Romans 14
The Work of God
This is what I call “WORK!”
God the Father is committed to cleaning us up and making us ready
It is a corporate thing, you and I are connected to other people of this world
The work of God is not just about you
But you being in harmony with everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord
Don’t destroy God’s work over disputable matters like eating and drinking
Don’t separate yourself from others whom Christ loves
Don’t on some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them — then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong. Romans 14:23 MSG
Everything God is working on in your life is to make your life better
But that is not the end goal or purpose of God’s work
The end purpose is to present you and all other believers together as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
This is the Work of God and it gets as focused as how you and I relate with others
The Work of God
What is work?
The Greek word “egon” means…
toil as in an effort or occupation,
by implication an act such as
a deed, doing, labor, work
The English definition is…
measure of energy transfer that occurs when an object is moved
over a distance by an external force at least part of which
is applied in the direction of the displacement.
Work takes effort, it just doesn’t happen.
Work moves something from one place to another.
Sometimes we like our work and sometimes we don’t…
But work is something we do because
we believe something needs to be done.
Work has to have a goal,
a purpose in order for us to spend
the effort or energy to do it.
Have you ever thought about the work of God?
If you did, you might think of God’s six-day work week
where He created the heavens and the earth.
That is pretty impressive!
Then He put us in charge…
our work was to care for all creation.
Or, maybe you might remember when
the Jewish union leaders confronted Jesus
about working on the Sabbath and Jesus saying…
"My Father is always at his work to this very day,
and I, too, am working."
John 5:17-18
Our God’s work is bigger than the universe
and yet, it is as small as your life or mine…
being confident of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
If you ever worked on a project, whether
it was a short term or it took years of effort
and it was destroyed…
You understand feelings of sadness,
anger, frustration and maybe you found
another language that is not appropriate.
Nothing worse than to work in vain.
It is horrible to work hard to build something
and have some little thing come along and destroy it.
Romans 14 concludes with the “work of God”.
It is the work to bring order to our lives,
to make every area of our being complete and at peace.
He is at work in us to…
Renew our minds and
clean our hearts
so we can make right decisions.
He works in us joy even
when sadness overcast our lives.
His Spirit, full of hope, fills us and
can covers us as a barrier from discouragement.
This work of God involves you and I
to be in community with one another.
God is at work in building
the community of believers.
God is building His Church not
of brick and mortar, but people.
People so different from one another…
In gender, race, age, size, backgrounds,
connections where no one is without a place.
A place where our differences do not keep us
from having all things common.
Ephesians 5:25-28 gives us a picture of the work of God…
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
You might say if God is waiting for
a radiant, stain and wrinkle free, no blemish,
holy and blameless church to present His Son…
He has a lot of work to do.
God is not waiting till the world gets so bad
He has to take His church out of the world.
He is waiting to complete the work in His church
so the church will be ready
like a pure bride for His pure Son.
John 6:29 says…
“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
We are called to the work of God
which is to totally believe in God’s Son,
to have the same belief as He does.
You don’t want to spend the rest of your life
married to someone who does not agree with you.
So, imagine God does not want His Son
to live an eternity with a bride
who wants her own way.
God’s work to bring us together in unity and purity
is maybe bigger than creation…
Because it is taking even God more than 6 days.
Let’s look at Romans 14:20…
You're certainly not going to permit an argument
over what is served or not served at supper
to wreck God's work among you, are you? MSG
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food NIV
We wreck God’s work…
We destroy God’s work…
When we let little “Disputable Matters”
come between us.
Our little likes and dislikes are powerful
enough to destroy God’s work.
His Work of uniting us as a
glorious bride for His Son.
Imagine your son or daughter being
in love with some worldly sinner.
Imagine your son or daughter taking abuse
from the one they love so much
so that instead of rejecting and fighting
lays down their life for this wicked sinner.
Imagine your son or daughter
wanting to marry this person.
You have no choice but to help this imperfect person
become the perfect spouse for your son or daughter.
This is what I call “WORK!”
God, the Father, is committed to
cleaning us up and making us ready.
It is a corporate thing…
You and I are connected to
other people of this world.
The work of God is not just about you…
But you being in harmony with everyone
who calls on the Name of the Lord.
Don’t destroy God’s work over
disputable matters, like eating and drinking.
Don’t separate yourself from others
whom Christ loves.
Don’t on some days trying to impose your opinions on others,
other days just trying to please them — then you know that you're out of line.
If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
Romans 14:23 MSG
Everything God is working on in your life
is to make your life better…
But that is not the end goal
or purpose of God’s work.
The end purpose is to present you
and all other believers together…
as a radiant church, without stain
or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless.
This is the Work of God.
It gets as focused as how you
and I relate with others.
Scripture Reading
Romans 14:19-23 MSG
19 So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; 20 don't drag them down by finding fault. You're certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you? I said it before and I'll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. 21 When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.
22 Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. 23 But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe — some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them — then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
Romans 14:19-23 NIV
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
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