Sermon Tone Analysis

/Born to Taste the Grapes/ – Pt. 1

Date: 8-27-06 - PPHC 

 

 

!

I. Introduction

/ A.

Man is born with a need to win…to conquer.

/

* (i.e.

The little kid that climbs on shaky legs to the top of the monkey bars and with dogged determination looks across the never-ending rungs to the other end which seems to be a mile away.

With a gut-wrenching fear clawing inside of him, drawing him back…and yet, a drive to conquer the vast distance before him pushing him on, he launches into the air for the first rung.

As his hand closes tightly around it and his body dangles dangerously in the air, three feet off the ground, he opens his eyes in amazement, as he realizes with confidence that he isn’t falling.

With greater confidence now, he makes his way to the last rung and climbs down, doing a victory celebration with his playmates on the ground.)

1.

Gen. 1:28 “God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

2.

We were born for the “high places.”

a.

We instinctively gravitate toward /increase: /spiritually, mentally, and financially.

b.

We were born to be SUCCESSFUL

    1.

Yet, what is success?

Not popularity, fame, fortune

    2.

Success is the knowledge and awareness of yourself, in the eyes of God.

·         Samson – prophesied that “he would begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” – his greatest successes in life were when he walked in his prophetic call.

·         Jeremiah – “ordained him to be a prophet unto the nations”

·         John the Baptist – 1) He shall prepare the way of the Lord; 2) He shall turn the hearts of the people – He was beheaded in a dungeon (doesn’t sound successful, huh? – But Jesus stated that there was no greater man than this John the Baptist.

Why?

Because he succeeded in carrying out the purpose and design that God intended for him.

a.

You are here on purpose, designed and equipped for a particular function.

However, you

must discern and develop the God-given abilities He invested in you at your birth.

/It is/

/only when those gifts are being used properly that you will feel and know the value God/

/sees in you./

\\ /B.

Eleven Benefits from God/ – (Blessings the FATHER provides to ensure our Victory) Book of *Ephesians*

  1.

He has /blessed/ us (1:3) – [to invoke a blessing; to be the FORCE behind it; to enforce it]

  2.

He has /chose/n us (1:4) – [has judged one fit to receive His favor]

  3.

He has /predestinated/ us (1:5) -

  4.

He has /accepted/ us (1:6) – [to compass us w~/blessings; to honor with blessings]

  5.

He has /redeemed/ us (1:7) – [to purchase from the slave market]

  6.

He has /forgiven/ us (1:7) – [to exceed a fixed number or measure]

  7.

He has /abounded toward us/ in his wisdom (1:8) – [confided only to the initiated, not the general public – INSIDE INFORMATION]

  8.

He has /made known/ to us the mystery of His will (1:9) -

  9.

He has /sealed/ us (1:13)

 10.

He has /enlightened/ our understanding (1:18)

 11.

He has /raised/ us to sit in heavenly places (2:6)

\\  /C.

Moses was a Winner/

  1.

He described God’s dealing with Israel to bring them a place of greatness.

a.

Deut.

32:13,14 – “He helped you capture the land.

Your fields were rich with grain.

Olive trees grew in your stony soil, and honey was found among the rocks.

Your flocks and herds produced milk and yogurt, and you got choice meat from your sheep and goats that grazed in Bashan.

Your wheat was the finest, and you drank the best wine.”

/Contemp.

Engl.

Ver./

   b.

/You and I were born to taste the grapes of blessing//./

·         Rom.

11:17 – “But if some of the branches were broken off, while you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share the richness [of the root and sap] of the olive tree…”  (Our root began in Abraham – the “father” of faith; God’s blessings flowed unto him, and now we, by faith, are grafted into that same tree – fatness, abundance…)

    1.

Some will spend their lifetime discussing the size of the giants, but you were born, as a winner, to dare and reach for the grapes that God has promised.

! II.

There are Two Important Principles in Tasting the Grapes of God.

/A.

The Grapes are not for the Holy, They are for the Hungry/

  1.

Many feel they aren’t good enough to receive the benefits of God.

   a.

Matt.

9:12 “…they that be whole need not a physician.”

b.

The religious Pharisees never experienced the power & glory of a relationship w~/Jesus.

·         They stood afar off, ridiculing, scoffing…but NEVER accepting.

1.

It was the Samaritan lady at the well, Little Zacchaeus who climbed the sycamore tree to see him, the lady that was hopelessly hemorrhaging to death, the harlot that could only cry as she wiped the dust off of Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair…these were hungry for His touch, His blessing, and His PRESENCE.

2.

Maybe you have made a lot of mistakes…God knows your heart…he wants you to WIN!

   a.

He wants you to taste the grapes of /favor/, /blessing/, /and health/ even more than you do!

  3.

Stop examining your weaknesses and start concentrating on your strengths

   a.

Illust.

– “Oh, but you don’t know the mess I am in!” one lady cried.

“You don’t drown by

/falling/ in the water, you drown by /staying/ there!”

   b.

Get up from your situation and start setting your success in motion.

\\ /B.

The Grapes are not placed Within Your Mouth, BUT They are Placed Within Your Reach/

  1.

Nobody wakes up successful and happy.

2.

“If God wanted me healthy, I’d be healthy; if he wanted me prosperous, I’d be that way.

God is in control!”

   a.

What is God in control of?

He controls the laws of the universe, but he does not control

your decisions.

/Your decisions create and control the majority of your circumstances/.

b.

Stop assigning to the sovereignty of God the responsibility of all of your situations.

c.

Start using the mind and abilities He has given you to create new and better circumstances.

* * The Grapes of blessing and favor DO exist: but you must REACH for them!*