The apple doesnt fall far from the tree: men do the works of their father, whether it be God (John 10:32) or the devil (John 8:44). Part 3 is expounding more on the difference between "the dead works" (Hebrews 6:1) and the works that testify of our faith and being the children of God (1 John 2:6).
If we are striving to do good, we will only get into God's way. I used to focus only on guarding myself from sinning and failures and it gave sin more power, I sinned more and not less. I did not focus on God. But not only that. When we think only about failures it is because we are AWARE of them (it becomes our works), and we are aware of them because we are striving and WORKING to produce righteousness, which is doomed to fail (this is expounded more in part 2).
This passage from gospel of Matthew recently really popped to me... when we want to succeed in something we ask the best. So how are those who enter Heaven doing it?
Matthew 25
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Wow. They dont even remember? They are not even aware?
They did not sweat it, ponder on it or weary themselves about it. The reason they dont remember is because it has been done from the point of their changed natures, without effort or awareness. It is done by their new nature in Jesus and taking after their Heavenly Father, so they dont even have any record of what was done - simply as it came from who they are in Jesus! It doesnt mean that they didnt have obstacle or stumble on their walks, the point was they allowed the Holy Spirit to work through them. The Spirit does the work simply through changing us and it is not a chore or grievous. This is the kind of works that pleases God - they are not even yours and you wont really be aware or think of them or remember them as works at all! This is kind of parallel to how we dont keep records of wrongs. We dont keep records of good works either.
This man kept records of good works...
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And not just that God didnt justify him, but He also promised to abase him as a sure thing (Lk 18:14)!
But let's go back now and see what those on the left hand did:
Matthew 25
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
They answer the same, but for completely different reasons. Their lack of awareness came from absence of Holy Spirit (who only could stir them to venture into His works) and absence of mercy. Jesus said "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice". Focusing on works like the pharisees is trying to appease God with sacrifices which dont justify us and actually drive us away from God. Here, God, I sacrificed this and that percent of my income. Here, God, I sacrificed myself in fasting today. Here, God, that's what you wanted, right? I did it. Take it now and leave me alone God, see I'm good, I'm not like these tax collectors. While God wants mercy outpouring through the overflowing of the Holy Spirit through us, like filling a fountain to gush out. There is no other sacrifice acceptable to God except Jesus and giving Him the wheel. Other than that one sacrifice of dying to self, what He wants is to use us to rain His mercy and grace, not our messed up stuff, our "good works" and sacrifices. He doesnt want them and He surely does not need them.
Some more useful Scriptures on topic...
NOT IN OUR OWN EYES:
Isaiah 64:6 ...and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
If we look righteous to ourselves, we are wrong. If we boast in the righteousness Jesus graciously covered us with, we're in the right spot!
NOT IN THE EYES OF MEN:
Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward...
A small reminder to myself and I'm writing it in public to cut the offending hand off and make it harder to sin... when writing on the forum, write only what and when God wants, not what people will like, no matter how much the fingers might itch sometimes or if I want to appear smart or funny or other such temptations from the flesh. Hey, I dont want to be like the dude who trades inheritance for a bowl of soup.
NOT IN EXPECTATION OF ANYTHING. SUCH AS SEEKING TO BE JUSTIFIED AND FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF, OR TO BE FAVORED, OR REWARDED BY GOD:
Luke 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Notice that all three points require awareness and sitting on that judgment seat...
This should be the litmus test: if I'm consumed with awareness about my works, that's not the kind of works or the kind of attitude that pleases God. Self consciousness is a red flag. It is something that litttle children dont have. They just live. Let us be like little children place faith in God with readiness to follow Him, and focus our minds on Him and what He is doing! This is the easy burden - in case you want to check it out, part 1 of this miniseries deals in detail with why Jesus says the burden is light, and how to trust God for transformation and enter His rest.
So I am concluding the matter and hoping it was helpful.
Let's pray now that we all become more and more receptive and responsive to the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit day by day. Praying that our wants and desires die and get completely replaced with what God wants for us. That we are filled with the Holy Spirit to the brim and overflow. That God opens our eyes to discern, that we discard the fleeting and choose what is good. Resting in God's promise,
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Amen!
