Yahweh's Agenda (5/21/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 2 Pet 1:3-4.

We tend to dislike it when people come into meetings with personal agendas. We tend to get aggravated that many of these people seem to be rather single-minded in getting their way. Well, we have a God who's very much like that. He's definitely going to get his way eventually, no matter what we do or come up with to try and counter his ultimate plan for his creation. One big difference is that Yahweh's agenda is always for our good. He's always working to better us. He's always looking to align us with his perfect will.

To begin with, he's "given us everything we need for life and godliness." The One who expects hard work and dedication out of us also provides everything we need to live as he wants us to. The ability to be strong followers of Jesus comes to those who have truly surrendered their hearts and lives to him as Lord. Our faith secures everything necessary to support and supply us in our service. We don't have to earn our way to more benefits, we just have to grow in faith and trust. It's not a brownie point system either. It's only about faithful and obedient service to our Lord and Master.

Yahweh has "given us his very great and precious promises." The promise of having our needs met before we even ask is a sweet blessing. Whatever we need to do his business will be available to us. The provisions are already set in place for the work he asks us to do. We don't have to come up with business plans or inventories or anything like that. We just have to align ourselves with his purposes and everything will be provided.

The first big promise here is the promise of sharing in the divine nature of our Lord Jesus. 2 Cor 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." When we receive Jesus as our Savior he overcomes our fallen sin nature and makes it possible for us to partake of his perfect nature. We're to be doing the works that Jesus did. We're to be seeking more and more of all our Father wants to give us. And the more we do align ourselves with his will and purpose, the more we'll see his nature working in and through us.

Jesus gives himself to us in such depth that he fully adopts us into his holiness. Yahweh wants us to be a part of all that he is. He's not looking for people who want to stand on the outside and only enjoy the view over the fences of Heaven. He desires for us to fully partake of his best, to be fully immersed into his righteousness. This doesn't mean we become "little gods," but that we can be completely aligned with his will and purpose as we serve him right here and right now.

There's got to be a hunger and thirst for more of Jesus in our hearts. To become like Jesus we must want to allow him to work in and through in powerful ways. Jesus said we'd do "even greater things" than even he did (John 14:12). Gal 2:20 says, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This is what our heavenly Father wants for each and every one of us. Becoming imitators of Jesus is a good thing. Not that we're trying to displace him, but that we're trying to get him to displace us. The more people see Jesus in what we do and say, the more opportunity they'll have to receive his mercy and grace.

From his birth to his crucifixion and resurrection, the forces of evil tried to divide the Son from the Father by breaking his trust in the Father and diverting him from the way of the cross. The devil didn't want Jesus to to obey the Father. He knew this would be bad for him. But throughout the wilderness temptation, Gethsemane, and the Cross Jesus was an overcomer by his prayers and faith. From the beginning to the end of his life, Jesus lived in such purity, integrity, and faithfulness that he withstood all the strain imposed on him by our sin. He worked hard to overcome and he accomplished a great work on our behalf.

Jesus accomplished all this by maintaining a deep oneness with his Father. He united his humanity with our Father's divinity. He showed us we can become pure and holy even in our humanity. He didn't do this because he was God, he did this because he submitted and surrendered to his Father. He did this to show us we all have the same opportunity to receive from our heavenly Father, if we can submit as deeply as he did. Jesus didn't switch back and forth between being God and being a man. He was fully human while he lived here and he did miracles because of his unity and fellowship with the Father.

The same power and authority that Jesus had is available to us, if we'll submit and surrender like he did. And we're not required to be perfect, just radically obedient. Yes, make the effort to be perfect, but don't quit because you're not. The demons will constantly remind us of our failures, trying to convince us that we're not worthy to be accepted by our Lord. The truth is that he's right. We're not worthy in and of ourselves. We're worthy because Jesus came and died for us. We're worthy because our heavenly Father chose to use us for his Kingdom purposes.

There's a misunderstanding among both Christians and the lost about what it means to overcome our sin nature. Some Christians believe that after they're saved, they're no longer susceptible to sin because they believe their sin nature has been taken away. They then become reckless in allowing evil influences into their lives because they think they're unable to sin anymore. The lost sometimes have the idea that believers are supposed to be perfect, and use their imperfections as an excuse to stay away from and neglect serving Yahweh. Both are dead wrong. Both are applying humanistic reasoning and missing the truth.

Peter wrote that we can "escape the corruption in the world." This doesn't mean it won't ever affect us, but that the decay it causes can be avoided. Christians are going to slip and stumble occasionally. The great news for us is that repentance and confession of our sin brings us back to divine purity again. The cleansing power of our God is applied through the Holy Spirit. To escape is to flee from or elude. It means we overcome sin on purpose, not by some divine slight of hand We choose to confess our sin and receive forgiveness. We're not automatically covered. It's like caring for a wound. We have to apply the antibiotic ourselves. It doesn't appear magically.

David was known as "a man after God's own heart" (1 Sam 13:14). Yet David sinned. His sin broke Yahweh's heart and brought punishment on his whole family and the nation of Israel. David wrote Psalm 51 after his sin with Bathsheba was revealed. His heart of true repentance was able to write beautiful words inspired by the Holy Spirit, the kind of words Yahweh wants to hear from all of us concerning repentance.

Psalm 51:4 is where we must all begin. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." We can't deny our guilt or responsibility in any way. When we sin it's never the fault of anyone or anything else. And when we sin, first and foremost we have offended Yahweh. Any thoughts like "through no fault of my own" or "the devil made me do it" are ridiculous. We have to choose to do wrong. It never happens by accident. We must own up to fact that we are most definitely responsible and accountable.

Psalm 51:16-17 tells us the truth of how to make things right with our heavenly Father. "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." We can't fix our sin problem with any amount of money or service or sacrifice. We can only be made right with our Savior by confessing our sin with a rightly broken heart and contrite mind. We must own our sin and admit that we failed in our Lord's sight. The more openly and honestly we confess our sin, the more we grow in faith and trust.

In Psalm 51:10-12 we see the plea of the heart that wants to be made right with Yahweh. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." Renewal and restoration are constant needs in our lives. We should always want to be refreshed and receive new strength from on high. We should hunger and thirst to remain in close contact with our Father.

Yahweh made a perfect way for us to overcome sin in our lives. It's our job to avail ourselves of that way. He promises to cleanse us and make us whole whenever we confess and repent of our sins. He promises that we'll be made into overcomers, those who aren't defeated by sin but who are the conquerors of evil. The resources are readily available. The path is set before us. We must decide to submit to our Lord's will and radically turn away from our willfulness.

So because of these "great and precious promises" we can then rightly grow in spiritual maturity and knowledge. Yahweh's wonderful agenda is filled with promises for those who trust him and seek to obey him. These promises are very special and very valuable. Please don't believe the lies of the devil when he tells you you're not worthy of them. Your Father thinks you're worth the greatest gift he had to offer, Jesus. We were called to join in his Kingdom business "by his own glory and goodness." He really, really loves us. Trust him and receive these "very great and precious promises."

Blessings & Peace, Mike