Get Busy Living

Good morning, everyone! It's a pleasure to be here with you. Seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Yes, this is the part of God's Feast we don't necessarily enjoy as much.

We're at the end of the seventh day of the Feast. Of course, we have the eighth day to observe, starting at sunset tonight. And what a wonderful time we've had, haven't we?

Okay, let's try it again. A wonderful time we've had, right? Yes.

We've enjoyed inspired and inspiring messages every day. Beautiful music, very uplifting.

I have to give my compliments to the stage. These flowers are just beautiful. I see the apples are still there. None of you have eaten any. They really helped set a beautiful festive scene here. I appreciate that very much. We've had encouraging fellowship. I know, I hear it when I walk around and observe and see the happy faces and the glad chatter. We're building happy memories.

Truly what a blessed week we've had from God, our Father in Christ. They've been very generous to us this week and we should be truly grateful. But yes, soon we will be returning to our everyday lives. As we say, we will be going back into the world as it were. And because we've been focused this week on God's way of life and His coming Kingdom, I'm sure when we get back we will be even more sensitive to what we are returning to. We're returning to the world that is busy going nowhere. They're really busy going nowhere, really, except to its own destruction.

Jesus Christ taught that there are two ways of life, Matthew 7, 13 through 14.

Most many, He said, take to the broad way, leading to destruction, death.

But only a few find and keep to the narrow, difficult way leading to life. That's the way He has called us to.

Writing, if you want to turn with me to 1 John 2, verses 15 through 17. 1 John 2, 15 through 17, the Apostle John also points to the two ways of life and warns us not to love the world.

We should be familiar with these scriptures. Do not love the world or the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it.

But he who does the will of God abides forever death and life.

And so again, this description, and it's a fact that is found throughout Scripture.

Our challenge now is how can we maintain this sense of spiritual rejuvenation, this excitement, this enthusiasm I know we've all been experiencing this week? How do we maintain this energy long after we go back home, back into the world, into a world that's passing away, in a world really that is dying, that the world is really busy dying? We can face this challenge successfully when we never forget the choice that God places before us, and then choose to believe God and to do what he says. A very simple statement of faith. To believe God and to do what he says.

My purpose is to encourage us onward to the kingdom, to continue in the ways of God.

In short, brethren, we must get busy living.

And that's the title of this message. Get busy living.

God's Word reveals, indeed, there are two ways to live. According to the flesh, which leads us to sin and death, or according to the spirit, which leads to life. Adam and Eve, we know, chose the way of the flesh, of sin and death, when they yielded Satan's influence, disobeyed God's instruction, and then ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And since the garden of Eden, humanity has chosen to reject God, and chooses for itself, and still does, how it will live without the guidance and instruction of God. And that is brought about the world we now live in, a world that is speeding down that broadway to its own destruction. Back in Deuteronomy chapter 30, we read from Deuteronomy 31 in the previous message. In Deuteronomy 30, verses 15 through 19, we read how God urged the children of Israel to choose life, to be willing and faithful in submitting to God in his laws, rather than following in the way of death, of lawlessness and disobedience to God. In verse 15, we read, See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, his judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish. And continuing verse 19, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, here's what God wants, choose life. Choose life that you and your descendants may live. Now Israel vowed that they would submit to God. They said they would keep his law. But so far, that hasn't really happened. It hasn't really happened. And why is that? Why did it not happen? Let's note Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 29. Deuteronomy 5.29.

You see, they lacked the right kind of heart. They lacked the right heart.

Deuteronomy 5.29. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me, God said, and always keep all my commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

Now, the good news we've heard this week, we've been reminded that one day soon, it won't be long now, that Israel will repent, that remnant will submit to God, and they will finally receive that right heart, that Holy Spirit, that is so necessary from God.

Now, over in Matthew chapter 19, let's turn to the New Testament, please.

Matthew 19 verse 16 through 17. Jesus Christ taught that to choose life, yes, does require willing obedience to God's commandments.

Matthew 19, 16 through 17. Someone asked, came to him, now behold, one came and said to Jesus, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And so he said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one. That is God.

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. Keep the commandments.

