Working Out What God Has Worked In

Working Out What God Has Worked In. Copyright © by Ryan A. Sturgis.  All rights reserved in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN-13: 978-0615943060 (Ryan A. Sturgis)

ISBN-10: 0615943063

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Dedicated To

My wife and son.

To my wife, you are more patient, kind, and loving than anyone I’ve met.  I thank the Lord for your steadfast love, and I thank you for always being willing to dream with me. Thank you.

To my son, though you are too young to read these words as I pen them, I am confident that in God’s time you will be all of who he has created you to be. May these words find you firmly held in Jesus’ love.

Special Thanks

To my friends, Reginald and Lance, who have both played a part in helping to finish this work, Thank you.

Reginald, may God record your faithful service as a brother; challenging me, consoling me, and encouraging me. From the mission field of Central America to the pages of this book, you’ve been consistent in reminding me to keep my eyes on Jesus. Thank you.

Working Out

What God Has

Worked In

Living from the Overflow

by

Ryan A. Sturgis

Introduction

~

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

- Philippians 2:12-13

GOD WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU. He literally wants the best you. He wants you to be exactly who he created you to be, and you are no more who God designed you to be than when you allow God to flow through your life. This is because you were created to be the perfect reflection of God’s glory.  To many people this has proven to be a daunting reality, and indeed it is, if it is undertaken in human strength.

For much of my Christian life, I wore myself out trying to perfect my Christianity.  I tried to give God my best through countless hours of reading, studying, and practicing rigorous spiritual disciplines.  Religion became a craft that I aimed to master. Yet, for all of my efforts, I continued to struggle with obeying God, and yielding eternal fruit for his kingdom. On top of that, my heart was still hurt from past wounds, and I remained unable to love myself or others.  Put another way, all my efforts were as useless dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6).  I became very tired and my Christian walk became difficult and burdensome.  During this difficulty, God helped me to realize what I believe few people realize; he wants to give his children the desire and the ability to walk according to his good purpose. Realizing that makes things a lot easier.

You were created to live in communion with God. Being who God created you to be requires that you remain connected to him.  He is the life-spring.  Your life is meant to be an overflow of what God has poured into you. Living from the overflow means that all you say and do is the direct result of what God has said or done in your life.  Living this way requires cooperation with God’s efforts, and less human effort.

Depending on your background, that may sound strange.  Maybe you come from a religious tradition that emphasized “works” or that stressed human effort in accomplishing God’s will.  In reality, concerning God's will, human effort does play a certain role, but most of the heavy lifting is done by God himself.  As Philippians 2:12 says, our responsibility is to work out our salvation recognizing that it is God who has worked in us for his good purpose. Essentially, we must work out what God has worked in.  That being said, the question we must ask is, “How do we cooperate with God in the work which he desires to do in us?”

In the first half of this book, we will look into God’s “working in.”  We will aim to understand why we need God to work, how God actually does his work, to what end he is working, and how we can make ourselves available to him. This will NOT result in a “To-Do” list, as I said, the goal is less human effort.  We will simply look at the transforming work that God does in the human heart and the potential road blocks to that transformation - some intentional, others unintentional.

Once we have an understanding of the “hows and whys” of God working in us to “will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose,” in the second half of this book, we will discuss the “working out” of our salvation.  Each person is different and so God works in each life differently.  Yet, the salvation that he aims to work in each person is the same.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:28-29).  The “all things” is different for each person but the goal for which each was predestined is the same, “to be conformed to the image of His Son.”  Since there is only one image, one Jesus, in the second half, we will answer the question, “What causes the dissidence between what God is working in us through the Holy Spirit, and what is actually produced in our lives?”

You were meant to live out of an overflow of what God has poured into your life in communion.    Working out what God has worked in requires that you understand both processes, and how they work together in preparing you for God’s good purpose. God is desiring to work in the lives of his children.  He wants to mold and form us all into the image of his son Jesus.  It should give you great joy to know that God is totally committed to that process. However, hearing that God wants you to resemble Jesus may immediately cause you to think of your short-comings or past failures.  Whatever your past shortcomings or failures may be, I can confidently say, God still wants to work in your life!  He wants to continue the work he began in your life, and use you for his purpose. Are you ready to cooperate with the work he wants to do, and to express externally what God is doing internally? If so, let’s get started, but we need to start from the beginning.

Part One: God Working In

Chapter 1

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It All Begins Here

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

- John 3:18

COMING TO FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST is a unique experience for each person who has ever come to trust in the Savior. Yet, each individual begins this journey in the exact same place; lost and separated from God.  This is because sin, which was introduced in the Garden of Eden, has created infinite distance between God and man. Over the generations, sin has taken many forms. However, as we will see, the root cause of sin has remained the same.

The root cause of sin is simply disbelief, or distrust, in the character of God. The result of disbelief is rebellion against God; sin.  Through the infection of sin, man has become a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice. Look any place and time - then and there or here and now - you will see mankind plagued with disbelief and the subsequent rebellion.  Disbelief and rebellion are expressed in many different ways but it is the common strand shared with all of sinful humanity, and is the reason humanity stands in need of God’s restoring and merciful intervention.  Understanding this is critical to understanding God’s plan and the way in which he desires to work in your life.

In the Beginning

The Book of Genesis records the birth story of humanity and the initial fracture in the relationship between God and man.  Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Verse 22 says, “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”  Following their creation, Adam and Eve lived in the garden peacefully.  There was no strife, no sickness, and no worries. The Bible states that they enjoyed unhindered fellowship with God.  They were right where they belonged.  Imagine!

God charged Adam with taking care of the garden and allowed him to have his fill of anything that grew within, stating, “you are free to eat from any tree in the garden.”  However, God barred Adam from eating from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” assuring Adam that if he ate from that tree he would die.  So, to summarize - endless beauty, no stress, and a mate created just for him, not a bad deal. The only thing God requested was that Adam not eat what would kill him. Sounds pretty simple.

In Genesis, chapter 3, we see the introduction of the serpent.  Being the most crafty animal that God made, the serpent starts up a conversation with Eve.  As they began to discuss God’s expectations, Eve mentioned that “God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”  The serpent replied, “You will not certainly die,” and continued, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Essentially, the serpent was insinuating that God wanted to prevent Eve from experiencing the best of what was available.  He called into question the character of God.  Let’s pause here for a moment.

There are two things that must be mentioned at this point. First, it is amazing to me how much sin results from conversations that should have never taken place (Proverbs 10:19).  Second,  the enemy has had two very consistent goals since he was cast out of Heaven; to misrepresent God to God’s people and to confuse God’s people regarding the value that God places on them.  The enemy will stop at nothing to get people to misunderstand God’s character and will, and he will go through great lengths to convince people that they are of no value to God (or in some cases think more highly of themselves than they ought).

The devil even tried this with Jesus. After Jesus was baptized, the first thing the devil said to Jesus in the wilderness was “If you are the Son of God tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). “If you are?!” The enemy knew very well who Jesus was.  What he wanted was for Jesus to question what God had said about Jesus only a few days prior.  In Matthew 3:17, we read, “And a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased.’”  Jesus believed in the good character of God, so he was not moved into action by disbelief.  Now, rewinding back to Adam and Eve, the same can not be said.  They did not believe in the good character of God. Eve ate from the tree and gave some to Adam - both rebelling against God.  This is the introduction of sin.

Disbelief and Rebellion

Disbelief in the good character of God has plagued mankind ever since Adam and Eve’s transgression in the Garden.  As we have seen in Genesis, the disbelief that struck Eve was not disbelief in the existence of God but rather the disbelief in the character of God.  Eve was well-aware of God’s existence, for the Bible records God as walking in the garden “in the cool of the day.”  Eve knew God existed but she was uncertain of his motives. Therefore, calling into question God’s motives is where the craftiness of the serpent found success. Instead of trusting God’s character, both Adam and Eve chose to rebel by eating from the tree of which God gave specific instructions not to eat.

When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, in essence, they took the matter of choosing right from wrong into their own hands. Today, mankind expresses a similar disbelief in God’s revealed character.  I don’t believe it is too broad a stroke to say that all of sin can be understood by this one reality; similar to Adam and Eve, mankind has continued the custom of disbelieving or distrusting the character of God, and subsequently choosing for themselves what is right or wrong.  Mankind continues to strip that privilege from God.  Instead of allowing God to decide what is correct or incorrect for his creation, man assumes that responsibility and consequently rebels against the standards which God has set in place.

Disbelief, or distrust, is the root cause of every rebellious act.  Think about it.  When an individual rebels against another individual’s authority it is because they do not trust the authority figure’s desire or capacity to bring about the right or best course of action.  When people rebel against a government, it is because the people have grown to distrust the government.  They do not believe that the government desires to provide the best for the people, regardless of previous promises.  They question the “character” of the government. Or they rebel because they believe that the government is incapable of providing the best, thus they assume responsibility for themselves or put into power an authority whom they believe to be more capable.

When we rebel against God a similar interaction takes place.  We do not believe that God has our best interest in mind or that he is able or willing to provide for our needs. Or we may simply believe that we know what is best for ourselves.  We essentially remove God from his position of authority and assume for ourselves the responsibility of choosing what is right or wrong for our individual lives.   Naturally, this creates distance with a holy God, and the distance is great.

A Great Distance

In the Bible, there are limitless ways in which the various authors try to describe God.  He is described as being strong, wise, bold, fierce, caring, loving, matchless, patient, just, merciful, etc. Yet, throughout the Bible, holy is the one word used consistently to describe God.  Christian theologian, Millard J. Erickson, describes holiness as having two key aspects (Erickson, 1998).  He explains that there are two distinct qualities of holiness; uniqueness and perfection.

God is unique from all of creation.  He is the life-giver.  He does not draw life from any source or is dependent in any way on anything in existence.  God is completely independent, or distinguished.  Exodus 15:11 states, “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”  God is also unique in the sense that he is separate from common use.  This uniqueness, or set apart holiness, is even conveyed to objects and places associated with him.  An example of that being the Old Testament tent, which housed God’s presence, was considered holy because of him.  The stone tablets carried by Moses down from the mountain were also considered holy because on them were written God’s Ten Commandments. These things find their holiness in their relation to God. Their uniqueness and separateness is derived from a God who himself is unique and separate.

You become unique and separate when you maintain appropriate relation to God.  When God pours his life into you, he also calls you to be set apart. In his letter to Timothy, Paul says, “Those who cleanse themselves from (wicked and rebellious things) will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (Timothy 2:21).  Like the tent and like the tablets, you are fully who you were created to be when God fills you with his presence and writes his word on your heart.

The other aspect of God’s holiness is his perfection or purity.  God is complete and lacks nothing.  He sees and understands 100% accurately.  He in no way participates in evil.  He is just in all his ways.  He is not tainted by weakness or afflicted by what embattles man.  He is perfect in love, for God is love (1 John 4:8).  His motives are pure, and he is omni-benevolent, meaning everything he does is always to the benefit of those whom he loves.  Not only is God free from evil, he does not desire it in anyway.  James 1:13 says, “When tempted no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God is not tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”

It is on both of these fronts that man creates distance between himself and his Creator.  God can be nothing other than holy, therefore when man performs acts to the contrary, distance is created.  God can not and will not participate with sin.  His kindness is intended to lead you to repentance from sin (Romans 2:4). When man chooses to rebel, in thought, word, or deed, he  consequently chooses distance from God.

Regarding the distance created between God and man, the issue is not merely that of correcting bad behavior but of the need for restoration in man’s relationship with God.  Adam and Eve enjoyed unhindered fellowship with God in the garden, but due to their rebellion they were placed at a distance (Genesis 3:24).  Though man has created distance through rebellion, God himself has chosen to play an active role in man’s struggle to reconnect with the Creator.  In fact, through Jesus Christ, God makes his appeal for reconciliation.

Reconciliation

The most exciting news that you could ever hope to hear is that your sins have been forgiven. Yet, this exciting news is only half the reason why Jesus died.  Jesus did not simply die so that your sins would not be counted against you, he died so that you could be restored to unhindered fellowship with God. So, the discussion is not simply about forgiveness, it’s about redemption.

What does it mean to be forgiven? It means that the penalty associated with a transgression has been suspended. What does it mean to be redeemed?  It means to be restored to the original condition. Let's look at an example. In some states, it is common for an individual to be taken to court over a severe traffic violation. In court, even when found guilty, if the individual has found favor with the judge, he may have the penalty associated with the traffic violation waived. Yet, the transgression remains logged with the Department of Motor Vehicles for that state. Though the driving history will reflect the recent transgression, the penalty was forgiven.  On the other hand, if the individual was found guilty of a moving traffic violation and managed to find extreme favor with the judge, redemption would look slightly different.  Not only would the penalty associated with the transgression be forgiven but all record of the incident would be removed from history.   Redemption would place the driver in the same “condition” in which he was prior to the traffic violation.  Though highly unlikely in this scenario, this is certainly the case for the Christian.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, you were not just forgiven but you are also redeemed. Those who trust in Jesus Christ are restored to the unhindered relationship God initially desired.  Romans 3:22-24 says, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  Addressing the sin issue was only a means to an end. The end gain, so to speak, is the restoration of mankind, the healing of a fractured relationship.  God still desires unhindered fellowship with his children, and Jesus‘ death is the means of that reconciliation.  In the Book of Corinthians, the Apostle Paul exclaims that first God “reconciled us to himself..” and secondly, “...gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”   He continues by stating that ultimately Jesus’ death was in order that “we may become the righteousness of God.”  That is not just forgiveness of the penalty, that is redemption. And that’s really good news!

In the discussion of God working in us, the first move is for us to be rightly related to God.  As a child was never meant to have authority over a parent, we were never meant to have authority over God.  He alone has the right to decide what is right or wrong.

