The “one year delayed” Tokyo Olympics comes to a close today, after about 2 weeks of exciting drama of sports showcases. Those who won medals stand in the accolades of glory, representing their respective countries and being part of this amazing human achievements. However, if we measure the sheer effort, discipline, commitment and sacrifices made by all the athletes, surely more medals should be deservingly accorded.
We believe that God will reward us fairly according to our individual “done my best performances”. He will not just reward the top 3 but everyone according to what Christ has done for us and how we have responded to Him as His children. He is more concern of our being than doing, our giving than receiving and our character than achievements. It is not the absence of one than the other but the priority of quality over quantity, of inner over outward beauty/successes. He is looking into the quality of our living, serving, giving… in all aspects of our lives.
This brings us to today’s message and the following series as we glean from the book: “A LIFE BEYOND AMAZING” ©️ 2017 by Dr. David P. Jeremiah.
Let us continue to pray for one another- for our well-being physically, spiritually, mentally and financially. Blessed Sunday, say safe & blessed!
Message 1, August 10, 2021: INTRODUCTION
At two o’clock on Sunday afternoon, January 8, 2017, a giant fell to the earth, causing the ground to tremble like a palsied hand. One of the best-known giant sequoias, the Pioneer Cabin Tree, collapsed amid California storms. Pioneer Cabin, so named because its hollowed interior was big enough for a home, had pointed upward a thousand years. She was majestic to behold. But her core was gone, her limbs were brittle, her roots were shallow, and only a few branches still clung to life. When lashed by wind and water, the big tree tottered and tumbled and shattered on impact. Her millennium was over.
Many of us are also teetering and tottering, never knowing when the next storm will come. We want to be rooted and solid—a testimony to our Creator. But often we feel hollow, shallow rooted, with no strong core.
- What if I told you that you can change all this, that you can weather the storms of life with an inner strength and confidence you’ve imagined but never felt?
- What if I told you that you can experience the kind of joy that will change the world around you, and the kind of peace that brings serenity and calmness sweeter than any you’ve known?
- And what if I told you the cost for achieving all of this is free, available to all, and that this special offer will never expire? Interested?
In this book I share with you how to achieve all that I have described and more. In these pages I show you the path to a life beyond amazing. No matter who you are, how old, how rich or poor, how tired, disappointed, lonely, or hopeless—you can follow this path. No matter what difficulty and pain
life has dealt you, or what riches and opportunities you feel it hasn’t, this path is for you.
This book is about character. It’s about how we develop the character that Christ wants for us, that God makes us capable of achieving, and that the Holy Spirit is always, always ready to guide us to. I want to help you develop character qualities beyond the norm. I want to show you how to build a life beyond amazing, and, in so doing, make an impact beyond imagination.
SET FEAR ASIDE
You don’t need fear anymore. You need new hope, new strength, and new understanding. You need a fresh start on a new path. And what does our world need? Our world needs solid-to-the-core people with unimpaired grit and unimpeded godliness. The church needs a rekindling of the nine traits that go to the core of character and are called the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22–23. God wants us to be people of love and joy and peace. He wants to build endurance into our lives and instil in us compassion for those who need our help. He is ready to bestow the qualities of champions—generosity, integrity, humility, and self-discipline.
People with those qualities are saints for all seasons. They are people like Jesus.
This book is a manual on how to develop these qualities. You alone can make the decision to pursue this life, and if you do, I promise you will not be alone. Not ever. The qualities of a life beyond amazing are produced within us by the Holy Spirit. It is His love, joy, peace, endurance, compassion, generosity, integrity, humility, and self-discipline you seek. These qualities represent the essence of the personality of Jesus Himself. When the Spirit of Christ comes to live within us, He reproduces Himself, putting these traits at our core so we can achieve godly character.
Our first step, then, is our commitment to Christ and our willingness to grow in understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in us.
IT’S UP TO YOU
This is a life-changing choice. Yes, you will have almighty help, but the work will still be up to you. These nine qualities require commitment and effort. Think of them as representing nine decisions that will transform your life if you take them seriously. And if you do take them seriously, you will start a journey that will not leave you as the same person you are today.
The same Bible that describes love as a fruit of the Spirit also commands us to love one another, to clothe ourselves with love, and to walk in love. The same New Testament that calls joy a by-product of the Spirit also tells us to rejoice in the Lord always and to be of good cheer.
Lots of extra joy doesn’t sound so difficult, does it?
Plenty of love to fill your heart and your life is the kind of commitment you’re more than ready to make, right? That depends. None of what I will share with you is beyond your reach… unless you try it alone, without the spiritual support Jesus makes available to us. That spiritual support will sustain you when what I’m asking you to do feels like more than you can handle, much less achieve. I will tell you how to access that support and how you will be uplifted for any challenge when you do. Because if you take this path and do this work, you will have help. Not just any help, you will have the help of the Holy Spirit every step of the way. And nothing, truly nothing, is more powerful than that.
