This Sunday marks the close of our Grace Life series, and we will study the Christian’s dependency on God. Scripture teaches that the follower of Christ is dependent upon God, such as when Jesus explained that followers should abide in the true vine, consequently bearing fruit (John 15:1-5).

God or Me

Dependency upon Him presumes a lack of reliance upon oneself: I depend on God to [fill in the blank], therefore I do not depend on myself. Often, the reality is that we claim to depend on God and we demonstrate otherwise. We claim to seek God’s glory, His interest; all the while we are seeking self-interest. Self, then, becomes an idol that we serve. Michael Lawrence’s words are penetrating on this point:

"Christian, I wonder what self-interested lies you are tempted to believe today. Is it the lie of lust, the lie that says that satisfying your cravings - whether for sex, food, power, recognition, or whatever it is - will make you happy? Is it the lie of circumstances, that if only you were married, if only you were married to someone else, if only you had kids, if only you had different kids, if only you had a better job, a better house, a different career path, then you’d be fulfilled? Is it the satanic lie of doubt, that if you weren’t a Christian, life would be better, or that if God really loved you, life would be better?

Christian, stop measuring your life, stop ordering your life by this cramped and distorted ruler of self-interest. You were created to find joy and meaning in something much bigger than yourself. Recognize your sin and confess it. Then set your eyes on Jesus, who alone will satisfy you."*

We are serving self-interest when we are not depending on God. For God’s glory, depend on Him to give you what you need when you need it, and thank Him for that which He has and has not given you. Forever Reign lyrics says that God is good, love, light, hope, peace, true, joy, and life. We gain Him when we abide in Him. 

Here are the songs we will sing this week.

***PS - You must have Spotify on your computer to listen. 

*Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, It Is Well, 106.