Tag: body of Christ

Workers Together With God

June 15, 2019 / Dan Beaty / 1 Comment

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First the Kingdom 19, Workers together with God

While everything around us seems to be falling apart, we have hope in Christ! That hope is not only in the promise of a better existence after this life, but also of a chance to have a better life now! Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly! While everything that can be shaken is being shaken, that which cannot be shaken is the Kingdom of God! We have been considering what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God, and what happens when we do just that!

Many people do not believe that there is much hope for a better life now. Others are determined to have a better life for themselves now at all cost. I submit that your best life now is a life of serving and giving of yourself to the benefit of others. I submit that Jesus has a perfect plan for you and a place where you can serve others for the glory of God and the joy of pleasing Him.

Consider the apostle Paul. What an inspiration he was for scores of generations to follow. His was a life of purpose and a passion to fulfill that purpose. He declared himself to be a fellow worker with God!

How would you like that honor? You do not have to be a missionary to foreign lands like Paul, or the leader of a local congregation, but you do have a purpose for which God has saved you. In that purpose you can have the same level of passion and joy in service that was in Paul and many others who were so touched by Jesus Himself.

First of all let’s get something clear. The man behind the pulpit is not “The Minister.” He and other leaders are called to serve other members in the Body of Christ and to equip them for ministry! We are all called to minister which means to serve. Jesus said that the greater one is the servant of all. Those who have a vision of the kingdom of God begin to see a purpose in their serving that is greater than one can imagine. They see the increase of the Kingdom of God in every act of love, kindness, or encouragement. They see the building up of the Body of Christ as a part of building up the Kingdom of God in the earth.

In Romans from chapters eight to eleven, Paul made some fantastic declarations concerning what God was going to do for people, through people and in His creation. At the end of chapter eleven, he becomes overwhelmed by these considerations and breaks out in praise to God!

Romans 11:33-36:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
NASB

Then in chapter 12 he begins to plead with the church by reason of what has been said before. “I beg of you therefore…..”

These opening verses of chapter 12 are well known and often memorized and quoted. But how often are they connected with the great purpose that was stated earlier? Paul is saying, “Because of the wonderful plan of God for His creation, here is what I hope you will do. Why? Because you have a part in that plan!”

In Paul’s letters there is a heavy emphasis on the sovereignty of God and His amazing divine plan of the ages. Because of this some conclude that there is absolutelly nothing for us but to witness the unfolding of that plan. We could assume this to be so if not for the fact that Paul himself labored consistently and passionately in the Kingdom of God. In each of his writings he also gave equal space to encourage others to do the same in their own capacity and sphere of influence.

Human beings were created by God with great potential. They were to rule the earth by His authority and in His image. They were to expand His kingdom by multiplying and filling the earth with people who also reflect His image. That potential was seriously limited after they sinned against God. When Jesus came He began to destroy the works of the devil who initiated the fall. Christ is our redeemer who is restoring us to our proper place in the universe!

The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 sounds very much like Genesis 1:26-28 in the sense that the apostles were commissioned to “fill the earth” with disciples of Christ by “filling the earth” with His teachings! God’s Kingdom reign is on the move, and that through His workers — your and I!

At this point I feel to get a bit bold concerning our “do nothing” brothers and sisters in Christ who claim that because we are weak and powerless, God must do it all. Could this be an indication of apathy, laziness or even cowardess on their part? Worse of all it reveals disobedience to Christ who challenges us through Paul to be stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord!

One thing I have noticed in my life: pessimism is the easiest of all roads to take. To see one’s pessimistic view to be realized, all that is required is to do nothing. Weeds do not need our help to grow, but a fruitful garden needs care and cultivation. Those who are convinced that evil will ultimately prevail until Christ comes at the very end of time only have to watch and observe the rising tide of evil, and perhaps complain about it.

However, those who believe the advance of the Kingdom of God from the First Century and up to the present are asked to courageously take part in that advance today! Paul in his letter to the Romans encourages us to worship and serve God in such a way that the will of God is demonstrated through us! Yes, we too are workers together with God!

