Call and Purpose
As we read the Bible we see that there are both the call to salvation and a call to following God's purpose There are many examples of God's call to his people. The disciples were called by Jesus when they were doing their work as fishermen. Jesus himself was called to the ministry and set apart from birth. Paul, in Acts 9 was called directly by God and was set apart for ministry when Ananias prayed with him. Timothy was called to work with Paul and to partner with him.
Each of these people had very different roles to play in God's plan and purpose. There are many and varied ways that people are called but God calls each of us to his plan and his purpose.
What does this mean for us?
1. Called by God
We are called by God to salvation. God's call is to us to follow his plan and his purpose for our life.We have a call from God to salvation and to a life of following Jesus, in relationship with him. It is our choice as to whether or not we follow the call, and choose to believe. In Luke 5:1-5 Jesus calls the disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew. They gave up everything they had to answer the call of "Come follow me."
We understand this as their call to ministry. Jesus was very deliberate in his call. These men chose to act on the call and to follow Jesus. The rich young ruler of Matt 19:16-22 also received the call to follow Jesus.
This young man was called by Jesus to follow him, but because he did not understand that life is about relationship with Jesus, he turned away from the call. He was sad because he was rich and could not see past giving up his "good life" for a greater life of relationship with Christ.
The call requires us to give up our old way of life and to embark on a new life of relationship with Christ.
In Corinth, Paul says that they were called by God. God's call is the call to salvation, the call to believe in Christ and to follow Jesus. It is the call to relationship with Christ.
What is our response to the call?
What is God asking us to give up, so they we fully answer the call to relationship with Christ.
2. Chosen
Matt 22:14
Many are called but few are chosen.
What is the difference between being called and being chosen. Jesus said many are called, but few are chosen. Jesus put out the call to many to follow him, but not everyone did. But when we answer the call and believe, we move into the life of "Chosen in Christ".
1 Peter 2:9
We are a royal priesthood and a chosen people.
What does it mean to be chosen?
Simply, those who believe are those who are chosen. In fact the Bible has a lot to say about what it means to be chosen. It all stems from relationship with Christ Jesus. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us and we step into that plan as chosen people when we believe. We were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless
Eph 1:4
Even before he made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Eph 1:11-14
Further more, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance and makes everything work out according to His plan. God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit he promised long ago. The Spirit is God,s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so that we would praise and glorify him.
When we believe, we become part of God's chosen people, and his blessings become active in our lives, we move from "called" to "chosen", from outside of his people to become his people. We move into all that God has planned for us.
Are you living as God's chosen, taking hold of all that he has for you?
3. Purpose
God's purpose for us is related to his desire for people to know him and live for him, in all that he has planned for them. His main purpose for us is to go and make disciples of the nations, to go and preach the gospel to all the world. (Matt 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15). This is actually the main reason for the Call we have and why we are to live as his chosen people. This is also where the second sense of "calling" becomes relevant because God has a plan and purpose for each of us.
John 15:16a
You didn't choose me, I chose you, I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last,
We are chosen by God, chosen to bear fruit for the kingdom, and chosen to glorify God. There is a twofold reason for our call. 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a royal priesthood, a chosen people, that we are to show others the goodness of God and to declare the praises, of God who "called you out of darkness into his wonderful light". We are called to praise God and to glorify his name before others, living a life that honours Him. There is a purpose in this. We are called to honour God and to bear fruit for the kingdom.
How do we do this? We declare God's goodness to the people we meet. This is built around relationship with people, with honouring God in how we live and in what we say and by showing God's love and kindness to people. Eph 1:11-14 says that our salvation, our new way of living, is to bring praise and glory to God. In Col 1:9-11 Paul prays that we would have a complete understanding of his will, of what he wants to do in our lives, so that the way we live will honour and please him and that we would continually do good kind things for others. It is about God's purpose for the world.
As we seek to honour God with our lives, as we start to do things for the purpose of God, the individual "calling" our particular part in that becomes clearer. As we gain an understanding of these things, in our relationship with God, we begin to get a sense that there is a more specific thing that God has in mind as his purpose. Paul was called to be an apostle to the gentiles. His initial work was within the Jewish world. He had been persecuting Christians, but once he heard God's call, once he became "chosen" he went about speaking to others. (Acts16)
Timothy was raised in a Christian home and in Acts 16:1-2 we see him respond to the purpose of God by joining the Apostle Paul. It was a beginning, but it took many years for it to become fully active. Timothy worked in partnership with Paul, towards the same purpose, the salvation of others, but they had different roles. Timothy was pastoral and was given the role to teach and to train others, but it was all so that there would be fruit for God's kingdom; people saved and living for God each day.
What purpose are we fulfilling in our lives, our own purpose or God's purpose?
If we want to know what our purpose is, then we need to get about sharing God's love and kindness with others.
Who am I sharing God's love and kindness with?
Who is on my heart? Who needs to hear about God's love?
How will I do that?
