Gtcotr/ss120510
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 being.
Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
Genesis 2
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
When God created the man Adam the scriptural accounts of Genesis 2 reveal that God “formed” him, as opposed to the creation of woman whom God “made”. Not only is there a difference between the two English words used to describe these processes but these are also two distinctly different words and concepts in the Hebrew.
Man was formed = Heb: yatsar – meaning to form through squeezing into shape as a potter would treat one lump or one hunk of clay.
Woman was made = Heb: banah – meaning to build by addition of previously separate elements.
Men are still hunks that can be squeezed into shape while women are built and attempt to change by adding things to their life.
At any rate, both the man and the woman were designed and created by God and brought together in relationship, not for what they could get from the relationship, but for what they could give. The dynamic potential of both the man and the woman was designed by God to not be realized by one without the other. However, in order to reach their individual potential they must first give what God gave them over to the plan of God.
You see, God not only created both the man and the woman with potential but also with choice. And, today we are each created with dynamic potential which is unable to be realized unless we give that which God has given us over to His plan.
The way I see it is that most of the problems, if not all of the problems, which exists on planet earth are the result of God giving each one of us a choice. However, in God’s ultimate wisdom which far exceeds mine, your choice is the most precious and the most powerful thing you possess.
Each one of us can choose to participate with others in God’s plan or not. Our dynamic potential will never be reached, as well as the dynamic potential of God’s greater plan for all humanity, if we choose to not participate. God created us to work together.
John 6 tells the account of Jesus feeding a multitude of people with only 5 barley loaves of bread and 2 small fishes. Did He do it by Himself? No!
John 6
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"
10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
· There were the disciples whom Matthew, Mark and Luke describe as being very concerned about the situation and participated in several elements of the miracle.
· There was the lad who participated with his supply of food.
· There were 5000 who cooperated and participated by sitting down in an orderly fashion and patiently waited in their hungry hour.
Without any one of these choosing to participate and cooperate with one another and work together to accomplish the greater plan of God this miracle which Jesus was evidently willing to do would have gone undone.
One might at first glance or shallow thought consider it absurd that Jesus could be thwarted in His determined will to do a miracle or help someone. However, you would only have to look farther into the word to find Jesus in just such a place to where, people with choices refused to participate and stopped what Jesus was evidently willing and desirous to do.
Mark 10 The Young Rich Ruler
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Jesus was unable to get a righteous man to work together with Him and give what God had given him over to God’s plan. So, Jesus continued to look and found an old sinner, a notorious sinner the scriptures say, a man named Zacchaeus, to work together with others and make miracles happen for so many needy people.
This was not an isolated case …
Mark 6:5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Mark 6:5 and Matthew 13:58 both tell us that Jesus was unable to do what He was willing to do because some chose not to participate. Perhaps it’s difficult to imagine that one person’s actions or lack thereof might affect another person’s outcome, income or eternity … but it’s true.
We are designed to work together … but it’s a choice.
When you choose to work together with others in an attempt to accomplish God’s plan, you will begin the journey which will help you:
1. Discover your purpose
2. Reach your potential
I believe that it is the will of God to reach every person on the earth with the Good News that Jesus loves them and that He is willing and able to save them and help them with their marriage, family, finances and their future.
I believe that God has brought us together right here in Southeast Texas for the specific purpose of using us to do that.
You are not here by accident. You are not listening by accident. You have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this.
Reaching the whole world is a lofty and a worthy goal. But how can we reach everyone in the whole world if we cannot even reach everyone right here in Southeast Texas.
And, how can we reach everyone in Southeast Texas if we cannot even reach everyone in your city.
And how can we reach everyone in your city if we cannot even reach everyone in your neighborhood.
We have work to do and If we all work together we can do it! It’s what we were designed to do. I’ve sought the Lord and I have received a plan from heaven. I have every confidence that we will be successful in our efforts.
This coming year I am going to lead our church in an attempt to reach every home in Southeast Texas with a special, credible personal opportunity to invite Jesus into their heart, home, family and future. It will be our goal that not one person in Southeast Texas will escape the Good News and Good Will of God for their life and family. We are going to make it virtually impossible to live in any one of the many communities surrounding our church and not know the love of Jesus.
People will be saved, families restored and futures secured … providing we all work together to accomplish what Jesus is willing to do.
But how can we reach everyone in our own neighborhood with a credible and understandable opportunity embrace the Gospel message, if we can’t even reach everyone in our congregation first. So, listen to me for a minute and let me tell you the truth.
God loves you and has an incredible plan for your life.
If you will invite him into your heart and into your home, He will help.
You can trust Him and find peace you wish you knew, joy which reaches beyond your circumstances, and hope for your future.
He will give you help for today and hope for tomorrow.
It becomes possible when you first realize that your need is beyond your own ability.
Then you must make your choice to change and let God have His way in your life. This is called repentance and it is a definite turn in your life towards God.
Finally, your new day will begin the very minute you ask and receive Jesus as the Son of God, your Savior and the ultimate answer to every question and every problem of life.
From that point on, life is filled with adventures of faith. Each victory is assured as we continue to realize our dependence on Jesus, submit to His Lordship and receive His help.
Would you pray with me right now to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life and pledge yourself to continue working together with Him and others to reach your potential, do your part and accomplish His will.
And remember, we’ve got a lot of work to do next year if we are going to reach every person in Southeast Texas with this same Good News. And we can’t do it without you … Let’s pray …
