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106 (052) Purpose – The Seal of the Holy Spirit.
I can think of no better way to find, understand, and fulfill our purpose than to look at Jesus’ life as the pattern. I see three essential areas as important “faith” issues that Jesus experienced, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we should experience also.
The three encounters Jesus faced before He entered into His ministry.
These three encounters parallel what a disciple of Jesus Christ must experience. Show More
- The Seal of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ case, it occurred while He was baptized by John the Baptist.
- The Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Wilderness Temptations– Equipping- receiving of the authority and power of the Holy Spirit (The empowerment for service!)
- Receiving the mission or call to fulfill the Lord’s purpose. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me…” For us, it is the Great “Com-mission.” The call to partner with Jesus and His mission, ministry, or assignment. In other words, your purpose.
STEP ONE: THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The first significant event in Jesus’ life is His baptism by John the Baptist. (Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29–34). It is here that Father seals Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
THE SEAL OF THE FATHER IS THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The evidence of our salvation is the Holy Spirit of God living in us. Christianity is not a religion of rites, traditions, and formalities, but a living relationship with our Lord. The Holy Spirit is the evidence of our “sealing” by the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
- Ephesians 1: 13” In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
- Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Now of course, Jesus did not need salvation for Himself for He is the ” the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.” (John 14:6). However, the Lord allowed this so that all would see that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah, Savior) and the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. This is instructive for us as believers. We need to recognize and trust in the Holy Spirit in us as believers of Christ.
Before I get to Jesus baptism by John the Baptist, I need to discuss two other areas for context. (1) How is a person saved, and (2) what is the significance of John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance?
How is a person saved?
I think Jesus made it very clear in Mark 1:14, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”
Repentance
The first point is that a person must repent! In this sense, the word repent means to “turn around” or have a “change of mind,” a change in direction. A person repents when they turn back to God.
Turning back to God means the following:
- One has to acknowledge that they did not believe in who and what Jesus accomplished on the Cross, the forgiveness of sin.
- One has to acknowledge that Jesus is God incarnate.
- They must also acknowledge that, up to this point, they were not following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the teachings on love, forgiveness, and acceptance.
It is easy for us to repent of specific acts that are unrighteous; it is another thing to repent of being totally wrong about the Lord’s grace, mercy, and character and then deciding to “turn-around” and walk towards the Lord.
Believe in the Gospel
The second part of the phrase is to “believe in the gospel or the Good News. The spiritual Kingdom of God is present on earth today. As a result, the Good News is that you are forgiven of all of your sins. You are declared justified or innocent and have taken on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, our Savior. You are declared to be a “son” and co-heir with Christ. God is “for you” and not “against you”! You see, believing is not a matter of saying the right words, like a salvation prayer. Believing means that, from the heart, you demonstrate through your actions and behavior that you are a child of God!
Now a look at Christian Water Baptism
I recognize that some people believe that Christian Water Baptism is the means of receiving Christ. But, as I look at Romans 10:9-13, I see that the only requirement is to believe and confess Jesus as Lord. Now, if we look at Water Baptism as our confession, then Water Baptism becomes an outward sign of an inward decision and change. Here is
Let’s get back to Jesus’ account of His baptism by John the Baptist.
The Matthew three account:
- John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ cousin, was baptizing with the baptism of repentance. This baptism was an opportunity to be symbolically “cleansed” in the Jewish tradition and recognized that there was an inward change of heart towards God. John realized that Jesus was the Messiah and felt unworthy to be baptizing Jesus, but Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” He said to fulfill the Jewish Law of cleansing, enabling Him to enter the synagogues and teach and preach.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- The Lord had taken this time to make known that Jesus had the Spirit upon Him. We know that after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit as a gift, to live in every Christian Believer. I believe that this was the opening of direct communication and relationship between the Father and the Son! As Born-again Believers, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, and we can be sure that the Lord hears us, and we can hear from the Lord! (Read 1Corinthians 2)
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, in my mind, represents the first experience that we should take note of in His preparation for ministry. It is in this experience that the Holy Spirit falls upon Jesus. The fact that it took place during Jesus’ baptism could lead some to think that the baptism was the primary experience. Focusing on the baptism would lead us to miss the fact that although Jesus is the Lord incarnate, He was still a man when He walked the earth for 33 ½ years and He was limited by His humanity.