Conclusion
The call is to relationship. We can ask ourselves:
What is my relationship with Christ like at the moment?
What needs to change?
We respond to the call by believing and by entering into a relationship with Christ, by following him.
The purpose is to show God's love and kindness to the world.
We can ask ourselves:
Who am I showing God's love and kindness to?
As we get about this, as we respond to the call, living as a chosen people, as we build relationship and seek to follow Christ, he will take us on deeper into his calling and purpose.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Love
1 Cor 13:13
Now these three remain, faith hope and live and the greatest of these is love.
Love - The Bible dictionary describes it as affection, goodwill and benevolence. This is love that is not emotional, or about how we feel, but love that comes from the very heart of who God is. God is love.
Some thoughts on Love.
1. We love because God first loved us.God loves us with an amazing love. Before we knew him, he knew us and loved us.
Romans 5:8
And God showed his great love for us. While we were still sinners Christ died for us.
This is amazing love - the word used for sinners has the connotation of "devoted to sin". So while we were so far from God while we were devoted to another way of life, he sent Jesus to die for us because he loves us so much.
1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another for love is from God.
1 John 4:10
This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1John 3:1
See how very much our heavenly father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are.
The KJV says, "Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us". The word for given/bestowed is "granted, from ones self - not forced but given of ones own accord - for the benefit and advantage of another."
Not only does God love us, but it is bestowed or given for our benefit, because God wanted to.
God's love for us is the basis, the foundation of our love for others.
1 John 4:11
Dear friends, since God loved us so much, we surely ought to love each other.
There is a mutual reciprocity that happens when we understand that because God loves us we love others. Loving each other is actually an indication of our love for God.
2. Love dictates how we live1 Cor 13:1-13 is an amazing chapter on love and how to live in love for others, respecting and honouring one another. I encourage you to read it.Paul writes to the church to correct behaviour, teach them how to use their God given gifts and talents and to have order in their meetings. But, he says the main thing is is love.
Its not about gifts and talents and doing amazing things. It is about the motivation we have for exercising gifts and talents. Love is not about giving up ourselves to martyrdom, or having the best prophecy, or even moving mountains, its about living a life in what Paul calls a more excellent way. Greater even than faith and hope, is love. Love for God and love for others that dictates how we live. (Jesus also tells us to love our neighbour, to love others - Mark 12:30-31)
Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians that it is time to grow up. Its time to put away childish behaviour and petty bickering, jealousy, pride, rudeness and demanding our own way. These are childish behaviours and we are to put them away and to mature into someone who lives a life of patience, kindness, forgiveness, truth, faith and hope.
We are called to love one another, living and loving as Christ did - he laid down his life for us. In both John 13:34 and John 15:12,17 Christ says we are to love one another as he has loved us. How did Christ love - he spoke truth, he cared, he had compassion, he corrected, he forgave, he gave up his own rights and died for us in our place.
Gal 5:13 says "by love, serve on another". Love dictates how we live.
Challenge: How do we stack up against the list in 1 Cor 13?
3. Love reaches out.When we love, we reach out in love to others, so that they too can know God's amazing love.
The one thing that Jesus said would mark us as his followers was our love for one another.
John 13:34-35
So now I am giving you a new commandment: love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
Jesus says the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbours as ourselves. Our neighbour being anyone we chance to meet in a day.
When we love, we will seek to right injustice. 1 Cor 13:6 - love is never glad about injustice. (This is not about being annoyed with someone because they corrected our behaviour or put boundaries in place or did something we didn't like)!The injustice here is like the injustice of a judge, unrighteousness of heart and life and like a deed violating a law - its an act of unrighteousness.
Love encourages us - in fact it compels us to reach out into areas of injustice wherever we find it. The challenge for us is not to get caught up in what we feel is injustice which is actually petty selfishness, but to put that aside and pursue real justice for those who do not have it.
Prov 21:3
The lord is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.
In Matt 23:23 Jesus had a go at the Pharisees for being nit picking about what they tithe, but forgetting that mercy, justice and faith were more important. Jesus is not interested in our nit picking over small matters. We are to put that aside and get on with justice, mercy and faith. Lets not become so consumed by the small things in life that we ignore real injustice when we see it.
Prov 24:11-12
Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die. Don't try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn't know about it. For God knows all hearts and he sees you. He keeps watch over your soul, and he knows you knew! And will judge all people according to what they have done.
So many people are caught up in situations of injustice where they are sentenced to a death, if not physically, then by the environment they are in. When we see injustice we are to do something and not pretend we didn't know about it. Once we know about something we are to do something about it! Our love for our neighbours compels us to do something. There are people who will die without Christ, because of injustice.
What will we do?
ConclusionGod loved us, so we love others - he gave us the foundation for love. Love is meant to dictate to us the way we live and how we treat others in our day to day life. Love compels us to reach out to others and to exercise justice.
What will you do today to love others and stop injustice?
Now these three remain, faith hope and live and the greatest of these is love.
