August 7
Ezra 4:24-6:22 | PS 29:1-11 | Prov 20:26-27 | 1 Cor 3:5-23
Though I repented and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior nearly 30 years ago, for the majority of those earlier years, most would never have known. If asked, I would admit to being Christian, and I certainly refrained from many behaviors. I was like many are now, a quiet and relatively unnoticed Christian. Though Scripture clearly stated that I should share and do everything for the glory of God, I timidly shrunk back and figured others would notice my changes and that would be enough of a witness. Most of my life centered around activities which had little or nothing to do with the things of God, and my walk remained unnoticed and I did not feel the effects of persecution on a large scale. Over the past ten years, I began to step out more, initially leading small groups, serving more, sharing much more, and a number of years ago beginning this ministry, The One Year Bible Challenge. Through the process I have experienced persecution and enemy attack which I have not previously known. But in the process I have learned to seek Him more fervently and rely on Him more than myself. I have experienced the necessity of giving up control of much of my life to One who is so much more equipped to take care of it. So, despite the persecutions and attacks which have been furious over the past few years, not that I relish in them or desire them, but I have experienced more what it means to be one of His servants. Being in His service far exceeds anything else and it was what we were all born for.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" Most of us who have made a profession of faith, like the people of Corinth, chose to remain quiet spectators. Their spiritual change resulted in some who stepped out, but many who remained in their faith quietly and unassumingly. Paul then contrasted what it looked like in his own life to step out in faith in 4:10-13, "...We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." From an earthly standpoint, this is certainly not the rallying cry to inspire a movement. But Paul was emphasizing that life is not about earthly rewards, but about serving Him. He explains this in 3:11-13, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is." This alludes to the Judgment or Beema Seat of Christ where all believers will one day go before, not for the purposes of salvation but for an evaluation and rewarding of our service to Him while we walked this Earth.
One of the promises we all look forward to is mentioned in Revelation 7:17, "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Many probably believe those tears are from the hardships and losses from their earthly life. I believe those tears will not be because of those things that you left behind on the earth ( we never really needed more money, more vacations, more free time), but we will be crying after we realize all of those opportunities that we missed and squandered in failing to glorify Christ. We tend to make a mental list of all those things that we do for Him, rather than the bulk of our time which is spent in service to ourselves. We should all desire to hear the words to the faithful servant in Matthew 25:21, "Well done, good and faithful servant;". Paul, who experienced tremendous persecution for his work for Christ described his thoughts on this in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,". We have a decision to make, we can all choose to play it safe and remain babes in the faith. In so doing, we can continue to live our lives not much differently than before. Or we can step out in service for Him and experience change. Though many of those changes may seem momentarily unpleasant, they are nothing compared to the joy of living a life in service to Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: