We Work by Grace

 

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Paul realized that the first part of this verse might be misunderstood: “I worked harder than any of them.” So he goes on to say, “Though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Paul does not trace his obedience back to his thankfulness for past grace. He traces it up to moment-by-moment, ever-arriving grace. He is banking on the promise of God’s future grace to arrive at every moment of need. In every instant of Paul’s intention and effort to obey Christ, grace was at work to produce that intention and that effort. Paul did not bring about his work merely out of gratitude for past grace, but in moment-by-moment reliance on the arrival of promised grace. Paul wants to emphasize that the ever-arriving grace of God is the decisive cause of his work.

Does it really say that? Doesn’t it just say that the grace of God worked with Paul? No, it says more. We have to come to terms with the words, “Though it was not I.” Paul wants to exalt the moment-by-moment grace of God in such a way that it is clear that he himself is not the decisive doer of this work.

Nevertheless, he is a doer of this work: “I worked harder than any of them.” He worked. But he said it was the grace of God “toward me.”

If we let all the parts of this verse stand, the end result is this: grace is the decisive doer in Paul’s work. Since Paul is also a doer of his work, the way grace becomes the decisive doer is by becoming the enabling power of Paul’s work.

I take this to mean that, as Paul faced each day’s ministry burden, he bowed his head and confessed that, unless future grace was given for that day’s work, he would not be able to do it.

Perhaps he recalled the words of Jesus, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). So he prayed for future grace for the day, and he trusted in the promise that it would come with power. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Then he acted with all his might.

LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JULY 15, 2022.

SUBJECT: LOVE GOD SUPREMELY!

Memory verse: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14 vs 21.)

READ: John 14 vs 23 - 24:

14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

14:24: He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me.

INTIMATION:

Love is the characteristic word of Christianity. It describes the attitude of God toward His Son (John 17 vs 26), the human race (John 3 vs 16), and to such as believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14 vs 21). Love also, expresses the essential nature of God (First John 4 vs 8), it conveys His will to His children concerning their attitude one to another (John 13 vs 35), and toward all men (First Thessalonians 3 vs 12; Second Peter 1 vs 7). Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments. Therefore, self-will, that is, self-pleasing is the negation of love to God.

Jesus said that His followers show their love for Him by obeying Him. Keeping God's commandments is the true demonstration of your love for Him. When you love God, you keep His commandments, and Jesus reciprocates by manifesting Himself to you. An intimate relationship is what God desires from you. It's the most outstanding truth in the universe—that our Creator wants to fellowship with us. 

God is love, and He made us to love us, hence He created us in His own image and after His likeness. He longs for us to love Him back. In Hosea 6 vs 6, God says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." God says, I don't want you rituals (sacrifice); I want your love. I don't want your offerings; I want you to know Me." God deeply loves us and desires our love in return. He longs for us to know Him and spend time with Him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by Him should be the greatest objective of your life. Nothing else comes close in importance. Jesus called this the greatest commandment (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 38).

Loving God supremely puts us in an enviable position of being in partnership with Him—the Father and the Son making their home with you. I can envisage the triumphant life of such a person; who lives with Him whom nothing is difficult or impossible with, and the Owner of the whole universe and everything in it! Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30). 

Speaking figuratively, Jesus used a yoke, a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person’s heavy burdens may be sin, oppression, persecution, unfavorable life’s circumstances, or even weariness in the search for God. Jesus frees people from all these burdens when you are in partnership with Him. The yoke is shared with Him, with weight falling on His bigger shoulders than yours. He has more pulling power, and is upfront helping. Consequently, you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner, and now that frown can turn into smile, and that gripe into a song.

Jesus doesn’t offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But you are assured of His winning power and support at all times in your life’s travails. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. If you love Christ, then prove it by obeying what he says in His Word. Jesus never promised that obeying Him would be easy. But the hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love Him. And if the load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the excellent spirit of love and obedience to you, in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Ministry — More Important Than Life

 

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24)

According to the New Testament, “ministry” is what all Christians do. According to Ephesians 4:11–12, pastors have the job of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. But ordinary Christians are the ones who do the ministry.

