Category: Writers Block
I wanna FIRST ACKNOWLEDGE the VERY ONE, ABSOLUTE THING: Jesus DEFINITELY LOVES EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, IN SPITE OF OURSELVES, IN SPITE OF ANY/ALL OF OUR WRONG; now, this, of course, doesn't mean that he loves WHAT WE DO that's wrong, which means that if I, for example, am judging OTHERS, INSTEAD OF PRAYING FOR THEM, AND FORGIVING THEM, just as MY Heavenly Father forgives ME, the VERY SAME WAY that HE FORGAVE ALL OF US with HIS LIFE, IN PLACE OF OURS, that REALLY hurts him, VERY DEEPLY. I don't wanna continue to do this AWFUL THING, because I wanna show Him, with the VERY REPENTANT HEART that's DEFINITELY REQUIRED, that I GENUINELY LOVE HIM, JUST AS HE FIRST LOVED, AND CONTINUES TO UNCONDITIONALLY LOVE ME, because NOT only JUDGING OTHERS, UNJUSTLY, but ANY UNREPENTED SIN is like taking a knife and driving it right through the VERY HEART of our PRECIOUS SAVIOR, so I just wanna take THIS TIME, RIGHT NOW, and if ANYONE, READING THIS, wants to join in with me, let's go before the VERY LOVER OF OUR SOUL, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER:
Father, first of all, I hope that what I'm doing, such as writing this to post on "THE ZONE," is lead by YOU, and that AS THE VERY RESULT, this can be a HEALING HAND OF YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE AND TENDER CARE, that's EVER SO GENTLY REACHING OUT to EVER SO TENDERLY GATHER unto YOURSELF, in Your TENDER FULL EMBRACE, the VERY PRECIOUS LOST SOULS that AS MANY of whom should EVER SO HAPPEN to, within YOUR timing, find this message, by neither accident, nor coincidence, realizing that you EVER SO TENDERLY LOVE THEM, JUST AS YOU LOVE ME, AS WELL. Father, JUST as you said in JOHN316: "For YOU (GOD) so LOVED THE WORLD (US),that He sent His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, so that WHOSOEVER (ANY OF US) believes SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE," STILL HOLDS VERY TRUE to this VERY DAY. MY PRAYER, RIGHT NOW, DEAR FATHER, is that WHOEVER'S READING THIS, realizes that you're RIGHT WHERE THEY might be, NOT TO JUDGE, CONDEMN, MAKE FUN OF, but that YOU just wanna LET THEM KNOW HOW MUCH HEAD-OVER-HEELS that YOU'VE FALLEN, BEYOND EXPLANATION, SO MUCH IN LOVE WITH THEM, and that NO SIN, WHATSOEVER, IS ONE, TOO MANY, that You could NEVER FORGIVE, JUST AS YOU'VE SHOWN, AND STILL SHOW ME, DESPITE MY CONSTANT TRANSGRESSION, EVEN THE WILLFUL ONES, which seem to be TOO MANY, FOR TOO LONG; and as I pray for MYSELF, LORD, I ALSO pray THE VERY SAME for ANY OF YOU, AS WELL, that we EITHER COME TO, OR ARE ALREADY AT, THE VERY POINT OF KNOWING that the ONLY WAY to EVER BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES, is when WE'RE HONEST, WILLINGLY, WITH OUR TENDER-LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER, and that it's through SUCH HONESTY, ALONE, that we are AUTOMATICALLY, WITHOUT ANY RED TAPE, HIDDEN-FINE-PRINT, NO-COST, NOW-AND-ETERNALLY (WHICH MEANS FOREVER, just in case of any explanation that might be needed) SAVED, and that AS "JOINT HEIRS," meaning that we're AUTOMATIC INHERITANTS of the VERY KINGDOM THAT'S TO COME, CALLED HEAVEN, we're DEFINITELY THE VERY TRUE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY OF GOD. Amen.