Love - The Bible dictionary describes it as affection, goodwill and benevolence. This is love that is not emotional, or about how we feel, but love that comes from the very heart of who God is. God is love.
Some thoughts on Love.
1. We love because God first loved us.God loves us with an amazing love. Before we knew him, he knew us and loved us.
Romans 5:8
And God showed his great love for us. While we were still sinners Christ died for us.
This is amazing love - the word used for sinners has the connotation of "devoted to sin". So while we were so far from God while we were devoted to another way of life, he sent Jesus to die for us because he loves us so much.
1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another for love is from God.
1 John 4:10
This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1John 3:1
See how very much our heavenly father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are.
The KJV says, "Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us". The word for given/bestowed is "granted, from ones self - not forced but given of ones own accord - for the benefit and advantage of another."
Not only does God love us, but it is bestowed or given for our benefit, because God wanted to.
God's love for us is the basis, the foundation of our love for others.
1 John 4:11
Dear friends, since God loved us so much, we surely ought to love each other.
There is a mutual reciprocity that happens when we understand that because God loves us we love others. Loving each other is actually an indication of our love for God.
2. Love dictates how we live1 Cor 13:1-13 is an amazing chapter on love and how to live in love for others, respecting and honouring one another. I encourage you to read it.Paul writes to the church to correct behaviour, teach them how to use their God given gifts and talents and to have order in their meetings. But, he says the main thing is is love.
Its not about gifts and talents and doing amazing things. It is about the motivation we have for exercising gifts and talents. Love is not about giving up ourselves to martyrdom, or having the best prophecy, or even moving mountains, its about living a life in what Paul calls a more excellent way. Greater even than faith and hope, is love. Love for God and love for others that dictates how we live. (Jesus also tells us to love our neighbour, to love others - Mark 12:30-31)
Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians that it is time to grow up. Its time to put away childish behaviour and petty bickering, jealousy, pride, rudeness and demanding our own way. These are childish behaviours and we are to put them away and to mature into someone who lives a life of patience, kindness, forgiveness, truth, faith and hope.
We are called to love one another, living and loving as Christ did - he laid down his life for us. In both John 13:34 and John 15:12,17 Christ says we are to love one another as he has loved us. How did Christ love - he spoke truth, he cared, he had compassion, he corrected, he forgave, he gave up his own rights and died for us in our place.
Gal 5:13 says "by love, serve on another". Love dictates how we live.
Challenge: How do we stack up against the list in 1 Cor 13?
3. Love reaches out.When we love, we reach out in love to others, so that they too can know God's amazing love.
The one thing that Jesus said would mark us as his followers was our love for one another.
John 13:34-35
So now I am giving you a new commandment: love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
Jesus says the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbours as ourselves. Our neighbour being anyone we chance to meet in a day.
When we love, we will seek to right injustice. 1 Cor 13:6 - love is never glad about injustice. (This is not about being annoyed with someone because they corrected our behaviour or put boundaries in place or did something we didn't like)!The injustice here is like the injustice of a judge, unrighteousness of heart and life and like a deed violating a law - its an act of unrighteousness.
Love encourages us - in fact it compels us to reach out into areas of injustice wherever we find it. The challenge for us is not to get caught up in what we feel is injustice which is actually petty selfishness, but to put that aside and pursue real justice for those who do not have it.
Prov 21:3
The lord is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.
In Matt 23:23 Jesus had a go at the Pharisees for being nit picking about what they tithe, but forgetting that mercy, justice and faith were more important. Jesus is not interested in our nit picking over small matters. We are to put that aside and get on with justice, mercy and faith. Lets not become so consumed by the small things in life that we ignore real injustice when we see it.
Prov 24:11-12
Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die. Don't try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn't know about it. For God knows all hearts and he sees you. He keeps watch over your soul, and he knows you knew! And will judge all people according to what they have done.
So many people are caught up in situations of injustice where they are sentenced to a death, if not physically, then by the environment they are in. When we see injustice we are to do something and not pretend we didn't know about it. Once we know about something we are to do something about it! Our love for our neighbours compels us to do something. There are people who will die without Christ, because of injustice.
What will we do?
ConclusionGod loved us, so we love others - he gave us the foundation for love. Love is meant to dictate to us the way we live and how we treat others in our day to day life. Love compels us to reach out to others and to exercise justice.
What will you do today to love others and stop injustice?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Hope
And Hope does not disappoint.
Prov 23:17-18
Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord.
You will be rewarded for this, your hope will not be disappointed.
Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
What is hope?
What do we mean when we say we are hoping for something and how does that differ from Biblical Hope?
We usually think of hope as something fleeting, or a reward for something we have done. E.g. I hope I get paid on time? It is not necessarily a sure thing. In the time of the ancients, hope was considered transitory, and a temporary illusion. It was nothing strong, nothing certain.This is often how we view hope today, it’s temporary, it’s uncertain and it’s rarely a sure thing. In racing, they talk about a “sure thing”, but it is never certain. Therefor I hope my “sure bet” wins today!!
