Looking Away to Jesus to – Save you – Matt 1:21
Looking Away to Jesus to – Sustain you- 2 Cor 12:7-10
Looking Away to Jesus to – Strengthen you- 2 Tim 2:1
Looking Away to Jesus to – Save souls – Heb 7:25
Looking Away to Jesus to – Satisfy you – Phil 4:11-13
LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS TO – SAVE YOU FROM the penalty of sin, the bondage to self, the grip of satan and the wrath of God. Looking to Jesus to enable you to stand before God fully forgiven, accepted because of His perfect work on the cross to satisfy the demands of God and give you full acceptance with God forever and adopting you into the family of God as one of His children. Looking away to Jesus involves turning to God in repentance and entrusting yourself into the keeping work of Jesus.
LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS TO – SUSTAIN YOU. Three times Paul asked God to remove the painful “thorn” from him. Gd chose not to but instead said “My grace is sufficient for you.” His grace to enable, empower him to continue on was met with Paul’s reply that he would gladly boast in his weakness for when he was weak then he was strong in the grace of God. LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS to SUSTAIN you in difficult and painful times to continue on living to honor Him.
LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS TO – STRENGTHEN YOU. Paul told Timothy to “Be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus.” Timothy was the recipient of these original words and in order to minister and continue on seeking to further the Gospel and build up the followers of the Lord Jesus, he would need strength that was beyond himself it would be “supernatural strength” and this was available to him in Jesus Christ.
LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS – TO SAVE SOULS. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him.
LOOKING AWAY TO JESUS TO – SATISFY YOU. Paul had “learned to be content” in whatever situation and this he testifies was due to the Lord Jesus who infused him with strength and satisfied him independent of external circumstances. He wrote these words in Philippians 4:11-13 -approximately thirty years after his conversion{See Acts 9 }. He was in prison when he wrote these words!
Satisfied with Jesus because Jesus satisfies.
The word ” strengthen” is to be infused with power, moment by moment. Abiding in Christ, deriving all from Him, depending and drawing from Him there is always sufficient power to live moment by moment irrespective of the difficulties of the circumstances. There is NEVER a lack of power for the believer in any and all circumstances! In the context Christ had strengthened him to be “content,” which means, “satisfied.” In 2 Cor 12 the word “Sufficient,” (arkeo) means to be enough, to be sufficient or to be adequate with the implication of leading to satisfaction. In the passive sense “arkeo,” means “TO BE SATISFIED or CONTENTED with something.”
He had learned this. He writes this thirty years after his conversion in Philippians 4. He had learned to be “content” with little. He had known much hardship. He had known hunger. He had known cruelty. He writes this from a prison. He was “content,…SATISFIED,” “Enough,” why? Jesus Christ was his “sufficiency!”
He was “content” with plenty, he did not feel guilty over having much. He enjoyed what God had given, recognized it was from God. At one time he wrote,” what do you have that have not received,?” He realized there were no self- made men only people whom God in His own wisdom had decided they would have. Over and through many sufferings which he saw as a ” gift”- Phil 1:27, he had come to know independent of all but Christ Himself who was his reservoir of “contentment,” who infused him with strength to live content, satisfied, independent of pleasant or cruel circumstances and people, Jesus Christ had increasingly become his sufficiency! It was a learning process but when he writes now he can say,” I have learned to be content…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Christ was his sufficiency. Is He yours? Have you learned to be content with Jesus. Are you more circumstances orientated than Christ orientated? Are you waiting for pleasant circumstances to “take a breather” or despite your circumstances, Christ is your all and all. For Paul we see in chapter 1:21 – Christ was his life. Often this is what the deficiency is! For some, He is “part” of life, but not life itself and this is where pressures and unpleasant circumstances reveal loud and clear the lack of contentment, because Jesus is not enough to us. So we complain against Him, despise our circumstances ultimately are dissatisfied with Jesus. We deem, He is not “enough” for us in the moment. We fail to find or even consider looking for His companionship and strength in them and for them.
“But God…” Who began a good work in us continues to work in us to desire and to enable us to do His will for His pleasure, so we must work out our salvation -Phil 2:12-13…Looking for Him, looking TO Him in our circumstances and in submission to Him we find He is “enough,” to be “content” with Him, “satisfied” with Him. My hope is in a Person, Jesus Christ, not in circumstances to fulfill, satisfy or cause contentment.
He is our satisfaction, contentment, though all else be taken from me, He is my sufficiency, Paul could attest to. Jesus alone can satisfy the deepest longings and supply for our deepest needs.
Look away to Jesus IN HIS WORD {See Luke 24:27.)
ASK Him to satisfy you
And allow Him to satisfy you with – Himself. FOCUS ON JESUS CHRIST.
Looking Away to Jesus to – Save you – Matt 1:21
Looking Away to Jesus to – Sustain you- 2 Cor 12:7-10
Looking Away to Jesus to – Strengthen you- 2 Tim 2:1
Looking Away to Jesus to – Save souls – Heb 7:25
Looking Away to Jesus to – Satisfy you – Phil 4:11-13