[Note: This twenty-two page workbook apparently was first printed around 1977.]
THIS WORKBOOK IS VERY INTRODUCTORY IN NATURE. IT IS HELPFUL IN COMING TO A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE COLOR "ORANGE"--OUR NEW NATURE AND CHRISTIAN LIFE. THERE ARE SECTIONS ON FOLLOWING JESUS, ON THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN GOD AND THE DEVIL AND OUR CHOICE IN THAT STRUGGLE, AND THERE ARE FURTHER STUDIES ON UNITY AS CHRISTIANS, CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD, ETC.
THE SUBJECT, ORANGE, IS SO VAST COVERING OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS, THAT FOR AS LONG AS WE ARE ON THE EARTH, WE WILL BE LEARNING ABOUT HOW JESUS RAISES AND CHANGES US AND ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. SO THIS CAN ONLY BE AN INTRODUCTION TO ORANGE; MEANWHILE WE ARE PRESSING ON TO THE TIME WHEN WE WILL FULLY UNDERSTAND ORANGE. AND AT THAT TIME, WE WILL NO LONGER BE ORANGE, BUT FULLY PURPLE.
For a better understanding of orange, it would be helpful to quote portions of the booklet Understanding the Colored Bible. Orange is a combination of brown and purple, corresponding to our dual natures as sheep and children (1 Co. 4:16). It describes our life from the time we get saved, until the time that we go to be with Jesus and covers everything that happens to us in the meantime.
Orange was chosen as the color to represent this area because it is the color of fire and so points to the leading of the Holy Spirit, our guide. The Holy Spirit leads us as a pillar of fire and we become lights of the world (Acts 2:3, 4; Matt. 5:14).
In the "Understanding Life" tract, orange is defined as a blending of human and spiritual but tending toward the latter. Orange centers in continuing to look to please Jesus. It is based on our relationship with Jesus and our desire to be in fellowship with Him.
Orange has to do with the new attitude that Jesus put within us after having been born anew. Continuing in orange is investing in the new spirit, the new attitudes that Jesus has give us (Gal. 6:8).
Again, it is important to remember that we are not Christians because of anything we do, but only because of Jesus' grace toward us (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:7; Gal. 1:15).
We all speak of trusting in Jesus and following Him, but it is necessary for us to come to a better understanding of what orange really means. As young Christians, we are carried along by motivation from Jesus without any real fundamental understanding of what Christian life is. As we mature, we need a true understanding of "orange" so that we may be able to give a clear view to the unsaved of what it is really like to be in the sheepfold and for the lukewarm Christians who are continually saying "Go to church and live as the Lord leads" (Acts 17:24).
It is easy to generalize Christian life as following Jesus, not living for this world and being good. But, we need to understand Jesus' will rather than settle for surface generalities (Ps. 119:73; Eph. 5:10). Whatever Christian life is we need to know it and be able to prove it from the Bible, not only in case anyone tries to upset us with some kind of argument, but for us to be able to walk rightly on the straight and narrow path and not be tossed about by any kind of argument or doctrine but be well equipped to make a defense for the hope that lies within us (1 Pet. 3:15; Eph. 4:14).
This study is sufficient as a primary guideline, pointing the way towards which we will grow. Beginning our day with a basic orange review is helpful in our training as Christians.
In this "Introduction to Orange" we will only touch on the different areas of the Bible which are especially orange. The letters are almost utterly orange with directions to the churches. There is also some orange in Proverbs. Keep in mind that orange, much like brown, is associated with every area in the Bible. Peter contains a general approach to many of the basics; John is more spiritual and theoretical in nature; Paul carefully reasons out the problems and answers from the theories of John, and James speaks of the practical.
Jesus said, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and come follow me" (Mt. 19:21). How do we follow Jesus? By imitating Him. The scriptural definition of love is giving up our life in this world and imitating Jesus (Eph. 5:2; Num. 18:20; Jer. 35:7; Ju. 12:24).
It is Jesus' will that we follow Him. He said that "no one comes to the Father but by me" (Jn. 6:37); in fact, He is the only Son of God, the only one who came from heaven (Jn. 3:13). Everything else has come from the world except Jesus and His Word. He is our example, our Teacher and Shepherd and came not to do His own will but the will of His Father (Jn. 4:34). Jesus lives and works through us and is in us now and our orange must be to do His will (Mt. 12:46-50). We, of ourselves are not able to follow His will and in His love He understands that, so He leads us through every step of our Christian walk and works His will through us (Rom. 7:18; Php. 2:13).
Jesus asks us to imitate His example and if we do, His order of priorities will then become ours. We love Jesus by caring about whom and what He cares about, beginning with His lambs and the unsaved (Mt. 9:13; Lk. 15:7; Jn. 21:15). We need to practice not living according to our own desires, recognizing that they are very soon going to end anyway (1 Jn. 2:15-17). We must lay down our lives in the real way--that is, renouncing and hating our lives in this world and pursuing the best means whereby people might be saved. That is why Jesus gave up His life at Calvary (1 Pe. 2:24; 1 Jn. 2:2), and we must give up our flesh by putting to death the deeds of the body which are opposed to the spirit, and seek His will (Jn. 7:18; Jn. 6:38; Gal. 5:16-17), thereby imitating Him.
Three synonyms for suffering with Jesus are "crucifying the flesh," which is putting to death the deeds of the flesh; "picking up our cross," which is accepting discipline as Jesus learned obedience; and "denying ourselves" which is not doing our own will but the will of Him who sent us (Jn. 4:34; Jn. 6:38; Lk. 9:23). Jesus is our Lord and we come to God through Him (Jn. 14:6).