Jesus experienced something that God wanted all of humanity to see that to serve the Lord; you must have the Holy Spirit first. As Jesus would say in the Gospel of John, “you must be born-again to see and enter the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:1-21)
As to the Baptism of John, it was not Christian water Baptism as we know it today. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. It was an opportunity for people who had walked away from the Lord to change their minds and “turn back” to God. Remember, the Jews of Jesus’ time were discouraged, depressed, and defeated. They were under harsh Roman rule. They were a conquered people and, in some sense, gave up hope that God would deliver them.
John’s message was a breath of hope! Matthew 3:2-3 John’s proclamation was, “… “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’”
John was preaching good news stirring up hope and anticipation! Then Jesus comes to John to be baptized. Now, did Jesus need to be baptized with the baptism of repentance? Of course not. However, He did it so that the Son could glorify the Father. Listen to what Matthew 3:16-17 says, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The Spirit of God descending like a dove, gently resting upon Jesus. Note that the heavens were opened to Him, which simply means open communication between Jesus and the Father. Open communication is what is promised to us when we become born-again. Heaven is available to us as believers.
SIDE NOTE: The interval between the Old Testament and the New Testament is often referred to as “the 400 years of silence.” During this interval it was as if Heaven was closed because there were no Prophets. Now because of Jesus, Halleluiah, Heaven is open again!
Next time we will look at the Three Temptations of Christ in the wilderness… and its significance.
Bonus Material:
Let’s take a moment to look at the tradition of baptism in Jesus’ day.
The following is taken from www.oneforisrael.org. A Messianic Jewish Resource.
Ritual Bathing in the Old Testament times
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”Exod 30:17-21
Immersion in Jewish Tradition
The Jewish laws which had been passed down orally from generation to generation had several things to say about the need for ritual washing, and the most desirable places to do it.
There are six different options suggested that satisfy the requirements, starting with pits or cisterns of standing water as acceptable but least desirable, moving up to pits that are refreshed by rainwater as slightly more desirable, then the custom-built ritual bath, or “MIKVEH” with 40 se’ahs (300 liters) or more of water, then fountains, then flowing waters. But “living waters” (as found in natural lakes and rivers) which were considered to be the best possible situation.
So, John’s immersing people in the “Living waters” of the River Jordan was perfectly within Jewish law and practice at the time.
So, immersion in a mikveh was quite common at the time of Jesus, but the New Testament also describes baptisms taking place not only in rivers, but in any available body of water. In Acts 8, we read of a visiting pilgrim from Ethiopia, who came to believe in Jesus as he read the book of Isaiah on his way home:
“As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)).
By this point, baptism had come to signify, or symbolize, a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
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105 (051) – Finding Your Purpose, Part 2
JESUS OUR EXAMPLE.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” If we want to do what Jesus did then we must go through the same process as He did in finding His purpose.Show More
As we continue to look at finding your purpose as a process, I want to remind you of what I taught in the last post (104) before we continue.
- First, we need to recognize the humanity of Jesus Christ. Because of His humanity, we can have faith that we can be conformed to be like Him. He is our example!
- Second, there is a difference between a follower of Jesus and a disciple of Jesus. A follower is a “babe” in Christ, or a carnal Christian” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Hebrews 5:12-14). Whereas a disciple is a soldier in Christ. A soldier not because of fierceness, but because of a disciplined life. (2Timothy 2:1-5) The point is that a true disciple is a mature Christian. Maturity in Christ is not measured in months or years but in obedience.
THE BIBLE AS OUR PATTERN FOR LIFE.
All Christians would agree that the Bible gives us the pattern of life that represents God’s righteousness. As Christians, we understand that we are to live like Jesus Christ in character. We are to be conformed to the image of Christ by the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
- Romans 8:29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
- Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
THE LORD IS A GIVER OF GIFTS!
The Lord gives us the gift of Jesus, Jesus gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit gives us the fruit of the Spirit and supernatural gifts of the Spirit. We can’t work or earn any of the Lord’s gifts; we can only trust and obey. It is a faith venture.
The Bible shows us what God expects from us and how by cooperating with the Holy Spirit, He can lead us through our “New Life in Christ”.
