The Church At Brierfield

Jesus had very clear purpose in His life.  He told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”  [John 4:34]  His life was completely focused on doing the will of God.  He lived with a profound sense of being sent by the Father to do specific works.  Accomplishing these works was all He wanted in life.

Some might think that Jesus was a special case and God does not have a specific will for our lives or works that we were sent to accomplish.  While it’s true that some of His works were special and unique to Him, nevertheless, God has a specific will for us and works that we were sent to accomplish. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [Eph. 2:10]  God created us for specific good works and He prepared for those works to be done before He created us.  Just like Jesus, we too should have a profound sense of being sent by the Father to do specific works.

Much of what is considered worship in traditional and contemporary churches alike is questionable.  Just as in biblical times, too much focus is on the location [John 4:19-22] and activities performed [Isaiah 1:9-17].  Getting the external form right does not impress God at all.  He is only pleased when we do the right things with spirituality and sincerity.

Jesus said that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  [John 4:23, 24, ESV]

The phrase “true worshipers” referes to those who are real, sincere, genuine and who are not pretenders.  We must “worship the Father in spirit.”  It is impossible to be “true worshipers” when we are fleshly, self-centered and sinful.  Also, we must “worship the Father in…truth.”  Sincerity alone does not impress God either.  Often times our worship is unfufilling because we worship a god of our own imagination, one who does not resemble the true God revealed in the Bible.  We must know Him as He actually is in order to be “true worshipers.”

As Jesus spoke with the woman at the well He said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  [John 4:10]  What is the “gift of God” He referred to?  It “is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Rom. 6:23]  Had she known what to ask for, Jesus would have given her living water, that is eternal, abundant, and spiritual life.

Jesus continued by saying, “Whoever drinks of this [well] water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”  [John 4:13, 14]  Only the life that God gives will satisfy.  All other life is ultimately unfulfilling.  It is a mistake to think He was just referring to salvation because He had much more in mind.  The life He gives continues on after salvation like a spring continually producing life in us forever.

On another occasion He said, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.”  [John 7:37-39]  When we drink the living water by believing in Jesus He puts within us the Holy Spirit who will give us divine life, the very life of Christ.  This life will fill us and flow out of us like a river, affecting everyone around us.

Why are many believers not experiencing the fulfilling and overflowing life of Christ?  The fact of the matter is that we should be.  It is easy to imagine Jesus asking us a question similar to the one He asked the woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that lives within you, you would ask Him, and He would fill you to overflowing with divine life.”

Sermon by Joe Clark on Sunday, July 12, 2009

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John the Baptist had a thriving ministry in the middle of nowhere.  However, once Jesus started His ministry, everyone started going to Him instead.  Some of John’s disciples were not pleased with this turn of events.

John’s disciples came to him and said, “Teacher, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you said was the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going over there instead of coming here to us.”  John 3:26, NLT

From our human perspective, we tend to think that every ministry we are involved in should be growing in size.  Our competitive drive is only satisfied if our ministry is bigger than the one down the street.  John, on the other hand, understood that his desires we not the issue.

John replied, “God in heaven appoints each person’s work.”  John 3:27, NLT

The important issue in ministry is that we are doing the work appointed by God rather than the work chosen by our ambition or coerced by well meaning friends.

Pastors are often ineffective because they attempt to get people to DO something rather than BE something. God is working all things together so that we will “BE conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:28, 29) Pastors should get on the same page with God. When His image begins to BE formed in people then they will begin to DO amazing works. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.