New Life Will Be Tested | Why Resistance Does Not Mean Failure

But the reality is sometimes it's difficult to see that God can work through our weakness, and this this is the the the crux of it, and not just around it. God works through our weakness. I want you to write that down. God works through our weakness not just around it. Means he does not need us to have a a shield around the weak parts of us for him to still move in our lives, but he is able to work through our weakness because his grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect not in our strength, but in our weakness. [00:25:19] (58 seconds)  #GodWorksThroughWeakness

And what that does, and I believe for for Paul and it even helps us as well, it transforms our thoughts and it transforms how we see ourselves and God, and it refrains our weakness. Our weaknesses to become the platform and the place where God's power is most visible. For me when I look at my life and I look at the journey that I've had with the Lord in my Christian walk, I am most excited and most thankful for the things that God has done for me not in my great moments of strength, but in my moments of weakness. [00:28:25] (49 seconds)  #WeaknessShowcasesPower

And moments where I knew it wasn't me, but some kind of way the Lord's power moved through me that it was clear in my weakness his powers made perfect. That he's got this. And so what that did was for for me it disarmed the power and the path in that the temptation had. Temptation and the the enemy would say, oh, you can't do this. Oh, god's not gonna be with you. You're too tired. You can't bring it. You need to get you need to get side of this. You need to get somebody else to do this. You need to just go with this because you don't have what it takes. And then God said, no. I don't need I don't need your strength [00:29:42] (50 seconds)  #GodsPowerNotOurStrength

to be God. I want you to write this down. God does not need our strength to be God. He says, I'm God. If you're strong, if you're weak, I'm still gonna be God. If you got it together, you don't have it together, I'm still gonna be God. If you are doing everything right or you falling left and right needing grace every other second, I'm still gonna be God. And once we understand that, it liberates us from feeling as though that we have to be the ones who are always strong, always have it together, always doing the right thing, always making the right choices, and say no even if we make a wrong one. We've got God there. [00:30:32] (40 seconds)  #GodDoesntNeedOurStrength

Culturally for many persons, being dependent is a bad thing. You've been hurt before. People said they had you and didn't have you. Said they were gonna take care of you and didn't take care of you. Said they were give you something and didn't give it to you. And as such, you made in your mind, I'm always gonna have it together. I'm always gonna figure it out on my own. If nobody else does, I'm gonna do it. I'm never gonna be in this place again. And while that may be a coping mechanism, the reality is we must learn to have dependence on God because that's where we see and it gives us an invitation even to see his divine power. [00:31:33] (46 seconds)  #LearnToDependOnGod

If I fall, his grace is sufficient. If the temptation gets me, his grace is sufficient. If this thorn makes me do something I don't wanna do, his grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in my weakness and so God will work through it. So if I have found myself and this is the the key, if I found myself at a weak spot then I can trust that God's power is gonna be made perfect even in this. If I find myself in a weak spot, I can believe God's power is gonna be made perfect in this. That my weakness I want you to write this down. My weakness does not stop God's plan for me. I want you to receive that today. [00:33:36] (46 seconds)  #MyWeaknessDoesntStopGodsPlan

Don't think that the goal is to get to a place where there is no temptation. Don't think that the goal is to live your Christian life in such a way that you get to a place where you no longer attempt it and you no longer face anything. Don't think that that is the objective of our walk with God. Our goal, our responsibility is not to get to a place where there is no temptation. It is to have an understanding and a proper mindset [00:14:55] (39 seconds)  #NotLivingWithoutTemptation

that says even with temptation that doesn't change who I am in God and who I am becoming. I want you to write this down, put this in the chat. Temptation does not change who I am becoming in the Lord. Do not and and and this is so important because new life will be tested. New life will have to go up against some things. New life will have some challenges, [00:15:34] (27 seconds)  #TemptationDoesntChangeWhoIAm

