Are You God's Laborer?

People are born again through the power of the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). Our prayers for others are essential, but they aren't a substitute for the message of the Gospel heard in the human heart (Romans 1:16-17).  

Many of us pray to God for others to be saved and can’t understand why it hasn’t happened. We don’t have to ask the Lord to save people. He doesn’t wish for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). That is why He has already made provision for everyone’s salvation (John 3:16, John 1:22). The freedom to choose or reject Him is a gift He has given us. He won’t go against anyone’s will. 

Since everyone decides for themselves about Jesus, how do we pray for our loved ones to come to the Lord?  Jesus said to pray that the Lord would send laborers across their paths. They need to hear the Word (Romans 10:14-17). We should also bind Satan’s purpose to blind them to spiritual truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).

God is more determined to save our loved ones than we are. We don’t need to plead with Him; rather, we need Him to flow through us to reach those who don’t know Him. We do that by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and praying that other Christians will come across the paths of our loved ones and do the same.

The Gospel is God’s victorious power that is available to everyone who believes. It’s the Good News that although we are sinners and worthy of His anger, God, in His love, sent His Son to take the punishment we deserve, so that we could become righteous in His sight. If a person needs healing, it’s in the Gospel. If deliverance is needed, it’s in the Gospel. Provision, answered prayer, joy, peace, and love are found through understanding and believing the Gospel. Our salvation is based only on our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and not on our performance. Now that's Good News to share with a hurting and dying world.

Yes, you want those you love to know Him. Perhaps, they have closed their hearts to the message coming from you. Pray in faith for God to send laborers with the Gospel. Pray your loved ones will be receptive. Pray God will send those whom He knows will hear Him, follow His leading, and share His message in a way that will reach their hearts. Don’t doubt. If you know God hears your prayers, you can rest assured He sends laborers across their paths. It’s God’s will for everyone to know Him. God will do all that He can so no person will perish. 

Are you praying for laborers to come into the lives of those you love? Well, you are also a laborer. You, my brother or sister, are the answer to someone else's prayer for those they love. Be Jesus in the lives of everyone who comes across your path.

Learn Who You Are In Christ

It is sad to be free and not know it. It makes little sense to live in defeat when you have received victory. But how many Christians live in bondage and defeat, longing for what Jesus has already done for them? Until we allow the miracle of His grace to transform our minds and hearts, His freedom and victory will be what we try to manufacture. Peace will be circumstantial. Fear will arise without warning. Our masks will try to hide the turmoil. This turmoil is not what Jesus died to give us. Until we allow the Holy Spirit to change our understanding and perception of who we are in Christ, we will not live in the freedom and victory Jesus purchased with the gift of His life.

You don't have to fear. Life doesn't have to throw you. You can believe in the impossible. You can trust God for what you can't see. You can rest in His perfect peace. When that mask slips out of place, then not only are you more open with others, but most importantly, you are more open to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing grace. You start to experience His victory and His freedom. You believe He tears down the walls in your life. You believe He heals you.

Are you tired of the roller coaster of your emotions? You no longer have to hold your breath waiting for what might happen next. His grace sets you free from needing to know. It inspires greater faith to believe that you have received everything you need from God’s unending supply. God is your healer. He is your provider. He is your restorer and your victory.

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2, NLT). 

If you are tired of living in defeat when Jesus has given you victory, grow in your knowledge of God and the new life Jesus has given you. The Word is the only way you will grow. It is the only way to renew your mind and increase your faith. The Word grounds you in the undeniable and absolute truth of God’s Word. It frees you from bitterness, jealousy, worry, fear, lust, rebellion, and every sin that steals, kills, and destroys your life. The Word heals and restores you in spirit, soul, and body to God’s design. As you come into agreement with the Word—as you believe it deep within your heart, you receive more grace and peace.

“I pray that God, the source of hope,” Paul wrote, “will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NLT).

