heaven's tree book club

September 2, 2012

The Works of the father
"Unless I do the works of the Father, do not believe me."
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
It is interesting that this chapter is about the Father. It is my dad's birthday on September 4th which is this Tuesday. I let one of the church sisters know that it is my dad's birthday because this is the first and only church I know that publically recognizes birthdays and sings happy birthday during the personal sharing time before the sermon. As far as I know, no one has every sang happy birthday to my dad in his 64 years. Not only did they sing, but the children made a cake and card and presented it to him. It is funny that I felt happy that my dad was appreciated and loved by the church. It is strange because I was not the one being honored. There is this intricate relationship between the father and the son. Many people say I look like my father. Of all three brothers, I have the highest resemblance to my dad. That should mean not only a physical likeness, but I should also resemble him in attitude and behavior.  
"For hundreds of years the prophets spoke of the Messiah's coming. They gave over 300 specific details describing Him. Jesus fulfilled them all! The angels also gave witness to His divinity when they came with a message for the shepherds: "For there is born to you this day...a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."3 Nature itself testified to the arrival of the Messiah with the star that led the wise men.4 Yet with this one statement, "Unless 1 do the works of the Father, do not believe me,"3 Jesus put the credibility of all these messengers on the line. Their ministries would have been in vain without one more ingredient to confirm who He really was. That ingredient was miracles.
Jesus gave people the right to disbelieve it all if there was no demonstration of power upon His ministry. I hunger for the day when the Church will make the same statement to the world. If we're not doing the miracles that Jesus did, you don't have to believe us.
Even As a Child, Jesus Knew His Assignment
The verses mentioned at the beginning of this chapter deal with two subjects—doing the works of the Father, and destroying the works of the devil. These two things are inseparable. T hey help to clarify the purpose for Christ's coming. He was driven by one overwhelming passion: pleasing His heavenly Father."
Those two things are inseparable, doing the works of the father and destroying the works of the devil. Jesus did both. He destroyed the works of the devil most powerfully by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. I believe it is a calling also to the church to do the works of the father and to destroy the works of the devil. I think however that we are doing the works of the devil and destroying the works of the father. I hear so much gossip and criticism behind people's back. I see prayerlessness and faithlessness in the church. There is materialism and the chasing after the American dream. Some churches are like dating meat markets where the motive is to find a date. We are faced with temptations of all kinds. The second thing I love about this passage is the idea of miracles to confirm the credibility of the ministry of Jesus and the desire for that to be true today. If it were, than most ministries would appear to have no credibility. Especially in the conservative church, we see no healings, no transformations, and today, very few people coming to faith. The church seems to be no different than a consert or lecture hall. Some even call the worship team a band. The secularization of the church is perhaps one of the biggest problems thus far in the 21st century. There is no power of the Holy Spirit that validates our ministry and that God is with us.




"Most of the Pharisees spent their lives serving God without ever discovering the Father's heart! Jesus offended these religious leaders most because He demonstrated what the Father wanted. While the Pharisees thought God was concerned about the Sabbath, Jesus worked to help the ones the Sabbath was created for. These leaders were accustomed to the miracles of the Scriptures remaining in the past. But Jesus broke into their comfort zones by ushering the supernatural into their cities. With every miracle He showed the entire religious community the Father's business. For them to adapt, everything would have to be overhauled. It was easier to brand Him a liar, declaring His works to be of the devil and eventually killing this One who reminded them of what had to be changed.
Understanding that the Father's business has to do with signs and wonders is no guarantee that we will truly fulfill God's purpose for our lives. It is much more than doing miracles, or even getting conversions. The supernatural interventions of God were done to reveal the extravagant heart of the Father for people. Every miracle is a revelation of His nature. And in that revelation is embedded an invitation for relationship.
The Pharisee's error is a very easy one for us to repeat.They had no understanding of the Father's heart. And much Christian activity exists that has no relationship to that supreme value. In this present hour we need much more than to learn how to identify- our personal gifts or discover ways to be more successful in ministry.We need the Father Himself.We need His presence"
I think of the passage in the sermon on the mount where some come to Jesus after death and said did we not cast out deamons in Your name and Jesus says to them, I never knew you. That has always been a strong statement to me. It means that ministry by itself and even successful ministry is not the centrality of Christianity. It is relationship with God. We can serve in church and even bring many to faith, but in the end, it isn't about those things. It is about relationship. The teachers of the law incredibly missed that and they missed the heart of the Father. We need the Father Himself alongside us and with us in our moment by moment life. Without His presence, our ministry is powerless. Much of what goes on in church lacks the presence and power of God.

