How Does God Work in Your Life

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How Does God Work in Your Life?

Good questions with many possible ways to answer it.

I want to answer by first looking at the question in a general sense – How did God create the world?

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord  from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created. (Ps 148:1-5)

·         On one level we can understand the worlds were formed by the word of God “By the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 2 Peter 3:5

 – God said, and it was so!

But on another level, how can we possibly know HOW God created the world.

•             He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.

·         Job 9:10  Who does great things, unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.

·         On another we with David stand in awe of the creation of God

·         Psalms 19:1-6

·         19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.

·        The Working of God in My life is on much the same plane.  On the one hand I can tell you how God works in my life, and your life.

•          Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Ps 40:5)

•          When God works in our lives instead of saying HOW we usually say WOW!

•         Some Christians are confused by their misunderstanding between the miraculous and the providential. A miracle may be defined as a deed in an order which is impossible to the forces ordinarily working in that order.  A MIRACLE IS THE INTERVENTION OF THE CREATIVE POWER OF GOD, THE EXERCISE OF A POWER THAT TRANSCENDS THE NATURAL ORDER. They understand, correctly, that miracles have cease. However, they mistakenly think that if God does anything in this world, it involves a miracle. They conclude that God will do nothing, i.e. He will change nothing in this realm in answer to prayer.  They perceive His work to be totally spiritual, like forgiving sin, and totally separate from the circumstances of this world. Providence is the working of God through His provision in the natural and spiritual realms, and yet it is a control that violates neither the sovereignty of the human will nor the divine natural and spiritual laws.

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·         God works through His Word in our lives!

o   2 Peter 1:3-4

o   3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. NASU

·         God works by Our faith in His ability

o   Colossians 2:12  having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. NASU

o   1 Peter 3:21

o   21  Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you —  not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, NASU

·         God works through His Spirit

o   Ephesians 3:16  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

o   Acts 2:38  Peter said to them, " Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

o   Ephesians 1:13-14  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

o    

·         God works through His power

o   Colossians 1:11  strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously

o   Ephesians 1:19-20 (15-23)

o   19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, NASU

o   Ephesians 3:20  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

·         Overcoming Temptation

o   1 Corinthians 10:13

o   13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

·         To Will and Work

·         Philippians 2:12-13

·         12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

·         In Everything and Every Way!

o   Romans 8:28

o   28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

o   Romans 8:32 He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things.  

o   Isa 40:25-31 To what will you like God?

o   Heb 13:20-21  Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

God Provides Through His Natural Laws:

ü  They do not exist apart from His will;  He is free to manipulate them within normal bounds.  Prayer assumes this conclusion;

ü  Philippians 4:6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

ü  If God is not a personal God who listens to and communes with us,. able to do what we ask, and merciful to act in our best interests, why talk to Him? Why ask for anything or give Him thanks for anything?

God has the power of guiding free beings from above their freedom without interfering with it; this includes nations and individuals.  If God wills, He can directly alter the course of events in answer to human prayer or without it.

ü  Acts 17‑24‑28 In Him we live and move, and have our being.

ü  Ps 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”

ü  Ps 37:25 “I have not seen the righteous forsaken”

ü  Gen 22:8 “Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering”

ü  Heb 13:5 “I will never desert or forsake you”

ü  Acts 14:17 Gives rain, fruitful seasons.

ü  1 Cor.8:6 "For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all thing, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we exist through Him"

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·          

·         God Works through the mundane – A group was asked to pull things out of their pockets, purses, or notebooks for one item that could represent how God was working.

·         One woman pulled out a dollar bill and shared that God gave her peace that week when she was paying the bills.

·         Another pulled out a cell phone and offered that God was teaching her about ongoing communication with Him.

·         A third found her child’s pacifier and told of God’s comfort when she felt overwhelmed.

·         One woman brought a Band–Aid to illustrate that God continues to heal past emotional hurts.

·         Another person brought a backpack to represent what God had been teaching him about being a "stranger and alien" in this life.

·         These were all ordinary items, but they gave us insight into the work of our extraordinary God.


 

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