We have a good Shepherd who loves us and intercedes for us, so rather than live according to our passions or the futile ways of our fathers, we are now able to pray to Jesus to lead us in whatever is right and be confident that He will give us the power (Jn. 1:12), and lead us. We then responsibly and faithfully apply His teaching and so prove that we want to do what is right (Jn. 14:15). His teaching is our direction (Ps. 119:105) and it is extremely important that our direction comes from the Bible.
The way of the flesh is to avoid living according to the truth (Gal. 5:17). There are some religious sects or groups that follow strange, untrue teaching with devotion and discipline. Others have basically sound teaching, but with loopholes, and rather than follow the sound teaching they look for the loopholes (2 Tim. 4:3, 4). But true Christians are willing to accept instruction (Pro. 15:14; 18:15), and in fact seek and test instruction according to scriptural approaches and standards. Anyone can mix opinion with scripture and prove anything. But despite our opinions, feelings or experience we learn to listen to Jesus, just as He learned obedience to His Father (Heb. 5:8). We should willfully and cheerfully accept God's discipline by picking up our crosses ourselves, and choosing to crucify our flesh (Gal. 5:24). yet it is fraudulent to speak of discipline without considering its source. Therefore, it is useless to speak of right discipline, without realizing that it is from our Heavenly Father (Heb. 12:5-11).
When we decide to put our trust in Jesus and follow Him, He promises us freedom (Jn. 8:320. We are free from the condemnation of sin through His death at Calvary (rom. 6:10; 8:1). We no longer need to be guilty or "play games' over sin like those in the world. In His mercy, we are free of God's wrath (Jn. 5:24) and are free from religion and "playing church." (For example, our early brothers and sisters were actually persecuted by supposed Christians because they did not follow the traditional heresies of the established church.) We are free from the devil and his control over us and we are free from sin and death (Rom. 6:14; Jn. 11:26). We are like the wind, which has to do with spirit (Jn. 3:8), and everyone who thus hopes in Jesus becomes like Him (1 Jn. 3:3; Jas. 1:4).
As we continue to hope in Jesus we will bear the fruit of love to His glory (Gal. 5:22). His two commandments to us are that we love Him and love one another (Mr. 12:29-31). According to human nature loving one another is not very important, but to Jesus it is. The hope of the Christian is never in this life at all, but rather it is to be with Jesus in the age to come (Mk. 10:29-30); so now we lay down our lives and do what is the best for others by showing them their need for Jesus (Ps. 122:9). Loving "one another" means within the sheepfold (Jn. 13:34); loving our enemies is a different matter (Lu. 6:27 & 28). In either case, we are to do the best thing for the other person for Jesus' sake, because it is Jesus' will (Pro. 3:27). Love is not emotional; it is doing the best thing for the other person regardless of ourselves--it is a sacrificing thing (Rom. 12:1) and that is why Jesus' dying on the cross was the greatest love there is (Jn. 15:13). Love is not doing what we want to do humanly, but seeking the good of others (1 Thes. 5:15).
As Christians, we are centered in looking to please Jesus rather than to please ourselves and that is loving Jesus (Jn. 14:15). That attitude has to be central (1 Jn. 4:19).
The first commandment is believing in Jesus and trusting Him. The second is loving one another so that the world might have a real vision and standard of what love is (2 Jn. 6). In order for people to understand anything, they have to have some kind of example. Since there is no genuine love in this world (2 Jn. 6) the world never will see what love is unless they see it through us. If they never know what love is, they will never have a chance to choose. This is quite a responsibility on us as Christians. There simply is no love anywhere except in the true church. Loving one another means in everything, coming from what is good for the other person, which is impossible without Jesus (Ps. 14:3; 16:1). It has to mean coming to love truth and wisdom and being willing to sacrifice anything for them in order to be able to help others with respect to their real needs (Gal. 6:10).
One of the highest criterion of orange is that when we are serious about our Christian life, we put hat which is most effective first, and that which is comfortable, traditional and attractive we are willing to lay aside. We look for that which is most effective and we work with that. For instance, something that may be good to do is not necessarily the best thing (Rom. 12:2). Thus, we go out of our way to receive proper direction and to follow right instruction (Ps. 116:60). Then it is by the fruits that we will be able to tell the difference between right instruction and wrong instruction (Jn. 15:8).
Jesus teaches us how to love one another throughout the Bible; for example, to practice kindness to one another (Ph. 2:3), to defend the fatherless (Is. 1:17), to care for others in deed and truth (1 Jn. 3:18), to believe and love one another, not seeking our own good, but the good of others (Php. 2:; 1 Co. 10:24). He teaches us first of all by His own example (Eph. 4:32; 1 Jn. 3:16).
"He who departs from evil makes himself a prey" (Is. 59:15), and when we do give up our lives to be with Jesus, then our enemy, the devil, begins his work of separating us from God and destroying us. We get pushed in many different ways and as we grow older, we begin to see this. We will always have this frustration; we will be involved in a constant struggle between God and the devil. Yet whenever we think we have trouble, "consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility" (Heb. 12:3) without complaining. Jesus was tempted in every way we are (Heb. 4:15) and His frustration was at least greatly beyond ours, yet for the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2), He did endure. We also should follow His example and consider that the present frustration is not worthy to be compared with the eternal glory waiting for us (Rom. 8:18).
