God Stooped Down and He Is Still Stooping Today

Sermon outline

God stooped down and is still shaping our lives by grace, but nobody can live in the fullness of that grace in their own strength: be filled with the Holy Spirit and power, and He will give you the discernment, the habits and the wisdom to resist temptation and wait for God's well-timed help.

1. God stooped down and is still shaping us

   She recalls the senior pastor's message from the week before: God stooped down and is still stooping today to pick us up wherever we are, and He is busy shaping our lives by His grace.

   “God is busy shaping our lives.”

2. You cannot live in grace in your own strength

   Before He went away Jesus promised the Comforter, who would be our intercessor, guide and teacher, and told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. Jesus brought us into the dispensation of grace, but to live in its fullness you must be filled with the Holy Spirit and power. Speaking in tongues is a prayer language and an empowerment language that builds up your most holy faith, taking you from weak faith to strong faith.

   “Many of us are living defeated lives because we are trying to be Christians in our own strength.”

   • John 16:7
   • Luke 24:49
   • Jude 20

3. The Holy Spirit is your muscle power

   When the Spirit fills you, the words you speak become words of power, and you can tell a sick body to be healed in Jesus' name. The more you invite Him in and yield to Him, the more the power inside you intensifies. Many things in this hour can pull you from your faith, but when you become one with the Holy Spirit He becomes your conscience and tells you not to do what is contrary to the word.

   “The Holy Spirit is the muscle power that you will need to live in this life.”

4. Temptations are real

   We live in a real world and the temptations are getting greater. Someone delivered from lust or gambling who has not filled their heart with the word and the Spirit may switch the screen off the first time, but by the third time, especially in financial lack, they will think it is the answer. The message saying you have won a fortune in a competition you never entered is not God blessing you; it is the tempter touching the lust of the flesh.

   Illustration: Pornography comes up on a phone with a click. Gambling sites pop up on an iPad or laptop. A text message announces that you have won 450,000 from a soap powder promotion.

   “You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and he'll give you the power to overcome.”

5. There is no quick way to get rich

   If a business offer sounds too good to be true, it is a lie. Tell them that if it is so good they can wait while you pray and hear the voice of God, or pass it to someone else. God takes His time, because a day with Him is as a thousand years, but He is a well-timed help, and what comes after you have done all to stand will last and add blessing, not sorrow. Get-rich-quick schemes always bring sorrow with them.

   “He sure takes his time. But I'll tell you what, he's a well timed help.”

   • 2 Peter 3:8
   • Ephesians 6:13
   • Proverbs 10:22

6. Some habits need to change

   Stop letting life be so busy that you always need a friend or a distraction; when you are filled with the Spirit He shows you what to do. If you are always in debt, look at how much time you spend in the mall because you are bored. You are a wealth creator, blessed and empowered to prosper, but if the habits are not right, money will come and go just as fast. Do not eat the bread of discontent, idle talk and gossip; it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.

   Illustration: She jokes that the senior pastor stands in the pulpit and never talks about such things, while 'this mother' comes and talks about them.

   “Some habits need to change.”

   • Song of Solomon 2:15

7. Christ is made unto you wisdom

   Now that you are saved, Christ has become your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. He redeems you from the schemes of the wicked one and gives you wisdom to overcome; that is the grace that comes on you and how He shapes your life from one glory to the next, from what you were to who He wants you to be. Joseph stood before Pharaoh straight out of prison, after many years between the promise and its fulfilment.

   “He takes you from what you were to who he wants you to be because he needs you to fulfill your purpose.”

   • 1 Corinthians 1:30
   • Genesis 41:14

In this message