Participating in God's Plan
ROM. 12:1-2
SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN DEVOTION
THEME: For us Christians, the foremost priority must be to dedicate ourselves more completely to God's glory and service.
RELEVANCE: Some believers are those who get saved and live for God with fervor, joy, excitement, sacrifice, and great heart-felt devotion. They are few, and they are real! May the Lord help us all to become such living sacrifices. This is where we enter life altering and character shaping devotion and ministry.
INTRODUCTION:
Did You Know God Wants Us to Make Sacrifices to Him? These sacrifices should not be a bull, goat, or lamb. God wants us to sacrifice ourselves to Him and His service. Today’s message speaks of the things we ought to do for our Lord. We should be consumed with His agenda, schedule, program, plans, and more.
Romans 12: 2, “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God.”
The heart and mind that is dedicated to the Lord is ready
to receive insight regarding His will and plan for such a believer. Once we secure such direction, we are now
ready to do what the Lord has shown us.
Yes, instead of God’s will being distasteful and too hard it is good,
acceptable, and perfect. What exactly can we expect to do to
discharge God’s will? How do we discharge God’s will?
1.
By Being Thankful in Every Situation and Circumstance.
1 Thes. 5:18, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Thankfulness ought to be the prime characteristic in a Christian's life. When someone gives you a gift, do you say, "That's very nice -- now how much do I owe you?" No, the appropriate response to a gift is "Thank you." Yet how often Christians, even after they have been given the gift of salvation, feel obligated to try to work their way to God. Because our salvation is a gift, we should respond with gratitude, praise, and joy. (Eph 2:8-9)
A.
Because We Are Commanded to Cultivate a Thankful Heart.
Ephes. 5:20, Giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Hebrews 13:15, By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
1. Refuse to Resort to Complaining.
People say, “If only I had a better job,” or, “If only I had a better spouse,” or, “If only I didn’t have so many problems.” “If only I had another assignment.” But we’re to be thankful.
2. Start Cultivating Thanksgiving.
Giving thanks can be a powerful thing. If you can cultivate
a thankful heart, you will solve many of your problems. Offering thanks and
praises to God helps you to stop focusing on your problems. That was certainly
true for the psalm writers. Whenever a problem developed, they would cry out to
the Lord in despair. One said, “Why are the wicked allowed to prosper?” King
David had that attitude when he fled from his son Absalom, who wanted to take
over his throne. But eventually he started thinking about all the good things
God had done for him. When he cultivated an attitude of thankfulness—even in
the midst of fleeing from Absalom—he was no longer in despair.
APPLICATION: We Have
Many Things to Be Thankful For:
Psalm 30:4—“Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
Psalm 106:1—“Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy
endureth forever.”
Daniel 2:23—Daniel expressed thankfulness to God for the wisdom and
strength given him.
Romans 1:8—Give thanks to God for people who exhibit their faith.
Romans 6:17—Be thankful for the conversion of people.
Romans 7:23–25—Be thankful that Christ has delivered you from the power
of indwelling sin.
1 Corinthians 1:4—Thank God for the grace He bestows on believers.
1 Corinthians 15:57—Give thanks to God that He has given us victory over
death.
2 Corinthians 2:14—We should be thankful for the triumph of the gospel.
2 Corinthians 8:16—Be thankful for those who have a zeal for Christ.
2 Corinthians 9:15—We are to be thankful for the gift of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 2:13—Be thankful for those who receive and apply the Word of
God.
2 Thessalonians 1:3—We should be thankful when we see believers working hard
for the sake of the kingdom and showing love to one another.
Revelation 11:17—We should be thankful for Christ’s power and His coming
kingdom.
APPLICATION: Don’t complain when you’re in bad circumstances; cultivate a heart of thankfulness instead. If you’re not a thankful person, it’s because you think you deserve better circumstances than those you currently have. But if you got what you deserved, you’d be in Hell. That goes for all of us. So be thankful for whatever God gives you. That will take all the sourness out of your life.
ILLUSTRATION: A
NEW NOTE IN PREACHING
Years ago, I was pastor of a church in North London, which is still
dear to my heart. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, I came to the very
borderland of eternity; spent a day and a night there expecting to cross over.
After I came back to life the first man I went to see was Joseph Parker of the
City Temple who to me was always as tender as a mother.
I said to him: “I do not understand the
experience through which I have passed. I cannot understand the suffering, the
sorrow, the breaking of it.” He put his two hands on my shoulders and said, “My
boy, never mind; your people will get the value; there will come another note
into your preaching which you never could have found, if you had not suffered.”
I went back and said: “If that be so then thank God for all the breaking and all the pain.”—G. Campbell Morgan
B.
Because You are Following the Lord Jesus’ Example. Matt 11:25-26
Jesus' response to His rejection by the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, was in thanksgiving and praise His Father. "Thanks" is a strong term for worship, signifying acceptance and praise giving for God's actions.
