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It's A God Thing

by Steve Countryman  
9/09/2013 / Christian Living

God works through mankind to accomplish His will for mankind. He uses both saint and sinner alike to accomplish His will in the earth, a God thing. For God is not subject to time and space and He sees the beginning from the end. That being said, what we are living in, experiencing and going through life, to God it is a finished work, it is already done! To that end God is in control. That is not to say that you can do anything you want because God is in control. It means that His plan and His will concerning this world will be done His way, His outcome. God said in Isaiah 46:11 What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. The question is are you the one who God will use to help bring it about or will He have to find someone else. Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fathers family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? One thing is for sure, God will have His way, AMEN!

John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." John 5:30 "By myself I can do nothing" Though Jesus is the One and only Son of God he said "By myself I can do nothing". Jesus the Son of God admitted that apart from God He is no different than the rest of us. It is what God did through Jesus who is a totally obedient and loving Son that was so amazing! If God's Son Jesus declares that He can do nothing by himself, shouldn't we then understand that apart from God we can do nothing. But with God "I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me." A God thing is not a work of the flesh!

Looking closer at Jesus' disciples you get a better understanding of what a God thing is at work in their transformation from disciples into mighty apostles of God. Jesus predicted His death and resurrection to His disciples three times before going to the cross. Mark 14:27-28 27 "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." Here once again Jesus tells them that about His resurrection. Fearing their arrest when Jesus was arrested the disciples all scattered. After the death of Jesus on the cross the disciples all hid behind locked doors hoping not to be found. This is what their lives had come to. Because the disciples had all but forgotten what Jesus had told them, when they heard from the women that Jesus was not in the tomb they didn't believe them. Even after Peter and John went and saw the empty tomb they all assumed that His body had been stolen.

Luke 24:13-27 13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus." 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."

These two disciples were just echoing what the other disciples all believed about Jesus. What is amazing is that Jesus didn't get offended at their disregard of His heavenly heritage. The twelve disciples were considered to be Jesus' closest students but there were other disciples who also traveled with Jesus. Numbering at times over 500 disciples who traveled, slept and ate with Jesus they too witnessed the miracles and heard Jesus' teachings. After the cross their numbers had dwindled down to around 120 but they didn't realize who Jesus truly was until later. Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Acts 2:1-4 "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

A God thing had occurred in that upper room to those disciples that forever changed their lives. That above passage is always used as an example for those who receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them, I am going to send you what my Father has promised, that is the Holy Spirit. But something else happened in the upper room that the church of today lacks and desperately needs. Those disciples were not only filled with the Holy Spirit but also received all spiritual giftings of the Holy Spirit. They were infused with the gifts of healing, discernment, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, wisdom and knowledge. Jesus also said, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. John the Baptist said about JesusMathew 3:11 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. They were filled and overflowed with the fire of the Holy Spirit that departed to them power, courage, boldness, zeal and passion of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirits gift of faith. From that moment on they no longer hid behind locked doors but openly preached the gospel boldly everywhere they went. They went from useless fearful disciples to powerful fearless apostles, a God thing!

Today's church needs a God thing that brings Holy Spirit fire flowing from the people. Most churches fail to preach and teach on the infilling or receiving of the Holy Spirit after conversion. One of the single most important thing that a believer needs in their life and walk with the Father is to receive the Holy Spirit. The role of the church is to be a school for discipling believers in the faith. To help equip the saints for kingdom service out in the real world. Church is not where you are to bring someone who needs healing. Church is not where you are to bring someone who needs salvation or deliverance. We believers are to do God's work out in the world. The problem is that today's Bible believing church has assumed the role of the believer. Read the book of Acts and see how the church started and ran. Courage, boldness, zeal and passion of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit's gift of faith is what is missing from today's church. Determination, submission, obedience and reverential fear of God is what it takes from each believer to receive these giftings of the Holy Spirit. But where are the churches that teach this? It needs to part of a church's standard monthly preaching curriculum! How awesome regular church services would be if it's members gave weekly praise reports of the Holy Spirit doing a God thing out in the world!

We are living in the last of the last days and the question is will you be actively blessing others and part of the action or will you be an spectator, a pew sitter or a bench-warmer who is missing out on ALL of the action and blessings? John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." God eagerly waits to empower you from on high!

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