YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS DOING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW , BUT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND LATER.
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OUTLINE
1.PERCEPTION
2.PROCESS
3.PERSONALIZED
4.PURPOSE
5.POWER
6.PREACHING
7.PERFECTING
THE MESSAGE
YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS DOING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW , BUT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND LATER.
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1.PERCEPTION
The Lord is working in our lives all the time. Sometimes we may not understand what the Lord is doing in our lives. At such times we must simply trust the Lord and believe that He has a purpose in what He is doing . The Lord Jesus told Peter, while washing his feet ,that although Peter did not realise the significance of what Jesus was doing at that time, he would be able to understand it later. Sometimes we may also go through such experiences. Sometimes it may appear as though the Lord is not doing anything in our lives. At such times we must realise that God is always working in our lives , even though sometimes we may not be able to see it . Sometimes God works secretly and behind the scenes and He will reveal His work to us when the time is right. Job tried to see the work of God during his time of trial and he could not see it. Then he understood that even if he did not understand what has happening in his life, the Lord knew the path through which he was going and after his trial he would come forth as gold.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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JOHN 13:7
" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
JOHN 5:17
" Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
JOB 23:8-10
"But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. "
2.PROCESS
The Lord is working in our lives and makes everything work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Lord even turns the evil intended to harm us into good. Sometimes we may not understand or enjoy the process He takes us through to fulfill his work in our lives. But later we will look back with gratitude and amazement at the process which God took us through to fulfill His plan for our lives. Joseph in the Old Testament went through a very difficult and painful process in his life. His brothers hated him and sold him as a slave to Egypt. He was greatly distressed at that moment and pleaded with his brothers to spare his life. But later in his life after the Lord had established him as a ruler over Egypt , Joseph realised the hand of God in his journey of life. He comforted his brothers and told them not to be distressed over selling him as a slave because it was the plan of God for his life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ROMANS 8:28
" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
GENESIS 50:20
" You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. "
GENESIS 42:21
" They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us."
GENESIS 45:4-8
" Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. "
3.PERSONALIZED
The Lord is working in our lives in a very personal way. The Lord has created each one of us in a unique way and He has a very special and specific plan for each one of us. Therefore the Lord works in each one of us in a different way according to the specific plan He has for us. We should not compare ourselves with others or be offended if God works in a different way in their lives. The Lord wants us to focus on His plan for our lives and we must strive to fulfill His destiny for our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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I CORINTHIANS 12:6
" There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. "
JOHN 21:18-23
" Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
4.PURPOSE
The Lord is working in our lives to fulfill His plan and purpose . We are like clay in the hand of the potter and the Lord forms our lives according to His will and purpose. We should not resist the will of God or question His workings in our lives . We should not insist that the Lord should work in our lives to fulfill our own dreams and desires . We must have a submissive attitude in order that the Lord may shape us into a glorious vessel.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PHILIPPIANS 2:13
" for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. "
JEREMIAH 18:1-6
" This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD :
"Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message."
So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
ROMANS 9:20-21
" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’ "
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? "
5.POWER
The Lord is working in our lives with His mighty power . The resurrection power of Jesus is working in our lives. The greatest demonstration of the power of God took place at the resurrection of Christ because Satan used all the power that he had to prevent Christ from rising from the dead. Therefore in raising Jesus from the dead , God proved that all the power of satan is no match for the power of God. And that same resurrection power is working in our lives . Thus we need not have any fear of the devil and even if the devil does his worst against us , we can overcome him with the resurrection power that is working in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EPHESIANS 1:18-20
" I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, "
COLOSSIANS 1:29
" To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. "
6.PREACHING
The Lord is working in our lives through His Word. Whenever we hear the word of God , we should receive it with faith and reverence as the word of God. We should not treat it lightly as if it is just the words of mere men. We should look beyond the human instrument that God uses and listen carefully to what the Lord wants to speak to us and obey His instructions. Then the word of God which we receive in our hearts will work powerfully in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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I THESSALONIANS 2:13
"And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. "
7. PERFECTION
The Lord is working in our lives in order to lead us into perfection . The Lord who has begun a good work in our lives will continue to work in us until it is completed . We are a work in progress in the hand of God.The Lord does not leave His work incomplete or unfinished . As we yield our lives to him , He will work in every area of our lives and carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PHILIPPIANS 1 :6
" being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. "
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