31 lines
4.7 KiB
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31 lines
4.7 KiB
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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Day By Day By Grace</div>
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<div class="subhead">Bob Hoekstra</div>
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<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">May 1</div>
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<h2>The Source of Our Sufficiency</h2>
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<div class="block"><i><b>Not</b> that <b>we</b> are <b>sufficient</b> of <b>ourselves</b> to think of <b>anything</b> as being <b>from ourselves</b>, <b>but</b> our <b>sufficiency</b> is <b>from God</b>…[We] have <b>no confidence</b> in the <b>flesh</b>…I can do <b>all</b> things <b>through Christ</b> who <b>strengthens me</b>.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('2Cr',3,'5-6');">2 Corinthians 3:5-6</a>; <a onClick="return mV('Phl',3,3);">Philippians 3:3</a>; and <a onClick="return mV('Phl',4,13);">4:13</a>)</div>
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<p>We have been considering how God's grace develops traits of godliness in our lives. Such studies are related to finding the <b>source</b> of <b>our sufficiency</b>. Where are believers in Jesus Christ supposed to find adequate resources for living godly lives? The Scriptures answer this question in a two-fold manner. First, God wants us to realize that <b>we</b> are <b>not</b> the <b>source</b> of <b>anything</b> that we need. Second, God wants us to understand that <b>He is</b> the <b>source</b> of <b>everything</b> that we need.</p>
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<p><b>Our inadequacy</b> is the first matter the Lord desires to clarify for us. <i>"<b>Not</b> that <b>we</b> are <b>sufficient</b> of <b>ourselves</b> to think of <b>anything</b> as being <b>from ourselves</b>."</i> Our own personal inadequacy is so comprehensive that we cannot expect that <b>anything</b> godly or eternal will source <b>from us</b>. We do not have any resources that can save a soul, transform a life, or cause the Lord's church to be edified. This is a drastically different perspective on life than what we initially held. Man's natural mind assumes that we must be the source of all that is needed for daily living. God's word repeatedly warns us not to adopt this viewpoint. The Psalmists proclaimed such. <i>"<b>Vain</b> is the <b>help</b> of <b>man</b>…Do <b>not</b> put your <b>trust</b> in <b>princes</b>, nor in <b>a son</b> of man, in whom there is <b>no help</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Psa',108,12);">Psalm 108:12</a>; <a onClick="return mV('Psa',146,3);">146:3</a>). Jesus elaborated on this theme. <i>"Without Me <b>you</b> can do <b>nothing</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jhn',15,5);">John 15:5</a>). Paul taught the same. <i>"</i>[We] <i>have <b>no confidence</b> in the <b>flesh</b></i> [that is, in human resources]<i>."</i></p>
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<p><b>God's adequacy</b> is the second matter that He wants to clarify for us. <i>"Our <b>sufficiency</b> is <b>from God</b>."</i> As surely as we are totally inadequate to supply what we need for life, God is fully adequate to be our comprehensive source for living. The Psalmist understood this corollary truth as well. <i>"Through <b>God</b> we will do <b>valiantly</b>, For it is <b>He</b> who shall <b>tread down</b> our <b>enemies</b>…Happy is he who has the <b>God</b> of Jacob for his <b>help</b>, whose <b>hope</b> is <b>in</b> the <b>LORD</b> his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Psa',108,13);">Psalm 108:13</a>; <a onClick="return mV('Psa',146,'5-6');">146:5-6</a>). Jesus offered the same sufficient provisions. <i>"He who <b>abides</b> in <b>Me</b>…bears <b>much</b> fruit"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jhn',15,5);">John 15:5</a>). Paul testified of the same reality. <i>"I can do <b>all</b> things <b>through Christ</b> who <b>strengthens me</b>."</i> God is the source of our sufficiency in all that pertains to the development of godly characteristics.</p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Dear Lord, my sufficiency, I renounce any attempt to look
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to myself to find personal adequacy. How vain and hopeless that
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is. Lord, teach me to hope in You for everything I need for
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godly living, in Jesus' name, Amen.</div>
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