Works part 1
Man, this is a big subject to try to get into, isn't it? I think when we--in anything resembling a "religious circle"--hear this word a big red flag flies up. Because we associate "works" with "labor." And we know that works and labor are bad, right? Works and labor... don't work. When Cain and Able each brought a sacrifice to God... Cain brought the works of his labor. The fruit of the ground. What HE could produce. And God wasn't interested in it. At all. On the other hand, Able brought a lamb. The only sacrifice God has ever, or will ever, require or accept. So in that respect we should be wary of works and labor. We should make sure we aren't trying to earn something that can't be earned. In Genesis chapter 3, when God is (seemingly) doling out punishment He says, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread..." (Genesis 3:19). And that, like the Law of Moses that came later, made perfect sense to the natural mind. Work hard and get what deserve. Okey dokey. Perform and you'll be rewarded. Mess up and you'll get punished. So we built religion, and society, and our lives on this principle. The problem, again, is that that's not what God wanted for us. So, at the appointed time, He sent His Son to redeem us. And Jesus sweated great drops of blood. Because its not the sweat of your face that matters. Its your DNA. Its not what you do... its who you are. Because who you are DETERMINES what you'll do. You do what its in your nature to do. Let me say it another way: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). What you do flows from what's in your heart. If there is bitterness in there, everything you do will be tainted with bitterness. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. If you know and believe there is love in your heart, it WILL flow out. Naturally. And this is my point, and the idea we're going to look at for the next few days: What is inside your heart WILL flow out... in actions. That's what charity is, love in action. Guys, rest is NOT inactivity. Rest is Holy Spirit directed activity. Before Saul was converted to Paul he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to do God's work. He was completely in the wrong most of the time because he didn't have a revelation of Jesus, but he was doing the best he could with what he knew. And then, watch this, after Saul was converted to Paul he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to do God's work! His conversion didn't slow him down. In fact, it probably sped him up. Because all of a sudden he wasn't laboring. He was flowing. He was still working. And he was still working hard. He even worked as a tent maker, right? He said, "...if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So it seems that having a good work ethic is a good thing. It seems that the only times "works and labor" are discouraged is when you are trying to earn something... FROM GOD... with them. When you are trying to perfect yourself through the flesh, instead of completely identifying with the perfection that already in you. The perfection of Jesus. Which is actually what Jesus said in John 6:29, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." And that's where we're going to end today, and where we're going to pick up tomorrow. With the truth about what the work of God actually is. And what it actually is... is believing!