The VERY ABSOLUTE GRACE OF GOD is DEFINITELY BEST-DEFINED in what I'm posting here, taken from Chuck Smith's book, which you can find online (www.activeword.org), entitled: "WHY GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING." THIS, I BELIEVE, ties in with the above heart-felt prayer, signifying that if it weren't for the ACTUAL GRACE of the VERY LIVING, PERFECT AND ABSOLUTELY HOLY GOD, who sent His Son to be the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE--to LITTERALLY DIE the VERY DEATH that WE, AND WE, ALONE, should have, INSTEAD, no matter WHAT or HOW GOOD that we could EVER DO, or BE, in OUR FEEBLE ATTEMPTS to keeping ALL of God's Commandments, NONE OF WHICH will NEVER, EVER, EVER be our ticket to the Kingdom, and it's just ABSOLUTELY USELESS, as well as POINTLESS, to PULL AT ANY/ALL STRAWS, TRYING; FORTUNATELY, we wouldn't HAVE to, in the FIRST place. Check it out:
Have you ever pondered the significance of the simple phrase, "God loves you"? It may embody the most important truth anyone can grasp: that God has called
us into a loving relationship with Himself. Our part is simply to trust and believe in the deep care and compassion God freely extends to us.
How beautiful it is to experience the freedom and joy of a love relationship with God! Yet how sad it is that there are so many who insist on relating to
God in a legalistic way. Their righteousness is based on what they can do for the Lord instead of on what He has already done for them. They carry around
a huge list of "do's and don'ts" to keep them bound to God.
I am no stranger to that depressing kind of negative righteousness. As I was growing up, I considered myself one of the most godly kids on the block because
of what I didn't do. I didn't smoke. I didn't dance. I didn’t go to shows. I was taught that such things were utterly sinful. So not only did I avoid those
things, I also believed I was far more righteous than my weaker friends who indulged in them. I thought I was much more holy than the preacher's kid, who
was known to pick up old cigarette butts and smoke them on the sly. I was above all that, and I was sure God noticed.
Still, I had a big problem. Although I didn't go to shows, I longed to see Snow White, so I felt condemned. I would get saved again every Sunday night and
would promise God that next week was going to be different. I was lucky if my relationship with Him made it past breakfast Monday morning.
Because my righteousness was a matter of willpower and effort, before long my relationship with God became a tremendous strain. Every summer I would attend
our church youth camp. On the last evening we would build a huge bonfire and gather around to sing worship choruses such as "I Surrender All" and "I Will
Follow Thee, My Lord." During this emotionally charged time we were asked to write out on paper either an area of our lives that we wanted God to change
or a commitment we wanted to make. Each of us would then take a pine cone, wedge our commitment paper into it, and toss it in the fire. As I watched my
pine cone burn, tears would run down my cheeks. I would tell God that I wanted my life to be consumed by His love and that I wanted to give myself completely
over to serving Him.
As we left the bonfire we were directed to a little table where camp leaders had laid out a stack of cards that read, "I promise, by the grace of God, that
in the coming year I will never enter a theater, I will never smoke a cigarette, I will never drink an alcoholic beverage, I will never use foul language,
and I will not attend any dances." We would sign these commitment cards and carry them around with us in our wallets all year long.
I was careful to keep all my commitments - but I also ended up in a draining, legalistic relationship with God. I had very little joy in my walk with Christ
because I was tied to God by a contract. I couldn't break my agreement; hadn't I signed and dated it, and didn't I carry it around with me in my back pocket?
No, I was committed to keeping this agreement and I fiercely believed that God owed me something for my efforts. God had to be good to me... at least,
better to me than He was to those who didn't follow through on their commitments.
Imagine my shock, then, when my friends who weren't nearly as righteous as I won the contest where we tried to guess the number of jelly beans in the jar!
I would grow angry and ask, "God, why didn't You bless me? You know I deserve to win more than they do." The more I thought about it, the more confused
I became. Here I was keeping my end of the bargain, yet God seemed to pay no attention at all. I constantly felt let down.
