break free into sonship

John 15:1-8

Jesus wants us to abide in Him as a parasite lives off of blood. We, as branches, can not survive with out the vine. Right? You don’t just see branches floating around producing fruit or being useful. Imagine going to the orchard to pick apples. When you get there, you get your parking spot. You go up to the counter to get your empty bushel. The lady at the counter tells you it’s going to be a rough day picking apples because it’s windy. You go down into the orchard and find the kind of apples you like. Only there are no trees. Just branches floating around violently because of the wind. You’re gonna take a beat down trying to pick some apples. You get the picture. Let’s overlap that picture with a church that doesn’t abide in God. It’s the same thing. How can we expect the church to be relevant to the world around us if we are not connected to the Father? The vine that feeds life into all of us unbiasedly. It would create confusion for all who see. We want desperately to be in a position or used in the church building. All the while, God our Creator wants us to be useful outside the church building.

When we abide in God, we are at a place of contentment and peace that goes beyond understanding. We will recognize our sonship or daughtership as the most valuable treasure we can imagine.
Matthew 13:44

When Christianity becomes performance based, it becomes a religion. If I do this or do that, God will accept me. That’s slavery. We need to throw off those chains of way of thinking.

Being good isn't good enough.

We'll never be able to earn our way from unrighteous to righteous. That's a fact, and that's where we are. Between us and a Holy Creator, there is an immeasurable expanse... A gulf. Only, there's nothing we can do that will successfully reach to the other side. We cannot run, fly, swim, drive, work, jump, earn our way across. If we stopped there, it almost would seem unfair for God to make it so. It's a battle we are born to lose. Picture this... Sovereign God in Heaven and an unrighteous sinner on Earth. How can we bridge the gap? We can't be around the full presence of God unless we become righteous, right? Why would He make it this way? Is He just being mean? I mean, come on, can He really be righteous by requiring something out of us that isn't capable of being in us? The answer is a simple, and resounding YES! But how we might ask?

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Romans 5:7-8 MSG

So check this out... God's requirement of our righteousness proves His love for us by providing that righteousness for us! We can't earn it. We don't deserve it. But way before we were born, the plan for our justification, that was set from the beginning of creation, was finished! Jesus said it Himself on the cross. What great love!

Now, knowing we can never earn salvation, let us soak up His Grace that is so richly offered to us. Let's stop trying to be a slave in the Father's kingdom. Let's grab ahold of the fact that we are sons and daughters of a merciful King!!

Maturity = Service

Many Christians are educated beyond their obedience level. That's a tough pill to swallow, but let's think about it. Before I go further, don't get offended. If any of this is mirroring your life, know that I don't have 1 person in mind. Rather, I have a picture that I'm trying to portray. Also, this is not a picture of the church I attend, but rather an opportunity for us to look inwardly. We mustn't walk around with our holy goggles on and nit pic everyone else. This should be introspective. Now that that's out of the way, let's think about this. A cliche we've all heard says, "How do you spell ministry?"... "W-O-R-K". It is work keeping the church presentable, making snacks for the congregation, preparing messages, teaching children, or whatever you might do. We need to jump in and bear with those laboring. Jesus said the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few.

Hebrews 6:10 (New Living Translation) For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

We have a tendency to ask more from God. Let's do more for His church. I know we are not saved by works. However, read the book of James. We are justified by our works. If our hearts have been transformed, our actions will correspond.

Find out how you can help in your church!!