Biblical Hope is different. Biblical hope is about a sure thing. Biblical hope is possible because of God.
Paul says that those that don’t know God are without hope and without God. Eph 2:12. Hope is inseparable from faith in God. Faith is complete trust in God, Hope is an eager expectation based on who God is and what he has done, is doing and will do. It is a sure and certain hope.
There are two words used for hope in the New Testament. One is a noun and refers to the hope we have. This hope is what Jesus has done. The other is the verb form of the word and relates to our response to what God has done and is doing. The Hope we have is not based in prevailing circumstance but it is based in the reality of God.
In other words our hope for the future is based not in what I see today, but in what God has done, is doing and will do.
Hope:
1. Is based on who God is, not on meOur Hope is based on who Christ is and my relationship to him. It is not based on anything I can do myself.
It is based on who I am in Christ
Titus 3:6-8
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
This is the hope we have. Eternal life through Christ, through relationship with him.
Col 1:27
For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
The NIV says "Christ in you the Hope of Glory."
The hope Paul is talking about is the hope we have based on what Jesus has done for us, it is based in the saving power of Christ and our response to him.
Col 1:21-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In everything Paul writes, he discusses the hope we have through Christ, through his shed blood and through God’s saving Power for those who believe. In Christ and through Christ, are common phrases.
1 Tim 1:1
This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.
Hope is based on what God has already done, is doing and promises to do in the future. Our future, in the hands of a loving Father, who cares about us and wants relationship with us.
Eph 1:18
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
There is so much about hope in the new Testament. A hope that is strong, a hope that is confident.
1 Peter 1:21-22
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
Our hope, our confident assurance and expectation, is in God, because Jesus was raised from the dead, and it is based in my faith and trust in God.
2. Is about the eternal not the temporalThe hope we have, is not based on present circumstance or even future circumstances. The hope we have is based on the eternal promise of God, on his faithfulness and on what he is doing according to his eternal purpose.
Heb 6:13-20
For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
“I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[c]
Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
The hope, that keeps us secure in the here and now, is the same hope that allows us to come confidently into God’s presence.
It is hope that brings joy with it. When we hope in God, when we trust in him, this brings joy.
We will never be put to shame if we place our hope in God. When we go past circumstance to our amazing God who cares, he is our helper, he is our joygiver.
Ps 146:5
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
God has given us his promises and they are eternal promises. They give us hope now and they give us hope in the age to come. God is unchangeable and we can be sure that he will not change his mind.When we trust him, this hope (in an unchanging God, faithful and true), becomes an anchor for our soul.We will not be tossed around by circumstance, but we will stay strong and true with our hope placed in our eternal God and his love for us and not swayed by everything that comes around.
Want to know how to stand strong in the storms of life? Place your hope in God and who he is and not in the circumstance or in any other person.The prophet Jeremiah gives us a great example of this. He was around in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. He was living in horrible days. We would say, like a holocaust, where many of his own people were destroyed, the city he loved was destroyed, the country came under despotic foreign rule and his friends were killed. This is not pretty. This is not just a nice story, this happened to this man.
Lam 3:19-24
The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.[a]
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends![b]
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
There is a change from the temporal (all that is happening) to the eternal (Who God is and his faithfulness and his promises.) This man does not deny his situation, he is lamenting his loss, but he focusses his thoughts and his mind onto God. In the circumstance he looks past today, past the here and now to the future and to the eternal. We can do the same, because we trust in the same unchanging God
Ps 42:5 expresses a similar sentiment.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Saviour and my God!
Again this is a change from the temporal to the eternal.This is a choice we make daily in every decision. It doesn’t just happen. This hope comes from an understanding of who God is, but it has to be applied every day in every circumstance. It is a choice. WE choose, by our thoughts and actions either the temporal, the here and now, or the eternal.
Which one will we choose??
Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
The circumstances have a place. The question is what will our attitude be? Problems and trials are about producing something in us of eternal value. Endurance develops our strength of character which strengthens our hope. In other words, our understanding of who God is and what he has done and will do should become more confident and stronger if we will let it.And we will not be disappointed, because God loves us, has given us his Spirit. We can have patient endurance, because we hope in God.
3. Leads to right livingThe hope, the eager expectation, the waiting patiently is meant to manifest itself in right living before God because of what he has done for us.
1 Peter 1:13
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Right living, clear thinking, self control and obedience are meant to be results of this hope we have. Because of everything Jesus has done for us, because of his great love, we are to live differently. We are to become more and more like Christ. This is choosing to be holy. It clearly says “do not slip back into your old way to satisfy your own desires”. Our own desires are about our present circumstances not about God’s purposes.
Since the hope we have is about eternal purposes, then we are to reflect that by right and holy living, not living that reflects selfish desire.
