Reality #4 Part 3 How do I know when God Speaks?

Romans 3:10-11
"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.'"

Sin has so affected us that you and I cannot understand the truth of God unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals it. He is our Teacher. When He teaches you the Word of God, sit before Him and respond to Him. As you pray, watch to see how He uses the Word of God to confirm in your heart a word from God. Watch what He is doing around you in circumstances. The God who is speaking to you as you pray and the God who is speaking to you in the Scriptures is the God who is working around you.
God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
You will know when God is speaking to you!
John 10:2-4,14
"But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice...I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me."
The key to knowing God's voice is not a formula! It is not a method you can follow! Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. That is why those who do not have the relationship ("do not belong to God") do not hear what God is saying (John 8:47). You are going to have to watch to see how God uniquely communicates with you. You will not have any other crutch. You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship to Him is of utmost importance.

The Love Relationship is the Key:
An intimate love relationship with God is the key to knowing God's voice, to hearing when God speaks. You come to know His voice as you experience Him in a love relationship. As God speaks and you respond, you will come to the point that you recognize His voice more and more clearly. DO NOT BYPASS THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP!!! Some look for a miraculous sign or try to depend on a "formula" or a set of steps to discover God's will. NO SUBSTITUTE, HOWEVER, EXISTS FOR THE INTIMATE LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!

1. Not a miraculous sign: Sometimes in Scripture God grace a miraculous sign to assure the person that the word was from Him. Gideon is one example (Judges 6). However, asking God for a sign is often an indication of unbelief. In Gideon's case God had already sent fire from stones to consume a sacrifice and even the stones it was on. Yet, in his unbelief, Gideon asked for another sign. "Putting out a fleece" like Gideon is often a sign of your unbelief or an unwillingness on your part to trust God for an answer.
When the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a miraculous sign, Jesus condemned them as "an evil and adulterous generation" (Matthew 12:38-39). They were so self-centered and sinful that they could not even recognize that God was there in their midst (Luke 19:41-44). Don't be like that wicked and adulterous generation by seeking for miraculous signs to validate a word from God.

2. Not a formula: A "correct formula" is not the way to hear God's voice either. Moses heard God speak through the burning bush. If Moses had been around today, he would have been tempted to write a book about How to Know God's Voice in Burning Bushes. Then people all over our land would be out trying to find their burning bush. But wait! How many other burning bushes like Moses experienced were there? NONE! God does not want you to become an expert at using a formula, He wants an intimate love relationship with you. He wants you to depend on Him alone.

3. Not a name-it-and-claim-it method: Some people have a tendency to open their Bible, pick out a verse that they want to use, and claim that they have a word from God for their circumstance. This is a very human-centered (or self-centered) approach. You may ask, "Can't I get a word from God from the Bible?" Yes, you can! But, only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal to you which truth of Scripture is a word from God in a particular circumstance. Even if the circumstance is similar to yours, only God can reveal His word for your circumstance. Also, be very careful about claiming you have a word from God. Claiming to have a word from God is serious business. If you have been given a word from God, you must continue in that direction until it comes to pass (even twenty-five years, like Abram). If you have not been given a word from God yet you say you have, you stand in judgment as a false prophet: "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' -- when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
In the Old Testament law the penalty for a false prophet was death (Deuteronomy 18:20). That certainly is a very serious charge. Do not take a word from God lightly!

4. Not open and closed doors: Some people try to hear God's voice and know His will only through circumstances. Many people will say, "Lord, I really want to know Your will. Stop me if I am wrong and bless me if I am right." Another version of this is, "Lord, I will proceed in this direction. Close the door if it is not Your will." The only problem is I don't see this as a pattern anywhere in the Scripture. God does use circumstances to speak to us. But we will often be led astray if that is our only means of determining God's directions.
We do see the case in Acts 16 where Paul sought to go into Asia and Bithynia and the Holy Spirit would not permit him to go. This, however, is not just a simple case of looking for open and closed doors. Paul depended on prayer and the shared counsel of those traveling with him. As they sought the Lord's directions, the Holy Spirit kept telling them not to go but to wait. Then when the vision of the Macedonian man came, the Holy Spirit gave affirmation that that was God's directions for their missionary work.

The Word of God is our guide. The pattern I see in Scripture is that God always gives a direction on the front end. He may not tell you all you want to know at the beginning, but He will tell you what you need to know to make necessary adjustments and to take the first step of obedience. Your task (should you accept it, and I think you will!) is to wait until the Master gives you instructions. If you start "doing" before you have a direction from God, more than likely you will be wrong. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by experience alone. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by tradition, a method, or a formula. Often people trust in these ways because they are easy. People do as they please and put the whole burden of responsibility on God. If they are wrong, He must intervene and stop them. If they make a mistake, they blame Him. If you want to know the will and voice of God, you must give the time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with Him. That is what He wants!!!
God loves you!!! He wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He wants you to depend only on Him when you are seeking a word from Him. He wants you to learn to hear His voice and know His will. Your relationship to Him is the key to hearing when God speaks to you. If you do not already have that kind of relationship with God, consider seeking Him out.

If you would like, to start a Love relationship with God you can start by praying this prayer:
God, I pray that I will come to such a relationship with You that when You speak, I will hear and respond. I acknowledge that I am a sinful person and that I have fallen short of Your Glory, Your standard. I thank You for what Jesus Christ did on the cross and through His resurrection and I accept Your Love and Forgiveness that you have freely offered me through Your Grace. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

In Christ,

David

Reality #4 Part 2 God speaks in the Gospels, Acts, and yes even Now!