God is the source of hope, and He fills you completely, not partially, with joy and peace. Out of His fullness, you have received, grace upon grace (John 1:16). If you are not drawing from this fullness, you are drowning in your own weakness. Trusting God is drawing upon what is yours in Christ. When you trust Him, you overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. If you want to live with confident hope, ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you through His Word and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

God has called you through his marvelous glory and excellence. By receiving Jesus Christ into your life, you have received everything from God that you need to live a godly life. You have received His promises of peace, joy, confident hope, and faith, which enable you to share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).  

You are not the old person you were before you believed in Jesus. That person is dead. You are new! Learn who you are!

Fear Defeats, But Faith Overcomes

 

The story of the Israelites surveying the Promised Land has two parts: God’s command and the Israelites’ response.

 

“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel,” God commanded the Israelites in Numbers 13:2.

 

God did not just offer hope of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. He did something more. He confirmed the promise with His Word, and God always performs His Word.

 

Ten out of the twelve men who had ventured to scout the Promised Land returned with evidence of a prosperous land, but they also presented a negative report about the formidable opposition that must be overcome. Only Caleb and Joshua were not concerned about the opposition. They believed in God’s promise. They knew God had given His Word and would go before them.

 

“There we saw the giants,” the other ten reported. “We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight!” (Numbers 13:33)

 

God’s Promised Land was confirmed right before their eyes, but they only saw the opposition to be overcome to receive it. Fear claimed the spies and then spread like wildfire to everyone else. God was angry with the Israelites’ complaining and their fear.

 

“Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun” (Numbers 14:27-30, NLT).

 

The giants never defeated the Israelites. It was the fear of the giants that defeated them. They never even faced the giants. The Lord would have gone before them to defeat the strongholds of Canaan, but their fear never allowed it. They saw defeat before they even tried. The Israelites were defeated, not by the giants, but by fear. 

 

Faith is the capacity to believe. We can believe God or believe a fearful report. What we believe will determine our consequences. On what is your faith focused?  On the Word of God or the giants in your life, and what you think might happen? If you live in fear, you will never even face the giants. You will never know that God is with you. You will never know what it means to trust Him. Fear will keep you from receiving God’s promise. Fear alone will defeat you.

 

Do you have a promise God has confirmed to you with His Word, but you only see the giants? Fear keeps you from fighting the good fight of faith. God has not given you a spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). 

 

“Fear not,” God says, “for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

 

What is your response to God’s promise? Faith overcomes your opposition. Don’t let a fearful report hold you back. There will always be giants to defeat. Believe in the promise God has confirmed to you! Believe in His excellent report! Be courageous! Step out in faith! His power in you overcomes the enemy and the strongholds keeping you from taking possession of your promise. 

 

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

Put Your Faith In Jesus

Everything in life has limits. We are taught from childhood to know our limits and to live with them. It can be hard to believe God isn’t limited. But when we enter God’s spiritual realm, we must remove all the limits. We must renew our minds with the truth that God isn’t like us. He can do anything.

 

We have an incredible God who is so powerful that we can't even grasp it with our limited minds. He created the sun, the earth, the moon, stars, and the universe. He made us, and nothing was impossible for Him. Yet, we often think our hardships are too complex for Him. We can't see how He can make a way when there seems to be no way. We are too limited by what we think and experience. 

 

“Behold,” the Lord declared to Jeremiah, “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

 

Jeremiah had just questioned the Lord’s wisdom in leading him to purchase his cousin’s field. He knew that the Babylonians would soon conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and property ownership would be useless. In Jeremiah 32:27, the Lord countered Jeremiah by asking him if anything was too hard for Him. Of course, the answer was no! God would return the Jewish people to their land, and property would again be worth something.

 

God’s answer to us is also an indisputable, “No!” Nothing is too complicated for God! 

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’” (Deuteronomy 7:17)

 

The Lord had promised Israel victory over all their enemies. Yet, in this verse, He said that if the people doubted, that would stop Him from fulfilling His promise. Doubt will keep us from receiving what God has promised us (James 1:6-7). We must cooperate with His Word through faith to reap its benefits. Without faith, you won’t receive (Hebrews 4:2, Ephesians 3:20).