FOR THE BRIEF TIME THAT WE ARE ON THIS EARTH AS CHRISTIANS, THERE WILL BE A CONSTANT STRUGGLE FOR US. THE NEXT SECTION WILL INTRODUCE THIS STRUGGLE, THE TWO SIDES AND HOW WE ARE CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE, AND WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND MORE HOW TO OVERCOME AND ENDURE AND FINALLY GO TO BE WITH JESUS. THE STRUGGLE HAS TO DO WITH THE WILL OF THE FLESH AND THE WILL OF THE SPIRIT AND REASON, AND IN WHAT WE WILL INVEST OURSELVES IN OUR LIFE HERE.
Every human being in this life looks to something to make them happy, content, peaceful, or just generally feel good. It can be money, prestige, success, fun, marriage, a future in this world, friends, etc. Because of human nature and our short-sightedness, on our own we look to the transient things that we see to meet our needs, rather than to our Creator (2 Co. 4:18; Rom. 3:11). But when Jesus saves us, he takes us out of the world, in a sense (Eph. 2:6). he gives us the power to live according to His will rather than according to the standards of this world. Through Jesus we can be "living stones in a house not built by hands" (2 Co. 5:1); through our own way we can toil for large and beautiful houses here which will end up desolate anyway (Pro. 16:25; Is. 5:9). We either get twisted by this world or conformed to Jesus, one of the two (Gal. 6:8). If we choose to live for this world, we will only lose our life (Jn. 12:25). Choosing Jesus means choosing the reproach of men rather than their praise by openly standing on the truth (Is 59:15; Heb. 11:25). Jesus tells us to give up everything in this life and come to know Him and be close to Him and He abundantly takes care of us (Mk. 10:29-30; Php. 3:8; Jn. 10:10). So the struggle begins when Jesus gives us His Spirit which cries out to be with Him (Rom. 8:15) and bears the fruit of love (Gal. 5:22), while everything in our flesh wants to hope in and covet the attractive yet futile things in this life. In his letter to the Romans, Paul pointed to the frustration yet hope of this struggle: "For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!"
So what we have of this world is the deceit of riches, which moth and rust will consume (Mt. 6:19), and any hope of some permanent existence here is really fantasy. On the other hand, Jesus offers and wants to take us to a prepared place (Jn. 14:3). Our hope is the resurrection and our treasures in Heaven will never be destroyed (Mt. 6:20).
There is a lot of useless turmoil in hoping in this life. Even "In the name of Jesus," people waste much energy and time in things that are obviously unfruitful. There are many examples of people who will say, "I believe in God," yet they do not mean the God of the Bible, but rather the god they invented (Is. 44:17; 41:7). This is one form of deception from the devil in order for them to allow room for themselves to hope in this life (1 Tim. 3:15). They know they should live their lives honestly hoping in Jesus, yet they insist on walking in their own ways, directing their own lives, and the result is very unpeaceful. The Bible says: "Agree with God and be at peace" and God says, "My ways are not your ways," so when we go our own ways, we have no peace (Jer. 10:23).
It is in every human to want to make a life for himself in this world and there are many different ways in which the devil can deceive us into doing that. He comes as an angel of light (2 Co. 11:14), and can make the pleasures of this life seem more appealing than living as a Christian (Heb. 11:25). In fact all of the devil's tricks are designed to draw us into setting our hope in this world, and thus separating us from God. He craftily and deceitfully appeals to our weaknesses, making life without Jesus seem interesting (Ps. 73:3), and life as a Christian seem dull, useless and without meaning in order to draw us back to our former manner of life, but when pointing to the "exciting" life we can have without Jesus, he fails to point to the latter end of those whose portion is of this life (Deut. 32:29; Pro. 16:25; Ecc. 7:10; Ps. 49:13-19; Ps. 17:14; Ecc. 12:1). The Bible teaches us to become free of the entanglements of this world (1 Jn. 2:15, 17), and Jesus Himself as well as the prophets put forth an example of hoping in God instead of this life (Lk. 9:58; Heb. 1:24, 25).
Jesus wants us to examine ourselves to see if we are holding fast to the eternal life to which we were called (2 Co. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:12; Heb. 10:23). Realizing that we here only for a short while, it only makes sense to choose the benefits of hoping in Jesus. If we are reasonable, we will see that hoping in Jesus completely outweighs hoping in this life. In Jesus' mercy, he offers us a fulfilling life now and in the ages to come, eternal life (Mt. 10:40; 1 Co. 2:9; Heb. 11:16).
The purpose of the devil is to separate us from God. Throughout our Christian life, we will be faced with the attempts of the devil to lure us away from Jesus through many clever devices. For instance, the devil tries to shake our confidence in order to get us to doubt rather than put our faith in Jesus. In Isaiah 36, the King of Assyria said, "On what do you rest this confidence of yours? Are mere words strategy and power for war?" Yes, in fact, God's Word is strategy and power for war (Ps. 18:3); Pro. 30:5; Heb. 4:12). But the devil is extremely deceitful and if he cannot succeed in causing us to backslide immediately, he will slowly try to break us down through our different weaknesses. Once he has begun to weaken us, he can cause us to doubt Jesus in various ways so that we have little or no strength to overcome (Jas. 1:13- 15).
There are four areas of weakness through which the devil works to tempt us to sin (Jas. 1:13-15). These are called "The Four Basic Browns" which have been previously mentioned in the "Lamb Workbook" and which we will touch upon here. (Eventually we will have a Black Workbook which will help in further understanding them.)
| The love of money (1 Tim. 6:10) | |
| The love of the praise of men (Jn. 12:43) | |
| The love of violence (Ps. 11:5) | |
| The love of indulging physical appetites (Gal. 5:19) |
These are in every one of us, and without Jesus, we do not have the strength to overcome them. But we can be thankful to Jesus that He does not allow the devil to tempt us beyond our strength, but gives us the power to overcome (2 Co. 10:13; Jn. 1:12). As we continue to grow, we will come to a better understanding of the tricks of the enemy so we will not remain ignorant of his designs (2 Co. 2:11). He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour but with Jesus we can resist him (1 Pe. 5:18).
