Good deeds God listens to - after the cross as before the cross

[PeterJens]

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
Acts 10:3-6

I had found it odd that people claimed the Lord did not listen or take note of how unbelievers
behaved, only those who walked in faith.

Cornelius is a man who was being devoted to God yet did not know Christ, and the Lord heard
and recognised him.

Jonah was sent to Nineveh as a warning of judgement because of their sinful behaviour.

“Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:4-5

Jonah preached and the people repented and showed remorse.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10

Now some would have you believe that God does not regard sin, or unbelievers reaching
out to him. But both of the above passages demonstrate the exact opposite, it matters how
you walk and God very much regards good works as a good thing, even when done by unbelievers.

So let us walk in Christs ways knowing He has made the pathway straight.

 

[Yonah]

there is a difference in walking in sin in ignorance (in varying degrees)then not knowing or understanding what is really going on... those who have accepted the truth yet choose to willingly disobey, their prayers are hindered, but the cry form any precious soul desiring life will never be ignored, and even willful disobedience can be repented of, the Father is merciful and will repeatedly address the wayward one to turn from their error and again receiver the blessings and joy of all whop walk with Him.
Psalm 51 is an excellent illustration of this.

 

[Grace777x70]

I believe that God will make Himself known in a fuller measure to those who are seeking after Him in whatever capacity they currently have in their minds.

God honors "goodness" but goodness is not righteousness which is what is needed to be with the Lord for eternity.

The doing of "good deeds" does not make one righteous in the sight of God with the righteousness that is His standard. Cornelius needed to hear about Christ in order to become righteous in God's eyes which only comes by grace through faith in Christ.

Only Jesus makes us righteous by what He has done which is why the Lord sent for Peter to come to "hear words" and to have Peter "speak words". Acts 10:22,32

 

[PeterJens]

The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Acts 10:15

The above phrase struck me as profound. In Christ God has called us clean, purified, blameless,
not because we were like this, but because when we are washed by Christs blood and believing
in Him and walking in His ways we are clean.

But listening to some, it would appear they would rather believe what God has made clean is not
clean, what God has purified is not pure, and so must always believe in failure.

My daughter had an interesting experience with cakes. She was trying very hard to get toned, and
decided she could only eat a small amount of cake at any time. She was visiting a friend and she found
a massive desire to eat cake, like it was the most important thing in her life. The repression and denial
had become a monster to take her over and change her will. So by creating a goal, and trying to
impose limits her mind had chosen to increase her desire further. The problem was the incorrect goal
and restriction, rather than simply adjusting everything in her life, and keeping it in balance, it came
out of balance.

So equally trying to be acceptable our way, creates the things we despise even stronger, rather than
focusing on what Jesus asks us to do, and leaving the rest alone ie. God loves you, you do not have to
continually check and measure up, He will tell you when you have issues, so will your conscience, He
loves you and will look after you.

But the insecure constantly want to check, just to make sure.

Ever seen a plant grow after you keep on checking the roots? No. You need to feed it, and leave it
alone, and it will develop like everything else.

 

[John146]

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
Acts 10:3-6

I had found it odd that people claimed the Lord did not listen or take note of how unbelievers
behaved, only those who walked in faith.

Cornelius is a man who was being devoted to God yet did not know Christ, and the Lord heard
and recognised him.

Jonah was sent to Nineveh as a warning of judgement because of their sinful behaviour.

“Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:4-5

Jonah preached and the people repented and showed remorse.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10

Now some would have you believe that God does not regard sin, or unbelievers reaching
out to him. But both of the above passages demonstrate the exact opposite, it matters how
you walk and God very much regards good works as a good thing, even when done by unbelievers.

So let us walk in Christs ways knowing He has made the pathway straight.

Scripture tells us that Cornelius was a devout man and one that feared God.

During Jonah's day, the whole world was sinful, not just Nineveh. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to declare to them that God was going to destroy them in 40 days. Nineveh was an enemy of Israel and God was protected Israel and the promised seed. Nineveh ended up repented of their evil and God spared them. Jonah did not preach some sermon of repentance, but one of destruction. God changed His mind and did not destroy them.

