More than a SURVIVOR, Part II

Last week we talked about the TV series Survivor, the object of this reality show is to win as many challenges as possible and to not get voted off the island. One way to survive is to win the challenges that give you immunity. Simple enough, with immunity you survive to te next round.

We go through life with fears and doubts. We ask ourselves, what is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Is this all there is to life? Does God exist, and If He does, does He have a purpose for my life? Our reality is that we can be more than a survivor. God says in Romans 8:37 we are more than a conqueror in Christ.

(SHOW ONLY)

Romans 8:37 NASB95

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

That’s what we are going to look at this morning, being more than a Survivor - to be a conqueror!

Our Title for today is “More than a SURVIVOR, Part II”

Our Scripture for today is taken from Romans 8:35-39

Romans 8:35–39 NASB95

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As we journey through life, we all end up somewhere. When the final chapter is written about you, what will it say? Where will you "end up?"

There is only one relationship which makes life complete, a new life with Jesus Christ. Without that relationship, there is a void, a vacuum in life.

Last week we looked at the first two points of being more than just a survivor. This week I want to look at the last two points of being more than just a survivor.

Having Life’s fears and doubts is natural, being able to conqueror them is found in knowing God’s Word.

Last week we looked at Part one of this two part series… of being a Survivor. We looked at …

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

This week we will be looking at ....

3. BELIEVE God created ME for a Purpose!

4. COMMIT MY Life to Christ!

So let’s take a moment and review last weeks message …

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

Who are you? Do even know?

A. You are divinely crafted.

Genesis 1:27 states "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

When God made you, yes you and me. We are absolutely unique, no two of us are alike. He broke the mold after He created each of us.

DNA, Retina scans, finger prints, heart rhythms, brain waves - you stand alone in a sea of 8+ billion people - you are divinely crafted by God from your personality to your looks.

A. You are divinely crafted.

B. You are incredibly complex.

Psalm 139:13–14 NASB95

13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

we paused for a moment and looked at ourself, our fingers, speech, eyesight, hearing, mental capacity with our thoughts and memory, digestion system, our heart and lungs, skeleton structure, blood vessels, nerves - inside you are some 100,000 miles of nerve fibers along which messages zip at speeds of 300 miles per hour!

Last week we talked about the inner workings of our bodies and all the things it does spontaneously and automatically!

Psalm 139:14 says

Psalm 139:14 NASB95

14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

We talked about how …

A. You are divinely crafted.

B. You are incredibly complex.

C. You are infinitely valuable.

Genesis 2:7 lets us know

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Man became a living being, a living soul. What does this mean? It means that God gave life to the body! An eternal being!

Man is made up of Body, Soul and Spirit.

Oh, how important it is to understand who you are before God... which brings us to our second step from Last week ---

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

Ephesians 5:15-16 warns us

Ephesians 5:15–16 NASB95

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Then we looked at our values ...

* Values are often unwritten assumptions that guide our actions.

* Values demonstrate our convictions and priorities.

* Values are confirmed by our actions, not just our words.

What is it that you feel passionate about? Where are your deep convictions?

Where does God fit in your value system?

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

3. BELIEVE God created ME for a Purpose!

4. COMMIT MY Life to Christ!

Part II

Understand who you are, Evaluate your life...

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

3. BELIEVE God created ME for a Purpose!

Isaiah 43:7

Isaiah 43:7 NASB95

7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

The Bible teaches us God created everything for a reason, for a purpose.

Prov. 16: 4 "The Lord has made everything for his purpose..."

Proverbs 16:4 NASB95

4 The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.

From the honeybee to the fish; to the wolf to mankind, everything is created for God’s purpose. There is a purpose for everything.

If you get nothing else out of this message, get this, God does not make mistakes.

Listen, You may not have been planned by your parents - God planned you!

God created you and me as an eternal being. We stand unique in this truth.

Our Creator God desires fellowship with us, a relationship, which is real and vibrant.

Author Gordon MacDonald wrote; “Without a purpose, people live by reaction rather than initiation.”

Gordon MacDonald, Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 4.

God has a purpose for your life - First He desires a personal relationship with you through Christ. You are not here taking up space. If you have breath and life God has a plan for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 states:

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Let me ask you a question? Are you truly living or are you just existing?

You have never truly lived until you encounter Christ. He gives hope and a secure future. With God you can conqueror any challenge which comes your way.

Understand who you are, … Analyze what motivates you, Believe God created you for a reason...

As we move along, here is the last and absolutely essential step - a new relationship to God!

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

3. BELIEVE God created ME for a Purpose!

4. COMMIT MY Life to Christ!

Acts 4:12 reads

Acts 4:12 NASB95

12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Let me tell you this;

Our messed up relationship with God is because of our sins.

That’s why Jesus came to earth - His only mission was to seek and to save the lost, the lost in sin.

God tells us we are all sinners - Romans 3:23 , all spiritually dead in our sins –

Romans 3:23 NASB95

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Ephesians 2:1-2 Says that

Ephesians 2:1–2 NASB95

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

We need Christ the Savior!

We need to Commit –

We need to trust.

This is Salvation - to commit your life to Christ.

To trust in Him alone to forgive your sins. When this takes place the Bible says... in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

When you commit your life to Christ, God gives you a new heart! New direction! New thoughts! New attitudes! New peace! New Hope! New Future! New Plans! New Purpose!

In John 14:6 we find these words from Jesus “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

📷 Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33. He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.

He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."

Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."

Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour. He’s done pretty well. But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary.

The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole."

-- Robert Russell, "Resurrection Promises," Preaching Today, Tape No. 151.

1. UNDERSTAND who YOU really are.

2. EVALUATE MY Life’s Values.

3. BELIEVE God created ME for a Purpose!

4. COMMIT MY Life to Christ!

To conqueror Life’s fears and doubts you need Christ. You can find forgiveness in Him, He’s real, He will change you, you will become a new person.

You can spiritually be reborn into the family of God!

Let’s Pray