Our disbelief in his good character causes us to live in ways that are rebellious.  This sinful rebellion has fractured the relationship between God and man, but God has made a way.  Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God has offered forgiveness and made his appeal for reconciliation.  We must choose to trust in Jesus and trust in the character of God, believing that he desires the best for us and is capable of bringing it to pass.

Entering the Kingdom of God through the narrow gate of forgiveness is just the beginning.  God wants to bring you close.  He wants you to be redeemed to unhindered fellowship with him and restore you to the purpose for which you were created.  You were created for his pleasure (Colossians 1:16), and you are no more who you were created to be than when you are in communion with your Heavenly Father.  He desires to do a work in you that is both immediate and a process.  The immediate is redemption and reconciliation, the process is that of maturation and sanctification, and as we will see in the next chapter, requires much pruning.

Chapter 2

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Beyond Forgiveness Into Maturity & Sanctification

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

- 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

HAVE YOU EVER MET SOMEONE who confessed to know the Lord, but continued to live in a way that seemed contradictory to their confession? Sure you have. We all have, and for some of us, we are that “someone.”  Most of the time we label this as backsliding. However, this is not a problem of sliding backwards. The Bible does not teach that we incrementally move away from sin. It says that once you are a new creation the old is gone. It is not subdued, not masked, but G-O-N-E, gone!

As a Christian, sin results from losing sight of God and his ways. As we just discussed, this loss of sight causes us to begin to distrust God’s character. It is distrust that leads to rebellion. When we succumb to sin after giving our lives to Jesus it is due to a “failure to thrive.” Failure to thrive is typically a phrase used to describe the condition of very young children who fail to grow at expected rates, due to malnutrition. In Christ, we were re-created to live in communion with God, free from sin. It is when we are not growing in communion with God, not allowing him to pour into our lives (being malnourished), that we lose sight of him and his will.  There are many times that I’ve found myself in a spiritual rut, not communing with God and consequently falling into the trap of thinking that I know best.  I have found that the solution is cooperating with whatever God is doing. In order to avoid failing to thrive and wallowing in past sins, we have to understand that reconciliation with God is only the beginning of a journey.

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, forgiveness of sin is the means to an end.  The end gain, to continue with the idiom, is to repair the fracture between God and man, which was caused by sin.  The healing of this fracture represents the full restoration of the relationship God intended from the very beginning. The same one that Adam and Eve experienced with God in the Garden of Eden.  Yet, reconciliation is just the start of the believer's journey in relationship with God.  So, the question is, after forgiveness and reconciliation, what is next for the believer?  The answer is sanctification.  Sanctification is the removal, or pruning, of Worldly ways. In John 15, Jesus says “He (the Father) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” As a pastor of mine once said, “Whether you bear fruit of not, your going to get cut, so you better just be fruitful.”

Although the believer is restored to God in an instant, there are harmful thought patterns and habits that must be changed, and maturation that must take place. Sanctification is a transformational process encouraged by the Holy Spirit.  The believer must take an active role in this process, and it begins with clearly understanding what is pleasing and displeasing to God.

The World vs. the world

When describing what is displeasing to God, the Bible often refers to “the world.”  This can be confusing. Mainly because there are places that the Bible refers to the world as God’s enemy, while in other places it depicts a loving relationship between God and the world.  For example, James 4:4 says, “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” or in John 15:18, when Jesus says, “if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” In other places we read, for example in 1 John 2:2, that Jesus is the propitiation “for the sins of whole world,” or more famously, “For God so Loved the world that he gave his only son...,” in John 3:16.  So which is it? Does God “so love the world” or is the world an enemy to God?

The distinction which is to be made here is between collective individuals and their collective way of thinking. In mentioning “the world,” the Bible is either referring to a group of individuals, whom God has created and desires to have reconciled to himself, or it is referring to the collective rebellious manner in which individuals have chosen to govern themselves. Let’s look at one of the above verses while inserting our definitions.  John 15:18 would read “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the [collective rebellious manner in which individuals have chosen to govern themselves] is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend to [that rebellious system] becomes an enemy of God.”  Now, let’s try John 3:16, “For God so loved the [collective individuals] that he gave his only son...”  Succinctly put, God loves each individual intimately, and yet, rejects the collective way in which mankind has chosen to live apart from him and his rule.  God hates rebellion against his will, and this is true individually and corporately.

Corporately, the world has developed entire systems that are rebellious against God, if not directly then indirectly.  You need only turn on the news, stand on a street corner, watch a movie, or listen to the radio to see that the world revolves around entire systems of thought that directly reject God.  School systems elect to teach that humans came from apes rather than the fact that we were created uniquely and individually by a loving and caring Father.  Instead of teaching children to value themselves, promiscuity is encouraged and celebrated, and even rewarded.  More than ever, we are encouraged to do what feels right, at least until it doesn’t.  Sin is lawlessness, and lawlessness is every where we look (1 John 3:4).  The world as a whole has taken the authority to decide what is right or wrong.  Laws are developed, entertainment is produced, and life is lived and encouraged to be lived, in a way that reflects man’s preferences and priorities, and ignores the preferences and priorities of God.

As believers, we come to Christ confessing that God alone has the right to decide what is right or wrong.  If we desire to obey God and submit to his will, we must unlearn the patterns and habits that developed from being part of a rebellious system.  As God sanctifies us and we learn to reject rebellious thoughts and habits that are displeasing to him, we also must develop new ways of thinking.  We must learn to view life from God’s perspective, which flows from having a mind renewed with God’s word.

Renewing Your Mind

Renewing the mind is the most critical aspect of maturing spiritually. Romans 12:2 urges,

“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Do not be conformed to the pattern of thinking which has resulted from the collective mindset of rebellious people, but instead have your mind renewed to see from God’s perspective.  From this Scripture, we can clearly see that the world has developed patterns of thought and subsequent living that is not pleasing to God.

Why is it that Paul would urge the church in Rome to be transformed? We understand from 1 Corinthians 5:17, that “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.” Was not the Church in Rome “in Christ?”  They were! So then, what is the transformation to which Paul is referring?  The transforming to which Paul is referring is maturing in Christ.  Maturing in Christ is learning to see life from the Lord’s perspective and accepting what he wants to teach.  Allow me to give an illustration.

Growing up, I was always the most energetic of my mother’s four children. I loved to play outside with my friends all day long.  I’m talking about football in the streets from 9am to 12pm, bike riding through the park from 1pm to 5pm, and then hide-and-go-seek, or “manhunt” as we called it, until my mom yelled for me from the front door of our house.

For me, the fun did not stop when it was time to come in the house.  I was so wound up, I continued my fun inside of the house.  That is, of course, until my mom could not stand it any longer.  She would quickly remind me that outside behavior was not acceptable inside.  As a child, it is hard to grasp the concept that you are only allowed to do certain things in certain places. Just ask any parent who has had their child do something unacceptable outside, something that may have been perfectly acceptable for them to do inside.

As children mature, they begin to learn how to view their behavior differently.  My feelings toward my mother’s rules were transformed as I renewed my mind to her perspective, and that, in turn, changed my actions. In order to mature in Christ, we must learn to view our behavior according to the word of God. Much of the ground work, so to speak, is done by the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth (John 16:13).  However, the onus is on us to submit to God’s point of view.

Thankfully, being a young child, my mother did not toss me out of the house when I struggled to accept her authority regarding my behavior.  I imagine that she would have never tried to disown me over the issue, though I am sure she considered it once or twice.  As I renewed my mind to my mother’s perspective, I matured, and my maturity was evident in my transformed behavior.  As I thrived in relationship with her, I never lost sight of her ways.  Having been adopted into the family of God you can be sure that he will never disown you. Yet, if you fail to renew your mind to God’s perspective, you will never mature, and your immaturity will be obvious in your untransformed behavior.

Approving of His Will

The benefit of having your mind renewed with God’s perspective is beyond the obvious transforming of behavior. When our minds are renewed, we develop familiarity with the ways of God, and when we become familiar with God and his ways we are able to distinguish between his ways and the ways of the world. Subsequently, this makes it easier to make the right choices in life.

Immaturity prevents us from distinguishing from the ways of the world and the ways of God.  In Exodus 33:13, Moses pleads with God regarding this same issue.  He exclaims, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Please, remember that this nation is your people.” Here is the heart of the issue; knowing God’s ways helps us to know him better and to find favor with him.

Jesus said that he only did that which he saw the Father doing (John 5:19 & 30).  As we read the life of Jesus, we see the Father.  Jesus saw from the Father’s perspective, recognized the Father’s will, and chose to allow the priorities of the Father to become his own.  It is also in this way that the Father’s will is “done on earth, as it is in Heaven,” which is the ultimate goal of maturity.  1 Corinthian 2:9-12 says,

“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’-- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” Emphasis mine

God has not left you alone on this journey to maturity.  When you see a Christian whom you consider to be more mature, it is not because they have been able to grasp some deep truth of Scripture that for some reason has eluded you. The Holy Spirit searches the depths of the Creator and shares the treasures of his heart. The wise man, the mature man, learns to value each pearl. What has often been accredited to man, is merely the learning to accept what God has spoken in his word and through his spirit. God’s word and spirit are available to you. You simply have to listen.

On the other hand, have you ever wondered why there are some people who have retained tremendous amounts of biblical knowledge yet seemed immature?  They are divisive, bitter, and “Worldly.”  This is because biblical knowledge alone does not produce maturity.  As I mentioned, maturity is both seeing and submitting to God’s perspective.  In the Book of Colossians, Paul states, “We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord.”  Maturity in spirit is a matter of being filled with knowledge of his will so that we may walk worthy of the Lord.

You do not need to be a scriptural scholar. Just understand that the Holy Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God and makes them known to you. Value what the Holy Spirit reveals!  Not simply seeing from God’s perspective, but submitting to it.  In frequently doing so, you will become familiar with the ways of God.  This familiarity will help you to distinguish between your own will, the world’s will, and the will of God.  As you develop the habit of submitting to what the Holy Spirit reveals, whether pleasing or not, you will be able to approve, or correctly identify, the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

When God welcomes you back into relationship with him, he does not want to leave you with the habits and ways of thinking that you developed from the World.  After all, not only will they hinder fellowship with God, but they are harmful to you.

Upon accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, there may have been some things that automatically changed for you. Yet, undoubtedly, there were a few persistent sinful habits and patterns.  Therefore, God immediately began the process of pruning you. This requires your cooperation and having your mind renewed with God’s word.  As you renew your mind to God’s perspective, you will be transformed by submitting to his identifiable will.

The Holy Spirit is here to assist you.  He searches the depths of God and reveals truth to you, making it easier to surrender harmful habits and ways of  thinking.  This process of sanctification is what God is actually pouring in. Learn to value the things he reveals, and allow the Spirit to prune away everything that resembles the world’s rebellious system.

Chapter 3

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Reproducing Life

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

- John 15:5

AS PART OF GOD’S FAMILY, he wants us, with renewed minds, to be able to identify and elect his will.  He works in our hearts to sanctify us, bringing to our attention all the habits and ways of thinking that are displeasing to him and harmful to us.  Keeping in mind that the principal desire of God is for his children to be reconciled to him, we now must touch on the intended consequence of sanctification, which is the main thrust of this book, namely the producing of fruit.  We must go beyond the heart decision of submitting to God’s and look closer at how we actually cooperate with his will in producing fruit.

There is no clearer picture regarding producing fruit than Jesus’ discussion with his disciples in the Book of John chapter 15.  He says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  In my estimation, one of the most frightening words in all of Scripture appears in this verse. That word is “if.” This is a dreadful word because it implies the capacity to miss what God has for me.  This word means that God is willing to allow me to fail, and that I bear responsibility in the process.  God is sovereign and all-powerful but he desires that my will be involved in bearing fruit.

As we discuss the overflowing of God’s work into actual fruitful ministry, we will naturally begin to make a shift from God working in us to us working out our salvation.  This is because the process of producing fruit represents the simultaneous action of God working in and us working out.  That being the case, we will center this discussion around the different roles that each party plays in bringing forth fruit.

God’s Part

When God pours his spirit into you and begins the process of sanctifying you, it is with one purpose in mind; to conform you into the image of Jesus Christ.  As we read in Romans 8:28, God predestined all of us to be conformed into the image of his son.  When we say producing fruit, what we are talking about is bringing forth Christ’s character and continuing Christ’s ministry in our lives.  Here is the process -

- God works in us to desire his will.

- God helps us to identify his will.

- We elect God’s will.

- God then brings forth the fruit necessary to accomplish his will.

In 1 Corinthians 3:7, Paul clarifies that it is God who causes the seed in our hearts to grow and brings forth fruit.  Sometimes we end the process at submitting to his will, and mistakenly believe that we are responsible for bringing forth the fruit.  I believe that we mistakenly attempt to rob God of his responsibility through a mix up in terminology. I’ll explain.

Over the years, confusion between two words has hindered fruitfulness and led to legalism in the Church.  These two words are productivity and fruitfulness. On the surface, these two words appear to be the same, yet there is an important difference between being productive and being fruitful.  They both represent the fulfillment of a goal, or the achievement of an intended outcome. However, under close examination, a vital difference is revealed.

When you consider the word “productive” what comes to mind?  The dictionary describes it as “the ability to make something happen.”  It could be understood simply as the completion of a task or the execution of an idea. It implies that a goal was set, action was taken, and said goal was achieved.  Some of the most admired people in the world are those who can identify the appropriate goal, obtain the resources necessary for the task, and bring about the desired outcome.

The desire to be productive, I believe, comes from a good place.  Most of us desire to use efficiently the resources that we are given. Productivity is a noble goal. We should all aim to be good stewards with what God has entrusted to us, including our time.  Yet, productivity, as we have defined it, should not be your goal. The term that best describes the ideal ambition is not productivity, but fruitfulness.

