am021008-The Motivator-The Gift to the Church

THE MOTIVATOR:

The Gift to the Church

Last week we sought to give the overall view of God’s purpose for this planet. He created Adam to rule the earth under His direction but Adam sinned ending God’s rule on earth through Adam. God instituted government through Moses at Mount Sinai but once again that kingdom failed due to the sin of Israel. Then God offered the kingdom once again and sent His own Son to be the ruler over the earth. This kingdom through His Son Jesus Christ was set aside due to the fact that Israel crucified their King, Jesus Christ. Christ was resurrected and is coming again to establish His kingdom over the earth and you and I as authentic disciples will rule and reign with Him on this earth.

God has called as His disciples to go and make disciples in readiness for the coming kingdom when He comes to earth again. This is the reason why true Christianity is not about the disciple but about Christ and His purposes. This is the reason why the Church has little motivation to accomplish God’s purpose because our motivational energy is focused in various pursuits of our own design rather than to meet our Savior and King.

There has never been a time that I have ever lacked motivation to do what I wanted to do; I may have lacked motivation to do the right thing but at that point I had motivation to do the wrong thing! You hear people say, “I just don’t have any motivation to go to work, do this or do that.” What they are saying is that they do not have a desire to work or to do this or that. They have plenty of motivation but none to do what they don’t want to do.

Motivational speakers don’t give you motivation they just assist you in focusing the motivation you already have into a certain area and it is powerful.

When you and I were born, our motivational direction was already set to focus on self, we are the center of the universe. The problem is that our motivational energy is not in a direction that pleases God! It is set in a direction to please Satan. Let’s observe this fact from Scriptures.

John 8:44-45

     44“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies… 

45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

One who hasn’t trusted Christ is motivationally set to desires the things of his murderous father.

One who has trusted Christ is motivationally set to desires the things of God…this is why we are known as new creatures in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Philippians 2:13

for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

As an authentic disciple of Christ, you and I are new creations. Our motivational direction has now been set on pleasing God. The former setting as been disconnected, we are free even though the former patterns of the old life are still there to influence but never to control (flesh).

God knew it would take someone to live in us to set the motivation in a godly direction and to motivate us and this person is the Holy Spirit, the Motivator!!

John 14:17
Jesus stated…that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

1 John 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them (false teachers); because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Let me share with example of this principle in the life of Peter.

John 18:10-11  - flesh

10     Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.

11     So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

John 18:25-27 - flesh

25     Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”

26     One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

27               Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Within 50 days Peter was changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4

     1     When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

     2     And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

     3     And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

4                       And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

The Motivator, the Holy Spirit, now resides in Peter. Peter’s most natural desire is to be used of God. He hears people talking about what has just taken place and some were hearing about the mighty works of God and others thought they were drunk.

God motivates Peter to speak up…

Acts 2:22-24 - Spirit

22     “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

23     this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

24     “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Acts 2:36-42

     36     “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

     37     Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

     38     Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

     39     “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

     40     And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

     41     So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

     42     They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Challenge:

We are to die to self, that Christ’s life may live through us! The most natural evidence of the Motivator controlling us is that we will be learning God’s word together, enjoy one another’s presence, breaking bread together, and praying together.

What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit being in you and me? The purpose is solely to motivate us to please Him and to make disciples in preparation for the coming kingdom on earth in which we will rule and reign with Christ. This is the only reason why we live!