Remember the C.W.O.G.

Part 3: How Do We Walk in the Cooperative Work of Grace in a Practical Way?
By Brother R. Michel Lankford

Reviewing
1. C.W.O.G. stands for Cooperative Work of Grace. Since God seeks to dwell in actual living relationship with His people, a prerequisite for relationship is that both parties be actively engaged and involved in the progress of the relationship. In God's Word there are many great and precious promises, but the vast majority of those promises contain specific conditions that we are required to fulfill in order to obtain the promise. If we want to obtain a particular promise we see in Scripture, then we must be diligent to seek out, to learn, and then to properly fulfill God's specific conditions which he attached to any particular promise. It's an absolute fact that God is 100% faithful and God always does his part, and He does it correctly. So if I'm not experiencing the benefits and promises from God's word as I would like to experience them, the problem is usually that I have not fulfill the conditions required to receive that particular promise or benefit which I desire to enjoy. I believe that on the whole our relationship and intimacy and friendship with the Lord is in direct proportion to how well we have cooperated with Him. There are some rare exceptions (times of testing and trial), but overall, the principle applies. On the whole, if I am not experiencing the relationship, the Fellowship the intimacy and blessings that I see in God's word, the problem or breakdown is on my end of the relationship. It's not God's fault, it's mine. Please remember and do not forget that God's true biblical definition of grace does include forgiveness from sin, provided that we recognize our sin as being sin, and that we confess it honestly (1 John 1:8-9).
At the same time, there is another key component to God's grace which modern and postmodern Christianity often neglects. God's true Biblical Grace not only forgives us when we come short and miss God's standards, but the True and Biblical Grace of God, also gives us the ability to desire, to choose, and to do what is truly pleasing to God. True Biblical Grace will give us God's power to turn away from sin, and to fervently pursue and walk toward what is pleasing to God. If you are not experiencing a growing desire, willingness, and ability to desire, pursue, and do what God says is pleasing to Him, then in such a case, beloved I promise you that you are not, repeat not under Grace. In such a case, you are being delusional, you are deceiving yourself, and you are living in a counterfeit version of grace, and not what God calls Grace. I beg you, do not deceive your own heart. God's true Biblical grace will forgive us when we come short of His standards, but God's true biblical Grace also comes with the willingness and the power to desire, to pursue, to choose, and to do what God says is pleasing to Him (Philippians 2:13; Ezekiel 36:25-27). If we treat the grace of God as though it were a free pass to disobey Almighty God, then in such a case we literally deny the Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4). Remember that the word licentiousness, is the one from which we get the term for a license. So if we turn the grace of God, into a license to disobey God, then we are actually denying Jesus Christ. Beloved, it does not get more serious than that.
2. Remember that hope deferred makes the heart sick. In other words, when we build up expectation that is not truly fulfilled, it can make us heartsick and make it more difficult for us to completely trust God in our future circumstances. Once again though, in the vast majority of cases where we're not completely experiencing the fulfillment of the scriptural promise, it's because we have either misunderstood the promise and we are expecting God to do something He did not really promise to do, or if we have properly understood the promise, but we still don't receive the benefit, it is because in the vast majority of cases, we have not truly fulfilled the specific conditions which Almighty God attached to the specific promise that we desire to receive. In point of fact, throughout my 20 years of service, I have often seen the Lord's people quote and claim a particular promise from Scripture without taking any notice whatsoever of the conditions attached. People then get disappointed. They may even secretly believe that God has withheld good from them, when in fact it is they who have tied God's hands, because they have not met the condition He already attached to the promise they are claiming and wanting to receive. What is so tragic about misplacing our expectations regarding the Lord and getting our hope deferred is that such negative experiences, or the lack of positive results can make it more difficult for us to trust God during some later time of need. This is similar to what I described in part two of this series.
That is the very quick review of the last two blogs in this four part series on God's cooperative work of grace. I originally thought it would be a three part series, but one of the principles is big enough to require its own entry.
How to Walk in the Cooperative Work of Grace in the Practical Matters of Every Day Life
Being high principled is awesome. We need high principles to help us to aim and shoot for excellence, but if all we have is a great target to shoot for, and we do not include marksmanship lessons to help us to hit the bull's-eye more often, then the good target of high principles didn't really do us much good. Walking in the Cooperative Work of Grace, is about properly applying Scripture in the practical everyday facets of life.
In this particular series, I'm concentrating far more on the human side of the equation, because just as I said earlier, Almighty God will always do His part. In fact the very proof that I believe and trust God is demonstrated by how well I seek out, how I learn and how well I obey the conditions. Obeying the conditions which God attaches to a particular promise, is the proof that I actually believe God to fulfill that promise. In other words, my obedience to God's commandments and conditions is the proof that I do love and trust Him. The ones who truly love and trust God to fulfill his promises are the ones who take delivered care to make sure they obey the conditions. That is the proof that they believe the promise, by praying, learning and fulfilling the conditions that God attached, we show that we love and believe God to fulfill his promises.
