A. This morning we are beginning a series called “40 Days Of Spiritual Reality”
1. Every so often some one will say to me, “I just don’t see how God has any relevance to me.
a. I believe in God. But it just doesn’t mean much to me on a day to day basis.”
a. I like to think it is because they are lost and just don’t know the truth.
b. But the truth is many Christians act and think the same way.
c. While many wouldn’t dream of making that statement, they actively live it every day.
d. Everyday they go about their daily activities as if God has no place or interest in it.
e. As a result they lead lives of mediocrity rather than the abundant life Jesus promised.
2. Why do so many Christians do that?
a. One reason is they can’t see God’s active involvement in their world.
b. And even if they could see it they don’t understand what it means to them.
3. For the next 7 weeks we are going to be look at how to experience God in our lives.
a. I’m not just talking about an answer to prayer or a tingle feeling that runs down your spine.
b. I’m talking about an encounter with the living God that leaves us mind boggled.
c. One where when you look back you say, “Only God could have done that!”
4. Each week we’ll look at 1 of 7 basic spiritual truths on how to experience God in our lives.
5. Today I want to talk about the first truth!
B. Take a look at our passage in John 5:17, 19-20 (NIV) “Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working….I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.”
1. The first truth is - God is always at work around you.
a. Before we look at what this truth means to us I want to make sure You really believe it.
b. Because if you can’t get this one down then the next 6 truths will be lost to you.
2. Webster defines history as a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events.
a. But for Christians history is much more.
i. “History is the activity of God in accomplishing His mighty purposes.” - Henry Blackaby
ii. All through time God has been actively working out His plan in the world.
b. God has given our nation a rich, spiritual history as He has worked in it.
i. Many try to deny God’s influence on America but it continues to influence us today.
ii. The declaration of independence and our constitution were written by Christians.
iii. Rev. John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister signed the Declaration of Independence
iv. Much of our government structure has a biblical basis for its design.
v. My County, ‘Tis of Thee was written by a Baptist minister, Samuel Francis Smith.
vi. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy.
vii. The words “In God We Trust” are traced to the efforts of Rev. W.R. Watkinson.
c. I believe our nation was a mighty move by God to bring freedom & equality into the world.
d. In 1776 God was at work through His children.
3. Jesus himself said in v. 17, “My Father is always working!” Then he adds “To this very day.”
a. By the way! Jesus didn’t speak those words to His disciples. He said them to the Pharisees.
c. In verse 18 it mentions that they hated Him even more because He called God his father.
d. I don’t know about you, but criticism & scorn makes me wonder if I did the right thing.
e. But not Jesus. He could even see God working right there in that situation.
4. The NLT translates John 5:17 “My Father never stops working…”
a. Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
b. If you believe that Jesus is God, then God must be the same as He was in Jesus’ day.
c. You can believe God hasn’t stopped working & that He is working around you right now!
5. Does that settle it for those of you who are thinking, “I can’t see Him working around me.”
6. So what do you and I have to do to be ready when Gods shows us what He is doing around us?
a. This morning we’re looking at the answer to the question, “How can I see God at work?”
b. Fortunately God has given us the perfect answer in the life of Jesus Christ.
c. To learn to see God at work in & around our lives we need to make Jesus our model.
7. So where do we start? What is the first thing Jesus can teach us?
II. Ask the right question.
A. Most of Christians spend their entire life asking God, “What is your will for my life?”
1. God what is it I’m suppose to do for You? What ministry do I want to serve You in?
a. We talk about God’s plan and purpose for your life a lot here at New Life.
b. Those are natural & good questions to have come up as you consider the concept.
2. But they’re the wrong questions to be asking if you want to learn to see God at work.
a. Why? Because it puts the focus on you rather than God.
b. Sometimes we assume that every question is the right question.
c. Seminary professor Dr. Gaines Dobbins often told his students, “If you ask the wrong question, you are going to get the wrong answer.”
d. Remember if we keep coming up with the wrong answer you need to check the question.
3. So what is the right question? The one Jesus continually asked God. “God what is your will?”
a. Don’t ask, “God what can I do?” But ask, “What is God purposefully doing where I am?”
b. Now the focus has moved from my life to God. That is where you find your answers.