In the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, God spoke through His Son, Jesus.
John 1:1-4,14
The Word Became Flesh
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

It would have been foolish for the disciples to say, "It's wonderful knowing You, Jesus; but we really would like to know the Father."
Look at this example between Philip and Jesus:
John 14:8
"Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.'"
John 14:9-10
"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.'"

Just as Moses was face-to-face with God at the burning bush, the disciples were face-to-face with God in a personal relationship with Jesus. Their encounter with Jesus was an encounter with God, and to hear from Jesus was to hear from God.
In the Gospel accounts, God was in Christ Jesus. God spoke by Jesus. When the disciples heard Jesus, they heard God. When Jesus spoke, that was an encounter with God.

God spoke in Acts and to the Present

When we move from the Gospels to Acts and to the present, we quite often change our whole mind-set. We live as if God quit speaking personally to His people. We fail to realize that an encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God. God clearly spoke to His people in Acts. He clearly speaks to us today.
The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the life of a believer.
1 Corinthians 3:16
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
1 Corinthians 6:19
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own."
Because He is always present in a believer, He can speak to you clearly at any time and in any way He chooses!
God speaks through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things, will call to your memory the things Jesus said, will guide you into all truth, will speak what He hears from the Father, will tell you what is yet to come, and will glorify Christ as He reveals Christ to you!

Does God really speak to His people in our day? Yes!
Will He reveal to you where He is working when He wants to use you? Yes!
God has not changed. He still speaks to His people. If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience. Go back and continue to build your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Part 3 = How do I know when God speaks?

In Christ,

David

Reality #4 God Speaks to His People

John 8:47
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

If anything is clear from a reading of the Bible, this fact is clear: God speaks to His people! He spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. He spoke to Abraham and the other patriarchs. God spoke to the judges, kings, and prophets. God was in Christ Jesus speaking to the disciples. God spoke to the early church, and God spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation. God does speak to His people, and you can anticipate that He will be speaking to you also.
One Critical point to understanding and experiencing God is knowing clearly when God is speaking. If the Christian does not know when God is speaking, he is in trouble at the heart of his Christian life!

God speaks to His people:
Hebrews 1:1-2
The Supremacy of God's Son
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."

John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

John 16:13-14
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

John 8:47
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

God spoke in the Old Testament:
1. Through Angels (Genesis 16)
2. Through Visions (Genesis 15)
3. Through Dreams (Genesis 28:10-19)
4. Through the use of the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30) [Lit. "lights and perfections." These two Hebrew words begin with the first and last letters of the alphabet (cf. the "the first and the last" of Revelation 1:17). There is no hint of how they functioned or what they were -- perhaps stones of different colors, or two small objects engraved with symbols or letters of the alphabet. Whatever the Urim and Thummim were, they were used to receive oracles from God (Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 28:6; Ezra 2:63).
5. Through Symbolic Actions (Jeremiah 18:1-10)
6. Through A Gentle Whisper (1 Kings 19:12)
7. Through Miraculous Sings (Exodus 8:20-25)
8. And Many More....

The fact that God spoke to people is far more important than how He spoke. When He spoke, the person knew God was speaking; and he knew what God was saying. There are 4 important factors that occur each time God spoke in the Old Testament. Lets look at Moses and the Burning Bush in Exodus 3.

1. When God spoke, it was usually unique to that individual.
Moses had no precedent for a burning bush experience. He could not say, "OH, this is my burning bush experience. My fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had theirs, and this is mine." There were no other experiences of God speaking this way. It was unique. God wants our experience with Him, and His voice, to be personal to us. He wants us to look to Him in a relationship rather than depend on some method or technique. The key is not how God spoke, but that He spoke. That has not changed. He will speak to His people today, and how He speaks will not be nearly as important as the fact that He does speak.

2. When God spoke, the person was sure God was speaking.
Because God spoke to Moses in a unique way, Moses had to be certain it was God. The Scripture testifies that Moses had no question that his encounter was with God -- The "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He trusted God, obeyed Him, and experienced God responding just as He said He would. Could Moses logically prove to someone else that he had heard from God? No, all Moses could do was testify to his encounter with God. Only God could cause His people to know that the word He gave Moses was a word from the God of their fathers.
When someone like Gideon lacked assurance, God was very gracious to reveal Himself even more clearly. Check out Judges 6:21-22. Gideon was sure that God had spoke. Check out that last part of vs. 22: "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."

3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.
Moses knew what God was telling him to do. He knew how God wanted to work through him. That is why Moses raised so many objections. He knew exactly what God was expecting. This was true for Moses, and it was true for Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, and others. God did not use riddles. He made His message clear.

4. When God spoke, that was the encounter with God.
Moses would have been foolish to say, "This has been a wonderful experience with this burning bush. I hope this leads me to an encounter with God!" That was the encounter with God! When God reveals truth to you, by whatever means, that is an encounter with God. That is an experience of His presence and work in your life. God is the only One who can cause you to experience His presence or hear His voice.
This pattern of God's speaking is found throughout the Old Testament. The method He used to speak differed from person to person. What is important is:
1. God uniquely spoke to His people.
2. They knew it was God.
3. They knew what He said.

When God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and through the Body of Christ (His Church), you will know it is God; and you will know what He is saying. When God speaks to you, that is an encounter with God.

Next: God speaking in the Gospels, Acts, and the Present.