Your aim is the reproduction of the life of Jesus.  While productivity means the simple completion of a task, fruitfulness implies the passing on of life.  In fruitfulness, a task is completed, but life is also passed on in the same process.  The goal is to reproduce life.  A machine is productive.  It is assigned a task and more often than not it brings about the desired outcome. On the other hand, a tree is fruitful.  The tree is “designed” to bear literal fruit. It not only completes the task to which it was assigned, but it passes life onto every fruit which it bears.  Each fruit holds the potential to grow into that from which it came.

As demonstrated with seeds and soil, bees and flowers, and husbands and wives, the reproduction of life is the natural consequence of intimate contact.  What holds true in the physical also holds true in the spiritual.  The individual who has intimate contact with Jesus will naturally reproduce life.  Again, the bringing forth of fruit is God’s responsibility, and it is a natural consequence!  There is no “On/Off” switch.  There is no preoccupation with doing, only being. Let’s take a look at a real world example.

Many churches aim to serve their communities by assisting the homeless and struggling families.  They advertise in church, organize volunteers, and set a date.  When that date arrives, they pass out provisions, and subsequently invite individuals to one of their various church services.  Churches that do this are full of love and compassion, and in the completion of that task they demonstrate their usefulness.  However, they fail to be fruitful.

On the contrary, a church full of individuals, who are in the habit of having intimate contact with Jesus, naturally produce fruit wherever they are.  So to speak, a church that reproduces life brings service to the service.  They serve the community and they are faithful in the completion of that task.  They also impact lives at that very moment because life flows naturally from who they are, from their being.  They naturally reproduce the life of Jesus on the spot, not just back at the church building. This is because God causes fruit to grow naturally!

When you first had intimate contact with Jesus Christ, God began to cause a seed to grow.  As you continue to have contact, and surrender to the process of maturation, you produce more and more fruit.  When considering your life, and speaking into the lives of others, you must not confuse the mere completion of Christian activity for the reproduction of life.

The act of reproducing life is not an elected event, it is a process that flows naturally from intimate contact.    You need only to be faithful in the exhibiting and passing out, so to speak, of the fruit God brings forth. When you try to do by force what only God can do, you become more machine than tree, mindlessly completing tasks, producing things that have no life of their own. Though things may appear shiny and new, they will lack the life which causes them to grow, and over time they will fade away. Observe a seed in the soil, it is God alone who brings life out of it. Yet, it is here that we see our part, which is nurturing the seed.

Our Part

Anything worth eternal value must come as a natural consequence of intimate contact with Jesus. He alone is responsible for causing fruit to grow. We are responsible, however, for abiding in him and proper stewardship of the fruit.  As we live connected to the true vine, who is Jesus, we find the reproduction of life to be as natural as existing.  In John 15:5, Jesus gave these simple instructions for bearing fruit. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;”  Jesus admonished his disciples to abide in him that they would, consequently, “bear much fruit.”  This is no more a haphazard occurrence than when the single woman reached out and received healing from a touch of Jesus’ garment, while a multitude of people were “crowding and pressing” against Jesus, yet experienced nothing.

“She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.  ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’” - Luke 8:44-46

Similarly, abiding in Jesus is intentional, and it occurs in the private life.  Much of our Christian lives are spent in orchestrated “crowding and pressing against” Jesus.  We listen to worship music, attend church services, and read the word of God with a callusing familiarity.  We arrange life in a way that puts us in close proximity to Jesus, or at least the things of God.  Yet, how often does Jesus turn and say, “I felt power go out from me?”

Luke 8:44 demonstrates that desperate, purposeful reaching out is what releases power into our lives, and we are no more desperate than when we live aware of our personal need.  Abiding in Jesus must be driven by this type of purposeful grasping.  It is awareness of personal need that must characterize our quiet time with the Lord.  The awareness of personal and corporate need keeps us pressing through the crowd, scouring through pages of Scripture, and clamoring in prayer simply to touch Jesus. It is this desperation that unleashes power that transforms.

TO CLARIFY - I am not talking about living condemned.  The Bible clearly states that “there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). I am, however, talking about a sober-mindedness regarding one’s self and the ever-present need for a savior.

As has been noted by others, in biblical times, the individuals who recognized Jesus’ authority were the individuals who lived aware of their personal need (i.e. prostitutes and tax collectors, etc).  The religious professionals, on the other hand, who arranged their lives around religious disciplines and activities, for the most part, did not recognize Jesus’ authority as the Son of God.  This is still true today.  The wretch, who recognizes personal need, receives more from King Jesus in an instant than the religious professional who orchestrates proximity.  It is our responsibility to live aware of personal need, and to never become prideful and stiff-necked.

We must also protect our hearts by remembering that spiritual disciplines, such as reading the Bible, serve to vitalize the relationship with our Heavenly Father. Yet, the goal is the relationship itself! Many people go astray when they study endless amounts of scriptures yet, in their lives, fail to recognize the living Christ.  In John 5:39, Jesus said, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me and have life.”  Eternal life comes from Jesus himself, and fruitfulness comes from abiding with him.

Abiding in Jesus without turning your quiet time into a formula is difficult. No matter how you spend your quiet time with the Lord, keep in mind that it is the Lord whom you are seeking. Do not get in the habit of checking boxes on a list.  Abiding in Jesus is spending purposeful, unhindered un-timed time in his presence. By doing this, Jesus has promised that you will produce fruit glorifying to the Father.

Stewarding Fruit

After God causes fruit to grow in your life, you then must demonstrate appropriate stewardship.  Ephesians 4:11 says, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”  God is pouring into you for “works of service.” He is working in your life in order to form you into the image of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit not only sanctifies you of worldly ways but brings forth the fruit of Christ’s character and Christ’s ministry.

You must use this fruit to serve, whether to lost souls or in the building up of the Church.  The subject of stewardship is one that is very important to the Christian worldview, as it directly impacts the way in which you relate to the world around you.  Let me provide an illustration that, I believe, speaks to the responsibility of each believer, and two possible pitfalls of improper stewardship.

Imagine that you are in a desert and that you are surrounded by people who are dying of thirst.  One way or another, God has allowed you to receive a cupped-hand full of water, and promises to give more if your hands remain opened.  Immediately you recognize that this bit of water could serve as refreshment to you and the people in close proximity.  The problem is that there are some people in your immediate proximity who you don’t care for (selective stewardship is bad stewardship). If you move quickly in order to get away from them the water will spill.  Your only choice is to indiscriminately refresh every person with whom you come in contact.  The fruit that God wants to bring forth in your life will serve as refreshment in a dry and weary land.  He wants you to indiscriminately bless the people around you with the overflow of your relationship with him.  The Bible states that it is his will that none perish. He desires that all his creation be reconciled to him, and he wants to use you.

Each believer has the same potential to reproduce the life of Jesus.  Yet, some believers remain carnal minded.  As in my example above, it is carnal minded when a believer tries to selfishly give what they received from God only to those who they deem worthy, as opposed to administering to all who come thirsty. When we attempt to judge people’s worthiness based on their personal merit, we judge them according to the law. When we judge according to the law, we place ourselves, not as those subject to the law, but as though we are sitting on the law (James 4:11).  There is only one judge, and that is God.  Jesus wants to make us fishers of men, and in Jesus’ day they fished with nets, dragging all types of fish aboard.

There is another deadly trap that prevents proper stewardship, and that is the fear of losing what we have.  Referring back to the illustration, if that individual has water in his hands and clenches his hands in fear of spilling the water, he will lose the very water he sought to protect. This is also true for the fruit that God brings forth.  In Luke 17:33, Jesus says, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” If we fail to bless as we have been blessed, not only will we lose what has been given, but we run the risk of shutting ourselves off from future grace.

God has prepared a good work for you to do (Ephesians 2:10) and it will be accomplished through the producing of fruit.  We share the responsibility of producing fruit with God. It is not the believers responsibility to try and force the blossoming of the fruit.  The believer’s only task is that of remaining connected to the vine, which is Jesus.  Spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible, meditation, and prayer must be approached with an awareness of personal need, and expectation of meeting the living Christ, or run the risk of becoming lifeless routines.

Stay desperate for Jesus. Reach for him - don’t just bump into him - and you will experience power to live a godly life.  When you receive his refreshing life, remain open to reproducing it wherever and to whomever the Spirit leads, and God will continue to pour into you. Now that you know that abiding in Jesus is what you must do in order to live a life of fruitfulness, the question is, “How do we remain in communion, and consequently fruitful, in a world that is constantly pulling you away from intimacy with God?”  We will answer this question in the next chapter.

Chapter 4

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Remaining in Communion

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

- Proverbs 4:23

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT IF the devil can have your attention, he can have you. I believe it is safe to say, whatever has your attention has you. If your mind is the battlefield then your attention is the Weapon of Mass Destruction.  Look around you. Everyone is vying for your attention. Companies spend millions just to get you to look in their direction. Facebook and Twitter spend massive amounts of money trying to increase the amount of time that you spend plugged into their sites. Do you know how much time you actually spend looking at your phone on any given day? Text messages, email, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, surfing the web, and on occasion actually making a phone call.  Where does Jesus fit in?  At one point, I did the math. This is what my day looked like.

I woke up at 6am, got showered and dressed, and left the house at 7am. My commute to work took an hour and I arrived by 9am.  I left work at 5pm (if I was lucky) and made the same commute home, arriving by 6:30pm.  Dinner was over around 7:30pm. By the time I finished rushing through a conversation with my wife, it was 9pm, just early enough for me to fall asleep with my face in the Bible. So, I asked the question, where does Jesus fit in? For me, as it turned out, it was on the way to work and right before meals.  With most of our lives mimicking this very pattern, is there any question why we struggle to consistently bear fruit?  This is not the life Jesus intended when he said, “Abide in me.”

Abiding in Jesus is the one requirement to a life of bearing fruit.  Though simple, for the above stated reason, most of us experience the Christian life as a persistent game of hit-and-miss.  There are times when we sit in God’s presence and we sense his leading in the smallest details.  Other times we can barely sense God, and in facing life’s decisions we draw a blank.  This is when we find ourselves beginning to loss sight of God and we make decisions that are not consistent with godly values.  Clearly, it is not for a lack of desire that we end up off course.  How can we become more consistent in our priorities and remain in communion with God in the face of a world that demands our attention? How can we continue “being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” like Paul so eloquently stated in 2 Corinthians 3:18?  To glean the answers to these questions, let’s take a look at the people of Israel.

An Unpleasant Cycle

During the time of Joshua’s leadership, the Bible records that Israel faithfully served the Lord. However, the book of Judges records that after Joshua’s death, the people of Israel lived  differently.  Judges 10:2 states, “...another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.  Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their ancestor, who had brought them out of Egypt.”  It is safe to say that because of this, Israel found themselves positioned as enemies of God.  In fact, God gave them over to the enemies that surrounded them, and when Israel attempted to defend themselves, the Bible says that “the hand of the Lord was against them.”

God eventually showed mercy to the people of Israel.  His mercy came in the form of a judge.  A judge was a strong leader who God would raise up to defeat Israel's enemy, remove idols, and lead the people back to pure worship of their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The book of Judges records the rise, and sometimes fall, of these leaders.  Despite being shown mercy, the Israelites refused to continue faithfully in worshipping the Lord.  The author of the book of Judges laments,

“Yet they (Israel) would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them.  They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the LORD’s commands.  Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.  But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them.  They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.” - Judges 2:16-19

This cycle describes Israel's attitude for the entire Book of Judges, and for much of their national history.  Unfortunately, most believers today are trapped in this same cycle.  Once God has brought them near, they steadily drift away.  On the day of trouble, they cry to the Lord.  It may be the loss of a job, a dire financial situation, or the unforeseen sickness of a loved one.  Whatever the issue, they renewed their passion for God, acknowledging that it is him alone who can save them from calamity.  Because he is faithful, God saves them.  However, before long the slow drift away from God begins again.

As believers, we know instinctually to call out to God in times of desperation. Yet, like the people of Israel, the challenge that we all face is understanding how to remain faithful when things are going well.  The key to faithfulness lies in the development of habits that position you to better maintain intimacy with God. When discussing abiding in the Lord, we must consider actual disciplines and habits of living that translate practically into our daily lives.  The best habit you can develop, and the most essential key to abiding in the Lord, is prayer.

The Discipline of Prayer

If you desire to have sustained fruitfulness in your life through communion with God, prayer is the most important discipline.  After all, as I keep saying, communion with God is the reason for which Jesus died.  As we are reconciled to God through Jesus’ death, we then must develop the habit of appreciating that relationship which has been made available to us.  To this end, prayer is the most valuable means.  Appreciation of God’s availability is the mark of a changed life.  We see this no more clearly than in Paul’s conversion experience.

As Paul was converted under the power of the risen Christ, the Lord commanded a man named Ananias to go care for him, for Paul was made blind by the Lord’s presence.  Eventually, Ananias would lay his hands on Paul, heal, and baptize him.  Paul would go on to become a mighty disciple of the Lord Jesus, a great missionary, church planter, preacher, and warrior of the Faith, who would greatly impact the trajectory of Church history.  However, before all of that, when Ananias received the assignment to go to Paul, as proof to the authenticity of Paul’s conversion, the Lord simply stated, “Behold, he is praying” (Acts 9:11 ESV).

It is this communion with God that must be protected at all costs. The challenge then is facilitating this intimacy in a world that demands our attention. We must navigate life in a way that honors God, and appreciates the intimacy that he has made available by the blood of Jesus.

The reality is that we too often find that our schedules consistently run full, and our hearts run empty.  Too often we fail to choose the greater thing (Luke 10:42), and instead settle for busyness in Christian activity; not realizing that even Christian activity falls short of the mark.  We must nurture that relationship, which is our source of strength, and the greatest pleasure of our Heavenly Father.  This is the battle for which God has so aptly equipped us.  Our attention and intimacy with God in prayer is the frontline of the battle, and where the devil has detached his most vile and wicked schemes.