Nineveh is a great example of how God's heart is reachable and can even change God's direction towards us.

 

[FreeNChrist]

It's not about God "listening" to good deeds. It's about God being the origin of those good deeds.......or not.

 

[BeyondET]

What are some examples of good deeds,, in that God would find pleasing?

 

[Blain]

As I have said many times before it all comes down to the the heart. Cornelius did many good works and prayed often notice that he prayed often meaning he knew and worshiped God, but what God recognized in this man was not the amount of good works and prayers he did rather the heart behind all the vast good works and prayers.

The motives and the reason in the heart is the deciding factor a pure heart is not one who does much good but rather is a heart whose motive and reason behind the good they do. How important it is to search our hearts and to seek to know the motive and the reason in our hearts for everything we do because the heart of a person is has been and always will be the deciding factor. If there is love behind ones words and actions in everything they do they will know God on a level they never could have hoped for but what good does it do to do good works without a heart of love?

Anyone can do good works but when those works are fueled by love by compassion by care of others those are the works that will soar like an eagle simply because of the heart behind them. God knows his own because he searches the heart even if we think we are doing something for the right reason as we can delude ourselves God knows the deepest depths of every mans heart. Which is why we must search our own hearts everyday why we must question the real reason and motives of everything we do say and think even if it turns out we find darkness we didn't want to believe was there.

 

[Magenta]

Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC by the Medes, in fulfillment of the prophecy of destruction made by Nahum. Nineveh was spared during Jonah's time due to their repentance in 760 BC.

 

[BeyondET]

As I have said many times before it all comes down to the the heart. Cornelius did many good works and prayed often notice that he prayed often meaning he knew and worshiped God, but what God recognized in this man was not the amount of good works and prayers he did rather the heart behind all the vast good works and prayers.

The motives and the reason in the heart is the deciding factor a pure heart is not one who does much good but rather is a heart whose motive and reason behind the good they do. How important it is to search our hearts and to seek to know the motive and the reason in our hearts for everything we do because the heart of a person is has been and always will be the deciding factor. If there is love behind ones words and actions in everything they do they will know God on a level they never could have hoped for but what good does it do to do good works without a heart of love?

Anyone can do good works but when those works are fueled by love by compassion by care of others those are the works that will soar like an eagle simply because of the heart behind them. God knows his own because he searches the heart even if we think we are doing something for the right reason as we can delude ourselves God knows the deepest depths of every mans heart. Which is why we must search our own hearts everyday why we must question the real reason and motives of everything we do say and think even if it turns out we find darkness we didn't want to believe was there.

good post Brother...

[video=youtube;sJUZYT7Nmps]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUZYT7Nmps[/video]

 

[PeterJens]

What struck me as strange was people I met who seemed to condemn good things, anybody doing
loving kind things for others, because the value was taken on the basis of salvation and justification,
not delighting in that which is good.

The first step towards the Father is recognising the difference between loving acts and good deeds,
and those which are evil. If you loose this distinction you loose everything.

There have been societies where this has happened, IS is one example, or Pol Pot in Cambodia, or the
Nazi party in Germany. I used to think this was a difficult divide, but Hitler showed how easily a society
can be indoctrinated and turned.

Jesus said things like,
Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Matt 10:41

God will reward things He takes delight in. I used to not like this idea, until
I had children and every little thing that I wanted to encourage them in and
recognise progress I would reward in some way, to help, to bring further progress.

God appears no different. God desires that good things are done, and that people
may take delight in doing them. "Blessed are those who ..."

The counter argument is self justification. But this unfortunately is a lie. We have
never had a world full of people doing too many good things, rather the exact
opposite, so to discourage people in seeking to do good things, is actually opposing
the Lord.

 

[FreeNChrist]

"It is a stroke of satanic genius, and one of his most ancient devices, to persuade you piously to dedicate to God all that you presume to find good in the flesh, which God has condemned. " - Major W Ian Thomas

 

[PeterJens]

"It is a stroke of satanic genius, and one of his most ancient devices, to persuade you piously to dedicate to God all that you presume to find good in the flesh, which God has condemned. " - Major W Ian Thomas

This phrase is poison in peoples minds. It is the very thing which starts to say being good
and doing good are bad things and condemned by God, when this is a lie.