1 John 3:2-3
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
Right living and purity are meant to be a result of our faith in God (His love and gracious forgiveness) and our hope, our eager expectation. (Let’s not confuse justification – saved by grace with sanctification, the ongoing becoming like Christ which is about changed lifestyle and right living).
Hebrews 6:10-12
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
Colossians 1:3-5
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
Faith Hope and Love are inextricably tied together. Faith in God brings hope for the future. It outworks itself in right living and in love for others. The best thing we can do is to love others enough to help them to hear and know the good news of salvation through Christ. Our lives are the example.
Conclusion
So hope is the eager expectation, based on who God is and what he has done. It is:
● About who God is and who we are in him
● About the eternal, not the here and now
● Is expressed in right living
Prov 23:17-18
Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord.
You will be rewarded for this, your hope will not be disappointed.
Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
What is hope?
What do we mean when we say we are hoping for something and how does that differ from Biblical Hope?
We usually think of hope as something fleeting, or a reward for something we have done. E.g. I hope I get paid on time? It is not necessarily a sure thing. In the time of the ancients, hope was considered transitory, and a temporary illusion. It was nothing strong, nothing certain.This is often how we view hope today, it’s temporary, it’s uncertain and it’s rarely a sure thing. In racing, they talk about a “sure thing”, but it is never certain. Therefor I hope my “sure bet” wins today!!
Biblical Hope is different. Biblical hope is about a sure thing. Biblical hope is possible because of God.
Paul says that those that don’t know God are without hope and without God. Eph 2:12. Hope is inseparable from faith in God. Faith is complete trust in God, Hope is an eager expectation based on who God is and what he has done, is doing and will do. It is a sure and certain hope.
There are two words used for hope in the New Testament. One is a noun and refers to the hope we have. This hope is what Jesus has done. The other is the verb form of the word and relates to our response to what God has done and is doing. The Hope we have is not based in prevailing circumstance but it is based in the reality of God.
In other words our hope for the future is based not in what I see today, but in what God has done, is doing and will do.
Hope:
1. Is based on who God is, not on meOur Hope is based on who Christ is and my relationship to him. It is not based on anything I can do myself.
It is based on who I am in Christ
Titus 3:6-8
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
This is the hope we have. Eternal life through Christ, through relationship with him.
Col 1:27
For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
The NIV says "Christ in you the Hope of Glory."
The hope Paul is talking about is the hope we have based on what Jesus has done for us, it is based in the saving power of Christ and our response to him.
Col 1:21-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In everything Paul writes, he discusses the hope we have through Christ, through his shed blood and through God’s saving Power for those who believe. In Christ and through Christ, are common phrases.
1 Tim 1:1
This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.
Hope is based on what God has already done, is doing and promises to do in the future. Our future, in the hands of a loving Father, who cares about us and wants relationship with us.
Eph 1:18
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
There is so much about hope in the new Testament. A hope that is strong, a hope that is confident.
1 Peter 1:21-22
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
Our hope, our confident assurance and expectation, is in God, because Jesus was raised from the dead, and it is based in my faith and trust in God.
2. Is about the eternal not the temporalThe hope we have, is not based on present circumstance or even future circumstances. The hope we have is based on the eternal promise of God, on his faithfulness and on what he is doing according to his eternal purpose.
Heb 6:13-20
For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
“I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[c]
Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
The hope, that keeps us secure in the here and now, is the same hope that allows us to come confidently into God’s presence.
It is hope that brings joy with it. When we hope in God, when we trust in him, this brings joy.
We will never be put to shame if we place our hope in God. When we go past circumstance to our amazing God who cares, he is our helper, he is our joygiver.
Ps 146:5
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
God has given us his promises and they are eternal promises. They give us hope now and they give us hope in the age to come. God is unchangeable and we can be sure that he will not change his mind.When we trust him, this hope (in an unchanging God, faithful and true), becomes an anchor for our soul.We will not be tossed around by circumstance, but we will stay strong and true with our hope placed in our eternal God and his love for us and not swayed by everything that comes around.
Want to know how to stand strong in the storms of life? Place your hope in God and who he is and not in the circumstance or in any other person.The prophet Jeremiah gives us a great example of this. He was around in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. He was living in horrible days. We would say, like a holocaust, where many of his own people were destroyed, the city he loved was destroyed, the country came under despotic foreign rule and his friends were killed. This is not pretty. This is not just a nice story, this happened to this man.
Lam 3:19-24
The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.[a]
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends![b]
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
There is a change from the temporal (all that is happening) to the eternal (Who God is and his faithfulness and his promises.) This man does not deny his situation, he is lamenting his loss, but he focusses his thoughts and his mind onto God. In the circumstance he looks past today, past the here and now to the future and to the eternal. We can do the same, because we trust in the same unchanging God
Ps 42:5 expresses a similar sentiment.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Saviour and my God!
Again this is a change from the temporal to the eternal.This is a choice we make daily in every decision. It doesn’t just happen. This hope comes from an understanding of who God is, but it has to be applied every day in every circumstance. It is a choice. WE choose, by our thoughts and actions either the temporal, the here and now, or the eternal.