And so here we find these words, no temptation has seized you except what's common to man. Don't beat yourself up over it. Don't fight about it except that it's common to man. And and this is is also the key. And the fact that it has hit you is not an indicator of your spiritual ability or spiritual maturity. Sometimes we think that the longer we're with the Lord then we should see a decrease in the stuff that's hitting us. [00:13:42] (41 seconds)  #TemptationIsCommonToAll

A truth I wanna give that that's gonna ground us for today, and I want you to write this down. Testing is not proof that new life is failing, and I wanna start with that premise. Testing is not proof that new life is failing. One of and as we've been sharing through this series that I think is so important for us to understand. One of the biggest obstacles on this journey trying to live for the Lord and allowing our lives to be transformed and to fully walk in the newness that God has given us [00:07:35] (41 seconds)  #TestingIsNotFailure

There's always a purpose beyond the present that we see. It is our responsibility and this is this will be our last piece for today. It's our responsibility to see that the testing is not to end us, but the testing is to educate us and equip us for what God has in store. Wanna leave you with this statement. New life is declared by God. New life is spoken to us by God. Therefore, any man is in Christ he has a he's a new creation. It's given us. But it's formed through renewal be transformed by the renewing of your mind and it's tested through resistance. [00:36:03] (59 seconds)  #NewLifeTestedAndRenewed

The test have to come because that's how you see that the mind of Christ that's in you will rise up. That's how you start seeing that no, I can make it through this. That's how you start seeing that what God is doing in my life is taking root. That's when you start seeing that he who has begun a good work in me shall perform it unto the day of the Lord Jesus. I am becoming new and I see that when I'm tested because there's a purpose beyond the test. There's a tomorrow that's coming but you've got to get through the test of today in order to get there. [00:37:02] (48 seconds)  #TestsRevealGodsWork

No matter where you are on your journey, there will be tests. I want somebody to write that down. No matter where you are on your journey, there will be test. The road with the Lord is not always easy. There are challenges. There are ups and downs. There are mountains to cross. There are times where it is difficult to follow the Lord not because you don't trust him, not because you don't believe in him, but it becomes difficult because walking for the Lord means we will be tested. [00:06:52] (43 seconds)  #ThereWillAlwaysBeTests

We must learn that our responsibility is not to fight the presence of the temptation, but rather to find the way of escape so that when it's there we know how to get out of it. The practical application of this looks something this way. When we think that the temptation is the problem, the enemy can get us and the way he gets us is by sending us temptation. But if we understand that the temptation has no power over us less we don't take the way of escape, it doesn't matter how much temptation comes our way, we will still be standing. [00:18:59] (42 seconds)  #ChooseTheWayOfEscape

One of the lessons I believe in this season, God's calling us especially the believers, those of us who are serving him, those of us who serve him publicly in churches, other organizations, and the like. I believe God's calling us to stop hiding the areas of our lives, areas of our churches, areas of our works that are not fully formed and bring them to the forefront so that we can see his power on display. What would it look like? What would it look like if us as believers instead of in our conversations with other believers sitting around talking about how we have it all together, you know, life is perfect. We don't sin. We're, you know, we're blessed and highly favored. We're saved, sealed, sanctified, filled with the holy ghost, fire baptized, [00:39:02] (50 seconds)  #ShowWeaknessLetGodWork

all of that and start saying, no, these are some things that I need the lord to to strengthen me in. What would it look like on social media if instead of giving false appearance, false appearances of how we have it all together, we said this is an area we're praying on and we're trusting god for. Maybe just maybe some of the weak areas of our lives God wants us to put on display so that when people see what God does they will have no question that this was the hand of God. [00:39:52] (31 seconds)  #AuthenticityOverAppearances

Stand in your weakness. Don't sugarcoat it before people, and this is the key and don't sugarcoat it before God. Stand before God and say, God I don't know how show me the way so that when God does it he gives you a testimony. I've seen what God can do and how his power was made perfect when I'm weak. [00:42:27] (27 seconds)  #StandInYourWeakness