Romans 12:1-2:
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
NASB

After encouraging the church to continually surrender our bodies and live a sacrificial life, he gives some very practical instructions to each member of this mysteriously connected body of Christ. He tells us that each of us has been given unique gifts from God that can lift up and strengthen others. In this way the entire body of believers is strenthened.

Romans 12:3-8:
For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
NASB

It is obvious to me that every possible gift is not mentioned here, but some examples are given. In other words, what ever gift is found in you, it is your responsibility to excercise it. Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 4:10:
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
NASB

It is important to remember the context in which Peter and Paul were writing. The early church gathering was not simply a place to gather and watch a performance on a stage. Believers usually came together to share a meal, pray for one another and share the Word of God as a family. Today many are realizing that small groups like Bible studies, prayer meetings, womens and mens groups and the like provide great opportunities to discover the unique gifts that each member possesses.

The human body is intricately designed with each component depending upon the other. we need to see today how important each believer is to the other as we build up one another in the love of God. Each born-again believer in Christ is special and important to the health of the whole, and each gift needs to be used for the entire body to grow.

So instead of trying to imitate the function of someone you respect and admire, you can imitate the same passion and dedication to the function God has given to you. In this way, we actually become workers together with God!

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Upon This ROCK!

April 25, 2019 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom, part 15: “Upon this Rock”

When I was a young boy I was taught the basic Bible stories and about Jesus Christ, who came to die for our sins, and rose again for our justification. When I read the Bible for myself I knew the words of Jesus were especially important since they were often printed in red. Our family and our church believed that Jesus is not just a prophet or a good man, but truly God revealing Himself in human form. I took this for granted as well.

When I became a teenager I drifted away from my Christian roots, but felt God calling me back in my early twenties. I returned to the church I attended before only because I knew many of the people there, and about that same time I went to work for an uncle who was also a preacher. One day I said something that startled him. It was something to the effect of what is the big deal about why we believe the way we do about Jesus?

Immediately something came over him, well the Holy Spirit came over him and he began preaching to me right there in the kitchen of the house we were painting! I was dazed as he began from Genesis to Revelation telling about the Person of Christ Who was in the beginning, and created all things! Scripture after scripture rolled off of his tongue for some time and I can tell you that was when I first began to receive the Revelation of Jesus Christ!

From that time on, the Bible opened up to me in a brand new way. I began to see Christ everywhere! Every character and every story seemed to point to and teach me more about Him! How can I explain my experience to people who live in the same time and culture as I have, and who really think as I did then, that they know who Jesus really is? All I can do today is say like a certain blind man in the Gospel of John, “I was blind, but now I see!”

Since that time my life has never been the same. It is wonderful to me to know about the humanity of Jesus. He was born, grew up in a small town, came to be baptized by John, and was anointed by the Holy Spirit to work miracles. Then He submitted to tremendous suffering and humiliation as a man on the cross. Finally He returned from the grave, still in the body of a man, but now a glorified body!

Ultimately He returned to the glory that He had with the Father before time. This is the Jesus that I discovered that day in that kitchen. He is Jesus Christ, the Lord of all! This very Jesus spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying: ”

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first , and I am the last ; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)

Hundreds of years later, He appeared to the apostle John saying,;

Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that lived, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:17-18),

And in Revelation 1:8:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty .

There is no Kingdom without the King. Two thousand years ago Jesus brought the announcement that the time for the Kingdom of God had come. It would not be like any other kingdom. It was not a kingdom that could be destroyed by fire, or physical weapons. It was supernatural from the start, but also very real. The King of this Kingdom was the servant of all, and therein was the real source of His power! Yes, He could call fire down from heaven, or 10,000 angels to fight against His enemies. He has that kind of power after all. But His reign is different. It begins in the hearts of individuals.

Even the hardest of hearts have been known to melt in His Presence. There is both an awesomeness and a tenderness about Him. The surrender to His reign is a sweet surrender. It is the only way to find freedom from our fears, our anxieties, and our evil desires. This sweet surrender is also the only way to maintain that freedom. In that freedom is also the authority to overcome the darkness, the bondage of sin and death. His desire is for all of us to know all the privileges of life in the Kingdom of God!

