The Best hope to reach your potential is to continue steadfastly in the faith
And this is really the whole point of why we preached this message. To end with, you should know this: Your potential in this life isn’t a destination; it’s a journey of daily surrender, and a whole lot of grit.
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel
Now let me tell you what this is not saying. It is not saying that if you grit your teeth and hang on with your fingernails, and in the end you keep yourself from slipping away from the faith that you will be saved. That’s not it at all.
The hope of the gospel, that you heard, is that if you continue in the faith, you will succeed in living a holy life. If you are grounded and steadfast in seeking the Lord as your why for living, you will live up to your fullest potential. This is how you live a holy life.
#1 continue in the faith. This is talking about perseverance. Hang in there baby. No matter how difficult life becomes, just put one foot in front of the other, and never give up on Jesus because He’ll never give up on you. #2 Become grounded. That means you have a firm foundation of faith. That’s why we preach and teach. To help you know what to believe and why we believe it. #3 Be steadfast or firm in your faith. Don’t be easily moved.
This is the hope of the Gospel. This is our why. This is why you were born again. You were created to be holy! This is your life’s goal in one sentence, to daily surrender yourself to Jesus!
There are three kinds of people when it comes to reaching your fullest potential:[i]
1) People who have no idea who they want to become, what they want to do, or where they want to go with their life; and drift as a result.
2) People who know exactly where they want to go and who they want to become but never do it. Why? Usually because they have fears that hold them back, they are not willing to pay the price, or they worry about other responsibilities that will go unfulfilled.
3) People who know exactly where they want to go and do it. They act every day with passion, focus, and determination.
That’s the kind of person God wants you to be. God wants you to be holy. That is why you were saved. He saved you so he could sanctify you and set you apart to himself. He wants you to pursue him every day. If you master the foundational principle of dedicating yourself to him, he will make you holy.
You were born with wings. You are not meant to live your life crawling in the dust. You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities in Christ. If you know that, you can change your life. Unleash your full potential, and take wings and fly! The greatest day of your life is the day you discover why you were born again.
[i] https://www.businessknowledgestrategies.com/articles/growing-as-a-person-tips-to-reach-your-full-potential/
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