Every once in a while, of course, I would get honest with myself and begin to see that I wasn't nearly as righteous as I liked to think. I knew that my
attitude frequently was not what it should have been. There were moments when I knew I had thoroughly fallen short of God's will for my life. I recall
a time in high school when I snuck into a show. For six months afterwards I lived in utter condemnation because I had broken my commitment. Often I would
give up on the idea that God would ever see fit to bless me. There were a lot of things I wanted to pray for, but what right did I have to ask Him for
anything when I had failed Him so miserably?
This heavy burden of works-righteousness carried over into my early ministry years in Tucson, Arizona. It didn't take long for me to realize that there
had to be more to ministry than what I was experiencing, more to a relationship with God than what I enjoyed. To make matters worse, I would watch the
meetings of some of the major evangelists of the day as they passed through the state, and see tents jammed with people being saved and others experiencing
what seemed to be miraculous healings.
I longed to see that kind of power evident in my own life and ministry. Therefore I began earnestly to seek God with fasting and prayer out in the Tucson
desert. I would take off alone to wait on the Lord with only a jug of water, a Bible, and a notebook for company. I begged God for His blessing, His power,
and His anointing on my life. After a round of such spiritual discipline, I would work up a sense of excitement, believing that God was about to bless
our church because I had fasted and prayed. I could hardly wait for the next service to see what God was going to do.
Unfortunately, I grew so weak from fasting that by Sunday I could hardly stand up behind the pulpit. My mind would wander so much that I could barely present
a coherent message. The people would fall asleep and I would feel devastated. Here I had expected a tremendous move of God... and instead, a chorus of
snoring broke out. I would get frustrated and angry and think, But God, haven't You seen how I have fasted and prayed? Surely You ought to bless this church
- and me too, while You're at it!
I did not understand at the time that my fasting and praying were attempts to obligate God, to force Him to do what I wanted. I thought if people could
just see miracles like those described in the book of Acts, they would be convinced about the reality of Jesus Christ.
But later I discovered that the ultimate witness we can offer the world is the love we have for one another, a love that flows from the very heart of God
Himself. Conforming to rules and regulations simply can't produce that kind of love relationship. We can try to impose the law on our relationships, but
God's love is the only way to gain the stability and security we long for. The Bible tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law. In fact, when asked
which was the greatest commandment, Jesus replied that it was to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as
ourself. Love, not the law, is the key to our relationship with God and with one another.
God wants us to experience the beauty of being drawn to Him by a cord far stronger than the obliga-
tion and guilt of the law. If we were still bound to God
by a list of rules and regulations, we would soon find ourselves chomping at the bit and struggling against the restraints. There is a huge difference
between being bound in relationship by the joy of love, and being tied up in obligation and guilt.
God never intended that His people be bound by an endless list of external pressures. It isn't pleasing to God to hear us moan and complain, "What a drag!
I have to go to church again when there are a hundred other things I'd rather do. But if I don't go, God won't love me anymore and the preacher will give
me the evil eye for missing his sermon."
If we find ourselves laboring under such burdensome attitudes, it is a sure indicator that we are not operating in a love relationship with God, but have
instead fallen into legalism. God certainly wants better things for us than a drab, loveless existence!
God never made out a long contract that says, 'Abide by all my terms and I will love you and bless you; but if you violate even the smallest provision,
it's all null and void and you are out of My kingdom!" Christians are not bound by any heavy contract to God. Paul declared that the only thing that constrained
him was the love of Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:14).
It took years of God's patient work in my life before I was able to break free of the bondage of self-righteousness. For years I had heard of others getting
a tremendous blessing out of the book of Romans. Since I was always looking for a blessing, I finally decided to dig into it. And yet, try as I might,
it was difficult for me to relate to. I decided to persevere anyway and see if I could discover what it was that others found so compelling.
One day as I studied this great book, God did nothing less than revolutionize my relationship with Him. It was there that He revealed to me the meaning
of that simple, well-worn, but rarely understood word: grace. From that time onward I encountered such a free and loving relationship with God that I could
not have cared less if I ever saw a spectacular miracle in my ministry. I discovered that even though I was prone to stumble and fall, my mistakes didn't
alienate me from God. My relationship with Christ became less a roller coaster of highs and lows and more of a steady ride in His wonderful love.
