DANCE WITH THE ONE WHO BRUNG YA!

Initially, God had selected the entire nation of Israel to be his priests (Exodus 19:5-6).  This meant all the people of the nation would represent God, be treasured by God and change the world for Him by "working for the honor of the one who would send them" throughout it. However, after the nation proved to be inadequate as a priesthood (the Golden Calf event Exodus 32:7-10), the Levites who supported Moses (found in Exodus chapters 26-28) were selected as God's priests (Exodus 32:25-26Numbers 3:5-9).

Fast forward to the time of Jesus.  Jesus spoke about focus and perspective on "dancing with the one who brung me" when He said,

"...he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him." - John 7:18

Christians had a perfect example of this in Christ.  Jesus worked for "the honor of the one who sent him".  You can plainly hear it in the prayer Jesus prayed before the tomb of Lazarus.

  • "Then Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.'" (John 11:41-42)

In John 5:19 Jesus says about Himself, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  The challenge for Christians here is to be attuned to God through His Holy Spirit like Jesus was when He was here in the flesh, SO THAT we might be an effective man or woman of truth when we "work for the honor of the one who sent us".

There are so many benefits to being attuned to the Spirit of God.  For Jesus, being in tune with god the Father meant knowing what to say or do and when to say or do.  This is also now available to Christians through the Holy Spirit.  However, confidence, His abiding presence, and His praise are a few key advantages I would like to magnify.

Confidence - there is nothing like the Holy Spirit speaking to you through His Word or any other means and confirming you are right where He wants you to be in life.  I can think of two instances right away when Father God broke through from Heaven within earshot of humanity and voiced His pleasurable support concerning His Son.  The first time is when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river (Matthew 3:13-17).  The second instance is the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-6).  What confidence this must have installed in Jesus to hear His Father break-in to the human scene and support Him like that!

The second benefit of working for the honor of the one who sent us is abiding with God and His Word abiding in you (John 15:7).  This must become the Christian's First Nature. Christians can do that if we stay connected with God, trusting in His development of us by studying His Word and lifting-up challenging life experiences to Him in Faith by prayer.  It is then I believe His voice will become clearer.  If we are abiding in/with God and His Word abides in us then God says, "ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."  Another great benefit.

It is a blessing to know how to accept praise from others.  As a new Believer in Christ or veteran in The Faith, guard against pride.  Speaking to the religious, Jewish teachers of that day, Jesus asked,  How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? (John 5:44)   Read this verse backwards and in the positive and it will help.  For instance,
If you make an effort to obtain the praise of God, you will know how to accept praise from one another.  It all starts with God.

Christ made a way for us to be a part of something bigger than one's self.  He supplied an even better covenant than the old one given through Moses.  This New Covenant was arranged by Father God and paid for by the life of the Anointed One Himself.  The benefits of this Covenant were and are so awesome that those who truly accept Christ's payment in Faith will desire wholeheartedly to be sent abroad, telling everyone the Good News of Jesus Christ.  

So, who sends you out into each brand new day?  Your husband?  Your wife?  Yourself?  Nobody, you just go?  Hopefully, God sends you.  Now if the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells within each Christian (Romans 8:11)... if He that is in each Christian is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4)... if greater things we will do than when Christ was here (John 14:12)... if Father God supported Jesus - we can be sure our confidence is strong in God, His presence always abides with us, and His praise is valued the most. Even though Christ was human and surrendered to the weakness of this human creation, He always knew who He was, who sent Him, and His Father's plan.  All of this is available for the Christian too.  It is all a matter of being attuned to the Holy Spirit and allowing God to lead as you Dance With The One Who Brung You!

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