Every Good Thing

Philemon 4–7 NKJV

4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

I want to talk to you about entering into the eternal kingdom of God and how Christ in you brings the hope of glory (Colossians 1.27).

In his prayer for Philemon, the Apostle Paul makes some powerful statements about the Christian life and how the practice of an authentic faith receives supernatural power to be effective. The word effective is primarily used to signify the work of God, here in bringing about revelation knowledge of God as in Hebrews 4.12.

It is this kind of life that appeals to others and leads people to know Christ. It is a life of genuine love and faith that reveal the good things that Christ produces in us.

When it comes to faith in Christ, many people simply think about their sin and heaven and hell. The emphasis of their faith is on securing a positive eternal future in heaven and avoiding the consequences of a lifetime of sin.

But have you ever considered what it means to be in Christ; to have the indwelling Spirit of Christ in you?

Jesus message wasn’t limited to simply being saved from the consequence of our sins. He invited us to follow Him into an overflowing and abundant life (John 10.10).

Illustration: There is a picture of life offered by recruiters of the Armed Forces. I won’t debate on how accurate a picture they paint, but let’s say that they are offering you a different kind of life. For some, that means a structured life where what you do makes a difference. It means leaving life as you knew it behind to step into a new one.

No one leaves boot camp the same way they came. They grow. They mature. They work to become worthy of the title and life that was promised to them. And it is hard work. Not everyone makes it. Not everyone achieves their goal to a new life. Some don’t put in the work. Others don’t want to conform to the requirements. Still others find that life incompatible with their worldview.

Following Jesus into the kingdom of heaven requires a similar process where we are challenged and changed. Though many are called, few are chosen because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life (Matthew 22.14, Matthew 7.14).

I don’t know about you, but I have sometimes struggled to become the person I am called to be. But I believe in the promises of God’s word and I have encountered God and experienced Jesus power in my life.

When I survey the church, sometimes I think that what has been promised or promoted has not been produced.

We’ve been promised peace and joy, and yet there are people who go to church and lack these things.

We declare deliverance and healing and salvation but often seem to lack the experience in our own lives.

And isn’t our experience the very thing that makes our sharing with others effective in God’s hands?

I’m reminded about something that Dallas Willard once wrote (The Allure of Gentleness):

When people ask, “Why are you hopeful in the midst of this world, with all of the suffering and evil that goes on and all of the things that are happening to you?” they don’t want to hear merely about a great God. They don’t want to hear merely about redemptive history, an infallible book, or a covenant people who are a constant testimony to the real hand of God in history. They want to know what’s happening to you, what’s going on in your life. You are saying, “He is my fortress, he is my deliverer.” So they’re going to want to know when the last time he delivered you was. What does deliverance mean? How does this really work? Sharing the good news is often about sharing the personal good news of your life in Christ and not the abstract and generalized good news. They want to hear about your personal relationship to this personal God, who is the foundation of all of reality.

When all we have is doctrines or words that describe a reality but no experience of that reality, we have little to offer people. And when we do not have those experiences or testimonies, we know that what is being declared is not being delivered.

If that is the case it means that we have the wrong discipleship process and practices in our lives.

But when we adjust our practices in a way that truly invites the Holy Spirit to work in us to conform us to Christ, we will be changed. We will know more personally the power and wonder—the glory—of Christ in us (Colossians 1.27).

Spiritual maturity requires time and work.

Simply being religious, going through the church routine, is not enough to produce the necessary change in our lives. We need to be challenged to grow deeply. We need to be empowered and encouraged to do good works (cf. Hebrews 10.25).

We need to be diligent to be found in Christ (cf. 2 Peter 3.14).

God’s desire is that we would have the life of Christ where we would be conformed to His image and enjoy His glory (Galatians 2.20, Romans 8:29, John 17.22).

Developing the Treasure Within

2 Peter 1:1–4 NKJV

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The Apostle Peter declares that in Christ we have all things that pertain to life and godliness. These things have been given to us by the promises of God.

He says that these promises enable us to be partakers of the divine nature. In other words, we can live the same kind of powerful and peaceful and joyful life that Jesus did because His life is in us.

2 Peter 1:5–11 NKJV

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now because of these promises and the access we have to the divine nature, offers instruction as to how to maximize our benefit.

We Work on Our Faith Diligently

2 Peter 1:5–7 The Message

5 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, 6 alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, 7 warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.

Peter tells us to be diligent and work to build on our faith.

He challenges us to work on our character, and develop spiritual knowledge and understanding.

He advocates self-control and discipline and patience.

He calls for godliness, kindness, and love.

These things are not developed passively. They are developed actively, diligently, and often in the face of pressure.

Daniel is a good example of a man who was diligent to develop godly qualities. While he was captive and being trained in the Babylonian college on their customs, language and worldview. He made a choice to develop godliness.

Daniel 1:8–9 NKJV

8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.

Notice that as he kept faith central to his life, it gave him favor and goodwill with others.

God has given us His great and precious promises and as we receive them and are diligent to develop our faith it will open up doors of favor and blessing even with people we would least expect.

Taking a passive approach to our faith doesn’t produce change. Purposing in our hearts and being diligent to work to mature leads to transformation and favor.

We Work on Our Focus

2 Peter 1:8–9 The Message

8 With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. 9 Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

The second thing we do is work on our focus and remember what Jesus has done for us.

He thought you were worth redeeming.

He loved you so much that He was willing to put His life on the cross (Romans 5.8).

He believed in you and chose you even while you were dead in your trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2.4-7).

When Jesus came, He offered a new type of life to those who would trust and believe Him. Focusing on the work of Christ and the worthiness of God leads us to be bold in this life.

Daniel 3:16–18 NKJV

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Because these men saw God as their God they were not afraid. They did not shrink back in fear to destruction, but instead believed and were saved from the fire (cf. Hebrews 10.39).

As we focus on Christ and remember how He loves us, we will have courage and be changed.

We Work With Our Future in Mind

2 Peter 1:10–11 The Message

10 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, 11 the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Finally, we work with our future in mind.

God called you and chose you to be with Him for eternity (John 14.3, John 17.24).

No matter what you are going through remember where you are going to.

Daniel survived the lion’s den because He had faith. No injury was found on him because he believed in his God (Daniel 6.23).

He was held by his faith. He looked toward God. And ultimately he was rewarded with entrance into the kingdom of God (cf. Hebrews 11.33).

Conclusion

Daniel 11:32 NKJV

32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Following Jesus brings transformation in our lives.

Be diligent to work on your faith and become like Christ.

Be diligent to work on your focus and remember what God has done.

Be diligent to work with your future with God in mind.

When you do these things you will discover good things. You will see more clearly God’s working in your life and you will never stumble.

Do these things and you will enter into the everlasting kingdom of our God.

Pray that God would help us assess our processes and beliefs and work on our faith and help us focus on what matters as we live with our future in mind.