REALIZING WHO THE MASTER BUILDER IS
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Before we get too far into the idea of building our relationship with Christ by finding the richest parts of who we are I believe it is important that we know that we can do nothing to build our relationship with Christ without the help of God's Spirit. I want to share with you what I found in the book of Psalm 127. "Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stands guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves. Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children and reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate".
The point that I am trying to make here is one which stresses the fact that without God being involved in our efforts to seek after him the chances are great that we will mess it up. Most of the time we prefer to think of ourselves as being mature and in control, and yet God still looks upon us like a father watching small children. We are at the stage right now in our lives where we should be learning everything that we can from God's Spirit. Jesus used all that he had around him as examples to use as a visual aids to teach men and women about God's attitude toward them. On one occasion in Matthew 19: 14 Jesus said "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Jesus was trying to let us know even at that point how very limited we are at doing things on our own. The only way that we can truly approach God is as a small child. We have no ability or knowledge that can add to or detract from what God has already established. The one thing that we do have within us is a richness of ability to trust and love that cannot be found anywhere else other than the sacrificial gift of our will given over to God's spirit.
That thought alone can take us a lifetime to understand. When Jesus came to us, he came as the Messiah to share a message of good news that came directly from God's lips to Christ's ear. Jesus spoke only what the Holy Spirit had told him to say, and I believe that the healings and the miracles that were done were simply an overflow of God's grace and love to mankind. Just as in most situations where we have been in charge there are few answers given, and more questions asked. That was certainly the case with the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus warned against false teachings from the leadership within the synagogues of his time. As we seek after God the most important thing we can do is to seek first of all for what his will is for our lives. What we need in teaching and in preparation to receive his word will come through the request of the Holy Spirit within us, but we first of all must make God our master and Lord. We must recognize that everything we do must first go through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of God's Holy Spirit within us. I believe that no matter what the soil has been of our lives up to this point it is that sacrifice of giving our will to God that will do more to prepare us to receive what God wants us to become. For each one of us the direction that God's Spirit sends our lives may be somewhat different; it may be a part of the diversity that God has intended for us to have as the church. It would be very easy for us to go very deep with this, but the most important thing that we can remember right now in this discussion is that we need to totally surrender we are to God's spirit before we see to grow in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Before we get too far into the idea of building our relationship with Christ by finding the richest parts of who we are I believe it is important that we know that we can do nothing to build our relationship with Christ without the help of God's Spirit. I want to share with you what I found in the book of Psalm 127. "Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stands guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat, for he grants sleep to those he loves. Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children and reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate".
The point that I am trying to make here is one which stresses the fact that without God being involved in our efforts to seek after him the chances are great that we will mess it up. Most of the time we prefer to think of ourselves as being mature and in control, and yet God still looks upon us like a father watching small children. We are at the stage right now in our lives where we should be learning everything that we can from God's Spirit. Jesus used all that he had around him as examples to use as a visual aids to teach men and women about God's attitude toward them. On one occasion in Matthew 19: 14 Jesus said "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Jesus was trying to let us know even at that point how very limited we are at doing things on our own. The only way that we can truly approach God is as a small child. We have no ability or knowledge that can add to or detract from what God has already established. The one thing that we do have within us is a richness of ability to trust and love that cannot be found anywhere else other than the sacrificial gift of our will given over to God's spirit.
That thought alone can take us a lifetime to understand. When Jesus came to us, he came as the Messiah to share a message of good news that came directly from God's lips to Christ's ear. Jesus spoke only what the Holy Spirit had told him to say, and I believe that the healings and the miracles that were done were simply an overflow of God's grace and love to mankind. Just as in most situations where we have been in charge there are few answers given, and more questions asked. That was certainly the case with the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus warned against false teachings from the leadership within the synagogues of his time. As we seek after God the most important thing we can do is to seek first of all for what his will is for our lives. What we need in teaching and in preparation to receive his word will come through the request of the Holy Spirit within us, but we first of all must make God our master and Lord. We must recognize that everything we do must first go through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of God's Holy Spirit within us. I believe that no matter what the soil has been of our lives up to this point it is that sacrifice of giving our will to God that will do more to prepare us to receive what God wants us to become. For each one of us the direction that God's Spirit sends our lives may be somewhat different; it may be a part of the diversity that God has intended for us to have as the church. It would be very easy for us to go very deep with this, but the most important thing that we can remember right now in this discussion is that we need to totally surrender we are to God's spirit before we see to grow in Christ. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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