God Takes Your Problem and Makes It His

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES What On Earth Am I Here For?   God Takes Your Problem and Makes It His By Rick Warren — Oct 5, 2015 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT, second edition)  What is grace? That’s when God gives you what you need, not what you deserve. Grace is when God says, “I’m going to take your problem and make it my problem.” Grace is God’s Riches given to you AtChrist’s Expense. The Bible says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT, second edition). In other words, you can’t earn your way to Heaven. You can’t work your way in. It’s just a gift. I know I don’t look like it today, but for three years I was a lifeguard. And every lifeguard knows you can’t save people as long as they are trying to save themselves. If somebody is drowning and flailing around in panic, a lifeguard knows to just stay back for a few seconds and wait until that person gives up. Because if you try to save others while they’re trying to save themselves, they will pull you under, too. When they finally give up, they relax; you put your arm around them and just swim back to shore. It’s really quite easy. God wants to save you. Jesus Christ wants to save you from your hurts, your habits, and your hang-ups. He wants to save you for his purpose and by his grace. But you’ve got to quit trying to do it yourself. You’ve got to relax. You need to let go and let God be God.  PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Why is it difficult for many people to accept a gift? What does it mean to take credit for your salvation? In what ways do we do this? How can you relax more in God’s grace? Today’s Scripture “Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7, AMP) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Press Through In Mark chapter five, there was a woman who had been sick for twelve years. The doctors gave her no hope, but she heard that Jesus was passing through town. Something deep down on the inside was saying, “This is your season. This is your time to get well.” In the natural, when she saw all the people around Him, she thought, “I’ll never get to Him. It’s so crowded and I’m weak.” She almost missed her season. But instead of dwelling on those negative thoughts, instead of looking at her situation, she started reminding herself, “If I can just get to Jesus, I will be whole.” She made the choice to turn her thoughts in the right direction and was empowered to take a leap of faith. She pressed through the crowd until she got just close enough to touch the edge of Jesus’ robe. Instantly, she was made whole. Jesus said in Mark 5:34, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Notice it’s our faith that activates God’s power. We have to press through our thoughts, press through our circumstances, press through the crowd and obstacles until we touch Him. Today, with every step you take, God is drawing closer to you. He’ll meet your faith with His miraculous power so you can embrace the victory He has waiting for you! A Prayer for Today “Father, I come to You today with an open and humble heart. I ask You to fill me with Your strength, peace and joy so that I can press through to victory today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”