From the moment we receive Jesus' spirit until we go to be with Him, Jesus changes us to be like Him (2 Co. 3:18). Meanwhile, one of the devil's most common tricks is to discourage us. He begins by pointing to our present state as compared to the way we should be ideally according to the Bible. It is at this point that he suggests to us--"What's the use?"--as if it is too difficult to be a Christian. So we must choose to either worry or wail over our natural weaknesses, or to walk by faith and trust that Jesus is willing to change us. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul even said: "but he said to me, `My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So it is all the more to Jesus' glory that He changes ones such as us to be like Him.
So, it is common for each one of us to get discouraged in our walk with Jesus, but the dangerous tendency within us is to try and handle discouragement on our own. Remember, that the devil's purpose is to separate us from God, and one of his maneuvers along the way is that he separates us from each other, one by one. So, it is extremely important that we go out of our way to be in honest fellowship with our brothers and sisters so we can share one another's burdens. Paul said, "Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort" (2 Co. 1:7; Pro. 11:14; Rom. 15:1; Gal. 6:2).
Remember, that it is because of our human limitations and weaknesses that we become discouraged. Our Christian life is a process of continual change and growth which brings us closer to Jesus every day, and His promises are more trustworthy than any of our fears or worries. Concentrating on our shortcomings and failings, leads only to further discouragement. It is through God's Word and His promises that we find genuine encouragement in order to continue in our faith.
It is important that we make up our minds to be faithful to Jesus and take a stand against the wiles of the devil (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pe. 5:9). When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we lose sight of the warfare between God and the devil. We are then more susceptible to the lies of the devil and more easily tossed about by our feelings. God said in Job 38:11, "Thus far shall you come, an no farther and here shall your proud waves be stayed." In other words, God is in control of our lives and He will only allow the troubles and tossings to go so far and no further. So we need only to relax and trust that Jesus will always be there to help us through every trial (Ps. 43.2).
When the Bible speaks of crucifying the flesh, it is not speaking of physical torture (Col. 2:23). The real indulgence of the flesh is when we choose to do our own will, rather than Jesus' will, which is selfishness. We are no longer our own--Jesus bought us with His life and it is His will that we glorify Him with our body (1 Co. 6:19). When we choose selfishness rather than pleasing Jesus, it only results in making us unhappy. When we are born again by Jesus, yet following the desires of body and mind, "then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full- grown brings forth death" (Jas. 1:15). It is Jesus' desire that we be willing to suffer with Him by picking up our cross daily and following Him (Heb. 10:36). This is pleasing to Jesus since it is laying aside our own will to do His will (Ju. 5:2; 1 Pe. 4:2). We should always be examining ourselves to make sure we have this attitude and encouraging others to be the same way.
When we have an attitude of looking to help others, Jesus rewards us. It is when we are concerned only about our own wants and needs that we become selfish and lazy. (Idle hands are the devil's workshop) (Pro. 11:24; Php. 2:20 & 21). When we are concerned for other's needs, we are sowing to the spirit He has given us, which will cause us to grow (Is. 58:10). Then we are more on guard against the enemy and are able to have the strength from sowing to our new nature to fight the good fight of the faith (Eph. 6:13).
Every day we have the choice of setting our hope in Jesus and trusting Him, or setting our hope in this life and following our own desires; "Life and good, death and evil" (Deu. 30:15). Setting our hope in Jesus begins with the assumption that He was raised from the dead and is alive now. it then means being born again and allowing Him to guide us. It means not looking for hope in this life or the things in this world, and not looking to our own ideas for direction. It means choosing to do what is right according to the Bible, rather than being conformed to this world.
The natural tendency of the flesh is to hope in this life, in what we see around us, rather than in the life to come (Heb. 13:14). So we who set our hope in Christ are hoping against hope, knowingly turning against that which is natural; that is, abandoning those things that everyone usually looks to in this life and expecting Jesus to make us happy, and His promises prove true (Ps. 119:140). When we are genuinely pursuing what pleases Jesus, when we are directly looking to His return as our first priority, He sets us free from the lifelong bondage to the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15; Is. 26:3) and keeps us in perfect peace.
Jesus tells us to walk by faith and not by sight, and then He overcomes the flesh for us. In Joshua 23, it says, ". . . it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as He promised." "Our old self was crucified with Him" (Rom. 6:6); and we have His promises in which to trust. As we continue and grow in Jesus, our trials will become more difficult and we will more consciously have to choose Jesus above our flesh, but His yoke is easy when we are looking to Him (1 Co. 10:13). We either choose to press onward and spend every minute wisely pleasing Jesus, or we sit back and have plenty of time and energy to indulge ourselves, wail and eventually backslide. He bears our burdens if we sincerely ask Him for His help (Ps. 145:18), so there is no reason to become discouraged in our "fight of the faith" (1 Tim. 6:12). We are especially motivated to press on when we consider eternity (Heb. 11:13-16, 23-27).
Since the beginning of mankind, "God has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (Ecc. 3:11). So in our minds we are aware of an existence beyond the one in which we live now (Rom. 1:19-20), but we must be born anew in order to actually possess that eternal life, which is Jesus Himself (Jn. 11:25), and then we can come to understand eternity. If we only entertain a fuzzy notion of eternity on our own, we are bound to have a disaster and end up with some unreal view of eternity. (example: God is in everyone.) But Jesus offers to lead us into all the truth, about Himself and our life with Him.
