"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 1:6
If you're an older person that grew up in the church or just had parents that really liked Steve Green, then you may be singing the song "He Who Began a Good Work in You" with me. This old folksy song proclaims some pretty important scriptural truths.
When you are around church people and church things a lot it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. That God is the one who is running the show. The work that takes place in the lives of the people that make up the Church is God's work. God is the one who saves, transforms, and redeems lives. We don't have the power to do that. But a lot of the time people in Christian Ministry lose sight of this simple yet incredibly important fact.
I know this because I'm one of those people who have lost sight of God being the one who is in control. But I don't think that I'm alone in this. I think it's our tendency to forget this fact when God does allow us to witness the transformation that takes place in people's lives. When we have the opportunity to encourage or teach others it's easy to think that the reason why people make changes and decide to follow Jesus is because of us.
This is harmful thinking because we begin to trust in ourselves rather than in the God who chose us and saved us. It's also harmful because it puts an unhealthy pressure to succeed and produce results in something we have no control over. When we assume responsibility for the work of the Holy Spirit we place an unhealthy amount of pressure on ourselves to "get people saved." A person's decision to turn away from sin and run towards Jesus becomes totally dependent on how much we know or how well we present.
When things go well it produces an arrogance and pride that creates a barrier between us and God. We think we don't need to trust and rely on God. Why pray? Why wait on God? People are coming to Jesus because of what we're doing. This type of thinking and attitude sets Christians up for a fall.
" Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
-Proverbs 16:18
When things don't go well, we become discouraged and fearful. It makes us think that God must be punishing us or not using us because of something we did wrong. We question everything we do and end up feeling guilty. Eventually this permeating guilt affects our relationship with God and causes us to mistrust Him. This mistrust sows the seeds of bitterness and anger. We no longer experience the peace, freedom, and joy that comes from salvation in Jesus.
The solution in both these instances is the same, "humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up" (Jas 4:10). When we fail and find ourselves down one of these paths restoration is still possible. Intimacy with Jesus can happen again. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you" (Jas 4:7-8).
Jesus is the one who chose us. He took us as a rough lump of clay and decided to mold us into something both useful and beautiful. We are the work of His hands (Jer 18:1-10). God is infinitely more concerned with the work He does in our lives than what we think we can do for Him. God finishes what He starts.
Reflective Questions
1. Are you confident that God will complete the work He started in you?
2. Are you mistrusting God's ability to transform the lives of people you love?
3. Are you growing in your trust with God's power to transform or your ability to change people?
4. What is keeping you from experiencing God's peace, freedom and joy?
5. Is your pride setting you up for a fall? Have you already fallen?
6. What will it take for you to be restored to God?
-Philippians 1:6
If you're an older person that grew up in the church or just had parents that really liked Steve Green, then you may be singing the song "He Who Began a Good Work in You" with me. This old folksy song proclaims some pretty important scriptural truths.
When you are around church people and church things a lot it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. That God is the one who is running the show. The work that takes place in the lives of the people that make up the Church is God's work. God is the one who saves, transforms, and redeems lives. We don't have the power to do that. But a lot of the time people in Christian Ministry lose sight of this simple yet incredibly important fact.
I know this because I'm one of those people who have lost sight of God being the one who is in control. But I don't think that I'm alone in this. I think it's our tendency to forget this fact when God does allow us to witness the transformation that takes place in people's lives. When we have the opportunity to encourage or teach others it's easy to think that the reason why people make changes and decide to follow Jesus is because of us.
This is harmful thinking because we begin to trust in ourselves rather than in the God who chose us and saved us. It's also harmful because it puts an unhealthy pressure to succeed and produce results in something we have no control over. When we assume responsibility for the work of the Holy Spirit we place an unhealthy amount of pressure on ourselves to "get people saved." A person's decision to turn away from sin and run towards Jesus becomes totally dependent on how much we know or how well we present.
When things go well it produces an arrogance and pride that creates a barrier between us and God. We think we don't need to trust and rely on God. Why pray? Why wait on God? People are coming to Jesus because of what we're doing. This type of thinking and attitude sets Christians up for a fall.
" Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
-Proverbs 16:18
When things don't go well, we become discouraged and fearful. It makes us think that God must be punishing us or not using us because of something we did wrong. We question everything we do and end up feeling guilty. Eventually this permeating guilt affects our relationship with God and causes us to mistrust Him. This mistrust sows the seeds of bitterness and anger. We no longer experience the peace, freedom, and joy that comes from salvation in Jesus.
The solution in both these instances is the same, "humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up" (Jas 4:10). When we fail and find ourselves down one of these paths restoration is still possible. Intimacy with Jesus can happen again. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you" (Jas 4:7-8).
Jesus is the one who chose us. He took us as a rough lump of clay and decided to mold us into something both useful and beautiful. We are the work of His hands (Jer 18:1-10). God is infinitely more concerned with the work He does in our lives than what we think we can do for Him. God finishes what He starts.
1. Are you confident that God will complete the work He started in you?
2. Are you mistrusting God's ability to transform the lives of people you love?
3. Are you growing in your trust with God's power to transform or your ability to change people?
4. What is keeping you from experiencing God's peace, freedom and joy?
5. Is your pride setting you up for a fall? Have you already fallen?
6. What will it take for you to be restored to God?
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