Lodge Service Sept 7/23

God is at work...

Maybe you have prayed many prayers for a long time asking that God would do something. Maybe you’ve asked God to work in your children or in your family. Maybe you’ve even prayed and asked that God would work in you...

Philippians 1:3–6 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I thank God every time that I think of you. I thank God that He is working in you.

Philippians 2:13 NIV

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Many years ago, sometime in the early 1970’s, a pastor by the name of Henry Blackaby came to Saskatoon to pastor a church called Faith Baptist.

While there he felt a nudge to start campus ministry on the University of Saskatchewan. For two years, he tried to get Bible Studies going on the Residence, with no real success.

“One Sunday Pastor Blackaby pulled the students together and said, “This week I want you to go to the campus and watch to see where God is working and join him.” They asked him to explain. God had impressed upon his heart these two scriptures:

Romans 3:10-11 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.

John 6:44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me...

He went on to explain, “According to these passages, no one is going to seek God on his own initiative. No one will ask after spiritual matters unless God is at work in their life. When you see someone seeking God or asking about spiritual matters, you are seeing God at work. That is something only God does in a life.” He told his students, “If someone starts asking you spiritual questions, whatever else you have planned, don’t do it. Cancel what you are doing. Go with that individual and look to see what God is doing there.”

That week their students went out to see where God was at work on the campus and to join him. On Wednesday one of the girls reported, “Pastor, a girl who has been in classes with me for two years came to me after class today. She said, ‘I think you might be a Christian. I need to talk to you.’ I remembered what you said. I had a class, but I missed it. We went to the cafeteria to talk. She said, ‘11 of us girls in the dorm have been studying the Bible, and none of us are Christians. Do you know somebody who can lead us in a Bible study?’” As a result of that contact, they started three Bible study groups in the women’s dorms and two in the men’s dorm. For almost 2 years they tried to do something for God and failed. For three days they went looking to see where God was working and joined him. What a difference that made! Over the following years, many students trusted Christ as saviour and Lord...” (Experiencing God, SC)

It doesn’t matter what stage of life we are in, we, too, can experience God and know that He is working in us.

Paul was confident and I am confident that if God has started a good work in you, He is able to complete it.

Maybe you remember the day that you came to believe that Jesus died for you… Maybe you remember times when you felt God’s presence ministering to you. Maybe you cried, maybe you were filled with joy, but you felt God’s presence.

One thing that I have learned about God is that He will draw and He will lead, but He will not push, force or prod. He is gentle with us.

When He calls, let’s respond to Him.

In Matthew 11:28-30, He says,

Matthew 11:28–30 NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This afternoon, I want to share a cute story about plowing:

An old farmer plowed hard for many days with an ox and mule yoked together. The ox told the mule that they should play sick and rest. The mule declined saying, “No, we must get the work done for the season is short. But the ox played sick and the farmer brought him hay and corn and made him comfortable.

When the mule came in from plowing the ox asked how things had gone. The mule said, “We didn’t get as much done but we did ok, I guess.”

The ox asked, “Did the old man say anything about me?” “Nothing,” said the mule.

The next day the ox played sick again. When the tired mule came in he asked how it went. “Ok, but we sure didn’t get much done.” The ox asked, “What did the old man say about me?” The mule replied, “Nothing directly to me, but he had a long talk with the butcher.”

Well, Maybe you grew up on a farm and had a team of horses. In Jesus’ day oxen were used to pull loads or plow in the field. Jesus called the people of His day to take off the heavy weight of the Law. There were 613 laws that were to be followed. That was a heavy burden.

Maybe you’ve just tried to be good enough to please God. Maybe you think that if you are good enough, you can go to heaven.

Jesus has a different plan.

Ephesians 2:8–10 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When we try to do enough good works to please God, it like getting the cart before the horse. It’s impossible to get to where we want to go.

Salvation is a free gift. We can only be saved by believing that Jesus died on the cross for us. Repenting of our sins, and following Jesus.

We do good, because Jesus lives in us.

In closing, I want to finish what Paul said in

Philippians 1:6 NIV

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

As Christians we believe and we have hope that Jesus Christ will come again. When Jesus ascended into heaven, 2 angels said that He would come again.

In John 14, Jesus said,

John 14:1–3 NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

If you believe that Jesus died for you, you can have hope that He will come again. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

Let’s pray.