In Christ,

David

Reality #3 Part 5 Things only GOD can do!

Scripture reveals to us certain things that only God can do.

John 6:44
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

No one will seek God or pursue spiritual things unless the Spirit of God is at work!
Suppose a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker, or one of your children begins to inquire after spiritual things. You do not have to question whether that is God drawing him or her. He is the only one who can do that. No one will ever seek after God unless God is at work in his life.
Try applying this to your witnessing, you will find wonderful freedom. Pray about it and watch to see how God is working in the lives of others. When you see or hear someone seeking after God, that is your invitation to bear witness to the God you know and serve!

Here are some other things that ONLY GOD can do!

John 14:15-17
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

John 16:8
"And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:"

When you are saved, you enter a love relationship with Jesus Christ -- God Himself. At that point the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, comes to take up residence in you life. He is ever present to teach you. The Holy Spirit convicts people of guilt regarding sin. He convicts the world of righteousness and judgment.

Things ONLY GOD can do:
1. God draws people to Himself.
2. God causes people to seek after Him.
3. God reveals spiritual truth.
4. God convicts the world of guilt regarding sin.
5. God convicts the world of righteousness.
6. God convicts the world of judgment.

When you see one of these things happening you can know God is at work. God is at work when you see someone coming to Christ, asking about spiritual matters, coming to understand spiritual truth, experiencing conviction of sin, being convinced of the righteousness of Christ, and being convinced of judgment.
Some things that we can do:
1. Pray: Always start with Prayer! Only the Father know what He has purposed. He knows the best way to get it done. After you pray, get up off your knees and watch to see what God does next. What to see what people are saying when they come to you.
2. Make the connection: Suppose a co-worker comes to you with a question like, "My family is really having a tough time financially. I am having an especially tough time with my teenager, can you give me some advise?" If you have just prayed for God to reveal to you where He is at work, make the connection between your prayers and this opportunity! Always connect what happens after prayer or you may miss God's answer to your prayer.
3. Ask probing questions: Ask the kind of questions that will reveal what is happening in that person's life. This will help you find out where God has been at work in peoples lives.
Sample questions:
A. How can I pray for you?
B. What can I pray for you?
C. Do you want to talk?
D. What do you see as the greatest challenge in your life?
E. What is the most significant thing happening in your life right now?
F. Would you tell me what God is doing in your life?
G. What is God bringing to the surface in your life?
H. What particular burden has God given you?

4. Listen: Suppose the person responds, "I really don't have a relationship with God. But in the last little while with this problem with my teen, I sure have been thinking about it." OR "When I was a kid, I used to go to Sunday School. My mother and dad made me go. I got away from it, but the financial problems we are under have really caused me to think about this." Those statements sound like God is at work in the person's life. He may be drawing the person to Himself, causing the person to seek after God or bringing conviction of sin.

When you want to know what God is doing around you, pray. Watch to see what happens next. Make the connection between you prayer and what happens next. Ask probing questions and then listen. Be ready to make whatever adjustments are required to join God in what He is doing.

When God reveals to you what He is doing, that is when you need to respond! He speaks when He is about to accomplish His purposes. That is true throughout Scripture. Keep in mind, the final completetion may be a long time off, just like Abram's son was born 25 years after the promise from God.
The time God comes to you, however, is the time for your response. You need to begin adjusting your life to Him. You may need to make some preparations for what He is going to do through you.

What God Initiates:
When God said through Isaiah, "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it." (Isaiah 46:11b), he confirmed that what God initiates, He completes! Earlier he warned God's people saying, "The LORD of hosts has sworn: 'As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand...For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?'" (Isaiah 14:24,27). God says that if He ever lets His people know what He is about to do, it is as good as done -- He Himself will bring it to pass. (See also 1 Kings 8:56 and Philippians 1:6.)
What God speaks, He guarantees will come to pass. This holds enormous implications for individual believers and churches. When we come to God to know what He is about to do where we are, we also come with the assurance that what God indicates He is about to do is certain to come to pass.
You may have trouble agreeing with this statement. But sure you always base your understanding of God on Scripture, not on personal opinion nor experience alone. Throughout history, people have said they have a word from the Lord and then it does not come to pass. You cannot look to these kinds of experiences to determine your understanding of God. According to the Scriptures, God accomplishes what He purposes to do.

In Christ,

David

Reality #3 Part 4 Jesus Example

How does God invite you to be involved with Him?

John 5:17,19-20
"But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.'
The Authority of the Son
So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel."

John 6 has a few stories of How this worked out in Christ's life.

Jesus' Example:
1. The Father has been working right up until now.
2. Now God has Me working.
3. I do nothing on My own initiative.
4. I watch to see what the Father is doing.
5. I do what I see the Father is already doing.
6. You see, the Father loves Me.
7. He shows Me everything that He is doing.

Jesus came to do the Fathers will, not His own. (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29; 17:4)

The key way that Jesus knew what the Father was doing, was to watch. When Jesus saw the what the Father was doing, He joined with the Fathers work. For Jesus, the revelation of the work was the invitation to join in the work.

Is it possible that God could be at work around you, and not reveal it to you?
Elisha's Servant-- 2 Kings 6:8-18
Elisha could see the Army of God, but his servant wasn't ready until Elisha prayed.
Jerusalem's Leaders-- Luke 19:41-44
God (Jesus) was in their midst performing wonderful signs and miracles, yet they did not recognize Him. They couldn't see the Father at work. They had not developed the love relationship with the Father, even though they had been diligent students of the Scriptures.
Jesus condemned the Jews for missing out on the most important part of life -- a love relationship with God. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 5:39-40

2 things are important for you to recognize the activity of God around you:
1. You must be living in an intimate love relationship with God.
2. God must take the initiative to open your spiritual eyes so you can see what He is doing.
The second part is also your invitation to join in Gods work!

