Being the Family of God

Who is the family the of God? Are you a part of His family? Let's look at Luke 8:19 - 9:62, for it shows us what the family of God looks like. Yes, there are many many other passages that show us this, but as I was reading this passage, I felt led to just focus on it. Maybe it was for you? Maybe myself....But I hope that this look into Scripture will bless you. 

Who is the family of God?

1. "Those who hear God's Word and put it into practice." (8:21) Those who deny the world and give everything to God in both heart, mind, body, and soul. (9:25)

    Any one of us can read the Bible, listen to a sermon, or pray. But do we hear God's Word and do we live it? Does our life look different outside of the church building (or online group) than it does when in it? If there is a difference, it's time to seek the Lord and to repent of those things which are not of Him.

    Do you agree that there should be no cussing or profanity in the church? Yet, how many of you on the way home get cut off by a rude driver and say an expletive?  Or how many of you are quick to share in a hardy laugh at work when a coworker shares something incredibly vulgar? 

    Do you agree that murder is wrong and that life should not be taken apart from the Lord's will? Yet, how many of you sincerely hate others? Whether you hate a politician, political party, celebrity, boss, CEO, supervisor, employee, family member, or neighbor? How many of you envision and "wish" that so & so or _________ would just die or go on somewhere? Is that not murder in your heart and mind? Jesus says it is...

    Do you agree that burning incense before a marble statue covered in gold and praying to it is idolatry? Yet, you obsess and worship a sport's team, celebrity, fictitious entertainment, a hobby, a political figure, or even yourself? You elevate whatever to the same level or even above the Lord God, saying that at least you don't bow down to _______. Do you not know what you are doing!? 

    Do you agree that killing a goat on a pentagram with candles lit while wearing black robes and drinking blood is evil and witchcraft? Yet, you are quick to take "personality" quizzes that "divine" who you are or supposedly tell your fortune. You are quick to partake in seemingly "innocent" entertainment that involves supposedly "good" magic. You toss pennies into wishing wells and pray to a meteorite streaking across the sky, asking it to give you _________. You place curses upon your enemies by saying "I hope they die or I hope they have ______ happen." Is that not witchcraft as well!? 

    But rather than living no different than the lost world, live according to Christ. Do not continue to partake in the wickedness of the sinful flesh. Set yourselves apart to be holy as He Is Holy, even if it means persecution. Look different, not out of rebellion to society, but out of a holy and reverent fear of the LORD. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you and in you, that you may produce His fruits of righteousness. Darkness has no place in the light of the Lord, so do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Do not hide that light, do not cause your salt to become saltless. 

2. Those who have faith in Jesus in the midst of a crisis - life's storms. (8:25)

  We all often wonder about what would happen if ________ occurred. What would happen if our spouse or children were involved in a major car accident or got a deadly illness? What would happen if our house burned down, if we lost our sole source of income, if this....if that.....? Things happen, awful things. Not a single person escapes a crisis in their life. Do crises define whether or not we belong to the Lord? No. But, our response during a crisis does. 

    We are to have faith in any and all situations, whether those situations are major or minor, joyful or despairing. What does faith in Jesus look like? It doesn't look like stoicism, an ignoring of happenings, and a turning into an unemotional cold robot. But it does look like praising Him and worshipping Him and trusting in Him in the midst of a crisis. It means crying your heart out while surrendering to the Lord that the Father's will be done. 

    My dad suffered a major heart attack - the widow maker, back in early 2019. It was sudden and unexpected and was two weeks that I will probably never forget. I knew that he probably would not recover, but I surrendered his condition to the Lord and asked His will be done. Even as I held his hand as the end of life team unplugged all of the various life support machines, did I plead with God "No! No! Don't do this! How could you!?" Did I lay on the floor in misery and despair because of it? No. I sang to the Lord songs of praise. As my dad's spirit left his earthly broken body of flesh, I praised the Lord. I worshiped the God Almighty. Did I believe that if it was the Lord's will, my dad could walk out of that hospital having defeated all odds? Absolutely! But, I was completely surrendered to Him and allowed Him to work. I didn't know what God was doing and didn't see how anything good could come from such a sad situation in that ICU unit, but I trusted that God was working. Even as my dad's casket was lowered into the grave, I knew that God had a plan. 