ILLUSTRATION: For
What Did Jesus Thank the Father? (Matt 11:25-26)
He praised and thanked God for hiding the significance of His words and miracles from the wise and prudent or learned (that is, those arrogant in their own knowledge) and for revealing these to little children (those humbly open to receive the truth of God's Word, a euphemism for his disciples). While this contrasted all self-sufficient and proud people with the humble, it was also a contrast between the self-righteous religious leaders and the humble and unlearned disciples. Capernaum, Jesus' adult hometown, should, of all cities, have been keen to see the truth of God's Good News. But it wasn't. And on Judgment Day, a person will be happier to be from Sodom than from Capernaum. How disastrous when those closest to truth turn away!
APPLICATION: The fact that God had revealed himself in this way to the disciples was not an accident; it was His good pleasure. It seem good in His sight. Spiritual understanding is not dependent on status, race, or education -- it is God's gift. (See also Isa 29:14; 1 Cor 1:19-20; James 4:6.) God is sovereign. He also hides and reveals as he chooses. Jesus delighted in this -- what pleased the Father pleased the Son (as Jesus clearly stated in the next verse). Thus the Lord Jesus could look personal rejection in the face and still thank God for revealing himself to those few disciples! In everything give thanks! This is the example our lord Jesus gives us!
ILLUSTRATION: FULLY ACCEPTED FROM UTTERLY REJECTED
Dr. J. Gregory Mantle tells of a minister
friend whose congregation always refused to accept his messages which were
Biblically sound. The choir made things worse and he asked the choir to resign.
The choir did and persuaded the congregation from taking part in singing on the
following Sunday. This continued for many Sundays.
One day, sitting dejected on a park bench, the
pastor saw a torn newspaper flapping on the ground. It had a message:
“No man is ever
fully accepted
Until he has,
first of all, been utterly rejected.”
He was comforted—he was rejected for Christ’s sake. The recognition of this fact was the beginning of a most fruitful ministry. ------ Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations
C.
Because You Know Thanksgiving is God’s Will. 1 Thes. 5:18, In every
thing give thanks: for this is the will of God . . . .
By far the most difficult task is to give thanks in everything -- even the situations that make no sense or are extremely painful. Yet this difficult task has been assigned to all believers for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
ILLUSTRATION: King David and Israel illustrate for us how we can thank God and celebrate His actions among us. The King and his nation are thankful that the Ark of the Covenant has come to a tent in Jerusalem. 1 Chron. 16:4, And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Certain Levites were appointed to give continual praise and thanks to God. Praise and thanksgiving should be a regular part of our routine, not reserved only for celebrations and worship services. Praise God continually, and you will find that you won't take His blessings for granted.
APPLICATION: We should always be expressing
thankfulness. There are four
significant aspects of thankfulness in 1Chron.
16:7-36. Four elements of true thanksgiving
are found in this song (psalm):
1. Remembering What
God Has Done. 1Chron. 16:12, “Remember his
marvelous works”
2. Telling Others
about It. 1Chron. 16:8, “Make known his deeds among the people.”
3. Showing God's
Glory to Others. 1Chron. 16:10, “Glory ye in his
holy name:” (aslo vs. 24, 27, 29)
4. Offering Gifts of Self, Time, and Resources. 1Chron. 16:1-3, 28-29, 40 “. . .bring and offering, and come before him” If you are truly thankful, your life will show it.
APPLICATION: How
Important Is it to Express Thankfulness? Learning to give thanks in
everything means learning to trust God completely, knowing that He is in
charge, and understanding that all that happens is part of a larger picture
that believers may not see. When a believer can give thanks so willingly, he or
she has trusted that God is completely in control of all situations and is
working out His will. You can Expect
“Good” to Come Out of It. (Rom. 8:28)
When evil strikes, we can still be thankful for God's presence and for the good He will accomplish through the distress. Usually God uses difficult times to build people's character and strengthen their faith. It is easy to give thanks for the blessings; it is more difficult to give thanks for the blessings in disguise. You can always Expect God to Build Your Character. (Js. 1:2-5).
ILLUSTRATION: HE WAS THANKFUL FOR BLINDNESS
A well-known English minister preached one
Sunday for Dr. Phillips Brooks in Boston. After the service he started to walk
to his hotel. He needed direction so he asked a man behind him the way. “Why
you’re the minister I just heard. I know your voice. I am blind, but I can show
you the way. I can take you to the door.”
The minister protested, but the blind man
insisted, saying, “You will not refuse me the pleasure of helping you? I so
seldom have the opportunity to render service. Everyone is so kind to me.” The
two men walked arm-in-arm for ten minutes. “Here’s your hotel,” said the blind
man.
Before parting, the blind man said, “I live alone. I can go about the streets without a guide. I am thankful for my blindness, because I have so much time for quiet meditation. There will be time enough in heaven for me to see everything!” ----- Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations
2.
By Personal Dedication to God Given Opportunities to Serve.
2 Cor. 8:5, And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
The Macedonians' giving was not motivated by a desire for praise from Paul or others. Their generosity was fundamentally motivated by their desire to serve the Lord Jesus. They first dedicated themselves to God and expressed the desire to follow God wherever that may lead. Their generosity and charity wasn't for its own sake. They were not looking for congratulations from others. They weren't doing it to feel good about themselves. They gave because they knew they were God's. Everything they had -- even their very souls -- were God's. Knowing this, they devoted themselves to serving Jesus and His kingdom in anyway they could.