The Bible speaks of enduring to the end, yet having temptations and trials along the way (Jas. 1:2-4; 1:12; 1 Pe. 1:16). When we really set our hope in Jesus, the things in this world which once appealed to us offer little or no temptation (Ps. 73:25). It is our flesh and sin working through us that cause us to look away from Jesus and get discouraged, and often our first love for Jesus grows cold. The one way to avoid being discouraged and continue joyful is by keeping our minds on eternity. When we look to present trials, we easily get tossed by every wind that comes along. But we should weigh now against eternity and keep a figure like fourteen million years in mind. It is a drop in the bucket compared to eternity, but is much easier to handle. Eternity we tend to lose because it is too big. When things are too huge, the mind slurs them away. Jesus understood that when He said, "Even the hairs on your head are all numbered" (Mt. 10:30). He could have said, "the molecules of each cell in every hair," but instead He gave a small finite number, and even that is staggering to us.
Unless we keep our eye on eternity and "what no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," unless we keep our eye on our home to come, our Christian life gets dull and we get discouraged. Even though this life might seem like forever when one is young (Ecc. 11:9 & 10), it is actually very short. So it is important to keep our mind on fourteen million years from now rather than on any momentary affliction, and that is hoping in being with Jesus forever!
Throughout history, the hope of all Christians has been in the resurrection; they have patiently waited and watched for Jesus. As Jesus' chosen ones, our attitude should also be one of eagerly looking for His second coming, patiently enduring troubles and expecting Him, as sheep wait for and expect their shepherd. It may be that He will come in our physical lifetime, or it may be that we will fall asleep in Christ and He will raise us at the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6; 1 Thes. 4:14-17). There is much about waiting for the Lord in the Old Testament (Job 14:14; Ps. 27:14; 130:5); and in the New Testament, the basis of everything is the resurrection (1 Co. 15; Jn. 11:25 & 26; 1 Pe. 1:3-9, etc.). But we need to learn how to transfer scripture into reality. We must learn how to connect the references which say: "Be still and wait for the Lord," and "wait continually for your God" (Ps. 37:7; Is. 30:18), with the references which say: "I worked harder than any of them" (1 Co. 15:10; Hos. 12:6; 2 Thes. 3:8). Waiting for Jesus does not mean physically sitting around, as the disciples began to do in Acts 1:10 & 11. Likewise the verses on working hard do not mean plunging ahead on our own, anxiously toiling and hoping that we might earn Jesus' love. Neither adding to nor subtracting from the doctrine of Christ, we consciously put our trust in Jesus, expect Him to lead us and wait for Him to do so. We need to be consciously thinking about Jesus and disciplining ourselves to be working toward the ultimate goal and hope of being with Him (Col. 3:2).
If we continue hoping in Jesus, we will attain to the resurrection, as the outcome of our faith--the final result (1 Pe. 1:9; Php. 3:11). This speaks of salvation as a future thing (Mt. 23:14; Php. 3:12; Rom. 13:11); but it is not to say that we are not saved now. That future salvation is by possession; but "He has already made us sit with Him in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6), and we have the promise of His return (Heb. 9:28; Rev. 22:12). That promise must be our hope because it is certain; the only variable is us. We are called upon to center our lives in the resurrection and we should always examine ourselves to see if it is our most precious treasure. Hoping in Jesus has to do with setting our ways in looking to the second coming--making sure that it is our highest joy (Ps. 137:6), having that attitude and thus working and being happy.
As you mature, your ways get set either in this world or in Jesus. Ask yourself: How much am I looking to Jesus' second coming and how much am I being tossed about by present circumstances? We should examine ourselves often in this way to see whether or not we are hoping in Jesus. We need to begin the process now of disciplining ourselves physically and spiritually so that when we are much older, we will be eagerly waiting for His coming (Rom. 8:17). If our relationship with Jesus is right, our hearts will not condemn us and we will joyfully look for His return (Rom. 8:23).
"Take away the dross from the silver . . ." (Pro. 25:4).
"And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure" (1 Jn. 3:3).
Setting our hope in Jesus finally results in our being purified according to Jesus (Job 11:14). Not that we receive any credit, but when God saved us, He gave us the power to purify ourselves and we are required to do so (Gen. 4:7; Mt. 5:48). The way to do so is by imitating Christ, that is, looking to be conformed to Him. So we are to remove from within us anything that is unlike Jesus (2 Co. 7:1). Paul said, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (Eph. 5:11). Loving truth, then, is coming to the light, loving Jesus personally; that is, loving what is true and hating deceit (Jn. 3:19-21; Jn. 3 Wkbk). If in fact we have ceased trying to please ourselves and are accepting suffering instead, then that is defined as ceasing from sin (1 Pe. 4:1- 2).
When examining ourselves in order to root out sin, we must work on separating lies and fantasy from the plain truth when they are so often mixed together in our minds. When we try to consider what our worst problem is, first consider: "What is stopping me from growing?" Determine and isolate the specific problem. A lack of understanding is never the problem; nor is a lack of growth toward it, but rather the self-destructive things that block the way. Jesus tells us to "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thes. 5:21).
Jesus requires us to go to war against the wrong things within ourselves and in the fellowship. An example of going to war within ourselves is pummeling the body, that is, being violent against sin working through laziness in our flesh. Another way that sin works through us is through pride and an important way to overcome that is by choosing to do what is right according to the Bible rather than choosing to look good. An example of indulging pride is when the Pharisees would not confess what they knew to be true because they "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." We must accept instruction or at least look to test instruction and new sources of instruction by Bible approaches and standards.