What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others.

It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God.

Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here in Acts 20:24: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life.

You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. It certainly was for Jesus — only in his thirties.

We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our service. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry.

Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life.

PLEASING GOD IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JULY 14, 2022.

SUBJECT: PLEASING GOD IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE! 

Memory verse: "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”, for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God." (Hebrews 11 vs 5.)

READ: Hebrews 11 vs 5 - 6; Second Peter 1 vs 17:

Hebrews 11:5:: By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”, for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God.

11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Second Peter 1:17: For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom al am well pleased.”

INTIMATION:

Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. What do we do to be pleased with God? The apostle Paul, when writing his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica said this, "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” (First Thessalonians 4 vs 1 - 2.) 

There are clear examples in the Bible of those who pleased God. One of them was Enoch. Our memory verse tells us that before Enoch was taken away he had the testimony that he pleased God. The testimony of Enoch is that he was obedient to the will of God. The reward of his faithful work was that God spared him from experiencing physical death. Because of his righteous living by faith, Enoch did not physically die, consequently, he never experienced death, but was taken directly to heaven to continue living with God. 

Another man that pleased God was Noah. In his days the entire humanity had become morally bankrupt, degradation was the norm of social behavior, and thus society was beyond repentance as and everyone lived for their own pleasure, not God's. God couldn't find anyone on earth interested in pleasing Him, so He was grieved and regretted making man. God became so disgusted with the human race that He considered wiping it out. 

But there was one man who God spared because he pleased Him, living according to the standard of God’s law, although he was far from perfect. In Genesis 6 vs 8, the Bible says, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Though the Bible recorded that "Noah was a just man, and blameless in his time. And Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6 vs 9), but that does not mean he never sinned, rather it means that he walked with God, wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God.

Above all, the life and times of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, during His earth walk is a testimony of a life that pleased God. In one of the passages we read today, we saw how He received from God the Father honor and glory. He is highly exalted and given a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those beneath the earth. 

Pleasing God is occasioned by your faith in Him. “For without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Faith is reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God. Therefore, how can you please whom you did not trust nor rely on? You must first believe and trust that God is what He says He is, and will do what He says He will do. Those who completely trust God are pleasing to Him, and are rewarded eternally. 

Jesus, our Messiah and role model, is more than just a great leader, a good example, a good influence, or a great prophet. He is the Son of God. God testified of Him when He said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matthew 17 vs 5.) 

Jesus obeyed the Father to the letters. He never did anything outside of His Father. He said, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me." (John 5 vs 30.) 

Believers have been given the right to become children of God. And do like our Messiah, Jesus Christ. God is pleased when we put Him first in our entire lives. To put God first we must do the following:-

1. Love Him supremely.

2. Trust Him completely.

3. Obey Him wholeheartedly.

4. Praise and thank Him continually.

5. Use our abilities to benefit His course.

Therefore, look at your spiritual checklist to see how you are faring in putting God first, considering the lists above. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost desire is to please You, and consequently, obtain the crown of glory of eternal life with You. Engrace me with the strength and wisdom to please You at all times, for by my strength, and outside of You I can do nothing, in Jesus’ most precious Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Moves You to Minister?

 

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

Faith has an insatiable appetite for experiencing as much of God’s grace as possible. Therefore, faith presses toward the river where God’s grace flows most freely, namely, the river of love.

What other force will move us out of our contented living rooms to take upon ourselves the inconveniences and suffering that love requires?

What will propel us . . .

to greet strangers when we feel shy?

to go to an enemy and plead for reconciliation when we feel indignant?

to tithe when we’ve never tried it?

to speak to our colleagues about Christ when we are timid?

to invite new neighbors to a Bible study?

to cross cultures with the gospel?

to create a new ministry for alcoholics?

to spend an evening driving a van?

to invest a morning praying for renewal?

