Great truth from the book of Philippians.
Taught this at last nights Bible study.
God's good work, in us, is a process.
It is a work that is ongoing.
24/7 --- 365, God is growing each of us who are followers of Jesus.
Character change....
Hearing Him better with each day that passes.
Learning to act on what we hear.
Learning to feel His presence and be aware of those appointments with others that suddenly come out of nowhere. You know the ones I'm talking about. You go to the grocery store to get milk and bread, and you wind up praying for a stranger that you meet.
That good work involves a change of heart, as well as mind.
We find that our love for God and the things of God increases.
As we walk in this new "work" that God is carrying out inside of us, we find that our appetite for the things of this world also changes. We suddenly feel out of place in the old surroundings we use to haunt. Old friends look at us differently. Truth is, we aren't the same people we use to be.
We haven't gotten religious....
We haven't become Holy rollers...
We have simply fallen in love with Jesus.
He will do that to you, won't He?
This transition work that God is carrying out in each of us, through the work of His Holy Spirit, is designed to tune us to His will.
That is why Jesus, in Matthew 5, says that we are "Salt" and we are "light".
We bring the flavor of heaven to a world that has lived a bland and useless life.
We bring the illumination of who Jesus is, and what the Word of God proclaims, to a world that can't hear or see because of whose authority it is under.
We are finding our pace and stride as we learn to follow Jesus.
As we grow and become aware of the extent of the change taking place in us, we will find that we want to give it away to others.
I use this example a lot out at Rapha.
We are called human what?
Beings!
We are not called human doings.
If we expend ourselves on being the people God has called us to be, then the doing will come natural. It will become second nature to us...we "do" because that just what we do.
We "Do the stuff", or the works of Christ, because that is who we are.
I don't do the works to define that I am a follower...
I do the works because I know that Christ has defined me, and given me purpose.
There are a lot of puzzle pieces to this "new" life and "good" work that God has freely given to us. Such is why we are going to look into what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As I wrote in yesterday's posting, starting this Saturday night, Vineyard Recovery Church is going to start a series of teachings on "Doing the Stuff: 101 - Part II". Lessons will be on
"Who Am I in Christ?"
"How do I hear God?"
"What's Up With All This Worship Business?"
"How do I fit in A Church?"
"Where's The Best Place To Start Reading My Bible?"
"What About Denominations?"
I have no clue as to how many weeks this series will run, we will be making Cd's available of the prior weeks services should you want to pick one up. Come and join us this Saturday night / 7 p.m.
God on you...
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