An example of going after wrong things in fellowship is when Paul withstood Peter and called him insincere, driving at the wrong and not fearing looking bad. Jesus teaches us specific ways to go to war against sin in fellowship: Tit. 3:10; Mt. 18:15-17; Lk. 17:3-4; 2 Thes. 3:6; 10-12; 3:14-15. It is important to always be practicing the six steps of love, practicing kindness, speaking the truth in love in our fight against sin within the fellowship.
Then when we seek to please the Man of sorrows, He gives us the peace and joy that unsaved people seek but cannot find (Jn. 14:27). No unsaved person could possibly have joy from the Bible as faithful Christians do. David said, "Thy testimonies are my heritage forever; yea, they are the joy of my heart" (Ps. 119:111). he frees us from the weight of sin which we had before, and we can now be close to Him and see Him work through us. We have meaning and purpose in our lives, plus an abundance now (Mk. 10:29-30). We have real unity and fellowship with others in the truth (Ps. 133:1: Eph. 4:15).
Finally, dwelling on what pleases Jesus, being urgent to make Jesus known--both directly and indirectly, practicing kindness, making the most of the time, being efficient and striving to root out all causes of sin--we then have the sure promise of eternal life in paradise with Jesus who loves us (Ps. 119:50). When we are older, the resurrection will be the most important issue in our lives. It is the issue that will eventually conform us to Jesus. When you do not care, the way to care is to put things in their right order--to concentrate on the resurrection and Jesus' promise: "I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (Jn. 14:3).
In speaking of how Jesus regards us, it is important to begin by saying that He loves us. When He chooses us, He takes us as His own possession (Jn. 15:16; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17), and so we call Him "Lord." He regards us as His pasture (Jn. 10; Jn. 21:15-17), and as His friends (Jn. 15:14). He knows us well (Ps. 103:14; Ps. 139; Jn. 10:14); He knows our hearts, and desires that we be with Him in His kingdom (Lk. 12:32; Jn. 14:3).
It is helpful to know about God's perfect will and His permissive will. On the one hand, God's perfect will is that we be obedient to Him and overcome and stop sinning (Mt. 5:48). So the devil suggests that if we do anything wrong, God is angry and will kill us. Yet, His permissive will shows His mercy toward us in that He is understanding when we do sin (2 Pe. 3:9; Heb. 2:18). So then the devil suggests that God is all-forgiving and it does not matter what we do; we will still go to be with Him. We are not to take advantage of God's kindness as it is meant to lead us to repentance; but the other fearful attitude is wrong also. He loves us as a Father and expects only for us to be faithful to that which we understand while He also understands our weaknesses (Ps. 103:10, 13-14). God looks at our hearts and the fact that we care about the way we should be shows that His Holy Spirit is within us giving the desire to be like Him.
It is Jesus' will that we be united in seeking to please Him (Heb. 10:25; Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4:3). In John 17, He prayed to His Father that we become perfectly one (Jn. 17:23). Paul urges us to be knit together in love (Col. 2:2); and John 15 speaks much of abiding in Him. Jesus chose us to bear fruit (Jn. 15:16) which we can only do by abiding in Him. (The John 15 workbook speaks in detail of this.)
We need to be united. On our own we are unsettled and unstable (Mt. 9:36) and tend to stray off into strange and fruitless paths that unsaved people do not follow because of their uniformness in acting with respect to each other. They have a certain safety and stability in routines that we do not have (Lk. 16:8). From this, it becomes apparent how much we need to be one. Their unity is in a life that is unreal and passing away (Ecc. 4:8; 1 Jn. 2:17), and their fellowship is not based on truth as it is not in Jesus. However, we are being retrained in the truth and therefore need unity to help each other in our trials (Ecc. 4:9-12).
It is His will that we be exhorting each other to be faithful to what we know (Ac. 14:22; 2 Ti. 4:2), always being certain to practice the six steps of love and to practice kindness (Ps. 133:1). Jesus went out of His way to help others according to their needs; and He wants us to follow His example and go out of our way to help each other. We must be united in following the direction Jesus gives us through the teachings of the Bible. A house divided against itself cannot stand (Mt. 12:25).
Our need to be together is also exemplified in the book of Acts, where the disciples had all things in common, sharing rather than coveting all Jesus had given them (Ac. 2:44-47; Ac. 4:32-35). Jesus especially wants us to share with those in need (Ac. 4:34; Tit. 3:14).
In this brief introduction to orange, a few attitudes we should have as Christians will be mentioned. Jesus gives us attitudes pleasing to Him but we must invest them. One important attitude is one of being motivated to do things because they please Jesus. The flesh tends to turn that around to say that if we do a good deed or something right, then we are living for Jesus. That attitude says that work can save us. Paul often spoke of doing things, and yet it is pride to give any credit to ourselves, because apart from Jesus we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5).
Another important attitude in which to invest is that "We are not our own but were bought with a price" (1 Co. 6:19, 20). Jesus bought us, and the whole world, when He redeemed us on the cross. Paul said, "the life I now live, I no longer live to self, but to Christ" (Gal. 2:20). So, even after we have served Him perfectly and fully, we are still "unworthy servants" (Lk. 17:10).
A necessary attitude which would follow the last one is that we be urgent, living in expectancy of His return. We ought not to live anxiously, but as though time is short, and be sure that the things we do now are going to be significant fourteen million years from now. In waiting for the Lord (Ps. 27:14; Ps. 37:7, 9, 14) we must not be idle but "imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12).