In John 10:10, the Lord said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The abundant life is solid to the core, fruitful to the end, and amazing to experience. It is the biblical norm for God’s people.
In Philippians 2:13, we read: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” The development of character is a joint effort by our Saviour and ourselves, and it is part and parcel of the abundant life.
- Why, then, are we living beneath the norm?
- Why is there such a gap between what Christ wants us to be and what we are?
THREE REASONS WE STRUGGLE
Sometimes it’s because we misunderstand the nature of salvation. Salvation is one of the Bible’s great words, but many don’t understand that the Bible presents salvation in three stages. The moment we truly receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, we are instantly and eternally saved from the penalty of sin. During our Christian life spans on earth, we’re gradually being saved from the power of sin and should grow in godliness. One day in heaven, we will be saved from the very presence of sin and will be wholly glorified.
1. Many people consider salvation a onetime, past event. They forget its ongoing nature.
N. T. Wright wrote: Many Christians… have a big gap in their vision of what being a Christian is all about. It’s as though they were standing on one side of a deep, wide river, looking across to the further bank. On this bank you declare your faith. On the opposite bank is the ultimate result—final salvation itself. But what are people supposed to do in the meantime? Simply stand here and wait? Is there no bridge between the two?
The bridge in question goes by many names but one of the most obvious names is character- the transforming, shaping, and marking of a life and its habits.
From the first step of that process to our last breath, we are crossing this bridge. Throughout our lives, we develop our character consciously or unconsciously. In your journey to a life beyond amazing, you will learn to develop your character in ways that bring remarkable rewards.
2. There’s a second reason people miss the abundant life: they misapply the concept of works. Many biblical passages teach that we’re not saved by our own efforts but by the grace of God alone. But the same passages also tell us good works are an essential evidence of the salvation experience. For example, Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Hallelujah for that!
But the next verse says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10).
Hallelujah for that too! We are not saved by good works, but for good works. God saves us and leaves us on earth for a span so we can serve Him here, letting our light shine before others, so they can see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). If you choose to take the path I will show you, this understanding will be a blessing. Again and again, we will discuss what you can actually do to achieve this new life. It begins with God’s grace, and it is sustained by His grace as you shape your character by what you do as you cross the bridge.
3. A third reason we fail to develop godly character involves a mistaken view of spirituality. Some believe we have little or no role in our own Christian maturity. God does everything, they think, and we simply have to “let go and let God.” After all, if it’s the “fruit of the Spirit,” we should passively let Him work within us as we abide in Christ.
It’s true the Holy Spirit alone can reproduce the character of our Lord Jesus, and we must always abide in Christ. But the Bible also makes us active partners in the process, and we must be diligent to do our part. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God; a worker who does not need to be ashamed” (2 Tim. 2:15). Diligent is not a word for the fainthearted. It implies consistency, self-discipline, making every effort, and working with great conscientiousness. Bono, the lead singer of U2, described his experience of spiritual growth like this:
“Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time… I have heard of people having life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties “let go, and let God.” But it was not like that for me. For all that “I was lost, I am found,” it is probably more accurate to say, “I was really lost. I’m a little less so at the moment.” And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting of a computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet”.
Bono is saying his spiritual progress since conversion has taken time and effort to achieve. He’s also saying that his work isn’t done yet, and he has no expectation of perfection anytime soon. God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. And He has given us the indwelling strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The rest is up to us. Peter says, “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2 Peter 1:5–7).
PARTNERING WITH GOD
As I pondered this, I came across a short essay that made it all as practical as putting on our shoes or rolling up our sleeves. Pat Goggins wrote: “I describe Character as the only thing that goes in the casket with you. It’s the only thing you take with you to the hereafter”.
- Character is returning extra change at the grocery store.
- Character is keeping appointments and being on time, honouring your commitments and honouring your word.
- Character is choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
- Character is setting priorities that honour God, family, country, and then career.
- Character in marriage is working through the tough times.
- Character is being committed to the well-being of your family and friends, associates, and
others, even if it is personally costly.
- Character is setting a good example.
- A person of Character is self-disciplined and self-controlled.
- Character implies the courage to stand for what is right, if necessary, all alone to oppose what is wrong and to make the effort to discern the difference.
- Character is being truthful in all things while being sensitive to the fact that sometimes the truth hurts and need not be spoken.
Do you want to be a person like that? I’m sure you do, and so do I. That’s the way we should be whenever we enter a room, go to a meeting, compete in a game, hug our spouses, tuck our children into bed, get on an airplane, check into a hotel, make a purchase, or react to adversity. That’s what God desires for us too. He wants us to be trees that never topple, giants that never fall, people who bear enduring fruit. The Bible says: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jer. 17:7–8).
The ninefold fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is a gift of God, but don’t forget: it also represents nine decisions on your part. Those decisions will affect you every day; they will transform you into a person of character who fulfils your God-given potential and inspires others to do the same.
It’s amazing to meet people like that. It’s beyond amazing to be one.