    You see, faith is trusting in Jesus even when we cannot see and even when it hurts. It means surrendering to the Lord and allowing Him to decide the course of it and even the result. But those two weeks taught me something, they taught me that when you have faith in Christ and surrender to the Lord, He will give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. And, He will give you strength. If it had not been for the Holy Spirit working in me, I would not have made it. Faith, is one of the most crucial traits of anyone belonging to the family of God.

  
3. Those who trust that God will provide when He sends us out to do His work. (9:3)

    How many of us don't participate in service or ministry because we are afraid? Or we make excuses such as "I don't have the time, I don't have the money, I don't....I can't...." Does the Lord not provide what we need? I have struggled for decades with social anxiety, self-doubt, and rejection. I would choose to only do that which was easy and didn't require much effort. I would pick things where I could work hidden away in the background, not wanting interactions with people that would potentially lead to me botching everything or causing people to be turned away from the Lord rather than led to.

    And then I surrendered to the Lord my fears and anxieties. I allowed Jesus to deliver me of such demons. I realized that we shouldn't worry about how we would work in the Kingdom of God and serve Him, because is He not God? Can He not give us or provide for us what we need to do His work? There have been times to where I honestly wondered how I would be able to do something or I would do it only to wonder if it was worth it, would anything come of it? But that's where I realized that I just had to trust the Lord. Trust that yes, it was worth it and that yes, He does know what He's doing. We just have to accept that we may not find out the end result until we stand before Him. 

    There are countless testimonies of how the Lord called someone to go serve somewhere and without any logical reasoning, that person would find the money needed, the resources needed, and the people waiting. There are countless testimonies of a lost person crying out to God, and that servant of Christ just so happened to be the one who the Lord sent. There are no coincidences with the Lord, He is in control and He will provide when it is His will. If it is not His will, that door gets shut in a way that is obvious. When doors are shut, does it mean we somehow failed or neglected to hear His voice properly? No. But, it could mean that He is doing something and we just have to trust in Him.

4. Those who share in His abundant blessings, where what is provided is produced by His miracles and generosity.  As well as those who are satisfied by all that is abundantly given to us. (9:17) Those who believe in God's power to do the impossible. (9:41)

    Do not misconstrue this as being a promotion of the false doctrine of the prosperity gospel. The Lord does bless His people, those who diligently seek Him and walk in obedience. It does not mean that if you are sinless, you will be blessed with wealth and miracles galore. It does not mean that if you are enduring hardships, are homeless, are poor, or are despondent, that somehow the Lord is angry with you and has rejected you. 

    The Lord will work when He works and no one can understand His ways. But He does tells us that every good thing comes from Him and that He works for the good of those who seek Him and have been called by Him. Everything is according to the Father's will, and our Father is generous. He enjoys and loves blessing His children! He has blessed my household more than I could ever fathom nor deserve. Did He bless me because I have been perfectly obedient? No. Laughably guffawingly no. When the Lord blesses, it is not so that we can gloat, be prideful, be entitled, or live a comfortable wealthy life. He blesses so His Name will be glorified.  He blesses so that we can bear witness and testify His goodness, leading the lost to Him for hope and salvation. He blesses so that we can rejoice in Him and praise Him!

    We are to be satisfied with His blessings, even if those blessings appear mundane or insignificant in our fleshly eyes. Thank the Lord for His goodness! Thank the Lord for His providence! Thank the Lord for His abundance of blessings in your life and surrender them to Him that they may be used to serve those He sends to you. He created the Heavens and the Earth, and He can do infinitely more than you could ever imagine, so trust in Him. 

5. Those who give up their selfish desires to follow Jesus. (9:23) 

    This is something that is a true, life-long struggle for every single person living on this earth. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, mankind has fallen under the curse of sin - the root of which is pride, which is selfishness. Can we truly put aside our selfish desires in order to follow Jesus? Yes.

    What does that look like? It looks like giving up some of your income that work may be done for the Lord, in whatever form that takes. I'm not preaching a 10% tithe nor a mandatory missionary support fund, or whatever most preachers preach. I'm talking about, when the Lord says buy that person a meal, you spend the money to feed them. If the Lord convicts your heart to take that freshly earned work bonus to replace a broken window on your elderly neighbor's run down home, you do it with gladness. But don't ever give because you feel pressured to by man - whether preacher or whoever. Then it is a begrudging gift, which really isn't a gift at all. Give when the Holy Spirit leads and nudges you to give, then do so out of a genuine desire and love for the Lord. 

