John 1
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.”
44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
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If anyone understands what it is like to be labeled by a geographical location rather than by one's character it is Jesus. Jesus was very aware that the religious of his day were already predisposed to not trust him or receive him. Look at Matthew 11:
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking [with others], and they say, He has a demon!
19 The
Son of Man came eating and drinking [with others], and they say,
Behold, a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and [especially wicked] sinners! Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by what she does (her deeds) and by her children.
Many would have simply said Jesus was a product of his environment. They would be right and wrong at the same time. Jesus was not a product of Nazareth. He was the Son of God as the Nicene Creed affirms, apart of the Godhead before time was. Jesus created the environment that created the products! He himself was not made by anyone.
If you grew up in any stage or state of poverty (which I did) you would rather not be called a product of your environment. Especially if your environment was marked by crime, law enforcement corruption, high rates of teen pregnancy, high dropout rates, low home ownership, or a staggering rate of black on black crime among teenage males. In fact, many of the boys I grew up with were either killed over drugs, killed doing drugs, or killed through some drug related incident. My neighborhood learned that changing the name of a town does not change the rate of crime unless you change the mindsets and the factors involved.
So, how do we change our product (our outcome)? We have to first recognize that we don't have to be a product of our natural environment. We can be products of the Kingdom of God. In fact, God is equipping us to be the Sons of God. Sure, your environment can play a factor in how you relate to the world and your world-view. But in the Kingdom of God, YOU have the power to renew your mind and to create a new world by what you speak, and specifically by speaking the Word of God. Your environment doesn't have to be the end result of who you are.
A product is defined as raw material being transformed into a finished good on a large scale. Know this, Beloved: WE are God's raw material being transformed into the image of his Son. He who has begun a good work in us, will complete it until the day of Jesus return (Phil 1:6)! We ARE the good work that gives good pleasure to God as He works on us and we yield to the working. We become part of the large scale work (1 Cor 12) called the Body of Christ serving God forever. Did you realize that God is the Consumer? He is the Consuming fire and we are being prepared so that He can consume us with His love forever! (Pause and think on that!)
So God is making something of us to be distributed to the world in this age and exclusively for Himself in the age to come. What happens before we are distributed? Before we are ready for the market of Heaven, we are being processed in this earthly life:
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).
18 And
all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in
the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly
being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. -2 Corinthians 3
God is taking us through QC (Quality Control)- The Holy Spirit becomes the Product inspector of our lives. He looks us over for defects like cracks and surface blemishes. He searches the deep things of God, He takes our prayers to Jesus who takes them to the Father. We go through testing, like any other product. The emphasis during testing is to uncover defects and then correct them. The defects are reported to our manager, Jesus, who is presenting to himself a product, a Bride without spot or wrinkle or any other defect. It is the manager's job to decide to allow or deny the product for release.
The Holy Spirit helps us with the overall equipping effectiveness. How well a product performs is relative to its designed capacity during the periods it is scheduled to run. Much like with our call and assignment, we must be equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit so that as we are charged to use our gift or talent, the capacity to walk in it is not in our own strength or righteousness but in the power made available through the Spirit of God and through the grace provided through the work of the Cross.
The Product (You and I) are also given a Flexible Development Team (FDT). This team is given the ability to make changes in how a product is developed even in late stages. The FDT in this case are the five-fold ministry gifts (Eph. 4:11-16): Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. They are here to assist in shaping you into Christ's image, not their personality or sidekick. The True 5-fold gifts work to counteract the spirit of religion propogated by False Teachers, Prophets, and Apostles. Religion can discourage change in the product. Religion can aim to drive out variation in the product. Religion might even see the product as wasteful or having no real value. Religion that is cemented in the traditions of men (not that of James 1:27) can encourage a rigidity that all must look, talk, act, do, and function the same to be a satisfactory Product. But God is all about creating truly unique people, royal priests and kings showing off the facets of who HE is.
Can any GOOD come from "THERE?" No matter what "there" is today, whether that be a bad environment, a broken relationship, a personal scandal, GOD will take you in, and make you over again if need be. David prayed this in Psalm 51:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.
14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness and death, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness (Your rightness and Your justice).
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You delight not in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering.
17 My
sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a
broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly
and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.
18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
God knows how He created us (Psalm 139) and knows how to make us, with our permission into the Product of His Kingdom Environment. An Outrageous Church comes from the Outrageous Products that God is raising up- You & I!
Blessings!