Imagine how I felt when I discovered the profound truth, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). For years I had labored under the misconception
that God was against me. I pictured Him waiting for me to step out of line so He could send fiery judgment crashing down on me. I finally understood that
God wanted me to enjoy the peace of His unconditional love, not the fear that always accompanies legalism. I began to relate to God in a whole new way.
I learned that the law was intended to serve as a protective guide to God's people. Its restraints were to function like a parent's safety guidelines, intended
only for the welfare of a child. Once we discover the wonder of God's grace, we need no longer be locked in by the law. We can approach life freely because
we love God and won't want to do anything to harm the loving relationship we have with Him. When we know the joy of fellowship with God, we won't want
any barriers, any blocks, to come between us.
In fact, the more we experience of God's love, the more He Himself becomes the primary desire and focus of our life. The coercive aspects of the law become
unnecessary. We find ourselves longing to please God simply because we love Him.
And that is the greatest joy in life - to experience a genuine love relationship with God. To know that He is for us, that He loves us, is the greatest
source of security any person will ever know. Discovering the glorious grace of God was one of the most important events in my whole spiritual experience.
I learned to relate to God on an entirely new basis: not on the basis of my works, or of my righteousness, but on the basis of God's love for me through
Jesus Christ.
That is grace, and that is what makes life worth living. In fact, it is what makes life - real life, abundant life, fulfilling and satisfying life - possible
at all. For when our eyes are opened to the astonishing truth that our relationship with God does not depend upon the puny pebble of our own efforts but
upon the massive rock of His unchanging and loving character, life opens before us in a technicolor explosion of awesome possibilities.
Grace transforms desolate and bleak plains into rich, green pastures. It changes grit-your-teeth duty into loving, enthusiastic service. It exchanges the
tears and guilt of our own failed efforts for the eternal thrill and laughter of freely offered pleasures at the right hand of God. Grace changes everything!
Have you discovered the deep joy of living in God's grace? Would you welcome a reminder that our standing with God depends not on our own weak efforts but
on what His almighty arm has accomplished for us? Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, I invite you now to take a few moments to consider with me
the amazing grace of God poured out on our behalf.
For it's true, you know: Grace changes everything!
1. Forgiven!
One evening I heard a speech by former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger. He told the gathering that his first mistake is mentioned in his autobiography
on page 1159. He also noted it was his last mistake.
If I were to write an autobiography, my first mistake would probably be found in the prologue to the book, if not in the table of contents itself! There
is no way I would ever try to stand before God on the basis of my own goodness. It's not that I am some rotten, morally depraved individual; it's just
that I am nowhere near good enough to be acceptable before an absolutely holy God.
A Dead-End Righteousness
One very common way of trying to become righteous is to define what righteousness is and isn't, to set up a code, and then live according to this code.
There's only one problem: No one ever lives up to their own code, so we conjure up a great number of excuses to explain why we fail. The most common is
that our failure isn't really our fault.
If I drop a glass and break it, it isn't that I am uncoordinated; it's because someone called me when he shouldn't have. Others were making too much noise
in the other room, so my mistake is really their fault. "Look what you caused me to do!" I say. "You made me do it, so it isn't my fault." None of us like
to accept blame.
This attitude goes all the way back to Adam. He blamed his failure on Eve. "The woman that you gave to be my wife," he told God, "it's her fault that I
am the way I am" (see Genesis 3:12). Proverbs declares, "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness"
(Proverbs 30:12).
If you think you are a very pure person and yet are not washed from your filthiness, righteousness has evaded you. The Bible says, "If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (I John 1:8,10).
Scripture states our problem clearly: "All the world [stands] guilty before God... all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:19,23).
Whenever we try to establish our righteousness by keeping rules, eventually we are forced to admit we operate on a sliding scale. I will always look morally
better to myself than I do to you, and you will always look morally worse to me than you do to yourself. I can look at your life and see all kinds of flaws;
but when I look at myself, the few flaws I notice don't seem so bad.
Even the righteousness I can achieve by what I do is only a sham righteousness. The Bible declares, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy
rags" (Isaiah 64:6).