 

Our unbelief is the only thing that limits God.

 

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes,” Jesus told the father of the demon-possessed young man. (Mark 9:23)

 

Jesus wouldn’t accept the total responsibility for the miracle of delivering this young man. This father had to believe, too, so Jesus put the responsibility back on the father.

 

“And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’” (Matthew 29:28-29)

 

It wasn’t Jesus’ faith that caused these two blind men to receive their sight. They had to put their faith in Jesus to heal them. The word “according” means “in keeping with.” Their faith was sufficient, but they had never had a Savior in whom they could put their faith. "In keeping with" Jesus' faith, they were healed.

 

“If you have faith as a mustard seed,” Jesus said, “you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

 

Romans 12:3 in the King James Version states that God has dealt to every man “the” measure of faith. “The” is a definite article, indicating that we have all received the same amount of faith. What are we doing with that measure of faith? Faith can be as small as a mustard seed yet powerful enough to move a mountain. When our faith agrees with God’s Word, our faith is sufficient enough to provide God’s promises of salvation, healing, deliverance, blessing, and everything Jesus’ finished work purchased on our behalf. Jesus has restored us. If we believe, nothing is impossible.

 

Since Jesus is the author and the finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2), His Word is worth all your investment. Jesus is worthy of your confident trust. He isn’t holding back the promise of His finished work because it’s not His time. He’s waiting on you to believe He turns water into wine, sickness into health, and death into life. Your faith is sufficient! Move forward into the spiritual realm of God's promise and take possession of the undeserved, yet lavish, gift of His precious blood. He is your Savior in whom you can put your faith.

Holiness Is The Fruit of Your Relationship With Jesus

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

—1 John 1:7

 

According to 1 John 1:5, God is light. Walking in His light is walking in God. But it is not living a completely sinless life because we all have fallen short of God's perfection (Romans 3:23). If walking in His light was living a sinless life, then there would be no need for Jesus to cleanse us from all sin as I John 1:7 declares. 

 

Born-again Christians are one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17), but don’t instinctively walk in Him or live the way He desires. In Romans 8:5-9, Paul teaches about being in the Spirit and walking after the Spirit. He explains why only those who walk after the Spirit experience the righteousness of God fulfilled in their lives. 

 

Walking in God’s light doesn’t produce fellowship with Him. However, fellowship with God produces the ability to walk in His light. This is an important difference and one that is often missed. Our actions reveal whether or not we have fellowship with the Lord. But our actions do not cause us to have fellowship with Him.

 

Failure to understand that our actions do not give us a relationship with God has led many believers to try to earn fellowship with Him through what they do. When we do this, we are trusting in our own holiness. We are coming to God without trusting in Christ and His righteousness. When we come to God on our own merits, we are defenseless against Satan’s condemnation. God doesn’t accept us based on what we do. He accepts us based on our faith in Jesus. If we have faith in Jesus and fellowship with Him, holiness will come as a fruit of that relationship (Romans 6:22).

 

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).

 

Romans 8:5 gives us a test so that we can determine if we are walking after the flesh or after the Spirit. We have to examine what we are thinking about. If we are consistently thinking about the things of the Spirit, then we are walking after the Spirit. If we are thinking about carnal things, then we are walking according to the flesh and are subject to our feelings instead of God’s truth. We must constantly renew our minds with God's Word. To be carnally minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

 

We are now new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have a new identity, which is our spiritual man and not the flesh. But we will always be in the flesh until we put our faith in Christ alone. We have to put on the righteousness in which we have been reborn (Ephesians 4:24). We walk in His light by faith in Christ, realizing that within ourselves we are nothing. We can’t earn the righteousness of God. It is His gift to us in Christ. When we believe this in our hearts and submit to the new righteous identity Jesus has purchased on our behalf, holiness is the fruit of our relationship with God.

 

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:10-11).

Set your mind only on the things of the Spirit. Keep walking after Jesus. Keep following Him. Keep sowing the Word into your life. Keep walking after the Spirit until you are walking in the Spirit. It is only then that you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). 

