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Make All Grace Abound

When we say that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, we often haven’t counted our blessings.  We want God to give us further grace when we’re not really using what He’s already given us.

I. Matthew 25:27-29.  We must not abuse it or we will lose it.  Saul justified not totally wiping out Amalek per God’s command by believing he could devote some of the plunder to God.  God, however, called this rebellion and rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:20-23).  Likewise are told to invest the grace that God has given us to bring about glory for Him.

II. John 4:23-24.  We must not misuse it or we will lose it.  The prophet Nathan made David aware of his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah and listed all the grace that God had given him, stating that if all that was too little that God would have given him more (2 Samuel 12:7-14).  Likewise we cease to be true worshipers if we stray from either that done in spirit or in truth.

III. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.  If we do not use it, we will lose it.  As Christians Ananias and Sapphira were given much grace, but when they saw others selling properties and giving the money to the church, they lied about that which was at their disposal (Acts 5:1-4).  How are we using that which God has entrusted to us?  His grace abounds in our lives so we may abound in every good work.

We are participants not spectators in our Christian walks and together as the church in our service to God and others.  Count your blessings.  Are you using or losing what God has given you?

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Ask What I Shall Give You

Is it better to “grow up in the church” or to escape the world to seek truth on your own?  The first may not know the sharp edge of the world’s heartache, but often a personal faith is taken for granted and underdeveloped.  The second can create an abiding faith but a lifetime of overcoming sinful habits and baggage.  Inheriting the kingdom from his father, Solomon began well as someone who grew up in the church often does.  But, did he seek God or let his heart be led astray?

I.  1 Kings 3:3-28.  In the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved God and walked in the way of his father, King David, yet as he still worshipped at the high places, there’s a hint that his heart wasn’t fully after God’s heart like David’s was (Acts 13:22).  He asks for wisdom or discernment to govern God’s people, which pleased God, and he was granted many other blessings.  What can an abundance of God’s grace do in a heart, vulnerable to temptation and sin, that is not fully chasing God?

II.  2 Samuel 12:7-9.  When David had yielded to sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that God had given him much and would have given him much more, but David had repaid God’s grace by despising God’s Word.  This principle is carried out in the New Testament by Jesus (Matthew 25:29).  We must prove faithful in what we have been entrusted, so that God can use us in even bigger ways.  Sadly, Solomon did not do this, allowing his blessings, projects, and power (2 Chronicles 1:14-17) and the comfort found in sin (1 Kings 11:1-4) lead his heart astray.  Clearly, the wisdom he had to warn against such falling (Proverbs 5:1-9) wasn’t enough to safeguard his heart.

III.  Philippians 4:4-7.  If we seek God and His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33) and ask for wisdom (James 1:5-8), we must still apply these things to our hearts to truly live for Christ and honor Him as holy (1 Peter 3:13-16).  How do we do this?  We must sell all that this world has to offer (Matthew 13:44) and press on to the goal despite obstacles (Philippians 3:12-16), holding on to what we have already obtained and adding to that in increasing measure (2 Peter 1:3-11).  Then God will guard our hearts.

What could Solomon have achieved if he hadn’t let his heart be led astray?  How could God use you if you used what you’ve already been entrusted with to seek Him and His Kingdom?

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The gift of encouragement

Whatever gifts I may have received from your generous hand,
Let me seek the good of others, to encourage and uplift.
Father, I do not know if I have the gift of encouragement,
But Barnabas seems to be a wonderful example for me to follow.

Let me consider how others hear the words I say,
And let me say the words that build others up.
Make me a positive spirit to see what others may become,
And paint for them a powerful picture of a shining future.

Above all, let me draw attention always to your love and power,
To inspire in others the hope of better things.
Beyond the trials of today, help me speak about eternity,
And Jesus’ coming, and living in heaven with you.

Remind us all of sin’s seductions and of Satan’s wiles,
The powers of the world and the destruction of the flesh.
And more, draw us to yourself into your finest gifts:
The Word, the church, and prayer, and life in the beloved Son.

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Command & Teach These Things

Timothy was a young evangelist, and yet Paul told him to “command and teach” the things that he had been writing to him about (1 Timothy 4:11-14).  The bigger issue was how could Timothy (or us for that matter) be the kind of Christian that when he would command and teach that others would want to listen and learn?

I. 1 Corinthians 11:1.  The first thing to remember is that we are not asking others to follow the best version of ourselves that we can put forth.  No, we want others to follow us as we follow Christ.  So, Jesus is the example to others that we must follow ourselves, so that others in our sphere of influence can listen and learn from us.

II. Acts 2:42.  To ensure that our example of Christ is one to follow, we must be devoted to God’s Word.  We have the example of the early Christians who, among other things, devoted themselves to the public reading, exhortation, and teaching of Scripture.  When others we hope to command and teach see our devotion, then they will want to listen and learn from us.

III. 1 Corinthians 12:14-31.  The illustration of the church as a body with all of its parts working together and arranged just where God has placed them is a powerful one.  When others see us encouraging and ministering in whatever way God has blessed us to work for the whole of the body and not just ourselves, then they will want to listen and learn from us.

Whether young or old, rich or poor, educated or unschooled, God has a place for you and work that He has prepared in advance for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).  When we are about it, only then are we in a position to “command and teach these things.”

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The blessing of obedience

Heavenly Father of all the saved,

Let us respond to your goodness in gratitude and service.

Shore up your church as we depend upon one another and ultimately upon your power.

Help us to see the white field ready for harvest that Jesus seeks to show us.

Thank you for the gifts from the Holy Spirit for your church. May we use them for your glory.

We seek the blessing from obedience to your commands. Keep us from ignoring any of them.

Protect us from the evil one and deliver us from temptation. Let us not accept excuses for ourselves.

May tongues confess the Lord, and hands work with joy for your kingdom.

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Spiritual unity in 3-D

Ephesians 4.1-13

Introduction

  1. A friend once said that in order to have unity we may have to fight a lot. By that he meant we must work hard for it.
  2. Unity comes from the cross of Christ, Eph 2.11-22.
  3. Christ blessed the peacemakers, because he was the first and greatest of them, Mt 5.9.
  4. Some movies offer a 3-D experience. Unity in Christ also comes in 3-D:

Continue reading “Spiritual unity in 3-D”