Jump Start # 957

Hebrews 13:21 “equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.”

Our verse today reminds us of a great principle and truth that we often forget. The writer tells us that God works in us. That’s an amazing thought. He doesn’t work for us. Nor do we work independent of Him, but together, God using our talents and opportunities works in us and with us.

We are not alone in this. God is not on the sidelines simply watching. There is a combined effort, a partnership in the spiritual that takes place. Now some things to remember:

• God is not going to participate in things that are contrary to His will or are not authorized by His word. God is not going to work against Himself. In the name of religion, everything happens from car washes, plays and drama, to big business. Placing the word “ministry” behind something doesn’t mean it is God endorsed. God will stay with His word, even if we don’t.

• Large crowds, big buildings and a lot of energy is not the measurement of spiritual success. Every once in a while someone will see a parking lot full of cars at a church building and make the comment, “They must be doing something right.” No, not necessarily. It simply means they have a large crowd. God never counts people as a measure of success. We do. We take attendance at worship and we fret over numbers. God doesn’t. Noah’s ark…Lot and his family…Gideon’s downsized army…those on the narrow way—all illustrate that success with God is not about how many people are in the crowd. A preacher visits and one of the first things someone will ask is, “How big is your church?” I’m asked that all the time. Why does it matter? If the answer is 50, there is a sad look on the questioners face. If the answer is 400, they are shocked. Spiritual success is measured in terms of people changing for Christ. Large hearts impress God more than large buildings.

• We can lose focus upon what God is after. Slick, new and fancy church buildings serve a need, but at the end of the day, they are simply a building. God is in the people business. When Jesus declared, “Upon this rock I build my church,” He was saying, “I build people.” God builds people from the inside out. He changes them and molds them into a people of character and righteousness. We tend to like programs and stuff and can get caught up in those things failing to see that God wants us to help people connect to Him. That is the key

God works in us. This is not divine inspiration. This is not something miraculous. This is not the same as what happened with the apostles. However, it is something beyond ourselves. Once we have saturated ourselves with God’s word and busy engaged in His will, things happen. Good things happen. The busier we are in God’s world, it seems the more He opens doors for us in our world. Partnership works that way. Fellowship with God.

You find your niche. Your talent grows. Opportunities become available. You look for ways to invite, teach and shine your light. God is there. He helps. You find yourself doing things that you never thought you could have in the past. You get excited and motivated to spend more time doing spiritual things. Helping people to ready for Heaven becomes a huge passion for you. There is nothing like it.

I had a Bible study with someone recently. They were telling me what it was like. The person said “I was not going to believe it until you proved those things to me. I was stubborn and resisting you. But once I got it, there was this glow on your face. You knew that you had finally shown me what God said. I got it.”

God working with us!

Roger