We must first learn how to produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit outlined in Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” All of these attributes of the Holy Spirit are present in us in seeds-form. It is up to us to yield and obey the prompting of the Spirit to allow the seed to grow and bear fruit. Remember Romans 12:2… we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. We actively allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to transform us.
THE SEAL OF THE FATHER IS THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The evidence of our salvation is the Holy Spirit of God living in us. Christianity is not a religion of rites, traditions, and formalities, but a living relationship with our Lord. The Holy Spirit is the evidence of our “sealing” by the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
- Ephesians 1: 13” In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
- Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
ALL DISCIPLES ARE FOLLOWERS, BUT NOT ALL FOLLOWERS ARE DISCIPLES.
The work of the Holy Spirit always begins with our character first. We must deal with “first things first.” We are first followers of Jesus and then learn how to become disciples of Jesus.
A Disciple’s primary focus or goal is to bring glory to the Father. After all, that wasn’t that Jesus’ purpose, to bring glory to the Father. Jesus did this through His character and supernatural signs and wonders.
While a Follower or Believer in Jesus Christ has been sealed by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has also empowered a Disciple.
Sealing represents redemption or salvation, whereas empowerment represents Power (signs and wonders); the capacity for Agape love (unconditional love) and a spirit-centered mind (sound mind). 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” You see being a disciple is about character and power in the Holy Spirit.
As Water Baptism is a sign of our surrender to Jesus for our salvation; the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a sign of our surrender to the Holy Spirit for service.
THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF CHRISTIANITY!
Since Jesus was fully human, how did he perform supernatural signs, wonders, and miracles which confirmed the Kingdom of God? And, since we are to be conformed to be like Jesus, how do we demonstrate the Kingdom of God on earth in the same way?
Jesus, in His humanity needed the authority and power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His mission.
If Jesus is to be our pattern the answer to this question is found in the following sequence of events in Jesus’ life.:
- Jesus received the Holy Spirit at His water baptism.
- Jesus received the authority and Power of the Holy Spirit in His wilderness experience.
- Jesus received His Mission Statement following His wilderness experience which made clear His purpose.
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104 (050) – Finding Your Purpose is a Process!
The Three Encounters Jesus Experienced as He Began to Fulfill the Father’s Purpose.
- The best way to settle the question of Purpose is to look at the scriptures and the example Jesus gave us.
- We need to distinguish between our spiritual purpose and our natural purpose.
- Our natural purpose is to be a son/daughter, father/mother, a family leader, and a provider to our families.
- Spiritually speaking, we are to worship the Lord, have fellowship with Him, and be “about our Father’s business!”
In my last post, I started to talk about purpose, and now it is time to see how to find your purpose in Jesus Christ. Show More
The Process of Finding Your Purpose.
One of the challenges of finding your purpose in Jesus Christ is realizing that it takes time. The Lord is not limited to our timetable, 2 Peter 3:8, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Finding your purpose is a process, and there are steps in the process that are common to everyone called to be a disciple of Christ.
Speaking of disciples of Christ, we need to recognize a difference between a disciple and a follower of Christ. A follower is a person who is not mature in their relationship with Jesus.
- Often Followers are attracted by the earthly benefits of being a Christian and are satisfied to accept a very shallow relationship with the Lord.
- Followers are more attracted to what they can gain instead of what they can give.
- They accept Jesus as Savior but have not learned that He must be Lord of their lives as well.
Let me be clear when I used the term mature, I am not speaking about how long they’ve been a Christian, but I am talking about how deep and far they have traveled in their journey with the Lord! A carnal Christian is an immature Christian. Look at what the Apostle Paul says about baby Christians in 1 Corinthians 3: 1, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
All Christians start as followers; the Lord’s intent is that all followers become disciples. In the Great Commission, Jesus’ charge is to “Go and make disciples.” Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” So, Jesus is looking for something deeper or more profound than followers.
A disciple is a soldier of Christ.
A disciple differs from a follower in that a disciple is committed to the cause of Christ, and is willing to pay any price to follow Jesus. The Apostle Paul likens a disciple to a soldier when he writes to his young disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: 1, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
- When I was much younger, I was in the military, and I understand the concept of the “Chain of Command” or being under authority and “obeying the orders I am given.” Those are the keys of a good soldier, understanding what it means to be under authority (Matthew 8:9), and how to follow orders.
