GETTING PAST STATUS QUO

God wants to take ordinary lives and make them extraordinary.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”  Yet, many people live dull, mundane and stressful lives.  They have no sense of lasting motivation or joy or enthusiasm.

God never intended for us to live depressed, worried, fearful, powerless, and mundane lives.  God wants to take your ordinary way of living life and transform it into a life that is extraordinary.  You were made for more than you think.  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think (Eph. 3:20 NLT).

When does life become exciting and worth facing each day, even when we go through the day-to-day routine and troubles? 

When we:

·         Make what matters in Heaven matter most.

Peter and John were teaching about the resurrection of those who placed their belief in Jesus, because Jesus Himself had risen from the dead and so would all His followers one day.  They really believed what they were telling others.

When we surrender the control of our lives to the Christ, He then is able to work in us and through us, such that we do extraordinary things for the sake of Christ.

·         Live saved.

“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NLT).  Find your salvation in Christ.  This is not just eternal salvation but daily salvation from the destructive patterns and habits of sin.  Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. 2 Cor. 6:1

·         Live with Jesus.

So how do we “live with Jesus?”  We live with Him spiritually.  We don’t live with Him physically yet.  One day we will. But for now we live with Him spiritually.  The point is that we must give a lot of attention to the spiritual dimension of our lives.  That’s where we talk and walk with Jesus. 

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).  God wants to take your ordinary way of living life and transform it into a life that is extraordinary.