Which one will we choose??
Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
The circumstances have a place. The question is what will our attitude be? Problems and trials are about producing something in us of eternal value. Endurance develops our strength of character which strengthens our hope. In other words, our understanding of who God is and what he has done and will do should become more confident and stronger if we will let it.And we will not be disappointed, because God loves us, has given us his Spirit. We can have patient endurance, because we hope in God.
3. Leads to right livingThe hope, the eager expectation, the waiting patiently is meant to manifest itself in right living before God because of what he has done for us.
1 Peter 1:13
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Right living, clear thinking, self control and obedience are meant to be results of this hope we have. Because of everything Jesus has done for us, because of his great love, we are to live differently. We are to become more and more like Christ. This is choosing to be holy. It clearly says “do not slip back into your old way to satisfy your own desires”. Our own desires are about our present circumstances not about God’s purposes.
Since the hope we have is about eternal purposes, then we are to reflect that by right and holy living, not living that reflects selfish desire.
1 John 3:2-3
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
Right living and purity are meant to be a result of our faith in God (His love and gracious forgiveness) and our hope, our eager expectation. (Let’s not confuse justification – saved by grace with sanctification, the ongoing becoming like Christ which is about changed lifestyle and right living).
Hebrews 6:10-12
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
Colossians 1:3-5
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
Faith Hope and Love are inextricably tied together. Faith in God brings hope for the future. It outworks itself in right living and in love for others. The best thing we can do is to love others enough to help them to hear and know the good news of salvation through Christ. Our lives are the example.
Conclusion
So hope is the eager expectation, based on who God is and what he has done. It is:
● About who God is and who we are in him
● About the eternal, not the here and now
● Is expressed in right living
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Faith
Faith hope and love are intangibles. They are difficult to define, but incredibly important.
.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen (what we hope for is those things God has spoken about, life, salvation, his promises etc. Full rights as adopted children Romans 8:24); it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
According to the Blueletter Bible Lexcicon:
Faith is a conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
a) relating to God
1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
b) relating to Christ
1) a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
So faith is a conviction of the truth, even though we cannot physically see it.What we see is what is immediately in front of us. What we cannot see is what we need faith for. Hebrews gives us some clues about what faith is about.
Hebrews11:3
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command and not by anything that can be seen.
Faith is about belief. It is about believing without seeing. The writer to the Hebrews thought faith was so important he spent a whole section writing about it in chapter 11. Jesus said to his disciples that those who believe without seeing will be blessed.
John 20:29
You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.
Faith is important to our existence, to our relationship with God and to our everyday lives.
1. Faith pleases GodHebrews 11:2
Through their faith, the people in the days of old earned a good reputation.
Faith is important to God. It is by faith we believe and are saved, it is by faith that we build a good reputation, it is by faith that we live.
Hebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It is very clear that faith in God is what is all important. God is not interested so much in our great deeds that we do, in our so called goodness. God is interested in us having a conviction of the truth about himself, about who he is and about his grace and salvation offered to us.
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. It is through faith that a righteous person has life.
Our salvation, our life our future, are all determined by faith and it is this faith in God that pleases him. It is a faith not based on our ability and our merit but totally reliant on God. From the beginning through to the end, it’s about faith and what God can do, not about what you or I can do.
Jesus was often astounded and amazed at the lack of faith amongst the supposed believers, the people of Israel, yet he was amazed by the faith of those who were outside of Israel and foreigners, e.g. the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:21-28) and the Roman centurion (Matt 8:5-13). They had a faith that was based on who Jesus is and in Jesus’ ability rather than their own standing. They did not rely on rituals or on individual ability; they focussed only on God’s ability.
There is a lesson for us in this. Sometimes we confuse religious practice with faith. Religious practice is not faith; it is there to help us in our faith and to understand God’s amazing love for us. Whilst many religious practices may be helpful, if we confuse them with faith, then there is no power and no pleasing God. It is faith that pleases God.
I think this is really key.It is never in our own strength, or our own goodness that we achieve anything. It is only through faith in Christ, through absolute trust in him and through and unswerving belief that he and he alone has the answers we need to every situation.
2. Faith extends usPeter had faith when he walked on water, and it extended him beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary (Matt 14:22-32). It was only when he was not able to apply faith that he got himself into trouble. Again, there is a lesson for us in this. Faith has to be applied.
I can say I have faith that my chair will hold me, but unless I sit on the chair and apply faith to the situation I will not be exercising faith. Abraham exercised faith when he left Ur and moved at God’s command into the unknown.
Hebrews 11:8-10
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Abraham did not know where he was going till he got there, but he stepped out in faith and trusted God for his future. He did not stay because he did not see where he was going; instead, he stepped out into the unknown, and allowed God to lead him into the future.
Faith is meant to be exercised. Otherwise it is just a good idea and theory. It’s not about so called opportunity, or talent or ability, just applied faith. We don’t need masses of faith; we just need to exercise what we have.