If we are striving to do good, we will only get into God's way. I used to focus only on guarding myself from sinning and failures and it gave sin more power, I sinned more and not less. I did not focus on God. But not only that. When we think only about failures it is because we are AWARE of them (it becomes our works), and we are aware of them because we are striving and WORKING to produce righteousness, which is doomed to fail (this is expounded more in part 2).
This passage from gospel of Matthew recently really popped to me... when we want to succeed in something we ask the best. So how are those who enter Heaven doing it?
Matthew 25
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Wow. They dont even remember? They are not even aware?
They did not sweat it, ponder on it or weary themselves about it. The reason they dont remember is because it has been done from the point of their changed natures, without effort or awareness. It is done by their new nature in Jesus and taking after their Heavenly Father, so they dont even have any record of what was done - simply as it came from who they are in Jesus! It doesnt mean that they didnt have obstacle or stumble on their walks, the point was they allowed the Holy Spirit to work through them. The Spirit does the work simply through changing us and it is not a chore or grievous. This is the kind of works that pleases God - they are not even yours and you wont really be aware or think of them or remember them as works at all! This is kind of parallel to how we dont keep records of wrongs. We dont keep records of good works either.
This man kept records of good works...
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And not just that God didnt justify him, but He also promised to abase him as a sure thing (Lk 18:14)!
But let's go back now and see what those on the left hand did:
Matthew 25
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
They answer the same, but for completely different reasons. Their lack of awareness came from absence of Holy Spirit (who only could stir them to venture into His works) and absence of mercy. Jesus said "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice". Focusing on works like the pharisees is trying to appease God with sacrifices which dont justify us and actually drive us away from God. Here, God, I sacrificed this and that percent of my income. Here, God, I sacrificed myself in fasting today. Here, God, that's what you wanted, right? I did it. Take it now and leave me alone God, see I'm good, I'm not like these tax collectors. While God wants mercy outpouring through the overflowing of the Holy Spirit through us, like filling a fountain to gush out. There is no other sacrifice acceptable to God except Jesus and giving Him the wheel. Other than that one sacrifice of dying to self, what He wants is to use us to rain His mercy and grace, not our messed up stuff, our "good works" and sacrifices. He doesnt want them and He surely does not need them.
Some more useful Scriptures on topic...
NOT IN OUR OWN EYES:
Isaiah 64:6 ...and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
If we look righteous to ourselves, we are wrong. If we boast in the righteousness Jesus graciously covered us with, we're in the right spot!
NOT IN THE EYES OF MEN:
Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward...
A small reminder to myself and I'm writing it in public to cut the offending hand off and make it harder to sin... when writing on the forum, write only what and when God wants, not what people will like, no matter how much the fingers might itch sometimes or if I want to appear smart or funny or other such temptations from the flesh. Hey, I dont want to be like the dude who trades inheritance for a bowl of soup.
NOT IN EXPECTATION OF ANYTHING. SUCH AS SEEKING TO BE JUSTIFIED AND FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF, OR TO BE FAVORED, OR REWARDED BY GOD:
Luke 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Notice that all three points require awareness and sitting on that judgment seat...
This should be the litmus test: if I'm consumed with awareness about my works, that's not the kind of works or the kind of attitude that pleases God. Self consciousness is a red flag. It is something that litttle children dont have. They just live. Let us be like little children place faith in God with readiness to follow Him, and focus our minds on Him and what He is doing! This is the easy burden - in case you want to check it out, part 1 of this miniseries deals in detail with why Jesus says the burden is light, and how to trust God for transformation and enter His rest.
So I am concluding the matter and hoping it was helpful.
Let's pray now that we all become more and more receptive and responsive to the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit day by day. Praying that our wants and desires die and get completely replaced with what God wants for us. That we are filled with the Holy Spirit to the brim and overflow. That God opens our eyes to discern, that we discard the fleeting and choose what is good. Resting in God's promise,
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Amen!