And if we look further down there, verses 18 through 19 makes very clear that Jesus was referring to the Ten Commandments, and we keep the Ten Commandments to this day. And so people always, eventually, of course, everyone will. And so a vital aspect of our faith in God is that we keep his commandments. And we understand that means to their full spiritual intent as Jesus taught and expanded upon them, so that even to hate someone, even to hate someone from our heart, is considered murder. The heart matters, we see. Next in Romans chapter 1, please, Romans chapter 1, verse 16 through 22, Paul explained that God is faithful to give eternal life to those who do submit to his laws and ways. Romans 1, 16 through 17, Paul wrote, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, and as it is written, the just shall live by faith. And so again, we see that believing God means doing what he says. Or if you want another word for doing, believing God means living what he says. It means living what God says. And then in verses 18 through 22, Paul contrasts God's blessing upon the faithful with God's wrath upon the rebellious.

Verse 18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because, why did they do this? Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.

And when we sit back and observe what's going on in the world today, Paul's words here should give us understanding the background to graphs why things are the way they are. Now, I am rather confident in saying to you that we will not hear Paul's inspired words in any news report. I don't care what your favorite TV news program is, you're not going to hear Paul's inspired words in any news report about the true cause of the terrible crises and troubles and evils afflicting the world today. The truth of God is suppressed. We're not going to hear it as much as we'd love for the world to hear that. They're not ready to hear it yet. And neither will the news media warn about God's judgment upon every human being, that that judgment is coming nonetheless.

Let's also read Romans chapter 2, verse 5 through 11. We understand that God will judge every person according to his and her choices. Choices regarding obedience or disobedience. Choices regarding life or death. Verse 5 in Romans 2, but in accordance with your hardness and your impertinent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day in the wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to each one according to his deeds.

Eternal life to those who by patient and continuance and doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first and also of the Greek, the glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Our God is just and loving and kind.

And so again, there are these two ways to live. Two ways to live out our lives. We can either be busy living for eternal life and salvation or we can be busy living for the flesh and self-destruction.

Spiritually speaking, spiritually speaking then, we are either busy living or we are busy dying.

That is our choice. God the Father has called us to salvation. He has called us to serve as kings and priests in His coming kingdom. He has called us now to be busy already living. And that's what we've been focusing on this week. And as we will be returning to our homes, we must be determined to get busy living. But how? How? We need to know that answer, don't we? We need to know because we do want to be worthy of receiving eternal life. We do want to receive salvation. And the fact is, we cannot receive salvation on our own. We must have living faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and we must have the help of God's holy life.

Let's look a little further into the book of Romans, Romans 8, verse 5-14. We need God's Spirit dwelling in us to give us the will and desire to repent of sin and to become more like God is. Without repentance, living faith, and Christ's sacrifice for our sins and God's Holy Spirit, which we understand we receive through the laying on of hands after baptism, without the help of His Spirit, we are not capable of keeping God's laws and way of life as He wishes us to and wants us to.

Without God's help, you see we are simply too weak in the flesh to overcome sin, to overcome the poles of our flesh. So let's read Romans 8, verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. This is living, dying and living. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you, Paul writes, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And so again, without God's Holy Spirit in us, what Paul is saying is our hostility and resistance to God will not be overcome.

And it's this begettle of God's Spirit in us that allows us to be among the first fruits of God's kingdom at Christ's return. Again, what we have been reminded of and rehearsing this week. Therefore, it behooves us to be busy living God's way of life. Let's look at verse 11 through 14. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit which dwells in you.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors. You and I are debtors. Not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. And so once we choose life through repentance, and by living faith we practice God's law, his way of life, through that living faith in Christ's sacrifice for sins, we are ready to get busy.

We have what it takes to get busy living each and every day that God allows to us. And we know we don't have tomorrow promised to us. So a good time to get busy living is right now and today. But again, I ask how? We're getting closer to that answer as we narrow it down. How do we get busy living? Well, let's turn to Romans 12, verse 2. Broadly speaking, we must seek the instruction of God's Word and couple that with yielding to the influence of his Spirit.

Without us and in us, outside us and in us, but especially we need his help in us. And when we do that, then we can resist the influence of the world a whole lot better, and we can resist the pulls of our mortal flesh and be transformed. That's what Paul talks about here, Romans 12, too. Paul writes, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

To conform means to imitate others. It means to act like others, to use their words. It's really a superficial, external thing. We all know how to act. We can all be very good actors because we know how the flesh is. But God does not want superficial people following him.