If our relationship with God depended upon being righteous and good, we would never make it.
It's almost comical to see some people parade around in their rags. They saunter around with their "holier than thou," gaudy kind of religiosity, with a
hyperspiritual air about them. They talk in whispered tones because they think it sounds holy and righteous. They use King James English because, as we
all know, "Thees" and "Thous" are far more righteous than "yous" and "yours." We see them puffed out in their righteousness, strutting around, showing
off... and God shakes His head and says, "Filthy rags."
If my relationship with God depended upon my being righteous and good, I would never make it. I have failed. I have come short of the glory of God. The
best that I can manage is when I am having a good day, my biorhythms are right, and everything is going well - really flowing. I'm cool. Man, I am really
something. But even on my best days God looks down and says, "Filthy rags." My best efforts simply aren't enough.
Trying to keep the law condemns me, for the true law deals with inward attitudes. Back when I labored under this standard of self-righteousness, I found
I resented certain things other people were doing. I became bitter. I realized that I hated certain people and that I was jealous and covetous of the things
they owned. I noticed I had violated my own code and had wiped out my relationship with God. Nothing was left to do but to start all over again.
Unfortunately, just about the time I would feel as though I were restoring a right relationship with God, something happened. I blew up and down I went
again. I would be forced to start climbing the ladder of good works once more until I got to the rung where I finally felt I could relate to God. No sooner
would I reach that rung, however, than somebody would pull a stupid move on the freeway and I would yell, "Where did you get your driver's license, you
idiot?" And the whole process would start all over again.
What's the Standard?
Those who believe that they can be made acceptable to God without Jesus need to deal with some crucial questions. If they believe they can make it to heaven
by achieving a certain level of goodness, what standard do they have to live up to? What will God require of them? So many say, "I feel that I am basically
a kind and good person and am willing to stand before God on my own merit."
But these people fail to take into account that God's standards are different than ours. Jesus showed us God's requirement for those who would strive for
heaven on their own power when He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). The standard for the
person who wants to be right with God is nothing short of absolute perfection - not just trying hard, or being sincere, but a flawless keeping of all God
ever intended for man. Clearly, those who believe they can earn eternal life by their good works have a distorted understanding of the holiness of God
and what it means to be right with God.
If we are going to set up a standard of righteous conduct, we need to use the one established by Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only person whose life prompted
God to say, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). To enjoy fellowship with God, we must be as righteous as Jesus. In John
16:8,10 Jesus said, 'And when he [that is, the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of... righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see
me no more." Jesus' ascension into heaven was God's witness to the world about His Son. It is as if He were saying, "This is the righteousness that I will
accept in heaven." Jesus' life is the only standard of righteousness. If I want to be accepted by God, I must be as righteous as Jesus Christ. The Scriptures
show that there is only one kind of righteousness that God will accept: the very righteousness of Christ Himself. So, if we want to stand before God on
the basis of our own good works, we must live a life that measures up to the goodness we see in Jesus.
But I realize that is impossible. I can't achieve that kind of righteousness. Jesus Himself said, "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). He said, "I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:22). He further said, "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away
thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again" (Luke 6:27-30).
And He commanded us to "love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again!' (Luke 6:35).
How can anybody be that righteous? I know I can't. I've failed miserably. Does that mean, then, that I must forever be alienated from God? Is there no way
I can ever enjoy fellowship with God? Do I have to go on in this emptiness, in this frustration, seeking after and reaching out for something I can never
obtain?
If there is any hope for us to be forgiven by God, there must be another basis for it other than our works. As Paul declares, "By the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20).
If we are ever to enjoy fellowship with God, it will have to be on some basis other than our own righteousness. The rules that God has established for righteousness
are far too stringent for us to abide by. We can't do it. Our only hope is that another form of righteousness has been provided for us, a righteousness
based on a totally different principle than our own works.
Thank God, there is such a principle! It's called grace.
What Is Grace?
The root meaning of the word grace is "beauty." In the New Testament, grace means "God's unmerited favor." Grace is God giving to me something that I cannot
obtain on my own. Grace is being accepted by God even though I do not deserve it, even though I am not worthy of it.