The Bible says that you have at your disposal tools that are more than adequate for protecting your communion with God.  As we survey the final chapter of the book of Ephesians, we find Paul encouraging his fellow brothers-in-Christ to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10).  Essentially, that is what we all are aiming for, right? We want to see the mighty power of God at work in your life. Paul shared what he believed to be the keys to achieving this goal.

First, he reminds his audience that the war is a spiritual one, and so they must spiritually apply what he is about to share, and what he shares is the Armor of God. He says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). Make no mistake about it - Prayer is the epicenter of the spiritual battle.  Therefore, it is there that we must apply the spiritual armor that Paul has laid out.  Lets look at each piece.

The Belt of Truth

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (Ephesians 6:14)

The first piece of “equipment” that Paul insists you arm yourself is the belt of truth.   It is with the belt of truth that you approach God in honesty and transparency. This is perhaps the one piece which holds the others together.  Without honesty, prayer becomes cleverly devised theater in which you try to manipulate God into responding. Think about it for a moment.  Have you ever doubted that God would come through for you, yet in prayer you repeat to God how much you trust him?  Or have you worried about something, yet in prayer confessed to God that you are relying on him?  What is the purpose of this? Is not the point of this front to show God your “faith” because you know that it is faith that moves him?

It is true that faith plays an important role in our prayer life, and in our lives in general.  Yet, I think we need to clearly define “faith.”  For the sake of this discussion, let us define faith as restful reliance, or belief (Evangelical Dictionary, 431).

Each day we express restful reliance and belief.  For example, everyday we live in reliance on the rules of gravity.  We do not tie things down out of fear that they may float away.  Take fire, for example, we know that fire is hot.  We may not understand the complete chemical makeup or what causes it to burn, but we “believe” in the rules that make it so.  We do not have to think twice about it, nor do we need to confess it.  The things that you believe the most you think less about - you simply accept them.  It would be pretty silly if you saw someone praying before they struck a match, “Please, Lord, let this fire be hot.” Any individual in their right mind knows that the fact of fire being hot is an inseparable reality of it’s being.  This is the faith one must have concerning God.

God’s characteristics are inseparable from his being. If we truly believed that, we would see no need for repetitious prayers.  Jesus makes it clear that all things are possible for those who believe.  We must confess truthfully to God the areas that we find ourselves struggling to believe.  Like the father of the boy who suffered seizures, in Mark 9, we must be honest and transparent enough to pray “I do believe, but help me overcome my disbelief.”   In prayer, you reveal your heart, hidden motives, pleasures, defects, fears, and dreams.  You must be naked before the Lord. Do not hide your nakedness, like Adam and Eve, but embrace the One who sees all.

The Breastplate of Righteousness

“with the breastplate of righteousness in place…” (Ephesians 6:14)

In Paul’s time, Roman soldiers wore a metal breastplate.  The breastplate was meant to protect the soldier’s vital organs, the most important of which was the heart.  Paul had the same implications in mind as he described the Armor of God.  The Breastplate of Righteousness protects your heart when you have chosen righteousness in all your ways.  In prayer, your heart is not burdened with guilt. Your heart is free to love the Lord.  Free from the hauntings of a day filled with rebellion, because you have protected your heart from wicked ways.

Proverbs 4:23 states, “Above all protect your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  Have you ever found yourself unable to pray due to guilt, regret, embarrassment, or worst - unforgiveness?  If you harbor these feelings, it will not be long before your wellspring, which directs your life, causes you to live out of hurt rather than love.  If you have fallen into this, it is important that you be truthful with God, and not pray lies like, “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt. They have the issue”  Confess your need for God and allow him to soothe your heart.

Readiness of the Gospel

“…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…”

(Ephesians 6:15)

Sometimes what gets lost in teaching the discipline of prayer is that prayer represents two-way communication. Many of us enter into prayer already having determined what should be the theologically “correct” response from God. The act of prayer is merely a formality of getting the paperwork signed. However, prayer is not just for us to offer petitions to God, but he also desires to speak into our lives, and we must allow him to do so.  We need to enter prayer without a scripted dialogue and allow God to freely communicate. For some of us, this requires a entirely different way of approaching our daily prayer time.

For most of my life, prayer was a stale routine planned out, and if God did not show up, I would believe that he had nothing to say to me. Sounds pretty straight forward, but the only problem with that is - I  never considered actually giving him the time to speak!  I had been so busy going through my ritual that I forgot to actually listen. In my mind there was no difference between God and Santa Clause. I would run through my list and expect that if God had something to say he would just interrupt.  Sounds immature, right? It is!  Well, if you remember, in chapter 3, we discussed how listening and maturing are directly connected.

Now, in my quiet time with the Lord, I find it beneficial to have my Bible available, a devotional, and a note pad.  I ask God to speak to me through either one of these tools, and I spend quiet time listening for him.

What does this have to do with feet prepared with the readiness of the Gospel, you ask? Simple. The Christian does not enter prayer in word alone, but in preparedness. Jesus taught his disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.  This requires that you be ready to comply with whatever order may come from the King.  You should not be stubborn in prayer, wanting only your desires and to stay safe in the shadows.  Instead, your feet are ready to take the Gospel of peace where peace is not known, in order to make famous your King.

The Shield of Faith

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith…” (Ephesians 6:16)

As defined above, faith is restful reliance. Yet, reliance in what?  Well, it is not the restful reliance or belief that you will receive what you desire if you only repeat it enough.  It is not even direct restful reliance on biblical promises.  The faith, or restful reliance, which serves as your shield, and protects your communion with God, is faith in God himself.

Undoubtedly, you have heard it said, "When you don't see God's hand, trust his heart." What exactly does this mean? In so many words, it means trusting God's character. As a friend of mine often says, we simply must “believe that he takes into account all the variables." When we don't see things happen the way we think they should, we trust that God has taken into account all the variables and has chosen to delay or withhold something for the best of reasons.

Individuals with faith in God's character are shielded from the enemy's arrows. However, those who only trust in the way they think about God can be shaken. Rather, to state it more clearly, this difference is for those who know in whom they believe versus those who know in what they believe.  For example, if your faith is in the idea that you will never have need because you understand that your Heavenly Father watches over you, when a need does arise, you will be shaken. If your faith is in God's character then you are able to face tremendous loss, like Job, and declare, "Though he slay me, I will hope in the Lord."  Do not place your faith in what you believe about God but rather in God himself.  Know his character.

The brunt of the enemy's attacks are aimed at discrediting the character of God, so the clearer you see the Father, the less the enemy can manipulate us into walking by doubt instead of by faith.

Properly placed faith in the character of God fortifies your fellowship with him. It allows you to pray in spite of the flaming arrows that have been flung.  You cling to God, knowing that “He is” regardless of the enemy’s attempts to convince you that “He isn’t.”  Maintain faith in the character of God and dismiss the father of lies.

The Helmet of Salvation

“Take the helmet of salvation…”

(Ephesians 6:17)

The main goal is for you to reproduce the life of Jesus through abiding in communion with him.  This is what you were designed to do, but what happens when you fail to produce?  Do you begin to question your salvation? This has happened to me on countless occasions. For one reason or another, I seemingly failed to produce fruit in an area of my life and immediately begin to question my relationship with God and even my salvation. This is the one of the worst things that you or I could do.

As I mentioned previously, the enemy wants you and I to begin to question God and what we are worth to God.  In Christ, we are children of God. He will never leave you or forsake you.  He is totally committed to working in your life, even when you blow it sometimes.  Wearing the Helmet of Salvation means that you protect you mind with the assurance of your salvation in Christ.

Let us re-visit the Book of Matthew, when Jesus was led into the wilderness for a time of fasting.  It was during this time of fasting that the devil took opportunity to tempt Jesus. The very first thing that the enemy said to Jesus was "If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread." If the enemy can not get you to doubt who God is, he will most certainly try to get you to doubt who you are.  Another curious thing is that Jesus did not answer the devil's accusations about his personage by propping up himself.  Instead, Jesus chose to prop up God the Father, as he remained sure of his identity.

In prayer, do not be double-minded, but be certain of your salvation and adoption into the family of God. Communion with God becomes difficult when you begin to question who you are in relation to him.  Intimate prayer is powered by the reality that God has brought you close. Jesus said, regarding those who know him and follow him, that “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” period! (John 10:28)

The Sword of the Spirit

“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Every piece of armor that we have discussed so far has been defensive in nature, meant to protect you from the enemy’s attacks. However, the Roman sword, from which Paul draws his illustration, is offensive in nature. So, it is not figurative when I say that the sword, which is the word of God, is meant to take the fight to the enemy.

What would life look like if we did not wait for tragedy in order to pray God's word concerning triumph? What if we lived alert, looking for opportunities to declare God's word? I'm convinced that as Christians we tolerate too much before we begin to declare God's word at work, at home, in the government, culture, etc.  We often see someone being deceived, but do not take praying seriously until they have been totally defeated. We see someone living promiscuously yet are not alarmed until they have declared it to be their preferred lifestyle.

Listen, sinfulness knows no bounds. When you see the enemy working, love the person, but immediately begin to use the sword in prayer.  Identify sin and declare the word of God concerning the issue in prayer!  There is a time to speak the truth in love directly to a person, yet you should be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples that he only said what he heard the Father saying, and we should do the same.

The word of God should penetrate your prayer life.  Pray according to God’s word, for “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 14-15).  When I see someone struggling, I prefer loving and encouraging them in public and then laboring for them in prayer, claiming the word concerning whatever the situation.

In prayer, remind yourself, God and the devil, if he's listening, of God's promises.  The Bible says that if we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us, and we can be assured that we will receive whatever we ask (1 John 5:14). We must pray fervently about anything that strays from God's will.  In my relationship with my wife, if there is something that deviates slightly from the standard of complete transparency, vulnerable, and sacrificial love, it requires my full attention immediately! I refuse to wait until lawyers get involved to get serious. We must take that same attitude concerning God and his will here on earth. Anything that appears to deviate, even slightly, from his will requires our full proactive attention.

God desires that the your heart be light, mind be clear, faith be strong, willingness to go be unbridled, and that you stand firm in the word of God. Contrarily, the devil desires that God is veiled to you and that you are not honest or transparent with God.  It is with this in mind that you enter the arena of prayer, battling for intimacy with your Heavenly Father.  You need to gird yourself with the armor at your disposal, for it is equipped with the armor of God that  you will be victorious in abiding in the Lord through continual communion. With the Armor of God equipped, you are able to defend your relationship with the Lord from the tricks of the enemy and see the world around you changed through fruit, resulting from your continued abiding.

Final Thoughts

The process of God working in you requires intentional interaction between you and God. Though God is ever-present in the lives of all creation, the restorative process of redemption begins at the moment of salvation.  Jesus’ death on the cross was not meant merely to be a “get out of jail free” card, but to be the beginning of a process; the restoration of your relationship with God.  Before you accepted Jesus, you were an enemy of God because of your disbelief and rebellion. Yet, at the moment you surrendered authority to God and believed in his son Jesus Christ, you were reconciled to your Heavenly Father. The Bible says that you are now an ambassador of that reconciliation.  God’s desire is that all of his creation be reconciled to him, and he makes his appeal through you.

God has given you everything necessary for life and godliness, in his spirit (2 Peter 1:3). Yet, you must unlearn the rebellious ways of thinking that characterize the world systems in which you live. This involves the process of renewing your mind to God’s perspective.

Renewing your mind is an essential step in allowing God to carry his work onto completion. It allows you to clearly identify and choose the Father’s will in a world that chooses rebellion, and as you do so, you will mature spiritually.  Spiritual growth has less to do with trying harder and more to do with being increasingly surrendered. You must be surrendered to the pruning of the Holy Spirit as he identifies the things in your life that are not pleasing to God.

If you are to bear fruit, you must understand that it is not you who does the producing, it is God alone  who causes fruitfulness in your life and ministry. The single requirement for the New Testament believer to bear fruit is to abide with Jesus.  Prayer is the place where we meet Jesus and abide in him. Yet, you must enter prayer girding spiritual armor, understanding that prayer is the frontline in the spiritual battle.  If you are able to develop the habit of abiding in communion with God, you will position yourself for God’s continuous working in.

Is it that simple? Is spending sincere time in prayer with Jesus all that is required for our world to be vastly changed?  The answer is yes, and no. Understanding that sin is rebellion, that maturity and sanctification is what God wants to do in you, that God causes the seed to grow, all position you to receive from God. Yet, God working in you is just one side to this coin.  How do you accurately express what God is doing in your life?  In a vacuum this would not be a concern.  If we lived unilaterally, that is to say, if life simply consisted of us impacting the world around us, this would be the end of the discussion. However, it is a fact of life that we not only impact the world around us, but the world impacts us.

In life, we experience pain, frustration, hurt, bitterness, etc.  All of which impacts us in a variety of ways.  How do you love the unlovable?  How do you remain open-armed after you have been hurt? How do you take what you’re experiencing and not allow it to affect what God is doing? How do you work out what God has worked in? This is the challenge and exactly the question that we will answer in the second half of the book.

Part Two: Working It Out

Chapter 5

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The Whole You

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

BEFORE WE CAN BEGIN the discussion of working out our salvation, again, we have to lay a foundational truth, which will help make sense of the discussion going forward.  There is a truth that is often misunderstood or overlooked concerning the way God has made us. That truth is that you are a whole person.  You are spirit, soul, and body, and each part of you interacts with the other. You are comprised of three distinct facets, yet each facet is inter-connected.

In  his book, “Christian Theology,” Millard J. Erickson, says “We are unified beings; thus pain or hunger affects our ability to focus on the spiritual life.” This simple, yet important, truth is often left out when we consider living a life glorifying to the Lord.

