Offering an acceptable service to God (3)

In the conclusion of my previous posting, I say, “… we must strive patiently”.

Aren’t having true knowledge of the will of God, good attitude and not seeking the praises of men enough to qualify our “acceptable” service to God?

Are there more, requirements? Well, I guess not so much of “requirement” but rather it is when we thought we qualify, we disregarded God's plan for us.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death! And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." - Lk 22:31-34

Peter was fully convinced that he was ready to follow Christ all the way but Jesus told him that he would denied Him, 3 times in the same day.

Was Peter ready to serve?

He thought he was.

In fact, he and the 70 other disciples did great works for Jesus when they were sent out. Why not this time? I believe, he still lack or fall short of God’s requirement and therefore Jesus prayed for him and said, “…when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers..”.

Similarly, Moses thought he was ready to lead the people of God when he was 40 with all his vigor and knowledge but he ended up going into exile for 40 yrs. He must have felt it was unfair that such talent was not appreciated and his desire to be the leader of the Israelite was squashed. The following 40yrs in the wilderness as nothing more than a shepherd had humbled him to the state that God could finally use him… (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth – Num 12:3)

The important factor to qualify for an Acceptable Service is TIME. Just as it is written in Ecclesiastes 3 – “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…”

When we believe, we each receive a special gift from God – “…employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Pt 4:10-11

“Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it... All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles …” – 1 Cor 12:27-31

The gift and the ability to serve God are not ours, we must know that we are just vessels for His use and we will be given the right gift for the occasion. These are special gifts – to be prophets or teachers or workers of miracles, etc. Or be a church leader in our current context, etc.

We can pray for it but we cannot demand it, for if we were to take it upon ourselves by our own will then we will be like Moses and our service will be rejected by God. We will be threading on dangerous ground and can be easily taken by the evil one if we are not careful and alert.

However, there is one thing (service) that we must always do i.e. personal evangelism.

This is a commission already given to us. Just like what Paul said… “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.” – 1 Cor 9:16-17.

Jesus: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." – Mat 28:19-20

This is our Acceptable Service – to be true to His will and wait on His calling.