When you look at the disciple of Jesus in the New Covenant Testament, you see that they gave up everything to be a disciple. Jesus started with twelve, then 70, then 120 and revolutionized the world. Today the largest religion is Christianity. Most of the world’s population would define themselves as Christian, that would be 31% of the total world’s population.
Jesus as our example.
Once you have made a distinction between followers and disciples, you can then take a closer look at purpose. Remember, I said that finding your purpose was a process. So, how do we begin this process? I think the best example of this process is to look at the life of Jesus and see how He came to understand and embrace His purpose!
Jesus’ Early Years
We have a glimpse of Jesus growing up in Luke 2. (read the account in Luke 2:41-52). Recall that the family of Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Passover. The family returned to Nazareth after the Feast, and on the way home, they discovered that Jesus was not with them. They were probably traveling in a caravan of pilgrims, and it was common that family members might drift apart. After some time, they discovered that Jesus was not in the caravan and became concerned. They started a search for the young boy and found Him teaching in the Temple. The Temple leaders and scholars were amazed at the 12-year-old boy’s understanding of the scriptures.
What does this first glimpse of Jesus as a boy show us? This look into Jesus’ life reveals that Jesus must have studied the scriptures. This is our first step in the process of finding our purpose. We need to be diligent in the scriptures. Not simply a “head knowledge” or intellectual understanding, but a personal spiritual revelation of the logos and rhema of the scriptures.
Timing in Fulfilling Our Process.
We know of nothing else about Jesus until He turns 30 years old. We know that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses which means that He choose to follow the Law. In Judaism, at that time, a person could not be a priest until age 30. We know of His birth, according to the Gospels, and we have a picture of Jesus when He was 12, then nothing until Jesus turns 30. This tells us that there is a timing in God’s Kingdom that only the Lord can control. The Lord is never early, never late, but always on time.
The Humanity of Jesus.
Jesus’ call to the ministry at age 30 shows that He was ready to take on the discipleship role with His Father in Heaven. This would be a good point to recall that Jesus was fully human, that while Jesus was all God, He was also all man. I speak from a Trinitarian point of belief. There is only one God, but in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is a mystery that we accept by faith!
- Philippians 2: 5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
- Hebrews 2:18 For in that He (Jesus) Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest (Jesus) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Question; if Jesus was fully human how did he perform supernatural signs, wonders and miracles which confirmed the Kingdom of God?
- Jesus received the Holy Spirit at His baptism.
- Jesus received the authority and Power of the Holy Spirit in the wilderness experience.
- Jesus received His Mission Statement which made clear His purpose. All of this following the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus in His humanity needed the authority and power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His mission. How can we expect to do anything less.
More in our next Post.
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103 (049) – Your Purpose in Christ!
Review of Last Post
- Your Father is God. While all humans are the children of God, as believers in Jesus Christ we have the position as sons (daughters) and as such we inherit the promises of God.(Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:8, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:36).
- As a result of our position as sons, we have access to the Throne Room of God (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12).
- Our salvation means that God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us (Romans 8:9, Romans 8:11, 1Corinthians 3:16, 1Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 5:18, 2Timothy 1:14).
All of this means that we are anointed for service (2Corinthians 1:21). Jesus Christ purchased your position as a son. His death on Calvary’s cross and His resurrection opened a door into a New Covenant that describes our new relationship with God. All things are made new, and all things are possible!
Today I’m going to be talking about purpose, your purpose in the Lord, and your purpose in life.
This is a very popular and important topic in Christian circles. Everyone is concerned about identifying their purpose as Christians. The confusion occurs when trying to separate two closely related terms, purpose, and work. In human terms, we often think of these two concepts as being the same. To the Lord, these two terms, purpose and work are not the same.Show More
- In God’s eyes, purpose has to do with how you exist in your relationship with Him which is spiritual. Your purpose is to recognize the Father’s love towards you. The love of God and the grace of God gives you the privilege of walking with God the Father in the position of a son! This is your spiritual purpose.
- Your assignment or the work you do is how you demonstrate your love for the Father. Obedience to the Lord always produces blessing.
God’s love for you is demonstrated by sending Jesus for you. Your reasonable response should be to fulfill His assignment or work out of gratefulness.
It is important to do “first things first”. In other words, to build the foundation before you build the house. The foundation is your relationship with the Lord, the house is the work He has called you to in this life.