The story of the disciple and apostle Simon Peter has always fascinated and blessed me. Here was a man of the outdoors, a professional fisherman. When his brother Andrew realized that Jesus was the Messiah, he brought Him to Jesus. Immediately Jesus nicknamed him Cephas, from an Aramaic word meaning a stone. Often in the New Testament the Greek form for “rock” is used and he is known as Peter. Shortly after he and his brother Andrew, along with the brothers and fellow fishermen James and John answered the call of Jesus to follow Him.

What do you suppose motivated these men in their commitment to learn from Jesus about the Kingdom of God and to spread the Good News that it had finally come? We know that at least some of them had personal ambitions of importance in the Kingdom. James and John hoped to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus when He came into power. This, no doubt was before they understood the full plan. (Mark 10:35-40).

Peter came to be one of the Lord’s closest companions. Only Peter, James and John were there to witness His transfiguration and conversation with Moses and Elijah. However One of the more publicized events in the life of Peter is found in Matthew 16:13-20:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
NASU

Peter made the bold confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God! The Hebrew prophets had long foretold of a deliver with divine power to rule over Israel and ultimately the world. In Hebrew he would be called the Messiah, meaning “anointed One,” which translated into Greek is “Christos,” and into English as “Christ.” Others had come before and stirred up the hope in many, but this time was different!

Jesus declared that Peter had received a supernatural revelation from heaven. This understanding did not come from human reasoning, but from God. From this passage some people believe that Peter himself is the Rock upon which the Church of Jesus Christ is built. From other New Testament writings, including those of Peter, we know that Jesus is the Rock with a capital R, and the only foundation upon which the Church is built. On the other hand, Peter, along with the other apostles and prophets are stones in that foundation. Important to this foundation is the Revelation of Who Jesus is. Going back to my earlier testimony, it is possible to know intellectually who Jesus his, but the revelation of Him is a supernatural experience like that which these folks had.

Paul, who was not with the original 12, was also blessed. He had his own revelation of the glorified Christ which is recorded in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts. Later, he claimed his apostleship based upon that encounter, saying, “Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). While the apostles were first in line to know the Lord in this way, they are not to be the last. Paul’s prayer was that ordinary believers would receive from their Heavenly Father the same “spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him.” (Ephesians 1:16-23).

This is the foundation upon which The Church of Jesus Christ can exercise Kingdom authority! This is the living Body of Jesus Christ, against which the Gates of Hell cannot stand! Everyone who loves Jesus Christ can know Him better! To know Him IS life eternal! Even the great apostle Paul after all of his missionary accomplishments only wanted to know Him more.

Heavenly Father, place that same hunger in our hearts to know You more, and satisfy that hunger as only You can!

The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, Part 2

March 28, 2019 / Dan Beaty / 0 Comments

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First the Kingdom, part 11: The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, Part 2

Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to nature in the manner of its growth. He said that the tiny mustard seed had the potential to grow far beyond its original size. He also noted that amazing things happen in the earth while we sleep. A farmer does not have to stand over the area where he prepared the ground and planted the seed. The seed gradually absorbs moisture and nourishment from the ground, and extends its roots very quietly and steadily. Most of the growth is hidden at first, and even when visible it is not much to look at. Many months go by before the goal of the farmer is actually reached. Finally in the harvest season, he can bring in the visible proof of this process, providing food for many!

In modern times many are in such a rush to achieve their goals. They need to see results fast. I have noticed how excited people get in the process of new church buildings. They are usually eager to give money and time to something they can physically see come into view. I know buildings do not grow up overnight, but you can see fairly soon that digging has begun. All the heavy machinery is there throughout the process of preparing for water, gas and electric lines. Then the foundation is laid, walls go up followed by the roof. Sometimes progress is seen daily. Often it is at least weekly, unless held up by unfavorable weather.

Actual spiritual growth is different. Maybe that is why patience is so emphasized in the Bible. There are times when the seed is being sown, but very little growth is seen. The message of the Gospel and the teachings of Christ are being shared, but it takes time for hearts to be changed, and lives to reveal what God has done in them. This is both true with individuals and groups of people. Because things often move slowly, some become discouraged and even give up in the effort to spread His Word.

