Working For Our Father: Operating In The Fruit Of The Spirit

I have called you friends for everything that I learned from my father I made known to you.

I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit,

Fruit that will last.

For God's love compels us,

And he died for all,

That those who live should no longer live for themselves,

But for him who died for them and was raised again.

Work is God's great gift to us.

It's a call to work for our father 24-7,

365 days a year.

Especially where we spend 60% of our waking hours,

Our workplace.

Our jobs matter.

It's where we make ourselves useful.

They are key to our stewardship of his creation.

It's where we work together to enable all to live the life and make the contributions he intends.

As a result of sin,

Toil undermines this great gift.

His purpose for creation hasn't changed,

The job has just become harder.

Working for our father keeps our life in balance.

It orientates us to a life of faith,

Integrity,

And excellence at work.

It helps us avoid the idols of career,

Money,

Position,

Popularity,

And talents.

It counterattacks the temptations of possessions,

Power,

And pleasure.

It resists consumerism.

Working for our father enables us to be his stewards of creation.

Christians should exhibit the characteristics of the best workers in the world.

Loving where others hate.

Joy-filled during challenges.

Keeping cool in conflicts and bringing about reconciliation.

Persevering through difficulties.

Being a person of integrity and honesty.

Loving to all no matter their function or status.

Big-hearted in all situations and willing to help out.

Calm,

Never forceful.

Always in control of their passions.

Do you recognize these characteristics?

They are called the fruit of the spirit.

Good intentions,

Personal talents,

And hard work alone will not make these characteristics a reality.

Only the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes this possible.

Our Father wants us to receive the Holy Spirit,

Wants the Spirit to be present in us,

And His power to be released in our lives.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you.

Life in the spirit of the fruit that results allow us to radiate Christ and make Him visible,

Admirable,

And attractive.

Wouldn't we like to work with people like this?

Wouldn't we like to be people like this?

Aren't these the people who most everyone is willing to join with and make a difference?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,

But Christ lives in me.

On Pentecost,

Eleven very scared and uneducated men were transformed into fearless proclaimers and advancers of the Kingdom of God.

Like them,

The Holy Spirit transforms us,

Shapes us,

And molds us as we surrender and open our lives.

I tell you,

The one who believes in me will also do the work that I do,

And in fact will do greater works than these.

Jesus is so confident in His Father,

He promises us we will do greater things.

Within 300 years of Pentecost,

Christianity had been spread to the corners of the civilized world.

Persecutors had become believers.

Imagine you've been given a challenging,

Overwhelming task at work.

It will take you into uncharted areas,

You're excited,

But shaken by your own limitations.

Your supervisor has had great success in these areas,

Now he expects you to do greater things than he did.

But then he sends you out on your own,

No help,

Backup,

Tools,

Or support.

What sense does that make?

This is not the way our Father works.

He gives us the help we need,

He responds to Jesus' request.

I will ask the Father,

And He will give you another advocate,

Who will be with you forever.

This is the Holy Spirit.

You will know Him,

Because He abides with you and will be in you.

Before ascending into heaven,

Jesus tells the apostles that He will baptize them with the Holy Spirit.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,

And you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Then suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,

And it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues,

As of fire,

Appeared among them,

And a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit,

And began to speak in other languages,

As the Spirit gave them ability.

With the Holy Spirit present and active in our lives,

He equips us with the gifts to be Christ in our workplaces.

God pours out the Holy Spirit on the early church and pours it out on us today.

The Holy Spirit has a unique role in the Trinity.

The Father is constantly giving love to the Son.

The Son is constantly giving love to the Father.

This self-giving love between Father and Son is so complete,

It's an actual person.

The Holy Spirit,

Father,

Son,

And Holy Spirit are a divine community of love.

With Pentecost,

This shared love is poured out on His people.

The Holy Spirit gathers us into His community of love and shares with us their divine nature.

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness,

So that we may become participants of the divine nature.

After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,

The Apostles proclaimed this indwelling presence and encouraged others to grow and work in the power they received.

The Holy Spirit empowers us with specific gifts to enable us in the work of restoring all things.

This is spoken of in Isaiah and spiritual gifts manifested since Pentecost.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

The Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

His delight is the fear of the Lord.

Sharing in His divine nature,

He provides us with wisdom,

Knowledge,

And understanding as we grow in our relationship with the Lord.

He provides courage and fortitude.

He employs not the weapons of the world,

But of the Spirit,

Peace,

Patience,

Kindness,

And forgiveness.

He gives us counsel,

The ability to discern right from wrong,

To seek God's will,

To see honestly what is motivating us,

The Spirit or the flesh.

Finally,

He gives us the capability to keep God at the center of our lives,

Worshiping Him alone.

As He becomes the treasure of our heart,

All others fade away and lose their hold on us.

The first century Christians experienced new gifts.

Paul outlines them in his first letter to the Corinthians.

With grace and unity with one another,

They were equipped to speak the right word at the right time with clarity and conviction.

They were given insight into what needed to be done,

An ability to trust God at all times,

The ability to heal and experience miracles,

Receive words of encouragement,

Comfort,

And guidance,

The ability to discern spiritual forces at work,

And special prayer languages.

Throughout the centuries,

These spiritual gifts have been renewed.

Beginning at the turn of the 20th century,

A noticeable outpouring of the Holy Spirit began throughout the world and into many Christian denominations.

It continues today into the 21st in the midst of the most difficult times.

There has been a renewed understanding of life in the Spirit,

Greater manifestations of the spiritual gifts,

And a greater devotion of love for God and one another.

This is what Worklight is about,

Uniting Christians to shine bright in the world.

None of this would be possible without the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Isaiah gifts and the spiritual gifts work together to fuel growth in the fruit of the Spirit.

The aim of the Christian life is a continual growth in the Holy Spirit's reign and influence in our life.

The Holy Spirit makes Christ present.

He is like a plant growing in the ground.

Just as the world seeks to acquire wealth,

We should make the most of every opportunity to acquire more of the Holy Spirit.

To grow wealth,

We usually need money to start with.

It doesn't take money to acquire the Holy Spirit.

He's available to all,

No matter what their status or income.

Yet to all who did receive him,

To those who believed in his name,

He gave the right to become children of God.

Life in the Spirit is not just about religious people doing spiritual things.

Our Father needs people who want to work on His projects,

Not just do their own projects.

He is pouring out His Spirit on all who are willing to be a part of restoring all things.

The Holy Spirit wants to invest in us and help us be fruitful.

No matter who we are,

We can and should have the Holy Spirit pour out from us to others.

Acquiring the Holy Spirit,

His gifts and His power are not for our own benefit,

But to equip us in working for our Father 24-7,

365 days a year,

Empowered to live with faith,

Integrity and excellence.

The Holy Spirit is not only for our lives,

But for the good of those we love,

Encounter and have influence over,

For the work that our Father is entrusting to us.

Are we willing,

Out of love for the Father,

Love for His creation,

Love for the world,

To live a life of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit?

Are we willing to serve our Father humbly and with devotion?

Let's say yes again today.

I believe in a peace that flows deeper than pain,

No broken find healing in love.

Pain is no measure of His faithfulness,

He withholds no good thing from us.

No good thing from us,

No good thing from us.

I will open my hands,

Will open my heart.

I am nodding my head in emphatic yes to all that You have for me.