Here is a question, as a Christian how do you see yourself?
So much of who we are and what we do is based upon how we see ourselves. If I see myself as the world sees me, then I might not have a very good opinion of myself. As a result, I may make poor choices and decisions because I believe I am not good enough. As a result of this negative view I am unable to see the value the Lord places on me. If I dwell on my past mistakes and sins, then I might be persuaded to try and earn or do things to deserve what the Lord has done for me. In either case, I have the wrong perspective of my relationship with the Lord.
Let me warn you, this is exactly what the Devil wants you to think! Satan wants you to think that you must make yourself worthy of God’s love. This is a trap that many fall into. The Apostle Paul says in
Through Jesus Christ you are loved, forgiven and accepted! You can’t be more loved, or more forgiven or more accepted than you are right now. You did not deserve or earn any of this, but it was purchased for you by Jesus Christ. Remember, you are a son or daughter of the Lord and sons and daughters have a special place and position in the Kingdom of God on earth and in Heaven.
All of this Good News means that when we serve the Lord we do so out of gratitude and joy; not out of fear, guilt or slavery.
Here is a thought, Jesus was sent on a mission by the Father. His mission was to “destroy the works of the Devil (1John 3:8).” We are called to the Great Commission to make disciples. Look at the word commission, it has two parts com- and -mission. The prefix com- means with, together, in association, and completely, and the word mission means “assignment”. Com-mission then means that we are called together with Jesus’ to be a part of His mission, to destroy the works of the enemy of our souls. Ow think about this question, can you do this mission alone in your own strength and ability? Of course not! You and I need the help of Christ working in us through the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission or assignment. What gives us hope and builds our faith is the knowledge that the Lord loves us!
In a sense God loves us in the same way we love our children. We love our children because they are our children – not because of what they can do for us. If you have a prodigal son or daughter, you understand the unconditional love you have for your children. This is the same Agape or unconditional love the Father has for you.
Certainly, there is a proper place for work, effort, and accomplishment by our children. But those things do not change the value of our children to us. In the same way you will never have confidence in your relationship with God and the assignment He has called you to until you recognize God’s love for you and how much He values you.
Further evidence of your value to God.
Listen to what Peter the Apostle has to say about your value to the Lord in
Then again in one of the most-quoted scriptures of the Bible, we hear the words of Jesus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16,17).
It is clear, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, that the Father’s purposethroughout human history has been to redeem, restore, and reconcile humanity to Himself.
- Redeem means to take back ownership
- Restore means to bring back to original condition
- Reconcile means to make whole the relationship
Now understanding our purpose in Christ settles our eternal destiny, but what about our earthly destiny? How are we to live out our lives here on earth?
From the very beginning, we were created to worship God and have fellowship with Him (Gen3:9,10; Ps 149:4; John 4:23; Rom 12:1).
Our life as Worship
Many Christians look at worship as something separate from everyday life and is done in church. Worship is more than that it is not only music and singing or dancing unto the Lord. More importantly, worship is a lifestyle of commitment to the purposes of God. Romans 12:1 says it best, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service [or worship]”.
Normally something that is sacrificed is dead, but we are called to be living sacrifices. A living sacrifice is one whose self-will has been laid down – and replaced by the desire to do God’s will! Our life lived in sacrifice to God’s purposes is an act of worship to Him. As Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but your will be done.” Jesus is our example.
Not only are we called to live a life of worship unto the Lord, but we are also called to fellowship with Him. How amazing that is! Fellowship means that we walk in a close relationship with our Lord, in regular two-way communication with Him. The key to any successful relationship is not just communication but meaningful two-way communication. God speaking to us and we speaking to Him.
That’s all we have time for… until next time.
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102 (048) – To Be or to Do, that is the question?
In the last post, we concluded that Confidence is of the soul, and Faith is of the spirit. With Confidence, we “move or motivate” people to follow, whereas Faith moves God to show Himself strong on our behalf.
Confidence in General
In the natural some people are effortlessly confident. They are optimistic and see the “cup half-filled instead of half-empty.” They are often the ones who make a success of what they put their “minds to.” Their Confidence is on their natural ability, skills, or talents.