A common way to generate enthusiasm in a church is to start another building program. This really sparks interest. Today however, some folks are finding the joy of Other wonderful efforts that can equally spark interest. These might not draw as much attention, but they can be powerful expressions of the Kingdom of God in the earth. Things like prison ministry, small group Bible studies and House Church networks, prayer groups, recovery groups, serving the homeless or young families etc. These activities are the Church in action. They mirror the forward movement of the First Century Church.

If this message does one thing, I hope every one of you who feels insignificant in the Body of Christ will come to realize how powerful in Christ you really are! Paul in his letter to the Romans strongly urges his brothers and sisters in Christ in this way. In chapter 12 he tells them the greatest act of worship is to offer our bodies, our lives in service to God. This is different from the world in general and requires the transformation of the renewed mind. If you are feeling insignificant, then you need to have your mind renewed! Hear the Word of the Lord! God has given each of us a special capacity to serve and to bless others! Notice in Romans 12 that this is not limited to leadership gifts. He simply gives examples of some of the things that God might want to do through you. Don’t worry if your gift is not included in that list. It is the principle that counts. I have often noticed that the best environment for discovering your purpose is in the fellowship of small, dedicated groups of believers.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he explains how important it is for each person to fulfill his or her purpose. As each organ and part of the human body needs to do its part for the body to be healthy, so it is with the Church, the Body of Christ. As each part functions, the whole body becomes stronger and grows to the full potential that it has in Christ. This is real Kingdom growth. While a church building with a sign on its door can become filled with people, that does not necessarily translate to the growth of the Body of Christ. In fact, up to half and even more in some situations are not even born-again children of God!

The growth of the Body of Christ cannot be measured by the size of the building or the numbers in the seats. Thank God for buildings full of people who are hearing the Gospel and learning about Christ! But thank God also for the small groups all over the world that only God can count. Those who deeply love Jesus, and one another. It can become a problem in our modern culture for the people in large meetings to miss the growth the comes through true fellowship. To some, church is sitting in a pew for an hour and watching others perform. Then they go home and return to their ordinary lives, missing the joy of participation in the adventure that is the Kingdom of God!

If you have ever tasted of the vital church experience that even in a small way resembles that of the Church in the book of Acts, you know what I am talking about. I have found that I can no longer be satisfied with anything less. While I love large gatherings with dynamic music and powerful preaching, I have found that face-to-face gatherings and one-on-one fellowship are much more important to me. This is where I learn of the great value that Christ has invested in my fellow believers.

In this context I have watched when an individual confesses a need, and others who never speak up in the public service rush in with compassion and support. Then there are the times when I discover that someone was confused by what was said from the pulpit, but was not free to ask a question. This is where the small group can greatly help bring understanding and at the same time build relationships with one another. This is where we discover that we are not a corporation, but a family!

Speaking only from my own experience, it is only too easy to think of people as a necessary component of the church, and not the church itself. Sometimes we even tend to think that the people are there to support the pastors, teachers and evangelists so that they can do the work of the ministry. As a matter of fact, in God it is the other way around! These are gifted to the Church to equip the members for their individual ministries!

We need the Biblical view that each follower of Christ is a member of this supernatural Body in which Jesus Himself lives! The material building is only important for how well it provides a place for the Body of Christ to meet. The Early Church met from house to house and in the Temple courts in Jerusalem. Elsewhere they took advantage of any suitable venue. In fact, the true temple to them was made up of individual living stones, that together made up the House of God!

It is important to notice that during the period before the building of dedicated church buildings, the growth the Church was phenomenal! The Kingdom of God is about transformed hearts, minds and lives. This hidden work is much more effective in transforming society than a great show of success on television. History will bear this out. George Whitfield along with John and Charles Wesley did most of their work in the open air in 18th Century England. Then they organized small groups for discipleship outside of the established Church. During this period the Gospel of Jesus Christ transformed England in many visible ways. Look it up!

It is time that God’s people allowed themselves to realise that He is not confined to special buildings we call “churches,” but He is everywhere His people are! If we return to the simple pattern we see in the New Testament, we will see how the Holy Spirit of God can work through us in wonderful ways as well, and we will experience the true freedom that He has always desired for us!

Tag: body of Christ

Workers Together With God

Upon This ROCK!

The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, Part 2

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