Matt 17:20
If you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Think about this. Jesus is saying that small faith moves mountains and that nothing is impossible. NOTHING WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. We think of moving the landscape as impossible. God says nothing is impossible with even a small amount of faith.
What impossible thing do you have in your life right now, that needs moving? What has God said about that situation? What is he saying to do? Speak out and apply faith. If a mustard seed measure of faith will move mountains, then we don’t need much faith to do and see amazing things.
God is not asking us to shift around the geography of the world or change the shape of our topography.
He is asking us to believe in him and in all he offers us, and through that, he will accomplish much.
When Peter walked on water it was because he applied faith.
This is what faith is. It is about application and that is why it extends us. It takes us beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary. It takes us beyond our own abilities and the seemingly impossible into the realm of God possibilities. Faith extends us because sometimes what we see and what we believe do not match up. But as we believe in faith, we will see.
3. Faith brings blessingHebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
God rewards those who believe and who earnestly seek him. Faith brings blessing but it comes through earnest seeking. Want blessing, seek God earnestly, and not just for selfish reasons. I notice that belief in God goes along with sincerity in action and that produces blessing. Faith, applied brings results and rewards.
When you look at the etymology of this word "reward" in the Greek,we find that it means a reward that is related to paying off a debt, to requite. In other words, the reward is about us having a freedom from the debt we owe God and his paying it for us.
There are also other rewards. We have the opportunity to come into the presence of God, (Hebrews 10) a place in his family, (Romans 8:15-17) and a chance to do great things. God’s rewards are never about selfish ambition but about seeing his purposes achieved on the earth.
ConclusionFaith is implicit trust and belief in God and who he is. Faith pleases God and extends us beyond the ordinary and into a life of amazing possibilities in God. There is an eternal reward, as well as the reward here of life with Christ and his purposes achieved.
.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen (what we hope for is those things God has spoken about, life, salvation, his promises etc. Full rights as adopted children Romans 8:24); it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
According to the Blueletter Bible Lexcicon:
Faith is a conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
a) relating to God
1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
b) relating to Christ
1) a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
So faith is a conviction of the truth, even though we cannot physically see it.What we see is what is immediately in front of us. What we cannot see is what we need faith for. Hebrews gives us some clues about what faith is about.
Hebrews11:3
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command and not by anything that can be seen.
Faith is about belief. It is about believing without seeing. The writer to the Hebrews thought faith was so important he spent a whole section writing about it in chapter 11. Jesus said to his disciples that those who believe without seeing will be blessed.
John 20:29
You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.
Faith is important to our existence, to our relationship with God and to our everyday lives.
1. Faith pleases GodHebrews 11:2
Through their faith, the people in the days of old earned a good reputation.
Faith is important to God. It is by faith we believe and are saved, it is by faith that we build a good reputation, it is by faith that we live.
Hebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
It is very clear that faith in God is what is all important. God is not interested so much in our great deeds that we do, in our so called goodness. God is interested in us having a conviction of the truth about himself, about who he is and about his grace and salvation offered to us.
Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. It is through faith that a righteous person has life.
Our salvation, our life our future, are all determined by faith and it is this faith in God that pleases him. It is a faith not based on our ability and our merit but totally reliant on God. From the beginning through to the end, it’s about faith and what God can do, not about what you or I can do.
Jesus was often astounded and amazed at the lack of faith amongst the supposed believers, the people of Israel, yet he was amazed by the faith of those who were outside of Israel and foreigners, e.g. the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:21-28) and the Roman centurion (Matt 8:5-13). They had a faith that was based on who Jesus is and in Jesus’ ability rather than their own standing. They did not rely on rituals or on individual ability; they focussed only on God’s ability.
There is a lesson for us in this. Sometimes we confuse religious practice with faith. Religious practice is not faith; it is there to help us in our faith and to understand God’s amazing love for us. Whilst many religious practices may be helpful, if we confuse them with faith, then there is no power and no pleasing God. It is faith that pleases God.
I think this is really key.It is never in our own strength, or our own goodness that we achieve anything. It is only through faith in Christ, through absolute trust in him and through and unswerving belief that he and he alone has the answers we need to every situation.
2. Faith extends usPeter had faith when he walked on water, and it extended him beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary (Matt 14:22-32). It was only when he was not able to apply faith that he got himself into trouble. Again, there is a lesson for us in this. Faith has to be applied.
I can say I have faith that my chair will hold me, but unless I sit on the chair and apply faith to the situation I will not be exercising faith. Abraham exercised faith when he left Ur and moved at God’s command into the unknown.
Hebrews 11:8-10
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Abraham did not know where he was going till he got there, but he stepped out in faith and trusted God for his future. He did not stay because he did not see where he was going; instead, he stepped out into the unknown, and allowed God to lead him into the future.
