Reality #7 Part 2 God Accomplishes Work through You
THIS WILL BE THE FINAL POST ON THIS TOPIC
THIS SERIES STARTED ON JULY 27th WITH THE POST TITLED: DOING GOD'S WILL
God Accomplishes His Work Through You
When you obey God, He will accomplish through you what He has purposed to do. When God does something through your life that only He can do, you will come to know Him more intimately. If you do not obey, you will miss out on some of the most exciting experiences of your life. When God purposes to do something through you, the assignment will have God-sized dimensions. This is because God wants to reveal Himself to you and to those around you. If you can do the work in your own strength, people will not come to know God. However, if God works through you to do what only He can do, you and those around you will come to know Him. Jesus said, "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God." (John 3:21).
The Holy Spirit will never misunderstand the Father's will for your life. The Father has a purpose to work out through your life. In order that you not miss it, He places His Spirit in you. The Spirit's job is to guide you according to the will of the Father. Then the Spirit enables you to do God's will. You are completely dependent on God for the knowledge and the ability to accomplish His purposes. That is why your relationship to Him is so important. That is why you need to wait until you have heard a word from Him about His purposes and ways.
Jesus is your example of One who never failed to know and do the will of His Father. Every solitary thing the Father purposed to do through His life, the Lord Jesus did it immediately. What was the key to His success? He was always rightly related to the Father! If you walk in a consistent relationship with God's provision for you--the Holy Spirit, and His own presence in your life--then you should never come to a time that you do not know the will of God. There should never be a time when you are not enabled to carry our the will of God.
In Jesus you have a picture of a solitary life in a love relationship with God, consistently living out that relationship. He is the perfect example. You and I will come quickly to the conclusion that we are a long way from that. True! But the Christ who lived His life in complete obedience is fully present in you to enable you to know and do His will. We need to adjust our lives to God and consistently live out that relationship with absolute dependence on Him. He will never fail to pull your life into the middle of His purpose and enable you to do it. The God-sized dimensions of an assignment from God create the crisis of belief. You have to believe that God is who He says He is and that He can and will do what He says He will do. When you obey Him, you have to allow Him to do what He has said. He is the One who accomplishes the assignment, but He does it through you.
Moses: Only in the act of obedience did Moses begin to experience the full nature of God. What he began to know about God grew out of his obedience to God. In Moses' life we can see this pattern of God speaking, Moses obeying, and God accomplishing what He purposed to do. We see this pattern throughout Moses' life:
1. God invited Moses to join Him in what He was doing to deliver Israel.
2. God told Moses what he was to do.
3. Moses obeyed.
4. God accomplished what He purposed to do.
5. Moses and those around him came to know God more clearly and intimately.
For instance, when the people stood between the Red Sea and the oncoming Egyptian army, God told Moses to hold his staff over the sea. Moses obeyed. God parted the sea and the people crossed on dry ground (Exodus 14:1-25). Then Miriam led the people in a hymn of praise describing their new understanding of God. When the people were thirsty and had no water to drink, they complained to Moses. God told Moses to strike a rock with the staff. Moses obeyed, and God caused water to flow from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7). We see this pattern in Moses' life again and again.
Men of Faith: When Noah obeyed, God preserved his family and repopulated the earth. When Abraham obeyed, God gave him a son and built a nation. When David obeyed, God made him a king. When Elijah obeyed. God sent down fire and consumed a sacrifice. These people of faith came to know God by experience when they obeyed Him, and He accomplished His work through them.
The Disciples: Luke records a beautiful experience of Jesus' disciples that follows this same pattern. Jesus invited seventy (seventy two, in the NIV) to join Him in the Father's work. The disciples obeyed and experienced God accomplishing through them some things they knew only God could do. Jesus gave these followers specific directions. They obeyed Him and experienced God working through them to heal and cast out demons. Jesus told them that their own salvation ought to bring more joy than the submission of the spirits (v. 20). Jesus praised God the Father for revealing Himself to these followers (vv. 21-22). Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Luke 10:23-24). These disciples were blessed. They had been chosen especially by God to be involved in His work. What they saw, heard, and came to know about God was something even prophets and kings wanted to experience and did not. These disciples were blessed!
You, too, will be blessed when God does a special, God-sized work through you. You will come to know Him in a way that will bring rejoicing to your life. When other people see you experiencing God that way, they are going to want to know how they, too, can experience God that way. Be prepared to point them to God. If you are obedient, God will work some wonderful things through you. You will need to be very careful that any testimony about what God has done only gives glory to Him. Pride may cause you to want to tell your experience because it makes you feel special. That will be a continuing tension. You will want to declare the wonderful deeds of the Lord, but you must avoid any sense of pride. Therefore: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31).