    It looks like sacrificing "me-time" or even a time you had set aside for entertainment and fun, in order to get into the Word of God, to seek the Lord in prayer, to fast, or to serve and minister. It looks like giving up those things that gave you immense delight that are of the world, in order to adopt the righteous ways of the Lord. 

    This does not mean that we are to never have fun, never have "me-time", or never enjoy things outside of praying, fasting, and reading God's Word. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto us. The point is, we are to seek the Lord first, put Him first, before ourselves or anything or anyone else. Put the Lord first, and all the others will follow. 

    Many in the church go to the extreme and put people first before the Lord, saying it is all in the Lord's Name, not realizing that they have made themselves, the church, even outreach - an idol. It is an incredibly challenging mindset to tackle and many have misunderstood me to be saying we shouldn't have community outreach or fellowship with one another. No, we are to put Christ first, the Lord first, and make everything about Him first. Then, when we put Him first, all the rest will naturally follow. It's like putting the cart before the horse, or saying the hammer is more important than the hand wielding it. 

    Since surrendering my life to the Lord, He has blessed us immensely and I find that the more I seek Him, the more joy He brings me. I can fellowship now without feeling overwhelmed, I can serve now without feeling burdened. I am filled with an indescribable joy and love for Him and others because I began to put Him first.  Seek the Lord first and put all else away. 

6. Those who are willing to endure persecution for Jesus' sake and Name. (9:24) Those who are not ashamed of Jesus. (9:26)

    Who enjoys being made fun of, belittled, or mocked? Who enjoys having guns pulled on them, having homes broken into in the middle of the night, or having church buildings and homes burned down? Who enjoys losing once best friends and being rejected by family? No one. If you do enjoy it, there's something else there that requires addressing....

    But, we must be willing to endure these things for Christ. Why? Because it is a mark, an indicator, of Who we belong to. Jesus warned His disciples that we will have to endure these things. He did not say, "Believe and follow me, so you can be super popular, be loved by everyone, and have a peaceable crisis-free life." He said that we would be hated  by those who are both in the world, and even by those who are in the "church". The latter people are those who say that they are of Him (Christians), but are not. They produce no fruit, nor is there any sign of the Spirit in them, but they are offended by those who follow Christ because the light exposes the darkness. Wolves and vipers don't like being exposed and the lukewarm don't like having their sinful lives and hearts convicted. 

    So have joy, rejoice, when people say all kinds of bad things about us or treat us badly. It is not us they are rejecting and hate, it is Christ in us. And great will be our reward in the end, if we can endure all of the hardship that the devil and fallen man throw at us. Yes, it will be unpleasant and will cause us to cry out in grief and deliverance. But, the Lord will be with us. He will comfort us, give us peace in our hearts, and will remind us of His promises. Do not hate or curse your enemies, but pray for them. Even in the midst of them hurting you, pray for them. Pray for their conviction, repentance, and salvation. Surrender the situation to the Lord and allow Him to strengthen you and work through you, even in the worst of persecutions. 

    We are living in the latter days, the end times so to speak. And things are moving so fast, at breakneck speed, bringing us ever closer to the Son of Perdition being revealed, his mark being worshiped, and war being waged against the saints of the Lord. We must prepare ours minds, hearts, and souls to be ready to face and endure persecution like never before. The Holocaust will have been a walk in the park compared to what is coming. But the Lord will not leave us, nor will He forsake those who truly seek Him and belong to Him. Whether you face an executioner, a prison cell, or an angry neighbor or friend, trust in the Lord and allow Him to fill you with strength, wisdom, assurance, and peace. 

7. Those who love and welcome everyone, even the least in society, whether they are young  or old, rich or poor. (9:48)

    Our culture has done an awful job at serving everyone. Racism abounds, though many seek to hide it, deny it, or downplay it. And I'm not just referring to black versus white, I'm talking about racism on all levels and in every  nation and society. And I'm not even just talking about racism either, but prejudices and biases that seek to divide every single aspect of human life in today's world. We have the elite vs. the upper class vs. the middle class vs. the lower/working class vs. the impoverished vs. the homeless.... We have Baptist vs. Methodist vs. Church of Christ vs. Pentecostal vs. Church of God. We have Baby Boomers vs. Gen. X'ers vs. Millenials vs. Gen. Z,  etc... ect... etc... I could come up with a hundred different divisive categories. 