Knowing where God is at work

God has tried, many times to get our attention by revealing where He is at work. We see it, but we do not immediately identify it as God's work. We say to ourselves, "Well, I don't know if God wants me to get involved here or not. I had better pray about it." Prayer is not a bad thing, however by the time we leave that situation and pray, the opportunity to join God may pass us by. We need a tender and sensitive heart and a willingness to be ready to respond to God at the slightest prompting. God uses the love relationship to give us this tender heart!
To join God in His work, you need to know where He is working. The Scriptures tell us some things that only God can do. Learn to identify these; and when you see something happen that only God can do, you will know it is God's activity. This does not deny God's initiative because unless God opens your spiritual eyes, you will not know it is Him at work. But when God does invite you, He will be able to convince you that He is the One working.

Part 3 = Things only God can do!

In Christ,

David

Special Post for Very Special People

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Reality #3 Part 3 God Invites You to Join Him

2 Corinthians 5:19-20
"That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

It is revealed in the Bible that God has always been at work in reconciling the world to Himself. God has never been absent from it or from what is taking place in history. When you read the Bible, you are reading God's redemptive actions in our world. You can see that God chooses to take the initiative and involve His people with Him and that He chooses to work through them to accomplish His purposes.
God came to Noah when He was about to judge the world. God was about to do something, and He was going to do it through Noah.
When God was ready to build a nation for Himself, He came to Abraham.
When God heard the cry of the children of Israel and decided to deliver them, He came to Moses.
This is true all through the Old and New Testaments. When God's fullness of time had come to redeem a lost world through His Son, He gave twelve men to His Son to prepare them to accomplish His purposes.
When God is about to do something, He takes the initiative and comes to one or more of His servants. He lets them know what He is about to do. He invites them to adjust their lives to Him so He can accomplish His work through them.
Amos 3:7 "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."

Don't be in a hurry! When God is ready, He will show you where He is working so you can join Him. The wait, may be God preparing your character or developing your love relationship with Him. Don't be discouraged if the "call" does not come immediately. God knows what He is doing! Until He reveals what He is don't so you can join Him, you don't have to worry about not being about the Father's business. Your focus should be, getting to know Him better.
Jesus was 12 when he was in the temple going about His Father's business, yet, He was 30 before He began the ministry God had prepared Him for. Jesus spent the better part of thirty years as a carpenter waiting until the Father was ready for Him to begin His public ministry.

You may ask the question: "Why doesn't God give me a big assignment?" And God might respond, "You are asking Me to involve you in my great movements, but I am trying to get you simply to understand how to believe Me. I can't give you that assignment yet." God must lay basic foundations in your life before He can give you larger tasks.
Have you ever said something like, "Lord, if You just give me a great assignment, I will serve You for all I am worth"?
God might respond, "I really want to, but I can't. If I were to put you into that kind of assignment, you would never be able to handle it. Your are just not ready."
You may argue, "Lord, I am able. I can handle it; just try me."
Lets look at Peter! "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."
Jesus: "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me." Luke 22:33-34
Is it possible that He also knows exactly what you would do? Trust Him! He is looking out for your best interest. And, God is far more interested in accomplishing His kingdom purposes that you are. He will move you into every assignment that He knows you are ready for.
Let God orient you to Himself. The servant does not tell the Master what kind of assignment he needs. The servant waits on his Master for the assignment. So be patient and wait, but do not let this be idol time, continue to expand you Love relationship with Him. Let God mold and shape your character. Let God purify your life and make you into a clean vessel for His service. God will prepare you for the assignment that is just right for you. Any assignment, Large or Small that comes from the Maker of the universe is important! Don't use human standards to measure the importance or value of an assignment!

In Christ,

David

Saving Faith is NOT works Based!

James 2:14-17
Faith Without Works Is Dead
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

Recently I have heard many people using these verses (especially vs. 17) to support a works based faith.
However that would be a mis-interpretation of the Word of God.

In vs 14, James asks, "Can that faith save him?"
This introduces the crucial issue of the relationship between faith and works. The question under scrutiny is, What kind of faith is saving faith? James's question is rhetorical; the obvious answer is that faith without works cannot save. Faith that yields no deeds is not saving faith. The New Testament does not teach justification by the profession of faith or the claim to faith; it teaches justification by the possession of true faith.
Vs. 15-16, James is describing a "Faith" of words without actions.
Vs. 17 "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
When Luther and the Reformers insisted on the formula "Justification by faith alone," they meant to insist that justification rests upon reliance on the merit of Christ alone. The "alone" does not mean that the faith exists alone without any subsequent fruit of obedience. Luther insisted that saving faith is a living faith. "Dead" faith does not mean a faith that has perished, rather, the image suggests a faith that never had any true life in it. A dead faith cannot make one alive, cannot "save your souls" (James 1:21 "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save you souls.") , and is therefore false and useless.

Galatians 2:15-16
Justified by Faith
"We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."

Galatians 3:1-10
By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-- just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed.' So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."

Fruits of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-25
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

These are all Charateristics of a person. But how are they manifested? How do we know and understand when someone has these Fruits?
They manifest themselves in Good Works.

Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We earn eternal separation from God by works of sin (which we cannot help to commit, because we are born into a sinful nature), but God offers us a Gift (it is free and only needs to be accepted) and this gift is offered through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Eternal life only comes through His saving Grace. Nothing more and nothing less!

However it is not enough to believe that Jesus Christ lived a Pure life, died for the sins of the world, and defeated death and Satan through His Resurrection.

James 2:19
"You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!"

Having a head knowledge does nothing, the demons know 100% what Christ has done, but they will never return to heaven. It is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, depending upon Him fully for everything! Handing over control of your life to Jesus and following Him.

Ephesians 2:4-9
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Philippians 1:6
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

2 Timothy 1:6-12
"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me."

If God has begun the Good work of Salvation and the changing of your Spirit from that of Fear to one of Power and Love and Self-Control, and He is Faithful to bring that Good Work to Completion on the day that Christ returns. Then our Good works can only be a Fruit of our Faith, not the causation of it!

In Summary,
The Grace of God is the only thing that has Saving Power. It has been lavished upon us through Jesus Christ. God is at work around us (per the last two posts) and invites us to enter into that work with Him. He delights in working through us! However these works are a Fruit of the relationship that we already have with Jesus Christ. These works do not grant us or deny us Salvation in the least. That is a gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. It cannot be earned!
If you desire Bible verses that support this check out: http://www.calvarychapel.com/nederland/secure.htm

In Christ,

David

Reality #3 Part 2 God's Ways

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God has created us and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He desires that His people follow His ways! He knows our world, past, present, and future. When God's people do not follow His ways the consequences can be very damaging. God's ways are always right and best.
God offered Israel great fulfillment, but they failed to follow Him and the cost was great!
Psalm 81:10-12
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels."
God's ways would have been so much better for Israel to follow!
Psalm 81:13-14
"Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes."
God wanted to provide and care for His people, but they would not follow Him. God wants us to adjust our lives to Him so He can do through us what He wants to do. God is not our servant, He does not adjust to our plans. We are His servants and we must adjust our lives to what He is about to do and to His way of doing it!
If we will not submit, God will let us follow our own choices, and through them we will never experience what God is waiting and wanting to do in our behalf or through us for others.
You would think that Israel, being brought out of Egypt with miraculous sings and wonders like walking on dry ground through the Red Sea and seeing the Egyptian army destroyed by the sea, and bread from heaven (mana) as well as flocks of quail to eat and fresh water to drink flowing from a rock. Not to mention God's presence leading them in a Pillar of Smoke by day and a Pillar of Fire by night.
However when they got to the Promised Land, they didn't trust God to deliver the Promised Land to them. And for not trusting God, they spent the next 40 years wandering through the wilderness. And Psalm 81 is God reminding Israel that He would have conquered their enemies quickly if they had only followed His plans rather than their own.

You need to know what God is about to do!
God always gave His prophets a two-fold message. First the desire of God always: "Call the people to return to Me." And if the people failed to respond the second message was: "Let them know that they are closer to the moment of judgment than they have ever been."
When God was prepared to bring a terrible judgment to Jerusalem and destroy the entire city, was it important to know what God was about to do?
Understanding what God is about to do where you are is more important than telling God what you want to do for Him.
You need to know what God has on His agenda for your church, community, nation, and yourself at this time in history. Then you can adjust your life to God, so that He can move you into the mainstream of His activity before it is too late. God most likely wont give you a detailed schedule, but He will let you know one step at a time as to how you can respond to what He is doing.
Martin Luther: What was God doing when He started to tell Martin Luther that "The just shall live by faith"? He was about to bring the people of Europe to an understanding that salvation was a free gift ant that each person had direct access to Him. God had started the Great Reformation. As you study great movements of God in church history, you will notice in every case that God came to someone and the person released his life to God. Then God began to accomplish His purposes through that individual.
John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield: God was preparing for a seeping revival in England that saved England from a bloody revolution as France had experienced, when He began to speak to John and Charles Wesley. They along with George Whitefield, through whom God was able to do mighty works and turn England completely around.

In your community there are some things that are about to happen in the lives of others. God wants to intercept those lives. Suppose He wants to do it through you? He comes to you and talks to you. But you are so self-centered, you respond, "I don't think I am trained. I don't think I am able to do it. And I..."
You see what is happening here? The focus is on self! The moment you sense God is moving in your life, you give Him a whole list of reasons why He has got the wrong person or why the timing is wrong. That is just what Moses did. You need to seek God's perspective. God knows that you can't do it! But He wants to do it Himself, through you!

All through Scripture, God takes the initiative. He come to a person, reveals Himself and His activity. This revelation is always an invitation to adjust your life to what He is doing. No one that God has ever encountered could remain the same after the encounter. They had to make major adjustments in their lives in order to walk obediently with God.
God is the Sovereign Lord! You must keep you life God-centered, because He is the One who is the Pacesetter. He is always the One to take the initiative to accomplish what He wants to do. When you are God-centered, even the desires to do the things that please God come from God's initiative in you life because "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13
What often happens when we see God at work is we immediately get self-centered rather than God-centered. Somehow we must reorient our lives to God. We must learn to see things from His perspective. We must allow Him to develop His character in us. We must let Him reveal His thoughts to us. Only then can we get a proper perspective on life. In doing this you will immediately put your life alongside His activity. When you see God at work around you, your heart will leap within you and say, "Thank You, Father. Thank You for letting me be involved where You are." If you see God working, you should always assume that He wants you to join Him!
Caution: You must be careful to identify God's initiative and distinguish it from your selfish desires! A self-centered life will have a tendency to confuse its selfish desire with God's will. Circumstances cannot always be a clear direction for God's leadership. Open and Closed doors are not always indications of God's directions. However a sure fire way of seeking God's direction is; checking to see that Prayer, the Scripture, and circumstances all agree in the direction you sense God leading you.
The key is not a method, it is a relationship with your creator.
"I never remember...a period...that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, of if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes." George Mueller

These are the things that helped George find God's will:
1. He sincerely sought God's direction
2. He waited patiently on God until he had a word from God in the Scriptures.
3. He looked tot he Holy Spirit (Ghost) to teach him through God's Word.