 

Holiness is not born of your works. Holiness is the fruit of your relationship with God in Christ Jesus. Holiness in you is only born of your relationship with Jesus, whose work was perfect. 

You reap holiness as a result of your relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

 

His Way Or My Way

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

—John 14:6

 

 

Have you ever come to a place where you realize that your way just doesn’t work? If we are honest, I think we can admit we all have. We search for answers and whatever else we need, and come up short. Then we finally get to the point where we just give up. 

Our search to find answers and help for whatever we need begins and ends with Jesus. He is the only way.

Choosing our way instead of the Lord’s is foolishness. We often end up going our way instead of His, even when we don’t mean to. It’s because we live in this fleshly body and a fallen world that shrewdly deludes us with options that appear to be good, but aren’t.

 

It’s easy to recognize the side of our flesh that is so obvious—the side of blatant, outright sin. However, there are sides of the flesh that aren’t so apparent. Some things are triggers that can subtly pull us away from the Lord’s way. 

 

One trigger is when we become everyone’s problem solver. I understand this subtleness of the flesh in my own life. Growing up, I discovered that I could easily see solutions to problems. I could see the steps to bring structure to chaos. When a problem needed a resolution, I could find a solution that I thought benefited everyone involved. However, this ability developed into perfectionism. I begin putting demands on myself to do things perfectly in my life and in my relationships with other people. I always had an unspoken pressure to do things right. Knowing I could correctly and efficiently get something done, I pushed on ahead. Others, instead of being inspired to help, became dependent on me. I found myself frustrated with them and with myself.  

 

One day, I heard the Holy Spirit. “You’re not the way,” He said. “You’re not the truth or the life. I am. You aren’t supposed to fix everything. You aren’t supposed to make everything just right. Trust me instead of yourself.”  It was a wake-up call that is a lifetime decision I consciously must make every day.

 

When you make people dependent upon you, you become their solution, and it hinders them from seeking God for themselves. When you have a mindset of  “I’m the only one who can do this,” you rely on yourself to the point that you end up burning out in frustration. When you believe your way is the only way and you’re the one to be sure it gets done correctly, you start getting anxious with people when they don’t measure up to your expectations. You expect something from them that you haven’t taken the time to share with them. They haven’t learned any skills to help. You have been too busy doing things for them.

 

Another subtle trigger to the flesh is the “agenda,” which consumes you. An agenda, which becomes your obsession, is greater in your life than anything else. It becomes your whole focus. Your perspective regarding situations and relationships is determined by your agenda. You cannot objectively see from someone else’s viewpoint. The ability to make fair and just decisions is lacking.

 

You may also have been inspired by God to do something specific. The flesh can come against you when you attempt to accomplish it in your own wisdom and timing. When your flesh determines the way to bring forth God’s work, you end up instructing God instead of Him instructing you. 

 

God’s grace is for us. But God’s grace is not for us in what we direct and control. Grace is received in humility. God cannot bless pride. When we take control, we follow our version of His way instead of following Him.

 

Being in control is a convenient way to get things done quickly. Things might appear really good because you see good results, but the truth is, when you are in control, you are only proceeding in your own way. The devil has his mark all over your efforts. He will let you taste success for a while, but that success won't last.

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life,” Jesus said. “The flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

 

We won’t experience the peace and joy God has for us when our flesh gets in the way. Our way is death, and the things we attempt to do our way won’t produce fruit. God’s work is alive. He is the truth, the way, and the life. Anything we receive from Him can only be fruitful. But that is only true if we carry out His purpose under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

 

When the Lord says that His Words are spirit and life, this is our call to take notice. Our part is to totally surrender and listen to Him. In surrendering to Him, we keep our relationship with Him alive and fresh. When we walk in His Spirit, those triggers to our flesh become obvious. Our hearts become open to His way and to the Spirit’s leading. We receive the joy and peace of the Lord. We receive His very best and His power to keep the flesh from rising up to control us.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Not me.