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Teamwork |
Dear Brethren,
This Countdown to the Return of Jesus Christ is about the
work of God. The emphasis in the title is on
the last part, “work” – the work that God the Father and Jesus
Christ are doing. They are working together to transform us
into their image – which is Love and Eternal Life (1John 4:8).
It is very important for us to understand this well defined
Biblical concept. Jesus said, "My Father is working even now,
and I am working." (John 5:17) They are working to instill
their Spirit of love in us so that we are able to love God as He
deserves, and to love our brother as God does (John 3:16).
I wanted to write on the work of God because there are those who
claim that they are doing the work of God, and that they are at
the forefront of that work. They maintain they are doing the
primary work. In fact, they say it so often that many of you
may think that being on TV and producing literature is
the work of God. It is not. That is the work
of men. The work of God is much more grand than that. Let’s be
careful not to redefine what God has clearly spelled out.
What is the work of God? The work of God is His creation – but
the creation of what? "God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth." (Genesis
1:26) We are not complete without the love of God
and the life of God.
In our image, after our likeness means
that God is creating us to be like He is. What is the image and
likeness of God? What is God like? God is all goodness and
love – that is what He is! God is abundant life, even eternal
life. And, since God is love, we need to understand what the
love of God is, and, even more than that, we must become the
love of God as God is love.
Okay, that is a difficult concept. How can we become the love
of God?
The answer is this: We must put on Christ (Galatians 3:27).
The process of putting on Christ is also the work of God. Here
is the Biblical definition of the work of God: "This
is the work of God, that you believe
on Him [Jesus Christ] whom He [God the Father] has sent."
(John 6:29) Again, we see the team–work of God
in our creative development. The world comes very short of
knowing, trusting, believing and obeying Jesus Christ. As a
result, we have a world of meanness, hate, sin, war, and death –
all because it lacks Godly love.
Where does Godly love come from? Let us understand this: The
only way we can even begin to possess the love of God in our
lives is through the team work of God the Father and Jesus
Christ – notice. "Beloved, let us love one another: for
love comes from God; and every one that loves
is begotten of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not
God; for God is love. In this was manifested
the love of God toward us, because that God
sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him." (1John 4:7-9) That is team–work.
As far as we in the Church of God are concerned, the work of God
is His forming His love in us, because we need it in
our lives. We must become the image and likeness of God. Jesus
told the Pharisees that they did not understand the love of God
because they had by-passed the love of God. "Woe unto you,
Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs,
and pass over judgment and the love of
God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
other undone." (Luke 11:42) We are certainly not being
formed in the image of God if we skip-over the love of God.
God has called us from some pretty rough backgrounds. Have we
felt the love of God in our lives as much as God intends us to
experience it? I think that I can answer unequivocally, “no,”
in every one of our cases. It is certainly difficult, if not
impossible, for us to express the love of God toward others
unless we have first received and experienced the love of God
ourselves. God has to change us from what we were. That is the
active work of God going on in us. Through the team–work
of God the Father sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to
this earth, we can have the love of God instilled in us.
If you inherited your five or ten cities right now, how would
you begin to instill the love of God in the citizenry? What
would you do first? Here is the answer: First, you would teach
them the Sabbath – and how to keep it holy. Then on the
Sabbath, you would teach them about God and the love of God
expressed in His rules. His Ten Commandments begin to express
the love of God and the love of our fellow man toward one
another.
You would teach them to deal with the realities of life
according to the love of God, because sin causes pain, loveless
heartache, and death. The people of your cities will have
learned what they know about life in a God-less fantasy world.
And, since they do not know God, they need the love of God
bestowed on them as we have so graciously had the love of God
bestowed on us.
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the
world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1John
3:1) Christ loves the brethren. When we have the love God
bestowed upon us, we will love the brethren, also. That is
Christ in us loving the brethren – we did not come by it
naturally. We are duty bound to love one another – and that is
God dwelling in us.
At first we practice, then we learn, and then the love of God is
perfected in us. So, first we have to know God and the love of
God. "...You have put off the old man with his deeds; And
have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of Him that created him." (Colossians 3:9-10) God
the Father and Jesus Christ are creating their love in
us."
Through their team–work, [God the Father] and
Jesus Christ are making us members of their team by making it
possible for their love to be in us. "When we were dead in
sins, [God the Father] has quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That
in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his
grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:5-10)
"If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His
love is perfected in us." (1John 4:12)
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Sermon:
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"Teamwork"
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