It may be left out due to our culture’s increasing difficulty in answering a simple question. That question is “What are you?” On a fundamental level, what are you? What is the individual?  Some suppose that humans are merely animals, nothing more, nothing less. This reasoning assumes that our human rationale is completely environmentally driven. There is no “inner-man.” Our behavior is motivated by what we see, smell, touch, and taste. While, on the other end of the spectrum, others propose that humans are completely spiritual in nature. Life is only to be understood in spiritual terms.  The physical life is to be avoided and discarded.  The truth is that we live in both worlds. Environmental stimuli affect the way we respond to life, yet we are spiritual in nature, living from the inside out.

It is seldom that you will find the truth at an extreme end of the spectrum.  I have learned that no matter the issue being discussed or debated, the truth is most often somewhere in the middle.  Concerning this issue, when we develop views that neglect an entire aspect of the way in which God has made us, we miss out on the complete abundant life that he desires for us to live.

When God created you, he formed your flesh first.  The Bible says “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground..”  Your body plays an important role in God’s plan for you here on earth, and so does your soul.  You were made in the likeness of God, so you possess the ability to reason and decide. You also have a conscience and emotions, which are all part of your soul life.  Your spirit is what communes with God.  Your spiritual life is the threshold to your fellowship with God, so to speak.  To live a complete life it is essential that you maintain balance and work out your salvation in each area of your life.  The physical life, soul life, and spiritual life are all important in the redemptive work that Christ has done in you.

Physical Life

It is often the case that we overlook the physical life when considering our relationship with God. We somehow conclude that who we are in Christ should shine through regardless of our physical state, and that the disciplines we practice should remain unaffected.  This is not part of the Judeo-Christian worldview.  In fact, this is actually reflective of a certain degree of syncretism, with views that understand the physical world as hostile to the spiritual world.  Syncretism is an attempt to combine two distinct, often contradictory ideas, both of which are compromised in order to accommodate the other.  The melding of beliefs and practices from separate religions is a common example of syncretism.  An attempt to locate the source of the syncretism that I would like to discuss would result in an ever-growing list of eastern religions and new age influences.  For our purposes, to comprehend in the broadest sense, what the syncretism aims to accomplish, let us consider it’s affect on long-term missionaries.

After living on the mission field for an extended period of time, the missionary may, without knowing it, begin to adopt certain characteristics or habits from the culture in which they find themselves.  While the adoption of cultural habits may not be dangerous within itself, if these cultural behaviors are an expression of a belief derived from the native religion, the missionary may begin to compromise on Christian doctrine.  He or she may believe that "adjusting" to the culture is harmless.  However, "adjusting" to the culture may ultimately lead the Christian to adjust their approach to God and consequently life.  Such is the case with the syncretism that we are discussing.

The syncretism that harms an accurate view of the individual as a whole, or the compartmentalizing of the person, is known as dualism.  Dualism, particularly metaphysical dualism, contends that "the essence or seat of a person's humanness is the mind or soul” (Caner, 187). The soul and body are understood as distinct, and unfortunately, the body is seen as less important. This idea was key to Gnosticism, which was one of the greatest threats to early Christianity. Gnostics proposed that Jesus had not lived in the flesh, but rather his earthly body was merely an illusion or phantom.  They directly denied the humanity of Jesus, believing that the son of God could not have been able to suffer, and if he did suffer he consequently was not the son of God.  This is not supported by Scripture.  In fact, Scripture clearly communicates that it is the humanity of Jesus which allowed him to serve as a substitute for man.  Hebrews 1:14-15 says, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."  It could be no clearer that his humanity or humanness played a crucial part in Jesus’ earthly mission, and should continue to play an important role in the lives of his disciples.

Syncretism with the belief of dualism does great harm to our understanding and expression of the Christian faith. As I mentioned above, understanding is skewed when Christians begin to believe that God takes no consideration for the physical life.  If you only understand in spiritual terms, you may not grow to value Jesus’ life, and the suffering which he endured on the way to the cross.   There was great reason why Jesus prayed that that cup be taken from him, and even greater significance in the fact that he followed that request by saying “…yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

The physical life directly impacts our capacity to express what God has done in our hearts. For example, have you ever been so exhausted that you became agitated with the people around you?  God has given you the desire to make a positive impact on the people in your life, but in that circumstance, is it not the failure to manage your physical life that results in your failure to love people like you know you should?  What about when an individual works one-too-many hours and suddenly his fuse is about half it’s normal length? A husband’s failure to schedule his priorities will most likely result in him failing to represent Christ in his household.  If he continues for any length of time like this, his kids will learn to avoid daddy when he gets home and his wife will soon look in other places to have her emotional needs met.  What about hunger? Has hunger ever made you grumpier than usual?  What about a lack of sleep?  How many times have you fallen asleep with your face in your Bible, or in the palm of your hands as you were praying?

When we fail to realize that the way we order our physical world directly impacts our spiritual life, we either avoid the issue all together or find clever excuses.  I’ve actually heard someone blame their inability to stay awake reading their Bible on the spirit of sleep or a sleep demon.  It never dawned on the person that only having 5 hours of sleep a night was not a healthy way of living.  I often think that the most spiritual thing some people could do is take a nap or a vacation.

It is often quoted that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).  This verse is often used to validate the disqualification of physical discipline.  However, what people miss from this verse is that physical training “is of some value.”  In his book, “The Anxiety Cure,” Dr. Archibald D. Hart explains how a failure to manage one’s life and consider things such as rest, meditation, proper eating, and even humor can cause damage to the body as well as produce feelings of stress and anxiety.

When we feel stress or anxiety, we often look for spiritual solutions, and we say things like “If only I trusted God more,” or even “The enemy is trying to steal my peace.”  You are right the enemy is certainly trying to steal your peace, yet that particular enemy is not Satan, it is your schedule!

Your physical body can only take so much.  If you do not make time for relaxation and an appropriate amount of exercise, your body will begin to turn against you.  Whether it’s hair loss, heartburn, migraine headaches, ulcers, fatigue, or just bags under your eyes, your body may be trying to send you a signal.  There is no spiritual activity that will circumvent your responsibility to care for the physical body God has given you, nor will God serve as an enabler to your neglect.  There are many great preachers who were sent to early graves, not by Satan, but by a failure to care for their physical life.  Many marriages have been destroyed, not by spiritual warfare, but by busy work schedules.  You can not operate as a human separate from your physical body, and you can not be effective long term as a Christian while neglecting your physical health and responsibilities.

Soul Life

Discussion of the soul is probably one of the most difficult discussions. It is not difficult because it is foreign, but because of the exact opposite.  The soul is something that is familiar to every human being, and every human being understands it differently.  Each human being reasons differently, therefore it is difficult to form concrete measurements of thinking, though many have tried.  Again, for our purposes here, I’ll just cover the basics and emphasize the importance of the broad concept.

When we talk about the soul, what we are generally referring to are thoughts and emotions. The thought aspect has received much attention over the years. There have been many great books written on the subject.  This is partly because the Bible is very clear on the issue. It exhorts us to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2), to think on whatever is pure and holy (Philippians 4:8), and to renew our minds (Romans 12:2).  The thought life is essential because it sets the stage, so to speak, for the way in which we interpret life events.

In “Effective Biblical Counseling,” Dr. Larry Crabb states that it is through the thought life, or the conscious mind, that one speaks to himself concerning external events, and evaluates said events.  He makes the point that “events do not control my feelings. My mental evaluation of events...affect how I feel” (Crabb, pg. 89).  Though most of us do not frame it as Dr. Crabb, we make statements to that effect, such as “She sees the world through rose-colored lenses.”  Essentially, what we are saying is that the way an individual thinks shapes his or her interpretation of life.

While I do not think you are called to see life through “rose-colored lenses,” you are called, however, to interpret life through the reality of God’s truth.   It is for this reason that believers, in the Book of James, are exhorted to “consider it pure joy” whenever they faced trials. James made this plea based on what they knew intellectually. They knew that the testing of their faith produced perseverance.  Thus, he was saying that they must allow the greater truth to influence the way in which they understood their current life circumstance.  Instead of grieving, they had the ability to consider trouble to be a joy, but only if their minds were renewed to think of life in a heavenly manner.  Every year there are thousands of books published with the sole purpose of imploring believers to do the very thing James advised.

All of the attention received by the thought life could be considered unbalanced when compared to the attention, or lack of attention, given to the emotional life.  The emotional life is another area in which people often find themselves on one end of the spectrum or the other.  On one end of the spectrum, individuals choose to totally neglect emotional health, becoming emotionally dead.

In an attempt to be “mature,” they make every effort to deaden themselves to feelings.  For example, the manly man who strives to appear to be in control.  He does not want for his family, co-workers, or even fellow church members to believe that he is not in control. Consider the housewife, who has adopted the philosophy “fake it until you make it.”  She just keeps smiling in order to appear to have it all together.  What about the pastor, who believes that spiritual maturity is being able to demonstrate as little emotion as possible, except for the occasional tear drop during a worship service.  He figures that he should not be hurt by a betrayal, an unkind word, or one of life’s many disappointments.

Each of these individuals will soon find true the old adage that emotions buried alive never die. Individuals that suppress emotions over time are similar to trash bags that have been filled beyond capacity.  It may keep things nice and neat for a period of time but after it faces a little wear and tear, it will rip open and all their garbage will come spilling out.  If you have been in the habit of stuffing your emotions, beware!  When life happens, and you get a little wear and tear, your garbage will come spilling out. All it will take is an unkind word, an aggressive driver, for the restaurant to run out of your favorite item, or one of life’s million other small disappointments. Then, what has laid dormant in your heart will come rushing to the surface, leaving you to explain to friends and family why the cheese dip was that important.

Frankly, there are some offenses that keep believers bound for years because of a failure to accept that emotions are an important part of the whole picture.  Growing up, my father’s absence hurt me, and broken promises left my heart scarred in many different ways.  Unfortunately, the unwritten rule growing up was to respond to anything that emotionally scarred me with a cavalier “I don’t care.”  Most of us who have faced unresolved emotional issues have done so because of unwritten rules just like this one.  You know, the unwritten rules that say you should be stronger, thinner, wiser, smarter or more mature by now.  It is because of unwritten rules such as these that we bury what we really feel and present the facade of what we “should” be.

As I stated, these hurts eventually come to the surface, yet not in ways that directly reflect the source of the pain.  For example, though not initially apparent, my rebellious behavior as a youth was directly connected to feelings of worthlessness. Feelings that were the result of an offense I took because of my father’s absence.  It is critical that we address the source of our hurt, whether due to our sin or someone else's.

The Bible records Jesus as saying, “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5:30).  I’ve always wondered why Jesus did not just say to tie the hand behind your back.  The seriousness of our broken state requires drastic measures be taken to address the root of sin.  Jesus is challenging his listeners to re-consider what has apparent value in light of what is of ultimate value. In his analogy, if it was indeed an analogy, he used the hand, yet in our case we are discussing past wounds as the root of our sins.  In light of that which has ultimate value, a life glorifying to God, we must, at all cost, address with extreme relentlessness the source of our sin.  If you are hurt, don’t bottle up the emotion. Pray about what has hurt you, and seek wise counsel regarding how to address the issue.

God has created you with emotions. Give yourself permission to feel.  If you are hurt by a close friend or family member, it is normal to feel betrayed.  Yet, take that hurt to God in prayer and ask him to shape your perspective concerning the issue.  As with many other things, the issue is not what we have but that we surrender it to God.  We have emotions and we have feelings.  Both of these areas need to be surrendered to God and intentionally considered if we are to live completely healthy lives.

Spiritual Life

While the physical life and the soul life focus solely on the individual, a healthy spiritual life draws the focus off of self and onto the bigger picture.  The spiritual life concerns all of creation and the way in which you relate to it. Often, someone who may not be a Christian, or even believe that there is a God, may be heard saying something like, “I’m not religious, but I am a spiritual person.”  What they mean is that though they do not subscribe to a particular set of beliefs, they do, however, believe that there is a design or plan that is greater than themselves.  They may not confess that there is a god, a heaven or hell, but they believe that the big picture is grander then their individual interpretation of events.

More often than not, these “spiritual” individuals live life no differently than their “non-spiritual” counterparts. They live according to the whim of their own desires. This is because being “spiritual” without knowing the personal God, through Jesus Christ, is like having a compass with no needle.  Surely, one of the 360 degrees is pointing north, but they have no idea which one.  “Spiritual” people have accepted that life is not all about them, yet they possess no measuring rod against which to measure all of what they experience.  They are aware that each step they take contributes to the overall story that is being told, yet they are still governed by ambiguous morals, and life rules.  For you and I, God is the “north” that defines the rest of life and gives the rest of life meaning.

Just as lost is a Christian with a weak spiritual life, who fails to see their connection to the big picture.  These are the Christians who spend their entire lives figuring out ways not to sin, and of course never succeeding. Life is all about them and how good they can get. I’m not to say that striving to live a life pleasing to God should not be our goal, that is the aim of this book.  However, an individual who does not see their connection to the grander scheme fails to come to terms with the fact that life is not all about them.

A person with a weak spiritual life limits their Christian experience to what God is doing only in their life, and they do not see what God is doing in all of humanity.  Church is all about them, and not the community.  The pastor’s sermon needs to “speak” to them or they are not going back.  People need to be of use to them or they have no place.  Typically, the first question that they ask themselves, concerning any issue, is how does this affect “me.”  This person may have a healthy soul life, they may know and accept who they are, but they do not know who God is and how they relate to him.  They may appreciate the goodness of God, that he is holy, righteous, and just, but they may not consider the greatness of God, the fact that he is all-powerful, all-present, and eternal. The grand design is God’s, and it encompasses all of creation.  Each creation of God was created to fulfill a purpose.  Colossians 1:16 states, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

You are a whole being, and in order to be the person who God has called you to be, you must approach each facet of your person equally.  God is working in your entire life.  Your physical life  sometimes gives you the clearest signals that you need to change your pattern of living.  Your thought and emotional life also require much attention as they impact you even more deeply.  The Bible says to “guard your heart.” That being said, it does not make you more mature if you claim to feel no pain or hurt.  Submitting those pains and hurts to the Lord serves to deepen you relationship with him.  Renewing your mind with God’s word helps you to interpret life events with a new way of thinking, including the way you think about your personal hurts.  A healthy spiritual life pivots on the reality that you are part of a larger picture. This is His-story.

