Glorious Pursuit

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Glorious Pursuit

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Glorious Pursuit

I am going to assume that everyone here has made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. But what now???? That’s what I want to talk about this morning:)
What is the number 1 way that we share Christ with others?
I asked my Sunday School class this question and they came up with a lot of good answers. I am sure that you are thinking of some good answers too.
But the answer I am looking for is by our life, our actions The things we do, or don’t do, the things we say.
God’s Word says in James 1:22 But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
My dad used to say do as I say and not as I do
Col 1:26-27
26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

the full meaning of God’s mystery involves not only the revelation of Christ as the Lord of believers, but also the reality that He indwells them.

The idea of “glory” mentioned here is synonymous with both 1. the power of God’s transforming work in our lives by the Spirit’s working and 2. the blessing of our coming to experience the joy of Jesus’ life and purpose occurring through us in our living and serving.
At the core of a life of growing discipleship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit working in us is what’s most important.
We can spend time reading our bibles, praying, meditating, worshiping, doing good works and we should, but:
it is the Spirit who keeps the Word alive, and continually working in us, rather than it becoming a mere informational program of laws, regulations, and rituals.
It is the Spirit who infuses prayer and praise with passion.
It is the Spirit who teaches and instructs me so that the Word shines Jesus in and crowds sin out.
It is the Spirit who brings gifts and giftedness, for ministry, to our lives and directs us when to use them.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above
One of my favorite sayings is God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called:)
It is the Spirit who will bring lovingness, graciousness and spirit of unity to our hearts; so that we not only love the lost and want to see people brought to Christ, but love all other Christians, and refuse to become an instrument of injury to Christs’s body the church.
I have talked to people who have said, but Christianity is just a bunch of do’s and don’ts. That’s because they don’t understand the relationship part of being a christian.
Our objective is to move into relationship with Jesus; to an ever-growing, ever-life-shaping place of availability to the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts.
image of God song
We were made in the image of God - Do you know that the moon has no light. It gets its light from the sun
The moons job is to reflect the sun, our job is to reflect the Son
I am going to talk about 2 things we must do for God to work in us and through us. (bear fruit) Which God calls bearing fruit!!
Abide

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples

As I studied this, I came to a deeper understand that everything we do either glorifies God - shows him to people - or it doesn’t
If I glorify God I will make him look better. - The word means to describe or represent as admirable, but what God is really saying is that people will come to know him or not by the way we glorify God

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Without the Holy Spirit living in us - we can not glorify or show forth God
Abide means to dwell. It means to take up residence, to give place to, to root, to remain. The truth is we all abide somewhere. The where in this verse is just as important as the what.
We can watch a movie for 2 hours without thinking about it. We can play disc golf, or play a video game or.......
But it is not an easy thing to read our Bible for 2 hours or pray for 2 hours, although, sometimes I get started praying and I don’t realize how much time has passed. If we made a list of all the things that needed praying for, we would never stop praying. The bible actually tells us to pray continually in 1 Thes 5:17
Pray without ceasing or pray continually or never stop praying
If you all live in the real world today, you know that we need a lot of prayer:) But we need to remember that God’s reality is not our reality - He sees the big picture!!
What do we need to do to abide in Christ?
Paul was a great example, he called himself a christian but once he met Christ, he was a different man. He is an example of what I am talking about today.
Paul defined himself as “a man in Christ.” In 2 Cor 12.
Now if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, all things have become new.
This is Pauls favorite way of speaking about anyone who is a Christian. This may be the most important thing a man or woman needs to learn about themselves. It is how Paul taught the Colossians to live the Christian life.
Paul used this little phrase “In Christ” 73 times. To be united to Christ is an important reality. We have union with Christ. This is the way we need to think about our relationship with Christ.
Think about where you live daily. Do you live in the natural or the Supernatural? Do you live in the past or in the Christ says it, I believe it! Do you live in the I’m too tired or the I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Are you defined by your achievements, past, titles, appearance or the standards of others or your church? Or are you defined by what God has done for you in Christ?
Do you realize Christ died for you, before you accomplished anything?