"The gospel is the story of the Father wooing the hearts of mankind eh His love. All the other stuff we do overflows from that discovery."
"We can travel the globe and preach the gospel, but without a personal revelation of the Father's heart we're carrying around secondhand news—a story without a relationship. It might save people because it is truth, but there is so much more. Jesus, at the age of 12, taught us that lesson: we must be about our Father's business. And the Father's business flows from His heart. When we discover this, we find both the jov and the power of all ministry—we will find His presence.
The renewal that started in Toronto in 1994 has since spread around the world. It has both the Father's heart and the presence of the Holy Spirit as major focal points. In a sense, they are the same, or should we say they are different sides of the same coin. His presence always reveals His heart.
In the same way that Jesus revealed the Father's heart to Israel, so the Church is to be a manifestation of the Father's heart to the world. We are the carriers of His presence, doers of his will. Giving w'hat we have received releases Him into situations previously held in the grip of darkness. That is our responsibility and privilege."
"Everyone in our community is a target for God's love. There are no exceptions. The testimonies of radical transformation come from evety sector of society and every conceivable place—school, work, home, the malls and stores, and even the parks, streets, and homeless camps. Why? There is a growing company of people who have the Father's business in mind. They consciously take Him wherever they go.
When Jason, one of our students, was asked to come to the courthouse to serve on a jury he went with the Father's business in mmd. As he walked from the parking lot to the jurors' building, he saw two young men who looked troubled. The Lord began to talk to Jason about the older of the two. As Jason ministered to him, he addressed specific problems he had with his father.
realized that Jason couldn't have known this information without God show, ing it to him.22 Therefore, the young man received Christ.
Jason finally made it to the jury selection building. During a long break he began to pray for God's leading. He noticed a man on the other side of the room seated in a wheelchair. It was the electric type that moved by a toggJe switch on the armrest. After a brief conversation with him, he found out he too, was a believer. Jason encouraged him with God's promises and then asked him to look at him. They held hands and prayed. Strength came into the man's body as the pain left. Jason told him to stand.
The gentleman asked, "What if I fall?"
To which Jason responded, "What if you don't?"
It was enough to bring the courage needed, and in plain sight of all the others in the room, this man stood to his feet, waving his arms about. It had been years since he was able to stand. Jason turned to the crowd and declared, "God is here to heal!"
Before the day was over, two others had received the healing touch of Jesus. That is the Father's business, and every believer has a part to plav in carrying out this privileged assignment."
Prayer:
Father, thank You so much for revealing Your heart to humanity through the person of Jesus. By healing the blind, deaf, sick, and raising the dead, You not only show Your power over death, but Your compassion and love for people. Father, it is all about relationship more so than what we do in our lives. I want that closeness that men and women had with You like Peter and like John. Jason in this story shows Your heart for healing and compassion. Father, I desire this annointing to heal others and to spread Your love and compassion. Like Jesus, I want to do Your works and to destroy the works of the devil. I cannot do this alone. It is a monumental task. I need Your presence and power to do Your work. I need also Your healing in my own life. It is the second day of September and I still pray and long for breakthrough in my healing, in my joblessness, and in my singleness. These things right now are impossible for me, but possible with You. Help me to believe and not doubt in Your power and presence.