None of these costly acts of love just happens. They are impelled by a new appetite — the appetite of faith for the fullest experience of God’s grace. We want more of God. And we want this more than we want our private, disturbance-free security and comfort.

Faith loves to rely on God and see him work miracles in us. Therefore, faith pushes us into the current where the power of God’s future grace flows most freely — the current of love.

I think this is what Paul meant when he said that we should sow to the Spirit (Galatians 6:8). By faith, we should put the seeds of our energy in the furrows where we know the Spirit is at work to bear fruit — the furrows of love.

YOUR GOD GIVEN ABILITIES FOR HIS PURPOSE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JULY 13, 2022.

SUBJECT: USE YOUR GOD GIVEN ABILITIES FOR HIS PURPOSE! 

Memory verse: "He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works." (Psalm 33 vs 15.)

READ: Second Corinthians 5 vs 9; Ephesians 1 vs 11:

Second Corinthians 5:9: Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

Ephesians 1:11: In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His Will.

INTIMATION:

God created you to serve His purpose, and gave you the especial talents and abilities to assist you serve His purpose. It is not for you, but for Him. After creating you, God was pleased with everything He made, including you, because they were very good. 

God’s purpose for people is not an afterthought; it was settled before the foundation of the world. People are to serve and honor God, and He has gifted us for such; our talents, gifts, and abilities are to be used to serve and honor Him. Therefore, if you believe in Christ, you can rejoice in the fact that God has always known you. His love for you and I is eternal. His wisdom and power are supreme. He will guide and protect you until you one day stand in His presence.

God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities He has given you. He intentionally gifted us differently for His purpose and enjoyment. He has made some athletic, some analytical, some extremely strong, some weak, and so on. You may be gifted at mechanics or mathematics or music, or a million other skills. All these abilities can bring a smile to God's face, and glory to Him when properly employed for His purpose.

God has fashioned your intellect. He gave you talents and abilities, and is very mindful how you utilize them. He gave you all that for His purpose, and is very pleased when you give Him glory by utilizing your abilities to actualize His course. We are God's inheritance, and were chosen and appointed for His purpose in advance. He has designed and wired us in accordance with His will ordained from inception. 

Now that God did all these, will it please Him if you don't use those talents and abilities for His purpose? You don't bring glory to or pleasure to Him by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring Him enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty in creating you.

The Scripture says in Romans 9 vs 20 - 21,

"But indeed O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the things formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?"

The creator has control over the created object. The created object, therefore, has no right to demand anything from its creator - its very existence depends on Him. God has given you some abilities, and to others some other abilities different from yours. Utilizing the abilities to please God is an act of worship. You can sing, write poems, repair machine, sell a product, write a computer program, do farming, teach, raise a family, preach the gospel, and so on, for the glory of God. 

God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities he has given you. He gives you the empowerment to do so. Keeping this perspective removes any temptation to have pride in personal achievement. Any act of priding yourself in those abilities or talents dishonors God, and therefore sinful.

God looks at the attitude of your heart: Is pleasing Him your deepest desire? In the passage we read in Second Corinthians, the apostle Paul emphasized pleasing God as our utmost goal. When you live in light of eternity, your focus changes from "How much pleasure am I getting out of life?" to "How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?

Will you make pleasing God your life's goal? There is nothing that God won't do for the person totally absorbed with this goal. In Second Corinthians 5 vs 10, the apostle Paul continues, "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

The grace of God in freely given us the gift of salvation, and eternal life, not withstanding, each of us will be judged by Christ. The judgement will reward us for how we have lived. God's gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirement for faithful obedience. All Christians must give account for how they have lived.

Prayer: Abba Father, You made and gifted me to serve Your purpose on earth. Give me the grace to use Your gifts to me to serve Your purpose, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

 

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.