God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Let us make no mistake about this.

But notice from the verse above what actually was taking place in the ministry of Christ. Christ was not speaking His own words. Christ was not working His own works. All of His ministry was coming from the Father.

The Sermon on the Mount did not come from Christ but from the Father. Yet the sermon did come from Christ.

Paul said he wasn't living but Christ was living in him. Yet we know that Paul was living. Paul was not Christ. Yet it was Christ who was living in Paul. It was a kind of double identity, just as was true of Christ and the Father.

This double state, two and yet one, is the way man is meant to be. Man who dwells alone, apart from Christ, is a problem, a source of confusion in the universe. Eventually all those who are saved are to be an integral part of God through Christ—the chariot of God.

Are you a part of God through Christ or do you prefer being alone? There is wonderful comfort and security in being part of Something bigger than yourself.

We can't start off in the place where nothing we are doing is coming from us but from Christ. Yet this is the goal. This is the rest of God. We will get there by degrees if we keep on praying, seeking the Lord, and obeying the written Word as God gives us grace.

It is very important that we do some serious listening in our day. God is making special moves.

God uses people and so we look at people and ask, "How did he or she do that?"

We heard of a musician who went to a rapidly growing church to find out what brand of guitars they were using. He thought the growth was something his church could imitate.

This is not a day to imitate what God is doing in someone or someplace else. This is not a day to develop formulas or schemes for revival. We need to hear from God. Can you say amen?

Sometimes the Lord healed people by spitting on them. But He didn't spit on everybody. It is a wonder they didn't develop a church of the spitters or the builders of tabernacles for Moses and Elijah.

One brother I knew yelled "Glory" during a church meeting, and the power of God fell on the congregation. Guess what he did next Sunday? Guess what happened? You got it. Nothing! Kind of embarrassing.

This is funny and yet not so funny. For two thousand years the Christian churches have developed schemes for every aspect of the Lord's work. This is why progress has been embarrassingly slow.

The natural man wants to put God in a box. Our adamic nature wants to develop a plan that will work every time, that will bring the glory, that will get souls saved, that will heal the sick.

How long will it be before we get the message? God has a unique design for every need and situation. Those who are waiting on God will hear from Him and obey Him. The job will get done.

The priests and Levites were busy in the Temple. Mary and Joseph came in with the Baby Jesus, the Giver of the Law on Sinai. The high-ranking Israelites didn't even see Him. They were diligently performing what they believed to be God's work. How preposterous!

Who among us today will take time to hear from God, not to try to get God to bless what we are doing necessarily although that is important in its place. But we need something fresh from God.

God has something wonderful for every generation and every person. On occasion it is different from what God has done before.

To be continued.