He wants it real from the heart. You see, to transform, on the other hand, means to change to another form. It includes this idea of metamorphose. It means to convert. So in verse 2, Paul urges those in Christ to stop imitating the thoughts and ways of this world. Instead, we're to undergo a total change of our heart and mind from the inside out. Such a transformation requires that we willingly submit to the instruction of God's Word and yield to the influence of His Spirit upon our hearts and minds.

And it's only with God's help that we can become more like He is, and a whole lot less than we are. And that's what we all want. Now, during this past week, we have been more conscientious of practicing God's way of life, of trying to transform the way we think and behave with God's help from the inside out. We've come out of the world. We've been trying harder not to conform to its ways.

And so with our second tithe this week, we've been able to practice generosity and sharing to a degree in ability we normally just can't do. And we've rejoiced in doing so, haven't we? And this week, with the help of God's Holy Spirit, the extra-spiritual meal—some really good spiritual food, by the way—we've been getting so much more from God's Scripture. And we've been striving harder to improve and transform the way we think and behave and the way we are.

We have been busy learning and practicing God's way of life. We need and we want to maintain these good works so important for transforming who and what we are, not just this week, but next week, and long after we've returned home, and for always and forever. But how?

I recommend that we get busy doing our homework. Now, who doesn't like homework?

I don't see any hands. Oh, I'm ignoring that.

But then what I recommend is not so much homework, is what we might call life work. You get the idea? Life work. Let's look at Romans 12 a little further down, verses 9-21. Romans 12, 9-21 provides us a list of good works we should be busy doing, busy living in order to transform our hearts and minds to become more like God.

You see, when we conscientiously choose to apply ourselves to practicing these good works, we will be conforming less and less to the ways of the world, to that society we're going back to, and we'll be busier truly living, becoming more like God.

So let's consider Paul's list here as a life work, homework, for us to be doing, to be getting busy living. We'll look at this a little bit verse by verse. I can only touch upon it, but I'll let you do the rest as part of your life work when you get home. And I know we are all, including me, going to be very good students. Verse 9, for example, Paul wrote, Let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil. Stay away from it. Cling to what is good.

So we must love from the heart, not for appearances. We can't fake it. We mustn't fake it.

We must grow in God's love, grow in sincerity and truth, and strive to put aside all hypocrisy from our lives. Jesus Christ said some harsh things to say about hypocrites. We don't want to be a part of that. We must be trying harder to not always go along with the crowd, not always go along with our friends and in school and other places. If we know someone's doing something wrong, we don't want to go along with it. We must be sincere. Be who and what God wants us to be from the inside out. Verse 10, continuing, Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, and honor giving preference to one another. That word affectionate means loving one another with the same sort of affection we would have for a close relative, for like a parent or a child, a sibling. And just as family members should show fondness and respect for one another, so must we be showing fondness and respect for each other. Verse 11 continues, Paul says, Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Now, we have all seen many wonderful examples, this feast of individuals serving others in big ways and small. I've noticed that everywhere I've gone this week, I see it happening, and it's been very, very encouraging, very wonderful. And we have been doing a wonderful labor of love this week.

We need to keep it up. We need to keep living it. We need to be busy in ourselves and helping, encouraging others any way we are able to without procrastinating or making excuses about putting it off. We don't have tomorrow. We need to do it today, get busy today.

Verse 12 rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

We must continue these things we've been practicing this week, praying for others, praying for God's intervention to heal, to encourage.

We must be staying close to God on our own trials, helping others in their trials.

It's much easier to get through life's hard times when there's somebody there along the way to to help us get along. We must stay faithful and patient and trusting God.

Verse 13 tells us we need to be distributing to the needs of the saints, given hospitality.

I think we've been enjoying a lot of sharing in hospitality this week, and it's especially fun to do that during the feast. And it's been wonderful, and it's been fun.

And that's what we need to keep practicing when we go back home.

Now, I realize that all of us wish our homes would look a little bit more like those beautiful homes in HGTV, right? Our furniture looked that's nice and shiny, and everything was just beautiful like that.

But if it doesn't look quite like that, that should not keep us from practicing sharing and hospitality in our homes, doing what we can with what we have. We need to keep that up.

We need to keep that up. It's a wonderful thing. We've experienced it here. We need to keep experiencing it and sharing it when we go home. However we can, we need to get busy helping and sharing, practicing hospitality. It's an opening of the heart, you see. When you open your home to another person, you're actually opening your heart and loving and kindness to others.

Verse 14 tells us to bless those who persecute you. This can be tough. We're to bless and not curse.