Since grace is a cooperative partnership and relationship of love between Almighty God and myself, then how do I as a practical matter walk in His cooperative work of grace? How do I walk and cooperate with God and his grace working in my life in a practical way? Here is a bulleted list of the most important concepts of what is absolutely required in order to walk in God's Cooperative Work of Grace. If you do these basic things you'll be well on your way to walking with God correctly and rightly being able to claim the promises that you see in Scripture without fear of misapplying it, which would result in having your hope deferred.
· TAKE GOD SERIOUSLY: Assume that when Almighty God says something, He said what He means and means what He said. When God says something is good, then it's good. When He says something is evil, then it is evil, regardless of what our culture and personal opinion says. When He says that certain attitudes and behaviors will bring blessing, then make up your mind to take God seriously enough that you will learn to develop those attitudes and behaviors which God said He will bless. Likewise, when God says that there are certain things, attitudes and behaviors that He will curse, then please have the good sense to take God seriously enough that you will choose to diligently avoid those things, attitudes and behaviors which God said will bring a curse. Take God seriously, HE IS NOT KIDDING (Isaiah 5:20-24; Galatians 6:7-9). By all means rely on God's love and the true biblical definition of His Grace, but don't become so enthralled with God's Grace, that you lose the healthy fear of the LORD, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), so without maintaining a healthy fear of the Lord, you cannot even begin to know anything about God.
· USE SCRIPTURE, DON'T ABUSE SCRIPTURE: This is absolutely critical. In my 20 years of service, I have seen more ministers lead people astray by abusing Scripture than any other method. I have seen more believers do immeasurable harm to themselves and their families because they developed a doctrine or philosophy which the rightly divided Scripture does not actually teach. Sometimes people have become entirely discouraged with God because they believed that Scripture promise them something which they either misinterpreted, or because they did not meet the scriptural conditions required to obtain the promise. Sometimes I have discovered that people didn't even know that there were conditions to the promises that they were trying to claim. They had not met the conditions, but they were actually angry at God that the benefits of His promises were not being manifested in their lives. Scripture twisting is absolutely a nightmare, because it can make you believe that either God promised you something which the rightly divided word shows that He actually did not promise, or it can cause you to become angry and blame God when you are not enjoying a particular blessing, even though it is your fault because you did not pay attention to the conditions which were attached. In the future there will be an entire blog entry on Scripture twisting and how to avoid it, but for now, remember to read Scripture carefully. Remember, practicing the Word is what gives the Holy Spirit the fuel which produces discernment, (see Hebrews 5:11-14). It is by practicing God's word that we learn to distinguish between good and evil. That is a guiding principle that is often neglected and overlooked in modern-day Christendom. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you read, understand, interpret, and obey the Scriptures correctly, and to help you not be deceived. God promises that He will help when you ask (Matthew 7:7-11; James 1:5-8). Very often, when I read the Scriptures and I want to make sure that I am walking in God's cooperative work of grace, I ask myself some key questions to help me pay closer attention as I read:
o What are the COMMANDS OR IMPERATIVES in the passage that I'm reading? Is there any imperative, do this certain thing, or do not do that certain thing, in the passage that I'm reading? Am I obeying those things? I need to examine my life. Am I doing the things that God says to do in the passage that I am reading? Do I understand what God requires, and how to do what God requires in a commandment that I'm reading? If I do not understand those things well enough, then am I putting in diligent prayer and study to incline my heart to gain that understanding? Am I avoiding those things which God says to avoid? If I see that I'm off-track, I need to confess it, but after confessing, what concrete steps am I going to take to come into alignment with God's imperatives? Keep in mind, if I do not take up the practice of living in this way, then I am walking in deception which is extremely dangerous (Matthew 7:24-28; James 1:19-25; Hebrews 3:13; 1 John 1:5-7; cf. Psalm 119:9). Keep in mind that those who make a practice of walking and deception will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Revelation 21:7-8). As I said deception is very dangerous.
o What are the PROMISES within the passage I'm reading? Within the passage that I am reading, am I noticing a promise, benefit, or a favorable result which I would like to experience in my own life? If so, then Mark it in your Bible, and or write it down in a notebook as a matter for future prayer. Depending on interpretation, some estimates suggest that there are at least 5000 promises in Scripture. Provided we meet the qualifications and conditions, they can be fulfilled for us and granted through Yeshua the Messiah (2 Corinthians 1:20; Psalm 84:11).
