How should we Live and Work in Light of God’s Provision

How should we Live and Work in Light of God’s Provision

Our Lord is a great provider. Throughout History God’s provision is well documented in the Bible. One could even make the case that God’s revelation of Himself to us, and His plan for our Salvation through Jesus’ work on the Cross, is provision enough.

In respect to a Holy God and sinful man, we should always be mindful of the fact that God extended His Hand of grace toward those separated from Him due to their sin. God changes the status of those who received that grace from sinner to saint, making right a relationship that was once broken. Those who become children of God through Jesus are no longer condemned to spiritual death. Even though all humans will physically die, followers of Jesus will remain spiritually alive throughout eternity in the presence of God, while others who reject God’s gift of grace and salvation will get what they desire, which is eternal separation from their Creator.  

So the question is this:

With all that God has provided, how should a follower of Jesus live and work in the present day?

One thing to keep in mind is Jesus’ promise to return. No one knows when that day will happen. So we need live in preparation for that event as well as take seriously the responsibility to tell and prepare others as well.

Matthew 24:36 ESV   

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 New Living Translation (NLT)

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.

John 14:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus, the Way to the Father

 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

So in light of Jesus' return, how should we live?

First and foremost - Our attitude should be the same as Jesus:

Philippians 2:3-8 NIV

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Remember our identity is in Christ and we must live with respect reverence toward God.

We are to have a profound respect for God for He is the Creator.  So out of reverence for God, in all things believers should work as if they are working for God and not for man. Yet, because of our human nature and desire for recognition, we can easily try to grab the glory and attention that only God deserves. We should all ask this question: Does my service for the Church (Body of Christ) point to God's glory or to mine?  We should evaluate our hearts on a regular basis to make sure we are not building a kingdom for ourselves. We must exalt God and direct our Worship toward Him and not the things of this world. We should all be careful that we are worshiping God and not idols.  

Some good bullet points to remember from the above Philippians passage:

·        Servanthood

·        Humility

·        Obedience

·        Sacrifice and Surrender

Personal Application for followers of Christ:

Servanthood:

Serve others with a Christ-like heart. Again, why do we serve? Jesus was an example of a servant leader. He even washed His disciple’s feet, humbling Himself before them. When we serve it should be out of love for God, incorporating the extension of His Grace that we can transfer wholeheartedly toward others. Everyone should know why we serve and why we are willing to put others interests above our own.

We can learn a lot from Jesus through His compassion for the poor, sick, hungry and lost. Jesus took time to make sure the people were fed physically and spiritually. Also, if we claim that our mission is to share the gospel and make disciples then we need to consider the spiritual component that helps us do both. Followers of Jesus know they can use their God given resources to help those in need. This desire to help others in the name of Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit who transforms us from the inside out. Once we are in this process of transformation, our love for God and our neighbor become more apparent in our lives as time goes on.

Followers of Jesus desire to put God first in their lives. They desire to live Spirit filled lives incorporating Bible study and application, discipleship, prayer, counsel, and using their spiritual gifts to serve God and others. I highly recommend Bible study for developing faith and trust in God.  Knowing God’s principles and commands will make us better servants. The Bible is the best and only real source for spiritual truth and life application. God’s Word speaks to us in such a profound way that it has the capacity to renew our minds. This renewal replaces a fallible worldview and knowledge with the infallible truth of God. Renewing our minds enables us to test anything with the wisdom of God.  We do not want to rely on a non-biblical worldview that has no real foundation in truth or eternal perspective.

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform any longer 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.

Serving others requires that we can handle the truth of God’s Word in the right way.

2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

We should also remember this truth about God's Word:  

God's Word equips the saints 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Humility:

Humility is a Christ-like character trait that can truly be an effective tool in gaining access into someone’s heart.  I find people tend to let their guard down when this attitude is displayed. If you have ever tried to tell your God story to someone, having a humble attitude toward yourself and a reverent attitude toward God can make for an interesting listen for those who God has prepared to hear the Gospel. Humility is a Christ-like character trait that God desires for people.

Ephesians 4:2 NIV 

 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Obedience:  

Obedience to God’s Word, shows love for God. Jesus said we can show love for God through our obedience to His Word.

John 14:15 NIV 
If you love me, you will obey what I command.

John 14:21 NIV 
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Obeying God’s Word proves that we love God, value His Word as truth, and believe His promises are real.  We are commanded to love God and our neighbor.

Matthew 22:37-40 NIV

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

It is important to remember that the world is watching how we live in accordance to the words we preach. One of the many complaints against Christians is that they are hypocritical. If we tell others to abide by God’s Word, then we should be the one’s modeling His precepts for the world to see. Let’s not forget the Bible is God’s story, His revelation to the world about Himself and His purpose for creation. If we fail to love, we fail to obey God.   

John 14:31 NASB 
but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me Get up,  let us go from here.

John 13:35 NIV

 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another

Sacrifice and Surrender:

The idea of dying to one’s self interest in exchange for God desire and will requires sacrifice and surrender. In essence, we are surrendering our lives in total to God. This is known as taking up our cross and just might be the hardest thing to live out as a follower of Jesus.

Luke 9:23-25 NIV

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

The question is, are we willing to die to self in order to follow Jesus?

Absolute surrender is required from a follower of Jesus. (This is a process that will take a lifetime)

Following Jesus can be easy when life flows like a car over a smoothly paved road. However, when trials do occur, we reveal the true depth of our commitment to Him by the thoughts we have and the actions we display. Trials expose our character and God wants to develop our character through trials.

Jesus assured us that His followers would face trials:

John 16:33 NIV

 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Yet, God does allow trials for the sake of His purpose and development of our character and spiritual growth.

Romans 8:28 NIV

 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.

Romans 5:3-5 NIV

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Discipleship demands sacrifice and surrender. Jesus never said it was going to be easy.

Taking up your cross could bring about:

·              Persecution

·              Losing friendships

·              Alienation from your family 

·              Tarnishing your reputation

·              Losing your job

·              Losing your life

·              Spiritual Battles

I don’t think anyone has a great desire for any of the above, but the reality is, there is a lot of opposition and hatred toward followers of Jesus.  Much of this opposition comes from peoples ignorance and stereotyping. We as a church can change that perception by modeling what Christ truly desires for each of us - a Christ-centered life. Jesus reminds us that hatred goes along with the territory of being a disciple.

John 15:18 New International Version (NIV)

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Our full sacrifice and surrender to God is not an easy task, yet to a greater degree, will help us in our desire to be Christ-like and endure whatever comes our way. 

There are also benefits to being a follower of Jesus:

•   A personal relationship with the Creator of the universe
• We become Children of God adopted into His family
•   Transformation
•   Living a Spirit filled life (receiving the Holy Spirit)
• Receiving the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness and self-control)                                                       
• Having a hope and a future
• Eternal life
• Getting to know and share God’s plan of salvation
• Experiencing the fruit of your labor
• Forgiveness of sin
• Freedom from the bondage of sin (Freedom in Christ)
• Peace beyond all understanding
• Grace (Unmerited favor)
• Jesus’ example of servant leadership
•  Fellowship with other believers 
• Counsel from other believers
• No longer and enemy of God (No longer under God’s wrath)
•  Becoming more like Christ  (Christ-like, the new self, a new attitude, a new life) 
• We have the privilege to serve God
• We have the privilege to defend the Gospel

God has been so gracious in His provision for His followers. I hope and

pray that we as the Church we will follow suit in trying to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others. Our lives should exemplify our love for God and our neighbor. Love is how we should live in light of God’s provision.

Just Sayin…………..Dave