We've been teased and mocked some of us for our faith in God, and people can certainly think it's strange that we don't worship God the way they do. And frankly, more people think it's strange that we worship God at all. They call it foolishness, even believe in a God. To a world busy dying, you see, our living faith is silly. But we must not be deterred by others' actions or words against us. Despite any opposition we may receive, we must bless those who would make our lives difficult.

They may not know any better, you see, that God has taught us to know better. We must love those who would curse us. Verse 15 through 16 reminds us to rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind towards one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

And so again, just as we've had a wonderful time fellowshiping this feast, speaking with one another, getting heart to heart, getting beyond the chitchat, we need to keep that up after the feast, being humble and kind to one another.

We need to stay in touch with others we've met here. I hope we can do that.

But we also need to get to know the brethren better in our own local congregations.

We need to continue to share good, encouraging words with each other. We need to, we need, we all need someone who will listen to us when we have troubles. We need someone to list us and we have exciting good news. We all love that. It's part of good fellowship. It's part of rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. We need to share in our life experiences both the good and the difficult that we know come along the way.

17-18. We are told, Repay no one evil for evil, have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depend on you, live peaceably with all men. That means all men and women, all people. So again, we must be busy staying near to God. It's what we've been striving hard to practice this week. We need to strive hard to keep our emotions in anger and check when someone upsets us. We can't be giving in to our carnal nature. Even though others hurt us, we have to hold back from wanting to hurt them back in turn. You see, that's not God's way. That is not what we've been learning this week. We must not allow anger and bitterness to take hold in our hearts. We need to ask God to help us be rid of those roots of bitterness. We must get busy doing what we can to do good works, to get along with our neighbors, to do our part in keeping peace with our neighbors and trusting God to help them to live at peace with us. And finally, verse 19-21, Beloved, I do not avenge yourselves, Paul writes, but rather give place to wrath.

For it is written, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing you will reap coals of fire on his head. And do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We've been learning a lot about goodness this week. And if you're like me, there are probably sometimes you're aware of what's going on in the world. I try not to watch a lot of television anymore. It's just too upsetting at times. I watch enough to be aware. I keep up with news different ways, but I don't let it control my life. I do not let the negative news ruin my attitude. Well, I try. Just as we all try, I'm sure.

And as angry as we may be for the injustice we see going on in the world around us, a true mark of our putting on the mind of God and Christ of transforming ourselves with God's help is not to seek vengeance or to hate others. That means we must not allow the anger of and in the world to step in and influence us to be as angry and as hateful as they are. That way is on the broad way leading to destruction. We're on the narrow way leading to life, leading to salvation.

That way is the way of being busy dying. We're on the way busy being alive, busy living.

We must not conform to the world's ways. We must get busy trusting God more to resolve injustice in our lives, trusting God more to help us keep hate and bitterness from reigning in our hearts. We have our part to do. Reconciliation is a huge process we must take on and be sure to practice.

That's our part, but we need to be praying and asking God to help us to keep it out.

So now here we've just rehearsed this these verses. Many things here, the how-to part of how we can get busy living, get busy doing. Now again, Paul's list of good works here in Romans 12 verse 9 through 21. When I'm calling a life work, we're calling it our homework as well. It can be a means of helping us evaluate ourselves every day as to how we're progressing in living God's way, just as we've been striving to do during this feast. I would recommend, as part of helping you, helping, I'm going to be trying to do this too, to take each of these points. We covered it rather quickly here, but to take each of these items here, each of these good works, write it down as a list, and keep it handy over this next year. Keep it handy forever.

Review them throughout the year. Use these verses as a sort of guide, a sort of checklist, a means of evaluating ourselves to see how we are progressing. Are we transforming? Are we being transformed with the help of God's Word and His Holy Spirit? Are we making progress?

Or are we backsliding? We need to know these things and take action against it.

We need to be asking ourselves, are we busy living or are we busy dying?

And so, yes, we're to be returning home soon. We have the eighth day beginning tonight, but we must continue in the things we've been learning this week, the things about God's plan of salvation, about humility and self-sacrifice. These good works are all about self-sacrifice, about trusting God, and about how God wants all humanity to choose life and to submit to His way of life. We must continue in God's ways, always, continue to believe and to do what God says. There are the two choices, two big choices, life or death. The world is busy dying.

That is not for us. We must be about our Father's business.

So, brethren, let's get busy living now and forever.