It is difficult to experience the peace of God to the fullest if we're steadily or periodically wondering whether we're in God's will. It becomes even more complicated if we're worried what the negative ramifications might be if we become convinced through external sources that we are "out of God's will."
Christ in you, that is God's will for you, and it is a place of peace and rest. He will be with you every step of the way through the earthly journey and through the many decisions being made over the years. If He impresses something unique upon your heart, you can still make choices. If you decide to go a different direction, God is flexible and has been known to be in the re-routing business ... working things together for good and never leaving you.
People can go through all kinds of stress and worry while wondering or trying to figure out what God's will is for their life. It can result in this life becoming heavy and hard instead of light and easy.
Sometimes it's just a matter of trusting God to lead and guide. This becomes easier when we can set aside the magnifying glass and begin to see the bigger picture of God's will for your life being Jesus Christ in you. Rest in that and begin to realize how much God cares for you affectionately in every area of your life. You no longer need to fear if you are "in God's will."
The Apostle Paul could have competed with anyone in the boasting department when considering his background as a Jewish person who was born under the law. He was dedicated to it—even to the point of persecuting and executing Jews who believed in Jesus.
But he counted it all as loss and rubbish after gaining Christ, not having his own righteousness through dead works but attaining God's righteousness by faith in Christ. Again—faith ... not works. This led him to a special place and heartfelt desire to know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection.
What does this look like? How can it happen for us? Is the focus based on proper Bible teaching and interpretation? Sound doctrine? Depending on the correct belief system which may change and evolve? Our program this week is meant to bring a reminder and encouragement that God lives in us and His Holy Spirit is very real. Sadly, He is sometimes forgotten to a degree and even considered a thing of the past—even by those who consider themselves ministers of the gospel ... which is not contained within pages containing words and letters ... but is found within a Person who is very much alive.
As we read the pages of the Bible, it can be a very difficult thing to put ourselves in the shoes of the people living during the time of Jesus and those first decades after the cross. But becoming more aware of the historical aspects of that time as it relates to the gospel message may help us to understand some of the writings better. Otherwise, we may skim past significant information that has relevance for us today.
For example, Jewish people who had been working for generations under the burden of the Mosaic law and were coming to believe in Jesus ... might have struggled greatly with Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the same Spirit of God by believing in Christ. After all, Gentiles had been viewed as outsiders, sinners, and unclean, and had no part of their previous covenant as the Jewish people who were considered exclusively set apart as God's people. It caused some division even among apostles and their companions, and would impact how the gospel would be spread and shared.
We've heard from so many listeners around the world over the years who came to be enlightened by God's perfect love, grace and once-for-all forgiveness. It can be stunning when coming to realize just how good the gospel message is while experiencing freedom from religious routines ... and coming to grips with how very different it is when compared to the many things we've been taught by religious tradition that seeks to establish right standing with God through human effort.
It's different and so much better to experience Jesus as our peace. But some will wonder how they should proceed as believers in Christ who are taking on a new mindset which may go against many of the things they've embraced as their most cherished and sacred assumptions. The focus of this week's conversation will be a reminder that we have much more than writings in the Bible, but as believers in Christ, we have the unique blessing of being able to interact with the living God by one Spirit who lives within.
Telling believers they need to change will not be nearly as effective as helping them to understand they have already been changed. Trying to become somebody that you think you are not will become a frustrating, lifelong endeavor which never seems to find the end of the rainbow. On the other hand, once we grow in the understanding of our identity, we can begin to live from who God says we already are as believers “in Christ.”
In this race, we get to start at the finish line, which is a place of rest. Under the Old Covenant, the Jewish people were working at pursuing what they could never attain. Unfortunately, many believers who abide in a new and better covenant are chasing after what has already been given to them.
Our second program in the series continues to encourage believers to reconsider a different perspective when it comes to inviting the presence of God’s Spirit into our midst. When people begin asking for the presence of God’s Spirit, or a special anointing or outpouring, it implies a temporary visitation instead of the Spirit always abiding. Believers can develop the mindset that if God can suddenly arrive, He can also depart and withdraw to a degree after the gathering is over. In Christ, we’re continuously wrapped, surrounded and enveloped with God’s presence, and the anointing abides in us through Him. As partakers of the divine nature, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”
A dubious habit that we’ve bought into is the need to create an acceptable atmosphere in order for the presence of the Holy Spirit to envelop us or come upon us. Various words or phrases are used to invite God into our presence or to seek a greater anointing. The truth is, God is not just in us, but as believers in Christ, we’re in Him! The anointing is in us! This combination should bring an assurance that often goes unrealized by His children. There is no need to send an invitation to God, while hoping He’ll respond with an RSVP. He invited us!.
Today in the New Covenant, Jew and Gentile have been merged together as one. However, gaining an understanding of the separation or the differences between them prior to the cross will help us to see a clearer picture of the gospel, and why Jesus ministered (to the Jews) in the way that He did. Because it is often erroneously assumed by Christians today that Jesus was always ministering a New Covenant teaching that was meant for everyone, believers will lack understanding that references to Gentiles were simply non-Jewish people — those born outside of the Jewish race. Coming to a realization of this will help us to avoid getting confused when it comes to the (expired) old covenant law, and the New Covenant that we abide in today.
Our discussion centers around making choices in the context of our life in Christ. We have His life and it has brought forgiveness and righteousness. Nothing can ever separate you from Him nor can anything change the new creation that you are in Him. Yet with this incredible freedom remains the ability to make choices. Sometimes we'll make good decisions and other times not. Grace will encourage us to make better choices in life. Bad choices are more likely to occur when we forget our new identity in Him. While all things may be lawful not everything will be profitable. Yet guilt and condemnation have no place in the life of a believer. Never.
