Renew Us
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January 10, 2010 |
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 "But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins." (Luke 5:38)
When Jesus said, "But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins," it means we have to discard all forms of the old manners of life and all of the untruths and receive His new words with fresh new heart.
In the beginning of this New Year, 2010, I believe you eagerly desire to become men and women of spirit and faithfully fulfill your God-given duties. Many people are thankful when assigned such duties and make up their minds thinking, "What a great blessing has been given to such a small person as me! I'll be faithful to the Lord with all my heart and soul." What do we have to do to have unchanging fervor for the Lord and to receive this new year with a renewed heart?
First of all, we have to be truthful.
God sees everything with His blazing eyes and knows the depths of men's hearts. Some believers profess their faith, but dare to try to deceive God if they have not accomplished a sincere heart. It is just the same with Ananias and his wife Sapphira who told a lie to Peter in the time of the early churches. They possessed at least a certain level of faith to have sold all their possessions and were trying to give them to God. But somewhere in the middle, greed broke out in their hearts and they attempted to deceive a powerful servant of God. This is the same as trying to deceive God, so they couldn't be saved (Acts 5:1-11).
The same thing still happens today. If you fail to accomplish a sincere heart, you may act in falsehood. You may pretend to yearn for spirit even though you don't actively seek it, and you may pretend to act by faith though you don't have faith. You may not even realize that you are a hypocrite, but instead think you are a faithful worker. In some cases, you may try to perform unprofitable works in the kingdom of God only for your name's sake. You may seem to be faithful before others' eyes, but it may be found to be untrue when your thoughts and actions are not apparent to others. Such things have nothing to do with a sincere heart. As recorded in Ephesians 5:9, "for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth," I wish for you to bear the fruit of truthfulness in the love for God and confidently stand before God with that fruit.
Secondly, we have to serve others.
"To serve others" requires sacrifice from us. In most cases to serve others costs us our time, finances, and efforts. It is important to show our sacrifices in deeds, but far more important to have the heart that is considerate of others. If you have an irritated appearance or speak bluntly while doing someone a favor, the person may become uncomfortable because of your actions, and may think that he has been a nuisance to you. Then he may hesitate to ask you a favor in the future. In this case, no matter how excellently you handled the favor for him, he never feels you have served him. Instead he may feel a little awkward about the situation. That's why, within the standards of rendering service, you have to pay close attention to every word you speak, your body language and even the expression on your face.
You also have to be aware of whether or not you are serving the church and others with love. There are many kinds of amenities and services provided in the church that many people are using such as rest rooms, stairs, and corridors and dining areas. Though no one tells them to, there are some members who always cleaning rest rooms as they use the facility as they would in their home, while some others do not even think about it. God is looking at those who love the church and serve others with love. When they are asked to do additional duties, some people feel burdened and complain, saying, "Why do I have to do this?" If they reluctantly did what they were asked with an irritated attitude, they cannot be rewarded.
In the world people receive recognition as the result of just the accomplishment of something. But, it is not the same for the work of the Lord. To receive the rewards in Heaven the works of the Lord must be done with faith and love. In the world, how diligently a person is willing to work may depend on something like the amount of the salary they receive. But in the church, a person should not only perform the God-given duties, but he should also do all other works of God possible as well. In the world subordinates serve their seniors, but God says he who serves is greater. When you serve others from the heart you can be honored not only by people on earth, but you can enjoy great glory in heaven as well.
Thirdly, we have to show the deeds of obeying the word.
You should not forget the word of God but keep and practice it. Romans 2:13 says, "For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified." You cannot practice every word of God from the beginning of your believing life. But you have to make every effort to live by the word of God. When God sees that effort, He gives you the grace and strength to change and become a man of spirit.
Sometimes people who are assigned God-given duties might decide to become sanctified to fulfill those duties. In the long years of faith and with higher positions and titles in the church the eagerness for sanctification may cool down. They don't practice evil and they don't break the peace. Because of the stored knowledge of the truth they exercise self-control and cover the evils. They are doing their duties and appear where they have to attend. That's why they think they are progressing well in faith. But they may be attending the services as a course of habit and attend prayer meetings without a longing heart. If this state continues, their faith becomes stagnant and they lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit so that they may commit the works of the flesh that lead them on the path to death. Does it seem appropriate for a person to have had firsthand experience with the power of God, but just barely manage to be saved?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am eagerly urging you to press on towards the city of New Jerusalem. God wants all of us to reach that goal. I pray in the name of the Lord you may listen to, realize and practice the word of God with a longing heart and change into men of spirit and whole spirit in the New Year.
If you want to hear this message in greater detail, you can visit (www. manmin. org) and click "WORD OF LIFE" then choose the sermon topic of your choice.
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