B. Jesus modeled this when he said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” John 5:19
1. Jesus was saying once I know what God is doing, then I know what I need to be doing.
a. Jesus wasn’t saying he was powerless to do anything.
b. Nor are you powerless to set and accomplish goals.
i. God has given you a good mind and strong healthy body.
ii. He has given you passions and dreams and ambition to accomplish things with.
c. Jesus was saying He was powerless to accomplish anything of lasting value w/o the Father.
d. If that was true for Jesus, how much truer is it for you and I?
2. The good news for us is that Jesus perfectly modeled this for us.
a. During his 33 years here on earth he never once tried anything without his Father..
b. He never failed to do the will of God. He never sinned.
3. How did he do this? By always asking the right question and 2nd he learned to…
III. Be willing to wait for an answer.
A. Once you accept Christ & decide to make yourself available to God you must be willing to wait.
1. Because to see God at work we have to wait for God to reveal to us what He’s doing.
a. All through the scriptures we see people waiting until God revealed Himself & His ways.
b. Noah spent 120 years building an ark and waiting for the flood.
c. Abraham waited 20+ years for God to show him how he would be the Father of a nation.
d. Moses waited 40 years in the desert before God popped out of a bush.
e. Joshua waited 40 years in the same desert until the unfaithful died off and God called him.
f. Elijah waited 3 years in a drought until God told him to pray for rain.
g. The disciples waited 50 days in a hostile town for the counselor Jesus promised.
2. And I have to warn you as you seek to join God in His work you’ll wait a while too. Why?
3. Paul answered that question when he wrote, “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)
a. We find ourselves waiting on God because He’s preparing us for what He wants us to do.
b. Paul was saying that before He can show us what He is doing, He has to prepare us.
c. And He does that by making us wait. Why is that?
B. We all enjoy seeing the first spring rains and the plants coming up and flowering. But an experienced farmer knows that too much rain on a new crop of small plants is not good. I’m talking about just a daily rain of a few tenths of an inch, not a flood. The reason it isn’t good for the young plants is because they don’t put down deep roots. Then when the summer comes they can’t endure a week without rain.
1. We all enjoy times when God rains down spiritual blessings on us.
a. But the truth is that during those times we don’t really grow in depth spiritually.
b. We tend to kick back and soak in the blessings & that is fine. God gives you those times.
c. But God also knows you need spiritual droughts to put down deeper spiritual roots.
d. And quite often He does that through making us wait on Him.
2. We’ve all been there. Times when you have wondered, “Where is God?”
3. I will confess that this waiting thing is not an area of strength for me. I struggle with it continually. I find myself getting anxious and restless whenever I can’t see or sense that what God is doing here at the church. It gets me to doubting whether I have heard God right. But I have also learned from those times that the best thing to do is relax & wait on God. God has been helping me grow deeper in my faith and perseverance.
4. Do you find yourself in a period of waiting right now?
a. I encourage you not to get restless and anxious.
b. Even though you can’t see or sense it, God is working right now.
5. Paul wrote, “There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.” 2 Corinthians 12:6 (GN)
a. Right now in that time of waiting God is giving you the ability to join Him in His work.
b. You don’t want to short circuit the process by rushing out & trying things on your own.
6. To see where God is at work you’ve to ask the right question & wait for an answer.
7. So what do you do while you are waiting?
IV. Come to know God.
A. To find out how Jesus knew what God was doing look at the points He made in our passage.
1. 1st He said, The Father has been at work right up until now!
a. Now God has me (That’s Jesus) working. I do nothing on My own.
b. I watch to see what my Father is doing. I do whatever I see the Father doing.
c. He shows me everything that He himself is doing because He loves me.
2. Did you catch the last one. This describes more than a step-by-step approach.
a. This describes a love relationship between the Father and His Son.
b. If you want to know what God is doing, you’ve to have a relationship with Him.
c. Not just any relationship, but a love relationship.
d. One where you develop the same interests He has. One where you begin to think like God.
e. That can only come from getting to know God in a very deep and personal way.
B. How do you get into a relationship like that with God? By spending time with Him.
1. You knew I was going to say that didn’t you. That is because you know it is the truth.
a. Now when are you going to do something about it?
b. When are you going to develop a daily quiet time to get alone with God?
c. When are you going to start spending time everyday in His Word?
d. When will you begin doing what you know the Holy Spirit has been prompting you to do?