Working out your salvation in each of these areas gives God glory, because it is in each area that he is forming you into the image of his son. Live, think, and surrender to God’s plan for humanity.  This is what Jesus did and what he is calling us to do.

Chapter 6

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Healing the Broken

“Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

- 2 Corinthians 2:9-11

IF WE ARE ALL MADE BY the same God, created in the same image, and are able to receive the same grace, through Jesus Christ, what is behind the differences in each individual’s spiritual life?  When asking about differences, I’m not referring to differing personality traits or various gifting, but rather being christ-like versus not.  I’m talking about the reflecting of Christlike behavior, or the fruit of the Spirit.  In the first half, we discussed what it takes to allow God to work continuously in your life, and last chapter, we discussed the importance of looking for God in every aspect of your person. Now, we will look at over-coming what prohibits the perfect expression of the Spirit’s fruit.

Sin has affected us all, albeit in different ways. The way you respond to sin determines the progress you make in becoming like Jesus. Let me clarify, God has made his gift of salvation available to all.  However, it is the responsibility of the individual to accept this gift and partake in the forgiveness made available through Jesus’ death on the cross. In the same way, it is your responsibility, once you have received salvation, to choose life and not death.

You now have access to the Holy Spirit of God, and intimacy with the Spirit of God produces a life characterized by love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22).  What allows you to fully express evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is your willingness to draw close to the Spirit and obey him, especially concerning sin.  As we discussed in Chapter 3, this is the pathway to spiritual maturity and, as we’ll see in this chapter, is also the key to being healed from the hurts that leave us injured and not reproducing the life of Christ.

The Devil’s Schemes

In the second Book of Corinthians, Paul urged the believers to forgive a man who he previously urged be removed from the congregation because of sexual sin.  The call to forgive is obvious, yet, what must capture our attention is the reason for Paul’s urgent request that they forgive, as he had forgiven. Paul explained that the believers should forgive so “that Satan might not outwit [them]. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”  Paul was not unaware of the devil’s modus operandi, or the manner in which he planned to destroy the Believers, and neither should we be unaware of them. So, let’s take a closer look.

In examining Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, was the sin with the congregation or with the individual? Obviously, with the individual.  Yet, who did Paul urge to act?  The congregation.  Paul knew that if the congregation continued to allow the sinful individual to stay they would be led astray.  In fact, they had already begun to be proud of the sexual sin (1 Corinthian 5:2).  He commanded them to take a stern position concerning sin, so that they would respond to it correctly, in “mourning.”

After they re-positioned their hearts concerning the sin and addressed it appropriately, Paul then urged forgiveness.  The apostle understood the connection between our response to sin and sinfulness, and the devil’s ability to inflict torment or to deceive.  A heart that is submitted and sensitive to the voice of God responds appropriately to sinfulness, even when it is not one’s own sinfulness.

As we see in the Book of Corinthians, the church had become so accepting of sin that they began to even glory in it, appearing to be proud of it. Does this sound familiar? Today, we look at the Church and find the same thing happening.  The Church has begun to permit the cultural norms of cohabitation, divorce, and even homosexuality.  Think about it for a second. The Church has moved from proactively addressing these issues, to reactively addressing these issues, and to even now celebrating these issues somehow as the lessor of two evils.  Regarding cohabitation, I have heard it said, “At least they are together,” though unmarried with a child.  Promoting divorce by saying, “I am glad she had the strength to leave. It was not healthy.” Regarding homosexuality, “Well, I’m glad he is free to be himself.”  LIES! Cohabitation is not the same. Divorce is not the answer. And homosexuality is not freedom, but slavery to sin. It is no different than addiction to pornography, fornication, adultery, lying, and whatever else is contrary to what God has set in place.

This is no different than what was happening to the Corinthian church.  They grew insensitive to the heart of God, and denied the ugliness of sin.  In a sense, they were “overly-merciful” in their response to the sinful individual Paul warned them about.  We must not become so passive concerning sin that we invite and indirectly encourage waywardness. To anyone intimately acquainted with the crucified Lord, and the cost of sin, this is a grave offense.  Indeed Paul was, so he was fervent about responding with righteousness.  However, once the church responded in sternness toward the sin, Paul became equally as fervent for the issue of forgiveness.

Responding to sin does not demand a single heavy-handed response.  We should not become so fervent for righteousness, as if we’re doing God a favor by helping to maintain order, that we omit forgiveness and mercy toward the individual.  The error is to think that one response is always correct.

How then should you address sin with balance if you are in a position to speak into someone’s life?  Well, the point I’m making is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer.  The correct response depends on the individual.

Let us consider two people, one who is struggling with sin and has begun to accept it as part of his life, and another who struggles with sin but continues to acknowledge the wickedness of the behavior and maintains a sense of conviction concerning sin. To one, the Lord says turn your laughing into mourning (James 4:9) but to the other, the Lord says that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

We must place the appropriate value on sin while never devaluing the person.  It is only with a submitted heart that we allow the Lord to govern our response to sinfulness; being stern concerning the sin, and loving toward the person (even ourselves).

A position of submission keeps you deferred to the Lord’s preferences and away from getting wrapped up in what you think is the best response to sin.  Often times, when we think of Satan’s strongholds, we think of deep theological issues. However, the father of lies is a lot more subtle than that. He uses our failure to respond appropriately to our sin, and the sin of others to bind us.

Consider the wife whose husband committed adultery. The wife may eventually come to believe the lie that she is not valuable as a person and that no one will ever truly love her.  Satan will attempt to use these lies as a foundation to push the woman into a self-centered, self-glorifying, and self-satisfying life.  The initial sin was with the husband, yet Satan, in that circumstance, successfully established a stronghold on the wife.

What about the young Christian who struggles with lust.  He falls and loses his virginity. In an attempt to hide his shame, he begins to identify with the fallen world that glorifies the mistake. The sin numbs his heart and he eventually falls away from the faith he once so dearly held.

In both incidents, Satan may or may not have been initially involved. Yet, what is clear is that each individual had the opportunity to respond in a godly fashion and avoid Satan’s snare.  The wife could have responded with forgiveness, reminding herself that God so loved her (and her husband) that Jesus died.  Though this is tough, it is the right response.  The young Christian could have repented and trusted that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to cover his shame.  Again, that is difficult because it is easier to avoid the issue, but that is what is great about trusting Jesus; he frees us from guilt and shame.  Satan wants to steer you away from the appropriate responses to sin.  If he is successful, he can build upon the initial lie, and any action based upon a lie is bound to lead to distortion and sinfulness.  The right response to sin leaves the devil powerless.

Cracked Pots

Life hurts. Sin is the cause, and brokenness is the result.  Life is always changing. It is alive, so to speak, but so is the word of God (Hebrews 4:12).  It is inevitable that you will experience hurt in this life. Yet, the word of God is able to penetrate your heart and soothe the wounds that have so deeply scarred you. You need only be alive for a few days, hours even, before you experience some sort of hurt caused by either yours or someone else's sin.  When sin happens and we fail to respond biblically, we must be proactive in allowing the truth of God to restore us from the damage done by the lies of the enemy.

We are all like clay pots and God’s truth/grace/love is what is being poured into us. Life’s hurts are like cracks, which leave us damaged and leaky, unable to retain that which has been deposited in us.  Every hurt you experience represents a crack, and it is because of this that I believe we all need two things.

One, we need continued pouring from the Father. This is necessary because we are all in process and we will not be completely healed, and free from additional cracks until we are in Heaven or the day of Jesus' return.  A mistake that we often make is developing a false sense of self-confidence.  We will spend great amounts of time abiding in the Lord, being built up, and receiving his love.  However, once we have had our fill, sometimes we become over confident and drift away from the source of our strength, which is communion with the Lord (See Chapter 4).

This has happened to me more times than I would care to admit. I will spend much time in prayer, reading, and quiet time before the Lord.  The Lord will strengthen me, and I will set out to save the world.  I'll talk to every friend about the Lord. I will counsel every hurting person I come across, and my calendar will be full for the foreseeable future. However, within a few weeks, if not days, my Bible reading will become scarce, prayer becomes something I do in the car on the way to work, and I become more burdened by those seeking help than I am excited to be a part of what God is doing in their lives. Through this, I've learned that if I do not stay connected to the vine, abiding in the Lord's presence, my fruit becomes more and more minuscule until it is nonexistent.  Essentially, I may be productive but I will not be fruitful.

The second thing that we all require is wisdom to address the “cracks."  As I stated above, the enemy desires that you not respond biblically to sin.  Not responding biblically sometimes means ignoring the issue.  If you fail to address the things that cause cracks, you will soon find that you make a very poor vessel.  I say that with one caveat, the Lord has not called you to obsess over the areas where you struggle.  He has called you to bear fruit and minister as you go throughout life.  I can almost hear someone saying, "I am hurt myself, how can I minister to someone else?"  The reality is that you are not called to witness to the condition of the "pot," but to the goodness of the One who continues to pour into it despite it's condition.  It is true that our condition demands that we stay under the fountain, and allow the word of God to continually heal our brokenness.  We must remember that he is faithful and will continue his work on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).  Simply put, the Holy Spirit will not leave us alone with all our “stuff” to work out, but He will continue to reveal areas that need pruning and work in us the process of sanctification.  Still, the way we respond determines our ability to steward what God wants to share through us.

A Fair Exchange

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." - 2 Tim. 2:20-21

In order for us to respond correctly to sin and allow God to mend our brokenness, we need to be in the habit of exchanging the lies of Satan for the truth of God. Together with the Holy Spirit, the word of God exposes the things that are unpleasing to the Lord, whether thought, word, or deed.  Once revealed, the question then becomes, how will you respond to that issue?  As I mentioned in the previous examples, the devil wants you to respond in a way that is counter productive to the will of God.

The word of God introduces us to Godly responses to the issues that plague us. Through his word, God mends your brokenness so that you may carry and distribute what he has deposited in you. Let me give a practical example of how the hurts we experience can affect our ability to steward the grace God has given, and highlight the need to exchange the enemies lies. I will keep this as succinct as possible.

Imagine that you grew up in a house where you were not payed much attention by your parents, but your siblings were. When sharing creative ideas with your parents they gave you little feedback, and often seemed to ignore you. Conversely, when your siblings shared ideas, your parents demonstrated exaggerated excitement. In that environment, you would most likely begin to think that your ideas were no good, and that if you have had better ideas you would receive similar attention. Through such childhood experiences, you would establish the belief that your significance is tied to your ability to develop good ideas and to garner excitement from others.

As life moves on, you may have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and found yourself in a church leadership role.  Now, what happens to that lie? Absolutely nothing. It has laid dormant in your heart. As a pastor, you are excited at the opportunity to share God's word, yet to your surprise, you are unable to capture the audience's attention. You know intellectually that it is God who brings the harvest, but you still become really angry and you are not sure why.  Where is this anger coming from? Eventually, you not only get angry at your inability to "win" the crowd but you begin to feel insignificant as a church leader or even a person. You reason that your ideas are no good and question your role as pastor.  You either quit because of your apparent ineffectiveness or you become unbalanced in your effort to "win" people.  We will get into the issue of value later, but in this example, the issue is that the pastor had failed to disconnect from the lie regarding his self value.  Having failed to replace that lie with the truth, he allowed the cracks to keep him from effective stewardship.

I am not suggesting that all the answers to our problems lie in the past, but what I am suggesting is that knowing the truth empowers you to identify the lie.  Once you identify the lie, you need to be active about replacing it with the truth.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the cause of the excess anger, depression, lust, bitterness, un-forgiveness, criticism, or pride. He is faithful to open every door to which you give him permission. Read the word of God and learn the truth, and it will make you free. When something hinders your ability to share what the Holy Spirit has deposited in you, do not leave it unattended.

When we leave our hurts unattended, we eventually come to accept the “drainage,” meaning we accept the damage that sin has caused in our hearts as normal.  When we allow this, we end up doing one of two things. We either develop misguided solutions or become selfish with what God has given us.

Let's consider our emotionally hurt pastor. Having failed to exchange the lie for the truth, he came to the conclusion that the most logical thing for him to do is to work harder at winning the crowd. He simply doubles down on his efforts.  However, this solution is misguided.  It will cost his weekends, his sleep, kids sporting events, intimacy with his wife, and maybe even his marriage.  He may win the crowd by having poor boundaries but it will cost him dearly.  All this and he would have still failed to exchange the lie that winning people's approval influences his significance. His solution was misguided because he failed to attend to the correct issue.

On the other side, becoming selfish with what God has given is a particularly prevalent response among those of us who have a history with being disappointed by people. I say "those of us" because this is an area that I can relate to personally. Early in my life, I was introduced to the unpleasant reality that people's actions do not always match their words.  In my youth, I had little contact with my father.  I can recall him promising to visit and never showing up.  Through many instances similar to this one, such as friends not following through on their word or promises being broken, I began to have a difficult time trusting people.

As a side note, when someone has been disappointed over and over they are a prime target for people who enjoy taking advantage of others. Here is why - deep within the heart lies the desire for someone to prove them wrong about their distrust of people. Without getting us too far off track, let me just say that they end up trusting the wrong people, which in turn feeds their distrust and the idea that they need to protect themselves from further hurt.