These are the things that lead him to make mistakes in knowing God's will:
1. Lacking honesty of heart
2. Lacking uprightness before God
3. Impatience to wait for God
4. Preferring the counsel of men over the declarations of Scripture

Here is how he summed up the way he entered into a "heart" relationship with God and learned to discern God's voice:
1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the knowledge of what His will is.
2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
3. I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.
6. Thus, (1) through prayer to God, (2) the study of the Word, and (3) reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly.
For futher reading on George Mueller, see Answers to Prayer from George Mueller's Narratives, compiled by A.E.C. Brooks, Moody Press, and George Mueller by Faith, Coxe Bailey, Moody Press.

In Christ,

David

Reality #3 God takes the initiative

Philippians 213
"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

God takes the initiative!
He takes it in Pursuing a love relationship with you, but also, He invites you to be involved with Him in His work. God doesn't consult the servant before He begins His work. In order to be rightly oriented to God and His work, you need a God-centered life. The Bible is about God accomplishing His purposes through us, not our walk with God. It is 100% God focused!

Sin is a shift from God-centeredness to self-centeredness. The essence of salvation is a denial of self. You must return to a God-centered life, when this happens, God can accomplish through us the purposes He had before He created the world.

Here are a few things that God-Centered living looks like:
1. Confidence in God
2. Dependence on God and His ability and provision
3. Life focused on God and His activity
4. Humbleness before God
5. Denying self
6. Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
7. Seeking God's perspective in every circumstance
8. Holy and godly living

These stories show people who were living God-centered lives:
Joseph: Genesis 39
Joshua and Caleb: Numbers 14
King Asa: 2 Chronicles 14

Here are a few things that Self-Centered living looks like:
1. Life focused on self
2. Pride in self and self's accomplishments
3. Self-confidence
4. Depending on self and self's own abilities
5. Affirming self
6. Seeking to be acceptable to the world and its ways
7. Looking at circumstances from a human perspective
8. Selfish and ordinary living

These stories show people who were living self-centered lives:
Adam and Eve: Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-7
Ten Spies: Numbers 13-14
King Asa: 2 Chronicles 16

Self-centeredness is a subtle trap. God-centeredness may make no sense from a human perspective. You can avoid being self-centered at one time and fall right into the trap at another. God-centeredness requires a daily death of self and submission to God!
John 12:24-25
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

To live a God-centered life, you must focus your life on God's purposes, not your own plans! Try to see from God's perspective rather than from your own distorted human perspective. When God starts to do something in the world, He takes the initiative to come and talk to somebody. God has chosen to involve His people in accomplishing His purpose.
God was about to destroy the world and He came to Noah: Genesis 6
God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and He came to Abraham: Genesis 18 & 19
God was about to deliver the Israelites from Midian and He came to Gideon: Judges 6
God was about to reveal the Gospel message to the Gentiles and He came to Saul (Paul) Acts 9

You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him!

Why is it that we do not realize that doing things God's way is always best? Do we not truly trust Him?

When you pray to God, do you ask Him to provide you with specific items (job, car, house)? Or do you ask God to show you what He is doing around you, so that you might join with Him?
I am not saying that it is wrong to pray for specific things. However God is always at work around you, how are those specific things going to show you how God is working?

You need to trust God with your basic needs, He loves you and wants to provide for you! But it will be according to His purposes!
Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

In Christ,

David

Reality #2 Part 2 Created not for Time, but ETERNITY

What is time? In the sense that I am talking about here it means: Our Lifetime on Earth.

You were not created specifically for this time! You were created by God, for Eternity. This time here on earth provides the opportunity to get acquainted with Him! It is an opportunity for Him to develop your character in His likeness. Only then, will eternity have its fullest dimensions for you.

If you just live for time, you will miss the ultimate purpose of creation. Worship of and a Love Relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you live in time, you allow your past to mold and shape your life today and your future. Whereas your life as a child of God should be shaped by the future (Eternity in Heaven with Him). God uses your present time to mold and shape your future usefulness here on earth and in eternity.

You may have some things in your past that have a strong limiting influence on your life.
Paul had this also:
Philippians 3:4-14
"Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul was a true and faithful Jew from the royal tribe of Benjamin. He was faultless in keeping the laws. He was zealous for God. But, he considered all these things rubbish and loss. More than anything else Paul wanted to know, Christ, be found in Him, and become like Him to attain a future blessing (resurrection from the dead).
In order to focus on the future, he forgot the past. He strained toward the future. He pressed toward the future goal of a heavenly prize. Paul's real desire was to know Christ and become like Him.
You too, can order your life under God's direction that you come to know Him, love Him only, and become like Christ. Let your present be molded and shaped by what you are to become in Christ. You were created for eternity. You need to begin orienting your life to the purposes of God. His purposes go far beyond time and into eternity. Make sure that you invest your life, time, and resources in things that are lasting and not things that will pass away. If you don't recognize that God created you for eternity, you will invest in the wrong direction. Store up your treasures in Heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21,33
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

This is why a love relationship with God is so important. He Loves You. He knows what is best for you. Only He can guide you to invest your life in worthwhile ways. His guidance will come as you walk with Him and listen to Him.

