GOD INSIDE YOU IS GREATER!!

Hey, 2019 – GOD INSIDE YOU IS GREATER!!

I John 4:4, 3:20, and 5:9

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save.  That’s the premise of Isaiah 59, a prophetic passage that points to the coming of Jesus.  No matter what the pain, problem, issue, or obstacle you face, God inside you is greater, mightier, and bigger.

I know it can sound as if it is too simplistic but the message we need to hear is this:  God inside you is GREATER!  Now, what’s the problem?  That does not in any way diminish the pain, the problem, the tragedy, the issue, the brokenness, the obstacle, the enemy you face.  It is a recognition that if the God of the universe, the Savior of the world, the Holy Spirit lives in you, God inside you is GREATER, MIGHTIER, BIGGER, MORE POWERFUL than anything that threatens you.  What this theme ought to communicate is that you can face whatever it is you need to face with confidence because God lives in you.

In I John, the Apostle John writes to believers in Jesus and tells them that the Living God inside you is:

• Greater than the false teachers among you. [Throughout I John]

False teaching in the church happened then and it happens now, and as it says in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun.  Many of the same wrong influences in teaching that were happening 2000 years ago are resurfacing again today, but we do not need to be fearful.  We need to test what we hear (discern) by listening to the Spirit of God as we read the Bible (God’s Word).  We need to know if the voices we listen to say the same thing about Jesus that the Bible says about Jesus.  When we know the voice we hear is the Holy Spirit, we can trust what we hear because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and cannot lie.

• Greater than the enemy that comes against you. [I John 4:4]

The Living God inside you is greater than the enemy that comes against you.  If you have Christ Jesus living inside you, you can test and know what is of God and what is not.  Do those voices that speak to you confess that Jesus came in the flesh, that He is the Messiah, that He died and rose again, that He alone saves and provides access to The Father?  If not, stop listening to those voices.  If they are not of God have nothing to do with them.

• Greater than your heart. [I John 3:20]

This may be one of the most encouraging verses to those who constantly feel like they don’t measure up.  The enemy will take full advantage of our imperfections and try to capitalize on our internal feelings of guilt.  We know from Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, but that does not stop the enemy from whispering in our ear and trying to discourage our heart – telling us we are failures and we do not measure up.  We don’t love people like we should, we don’t love God like we should and we are far from perfect.  But if we listen to the voice of God, we discover that while we are not perfect, we are being perfected.  If the report of the Lord and the report of our heart disagree, we need to embrace the report of the Lord and adjust our heart to fit the facts.  God knows all and if Jesus Christ is inside you, God is greater than your heart.  If God does not condemn you, don’t condemn yourself.

• Greater than the testimony of people. [I John 5:9]

Did you know that God “testifies” to the true and complete victory we have in Jesus?  We are not at the mercy of the testimony of people.  We can make decisions that change how we live today and where we spend eternity, simply by listening to the testimony of God that is sealed in the Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) and confirmed in Scripture.  Unlike the enemy of God, God cannot lie.  All of us are undoubtedly influenced by the testimony of people, but even more important than the testimony of people is the testimony of God concerning Jesus.

The enemy of God is also your enemy.  The enemy of Jesus roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour according to I Peter 5:8; but Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the One who has conquered according to Revelation 5:5.  Jesus is for you, not against you.  Jesus inside you is GREATER, so what’s your problem, what’s your battle, what’s your weakness?  What is your most pressing battle?  God inside you is greater.  Say it.  Believe it.  Trust the testimony of the Spirit of Truth and the Word of God.  Let that testimony change the trajectory of your life.

Our theme for 2019 is: GOD INSIDE YOU IS GREATER!

by Pastor Jim Bartholomew

Click here to view the January 6, 2019 worship service.