This is where I found myself, and where most people find themselves today. Yet, how exactly does this wrong response "widen the crack" and cause us to become selfish with what God has given? Well, again, let us go back to the earlier example of the young pastor.

Let's imagine that instead of pursuing a misguided solution to his "winning the crowd" problem, the pastor tries to protect what God has given him.  Surely, he is aware that God has called him to minister in that particular area.  Regardless of what he may be experiencing, the Lord's call is irrevocable (Romans 11:29), and he most likely would be reminded of the calling whenever he spent quiet time with the Lord.  However, at the same time, he is aware that speaking into the lives of others causes him to become depressed for the reasons we previously explored. Though the young pastor may recognize that his interactions with people should not have such power over him, he will come to accept his inability to effectively steward what God is working in and begin to hold back in order to avoid being hurt.

As you would expect, it is a lot easier to maintain a “spiritual high" when you are not around people. Sounds cold, I know, but listen.  Have you ever had such an experience with God that you had to tell someone? Sure you have.  Have you ever told someone only to have them respond so mildly that you wonder if they even understood you? Consequently, you tell them a second time only to get the same response?! Ouch.  How about a word of wisdom that blew your socks off but barely garnishes a response from your friend? I have gone as far as to question someone's salvation because they were not moved by what I shared.  Can you say, hurt ego?

Failed attempts to draw a sense of value from others’ approval, causes people to pull back in order to protect themselves. This happens often with people who are givers or have the gift of hospitality. They give and serve only to be beat down over time by ungratefulness. Eventually, they may grow to believe the lie that their actions just are not appreciated, or worse yet, that they are not making a difference. These individuals are likely to begin guarding what God has given them by refusing to give. They will start by determining who they should give to, or who deserves their hospitality. They will be more polite or give to the people who they believe are more likely to be grateful.  This is done in an effort to avoid hurt, and as we will discuss, to avoid feelings of insignificance.

God has prepared a good work for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).  He is pouring into your life, filling you with everything you will need for that work.  However, the devil roams around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to derail you from reproducing the life of Christ in effective ministry.  Living in a world full of sin, the devil works hard to get you not only to sin but to respond unbiblically to sin.  When you fail to respond biblically to sin, whether yours or others’, the devil attempts then to establish a stronghold.  These strongholds are always based on lies.  These lies leave us deceived, broken, and unable to steward appropriately what God is working in us.  The perfect expression of what God is doing internally is hindered.

Healing the broken begins with being able to identify the devil’s schemes, where he has successfully gotten you to believe in one of his lies.  You can rejoice because the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, desires to lead you into all truth!  As you abide in the Lord and in his word daily, keeping his truth in front of you, his word cleanses you from the unrighteous lies of the enemy.  The word of God makes you free from sin’s deception and the enemy’s hold.  You must be proactive in exchanging the lie of the enemy for the truth of God.  It is in this way that you cooperate with God’s healing of your brokenness.

God created you to be an effective steward and representative of his glory.  Allowing God’s word and Spirit to heal you permits the clear reflection of God’s glory. Yet, understanding and caring for the basic needs with which God has created us all helps you to continue living from the overflowing of his love. Those basic needs are what we will look at next.

Chapter 7

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Understanding Your Basic Needs

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

- Proverbs 13:12

THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S PLAN of redemption is that he not only restores us from the tyranny of sin, as our liberator, but he leads us and provides for us, as our Father.  As with Israel, God has led us out of captivity so that he may subsequently lead us into the promise.  He has not destined you and I to suffer and die in the desert.  He wants to bring you into a place that overflows with his goodness, not a place where you are barely getting by, but a place where your needs are unquestionably met.  Therefore, the task of working out your salvation must be two-fold.  Not only must you continuously allow God to heal the areas of your life that have become broken due to the deceitfulness of sin, but going forward you must purposefully seek to allow God to meet your needs.

God has created us all with certain needs.  Effort to meet these needs is the underlying motive for all behavior.  As believers, it makes sense to expect God to meet our needs.  Yet, even after we have allowed God to work into our lives, and have sought after him for healing, we often try to have our needs met elsewhere.  The truth is that our needs can only be met in an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father.

As we discussed the issue of responding to sin and exchanging lies for the truth, we did so from a defensive posture, as a response to the brokenness caused by sin.  Now, we must change our mindset, as we discuss the innate needs with which God has created us all.  As a born-again believer, you were never meant to live reactively.  Although, in Chapter 6 is where most people are stuck. They live life simply in response to sin.  They are stuck in a continual state of trying to be free. Put another way, they remain in the desert, free from the bondage of sin, but have not stepped into the life God has for them.  You were not meant to live in the desert!

While it is a great thing to be freed from sin, healed and restored by the word of God, Jesus came so that you would have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10).  Life is meant to be an overflow of God’s abundance. Having been healed from sin’s damaging effects, you must now walk out of abundance, and not out of lack.  So, how do you live that abundant life and allow God’s glory to overflow?  The answer is to intentionally allow God to meet your needs.

Self-sufficiency, Brokenness, and Relationships

God wants to meet your needs.  There are no qualifiers.  He is a loving father and he wants to meet the needs of his children.  Jesus made this truth plain to his disciples when he told them,“if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11).  Arguably one of the saddest commentaries that can be spoken over a believer’s life is “you have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).  Yet, the reality is that not all Christians choose to allow God to meet their needs.

The way you approach God depends on the way in which you understand your self-sufficiency, brokenness, and need for healing relationships.  Originally discussed by Mark R. McMinn in his book “Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling,” a balanced understanding of these three areas impacts the way in which you relate to God in communion, and subsequently how you go about having your needs met.  Let us take a look at each area independently.

Self-Sufficiency

A healthy sense of self-sufficiency is having the clarity to see yourself accurately, in light of the truth of Scripture.  This means that you are aware of your value in Christ. You understand and receive the fact that you were created uniquely, individually, and are valuable as a creation of God.  There is also an awareness of self-sufficiency and freedom as an autonomous creation of God.  You are not defenseless. You have been created in his image, meaning you have the God-given capacity to choose (Joshua 24:15).

With a healthy sense of self, you are able to recognize progress and hurdles to progress, as well as take responsibility for your own behavior. It is your responsibility to work out your salvation, not God’s.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you learn the word of God, not the pastor’s.  God wants to use you as salt and light on this earth. In order for that to happen you must have a proper understanding of the responsibility that God has given you. The hope of God’s glory on this earth is Christ in you (Colossians 1:27)!

That being said, neither should there be the over-estimation of self-sufficiency. Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” You need to maintain sober judgement of yourself as a person created in God’s image, and live in a healthy realization of the limitations inherent to human nature.  When you have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, abide in his presence, and are in the habit of cooperating with the spirit, you can have peace regarding the limitations of self.  If not, you will find yourself stretched thin, over-worked, and failing to steward your time appropriately.

Christian denominations that fail to grasp this point are often those guilty of stressing works with regard to salvation.  Many loving people are deceived into following false religions simply because they over-estimate their self-sufficiency.  Being a Christian is not a matter of relinquishing responsibility nor is it a matter of works, but of understanding that "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).  An accurate sense of self allows you to recognize responsibilities and boundaries.

Brokenness

An awareness of brokenness is also essential to the way in which you aim to have your needs met.  The downplaying of your brokenness leads to the dismissal of the need for God, and creates an over-estimated sense of self-sovereignty.  As we discussed in Chapter 3, in order for spiritual disciplines to remain vibrant they must be approached with an awareness of personal need or run the risk of becoming stale ritual.   If you think you do not need God then reading Scriptures that speak of him (and through which he speaks) becomes irrelevant to you, or at least un-impactful.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).

If your sense of brokenness swings in the other direction and you over-estimate your sense of need, you are likely to assume the role of a victim.  Again, you are not defenseless!  Recognizing the need for healing from life events does not mandate that you become a slave to those events, only that you become aware of their influence.  If you see yourself as a slave then you approach God that way. In Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin nor sin’s effects.  You are a friend of God (John 15:15).  Approach his throne with boldness, knowing that you will receive mercy and grace in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  Do not let your past failures and past pains define you.  Again, understanding your identity as a new creation in Christ is key.

Healing Relationships

You were not meant to live alone.  If your journey were a plane, your relationship with God would represent one wing and fellowship with other believers would represent the other. This has always been tough for me mainly because I am unapologetically introverted.  I love being alone.  I find it to be relaxing.  It is where I find my center.  Be that as it may, I still recognize the need for fellowship, and so must you.  Everything God does in my life finds it’s meaning in the context of community (1 Corinthians 12:7).  It is often stated that the sign of a healthy lake is that it has an inlet and an outlet.  If there is no outlet the lake becomes stagnate and un-supporting of life.  God is pouring into you, is there an outlet?  Are you pouring out into the lives of others?

Though possessing the same functions, a healing relationship is more structured than simple fellowship.  Healing relationships do not resemble the relationship between the apostle Paul and Barnabas, but rather that of Paul and Timothy.  A healing relationship consists of two parties with clearly defined roles.  One party is clearly the helper.  This can be a mentor, pastor, or a helping professional.  We all need wise counsel with life decisions, and help processing life when it inevitably happens. As we learned earlier, processing emotions is important.  To remain ”heart” healthy, you must recognize the need for healing relationships.  There is no such thing as a Rambo Christian.  No lone-wolves. No Mavericks.

Sometimes a healing relationship may be hard to come by, especially if you are dealing with trust issues.  Pray that God sends you a faithful friend who will take the role of mentor and walks with you through the difficult moments.  You must become aware of the limits of self-sufficiency, the depths of your brokenness, and the need for healing relationships.  This awareness provides you with the necessary insight to appropriately have your needs for significance and security met.

Two Basic Needs

Did you know that every person you have ever met has had the same two basic needs?  Doctor, lawyer, prostitute, drug addict, police officer, or politician; the two basic needs for significance and security persist throughout all humanity.  Look around.  People literally spend their lives away trying to buy significance.  They chase things, people, jobs, and achievements just for a sense of significance.  Remember our pastor from earlier, he wanted to win the crowd because it made him feel significant.  He did not know that his significance as a person or pastor was not tied to his ability to control people’s responses.  Celebrities do whatever it takes to maintain their sense of cultural significance. With a over-estimated sense of self, they abuse people. Unaware of their brokenness they hurt people. Social media has provided people with endless ways of obtaining a false sense of relevancy.

What about security? Co-dependence in relationships results from an under-estimation of personal value. Frequently, we hear of people clinging to unhealthy relationships in an attempt to stay secure. When people do not appreciate the boundaries of other individuals, they look for security in the controlling of others.  Other people find security in their money.  Proverbs 18:11 says, “The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.”  We often talk about “job security” and “future security.”   We work just to retire. All the while, missing the truth that the needs of significance and security can only be fully met and understood in relationship with God.

Your sense of significance comes from the fact that you are valuable to God.  He created you in your mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13).  You were chosen (Ephesians 1:4), predestined for adoption (v. 5), included in Christ, and sealed with the Holy Spirit (v. 13). It does not get more significant than that! God has a plan to prosper you, a plan to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  He wants to make you the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13).

You are secure because you are loved by God (John 3:16).  Nothing can separate you from his love (Romans 8: 37-39). You have been cleansed by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:14), now and forever (1 Peter 3:18). The Father is holding you tight and Jesus promised that none will be taken out of his father’s hand (John 10:29).  You are favored by God because of the blood of Jesus.  You are more than a conquerer. Greater is the Holy Spirit in you than the enemy who rules this world (1 John 4:4).  You are secure!

Where do you look to have your needs met? Is it in the promises of God? Through a renewed mind and surrendered heart you must have a balanced view of your self-sufficiency, your brokenness, and your need for healing relationships.  Understand that it is only God who can meet your need for significance and security.

In Christ, you are significant and secure!

Motivation

Though you are motivated by the need for significance and security, these needs are already met in Jesus Christ.  You have needs but you are not currently in need.  In Christ, you have all you need for godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  The world, however, is moved by deficit motivation, meaning they are looking for something they do not have.

Survey the rich and the poor alike and you will find that most people are driven by a sense of lack, by the feeling that they must obtain what is missing.  Whether it is money, materials, or notoriety, deficit motivation influences everything from work schedules to personal relationships. As a result, the majority of people live under a constant pressure to perform.  They are looking for the very significance and security that you have Christ.

In Christ, you live out of an overflow of significance and security.  You have already been given what you require.  There is no deficit.  There is nothing missing.  You have been fully supplied with what is required, and what is needed daily God will provide.  Significance and the security of unconditional love is found in Jesus.  There is no deficit, in Jesus you have surplus.  In Christ, you operate from fullness.  You are working out something that has already been worked in.  When the enemy whispers, “Do this! It will make you somebody!”  Out of the overflowing assurance of your significance in Christ, you can reply, “God has made me uniquely and individually and I am significant because he values me.”  When the world cries recession, you are secure.  Be encouraged by who God says you are, and don’t be moved by who the world says you should be.

God has given you a ministry.  He is doing something in your life.  It may not seem practical to your neighbor, but you are not moved by what pleases them.  You are free to express the passion God has given you.  You are free to share your testimony and the word that God puts on your heart because being significant through popularity is not your goal.  You are motivated by an overflow of what you do have, not by what you do not.  This is the abundant life that Jesus died for you to have.  This is an overflow of life. Jesus has saved you from sin’s tyranny, healed you from the damage sin caused, and set your feet on solid ground.  You are not wounded and barely getting by.  You are sealed with the Spirit and the very hope of God’s glory on this earth.

You were not just meant to be freed from sin’s impact, you were meant to be an example of God’s gracious work.  Being a “city on a hill” demands that you not just “get by” but that you glow.  There is no clearer way that you express the work of God than when you find your significance and security in him.  Having a balanced approach to yourself, your brokenness, and your need for helping relationships, helps you to see that it is only through God that your needs can be met.  When this happens, your motivation becomes pure, because you are not driven by lack.  Everything you do publicly is and overflow of your private relationship with the Lord.

