God At Work In You

20130415-153824.jpgOne of the first things we learn about God in the Scripture is that He works (Genesis 2:1-3). Not only did God work in creating but He also works in sustaining and caring for His creation (Psalm 147). The theological word for this is called providence. All of God’s work creating and caring for creation is good (Genesis 1:31, Psalm 145:9). But there is another good work that God has begun in every Christian that He will certainly be faithful to finish. The Apostle wrote about this good work in addressing the Philippians saying “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 ESV). The good work that God has done in every believer is called salvation. Just as God spoke creation into existence He has spoken to each believer through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and has made us come to life from the dead. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV).
God is also currently working in the lives of every believer whether they sense it or not. Paul also wrote the Philippians saying “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 ESV).
This should be a great word of encouragement for every saint because we know that God has not left us to serve Him and stand in this evil day with our own mere willpower or strength to do His will. We need God’s grace to do what He has called us to do (1 Cor. 15:10).

Recognize that God is at work not only in creation around you but He is also at work in you who are called “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). You are His “workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10)
Rejoice in the wonderful works of God!

“For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy” (Psalm 92:4 ESV).

Divine Appointments

20130318-010142.jpgGod is alive and at work in the lives of many people that you and I come across daily and we may not even recognize it. There are many opportunities that God gives us to participate with Him in reaching the lost with gospel. The work of evangelism is all about partnering with God, to speak the good news of what Christ has done for us at the cross and call people to repent and place their trust in Christ. Henry Blackaby said in his book Experiencing God “Find out where God is working and join Him there”. This is what the life of Jesus looked like when He walked the earth as a man. Jesus said that he only did what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19). He was always in step with the will of the Father and the work of the Father. The Father had ordered the steps of Christ while he was on the earth and Jesus followed everyone of them.

In John 4:4 it says Jesus “had to pass through Samaria”. Going through Samaria may have been the most direct route to go where Jesus was headed but I don’t think that was the only reason Jesus “had to pass through Samaria”. I believe that the Father had a divine appointment set up for His Son to speak to a woman in Samaria. Jesus shared good news with this woman (John 4:14, 26) and she believed in Him. She then went and told many others in town about Jesus and they also believed (John 4:39). There was a domino effect upon this one woman coming to Christ. Jesus surely “had to pass though Samaria” for this reason, namely that these Samaritans would become believers in Him. After Jesus had this time of evangelism he told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look at the fields that are white for harvest (John 4:34-35). The harvest of souls was truly great and ready for reaping in that Jesus’ day and so it is in our day. All around us there are people who God has been working in and is drawing to Himself and we get the glorious privilege to partner with God by sharing His love and the truth of the gospel, that they might come to Christ.

20130318-010918.jpgThis past Spring Break of 2013 a group of students from Valley Creek Church came to Dallas for an inner-city mission trip. I took them out on the streets to do evangelism and invite people to a basketball tournament we were hosting. There were two young ladies who began to feel a bit discouraged after they had knocked on about 7 doors and got no answer. Then they had a divine appointment. The Lord directed them to this woman named Regina who was ready to come to Christ. Regina was weary, distressed and in despair. She had lost her children to CPS due to her drug addiction and had experienced some devastating events. The father of her children had committed suicide right in front of her children. She too had been contemplating suicide. But in her pit of despair God sent two of His daughters to share His love and the hope of the gospel. These two young ladies came and told me about her and I also was able to share the love of Christ and hope of the gospel with Regina. As we spoke words of life and hope over Regina tears were streaming down her cheeks. We prayed for her and we began to sing the song How He Loves Us over her. As we were ministering to Regina I was reminded that Jesus came not only to preach the gospel to the poor but to heal the broken hearted (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18). And this precious woman was brokenhearted and God brought healing and hope to her heart when she seemed to need it the most. That evening Regina showed up for the outreach event we were hosting and she got loved on by all the students from Valley Creek and heard a message about the blessedness of being being forgiven out of Psalm 32.

20130318-010956.jpgTwo days later on Sunday morning she showed up at City Church and we happened to be doing baptisms that morning. During the service when I asked for those who were getting baptized to come forward she came up to the front of the congregation. Now I took eight people through a baptism class a week prior to that and she was not one of those eight people. Nevertheless I felt great about baptizing her because it was obvious that God had drawn her heart and brought her to a place of dependence upon  Christ. Regina had heard the gospel and she responded publicly to declare her faith in Christ. So we baptized her there on the spot. It felt like something out of the book of Acts. Indeed God was at work in the early church as we see displayed in the book of Acts. And He is also at work in our day drawing people to Himself for salvation. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV). 20130318-011003.jpg

May our eyes be opened to see the great harvest that is all around us and to recognize every divine appointment God gives us. And may we be faithful stewards of every divine appointment that the Father brings our way.

The Gospel of Grace

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Believers possess every spiritual blessing – Ephesians 1:3

God has given every one of His children an abundance of grace upon grace “in Christ Jesus”. We are not lacking any good thing in Christ. We are complete “in him” and we have everything thing we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus became poor in coming to earth, leaving the glories & privileges of Heaven so that we, through His poverty, might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Why do we feel at times that we don’t have the resources to be who God has called us to be & do what God has called us to do? I believe it is because we don’t see what we have in Christ and we need to have the eyes of our understanding enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). That is what Paul requested in prayer for the church to see.

