Day 17
Unlimited Service
“And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”
(Matthew 5:41)
Unlimited Service is the 9th pillar
Believer’s unlimited service is the 9th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)
“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4)
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30)
My beloved, like Christ, God has given each one of us work to do and to finish without exception. If you belong to the kingdom of God
We are to render service to God:
A) According to our God-given ability:
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.”
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:14-30)
The Lord Jesus Christ went to heaven, and He has given each one of us different talents, different abilities, for us to work in His kingdom. So, God is not expecting the one who has one talent to bring five more talents. No! Each one of us must work only according to the ability God has given us. This is not just about preaching. All of us must witness what Christ has done in our own personal lives, but we are not all preachers.
And no gift is superior to others, from the pastor to the one who cleans the church; from the one who collects the offering to those who pray for the services. No one is greater than the other. But we are all servants, and all God expects from us is that each one of us does our work faithfully.
If you have the gift of hospitality, do this faithfully, welcoming the saints and visitors in the church of God, with godly love in your heart always, not only when you are feeling good, but always. And the same with all other gifts: let us work our ministries faithfully as that is our duty.
“So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:10)
“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47-48)
B) The work must be done in cooperation with God:
“Unless the LORD builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
they labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
“And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” (Mark 16:20)
“Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.” (John 11:39-41)
We, my dear beloved, must cooperate with God. Before we can see the glory of God manifested in our lives and ministries, two things are made clear in the verses above: first, they believed, and secondly, they acted. They removed the stone as an act of faith.
Some of us are still trapped in the same situation simply because we are afraid to remove the stones in our lives, and that is prohibiting the glory of God from being manifested in our lives and ministries. We do believe, but we are afraid to take that crucial step of faith, that is, to remove the stone from the tombs of our lives. These stones keep our ministries dead.
Will you take a step of faith today? Lose the fear, work with God, believe Him, then take a step of faith and you will see why we say God is faithful! Amen!
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9)
“We then, as workers together with Him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” (2 Corinthians 6:1)
C) The work must be done willingly:
“Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely WILLING, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)
“So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
We must render service to God willingly, from our hearts and not merely with our lips, not to impress men, but to please God.
D) The work must be done until it is finished:
“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may FINISH my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:22-24)
“I have fought the good fight, I have FINISHED the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
May these be our words at the completion of our work in the kingdom of God
E) The work must be done for God’s glory:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
“With goodwill, doing service as to the Lord, and not to men.” (Ephesians 6:7)
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12:28)
F) We must serve God with joy:
“Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:2-3)
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:2-3)
G) We must serve God in all humility:
“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)
“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” (John 12:3)
“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11)
“And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews.” (Acts 20:18-19)
Finally, my dear beloved, let none of us idly say, ‘there is nothing I can do’ or ‘I am not good with anything in the LORD,’ but rather let us prayerfully find out from God that which He has called us to do, and then let us do it faithfully.
“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!
Meditation: God has given me a ministry, and God expects me to fulfill it!
Prayer points: LORD, please reveal to me my ministry. Please make plain to me what You have called me to do in Your Kingdom. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Commitment: I must find out from God what abilities and gifts I have in Christ, and I must fulfill my ministry faithfully in Jesus’ name. Amen!
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