We must be willing to lay down our lives for the salvation of others (1 Jn. 3:16). Jesus sends us out to be lights in the world (Php. 2:15), so that men may come to know Him (Mt. 5:16). He said that we are like sheep in the midst of wolves (Mt. 10:16), but that we should not fear because He is always with us to fight our battles (2 Ch. 32:7, 8). We should be zealous and confident in proclaiming Jesus and then expect to win, because we will (Josh. 1:9; Jer. 1:7-8). The strong, witnessing child of God confutes every tongue in that hour (Is. 54:17; Ac. 18:28) and our adversaries cannot answer, but rather flee at the threat of one (Josh. 23:10).
Humanly, Christians need to grow in understanding of how to live in this world so that we can temporarily dwell here without being drawn back into setting our hope in it (Heb. 11:13-16; Col. 3:2). Jesus did not say for us to ignore the world, nor did He tell us to try and change the norm of society, but rather to work on their behalf with respect to their salvation (Mt. 28:19, 20; Mk. 16:20; Ac. 2).
To what degree and how should we be involved with the world? Generally, 1 Co. 7:31 well applies: "and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away." There are certain necessary involvements such as jobs, social commitments, public duties, legalities, etc., but no matter what the circumstances, the Christian fights the good fight of the faith, working quietly and with thankfulness, owing allegiance to nothing worldly, while laying up treasures in Heaven (Mt. 6:20; 1 thes. 4:11; 2 Thes. 3:12; 1 Ti. 6:12).
In regard to authority in the world, we should pray for our leaders and listen to the authorities, unless they directly oppose God's will (Ac. 4:19, 20). The ministers are set in place by God to do His will (Is. 45:1).
We must have an attitude of looking ahead. But, how much should we be concerned for our future 10, 20, 30 years from now? The further ahead we look, the more tentative our plans are but as we get closer the more specific they can be. So, we must consider what the most effective thing is we can be doing at every point along the way (Eph. 5:16). We should consider the long range point of view, the medium range and even taking into account the short range point of view. Every effort we put out now will mean great results ten years from now. Efforts are cumulative (Pro. 5:11-12; Ps. 90:12). We cannot change our past, so we should press on to do the most worthwhile thing we can each day (Phil. 3:13 & 14). Looking ahead has to do with casting our bread on the waters (Ecc. 11:1) and, like the patient farmer (Jas. 5:7) who waits over the crops, seeing what will prosper, this or that (Ecc. 11:6). Jesus will then "keep us occupied with joy in our hearts, so we do not much remember the days of our life" (Ecc. 5:20).
Our orange is not only praising God, but it is doing the will of God (Lk. 6:46; Jas. 1:25), and Jesus gives each of us the talents and opportunities to do His very special work. The devil's way is to pray, "leave it up to Jesus, as the spirit leads" and do whatever you will. Jesus wants us to work hard for Him, to honestly give up our will and strive with all the energy He mightily inspires in us to do His will (Col. 1:29). Jesus' way is to do good when it is in our power to do it (Pro. 3:27)--not grudgingly earning our salvation but cheerfully working it out (Php. 2:12). In fact, since our physical bodies are going to corrupt anyway, we should all the more look to be used for some benefit, some profit (Rom. 12:1). According to the talents we have, we must be responsible day by day and in any planning for the future.
Jesus gives each of us talents in witnessing and requires that we invest them. It is not even us doing the work, but rather God working through us to bear fruit (Jn. 15:16), which He does only if we are genuinely seeking to please Him, seeking opportunities for Him to use us. Our four major opportunities are to know and understand Jesus, to know and understand the old creation (the children of this generation), to know how to make Jesus known to this generation in spite of themselves and their problems (2 Co. 5:20), and to be motivated to work at making Jesus known. We have the ability to present a good picture and we should discipline ourselves to do that to the end (1 Co. 2:2). A great talent Jesus has given us for our work in bringing others to Him is human understanding. Human understanding is of value in a special way and to a special degree. If you understand yourself, people around you, the world and the way things work, God uses all this in His figures in the Bible to show us spiritual truths. then when we are faithful to all He does show us, He can use us in a work that please Him.
As it is one thing to witness, it is yet another thing to build (Is. 58:12). Jesus has shown us how we must be caring about people in ways other than simply witnessing, for example, in raising people to love Him. We cannot stay as children, ignorant and foolish--but we must be studying to learn how we can make the most of the time through deeds that please Jesus (Tit. 3:14). He gives us the talents for and teaches us how to bear the yoke for others (1 Jn. 3:17), for example, starting fellowships in living, helping those who have no direction and defending the fatherless (Is. 1:17), that is, the unsaved. Jesus wants all of His people to be united in His spirit which He give us. Although it is Jesus who does the feeding, He uses us to get others ready to be fed (Rom. 2:20). So we are responsible to be working together to make money and opportunities to spread over the earth and feed people, physically and spiritually--to prophesy, to preach and to teach others, being zealous for good deeds (Tit. 2:14).
Raising people in Jesus has to do with providing direction for them, giving our lives for them. Jesus has shown us the way and it is His will that we be working to show others the way. Jesus even teaches us how to raise and show others the way, and He gives examples of others who did. For example, Paul likened himself to a father to the Churches (1 Co. 4:15; 1 Thes. 2:7) being a right example for them, and he also gave them specific direction. It is far from egotistical, but it is rather looking to love one another according to the talents Jesus has given us. The necessary attitude is one of not thinking more highly of oneself than he ought to (rom.12:3), but considering the other person better in the sight of God than oneself (Php. 2:3).
Jesus prayed that God should not take us out of the world but rather protect us from the evil one (Jn. 17:15). We have a purpose to fulfill on earth until Jesus takes us to be with Him (Jn. 15:16). "Purpose" is the reason why we were made which is to give God glory (Is. 43:7; Jn. 15:8). We need purpose. We need to be able to point to some order of direction and unity in our lives.
