After going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned I was happy to get a new toothbrush and a new tube of toothpaste. What if I opened the toothbrush and proceeded to open the toothpaste box and squeezed out what I thought was a spearmint flavor and to my surprise tasted peppermint? It would be a bit of a shocker to my taste buds because if my brain was poised and ready for the taste of spearmint, which I had tasted many times before, and then my taste buds tasted the peppermint it would be quite a surprise and it might make me recoil a bit. Not because it tasted so bad, but because it was much different than what I had anticipated.
When God is growing us in our walk through His Word He is changing our insides. You know, our heart, our mind, our spirit. Everything. When we are changed at our core we are a different person from the inside out. God loved David because he was a man after God's own heart. David still messed up, but he intended to follow God, all of God. David was forgiven for his transgressions and God continued to work on the insides of David and through that struggle, David grew in the Lord.
When we are born again God does a work on us as well and He changes us from the inside out. We receive the Holy Spirit when we believe by faith and surrender to Jesus and then the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and makes it real for each us as we grow in the Lord. This process is called sanctification and the intent of this process is to change us and make us more like what God wants us to be. Our identity is then found in the Lord and we react to life in a more Godly way. Paul said it this way to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
It is God's purpose for each of us to become more holy in our actions and thus show the heart of our Father. Our world needs to see more of God through His people and since we live in this world, we are what scripture calls "ambassadors" of our Father. This is a great responsibility and should not be ignored.
Since we are in the world and not of this world our response to life should be full of faith, hope, and power because the world needs to see the heart of the Father. The Holy Spirit enables and empowers us to live a life of victory over the influence of the world. But how can we make a difference if we are no different than the world? WE CAN'T! So God calls us to a different standard based on His Word and gives us the Holy Spirit power to live it! The church at Ephesus had a special place in the heart of Paul and his words to this church were very strong in leading them to a new way of living. Paul challenged them to live life at a new level and they responded. Paul early on gave them this challenge and his call for them to leave the worldly gods and adhere to their newfound faith with a fervent spirit are seen in the following verses. Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
Paul is telling this church to "grow up" and live as the Holy Spirit calls them to live. He knew it was possible to live this type of life because of the power of the Holy Spirit in each of them, but they needed to pursue God at a whole new level. No more "little bit of the world and a little bit of God." They needed to jump off the cliff of indifference and let God enable them to soar as children of God. God told Isaiah this life was possible and in Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah prophesied these words. Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
God has called us to a new standard and He has empowered us to live this life and thus impact our world as never before. That way when we are squeezed with the problems of the world the attitude and love of God will come out and shock the world at how powerful our God is. God is working, but we must be believing to capture where He wants us in His plan.
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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