You come to know God
God reveals Himself to His people by what He does. When God works through you to accomplish His purposes, you come to know God by experience. You also come to know God when He meets a need in your life. In Scripture when God did something through an obedient person or people, they came to know Him in new and more intimate ways. God revealed His personal names to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). Jesus expressed Himself to His disciples by saying:
1. "I am the bread of life." John 6:35
2. "I am the light of the world." John 8:12
3. "I am the door." John 10:9
4. "I am the good shepherd." John 10:11
5. "I am the resurrection and the life." John 11:25
6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6
7. "I am the true vine." John 15:1
Jesus identified Himself with the I AM (name of God given to Moses at the burning bush) of the Old Testament. Knowing and experiencing Jesus in these ways requires that you "believe in Him" (Have faith in Him). For instance, when He says to you, "I am the way," what you do next in you relationship with Him will determine if you come to experience Him as "the way" in your own life. When you believe Him, adjust your life to Him, and obey what He says next, you come to know and experience Him as "the Way." This is true about everything God reveals to you day by day. As you follow Him obediently, He works in and through you to reveal Himself to you and those around you.
God is at work in the world reconciling a lost world to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. God takes the initiative to invite you to be involved with Him. When you obey Him, He accomplishes His work through you in such a way that you and everyone else know that God has been at work. When you experience God working in and through you, you will come to know Him more fully. That is exactly what Jesus had in mind when He said, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). You come to know Him as you experience Him in your life.
Psalm 119:33-35
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Prayer
Father God,
I want to experience You. I want to see You working through my life. I know that this means I will face a crisis of belief day by day. I must trust You to be who You say You are and to do what You have said You will do. I must adjust my life to You. I will obey You. Work through me to accomplish all that You desire to accomplish. Do not let me give in to unpromising circumstances when You are speaking to me. Do not let me be impatient. Show me where I have been disobedient. Help me trust that You are always doing what is best for me. Give me patience to let You prepare me for the task You have assigned me. Place the Holy Spirit in my life to direct me according to Your ways, Your purposes, and Your work. Make our love relationship even more intimate than it already is. Thank You, dear Lord, for being so close to me. I Love You!
Amen.
In Christ,
David
THIS SERIES STARTED ON JULY 27th WITH THE POST TITLED: DOING GOD'S WILL
God Accomplishes His Work Through You
When you obey God, He will accomplish through you what He has purposed to do. When God does something through your life that only He can do, you will come to know Him more intimately. If you do not obey, you will miss out on some of the most exciting experiences of your life. When God purposes to do something through you, the assignment will have God-sized dimensions. This is because God wants to reveal Himself to you and to those around you. If you can do the work in your own strength, people will not come to know God. However, if God works through you to do what only He can do, you and those around you will come to know Him. Jesus said, "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God." (John 3:21).
The Holy Spirit will never misunderstand the Father's will for your life. The Father has a purpose to work out through your life. In order that you not miss it, He places His Spirit in you. The Spirit's job is to guide you according to the will of the Father. Then the Spirit enables you to do God's will. You are completely dependent on God for the knowledge and the ability to accomplish His purposes. That is why your relationship to Him is so important. That is why you need to wait until you have heard a word from Him about His purposes and ways.
Jesus is your example of One who never failed to know and do the will of His Father. Every solitary thing the Father purposed to do through His life, the Lord Jesus did it immediately. What was the key to His success? He was always rightly related to the Father! If you walk in a consistent relationship with God's provision for you--the Holy Spirit, and His own presence in your life--then you should never come to a time that you do not know the will of God. There should never be a time when you are not enabled to carry our the will of God.
In Jesus you have a picture of a solitary life in a love relationship with God, consistently living out that relationship. He is the perfect example. You and I will come quickly to the conclusion that we are a long way from that. True! But the Christ who lived His life in complete obedience is fully present in you to enable you to know and do His will. We need to adjust our lives to God and consistently live out that relationship with absolute dependence on Him. He will never fail to pull your life into the middle of His purpose and enable you to do it. The God-sized dimensions of an assignment from God create the crisis of belief. You have to believe that God is who He says He is and that He can and will do what He says He will do. When you obey Him, you have to allow Him to do what He has said. He is the One who accomplishes the assignment, but He does it through you.
