THE GREATEST GIFT REQUIRES OUR GREATEST GIFT - PART 3

We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.

Sermon Title: THE GREATEST GIFT REQUIRES OUR GREATEST GIFT - PART 3

RECAP OF PART 1:

Jesus is the greatest gift ever given by God

Our greatest gift to him is ourselves

God mentions for specific gifts in scripture:

·      Forgiveness

·      Being made right with God

·      Righteousness

·      Eternal life

Keyword = Curiosity

Curiosity vs judgment

RECAP OF PART 2:

Looked at how we tend to run and hide from God

Keyword = Confidence

God’s desire for us to approach him with confidence and boldness

NOTES:

Today’s keyword = Commitment

Mary and Joseph faced adversity in spite of such a great blessing…

Luke 1:26-33 NLT
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 

Luke 2:1-7 NLT
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Matthew 1:18-25 NLT
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. 

Matthew 2:13-15 NLT
13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

For such a wonderful gift, Mary and Joseph had to go through a lot

Jesus entered purposely and willingly a hostile world in a unique way:

• Unusual conception

• Born in a Manger; no room anywhere

• Joseph had to be included

• Escape to Egypt because of Herod’s insanity

God knew and had a plan - He was always one step ahead

Let’s go back to what Paul said about the conflict with the sinful nature and the spirit

Our goal:

• To build spiritual resilience

• To emphasize the battle in order to plan to have victory

• To develop a strong commitment to spiritual growth

Galatians 5:16-26 NIV
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Matthew 4:1-11 NLT
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

After his baptism, Jesus was sent to deal with his fleshly nature. 

He showed us the way:

• When attacked and weakened, he remained in God’s word and his plan for his life.

• Kept his eyes upward.

• He built his strength from the spirit of God in him, and his commitment to follow his identity and purpose. 

• Not unlike what the Israelites had to go through coming out of Egypt.

Several other recorded times:

• Jesus described to his disciples what must happen to him.

  • Peter replied, “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you.”

  • Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”

• Struggle in Gethsemane: Matthew 26

  • “My father, if it is possible; may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

  • He went away a second time and prayed, “My father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away, unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Jesus was right when he said that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Our commitment is to strengthen our spirit and weaken the flesh.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Our strength only comes from the Lord, not ourselves

1 Corinthians 1:25
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man strength.”

Put on our protection against the devil’s schemes - God’s armor

Recognize our #1 enemy - spiritual darkness
(Not people or circumstances)

We need to commit ourselves to build spiritual resilience in a dark, hostile world that is designed to bring us down.

Resilience = the ability to bounce back and even come out stronger when facing any adversity

Three growth strategies:

• Build spiritual reserves

  • Constantly place ourselves in a growth mentality

  • Growth is not a static sport - We need to work it

  • Be active and fueling ourselves

  • Feed spirituality

    • Prayer

    • Devotion

    • Fix our eyes on Jesus

    • Word

    • Church, etc.

In doing so, we can be ready to handle anything we may face
Act from our spirit vs. reacting from our sin nature.

• See adversity as an opportunity to grow

• Opposition and hostility is a certain occurrence in our lives
  “many are the tribulations of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us from them all”

• Don’t let circumstances defeat you

• Don’t rest on circumstantial happiness

• We will waver and be unsteady

Consider the following scriptures:

James 1:2-4 NLT
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Romans 5:1-5 NLT
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peacewith God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 NLT
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT
7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1 Peter 2:19-23 NLT
19 For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. 20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.

• Develop a greater awareness of how your sinful nature operates

• Learn about your weaknesses

• Learn how you react rather than act

• What provokes you or tempts you?
  What does Satan, your flesh, or the world have over you?

• Bring logic back over emotion.
  Slow down reaction times.

• Humble acceptance of responsibility
  Stop blame and negative impulses.

• Watch and correct destructive patterns of relating to others.

• Once again, reduce the sin nature’s impact by growing spiritually.

Conclusion:

We recognize what God has done for us through Jesus

We develop curiosity on how God wants to work in our lives rather than judgment

We avoid running and hiding from God and come confidently and boldly into his presence

We make a spiritual commitment to spiritual growth that sustain us, no matter the circumstances.

And it is about giving ourselves as our greatest gift to a God that has demonstrated so much of his love for us.

Discussion:

• What did God use in this sermon to speak to your heart or situation?

• What scripture stuck out to you and why?

• What can we learn from Mary and Joseph’s resilience in the face of adversity?

• Are there areas in your life that you lack resiliency? If so, where?

• Throughout this series, what resonated with you the most and how have you applied the message to your own life?

• What should we ask God for in our prayer time to help us apply this message?

The most important decision you will ever make!

If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!

We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!