o What are the CONDITIONS to obtaining the promise?: Remember that taking concrete steps to fulfill the conditions which God attaches to the promises we find in His Word is a key feature to walking in God's Cooperative Work of Grace. We already know that God is always faithful to fulfill His promises. So in one sense, we do not have to worry so much about what God's part is in any situation (except to make sure that we don't try to do God's part, or expect God to do our part). As human beings we need to concern ourselves more with doing our part of the equation because if there's going to be a problem is always going to be on the human side of the table and not God's. It's important to remember that the conditions that God places on some of his promises are not always found in the same chapter where the promises stated. Sometimes there are even conditions to a particular promise in an entirely different book. For example, 1 John 1:9 is a terrific promise in God's word. In order to obtain is promise, we have to confess our sin. So first, we need to make sure that we understand what the promise says. What is sin? How do we confess biblically? Are there any other conditions to receiving God's forgiveness? Those of you who know you're Scriptures also know that in order to be forgiven, I MUST also forgive those who sin against me (Matthew 6:15; Matthew 18:35; Mark 11:25-26). As you can see sometimes the conditions to receiving a promise are not even in the same book where our focus promise is located. So it is our responsibility to keep our eyes peeled and pay attention.
o Are there any GUIDING PRINCIPLES in the passage which I'm reading? A Guiding Principle is different then an Imperative or Command. An Imperative or Command makes a concrete statement; do this particular thing, and or do not do that other thing. For example, Matthew 5:23-24 is an imperative command concerning something we must do in order for offerings to be favorably received by the LORD. It's a commandment. An example of a guiding principle would be found in Matthew 5:25-26. Oftentimes a guiding principle explains why it is important to obey a certain command. Sometimes a Guiding Principle can be just plain good advice that we find in Scripture. For example Proverbs 15:1a, tells us that "A gentle answer turns away wrath." In this particular instance, that is NOT a commandment. It does not say thou shalt always speak gently, but the verse explains why it's a good idea to develop our character and attitudes so that we can answer people in a gentle fashion. Another good guiding principle Psalm 84:11 "No good thing does He would withhold from those who walk uprightly." Once again, that's not an explicit imperative Commandment, but obviously if my desire is that I would not lack any good thing, then I had better become teachable and let God train me to walk correctly, because I do not want to miss out on such a terrific result for my life.
An important principle to remember is that while you are trying to discipline yourself to obey the Word, it is generally safe to treat a guiding principle in Scripture as though it were command. Always remember that while we can treat a guiding principle within Scripture like a commandment, we should never treat a commandment as though it were a mere principle, advice or suggestion.
The Conclusion:
So what's the payoff? Why spend so much time detailing how to walk with God in this manner? To many of us it seems so obvious, like of course, anyone who loves God and wants to experience His blessing in their lives would both know and understand this already, and they would be eagerly doing it. So why rehearsed it again? Well, because as I said in part one of this series, this principle is so basic that people often miss it. It's so fundamental though, that we really cannot afford to neglect it. Whenever you are trying to train yourself into a new discipline for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7-8), it's a good idea to know and remind yourself of what the payoff is for putting in the effort. With this in mind, I thought I would close our study, and leave you with a quick laundry list of the benefits to walking in God's Cooperative Work of Grace. Please know that this is not an exhaustive list, it's just a tiny sample.
1. We will be more deliberate and intentional as God followers: As you develop the habit of applying the principles of the Cooperative Work of Grace, you will from that moment forward be more deliberate and intentional about living for God and worshiping God on purpose. By putting these principles into practice, it will help you overcome the temptation to be a passive Christian, and become one who more readily deliberately and actively participates in your relationship with God.
2. Our relationship with God is guaranteed to improve: Scripture guarantees that you will have a greater relationship with God if you practice this. If you learn to obey God's commandments, He promises to reveal Himself in a greater way (John 14:21). When we learn to proactively obey His Commandments, we become His friends (John 15:14). He will consider us members of His very own family (Matthew 12:48-50).
3. It builds Perseverance: You will be better able to withstand and survive the storms of this life (Matthew: 24-25; Galatians 6:7-9; Revelation 14:12).
4. It will protect you from self-deception (Hebrews 3:13; 1 John 2:4-6; 1 John 2:3-4; James 1:22-25).
5. It builds true security in your salvation: By learning to participate more actively and intentionally, it will make you more secure in your salvation (2 Peter 1:3-11).
I could go on virtually endlessly, but you get the idea don't you? The thing we have to ask ourselves is, as I look at this list above, just how important, just how valuable do I consider those blessings to be for my life? Are they important enough for me to cooperate with God just a little bit better than I have grown comfortable doing? If receiving those blessings and countless more like them, doesn't mean all that much to you, then by all means continue to live life as usual. If you do not care whether or not you receive the blessings, than do not push yourself to cooperate with God any better than you do now. On the other hand, if you wisely understand that you need these blessings and you want them, then we really have no other choice than to learn to walk in God's Cooperative Work of Grace, until we are so practiced that obeying God that we become surefooted and steadfast at walking the strait and narrow path which leads to life. I put it before you beloved, as our Father did. Please, choose life.
Brother R. Michel Lankford