For He rescued us from the adomain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of bHis beloved Son,

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

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When we allow the truths about Christ to abide in us, we are enriched.
The word enriched means:
Adorned with beauty
savory to others
fertile ground/able to bear good fruit
restored; as in, those things healthy and good that have been stripped from us are added back in.
God says that he will restore what Satan has stolen from us.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

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2. We pursue -
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We have a decision to make because
Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one. Even Jesus struggled with this. Knowing he was about to be crucified, he cried out: “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, “Father, save Me from this hour”? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.”

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”

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Jesus stood at a fork in the road. Would he fulfill his purpose and bring glory to God, or would he shrink back and live a comfortable, self-centered life? You face the same choice. Will you live for your own goals, comfort and pleasure, or will you live the rest of your life for God’s glory, knowing that he has promised eternal rewards?
Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. The more you develop Christlike character, the more you will bring glory to God.
The Bible Says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
2 Cor 3:18 says

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

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Let’s talk about some people whose priorities changed:
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Noah - built a big boat!! It had never rained!! It took him 120 years.
Moses -
He went before the Pharaoh 10 times. The Pharaoh could have killed him any of those 10 times, but Moses was sold out to God and trusted him completely. The bible says “God spoke to Moses” and he did it more than once. Exodus 3:4 God called to him out of the bush. Ex 4:21 And the Lord said to Moses. EX 6:1 But the Lord said to Moses. 6:2 God spoke to Moses.6:10 So the Lord said to Moses. 6:28 On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses,
Let’s talk about Joseph - sold into slavery, Rose to a place of honor, thrown into prison, rose to a place of honor, saved his family from starving. Gen 39:21-23

21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

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Do you think God would have done that if Joseph had just sat around and whined about woe is me? Gen 45:5-8

And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

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Next, let’s talk about David.
David wrote most of the Psalms. There are 150 Psalms and some of them have 176 verses. I am sure that David wrote even more songs that are not in the bible. I can imagine him tending his sheep and singing to God. We know that God was with him even then because he killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands. And while he was still young he slayed a giant!! David pursued God!!
Ps 7:17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Psalm 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Ps 9:1-2 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Ps 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you.
Ps 66:1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
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Ps 42:1

As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

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God called David a man after his own heart, because David was sold out to God.
1 Sam 3:14

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart

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Did David have hard times? Yes Did David do some stupid stuff? Yes, but through it all, because he was sold out to God, God kept him safe.
Let’s talk about the Apostles
Peter was hung
Andrew was hung
James was executed by sword
John died of natural causes but he was boiled in oil and exiled to the island of Potmus
Philip was most likely crucified - but not positive
Bartholomue was beheaded and crucified
Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear
Matthew was burned, stoned, stabbed and then beheaded
James was stoned to death
They pursued God until the end of their time on earth.
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So how do we pursue God?
Becoming who God created us to be. The virtues we witness in the life of Christ and how we can cultivate them to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in conforming us to the image of His Son.
Finding God in General Revelation. People find God by just looking at what He has created - trees, rocks,
but the main way people find God is by seeing us.
We were created to bring glory to God
Our very lives should show people what God is like.
We are dedicated to things that please this world - every day we shower, shave, put on makeup, wear clean clothing, clean our houses,
We should earnestly pursue God’s virtues with the same intensity that the world pursues wealth, fame, worldly achievements and physical beauty. (Americans spend more than $16 billion a year on cosmetic surgery) American Cosmetic companies revenue in 2019 was $49 billion.
But if we want to be “in Christ” as Paul says we need the Holy Spirit to help us.
The Holy Spirit helps us in our pursuit to become more like Christ, not to look younger than we really are, not to be richer than we are, not to have worldly approval but to have eternal acclaim.
We are all in pursuit of something. We need to be mindful of what our pursuit is.
We need to realize how important it is to reflect the character of Christ in our everyday lives.
What are the virtues that God wants us to show
Gal 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law