2. Jesus needed to do all these things. What makes us think we can get by without doing them?
a. You can’t even begin to know what God is doing around you if you don’t know God.
b. You can’t understand what God is doing around you if you don’t understand God.
c. And knowing & understanding God comes from a relationship with Him. It’s that simple.
3. The more time you spend with God the better you know and understand Him.
a. The better you know and understand Him the deeper your relationship with Him gets.
b. The deeper your relationship with God, the more He reveals Himself & His work to you.
c. Do you doubt that? The ask yourself, “Are you closer to your spouse now or before you got married? Do you know them & how they think & what they’ll do better now or then?”
4. Jesus modeled for us the need for an intimate love relationship with God.
V. Develop the attitude of a servant.
A. Many passages in the Bible describe Jesus as God’s servant who came to do God’s will.
1. Paul said this about Jesus Ph 2:5-8 (GN) “The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—his death on the cross.”
a. Jesus, himself said, “…even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” Matthew20:27-28, (NLT)
b. He said this about our relationship to him.
c. As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21(NIV)
d. Would you all agree with me that we are called to be God’s servants?
2. I want to take a minute right now for all of you to do a little exercise. On your outline is a space for you to write your definition of a servant. I am going to give you 1 minute to write in your definition of what being a servant means. You can talk about it to each other.
a. What did you write for your definition of a servant.
b. Was it something like a servant is someone who does whatever his master tells him to do?
c. The world’s concept of a servant is one who asks his master, “what do you want me to do?”
d. And then the servant goes off , figures out how to do it & does whatever it is by himself.
B. But that is not the biblical concept of a servant.
1. If you want to be God’s servant, you can’t take your definition of a servant from the world.
a. You must take your definition of a servant from the Bible.
b. “…the Lord spoke his word to me: ‘You are in my hands like the clay in the potter’s hands.’” Jeremiah 18:5-6 (NCV)
c. Like clay we have to be responsive and willing to be molded by God.
d. Then once He has shaped us so we are useful to Him, He places us where He can use us.
2. Here is where the biblical version of a servant differs from the worlds.
a. The world says the servant goes of and accomplishes the master’s assignment by himself.
b. The biblical definition is one who sees what his master is doing and joins Him in it.
c. If we are like clay in the potter’s hand we can accomplish nothing by ourselves.
d. Even when clay is made into a coffee cup, it does nothing unless its owner uses it.
e. We are the same way. We can’t do anything of lasting value unless God does it with us.
3. That is why it is critical that we develop the attitude of a servant so God can use us.
4. If we don’t let Him build a servant attitude in us why should He show us what He is doing?
C. To see God at work we need to develop a servant’s attitude.
VI. Expect the extraordinary from the ordinary
A. Here is what happens to us while we wait & get close to God and let him change our attitude.
1. We begin to doubt! We think, “Nothing is happening, I must of misunderstood God.
a. Who am I that God would use me to accomplish His purposes and plans.
b. I don’t have a college education. I don’t make a lot of money. I’m not attractive.
c. I have struggled with too many problems in my life to be of use to God.
d. I don’t speak well. I can’t teach. I’m not very organized. I’m just an ordinary person.
e. Who do I think I am that I can make an eternal difference for God’s kingdom.”
2. More Christians miss what God is doing because of doubt that creeps in during the wait phase.
a. And it is true that none of us can accomplish anything of lasting value on our own.
b. But that isn’t what we are talking about. You are not doing it on your own.
c. God shows you what He is doing not so you can take it over, but so you can join Him.
d. Isn’t that an extraordinary thought. God wants you to be His business partner.
e. If God told you to sell A/C in Anartica would you do it? I would! With God it’s a sure bet.
f. Noah did it! He started a shipyard in the middle of a desert. Look how that turned out.
B. “He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no one can brag in his presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:28 (NCV)
1. When God shows you what He’s doing is He’s asking you to join Him in the family business.
a. And it is not because of all your education and talent and money and charisma.
b. If anything it is because you don’t have any of those things. That is what this verse says.
2. God chooses the things this world labels as losers so He can confuse the world.
a. He wants to turn the world’s thinking upside down!
b. That way in the end people will look at you & say “No way! He had to have an edge.
c. It had to be a God thing. Nothing else can explain it.”
