All-Sufficient God
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Introduction
Introduction
I had a project not to long ago and the project consisted of listing basic truths of God and His word. There were tons of truths and characteristics that were listed, but he one that stuck out to me was all-sufficiency. Why had I never really dove into this topic? Was it something that I just took for granted? Was it something I really didnt believe? To be honest, this has been one of the most beneficial topics I have ever studied. When you study the topic of an all-sufficient God, you discover that His all-sufficiency has been something we have seen from before the foundations of the earth and at the end of days, at the fall of man and the rising of a saviour, at the hoplessness of sin and the joy of salvation.
Sin is Saying that God is not Sufficient
Sin is Saying that God is not Sufficient
The sin of self is a difficult one. The biggest enemy I have faced in my life has been myself. This a powerful sin. It is ultimately the first sin and the sin that caused Satan to fall. Look at 1 Timothy 3:6 1 Timothy 3:6 (NIV)
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
And look at Ezekiel 28:16 (NIV)
16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
Satan was, in other words, convinced that he alone was sufficient. God was not needed and He himself could be more powerful. He used this very lie with Adam and Eve. We see this in the fall of man. He said you will not surely die, but God knows you will be a God like Him.
There is this lie that each of us can easily fall into and it is the lie that I can make it on my own. It is kind of like that little kid that gets really mad at his mom or dad for the first time and they have this brilliant idea that they will move away from home and run away. It sounds so good in their mind that they begin to wonder why they never thought of it before. And like any good parent..... you let them go. You follow them of course and watch them (which is a beautiful picture of the protection and grace of God) and you can see that their attitude of freedom quickly changes to an attitude of fear. How will they eat? Where will they sleep? That dog is going to eat me? oH NO!!!! and they realize, as children, they are NOTHING without mom and dad!
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit it wasnt enough
When Abraham made his own path to God’s promises......
When Moses lashed out in anger........
When David tried to fulfil the lusts of this world.........
When the Pharisees abused the word of God and tried to fulfill the laws..........
When Peter tried to hide in his own fear.......
When Judas took 30 pieces of silver........
This world is full of broken promises. Every commercial we see and most of what we read is a world that promises you happiness and fulfillment. Jim Carey not a believer even said He wishes every person could have everything they ever asked for so they can see happiness will never come from it.
This simple idea of sufficiency has pointed me to the greatest defense against sin I have ever had. It is amazing what temptation you can cast away if you will truly trust that God is enough. When lust of the flesh and money is thrown before you as temptation, you can look and say that God is enough. If he hasn’t supplied it then I must not need it. When anger and bitterness seem like a fulfilling option then you can no from God’s word that he doesnt have that for you so its not worth it.
There are so many implications of is Sufficiency and we will look at those later
If Sin is saying that god is not sufficient then the defeat of sin must be.....
Salvation is trusting in His Sufficiency
Salvation is trusting in His Sufficiency
Read Genesis 15:1–18 (NIV)
1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
This! This is the picture of God’s sufficiency. When you trust God for salvation and the entirety of your life. It is 100% his provision. You do not bring anything into this covenant. This story is so good and so purposeful. This is a blood covenant between God and Abraham (Abrahamic Covenant). This is a weird picture for us today but in those times this was a contractual binding between two parts. The two parties would walk through the two halves of the animals as to say if I break this covenant, may this same thing happen to me. What is amazing about this instance is that God walks through the blood but Abraham doesnt. God could swear to nothing greater so He walked alone. (Hebrews) Abraham brought nothing to the table in regards to the covenant.
You begin to see why Jesus was so outraged every time the Jews would throw Abraham in his face. “Youre trying to use Abraham against God?! He couldnt even make a covenant! I am the promise maker and the promise keeper!
Our Salvation is looking at God and knowing HE HAS PAID IT ALL!
The Implications of an All-Sufficient God
The Implications of an All-Sufficient God
Gods sufficiency is so great yet so simple. His sufficiency carries so many different implications to our everyday life. I want to give a few implications of His sufficiency this morning. This is so we can take Sunday knowledge and turn it to Monday living.
His Sufficiency is not your credit card.
His Sufficiency is not your credit card.
If there is a word that has been used the most in evangelical dialect in the last 10 years it has been the word prosperity. And rightly so. The number of pastors and so called evangelists that spread the lies of prosperity Gospel to the flock is growing daily. But like anything else that is over used there is a misconception to the word prosperity.
Anytime you begin to talk about the sufficiency of God you will find yourself at a crossroad. At least I do. “So if God supplies all our needs and is soooo sufficient, then why did those babies that Ken whicker saw in Africa die, why do our loved ones get cancer and die why is their suffering. I wont get into this with detail because fred will be leading us through the topic of suffering next week. But how can the two ideas be the same. Should I just read my Bible more? Should I do more stuff? Will this earn me more favor with God?