Did you know that the Word of God tells us to work out our salvation
Phil 2:12 says
Continue to work our your salvation with fear and trembling
Pursuing Christian virtues is a Spiritual practice - we need to move away from the cultures pursuit of things that are gratifying to us personally but have very little eternal value and seeking that transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in us.
Humility - putting others before ourselves as I grow in humility I will have the other virtues because if I put others before myself, then I will not murder them.
Patience - so we are not always frustrated and angry
Compassion - so that we care rather than have hard hearts
Courage - so that we are not ashamed and pulling back
generosity, love, kindness and the
When we practice the virtues of Christ, we become what God created us to be.
We have the opportunity to reflect the character of Christ, but we tend to settle for so much less - can I out earn you, can I look younger than I am, can I be more famous on social media or whatever else will basically not matter in 5 or 10 years
Body building - certain exercises
If we start to practice gentleness, humility, courage then as we practice it we become more and more like it - we know what it is, how to apply it, put it into motion and gradually we are shaping our characters as we do that. We will never become completely humble, but I can practice humility.
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Peter says - 2 Peter 1:5-8

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

make every effort - not a side hobby, not with whatever is left over,
this verse says that these things should be increasing - this means it is an ongoing pursuit. It’s not something we achieve over night If we don’t grow in the virtues, we will be ineffective for what God has predestined for out lives.
Rom 3:23

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Being saved doesn’t mean we have everything figured out. We must work our souls into shape, just as we must work our bodies into shape to be healthy.
The world needs to see that people who have encountered Christ have a new kind of
patient surrender courage that is uncommon because it is birthed by the Holy Spirit.
So when we face issues we don’t face them the same as the world does. In the end we should expect change. There should be something different about us. They should get a picture of what Jesus looks like.
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We may be the only Jesus some people will ever see.
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People who would never step into a church might see how we handle something like covid and say “why do you have such calm?” Why do you have such patience? Why are you not afraid? Why do you seem so gentle with people who are trying your patience? Why are you not afraid financially? People should see that we are different because Christ is in us!!! And when people ask us those questions we should not exalt ourselves but Christ in us!!!!
If we grew in the gift of humility - Jesus was humble, he came to the earth as a man and let himself be put to death. He was God and he made himself nothing. He became a servant.
If we showed the virtue of love. We want people to come into the light and receive what we have received from God. Not that we want them to get their just desserts. We didn’t get our just desserts.
We should live a life of joy!!! The bible says - The joy of the Lord is my strength.
There is a song - read your bible, pray every day and you will grow
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In Psalms 1:1-5 God says:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor wits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
That’s what we want to be - not to be shaken every-time something happens to test us - not to be a weak sapling that cannot withstand the wind and the rain - not to be swayed by the things of this world.
Our life is dependent on the choices we make.
So let’s talk about how we can make that happen
There is a book called the Purpose Driven Life. I have read it many times. It tells us that if we don’t choose with purpose to grow spiritually, then we will find ourselves, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years ( you get the picture) in the same place we are now!!!
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God’s Word is like seeds.
Seeds are small. Very insignificant. But they hold incredible power - sidewalk - rocks
Seeds must be planted. An unplanted seed will not bear fruit; but to be planted a seed requires work on the sower’s part. Seeds don’t plant themselves.
We can not just plant 1 seed and expect to harvest it the rest of our lives. We must continue to plant seed after seed. You have to plant an entire row or rows to have a good harvest.
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It is only when we take what we know and act on it, again and again and again, that we sow to the Spirit and reap righteousness in our lives and homes. Most of you know that stopping something in your lives requires work, day after day, year after year. It is not a 1 and done!!!

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness

I am going to end with a video that I think will show us how we should pursue God
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