"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
Part Three of It's More Than Just Believing!
Allen: Over this series we have talked about knowing God and having a true relationship with Him. In order to do that we have to realize that God is more than just Savior! Salvation is a gift from God. Jesus bought and paid for our salvation! I think lots of people know and receive Jesus as Savior but there is so much more! The first 5 years of my life as a Christian I only knew Jesus as my savior. But there is much more to Him. If something would have happened to me during that time I would have never known Jesus as lord of my life. When we put God in that position He is like our own personal trainer or coach. He wants the best for us! He wants to take our talents and abilities and use them to their full potential.
Clay: Reading the word can help us do that. The more you understand what the word says and what the word means. the more you begin to realize who God is and what He has given us. There is so many things in what Jesus actually bought and paid for, promises that are already done and there. Look at it like this, if someone put $100,000 in the bank and told you it was for you, and all you had to do was go and get it when you needed it. You wouldn’t have to go ask that person for it. All you would have to do is go to the bank and withdraw money each time you needed some. What a lot of people don’t realize is the word of God has been given. All you have to do is go get it! We do this by reading the word and having faith in the Lord to be our Shepherd.
Allen: When we press on and let God be the shepherd of our lives we obtain the kind of relationship with God that He longs for us to have. So many of us have that mental picture of Jesus hanging on the cross and we appreciate Him as our savior and His sacrifice but that is as far as we take our relationship. We have to realize that He’s not hanging on that cross anymore. He is sitting at the right hand of God the father and He is a very active part of our life. So much so that He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us to teach us everything and to bring everything that He said to our remembrance. He basically told us that before He went to be with God the father. John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
That is the same way we are when we read the bible, the Holy Spirit will help us to interpret and understand the scripture. There are times in our lives when He will bring that scripture up, at a perfect time when we need power to make the right decisions.
Clay: God wants the best for us. Health, prosperity, redemption, protection are just a few of the things that have been given to us. These things are already there. We just have to apply faith, and learn to operate by the rules of faith. All you have to do is DO IT! If you know how to get to the bank, and go to the teller and sign your name then you know how to get the money! Hosea 4:6 “My children parish from the lack of knowledge.” The lack of knowledge in the fundamentals of God is what holds people back. Once you start to gain the knowledge and apply the faith you will start to see God moving all over the place. Once you start to realize what’s going on and how to do it then you are up and on your way! And you see God start moving in your life all over the place because faith is the KEY that opens the door. Because God moves every time faith is applied.
Allen: That is so true Clay. The door only has one handle on it and we are the only ones that can open that door. On the other side of the door there is no handle, He is not going to barge into our lives and force himself on us. We have to read his word and seek Him out. We have to have faith in God to be our Shepard or our Gardner. I was reading John 15 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes [1] so that it will be even more fruitful.” When we let Him be the gardener, our lives become better. God sometimes disciplines us and takes away some parts of our lives that aren’t producing fruit. By doing this we can concentrate on the parts of our lives that will produce more fruit. His intentions are to keep us going in the right direction and keep balance in our lives.
Clay: Just like Allen, it took probably ten years for me to understand that after Jesus is lord and savior of my life, He is also referred to as the Word of God. JOHN1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word became flesh and dwelled among us. So we have to understand that the word is God. Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” If we take the word and apply it to our life then we see that it is Jesus working in our life. For me it took 10 years for that to soak in. The word is the power and source of our life.
Allen:It is so important that we understand Jesus will always be savior. That relationship will always be there. We have to realize He wants to be lord of our lives. He doesn’t want to take things out of your life that you enjoy. He will take things out of your life that will hurt you and destroy you! I used to think that He wanted me to quit roping and be a missionary or in the ministry. The two or three times that I tried to lay my roping down He spoke to my spirit so clear. I found that He didn’t want me to quit roping He just wanted me to put Him first. When I started putting Him first, roping truly became a blessing to me. He started using my gifts to do his will. He wants to give us the desires of our heart.
Clay: We all face trials in our lives. The land of Canaan represents the life of the believer. God told the Israelites that they could have the promise land but there were giants in the land. So the spies that went to look at the land came back and said they couldn’t over take it. But two of the spies Joshua and Caleb came back and said they could take it. They said to go at once because God said it was theirs and He would deliver the land to them! God tells us the same thing! There will always be giants in our lives, our jobs, families, and relationships, anything that we find trials in. We have to take the authority in Gods word and speak it out of our mouths and act it out in faith. There will be times that we seemed stretched to the max. We have to stand on God’s word. It is in these times where our faith is tested against these trials of life, that we have to practice our faith! It is just like what I do for a living, to be good, I have to practice roping. The same thing applies to our faith! It is awesome to know that we have the ability and the tools of God’s word and His love, to equip us to overcome those giants! We can do it because He told us we can!
Allen:I think it is so important for people to have this relationship
with God. So when you have stuff going on in your lives where you feel
like you might be getting steered away from certain things you understand,
and recognize, that could possibly be God guiding and directing you!
It could be a job that has served its purpose in our lives. He might
have another chapter of our lives that He wants to lead us to. That
is why it is so important to have that kind of relationship with Him.
So we know which way the shepherd is leading us! When we apply faith
in God He brings us through! It glorifies God to see us turn to Him
and let Him guide us. I can’t think of anything better
than to Glorify God! What is your relationship with God? I
encourage you to Glorify God!