The fundamental approach to life is to choose between "lying around" or planning ahead, simply existing or having purpose and working at it. Yet only from our Creator can we come to realize our purpose for which we were made. Nehemiah "arose in the night" to begin the work of rebuilding the destroyed city of Judah (Neh. 2:12). "Arising" points to getting up and going to the work. We need to have a challenge at which to work, in which to succeed, and to which to contribute with respect to our abilities. Through this work, Jesus gives us meaningful and interesting lives and the motivation that keeps us going, compels us toward more challenges and endeavors which cause our abilities to grow through exercising them more and more (1 Co. 9:25).
As we contribute increasingly, we see Jesus working through us. In the world without Jesus, one can have small and increasing successes in getting into anything, but only through Jesus can we succeed in the purpose for which we were made. As Jesus grows inside of us, we become conformed to Him and grow to love people in a real way. Yet when we care about people, the more we understand the situation in the world, the more sorrow we will have (Ecc. 1:18). With the understanding Jesus gives us, he requires us to care about others in a real way, by pouring ourselves out (Is. 58:10; Pro. 11:25). The only other alternative is that we lose what Jesus has given us (Mt. 25:29; Lk. 16:12).
God raised us up for the very purpose of showing His power in us, so that His name may be proclaimed in all the earth (Rom. 9:17). So with a thankful heart, we devise ways to make Him known, from now until He returns to take us home.
When we are grown up and able to blossom forth and bear fruit for God (Jn. 15:16) He accepts us as "living sacrifices" (Rom. 12:1). We in turn find real fulfillment by working together at the purpose for which we were created.
This section will briefly touch on growing older humanly and growing as Christians. As we grow older physically and our personal strength, human happiness and health diminish. They must be replaced with a more sacrificial, conscious understanding and genuine concern for others. When we are mature in Jesus and older in the flesh and have become stable, the only thing that will give us joy is Jesus. We must grow into seeing our life here as hopeless and setting our hope more and more in Jesus. As our flesh becomes more selfish and corrupt, we will see our need to go out of our way to help each other and "bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2)>
Physical growth somehow relates to spiritual growth. When we grow up, physically, our childhood disappears, and when we grow up spiritually, our spiritual childhood disappears (1 Cor. 13:11). The Bible says that the glory of a young man is his strength (Pro. 20:29), but as he grows older, he takes on real strength and learns to "hope" in that rather than in the physical strength. As we grow older, we should amend our ways and put on the new man (Jn. 3:30; 11:44).
Silver is a figure which somehow relates to our lives here and God is the silversmith who fashions our lives (Pro. 25:40). Jesus tells us to hold fast what we have, and stay strong and steady so that we will have enough strength ourselves to endure plus enough to share with others. The devil is always trying to upset us through our feelings and through our lack of understanding. We need to resist that (Jas. 4:7), principally by trusting Jesus and then seeing our understanding increase. The result of doing what pleases Jesus motivates us to proceed further.
Growing in grace has to do with growing from the seed and becoming a plant, continuing and growing in good soil, having root in ourselves and so enduring (Job 17:9). The reward of endurance is eternal life with Jesus. When we practice faithfulness to Jesus and what He shows us, we become trained and hardened into the right things. As we grow, we increasingly realize our great need for Jesus and His salvation and how we really have no good apart from him (Is. 46:4; Jn. 15:5).
Considering that Jesus died for the unsaved, we also give our lives for the unsaved. That does not simply mean witnessing, but rather centering our lives in people getting saved, beginning each day by saying, "What is the best thing I can do today to please Jesus?" We, through whom God works, should be zealously working towards the most people possible being saved each day.
We are engaged in a life and death struggle with time, the devil and death (Eph. 5:16). Millions of young people are being raised outside of the real understanding of Jesus and so are fooled by the devil into leading purposeless lives. They are hardening into these useless paths each day, being pushed along by an older generation who have gone that way themselves and are not happy, yet who want their children to be copies of them (Ps. 49:18-19). The sad thing is that many of our own friends will be drawn into this fatal exercise in futility--clutching at straws for meaning in life, but with a growing awareness of the emptiness of their lives (Ecc. 12:1). Instead they could be filled with the real bread of life, the presence of Jesus which results in the love of truth (Jn. 6:35).
It is very important for us to lay aside every weight and obstacle and run the race that is prepared for us (Heb. 12:1). Jesus has prepared a special work for us and has kept us faithful for that work (Phil. 1:6). He has given us sight and a direct concern for the young unsaved. Because this way has been tested and proven and we have confidence in Jesus' promises, a greater commitment and zeal is required of us (Lk. 12:48).
We should love one another so that the world might have a vision and standard of what real love is and see hope through that. Archimedes said: "Give me a point outside the world and I'll move the world." The Word is that point, and through Jesus we can move mountains, even the whole world (Ac. 17:6). Yet, the closer we get to doing something the more frightening it gets, but Jesus only wants us to lead simple, quiet lives personally (1 Thes. 4:11), while loudly proclaiming the Gospel. Thus, through us Jesus offers a "hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land" (Is. 32:2).
This area of our Christian life will be only briefly introduced as it is a relatively new and extremely important responsibility. Jesus has given us the work of raising children to love Him and be obedient to Him, and through the Bible He teaches us how (Pro. 22:6; 22:15). We also learn a lot from children; they are excellent teachers. "A little child shall lead them" (Is. 11:6). Children are candid in behavior. They do not calculate or hide, but they unconsciously show the truth. Jesus said we must become like children to enter His Kingdom (Mt. 18:3). This area will be further studied later, not in this introduction to orange.
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