How do you walk with God?

When your relationship is as it ought to be, you will always be in fellowship with the Father. You will be there in His presence expecting and anticipating the relationship of love.

Do you have a time in the day that you set aside to be with God, pray to Him, and read His word?
This should not be a time that you set aside to have a relationship with God, but because you have a relationship with God.
If you have a wife (husband) or girlfriend (boyfriend), why do you spend time with them? Is it not because you already have a relationship? It is the same thing with God!
Your quiet time should be because you know Him and, therefore, love Him, not only in order to learn about Him. Paul said it this way:
2 Corinthians 5:14
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died."
The love of Christ compelled/constrained Paul.
If you spent time with God, like you spent time with your wife or girlfriend, you would learn much about God, His word, His purposes, and His ways. You will come to know Him during the day as you experience Him working in and through your life. Learning about Him is not why you should want to have a quiet time with Him. The more you know Him and experience His love, the more you will love Him. Then you will want that time alone with Him because you do love Him and enjoy His fellowship.

The relationship God wants to have with you is real and personal and practical. God is not far off and unconcerned about your day-to-day living. God as seen in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation is One who relates to people in real, personal, intimate, and practical ways. Read these stories and see the relationship that God has with each of these people:
Adam and Eve: Genesis 3:20-21
Hagar: Genesis 16:1-13
Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-13
The Twelve Disciples: Mark 6:7-13
Peter in Prison Awaiting Execution: Acts 12:1-17
John (while in exile on the island of Patmos): Revelation 1:9-20
Here are some others: Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah!

Do you see that God is real and personal? Do you see their relationship with God is practical? Has God changed? It was true in the Old Testiment, it was true of Jesus, it was true after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and it is still true today. Your life can also reflect that kind or real, personal, and practical relationship as you respond to God's working in your life.
Love must be real and personal, a person cannot love without another to love! A relationship with God takes place between two real beings, You and Him! This has always been His desire, all His efforts are expended to bring this desire to reality. God is a person pouring His life into yours.

The constant presence of God is the most practical part of your life and ministry. Unfortunately we often assign God to a limited place in our lives. Then we call on Him whenever we need help. That is the exact opposite of what we find in the Word of God. He is the One who is working in our world. He invites you to relate to Him so He can accomplish His work through you. His whole plan for the advancement of the kingdom depends on His working in real and practical ways through His relationship to His people.

Take some time, pour some energy into your relationship with your Creator. You will not be disappointed in the results. I cannot remember a time, where I came to meet with my Creator with a sincere heart, completely seeking Him, that I have been disappointed.
Set some time aside each day for a month to humbly come before God and ask Him to reveal Himself to you through His Word and watch God respond!

In Christ,

David

Reality #2 God Pursues a Love Relationship with Us

Matthew 22:37-38
"And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.'"

God Himself pursues a love relationship with You! He is the One who takes the initiative to bring you into this kind of relationship. This relationship is why You were Created! It is the purpose of Your Life. This Love Relationship can and should be real and personal to You.
However it is not a one-sided affair. God wants you to know Him and Worship Him, but mostly He wants you to Love Him. Jesus said, 'Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.' John 14:21
If you want God to reveal Himself to you, you must love Him and obey Him.
When you obey Jesus (obedience), you show that you love and trust Him. It is an outward expression of our Love! Our reward for Obedience is that God will show Himself to You, Jesus will manifest Himself to You. Jesus was the perfect example when He said, 'but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.' John 14:31

A love relationship with God requires that you demonstrate your love by obedience. However, this is not just a following of the 'letter' of the law, it is a following of the 'spirit' of the command as well. If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem!

Question: If you were standing before God could you describe your relationship to Him by saying, "I love You with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength?"

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

Mark 12:30
'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

This heart-cry of God is expressed throughout Scripture! Everything depends on this! Everything in your Christian life, everything about knowing Him and experiencing Him, everything about knowing His will depends on the quality of your love relationship to God. If this relationship is not right, nothing in your life will be right!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

John 3:16
For God So Loved the World
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

John 14:21
"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

Romans 8:35,37,39
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us...[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

1 John 3:16
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."

1 John 4:9-10,19
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins...We love because he first loved us."

Jesus Christ didn't just give you your life, He IS your Life! Jesus laid down His life for you, even before you came into this world, Jesus died upon the Cross for You! He has drawn you to Himself, to a love relationship with Himself! God loves you, and wants you to love Him as well! You have 2 options:
1. Life: Listen to His Voice, hold fast to Him, believe in His only Son Jesus Christ, obey His commands and teachings, and be willing to lay down your life for your Christian brothers and sisters.
2. Death: Pretty much the opposite!

When you love God, He responds with His blessings and you can never be separated from His love.

Question: What is the one thing that God wants from you?

Is it not your love? What did Jesus say was the greatest Commandment? Check above it was Mark 12:30

Do you really want to love the Lord you God with all of your Heart? God will allow no competitors!

Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Deuteronomy 6:11-12,15
"When you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD...for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God."