Working out your salvation means to walk it out publicly, to make it plain to on-lookers.  Salvation is then and now! You are saved from the wrath of God, then, and from the snares of the world and the enemy, now.  The salvation God has worked in you becomes plain to see when you are free from the snares that entangles the people around you.  This is who God meant for you to be.  You were meant to be uncompromisingly his.

Chapter 8

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Refusing to Strive

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

-Philippians 4:6-7

ON THIS JOURNEY WE HAVE looked at the ways in which God works his saving grace into our lives, and the way in which we work out our salvation.  We discussed maturity and reproducing fruit,  and the importance of continual prayer.  We also discussed being healed from sin through God’s Spirit and Scripture, and understanding that your needs are met in Christ.

The tendency is, now, to take all we have discussed and to make religious ritual out of it. This is part of human nature. When something works, we repeat it. However, if we desire an organic relationship, that is the last thing we should do.  Working out what God has worked in demands on-going vibrant communion with God.  He speaks and you have to listen.  I have laid out a process that I believe God takes us through, but disregarding the relationship can short-circuit that entire process.  The key is to remember that God is inseparable from the process.

Listen First

Once you lay out a process, the temptation is to try to become an expert at that process.  You figure the better you handle the process the better you become.  Yet, the difference between religion and a genuine relationship with God is in what you aim to know better; the process or the Creator.  Jesus confronted the Pharisees for falling into this same trap.  He said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.…” (John 5:39-40). The Pharisees were experts at creating processes.  They created new processes to go on top of their processes.  This is why Jesus said their yoke was heavy.  They burdened their disciples with rules and regulations, most of which they themselves were not willing to follow (Matthew 23:4).  In contrast, Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).  What a relief!  Jesus saves us from cumbersome rules and regulations.  He said all the laws and the prophets were summed up in these two commandments; Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.   Jesus died so that we could have unhindered access to the Father not another set of rules.  To drive home the point, let us take a look at the example of Moses.

Exodus 17:6 says, “I [the LORD] will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.”  Several years later, Israel was in a similar need for water, the story continues in the Book of Numbers,

"The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.  So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him.  He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” - Numbers 20:8-12

During the first occasion, God commanded Moses to strike the rock. Moses obeyed, and the stone produced water.  However, later, Moses was commanded to speak to the rock, yet instead of listening to the specific command, he relied on what worked in the past.  What can we learn from Moses’ disobedience? When it comes to working out what God has worked in you, it is clear that your relationship with him must flow from the heart and not the head.  You must not attempt to break your relationship with God into a formula that you simply repeat.  Treating your relationship with him in that way produces a striving in your flesh that is aimed solely at manipulating God.  Not only that, ultimately, this striving results in idolatry because you either convince yourself that God is obeying you, which is never the case, or you distort the person of God to fit what you are experiencing or not experiencing.

When you create a god that responds favorably to your every command or request, the question then becomes “who is serving whom?”  Someone once said, the quickest sign that you are falling into idolatry is when your “god” dislikes everybody you dislike.  I am not sure how theologically accurate that statement is, but there is something to be said about arriving at a point where God reflects you more than you reflect him.

Steer clear of believing that you have figured out God.  When you believe you can put fifty cents in and get what you want out, you have lost touch of the person of God.  Instead of this striving in the flesh to manipulate God, you must follow God’s heart, as he impacts your heart.  Often God communicates through impressions on our hearts. He will cause it to be moved for the same things that cause his heart to moved.  I know “follow your heart” sounds like trouble but let me explain why it is the most Christlike thing you can do.

Hearts Are Wild

I am sure you have been told at one time or another, by well-meaning Christians, not to trust your heart. I, and most people I know, have been told something similar to this.  On the surface, this appears to be sound advice.  I mean, people use their “hearts” to justify all sorts of foolishness.  After all, the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all and beyond cure, who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9).  However, we find the context for this cautionary advice a few verses prior.  In Jeremiah 17:5, it reads, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD...but blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” God implored them to trust in him above man.  In deciding between trusting man or trusting God, you must always choose God.

Man’s natural inclination is to trust in self.  As we talked about way back in chapter one, the root of all sin in mankind is still mistrust in the character of God.  So, the prophet’s warning is still relevant today. Yet, regarding the heart, there is a huge difference between New Covenant believers and the Old Testament children of Israel. The difference is that we now have the Spirit of God living in us.  The New Covenant that God made with believer’s through the blood sacrifice of Jesus is recorded in Jeremiah 31:31. The Scripture reads,

“‘Look, the days are coming” this is the LORD’s declaration- ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt - a covenant they broke even though I had married them’ - the LORD’s declaration. ‘Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days’- the LORD’s declaration. ‘I will place My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying: Know the LORD, for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them’ - the LORD’s declaration.  ‘For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.’”

If you are included in the New Covenant that God made available through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then God has written his law on your heart.  He is your God and you are a part of his people.  He has began a work in you that he will continue to completion (Philippines 1:6).  He is forming you into the image of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, and this work takes place in your heart.  Think about it.

For half of this book we have discussed God working in, and the other half we discussed you working it out. Where does God work in, and from where are you working out your salvation?  The answer is, from your spirit and soul, which is often called your “heart.”  It is from your heart that you live, and it is your heart that God has changed so that you reflect his preferences and priorities.  Noted paster and teacher, John Piper said, “If we are going to do what pleases God, most of the time it will be by reflex, not reflection.”

God’s purpose was to change your desires.  He does not have you under watch.  Upon having your mind renewed, God trusts your decisions, because they flow from him and his word.  As Jesus did, when you follow your heart, it is from a place of submission to the priorities of God.  The Holy Spirit has shaped your desires, and it is from the seat of your heart that he leads you.

Bible Reading

The concern is not whether or not God is working out of your heart, the question is, “Is your mind being renewed with his word? In order to live out the will of God, your mind must first be renewed from worldly thought patterns, some of which we discussed earlier.  Bible reading is to Godly thinking what prayer is to abiding in his presence.  The two are inseparable.

Concerning Bible reading, I have witness people fall into two pitfalls. The first pitfall is focusing on “Seeking the Blessing.” Understanding that God wants you to be blessed is not in and of itself bad.  However, if that becomes your motive for reading the Bible, you are missing out on the real blessing; growing more intimate with the Creator of the universe.  Focusing solely on the blessing is no different than just dating someone for sex.  The focus is on what the other party can do for you.  In natural relationships, we would all agree that the true blessing is getting to know the person and growing emotionally, spiritually, and only when the time comes, physically more intimate with them.  The same is true with God.

The second pitfall, concerning Bible reading, is focusing on “Seeking the Law.”  There is a popular mantra that breaks the Bible down into an acronym; B.asic I.nstructions B.efore L.eaving E.arth.  One of the greatest joys of life is the fact that God has spoken to us concerning his plan for humanity.  While the Bible is certainly full of “do’s and don’ts” in regards to righteous living, you can not view it simply as an instruction booklet.  Instructional booklets are dead material.  They do not continually speak to the reader.  The Bible is alive, it is God’s living word, speaking to the reader, cutting deep into the spirit. It is powered by the Holy Spirit of God, pouring life to all who would come and drink.

In spite of all the life that the Bible imparts through the Holy Spirit’s words, all is lost on the reader if he fails to seek what the Scriptures aim to reveal.  That being said, you must settle on the truth that the chief need for all readers of the Bible is in “Seeking His Face.”

The purpose of the Bible is to show the “face” of God.  It shows us who he is.  Scripture exists to reveal perpetually the heartbeat of God to the world.  It shines in the dark places of our lives, and reveals God’s desires for the issues we confront.  It shows us what God has promised us.  It instructs us how to live in a way that is coherent with his will, and what will lead us to the best possible life.  It encourages us to worship, teaches us how to praise, warns us what to avoid, and urges us to stay near to the one who loves us dearly.   Scripture does all these things as it aims to reveal the Father to you.

In no place do we see more clearly the heart of the Father than in the person of Jesus in the Gospels.  What you find in the Word concerning the Father, you find in the person of Jesus.  Jesus is the perfect visible expression of God (Colossians 1:15).  As we read Scripture, getting to know Jesus and consequently the heart of the Father, our minds are renewed. We begin to see life from God’s perspective. This intimacy affords us the privilege of living life free from the Law because we live according to the Spirit with whom we are daily intimate.

Peace That Guards

As we all aim to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, probably one of the saddest things to me is when I see someone who becomes burnt out.  I hate to see any individual who has given himself to the service of others have their flame snuffed out by the overwhelming need of the very people they set out to serve.  People become burnt out when they begin straining and striving to produce a life that only comes as the result of abiding in the Lord.  It is because of this reality that I have made two decisions in my life concerning ministry and life, in general.  These decisions have helped me to avoid being burnt out from the pushing and pulling that comes with a life of service, whether in ministry opportunities or as a helping professional.  I believe that they will help you in refusing to strive and simply to rely on the Lord.

First, I decided only to do that which comes as a natural consequence of my relationship with the Lord.  I refuse to try and determine what ministry ideas have the best chance of being successful, nor do I spend huge amounts of time thinking about the best way to utilize my talents.  I do not even look for jobs based on anything other than the desires that God has given me.  What I do is spend QUIET time with the Lord, awaiting direction, as he stirs my heart for something or someone.  If it is someone, I will pray for that person or meet with them.  If it is something, I will look for ways to be faithful concerning the issue.  You can not go wrong here!  God wants to speak to you, and this is where you will find him.

If you live life as a result of your relationship with the Lord you never step out of your element.  You will never over-step your grace and attempt to do more than God gives you strength to do (Ephesians 4:7).  I remember during a job interview, the interviewer asked why he should hire me for that particular position. My response to the question was because he could rest assured that whenever I took a vacation I would be doing the same thing that they would be paying me to do.  It is who I am, not just something I do. I have decided that I will not do anything for money that I would not do otherwise.  I will only do ministry that God has worked in me.  This is the meaning behind Jesus’ statement that he only did that which he saw the Father doing.  What is God doing in your quiet time? What is he working into your heart? Rise up from prayer and only do that!

The second decision is that regardless the ambition that the Lord gives me, my passion will always be for obedience.  The Holy Spirit gives gifts not loves. We only have one love (Revelations 2:4).  If God gives you the gift to teach, and teaching becomes your passion, you will get burnt out when students fail to learn.  If pastoring is your passion, you will lose heart when people refuse to be led. If hospitality is your gift, without obedience as your passion, you will become discouraged at the sight of ungratefulness.  Make obedience your passion, and you will never grow tired.  This is not to say that looking to be effective has no value.  However, as we discussed previously, God alone is responsible for the fruit. Jesus never sent his disciples to search for results. He only commanded that they be obedient to the call.

Do you want to be free from the danger of being burnt out?  Or recover from being burnt out? Lose whatever idea you may have formed about what success is, and allow obedience to be your success - it is the only thing you are responsible for! There is only one way in which the Lord defines success and that is whether or not you were obedient. The Apostle Paul knew this very well. Whether in possession of much or little, he was content because he could do all things.  He could be obedient in every circumstance to the will of God, because it was Christ who strengthened him (Philippians 4:13). You need only to do what God has worked in your heart to do, and only look for results that he promised to give.

Final Thoughts

The beauty of God is remarkable, and the truth of God is remarkable still; that he wants to show his beauty on your face.  He wants to love you so immensely that it shines through you to the world around you. Jesus promised that whoever would come to him to drink would not only never thirst again but rivers of living water would flow from that person (John 7:38).  You were meant to be a cistern, overflowing with living water rained down from heaven.  The magnificence of Christ in you is the glory the world needs to see.

As a tree gives life to the fruit it bears, so your intimate relationship with Jesus must be the source of all your life’s efforts. Be anxious for nothing, not even fruitful labor, and your gentle rest will be obvious to all the world (Philippians 4:6).  Trust your heart. He has began a work there that he will not leave undone.  Your heart is not wicked, neither is your mind, because God has renewed them both.

You are a new creation in Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit of God.  Seek him and allow God to speak to you through his word.  Know that he rewards those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).  He will show you his heart and stir yours in the process.  When he does, be obedient!  Even Jesus not only did what was right in his own eyes, but in anguish and with sweat drops of blood, he cried, “…yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42), then marched on to the cross of Calvary.

Working out what God has worked in, you are the hope for your family.  You will be the driving force of change in your work place.  Choosing to work out what God has worked in, your church family will stir revival.  A community of believers that presents a clear expression of what God is working in will see reformation.  The world needs to see Jesus, the living Christ.  Abide in his presence and let him bring forth fruit.  Reject the lies of the enemy, and allow God to heal your brokenness and to meet your needs.  Let the salvation you received be evident in all your life.  Rest in the assurance that God loves you and wants the best for you, as he wants the best for us all.  Let God pour into your heart and overflow to the world until in their thirst, they inquire of the true fountain - Jesus Christ.

References

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Caner, Ergun & Hindson, ED. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2008

Crabb, Dr. Larry.  Effective Biblical Counseling. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 1977

Elwell, Walter A.  Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2001

Erickson, Millard J., Christian Theology: Second Edition. Baker Academics. Grand Rapids, MI. 1998

Hart D., Archibald.  The Anxiety Cure: You Can Find Emotional Tranquility and Wholeness.  Nashville, Tennessee. Word Publishing. 1999

McMinn, Mark R., PH.D.  Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling. Carol Stream, IL. Tyndale House Publishers. 1996

Piper, John.  Taste and See: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life. Colorado Springs, CO. Multnomah Books. 2205

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: God Working In

It All Begins Here

Beyond Forgiveness Into Maturity & Sanctification

Reproducing Life

Remaining in Communion

Part Two: Working It Out

The Whole You

Healing the Broken

Understanding Your Basic Needs

Refusing to Strive

References