Prosperity is not a dirty word folks. Jeremiah 29:11 says it clearly “ I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and to not harm you and to give you hope and a future” How can we declare war against ideas and words God has given us as promises? We cant.
The issue is that we have redefined what it means for God to prosper us. Prosperity has been defined to what I want and what I desire. That idea is rooted in the idea that we know what is best for us. His sufficiency and prosperity that he supplies is trusting that He has what is best for you.
There are many examples of this in Scripture. The easiest is to look at the life of Christ. Its amazing to me how people misuse prosperity when they have the life of Christ to look at. He was ultimate blessing and perfection yet. He wasnt rich, he had no home, he was hated by many, and then lets look at the cross and how He understood prosperity. Jesus is at the garden of Gesthemenie and is awaiting the worst suffering a human can bear. We never hear in His prayer “now hold up God, i have perfectly obeyed you, shouldnt you send a private jet and get me outta here” No! We here him recognize the toughness before but what does He say “Not my will father but yours be done” Thats heavenly prosperity folks. Fulfilling what God has best for you and trusting him. next
His Sufficiency means you dont have to worry
His Sufficiency means you dont have to worry
Now I could camp out here for a LONG time. My fear is that if I camp here too long I will break my own toes from stepping on them too much. I am no stranger to Anxiety. 40 million people in the united states claim to suffer from anxiety. 40 MILLION! This is america. We have everything right?! WHat do we have to worry about?! The answer to that is everything.
One of the greatest things anyone every taught me about anxiety is that the opposite of worry and anxiety isnt doing less or resting. The opposite of anxiety is trust. Think about that. its so true. We are anxious because we dont trust. We are anxious about our bills because we dont trust in a way out of debt. We worry about our marriage because we dont trust that we can be fulfilled in our commitment. We worry about our lives because we have trusted in ourselves and we lose control. Trusting God is the answer to anxiety. Disclaimer. Anxiety and mental illness has been mistreated by the church for far too long and if a teenager or adult comes to me with anxiety, I will never look at them and tell them to pray more and it will go away. Many people need help. Yes prayer is a HUGE part of that and trusting God but there are clinical needs and medicinal helps as well that God has graciously supplied.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
and then Peter offers this to the church
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Peter and Paul both knew a thing or two about God’s sufficiency. Both of them at rock bottom came to understand that God is enough. Both of them had ample reason to worry. Peter hiding from imprisonment, betraying Jesus, church uproar on and on. And we could go on and on with Paul the former Christian killer. Yet the strongest two rocks of the early church trusted in God’s provision in opposition of worry. Whats our excuse? How do you need to trust in His sufficency with your worry? Take it to Him! He can handle it.
His Sufficiency means you are free.
His Sufficiency means you are free.
This implication is phenomenal. This implications reaches out through our everyday. If God wasnt all-sufficient. We would be slaves to sin still. Can you imagine no hope in the sufficiency of God. I dont know about you guys but I couldnt do it. The pressure of having to always be good enough and to meet my own spiritual needs. Being a slave to the law and to sin is an impossible obstacle to overcome.
All of the issues that come with not trusting God can now be fixed in Him. I could never fix my own worry as a slave. I could never pay my own debt as a slave. I could’nt walk life of obedience as a slave. God has supplied what we need and in three major ways. His Son, His Word, and His Spirit.
His Son allows us to walk in salvation by trusting Him.
His Word and His Spirit give us everything we need for living a life like Christ. We do not need the blessing of a priest. We do not need a 40 day plan. We do not need the government to solve our problems (Lord knows they wouldnt) We just need Him and that is freeing. I dont have to find a magic potion or secret list. I just need God. Look how the Psalmist beautiful puts it.
Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
His sufficiency means you have Good news to share
His sufficiency means you have Good news to share
And like every Good gift that God gives us, it is implied that there is more than enough to share. The Manna, the rain, the famines, the fish and loaves, the wine, and on and on. God always gave in abundance it was always more than enough. Why keep this incredible simple truth of His Sufficiency to ourselves. How selfish can we be that we would be fully supplied with the sufficiency of God and not care enough to share it with those around us. We take His sufficiency for granted.
This implication is a charge. Its a charge to find peace and trust in the sufficiency of God and then use it as a catalyst to share the good news of the Gospel.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
He is sufficient in the news you are sharing and He is sufficient for you to share the news.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In closing. His sufficiency is a choice. He doesn not force His supply on us. We can make the choice to believe that we can meet our own needs or we can trust in the One who will meet all of our needs.
GIVE THE BALL TO LEBRON JAMES
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.