Faith is meant to be exercised. Otherwise it is just a good idea and theory. It’s not about so called opportunity, or talent or ability, just applied faith. We don’t need masses of faith; we just need to exercise what we have.
Matt 17:20
If you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Think about this. Jesus is saying that small faith moves mountains and that nothing is impossible. NOTHING WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. We think of moving the landscape as impossible. God says nothing is impossible with even a small amount of faith.
What impossible thing do you have in your life right now, that needs moving? What has God said about that situation? What is he saying to do? Speak out and apply faith. If a mustard seed measure of faith will move mountains, then we don’t need much faith to do and see amazing things.
God is not asking us to shift around the geography of the world or change the shape of our topography.
He is asking us to believe in him and in all he offers us, and through that, he will accomplish much.
When Peter walked on water it was because he applied faith.
This is what faith is. It is about application and that is why it extends us. It takes us beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary. It takes us beyond our own abilities and the seemingly impossible into the realm of God possibilities. Faith extends us because sometimes what we see and what we believe do not match up. But as we believe in faith, we will see.
3. Faith brings blessingHebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
God rewards those who believe and who earnestly seek him. Faith brings blessing but it comes through earnest seeking. Want blessing, seek God earnestly, and not just for selfish reasons. I notice that belief in God goes along with sincerity in action and that produces blessing. Faith, applied brings results and rewards.
When you look at the etymology of this word "reward" in the Greek,we find that it means a reward that is related to paying off a debt, to requite. In other words, the reward is about us having a freedom from the debt we owe God and his paying it for us.
There are also other rewards. We have the opportunity to come into the presence of God, (Hebrews 10) a place in his family, (Romans 8:15-17) and a chance to do great things. God’s rewards are never about selfish ambition but about seeing his purposes achieved on the earth.
ConclusionFaith is implicit trust and belief in God and who he is. Faith pleases God and extends us beyond the ordinary and into a life of amazing possibilities in God. There is an eternal reward, as well as the reward here of life with Christ and his purposes achieved.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
How do we know the will of God for our lives. Many Christians struggle with this and spend a lot of time trying all sorts of things and still don't know God's purpose for their life. Of course, there are many factors that fit together to help us understand who we are and what our purpose and calling in life is. Romans 12:1-2 gives us the way to know God's will.
"And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behaviours and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good pleasing and perfect."
Paul says that because of all God has done for us, because Jesus laid down his life for us, and since God has made us part of his family through Christ, because of all this, we are to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. We are to worship God, by living a life pleasing to him. A sacrifice means giving up our life, the things we want and the way we were living, for the cause of the Kingdom. Paul goes on to say, don't live like everyone else does, don't copy what others are doing. Its easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, but we are to live differently.
As a living sacrifice, worshipping God by the way we live, we are to allow God into our lives and to change the way we think. This means getting God's perspective on how we think. We are no longer to think the way others do, or to chase after the things of this world. This is a challenge because our culture is very materialistic. Our culture says that money and material gain are important. But Paul says we cannot be like this or think like this, we must be different.
When we choose to be a a living sacrifice, when we allow God in and we begin to change the way we think, when we begin to live in transformation, then we will be able to know what God's will is. God's will for us is good and pleasing, but to know what it is requires us to be truly seeking Him, to be living as he calls us to live. If we want to know the will of God, then live as a living sacrifice, laying down our lives for the kingdom, living differently to the world around us, in short, living according to Romans 12:1-2.
"And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behaviours and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good pleasing and perfect."
Paul says that because of all God has done for us, because Jesus laid down his life for us, and since God has made us part of his family through Christ, because of all this, we are to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. We are to worship God, by living a life pleasing to him. A sacrifice means giving up our life, the things we want and the way we were living, for the cause of the Kingdom. Paul goes on to say, don't live like everyone else does, don't copy what others are doing. Its easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, but we are to live differently.
As a living sacrifice, worshipping God by the way we live, we are to allow God into our lives and to change the way we think. This means getting God's perspective on how we think. We are no longer to think the way others do, or to chase after the things of this world. This is a challenge because our culture is very materialistic. Our culture says that money and material gain are important. But Paul says we cannot be like this or think like this, we must be different.
When we choose to be a a living sacrifice, when we allow God in and we begin to change the way we think, when we begin to live in transformation, then we will be able to know what God's will is. God's will for us is good and pleasing, but to know what it is requires us to be truly seeking Him, to be living as he calls us to live. If we want to know the will of God, then live as a living sacrifice, laying down our lives for the kingdom, living differently to the world around us, in short, living according to Romans 12:1-2.
Value
Our value does not come from what we do but from who we are. We are valuable because we exist, because we are, not because we do. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God and according to his divine plan and purpose. In fact God had us in mind before he created us and formed us. He made us as his masterpiece and we are incredibly valuable to him. We should never underestimate our worth in his eyes. For this reason, and because we are valuable to God, we show our gratitude by living in obedience to him, and by doing what he has called us to do. Eph 2:8-10
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