Moses: Only in the act of obedience did Moses begin to experience the full nature of God. What he began to know about God grew out of his obedience to God. In Moses' life we can see this pattern of God speaking, Moses obeying, and God accomplishing what He purposed to do. We see this pattern throughout Moses' life:
1. God invited Moses to join Him in what He was doing to deliver Israel.
2. God told Moses what he was to do.
3. Moses obeyed.
4. God accomplished what He purposed to do.
5. Moses and those around him came to know God more clearly and intimately.
For instance, when the people stood between the Red Sea and the oncoming Egyptian army, God told Moses to hold his staff over the sea. Moses obeyed. God parted the sea and the people crossed on dry ground (Exodus 14:1-25). Then Miriam led the people in a hymn of praise describing their new understanding of God. When the people were thirsty and had no water to drink, they complained to Moses. God told Moses to strike a rock with the staff. Moses obeyed, and God caused water to flow from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7). We see this pattern in Moses' life again and again.
Men of Faith: When Noah obeyed, God preserved his family and repopulated the earth. When Abraham obeyed, God gave him a son and built a nation. When David obeyed, God made him a king. When Elijah obeyed. God sent down fire and consumed a sacrifice. These people of faith came to know God by experience when they obeyed Him, and He accomplished His work through them.
The Disciples: Luke records a beautiful experience of Jesus' disciples that follows this same pattern. Jesus invited seventy (seventy two, in the NIV) to join Him in the Father's work. The disciples obeyed and experienced God accomplishing through them some things they knew only God could do. Jesus gave these followers specific directions. They obeyed Him and experienced God working through them to heal and cast out demons. Jesus told them that their own salvation ought to bring more joy than the submission of the spirits (v. 20). Jesus praised God the Father for revealing Himself to these followers (vv. 21-22). Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Luke 10:23-24). These disciples were blessed. They had been chosen especially by God to be involved in His work. What they saw, heard, and came to know about God was something even prophets and kings wanted to experience and did not. These disciples were blessed!
You, too, will be blessed when God does a special, God-sized work through you. You will come to know Him in a way that will bring rejoicing to your life. When other people see you experiencing God that way, they are going to want to know how they, too, can experience God that way. Be prepared to point them to God. If you are obedient, God will work some wonderful things through you. You will need to be very careful that any testimony about what God has done only gives glory to Him. Pride may cause you to want to tell your experience because it makes you feel special. That will be a continuing tension. You will want to declare the wonderful deeds of the Lord, but you must avoid any sense of pride. Therefore: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31).
You come to know God
God reveals Himself to His people by what He does. When God works through you to accomplish His purposes, you come to know God by experience. You also come to know God when He meets a need in your life. In Scripture when God did something through an obedient person or people, they came to know Him in new and more intimate ways. God revealed His personal names to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). Jesus expressed Himself to His disciples by saying:
1. "I am the bread of life." John 6:35
2. "I am the light of the world." John 8:12
3. "I am the door." John 10:9
4. "I am the good shepherd." John 10:11
5. "I am the resurrection and the life." John 11:25
6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6
7. "I am the true vine." John 15:1
Jesus identified Himself with the I AM (name of God given to Moses at the burning bush) of the Old Testament. Knowing and experiencing Jesus in these ways requires that you "believe in Him" (Have faith in Him). For instance, when He says to you, "I am the way," what you do next in you relationship with Him will determine if you come to experience Him as "the way" in your own life. When you believe Him, adjust your life to Him, and obey what He says next, you come to know and experience Him as "the Way." This is true about everything God reveals to you day by day. As you follow Him obediently, He works in and through you to reveal Himself to you and those around you.
God is at work in the world reconciling a lost world to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. God takes the initiative to invite you to be involved with Him. When you obey Him, He accomplishes His work through you in such a way that you and everyone else know that God has been at work. When you experience God working in and through you, you will come to know Him more fully. That is exactly what Jesus had in mind when He said, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). You come to know Him as you experience Him in your life.
Psalm 119:33-35
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Prayer
Father God,
I want to experience You. I want to see You working through my life. I know that this means I will face a crisis of belief day by day. I must trust You to be who You say You are and to do what You have said You will do. I must adjust my life to You. I will obey You. Work through me to accomplish all that You desire to accomplish. Do not let me give in to unpromising circumstances when You are speaking to me. Do not let me be impatient. Show me where I have been disobedient. Help me trust that You are always doing what is best for me. Give me patience to let You prepare me for the task You have assigned me. Place the Holy Spirit in my life to direct me according to Your ways, Your purposes, and Your work. Make our love relationship even more intimate than it already is. Thank You, dear Lord, for being so close to me. I Love You!
Amen.
In Christ,
David
[I Pray] "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:16-21
posted by Mark 1:17 at 9:33 AM
1 Comments:
that is great. It reminds me of exactly what I was trying to get across here.
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