Matthew 6:31-33
"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

The entire Bible is is witness to the fact that God is in Pursuit of You!

Check out the Stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the prophets, In love God fellowshipped with them, and they with Him. God took the initiative for each and every person in the Old Testament to experience Him in a personal fellowship of Love, and this is also true for the New Testiment as well. Jesus came to the disciples and chose them to be with Him and experience His love. He came also to Paul and He also comes to You as well!

Sin is what keeps us from this Love relationship!

Romans 3:10-12
"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.'"

Sin has affected us so deeply that no one seeks after God on his own initiative. To have any relationship with Him or His Son, God must to the initiative and come to us. And this is exactly what He does. God draws us to Himself.

John 6:44-45,65
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

Jeremiah 31:3
"The LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Hosea 11:4
"I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love,and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them."

Paul: Acts 9:1-19

Disciples:
John 15:16,19
"You did not choose me, but I chose you...you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world."

Jesus talking to Peter: Matthew 16:13-17

God takes the Initiative!

Deuteronomy 30:6
"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Luke 10:22
"All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

John 15:16
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."

Philippians 2:13
"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

1 John 3:16
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us."

Revelation 3:20
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."

God always takes the initiative to establish a love relationship with you!

In Christ,

David

Reality #1 Part 2 God equips us!

The Pattern of God's work of equipping
1. God gives and assignment to a person.
2. The Holy Spirit was given to that person to equip him or her for the assignment.
3. The proof of the Spirit's presence was that the person was able to complete the assignment effectively through the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Moses:
Was Moses equipped to be an administrator and national religious leader before or after God gave him the assignment?
Moses didn't think that he was the right guy for the job, but God did. Read Exodus 3 and 4.

The workmen of the Tabernacle:
God gave Moses specific details on how the Tabernacle was to be built (Exodus 25-30) and He wanted it done exactly that way!
Exodus 31:2-3, 6-7
"See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship...And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,"

King David:
David was called by God to be King of Israel when he was but a young shepherd boy. Not even Jesse (David's father) or Samuel (the man God used to call David) thought that David had what it would take to be king. But, the Spirit of God came upon David, however, and equipped him to be king.

The Judges and Prophets:
God gave them all assignments. Then the Spirit of God came upon each one and equipped him or her to complete the assignment given.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Spiritual Gifts
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

What are these gifts really?
Are the not all manifestations of the Spirit? God working through us to accomplish His work?
Therefore we do not receive a "thing" as it were, we receive God Himself! God in the presence of the Holy Spirit is our Spiritual gift and He manifests Himself in different varieties for different works.
We don't receive the gift of administration as much as the Spirit's administration ability comes through us. So God's ability becomes our own as we follow and allow Him to work through us.

Even in the works of Jesus, God the Father was manifesting Himself.
John 14:10
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."

John 15:5
"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

Christ did nothing apart from the Father, and we can do nothing apart from Christ.

A spiritual gift is a manifestation of God at work through you. God works in and through you to bear fruit. The focus is on God and what He does through you. When you focus on some "thing" you receive to do something good for God, the focus is usually on self rather than God.

Focus your attention on hearing God call to an assignment, His invitation for you to join Him. When you adjust your life to Him and obey Him, the Holy Spirit will be at work in you enabling you to accomplish all that God desires.

In Christ,

David

Reality #1 God is at work around us

John 5:17-20
"But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.'

Jesus Is Equal with God
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son
So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.'"

In doing God's will, we must first understand that God is already at work around us, He has always been at work. Jesus example above is what we should follow. We cannot do anything with out Christ just as He couldn't do anything apart from the Father.

God has chosen to involve us in His work.
Jesus understood that His Father was always at work! He didn't create everything and then just leave it on it's own, God is orchestrating History! God is the One who is at work redeeming a lost world, and He desires to involve His people and His servants.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

Jesus' Example
1. The Father has been working right up until now.
2. Now the Father has Me working.
3. I do nothing on My own initiative.
4. I watch to see what the Father is doing.
5. I do what I see the Father already is doing.
6. You see, the Father loves Me.
7. He shows Me everything that He, Himself, is doing.

John 7:16
"So Jesus answered them, 'My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.'"

John 8:28
"So Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.'"

John 10:37-38
"If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

John 12:49
"For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak."

John 14:10
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."

John 17:8
"For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me."

God the Father did His work through Jesus His Son.
Acts 2:22
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know"

Jesus realized that He could do nothing by Himself, but with the Father at work in Him He could do anything.
If Jesus was that dependent on the Father, then why are not not all the more dependent on Him to work in and through us?
This is an invitation to an intimate love relationship between us and the Creator. Once we have that relationship, He will show us what He is doing! Our Job as a follower of Christ is to do what the Father is already doing, to watch and see where God is at work and then join with Him.

CAUTION: WE MUST NOT BYPASS THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP!!!!
We are a doing, people. We always have to be doing something. However, we must not bypass our relationship with God in our zeal, our eagerness to serve Him. Our Relationship with God is far more important to Him that what we do.
When the Love Relationship is right, God will be free to begin giving you assignments at His initiative.

Once our Love Relationship with God is right, God will show us where He is working. Then we must join with Him in His work. Then He will equip us to do His work!

In Christ,

David

7 Realities of Experiencing God

Exodus 2,3, & 4

See if you can find these 7 realities in Moses' story!
The next posts will be about these realities individually.

1. God is always at work around you
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
5. God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

In Christ,

David