“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15(NTL)
We already have seen that we were Saved To Be Used by God for His kingdom work. We also know that we all have God-given potentials and are endowed by Him to be effective servants who can stand in for Christ in every of our sphere of reach: to win new converts, be of help to our fellow believers and also be part of a support group in the church.
Every Christian should have an area to serve and effectively too according to his or her natural abilities and skill God has put in the inside of each and everyone of us. Importantly, every Christian has received the accompanying wisdom, knowledge, understanding and grace to serve in King Jesus’ palace. We only need to give of ourselves willingly.
God has given to us everything we need to function effectively for His work. Therefore He also requires us to be thorough, careful and always have a burning desire to do the task to the best of our competence.
The call to duty is first and foremost to acknowledge God as our Father, and then “serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought ” 1 Chronicles 28:9(NIV)
‘When doors opened for the Gospel, jealousy found Christian workers guarding their monopoly like diggers their gold–rush stake–out. Rivalries sometimes destroyed revivals‘ – Evangelist Bonnke
We need to avoid strife, squabbles and envy while serving because we have only one Foundation which is Christ Jesus. Just as the apostle Paul said “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it but God has been making it grow ” 1Cor 3:6 Whichever different areas we have been called to serve, they are all in one purpose. We all are God’s coworkers, made by Him, a building with the indwelling of His Spirit and called to the same vineyard. Our work therefore should be coordinated to compliment one another’s to the glory of God
At times, it may seem as if your work for God is unfairly criticised and may be outrightly rejected by people around you. Even when your immediate group would not accept you and your God-given task wholeheartedly, you still have to be focused on the job at hand. We should know that sometimes God does not work with a crowd but a few, and He can take a minority position(Judges 7:1–7). So we do not have to be accepted by everyone in our service to God. We should not allow dissenting voices to hold us back and stall the progress of our life’s assignment. Breakthroughs are not always from conformity. The truth of God we speak and the actions we take should not always appear favorable as everyone else’. It is enough that we are Spirit-filled Christians, transformed from the rules of the world to God’s principles.(1 Kings 22:5–28)
According to the grace which God has given to us, we should work with wisdom, carefulness, consistent and dependable, knowing that “each man‘s work will become evident, for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man‘s work. 14. If any man‘s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward ” 1 Cor. 3:13,14(NASB)
God is the One who faithfully repays those that are diligent in their work for the Gospel and serve Him without holding back (Mark 10:30). A day will come when we will be called to give account of ourselves and what we did or didn’t do for the advancement of the kingdom of God(Rom 14:12; Heb 4:13). We aught to be careful to give our best at all times knowing that our work shall be tested for quality by fire to reveal it’s value before a reward can be received.
“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as a ‘foreigner in the land‘ ” 1 Peter 1:17(NTL)
Amen
– Ike