Jesus is the ultimate statement of love, before which if you can see Him we all fall.
The problem is the sinfulness of the heart and its thoughts. But once you have understood
there is no sin in the world that given the right circumstances you could not commit, the
road to redemption begins.

It is why repentance is so important, the giving up of self justification.
It appears though some do not understand these words or have been in this place.
Trying to be what you are not, rather than dwelling in Christ and becoming what you are
called to be through our walk with Christ.

 

[FreeNChrist]

"“Good works” are those that have their origin in Jesus Christ, as Christ’s activity is released through your body because you present it to Him as a living sacrifice. You do this only by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to Adamic independence." - Major W Ian Thomas

 

[Blain]

I do good deeds all the time not to boast of myself but I do anything I can to help others and looking back on when I did these things I didn't expect or even want anything in return it was just by instinct. Last night for instance I was goin on a walk and it was cold and getting dark and about to rain I saw a dog and I soon saw a girl in tears chasing after it and I asked her if it was her dog and she said yes.

In that moment my legs just moved I remembered the pain of losing my cat and I didn't want this girl to experience that it began to downpour it was cold and wet but I spent hours looking for this dog. I was seen as strange by the people who owned it to be willing to go that far to risk getting severely sick for a dog that I don't know and for a family I have never met.

This is a testimony of how alien it is for good works to be recognized, the heart behind my actions was seen as strange and I wanted nothing in return, this is not to boast of myself but rather to boast of the love of God and how he changes a person to go to extreme lengths for the sake of others. The heart behind any works will be the deciding factor

 

[PeterJens]

"“Good works” are those that have their origin in Jesus Christ, as Christ’s activity is released through your body because you present it to Him as a living sacrifice. You do this only by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to Adamic independence." - Major W Ian Thomas

Good works

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
Eph 2:10

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matt 5:16

In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.
1 Tim 5:25

Is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
1 Tim 5:10

We are to prize good works, because they express the nature of God.

Weird theology like that Major Thomas wishes to judge deeds with a faith view, rather than
the beauty of love working throughout Gods creation.

The poison of this distorted view is good deeds are not good not because of what they are
but because of who is doing it and why. Evil wants to say this, to stop even the good that
is expressed in a dying world so all is failed and lost and the final light of life is extinguished.

Jesus said this

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matt 24:12-13

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

Good works come from love, and love comes from God and His intentions in creation.
It is why we empathise with Christ and His message. We all feel the pull, but many
do not want to risk the walk and would rather compromise and stay with what they
know.

 

[FreeNChrist]

"God does not honor men and women and their deeds or their books or their organizations. The Father in heaven delights to honor His Son. It is only the Life of the Lord Jesus – His activity, clothed with you and displayed through you – that ultimately will find the approval of God." - Major W Ian Thomas

 

[PeterJens]

"God does not honor men and women and their deeds or their books or their organizations. The Father in heaven delights to honor His Son. It is only the Life of the Lord Jesus – His activity, clothed with you and displayed through you – that ultimately will find the approval of God." - Major W Ian Thomas

The above comment is shown to be a lie in Cornelious and the message of the angel.

Jesus indwells the universe as he is the foundation of all things. Jesus came to declare
the desire for the things of God are blessed.

Blessed are those who mourn, who are poor in spirit, who are peacemakers, who hunger
and thirst after righteousness, who are pure in heart, who are merciful.

Now some appear to believe God does not bless these things, though Jesus is saying He
does. Odd that that things people say are from God are contradicted by God himself.

I think they have got it wrong. And if it is this simple, they should be rejected along with
their teaching.

 

[FreeNChrist]

"The flesh, everything that you do apart from Him "profiteth nothing" (John 6:63), and there is always the awful possibility, if you do not discover this principle, that you may spend a lifetime in the service of Jesus Christ doing nothing!" - Major W Ian Thomas

 

[PeterJens]

Feed on Christ in word, deed and Spirit

"Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
John 6:53-58