    When we belong to Christ, these things should never be found in the church. I am not promoting ecumenicalism, nor am I promoting the Luciferian "one world, oneness, togetherness, etc..." agenda. I'm talking about a Christ-like mindset that sees every single person as created in the image of God, regardless of ethnicity, denomination, socio-economic-status, etc... We are to serve as Christ  served and we are to witness to those whom the Lord sends us to. 

    Many in the church today confuse this servitude of all mindset with tolerance, God is love, blah blah blah. I'm going to say this only once, so pay attention:  We are not to tolerate wickedness, willful sin, and other religions and gods for the sake of peace and love.  We are however, to serve and treat others how we want to be treated, the Golden Rule. We are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. We are not to be prideful or arrogant, and make sure that whoever knows they are beneath you. Not at all! 

    We are to speak the Truth in love, but we are to be firmly rooted in Christ, not allowing ourselves to associate with the wicked, lest we stumble and fall ourselves. We are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, showing them the Gospel of Christ through generosity. We are to witness to the drug addicts and show them there is hope and life in Christ, not try to win their trust and friendship by allowing them to shoot us up in the arm with heroin. 

    We are to show homosexuals and those living in sexual immorality that their life matters to Christ, but that they are living on a deadly rebellious path. We are to love them enough to warn them of their lifestyle that will send them to eternal torment in Hell. We are not to allow them to practice their wickedness in the church, nor go to their pride parades, nor put a rainbow bumper sticker on our car that says "Jesus loves the gays too". 

    We are to serve in love and hospitality to everyone, every single person. But, we are to do so in a way that leads them to Christ and delivers them from their bondage to sin, not encourages and dismisses it. We are to show everyone kindness, especially the little children who are still innocent and are greatly influenced by their environment. When we are kind to everyone and serve even our enemies, we allow the light of Christ to shine through us and we allow the Lord to work. To have even a smidgen of pride and arrogance, is to darken the Lord's light and hide His witness. 

    I pray that every one of us will not see that next person the Lord pricks your heart with, as just another homeless person, just another gay person, just another __________. But that, we see that person as someone who is made in the image of God, as a person who desperately needs to hear the Gospel of Christ and know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Their eternal lives depend on it. You don't have to do a full fledged conversion sermon with every person you meet or even hand a tract out to every single person. Just let the Lord lead you in your witness. Let Him work. Even if all He has you do is smile at that panhandler on the corner, trust God that your smile (may it be genuine!) was exactly what that panhandler needed and trust that a seed was planted, however tiny. Trust that telling that little preschool girl in the check-out lane that Jesus loves her was not a lazy worthless way to evangelize, but a huge seed being watered that the Lord has plans for. 

    
8. And lastly, those who focus their sight on the Kingdom of God and His work, without looking back to our previous sinful way of life. (9:62)

    This is a pretty obvious point that I shouldn't have to go too much detail into. The times we are living in are unprecedented. Keep your eyes on Christ. Don't focus on conspiracies, rabbit holes, what ifs, could be's, and maybe's. Focus on Christ and His Kingdom. Don't look back at previous years and dwell on how "good you had it.", but rather look ahead to the promises of the King if you endure. Our sinful past will never help us, it will only destroy us if we turn back to it. Leave your sinful past behind you in the dust, keep your feet on the Narrow Way, and earnestly seek that Righteous Gate that is Jesus. 

    There is nothing in our flesh that gives life, only death. The Holy Spirit gives us life and He gives it abundantly, walk according to Him. Don't focus on what used to be, but rather keep your sights on Jesus for He is coming soon! No, it won't be tomorrow or even next week, but as prophetic events unfold and as we see the world getting darker by the day...Rejoice! For the Lord will return soon and His Kingdom will reign forever. Keep running the race, pressing toward the prize, keep pressing on, and keep your eyes on Christ. Serve and seek the Lord diligently, humble yourself, repent of all wickedness, get into His Word daily, and surrender your life to the Lord that the Father's will be done.