Let’s look at some of the spiritual blessings that believers in Christ have been given through the Gospel of Grace.

We are chosen – Ephesians 1:4

You are not a Christian merely because you chose God at one point in time. You are a Christian because God chose you before the foundation of the world. You are not an accident or an afterthought. God thought about you and picked you before He ever said “Let there be light”. If God loved and chose you then how could you do anything to earn His love or choice of you? No, He didn’t choose us because He saw something good in us. He chose us on the basis of His grace and for His glory, according to His good pleasure and His will. Salvation is about God the Savior. Salvation is of the Lord, His gift of grace granted to us for the praise of His glory. He has chosen us to be holy & blameless and this should be the mark of those who are chosen. Their lives ought to look different than the world. Peter exhorts the church to make their calling and election sure and growing in godliness, holiness & Christ like character is how one can do that.

We are predestined-Ephesians 1:5

Many Christians have trouble understanding, believing and receiving this glorious truth as the bible presents it. But this is a blessing from God, an expression of God’s grace that should “humble the best of saints and give hope to the worst of sinners”, as John Piper put it. Because many Christians struggle to understand & receive this biblical truth there has been much debate over it, but for the Apostle Paul it was a reason to praise and thank God (Ephesians 1:3, 6). Praise Godthat has made plans for our lives before we existed. Praise God that He foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). Praise God that by His grace He determined that we would become His very own for all eternity. Let this gospel truth humble you & stir up gratitude & praise to your Heavenly Father. Rest assured that He who began this God work of salvation in your life will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:30).

We are adopted – Ephesians 1:5

We are now children of God and He is our Father. We are greatly loved and cared for. We belong to a family and are highly valued by God. God has promised to provide for our every need according to the riches of His grace and we don’t have to live like orphans striving to survive. Our Daddy in heaven is watches over us and everything in life is Father-filtered. Nothing comes our way in life without first being approved by Him. And He will work together all things for our good (Romans 8:28). Every good and perfect gift that we experience in life comes down from our faithful & unchanging Father. He is good to us all the time and He always has our best interest in mind.

We are accepted – Ephesians 1:6

We are accepted on the basis of Christ and what He has done on our behalf. He is the Beloved in whom the Father is well pleased and through Christ we also are pleasing to the Father. He delights to be our Father and gives us free access to His presence. Through the gospel of Christ we can boldly approach our Father’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). Never do we have to earn our acceptance from God because Christ has earned it for us. Never do we have to seek acceptance from men to meet our emotional needs because Christ meets our deepest need for acceptance. No longer should we fear the rejection of men & seek the approval of man because we can be content with God’s acceptance & approval.

We are redeemed – Ephesians 1:7

We have been bought by the precious blood of Christ and rescued from slavery to sin & Satan’s captivity. We have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God’s Beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). No longer are we ruled by the god of this world or love for this world. Our God & King is the God of gods, the King of kings & the Lord of lords and He has overcome the enemies of our soul. Jesus is now our Savior & Redeemer and no one can pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28).

We are forgiven – Ephesians 1:7

Our sins are forgiven and forgotten by God. He remembers them no more. As far as the east is from the west so far it is that God has removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). The penalty of our offenses has been paid for by Christ and the guilt of sin is gone. The blood of Christ has washed & removed the stain of our sin. Our accuser who seeks to remind us of our past sins is overcome & defeated by the blood of Jesus (Revelation 12:11). We don’t have to work to make up for all the wrong we have done or try and outweigh our bad deeds with good deeds. Christ’s good work on the cross is finished and He has provided forgiveness of sins through His blood. Now we must freely forgive others because we have been forgiven (Col. 3:13). Now we must freely carry this good news of forgiveness to others because we freely received it ourselves (Luke 24:47, Matthews 10:7, 2 Cor. 5:18)

We have revelation – Ephesians 1:9

God has not left us in the dark but He has shared His secrets with us and entrusted to us knowledge of His will. We now know of God’s purpose & plan to unite all things in heaven & on earth. God will restore creation from corruption through what Christ has done. He will make all things new and there will be no more mourning, crying, pain or suffering and God will wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4-5). We have been granted wisdom & insight from God to grasp what He is up to.

We have an inheritance – Ephesians 1:11

We have become children of God, heirs of God & fellow heirs with Christ. We can say with the Psalmist “the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance”. (Psalm 16:6). We can be content with the lot that God has granted us and not desire the passing pleasures of sin nor love the world with its lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes & the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17)

We have the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 1:13

Perhaps this is the greatest blessing we have been given, namely God himself. Believers have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, by whom we have been sealed as God’s own for all eternity. God has granted us His constant presence to lead and to guide us, to teach & to instruct us, to comfort & to help us, to convict & to change us, to empower & to strengthen us, to fill us & to refresh us, to heal us & seal us (John14:26,16:8, Acts 1:8, 2Cor. 3:18). He is our God and we are His people (Revelation 21:3)!

To hear the sermon I preached on Ephesians 1, entitled The Riches of His Grace, go this link:

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http://citychurchintl.sermon.tv/4368646