WASHED, WORTHY AND WILLING

When starting to prepare for this teaching I asked The Lord where He wanted me to read in His Word. I immediately felt impressed to go to Hebrews 6. I read through the whole chapter and nothing really stuck out to me except the 4 words, "go on to maturity" in the first couple verses.

So, I decided to shift gears and to go onto my own personal writing and get a fresh start where I felt God directing me in the writing of the Living in the URG bible study.
This writing project has not come easily for me because I keep getting in my own way. Even my own daughter keeps asking me why I'm so hesitant.  In her usual direct style with me she keeps telling me to get over myself and my misgivings.  Then last week I'm sitting in Starbucks with my sweet friend Lois, and even she starts to prod me about writing the new bible study. As she was expressing her confidence in me, I found myself reacting and actually feeling emotional. Why? What's this about Lord? What is this reaction inside me Lord?

He is so faithful to show me my own heart when I go to Him about myself. In this next set verses He showed me in the kindest and most encouraging way. I am dealing with feelings of unworthiness”. So I've decided to push aside my unworthiness and insecurities and step out. 

As I said "yes" in my spirit I felt The Lord saying to me learn to "walk with me, work with me and watch how I do it". (Matt 11:29 MSG) And nothing seems so clearly practical to carry this out as to go to the red letter words that He spoke directly to us in scripture.

I got captivated with the first Words Jesus spoke in Matthew in the 3rd chapter under the heading of "John Baptizes Jesus". (Recorded also in Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22). Wow! Lord, the first thing you bring up is so personal and actually causes me to get emotional. God is so sweet that He always lets me know that I'm not alone. In fact this "unworthy" thing is shared by some heavy hitters in the New Testament. And, like me, they were letting it get in the way of what Jesus wanted to do through them and with them. And, suddenly I realized this might be you too sistas! So I'm learning and teaching simultaneously.

#1. He wants to do something through you and me too. But, this unworthiness insecurity is an area of negativity in me that He wants to wash off and out of me. You can just hear the feelings of unworthiness John the Baptist was feeling when Jesus came to him and asked him to baptize Him. John had just been preaching about how he was baptizing in water but how One was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Matt3:11 "I will baptize you with water for repentance but after me will come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Then just one verse later we see verse 13.

 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness?"

(This is part of Abbas redemption plan)

#2.  I need recognize my sense of unworthiness and insecurity as an area of immaturity and decide to move it out of the way. Of course I'm not worthy. But, God wants to use me and if I stay stuck in my position, I cannot move forward and partner with Jesus on earth as it is in heaven. This "unworthy" feeling is also what Peter was feeling when Jesus wanted to wash the disciples feet at the last supper. 

John 13:3-6
Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” 8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!” Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

#3.  Unworthiness is a negativity that has got to go!  In order to partner with Jesus in His plans, I have got to let it go.  Of course I am unworthy! Anything He does for me is not because I earned it or am worthy. All is mercy, all is grace! Time to cooperate!  Look at the choices these two men made when confronted with Jesus wanting to work through them and use them to partner with Him on his earthly assignment…. 

Then John consented (yielded) 9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

Part of this business in my maturing and moving forward with Jesus and being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is to lay down all resistance and yield, consent. This sense of being worthy by my following a prescribed set of rules, or the converse, feeling unworthy because I've blown it, has got to go. Like Graham Cooke (writer, worshipper and  ministry leader of Brilliant Perspectives) loves to say, "There are unclaimed upgrades all over this room".

God has called me up..."Christ in me the hope of glory"...  "I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ" ...."greater things shall you do than Me" ...."He speaks a better Word over me".

 Hebrews 12:24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks a better Word of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

#4.  Jesus speaks a better Word over me than the law, than our society and definitely better than I speak over myself.  My sins don't disqualify me for His work. Jesus qualifies me when He baptizes me in The Holy Spirit and washes me with the water of His word.

That leads me back to my original thought for this teaching: 

Hebrews 6:1" Let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity,"

#5.  I can't make myself worthy....ever! Christ already did!!! But I can cooperate with His already finished work in me and for me. He has washed me! My feet my hands my head....and my heart.

Hebrews 10:22 NLT “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

Titus 3:5 (ESV) “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…”

1 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV)

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

#6.  So I need to get on with it! Step into what Christ has for me. Stop worrying about being worthy or holy or righteous enough to ever do anything for God. Thinking that His great plans are for everyone else around me...my sister, my mom, my friend....no...his great plans are for ME!

He knows the plans he has for me...(Jeremiah 29:11)

2 Cor 3: 4
“We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.  It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.  He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13)

What is he calling you to that you shrink away from? Do you feeling unworthy because of this weird lie you've bought into that you are not enough, or that you are too much?
He sees the greatness He planted in us and wants to partner w us to bring about His plans. There is no more room for this negativity about ourselves. Like John, we need to yield. Just like Peter we need to let him wash us and then jump right in to all He has for us. He has an assignment unique to each one of us. I, for one, don't want to miss it while slinking under my own unworthiness blanket.

Pray this prayer with me:

Holy Spirit thank you for being here with us tonight. Thank you for uncovering this lie I've been buying into.  Thank you that I am enough and that I'm not too much.

I renounce the lie that I am unworthy, I choose to go onto maturity.

Jesus I receive your Holy Spirit into my life.

Holy Spirit baptize me in your fire.

I receive all that you have for me.

Empower me to walk out of negativity about myself.

Empower me to partner with you and to change my world.

Fill me with your love.

Amen.