SOMETHING OF SIGNIFICANCE:
SOMETHING BETTER
THAN THAT!
Have you ever had something happen and you
immediately thought: God has got to have something better for me than
that?! Well, you are absolutely right!
SCRIPTURE:
John 10:10
Jesus said, “The thief has come to steal,
kill and destroy but I have come that they might have life, and that they might
have it MORE abundantly.” Anytime you see “they” written in the
scriptures, it is important to personalize it by saying: Jesus said he came to
give “me” life and to give it to “me” more abundantly!
You are God’s creation, and his promises are
as important to you as an individual as they are to the masses. However, if you cannot see yourself important
to God and realize how much he loves and cares for you as an individual, you
can easily miss out on the “MORE” Jesus proclaimed was his will for you and you
will, more than likely, find yourself experiencing what the thief has on his
mind for you which is to steal, kill and destroy. He does this by putting obstacles and lies in
your path to subvert the truth about what Jesus came to do for you!
Remember, it was Jesus who spoke about the
two courses life could take.
With this in mind, for some time I have been
feeling a prompting by the Holy Spirit to teach on three enormously powerful
words: “Better than That!” If you take
time to think about your circumstances in the various areas of your life, I
imagine there are some “That” experiences you would love to see improved and
changed for the better!
These words are especially meaningful to me
because a few years ago a dear friend, Evangelist John Mahon, preached a sermon
based on those three words that the Lord had spoken to him and shared the
powerful results he and his family had experienced by believing and decreeing
that God truly did have something “Better than That!
I looked up some synonyms for “better” and
the first definition to come up was MORE which represents:
-
a greater or additional amount or degree
-
added
-
extra
-
increased
-
new
-
some
more!
Why is this so interesting and exciting? Because the Lord Jesus Christ stated one of
his missions for mankind was as follows:
John 10:10: “I came that they might have life
and that they might have it MORE abundantly.”
If this sounds like what you would like to
experience perhaps in areas of your life that seem “less than,” I believe you
will be inspired and encouraged through this teaching to believe God for MORE
of what Jesus offers and “better” than what you have been experiencing!
Maybe you are in a situation like my husband
and I were in a few years ago. We wanted
to sell our house in a timely manner when a couple came and were haggling over
and over about the price and content and although we were wanting to sell,
something just felt wrong and frustrating.
Then something wonderful happened! I was
standing at my refrigerator contemplating the situation and I heard those three
words from the sermon I had listened to a few years earlier “Better than That!”
What that said to me was, God’s got something better, so we decided to release
our faith for a “better than that” buyer!
My husband said an emphatic “no” to the deal
and within days we had buyers that were over the moon with the house and
everything in it, and we were all delighted with the end result!
How about you? Do you have something going on in your life
that you believe with all your heart God has a “more abundantly” outcome for
you? I encourage you to stand strong and
release your faith for a “better than that” outcome because that is what Jesus
said his desire clearly is for you!
You know so often in life people have grown
up in tough circumstances or had people interject very negative words or
statements about them that have been used by Satan to steal, kill, and destroy
the “better than that” life Jesus created them to experience!
I remember my husband and I working with an
associate pastor who when he ministered or talked just seemed almost childlike
in his actions. He obviously was a grown
man, however, words spoken to him in a jeering mocking way years earlier
blocked him from experiencing the full life Jesus paid for him to have.
After spending time with him and praying
about the situation, Jesus reminded him of a time when he was younger when he
was very badly mocked and made fun of and was called by the name of a cartoon
character in front of his peers repeatedly. This had so shamed him that even
after becoming a grown man and a leader in the church, he was still carrying
around the pain and wounds from being repeatedly embarrassed.
Thankfully, he was able to pray and release
those hurts and issues surrounding that time in his life so that he could move
on and be the successful leader God had in mind for him to be. He received something “better than that” and
we marveled at his demeanor the next time we saw him minister! Years of emotional pain that had been
stealing from him had been lifted off him and he began to genuinely enjoy and
live out Jesus words: “I came that they might have life and that they might
have it in a more abundant (better) way.”
Has someone “dumped” negative, embarrassing
words on you that don’t line up with Jesus’ mission statement for you which He
says is a more abundant life! Remember
your faith response to Jesus’ words is what will make the difference!
The opposite of better is worse! That is what Jesus clearly stated the thief, Satan,
has on his mind. That is why it is
important to make a quality decision daily to become more knowledgeable of what
Jesus offers you, so that your life will become better and reflect His thoughts
for you, not the thief’s!
Even the Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the
New Testament had to be actively involved in letting go of his past so that he
could be the man God called him to be.
At one time, he was all about destroying and locking up anyone
proclaiming Christ as Lord and Messiah, but what a turnaround when he came into
the knowledge of the truth of how much he was loved by Jesus as well as how
much Jesus came to give a more abundant (better) life for all of mankind!
To say the least, he was quite a character
prior to his conversion but then stated his life’s goal in Philippians 3:13: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching for those things which are ahead I press toward
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
I also love the New Living Testament
translation which we can easily relate to:
“…dear brothers and sisters, I have not
achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking
forward to what lies ahead. I press on
to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God,
through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Don’t you love prizes? Think about God being the prize giver in your
life!
Just like Paul, who had to get stuff such as
wrong beliefs, errors in religious persuasions and connections, etc., out of
his mind so that he would not be stuck in his past but move forward to the
“better than that” life God had called him to, for God’s will to be
accomplished in our lives, it is important that we do the very same thing!
Just like you can press the eject button on a
CD to change what you are hearing; you can do the same by rejecting wrong
thinking and believing and switch over to “better than that!” thoughts and
plans Jesus said he has for your life.
James 1:17 is a “more abundant” scripture
that perfectly describes our Lord’s will for those that believe it and receive
it: “Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like
shifting shadows.”
Aren’t you glad God does not change his mind
about you and what he desires for you from day to day?
How do we know this?
2 Corinthians 1:20: “” FOR NO MATTER HOW MANY
PROMISES GOD HAS MADE, THEY ARE “YES” IN CHRIST. AND SO THROUGH HIM THE “AMEN” IS SPOKEN BY US
TO THE GLORY OF GOD.”
Take time this week to find the promises
concerning issues in your life, maybe it’s a health issue, a financial crisis,
a job you or a family member needs, any area you wish to see improvement in,
find God’s promise, receive it, and say “AMEN” because the scripture says when
we do so God gets the glory when his promises are performed! Note the “AMEN” must be spoken by us, then
God goes to work if we stand in faith to see it performed!
God released his faith into his promises and
desires you to know if he promised it, he desires you to have it— but your part
is to BY FAITH take what belongs to you because God said it!
We pray you will take time on a regular basis
to assess what is happening in your life and those you love and, if it does not
measure up to Jesus’ mission for you, a More Abundant (Better than That) life, decide
to be like the Apostle Paul and begin reaching for the goal for the heavenly
prize God has in store for you in Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Diana
