Joining God in What He's Doing

A truth we see throughout the Bible is that God is an agent – and actor. God does things. From creation to redemption, from calling a people and working among them, God is constantly at work.  Throughout scripture we also see that God is continually inviting people to join in what he's doing. That's not just true of Bible times, that's something God does today. It's a source of great joy. Given that reality, what are some ways we can join in what he's doing?

1. Tell God you're willing. One of phrases I like to use to describe the act of becoming a Christian is "becoming a willing participant in what God is doing." God's not looking for robots or puppets. God is looking for people who choose to engage with him.
2. Ask God to help you see people as he does. When God looked at the broken, sinful state of humanity – when he looked at us – he loved us. That love in spite of our sin caused the Father to send the Son to live and die for us. When we people who have been bought by the blood of Jesus see people the way he sees them, we'll increasingly have the same love for them that he does.
3. Practice repentance. The Christian life is walking with Jesus, a life of increasing time spent with God. The more time we spend walking in the light as he is in the light, the more we become aware of our sin. Because we know that "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," this doesn't lead us to despair – because we are in Christ! Instead, awareness of our sin leads us to repentance. The Christian life is a life of continual repentance, a life of continually turning over every aspect of our life to Jesus in submission to him.
4. Let God work in your life, transforming you into the image of Jesus. This is the flip side of repentance. As we turn from sin, continually submitting every aspect of our lives to Jesus, the Spirit works to transform us. That transformation brings us joy. It also makes us the kind of people who can demonstrate God's reality and character to people who don't yet know Jesus.
5. Have a bias toward new people. The longer we're together as a church, the more natural it is for us to spend time with each other. Because we're obeying Jesus' command to love each other as he loved us, that's a good thing. But our natural human tendency is to become ingrown, to cut off our relationships with outsiders. By spending time with outsiders – people who don't have any church connection – and people who are new to Hardy, we are on the front line of both helping people come to faith in Christ and to helping them integrate into the body. One way to do this onsite: Whenever we gather, whether in the sanctuary for worship, in the fellowship hall to eat, or somewhere else, look for people you don't know or people who are alone. Come alongside them. Be a friend.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Rev. Richard Heyduck