Called To Be Connected To Jesus Series

Called - How to Grow

August 23, 2020

For the past weeks we’ve been looking at God’s call in our lives. It starts off with a call to WHO we are, not an immediate doer.

We’ve looked at the fact that we have been called by God. In fact, as Paul told Timothy, our calling is a HOLY CALLING. It means we’ve been called and set apart by God. We are supposed to look different than the rest of the world. That’s what it means to have a holy calling. It’s based on our relationship with God.

And God expects us to take that calling and as Paul pleads with us . . . to walk or live our lives in a manner worthy of that calling. So, whatever you do, wherever you go, bring honor and glory to God by the way you live your life. You’ve been called! Now, live out that calling in a manner which shows the world who Jesus is by the way you’re living.

Of course, we can’t live like this unless we have a relationship with Jesus. He told us He is the vine and we are the branches, we must remain or abide in Him, and He will dwell within us and we will bear much fruit. And if we say NO, I can do it on my own, then we are nothing more than an old branch which gets thrown out and put in the burn pile.

And if you go back just a bit further, I spoke about getting 1% better everyday. And if we do that, we have an opportunity to dramatically change. We become people we weren’t at the beginning of the year. But we need to continue that process of drawing closer to Christ. It’s being connected to the source of all life.

And it’s knowing we will go through some of the rough spots. We may not grow or improve as much as we would like in the beginning, but that’s OK, we just can’t get stuck in the valley of disappointment. That’s the valley which comes just before the improvement comes.

So, in a nut shell, that’s where we’ve been. Now, let’s keep moving forward.

We were created to be in a loving relationship with God. God already loves us and we are to love God, to worship Him, to serve Him. And in the midst of all this we experience the power of His presence in our lives.

We were also created to be in fellowship, not just with God; but also with one another. When all systems are working right, we’re supposed to be family. Worshiping and serving together in a system in which we truly love one another and want the best for one another. And even when we don’t agree with one another, we’re still unified and have this deep abiding love which is based on the love of Jesus.

So, when God calls us, we’re to respond. We were created to become like Christ. We are not the Savior, but we are given power and talents that surpass what we could ever accomplish on our own. From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to make each of us like His Son, Jesus. That is our destiny.

But there’s one huge, HUGE problem. And that problem is us. It’s the problem of sin. It creeps in and is always ready to pounce as Peter says - - - -

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8

That’s not a great thought, but if we are aware of the danger which is lurking, then we can be prepared.

Do you recall when Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis 3? Listen to satan’s lie to Eve, he said -

4 “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil. - Genesis 3

Did you hear that lie? He told Eve we will be like God. But we aren’t, are we? We would like to be and we would like others to think we are. But we aren’t. And that becomes one of our biggest issues in all of life. We want control. We really want to be more than like God, we want to be god. But we aren’t, as much as we fight to be that way.

Here’s an interesting dynamic when it came to that first sin. If you notice, Adam and Eve were not threatened by satan. He was roaming around on the earth like all the other animals. In fact, verse 1, simply tells us he was more crafty than all the beasts of the field.