Then, there are others who lack Confidence and see the “cup half-empty instead of half-filled.” They seem to be naturally timid or lack Confidence. They often are focused on their lack of natural ability, skills, or talents. They are often afraid to take risks and will often settle for just getting by in life. Their lack of Confidence is in their natural ability, skills, or talents. Show More
Confidence for a Believer
In a born-again believer, our Confidence is not in our own natural ability, skills, or talents, but our growing Faith in Jesus Christ. So, whether you are confident in yourself or not confident in yourself is not the issue. The issue is Faith, in what Jesus says about you and His power and authority made available to you. When you learn to “walk by faith and not by sight” your Confidence will grow, and others will recognize that there is something different about you… that you know God!
The Heart of God
The only way to operate in Faith and Confidence is to know the heart of Father God. Knowing the heart of the Father requires that we understand, from the Scriptures:
- The purpose of the Father: that which prompts Him to action (His motivation). John 3:16.
- The process of the Father: how He performs that action (His outworking).
Once we understand the purpose and the process of Father God, we can then begin to understand our purpose and the process to which God has called us to.
So, there is both a purpose and a process. The purpose has to do with the mission; the process has to do with how the mission is fulfilled. As Christian, we often confuse purpose and process. We try to do instead of first learning how to be. The Bible teaches that we are not just servants – we are first sons (Rom 8:14-17) who are then called to serve!
Our purpose is not to be doing many things for God; just doing things has to do with process, as we shall see. Our purpose is to first walk in relationship with our Father (through Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit) as His sons and daughters. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ…” (Rom 8:16,17).
Apostle Paul’s Teaching on the believer’s relationship as sons
In the very last chapter of the Book of Acts, in the last verse of the chapter, the scripture says of the Apostle Paul that he, “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:31).
The ministry of Paul was characterized by the personal trait of Confidence. This Confidence was more than a boldness or recklessness. This Confidence was born out of Paul’s understanding of who he was in Jesus Christ. Paul understood that being a believer in Jesus meant more than conquering sin and death. Paul understood that being a believer meant that he was called to live in a new position for the rest of his life. This new position in life was to live as a son! A son whose Father is God.
- Jesus is The Son of God and we are His brothers.
- “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:10-11).
- We are adopted as sons.
- “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” (Ephesians 1:5).
- “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
- Because of our sonship position, we have access to God.
- “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18).
- As sons we are called to serve.
- Parable of the two sons, Matthew 21:28. A son always obeys his Father.
Son vs. Stranger
We often define ourselves by what we do for a living. If asked, “who are you”? Some would answer, “I am a farmer, plumber, businessman, teacher or minister. Paul did not define himself by what he did for a living or his ministry, but he defined himself by what God said of him. God said he was a son, and therefore, Paul chose to live as a son! Paul saw himself as a son who chose to serve his Father. Isn’t this what Jesus demonstrated for us throughout His life in His obedience to Father God? “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).
Let’s take a closer look at God’s idea, that we are sons in Galatians 3:26-29.
“For you are all sons of God through Faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”.
- Notice in verse 28 God makes no distinction of position, gender, status or reputation. All that is required is to be in Christ.
- Notice also that God does not distinguish between male or female. That means that sonship is not about gender but position in Christ. It may seem odd to us, but it is perfectly acceptable to God that a female can be a son in position!
- In verse 29, sons are declared to be heirs. That means we have access to the promises of God. Because only sons inherit.
Paul continues to teach about sonship in Galatians 4:4-7
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”.
Confidence happens when you understand that your identity is to live by Faith as a son!
You are not defined by what you do for a living, but by what God says of you… you are a son!
An illustration of believing God- Private Chauvin
In the early 1800s there was a story about Nicolas Chauvin, a private in Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Private Chauvin was standing at attention while King Napoleon reviewed the troops riding on his white horse. For some reason, the horse became startled, Napoleon dropped the reins, and the horse ran out of control with Napoleon still on the horse. Immediately Private Chauvin ran after the King, grabbed the reins, calmed the horse, and brought Napoleon to safety.
Napoleon said, “What is your name, soldier”? To which Chauvin said, “My name is Private Chauvin, sir.” The King then said, “Thank you, Captain Chauvin.” Immediately Chauvin went to his quarters, took off his enlisted uniform, and replaced it with an officer’s uniform, that of a Captain! His fellow enlisted soldiers began to ridicule him and challenged his right to wear the uniform of an officer. To which Captain Chauvin said, “I have the right to wear this uniform because My King called me Captain”! Your King calls you, son!
