It's In You

Job 31:15

Did not He who made me in the womb make him? And did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you were born I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Psalm 139:13-16

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Lessons Learned

What God did for nature, He did for you. The above texts reveal that He meticulously shaped what and who you are. Jeremiah reveals that God determined what you would be able to do by ordaining you and empowered you to accomplish it by sanctifying you. The Psalmist reveals that physiologically you are an awesome biological, social, and spiritual machine that has been prepared to accomplish great things. There is potential in you that you have not realized. So why are you constantly looking outside of you for what God has placed inside of you?

Often we view our circumstances asking God to give us blessings, when what we need to overcome the circumstances has already been placed in our DNA, our memories, and our experiences. We just need to develop the capacity to search ourselves and use the tools we have to fulfill our needs and wants. This search often calls for us to work harder than we have trained ourselves to work, dig deeper than we have trained ourselves to dig, and believe in a way we have not believed before. It isn't about what we need from the outside. It's about what we can pull from the inside.

Consider goals you want to achieve for which you do not have the necessary resources to do so. Answer the following questions.

1. If God told you, "I won't give you anything to achieve these goals. You must use what I have already placed in you." What would you use?

2. How would you transform these resources into the tools you need to achieve your goals?

3. How would you transform your attitude, work ethic, and your actions to produce what is needed to transform these resources?

Lessons Applied

I am learning that there is far more in me to achieve my dreams than I thought. My prayers are changing from asking God to give me blessings into asking Him to reveal the tools He has already given me to go after what He has already ordained me to have.

Last Week

In our discussion last week, we discovered that transforming lives and communities are daunting tasks. These things do not happen because we pray one prayer, sing one song, or preach one sermon. Transformation is a process that lasts a lifetime for most of us. It is a dynamic process that is comprised of many learning experiences that seem like failures. We had to ask ourselves some honest questions about our preparation and our resilience. This week, I am challenging you to do something you probably never thought about doing. Let's dive in.

It's In You

It's In You Because He's In You

Genesis 2:7

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

II Kings 13:20-21

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

Lessons Learned

It is important to understand that when God created man, life came into existence when God placed His breath into man's nostrils. That one breath ignited not only the life of Adam, but also all the life of his descendants. That force is still propagated through us all. I am not a deist who believes God created the cosmos and then withdrew Himself from it. However, I do believe God placed  a part of Himself within us from which we draw life, strength, inspiration and ideas.

The power of this force is revealed in the story of Elisha's bones.  God empowered Elisha to do great things during his life on Earth. Even when that life was concluded, the residue of what God had done in his life was still woven into the bones of a body that had decomposed in his tomb. What God had done in Elisha's life was still powerful enough to revive a dead man.

1. Can you articulate what God is doing in your life?

2. What evidence is there that what He breathed in you is impacting your life and the world around you?

3. What has God placed in you that you have kept imprisoned because you keep looking without for what He has placed within?

Lessons Applied

Introduction

Have you ever really considered the power you possess inside you to accomplish those things you desire. Most of us have been taught to look for power from an outside source alone, never thinking about what may have already been placed in us. In fact, the only time we ever really look at self is to place blame or discover what is wrong. However, there is so much right with you as an individual, but you may have been trained to look up and look around before looking within to discover what you are capable of accomplishing. This week I am going to challenge you to flip the script.

 It's In Creation

Romans 1:20

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Psalms 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Job 12:7-10

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you and the birds of the air, and let them tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. 9 Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, 10 in whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of all mankind?

Lessons Learned

In the verses above the Bible declares that God has placed evidence of His existence in all that He has created. Each object that has been created is the sum of the chemical reactions that form its molecular structure. The molecular structures of the living combine to form organs and systems that are synchronized not only to propagate and reproduce life, but form consciousness, learning, and complex thought. This is the power God placed within that which He created at the moment of creation.

Mankind has tapped into the power of creation and found sources of energy to fuel the civilizations he has developed. The burning properties of oil and coal, the destructive power of uranium, and the sustaining power of vitamins and minerals are all examples of what we have found within creation. The power we have discovered within nature has been what the Psalmist's declaration of the heavens, Job's lessons from the beasts and the birds, and Paul's revelation of the invisible things of God. These are not things that have been revealed by God about His creation. These are things that have been revealed by creation about God. It's in creation.

I need you to do some research.

1. What is a chemical reaction?

2. What is photosynthesis?

3. How does the sun produce energy?

4. What communion do these objects have with God in order to do these things?

Lessons Applied

Chapter 5