The Bible teaches that I receive grace on the basis of my belief and trust in God. Hebrews 11:6 declares that without faith it is impossible to please God.
We are forgiven by a holy God simply by believing in Jesus Christ and in His death on our behalf. When we place our trust in Him, our slate is wiped clean.
It is not possible for us to be forgiven by complying with any law or religious system. It was necessary that Christ go to the cross in order that He might
establish the basis whereby I can approach God.
When Jesus was praying in the garden, He said, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke
22:42). He was saying, "If it is possible that men can be saved by any other means than My death - if they can be saved by being religious, by somehow
gaining their own righteousness - then I do not want to go to the cross. Please don't put Me through this horrible ordeal." But it was not possible, and
so He went to the cross, died, was buried, and rose again. His death made it possible for God to extend His grace to you and me.
Perhaps an illustration will help to make this clear. Imagine that you were charged with a crime. You are accused of trespassing on a neighbor's property.
As any defense attorney knows, there are two possible ways for you to be cleared of the charge. You may seek to prove that you didn't trespass on his property,
or you may seek to prove that you had every right to be there.
Now apply this logic to our spiritual situation. God has charged us with being sinners - for rebelling against His law and His will. He has charged us
During our Sunday-morning services at Calvary we usually have a responsive reading from the Psalms. By our third service, I end up seeing things in the
Scripture text that hadn't occurred to me in our first hour. One of the verses will begin to minister to me in a very special and powerful way. This experience
of being led into all truth is a vivid part of what it means to walk in the Spirit.
Press On!
Between the flesh, this fallen world system, and Satan himself, we face real hindrances to spiritual growth. But the counsel of Scripture is to press on
for the prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 3:14). Jesus said, "Strive to enter in at the [narrow] gate" (Luke 13:24).
The Greek word translated "strive" is agonizomai, from which we get our English word agonize. Make no mistake; it isn't easy or natural to walk in the
Spirit. It takes genuine effort, devotion, and moment-by-moment concentration.
It can't be overemphasized that this is a choice each of us must make daily. When we choose to walk in the Spirit, the practical results can be breathtakingly
beautiful. We will enjoy a wonderful depth and consistency in our fellowship with God. As the apostle John observed, "If we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7).
What's especially exciting about fellowship with God is that the more we experience it, the more we desire it. The more we are personally touched by the
peace and fulfillment of intimate communion with the Father, the harder it is to live without it. When we find ourselves out of fellowship, an inner emptiness
calls us back to prayer and the Word.
As we walk in the Spirit, we begin to enjoy the tremendous benefits of a close relationship with God. We feel a conscious sense of joy welling up within
our hearts. We can whistle while we face the aggravating responsibilities of life because even in the midst of a dirty job, our joy is in the Lord. There
is a sense of peace, a depth of understanding, a patience, a kindness, a gentleness that comes from walking in the Spirit. There is a strength and power
to cope with the persistent desires of the flesh. We suddenly are able to see the big picture and find the wisdom to deal with our fallen nature in a realistic
and rational way. As Paul summed it up, "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6).
How could we fail to be drawn with all our hearts to the glorious new life which God freely offers to us in His grace? A life strengthened by the Spirit
with joy, love, and peace flowing through us - is exactly what we passionately desire.
But in order to experience this blessing, we must choose to walk in the Spirit. We must come to God and ask Him to plant a greater desire for prayer, for
time in the Word, and for fellowship with Jesus in our hearts. We must pray for the grace to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is
then that we will know tremendous victory over even our most besetting sins, and it is then that the Spirit of God is able to use us in the most extraordinary
ways.
Even when all we can do is blubber.
6. A Garden, Not a Factory
Have you ever considered the vast difference between "works" and "fruit"? "Works" suggests a factory complete with pressures, deadlines, and the constant
need to produce. But "fruit" pictures a peaceful, tranquil garden, a place where we are inclined to stay and drink in the beauty while we enjoy each other's
company.