3. In fact if you see people following some one who is charismatic & influential, question that.
a. I’m not saying God can’t work through that person, because He can.
b. But this verse tells us that He prefers to use the person this world looks down on.
c. Why? So we can’t say we did it & it reveals Him to this lost & dying world.
4. You don’t have to look any further than Jesus to validate that principle.
a. Born into a family from a po-dunk, back woods watering hole called Nazareth.
b. He was born in a cave used to shelter animals. His father a common carpenter.
c. His mother a half crazy teenage girl who made up some story about her baby being God.
d. And this is the man God chose to save not only Israel, but the world? Who’d of thunk it?
5. But that’s exactly what God does everyday when he shows His children where He is at work.
a. He is inviting the unloved, despised people of this world to join Him in what He is doing.
b. But to join Him you’ve to believe God can use the ordinary to do the extraordinary.
c. Throw out all that self-doubt and the rubbish people have told you about yourself.
d. Believe God can take ordinary you & make an eternal difference in this world.
e. And you will be on your way to the most extraordinary adventure you could ever dream of.
VII. Closing
A. We are just getting started on this 40 days of spiritual reality.
1. At the back table are 40 day devotionals for you to use to study along with this series.
a. There’s no charge for the books, but you can leave a $5 donation in the basket if you’d like.
b. I strongly encourage you to take the time to use the material.
c. This study changed how Pat and I saw God and related to Him.
2. For NLC to become the church God intends for it to be, we must be able to see & follow God.
B. That is what this series is designed to help each of us do.
1. We need to learn to ask the right question. Then we must wait for the answer form God.
2. We must be willing to be a servant and obey when the answer comes.
3. And finally, we must not get discouraged but believe in a God of the extraordinary.
4. I hope you’ll join me in this 40 day journey. I promise you, your life will never be the same.
Prayer:
As we start this 40 day journey of spiritual reality, there is one reality none of us needs to miss. The reality that it all starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are thinking this morning you want to get to know and see God but you haven’t taken that step yet, it is an easy thing to do. Just pray along with me silently from your heart the prayer I am about to pray. “Dear Jesus, I want to know You and the Father. I don’t want to go through life missing out on the relationship and wondering what might have been. Forgive me for not coming to you sooner. The best I know how, right now I am asking to have a relationship with you. Please come into my life and show me how to live for God. And I thank you for what You are about to do.”
Father, it is one of the deepest desires of our hearts as a Christian to be used by you. But we so easily get caught up in the trivial day-to-day things of life and lose sight of the fact that we are your children and you want to include us in what you are doing in this world. Please help us keep our focus on the right question: what is Your will. And help us to be patient while we wait for Your answer and You prepare us for your work. Change each of our hearts so our #1 desire will be to obey You and please you as Your servant. And we commit to remembering that You are an extraordinary God who loves to use ordinary things like ourselves to accomplish Your work in drawing this world to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
40 Days Of Spiritual Reality
“Spiritual Reality #1 - God Is At Work All Around You”
August 28, 2005
“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working….I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.”
John 5:17, 19-20 (NIV)
Spiritual Reality #1 - God is always at work around you.
“History is the activity of God in accomplishing His mighty purposes.” - Henry Blackaby
“My Father never stops working…” John 5:17 (NLT)
5 THINGS WE MUST DO TO SEE GOD AT WORK AROUND US!
1. Ask the right question
The wrong question: What is God’s will for my life?
The right question: What is God’s will?
“If you ask the wrong question, you are going to get the wrong answer.” Dr. Gaines Dobbins
(Jesus) “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” John 5:19 (NIV)
2. Be willing to wait for an answer.
As you seek God’s will, you’ll wait for an answer while He prepares you for His work?
“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)
“There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.” 2 Corinthians 12:6 (GN)
3. Come to know God.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” v.20
Knowing God’s will is not accomplished by a step-by-step process.
It comes out of a love-relationship with God.
4. Develop the attitude of a servant.
“The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—his death on the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 (GN)
(Jesus) “…even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my
life as a ransom for many.” Matthew20:27-28, (NLT)
As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21(NIV)
My definition of a servant: ______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
The biblical definition of a servant: one who sees what his master is doing and joins in it.
“…the Lord spoke his word to me: ‘You are in my hands like the clay in the potter’s hands.’”
Jeremiah 18:5-6 (NCV)
5. Expect the extraordinary from the ordinary
“He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no one can brag in his presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:28 (NCV)