As a son, you inherit the promises of God.
- Your Father is God (Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:8, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:36).
- You have access to the Throne Room of God (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12).
- God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you (Romans 8:9, Romans 8:11, 1Corinthians 3:16, 1Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 5:18, 2Timothy 1:14).
- Supernatural power and authority are available to you to fulfill God’s ministry, mission or assignment(Luke 10:19-20, John 16:7, Acts 1:8, 2Corinthians 12:9, 1John 4:4).
- You are anointed for service (2Corinthians 1:21)
Jesus Christ purchased your Position as a son. His death on Calvary’s cross opened a door into a New Covenant that describes our new relationship with God. All things are made new and all things are possible!
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101 (047) – The Christian Spiritual Life.
“And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl 4:12)
A study of the inter-relationship between God’s Word, the Leading of the Holy Spirit and Faith.
The words Faith and confidence are often used interchangeably, but they are two different words in the Bible. Confidence is natural; Faith is supernatural or spiritual. Show More
Faith is spiritual. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1. Faith looks to Jesus and His Holy Spirit for empowerment or anointing.
Faith – g4102. Pistis; persuasion, moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation.
Confidence is natural and looks to self for empowerment.
Confidence – g3954. Parrēsia; all outspokenness, i.e., frankness, bluntness, publicity; Boldness.
When a person displays confidence as a result of Faith, you have a potential leader. When that leader understands that he or she is a spiritual leader and as a spiritual leader, that person has come to serve and not be served!
God is moved by Faith; people are moved by confidence. A person may be a man or woman of Faith and still not be confident because they know the truth but are unwilling to act upon that truth. On the other hand, a person may be a man or woman of Faith and will boldly (confidently) be a doer of the Word. People will follow that kind of person, a person of Faith and confidence.
Mature Christians are called to walk confidently in their Faith. The natural confidence aligning with supernatural Faith. In other words, when Faith and confidence become one.
A good illustration of this progression in building confidence is found in 1 Samuel 17, the well-known account of David and Goliath. Young David did not just appear on the battlefield to confront Goliath the Philistine. There was a history of finding God faithful that ultimately led David to a very public victory. Before every public victory there must be a series of private victories.
- How was David, a simple shepherd boy, able to defeat the giant Goliath a warrior from his youth? It started with David’s personal relationship with God, “Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18).
- Then followed the faith-building episodes of defeating the lion and the bear while protecting his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
- Finally came the confidence to defeat the giant Goliath, who was a warrior from his youth. This total defeat of Goliath in turn, inspired the armies of Israel to defeat the Philistine army (1 Samuel 17:45-54). David did not waver or doubt; his confidence was in his God!
You see, David allowed God to prepare him in the private times for the great public battle with Goliath. David’s confidence started when he decided to pursue his relationship with God. Leaders don’t neglect your personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ; it is the cornerstone of your life and ministry.
“Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb 10:35,36).
Christian leaders have a great responsibility – they must effectively lead those whom the Lord has given them the responsibility to lead. In a very true sense, the destinies of those they are leading are in the hands of those leaders. Therefore, the leader’s responsibility should never be taken lightly.
As ministry leaders, we have a responsibility to those we lead. But we have an even greater responsibility to the One who has called us into the ministry. The One who has called us is God the Father!
Think of your responsibility in this way. The body of Christian believers is often referred to as the “Bride of Christ.” We are given the stewardship or responsibility to care for the “Bride of Christ.” How great a responsibility we have! Jesus will one day return for His Bride, the Church. Our hope is that in that day He will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
How, then, shall we mature to become effective leaders to whom such a great trust is given? To be effective requires that we become confident in three areas, and in this order:
(1) We must first have confidence in our relationship with God.
(2) Then we must have confidence in our calling.
(3) Finally, we must have confidence in our ministry.
It must also be understood that each one of these three areas is spiritual in nature. While we are clothed in a shell of flesh and blood, we must learn how to see, hear, and understand the spiritual realm in which God lives. For God is Spirit, and it is from His Spirit that His enabling power flows.
He Who Calls Us Is Faithful
There is a major difference between a spiritual leader, such as a pastor, and other types of leaders who are in business, education, or politics. The difference is the calling. The pastor’s calling is not of man, nor of personal ambition – it is of God. The ministry is not a profession or a job, but a calling.
