It’s Time to Serve by “Listening to Jesus”
Gen 2:5, “Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.”
2 Kinds of Holiness
Positional Holiness: it is His grace, His unmerited favor toward us.
Ephesians 1:4, “ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him”.
Behavioral or Relational Holiness: walking with Him, being like Him in our way of life.
I Peter 1:14-15, “ 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, [d]be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
2 Cor. 12:9, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
2 Peter 1:2-3, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;”
Hebrews 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
But there is this Tension between knowing and listening…so that I can truly serve Him.
Tension: Stillness & Activity
Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the Lord, Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Acts 2:42, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Our Passion, our Focus, is Serving Jesus!
John 17:21, “ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may ]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”
Psalm 46:10, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
So here is the answer to our Tension: Back to Genesis 2:5
If we manage well, we will get rain. If we fail to manage well, we will get no rain.
You are needed in the kingdom and Jesus is waiting for you to step up and listen to Him as you serve Him in this community of faith!
Gen 2:5, “Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.”
2 Kinds of Holiness
Positional Holiness: it is His grace, His unmerited favor toward us.
Ephesians 1:4, “ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him”.
Behavioral or Relational Holiness: walking with Him, being like Him in our way of life.
I Peter 1:14-15, “ 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, [d]be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
2 Cor. 12:9, “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
2 Peter 1:2-3, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;”
Hebrews 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
But there is this Tension between knowing and listening…so that I can truly serve Him.
Tension: Stillness & Activity
Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the Lord, Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Acts 2:42, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Our Passion, our Focus, is Serving Jesus!
John 17:21, “ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may ]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”
Psalm 46:10, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
- Stop striving in your own strength!
- Be diligent and disciplined and purse Jesus intentionally so you can make Him known to others!
So here is the answer to our Tension: Back to Genesis 2:5
If we manage well, we will get rain. If we fail to manage well, we will get no rain.
You are needed in the kingdom and Jesus is waiting for you to step up and listen to Him as you serve Him in this community of faith!
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