It's important to realize that God doesn't come to His factory looking for products. He comes to His garden to enjoy its fruit. The gospel of grace invites
us to leave behind the smog and pressure of a factory-like life of works and instead bear the fruit that God desires to see in the garden of our lives.
The Natural Result of Relationship
Galatians 3:2,3 is a critical passage for those who desire to live in a way that pleases God. Paul writes, "This only would I learn of you, received ye
the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
Notice the apostle is comparing two things:
• the Spirit, which is related to faith;
• works, which are related to the flesh.
Whenever we get into the realm of works, we are dealing with the flesh. Whenever we are in the realm of the Spirit, we are dealing with faith. The Spirit
and faith are related, as are works and the flesh.
Someone may say, "But Chuck, we must do works for the Lord." No, we mustn't. There is not one thing that I can do in my flesh that will please God. On the
other hand, faith always produces fruit.
If you are involved in works, then you are relying on the flesh. But if you are walking by faith with Jesus Christ, the Spirit is producing fruit in your
life. Fruit isn't something you are generating because you think you have to; fruit is the natural result of relationship.
Look at the luscious fruit hanging on a peach tree. The peaches aren't out there struggling and working day by day trying to get ripe; all they have to
do is hang in there. Ripening is the natural product of relationship. As long as they are abiding, they are going to bring forth sweet fruit.
This is true of our own experience as well. If we are truly abiding in Christ - which is a position of faith - then fruit will come forth from the relationship.
If there is no fruit in my life, then the relationship must be questioned and even challenged.
That is why Paul tells us, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is
in you, except ye be reprobates?" (II Corinthians 13:5). Jesus told us that there is such a thing as a wolf in sheep's clothing. You can look like a Christian,
act like a Christian, and talk like a Christian - but grandma, what big teeth you have! You may have all the outward appearances of a sheep but in reality
be a wolf.
So how are we going to know who's who? Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20, emphasis added).
We are called to examine our lives in order to determine what kind of fruit we're bearing. If the fruit is bad, then there is something wrong with our relationship,
which means there is something wrong with our faith. A vital relationship of faith in Jesus Christ will bring forth fruit - without fail.
Our Big Mistake
One of our biggest problems is that we tend to be more interested in what we do than in what we are, while God is more interested in what we are than in
what we do. He looks for fruit; we try to produce works.
Sadly, through the years we have all heard things like, "You ought to be doing these works for the Lord; you ought to be doing that work for God." We are
always being exhorted and pressed into works for the kingdom. So we get out and start doing a work for God because the pastor or the committee has asked
us to do it.
Maybe it is calling on visitors to the church when God hasn't called us to be a caller. I know some people who are petrified by visiting the homes of strangers.
When they go to a door and knock, they're fervently praying, "Lord, please don't let them be home tonight." Visitation isn't natural for them. It is a
forced effort, a work of the flesh, which they soon come to resent. They hate it and begin to drag their heels. So the committee chairman calls them up
and says, "We missed you last Tuesday in our calling night. We want to make sure you are there next Tuesday night." They grudgingly respond, "Okay," and
the downward spiral continues.
That's how you get pushed into molds for which God did not create you. You are forced into unnatural positions and you begin to chafe under your service
to God.
ADMITTEDLY, this is WAY TOO MUCH MORE OF A TASK than I THOUGHT that it would be, to copy EVERY SINGLE LINE, WORD FOR WORD, of "WHY GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING," so what I'll suggest, if you're interested in getting ALL OF THE ENTIRE BOOK, is to go to GOOGLE, type the title into the "edit" box, and for my fellow JAWS-users, after having pressed "enter" to turn "forms mode" off, type "n," until you come to the lynk: "WHY GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING," hit enter, and with the "insert" key and down arrow simultaneously pressed, just KICK BACK, RELAX, and DEFINITELY ALLOW OUR SAVIOR to just fill you with His presence, as He speaks through EVERY WORD, and that He opens, PERHAPS, a BRAND-NEW DOOR to a BRAND-NEW WORLD that's DEFINITELY INVITING, DESIRED, ACCESSIBLY AVAILABLE, AND ETERNALLY HOPE-FULFILLING.