But how can we best define a “calling”? The calling is an invitation from God, to an individual to co-labor with Him in the fulfillment of His purpose and plan. Along with this call comes enablement or equipping for the task. God never fails to equip those He calls. Paul the apostle tells us, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1Tim 1:12).
The call from God is not based on our talents, abilities, or gifts. It is based on a potential that God sees in us called faithfulness. The particular faithfulness described here is not to a denomination, an organization, or an individual. It is faithfulness towards God and His call upon your life. We can be faithful because God is always faithful to us: “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1Thess 5:24).
Our Source of Confidence (confidence is the outward appearance of Faith!)
Confidence is the key to effective ministry. Confidence comes from an understanding of one important thing: the heart of our heavenly Father. Knowing what is in the heart of the Father toward us is what gives our life meaning and purpose as Christians.
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106 (052) Purpose – The Seal of the Holy Spirit.
/RSS FeedI can think of no better way to find, understand, and fulfill our purpose than to look at Jesus’ life as the pattern. I see three essential areas as important “faith” issues that Jesus experienced, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we should experience also.
The three encounters Jesus faced before He entered into His ministry.
These three encounters parallel what a disciple of Jesus Christ must experience. Show More
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105 (051) – Finding Your Purpose, Part 2
/RSS FeedJESUS OUR EXAMPLE.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” If we want to do what Jesus did then we must go through the same process as He did in finding His purpose.Show More
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104 (050) – Finding Your Purpose is a Process!
/RSS FeedThe Three Encounters Jesus Experienced as He Began to Fulfill the Father’s Purpose.
- The best way to settle the question of Purpose is to look at the scriptures and the example Jesus gave us.
- We need to distinguish between our spiritual purpose and our natural purpose.
- Our natural purpose is to be a son/daughter, father/mother, a family leader, and a provider to our families.
- Spiritually speaking, we are to worship the Lord, have fellowship with Him, and be “about our Father’s business!”
In my last post, I started to talk about purpose, and now it is time to see how to find your purpose in Jesus Christ. Show More
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103 (049) – Your Purpose in Christ!
/RSS FeedReview of Last Post
- Your Father is God. While all humans are the children of God, as believers in Jesus Christ we have the position as sons (daughters) and as such we inherit the promises of God.(Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:8, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:36).
- As a result of our position as sons, we have access to the Throne Room of God (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12).
- Our salvation means that God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us (Romans 8:9, Romans 8:11, 1Corinthians 3:16, 1Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 5:18, 2Timothy 1:14).
All of this means that we are anointed for service (2Corinthians 1:21). Jesus Christ purchased your position as a son. His death on Calvary’s cross and His resurrection opened a door into a New Covenant that describes our new relationship with God. All things are made new, and all things are possible!
Today I’m going to be talking about purpose, your purpose in the Lord, and your purpose in life.
This is a very popular and important topic in Christian circles. Everyone is concerned about identifying their purpose as Christians. The confusion occurs when trying to separate two closely related terms, purpose, and work. In human terms, we often think of these two concepts as being the same. To the Lord, these two terms, purpose and work are not the same.Show More
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102 (048) – To Be or to Do, that is the question?
/RSS FeedIn the last post, we concluded that Confidence is of the soul, and Faith is of the spirit. With Confidence, we “move or motivate” people to follow, whereas Faith moves God to show Himself strong on our behalf.
Confidence in General
In the natural some people are effortlessly confident. They are optimistic and see the “cup half-filled instead of half-empty.” They are often the ones who make a success of what they put their “minds to.” Their Confidence is on their natural ability, skills, or talents.
Then, there are others who lack Confidence and see the “cup half-empty instead of half-filled.” They seem to be naturally timid or lack Confidence. They often are focused on their lack of natural ability, skills, or talents. They are often afraid to take risks and will often settle for just getting by in life. Their lack of Confidence is in their natural ability, skills, or talents. Show More
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101 (047) – The Christian Spiritual Life.
/RSS Feed“And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl 4:12)
A study of the inter-relationship between God’s Word, the Leading of the Holy Spirit and Faith.
The words Faith and confidence are often used interchangeably, but they are two different words in the Bible. Confidence is natural; Faith is supernatural or spiritual. Show More
