Author: Brian Burdett

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:24

Do you worship God in spirit and truth? Think carefully about your answer, both when you worship the Lord privately on your own and when you gather with other believers to worship the Living God.

Are you actively, intentionally worshiping in the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you confessing any sin beforehand and refusing to quench the Holy Spirit’s work? Are you leaning into the words of worship (spoken, sung, read) in your spirit? Are you allowing your soul to be moved? Are you permitting yourself to respond to any conviction or prompting of the Spirit during and after the worship? Is your spirit fully focused on God during worship or is it wandering around, looking critically at your fellow worshippers? That’s what it means to worship in Spirit.

Are you truly worshiping with total integrity? That’s what it means to worship in truth. Worshipping in truth means really loving and responding to God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Not napping. Not planning your afternoon. Not reviewing your shopping list. Not being entertained by the worship team. Are you singing the songs with the energy of your body and the engagement of your mind? Are you making your offering with an awareness that you are offering your gift to the Lord of the Universe? Are you praying along with the prayers with thought and intentionality? Are you engaging your mind, heart, and soul with the words of the sermon, the reading of Scripture, the testimonies of the saints? That’s what it means to worship in truth. #FollowJesus

“Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:6

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less. It isn’t a fear of people seeing and hearing you, it’s a fear of people elevating you too high in their minds. The Apostle Paul did more, saw more, and experienced more than any of us probably ever will. But he didn’t let it go to his head. He knew not to let those things make him the center of people’s attention. He was just a man saved from his vile sins (and his past attention-seeking pride) by the extraordinary grace of Jesus Christ. Humbled by that, Paul never sought to make things about him. He worked hard to point all eyes and ears toward Jesus Christ. Despite tasting heaven itself, Paul didn’t want people looking at his awesome experiences for inspiration.

Instead, Paul taught us how to live in the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit while keeping everyone’s eyes fixed on Jesus. He did this by consistently directing people to two things – his Christlike life and his Christ-centered words. Under the transformative power of the Spirit, Paul worked hard to live a life of humble, holy imitation of Jesus. He invited people to look at and imitate his example. Not because Paul was all that, but because through Christ, he’d become a fairly good imitation of Jesus. This is something for every Christian to aspire to – the humble, holy imitation of Jesus that invites others to imitate Him.

Likewise, Paul kept people’s ears on Jesus by only speaking the words of the Gospel, the words of Christ, and words about Him. Though trained in all sorts of rhetorical skills, Paul worked hard to keep his message simple and focused on Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. He didn’t want cult-like followers of Paul. He wanted mature disciples of Jesus. That’s why Paul refused to let it be about him, denying himself the opportunity to indulge his ego. Paul didn’t like to tell good stories about himself. He like to live and speak only of Jesus. There’s a lot to learn from that! #FollowJesus

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” – John 2:11

Much is made of the sweet beauty and grace of Jesus’ first miracle, in which He turned water into wine. It’s certainly a model of discretion. A symbol of favor toward weddings. An example of kindness as He protected the dignity of a family caught in an embarrassing situation. However, this verse reveals His most important reason for transforming water, the symbol of never-ending ritual purification under the Old Covenant, into wine, the symbol of grace poured out at the cross of the New Covenant. It was to “manifest his glory” so His first few disciples would truly believe in Him.

What does that mean and why would it move them to such lasting faith? It means that Jesus revealed a tiny glimpse of His eternal power and glory as the Son of God. Jesus didn’t just turn one drinkable liquid into another. He didn’t just add flavor. He turned the simple mix of hydrogen and oxygen atoms into the complex stew of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements that is wine. He added and completely rearranged atoms and molecules to make something altogether different. He used the power of Creation in a quiet, controlled, manner that only a handful of people could see.

Why? So that, unlike the ever-fickle crowds, those first few witnesses would follow Jesus everywhere. They’d seen the power of God close up and it kept them bound to Jesus. Through good times and bad. To the other side of the cross and the resurrection. To the other side of the world as they made disciples. To the other side of their own suffering for His name. It was His glory and it is enough. For them and for us. #FollowJesus

“He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ).” – John 1:41

When you tell someone about Jesus, you never know how they will respond. Maybe they will believe, maybe they won’t. You also don’t know what sort of impact that possible new believer may go on to have for God’s Kingdom. For all that Andrew did in his life of service to Jesus, the most impactful thing might have been the first thing he ever did. He told his brother Simon (Peter) that Jesus was the Messiah and introduced him to the Lord.

Peter grew into the spokesmen for the Apostles, the closest follower of Jesus, the leader of the early church, and an author of Scripture. God used Peter to start the church in Jerusalem and to clearly welcome non-Jews into the faith. Peter paved the way for Paul’s missionary work. Andrew’s one simple act of sharing Christ with a loved one has rippled across countless generations and impacted eternity in ways beyond our comprehension. Of course, Andrew had a dynamic ministry of his own and introduced the faith to many in the ancient world. But introducing Peter to the Lord? That changed the course of the world!

What might God do through someone you introduce to Jesus? You simply don’t know, but it’s wonderful to imagine! Always believe that your faithfulness in telling people about Jesus might be used by God to raise up the next great evangelist, theologian, missionary, or church planter. Or to raise up the person who will quietly share Jesus with that person. Consider every person you share your faith with to have the potential of leading many to Christ, transforming families for generations, and leading nations to the Lord. Pray that this will be true. Then share your hope in Christ and tell people how to #FollowJesus

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8

All grace…all sufficiency…all things…all times…every good work. What’s the point Paul’s making? God will enable you to do more and more good works for Him as you yield yourself in obedience to do those works. As you pour yourself out for Him, He will refill you faster than you can pour. As you let go of your limited thinking about what you “can” do, God will provide grace to do far more through you than you imagine possible. To bless more. To reach more. To save more.

God will abundantly bless you as you joyfully and sacrificially obey and bless Him. That blessing will encourage, inspire, and empower you to be even more emphatically, outrageously, even “dangerously” obedient and generous with the time, talent, and treasure God has given you. There is a virtuous cycle of blessing, a pouring out of grace, that God delights in when you yield yourself to become a delighted means of grace for others.

All that to say, give generously to the work of God’s Kingdom. Give more generously of your time than our culture of “balance” and “self-care” recommends. Find ways to give more outrageously of your talent than our culture of “getting paid” encourages. Give more joyfully of your earthly treasures (whether they be large or small) than “prudence” would dictate. Then see what God does next. He will bless you! He will cause grace to abound toward you. What that may look like can’t be predicted. But that it will happen is promised. Trust that when you give more than “you should” – of time, talent, and treasure – God will makes fools of those wise voices of restraint and pour out amazing grace upon you. #FollowJesus