Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NASB)
- If you are not experiencing and enjoying God’s love for you every day, your Christianity can become a dead religion.
GOD IS LOVE.
So many of us live at this level of dead religion, that the world has started to believe that one religion is as good as another.
This is tragic.
God sent His only eternal Son to live as a man on this earth to show us what He is like.
When Jesus lived as a human like us on earth, He loved the Bible and studied the Hebrew scriptures but He never descended to the level of being a mere religious expert.
He loved to spend time in the presence of His Heavenly Father.
When Jesus began preaching, He always faithfully explained the Scriptures. He believed the Bible was the Word of God but He didn’t just teach Bible courses, as many do today.
When the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus relied on the Scriptures to resist the devil.
And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Mt 4:3-4 (NASB)
Jesus was quoting the Hebrew scripture but He was also teaching spiritual truth.
We do not sustain our spiritual life only by reading and knowing what the Bible says.
- Jesus speaks of “every word that PROCEEDS (or IS PROCEEDING) out of the mouth of God.”
- The Bible is not just a collection of more or less inspired religious texts but the FULLY INSPIRED WORD, which proceeds out of the mouth of God Himself.
- But Jesus did not just rely on the written text which was inspired when it was written. He listened to the Spirit of His Father who inspired the Bible writers.
If your spiritual ears are not open to hear the voice of God speaking through His words, you are in danger of living a dead religious life.
Jesus never relied only on the inspired written text but always listened to the WORDS PROCEEDING (NOW) FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. John 14:10 (NIV)
Jesus was the eternal Son of God before He was born in Bethlehem. When He lived as a man on earth, He did not stop being God but He chose to live with the limitations of human flesh.
- He relied on the Spirit of Father God living inside Him.
- He listened to God to know what to do and how to speak.
Bible knowledge alone cannot tell you when to correct and when to encourage. Every person you meet is unique and every situation is different.
We are called to FOLLOW JESUS, to be like Him, to live like Him.That means loving the Bible and learning to know the scriptures. But don’t stop there.
Jesus lived a totally supernatural life, constantly aware of the presence of the Spirit of His Father who lived inside Him, inside His body, in union with His Spirit and His soul.
- You are called to live in the same way, filled with the Holy Spirit, hearing the voice of God in your spirit every day, following the supernatural inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, hearing what God says to you and sharing God’s inspirational encouragement with others.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 (NIV)
Jesus does not say His exceptional holy ones will hear His voice but His sheep, all His followers.
"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17 (NIV)
Peter does not say “your pastors and leaders will prophesy” but rather YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, your grandchildren, your young converts, your church members.
I love travelling and I am good at languages but in heaven there will be no language barriers.
- There will be no sickness or toothache in Heaven. What will doctors and dentists do?
- In Heaven the best housewives will have nothing to clean.
- In Heaven there is no need for accountants, lawyers, police officers or prison guards.
- Pastors will not be needed because Jesus will be our Shepherd there.
- Evangelists will have no unbelievers to convert.
- Mother Teresa will have no poor people to feed.
So what will we do? Just sing spiritual songs?
Jesus told a story about talents. A master gave his servant two talents and the servant invested them wisely.
"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!
- You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.
- Come and share your master's happiness!' Mt 25:22-23 (NIV)
In this life God has given you abilities and opportunities. Sometimes these involve great achievement and fulfilment but there is also often a lot of responsibility which can be stressful, boring or unpleasant.
In the Kingdom of Heaven which is still to come, God will reward your faithfulness with your talents and give you even more responsibilities
- but He will take away the boredom and frustration.
In Proverbs Chapter 8 we see a picture of Jesus in happy partnership with the Father, working together to create the universe.
Proverbs 8:22-31 (NKJV)
22 "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primeval dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.
The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now, alive within every believer.
- If you are a believer and a follower of Jesus, God has appointed you to be His partner on earth, working with His Spirit and representing His eternal Son here and now.
- We are called to help establish the Kingdom of God on earth and to prepare the way for the return of Jesus Christ.
But the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God will one day be totally fulfilled.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1 (NKJV)
But this will not be the end.
We will sing love songs to God but there will also be much more to do.