QUOTE: GIVING OURSELVES
“Paul realized the undergirding of the Macedonian Christians' generosity was that they "but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. " (2 Cor. 8:5). What impressed Paul was not how much money they gave but how willing they were to give themselves and their possessions to the Lord. The impoverished believers in northern Greece recognized to whom they belonged (and thus who owned all their belongings).” ---- Life Application
APPLICATION: Those who surrender their lives to the Lord are in a position to give beyond their ability. Believers' wealth and possessions are not theirs to keep. They are to be managed on behalf of their true owner. That is what the word "stewardship" means. As a symbolic act of sacrifice, open your Bible to this section of 2 Corinthians and place your wallet, watch, and personal calendar on top. Spend a few moments in prayer releasing your time, money, and commitments to the Lord. Listen for what He might want you to do today with those three areas of resources.
3.
By Serving Christ Through Your Occupation. Eph. 6:5-9
Paul admonished the servants to be obedient, with several good reasons.
A.
Count Your Job as an Opportunity to Do the Will of God. Eph. 6:6-7
Our jobs provide us with many opportunities to do the will of God from the heart. Paul's instructions encourage responsibility and integrity on the job.
APPLICATION: Remember that no matter whom you work for and no matter who works for you, the One you ultimately should want to please is your Father in Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you be trusted to do your best, even when the boss is not around? Do you work hard and with enthusiasm? Do you treat your employees as people, not machines?
B. Recognize That You Are Really Serving Christ at Your Job. Eph. 6:6
1. Accept the Lord Jesus as Your Supervisor.
Christian employees should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ were their supervisor, and Christian employers should treat their employees fairly and with respect. True, they had “masters according to the flesh,” but their true Master was in Heaven (Eph. 6:9).
2. Give Proper Respect to Christian Supervisors.
1Tim. 6:2
The fact that an employee and his employer are both Christians is no excuse for either one to do less work. Rather, it is a good reason to be more faithful to each other. The employee should show proper respect for employer, and not try to take advantage of him. He should devote his full attention and energy to the job at hand (“singleness of heart”). The best way to be a witness on the job is to do a good day’s work. The Christian worker will avoid “eye service”—working only when the boss is watching, or working extra hard when he is watching to give the impression he is doing a very good job (Col. 3: 22-23).
3. Be a Kind, Fare and Thoughtful Supervisor to Your Workers. Eph. 6:9
ILLUSTRATION: Suppose you are a supervisor or manager and you find that one of your subordinates made a major mistake. You are just about to deliver a very severe reprimand when a friend comes alongside and says, "Careful -- that's the boss's daughter." Would that change the way you would treat her?
Paul says something similar to Christian masters of slaves. Don't threaten them, he basically said; reminding them both that they have the same heavenly Master.
APPLICATION: Treat co-workers and subordinates with respect and dignity as is appropriate for any child of God. This was revolutionary advice in its time and social context in which Paul wrote. The principle still applies today to employers and employees. Employers are not to treat their workers in a demeaning or unnecessarily harsh manner but as persons created in the image of God. If you are a boss, owner, supervisor, or manager . . . . Do you treat your subordinates the way you want to be treated? Keep in mind that you will answer one day to your heavenly Master. (Eph. 6:9).
C.
Understand That Doing a Good Job Is the Will of God. Eph. 6:6, . .
. doing the will of God from the heart.”
Christianity knows nothing of sacred and secular work. A Christian can perform any good work as a ministry to Christ, to the glory of God.
1. Put Your “Heart” Into Your Work.
For this reason, the worker must do his job “from the heart,” since he is serving Christ and doing the will of God. Let the Christian employee render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord. (Col. 3: 22-23).
APPLICATION: This
difficult instruction has two implications we would do well to remember:
1. Our work needs to be worth offering to the Lord,
whatever our field. How shameful for Christian employees to do their work in a substandard, slipshod, or unethical
manner. Those people lose all credibility with their coworkers.
2. Our work can be a holy offering to God. Our attitude of service transforms our
menial tasks into beautiful sacrifices of love. Do
these truths cause you to rethink the way you do your job? Are there areas of
your job performance for which you need to repent and possibly even apologize
or make restitution to someone? Your work can be holy. Remember to do it in
a way that honors God.
2. Focus Your “Heart” In Your Work.
There were tasks assigned to these slaves that they
detested, but they were to perform them just the same, so long as they were not
disobeying the will of God. “Singleness of your
heart” and “doing
the will of God from the heart” both indicate
the importance of a right heart attitude on the job. (1Tim. 6:1-2; Tit. 2:9-12)
In that day, slaves were treated like pieces of property, no matter how well educated they might be. An educated, cultured slave who became a Christian might receive even harsher treatment from his master because of his faith, but harsh treatment was not to keep him from doing his best.
1. Don’t Allow the Difficulties at Work Sidetrack You. (1 Peter 2:18–25). We are to serve Christ, not men.
QUOTE: “I will govern my life and my thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one, and to read the other. For what does it signify to make anything a secret to neighbor, when to God, who is the Searcher of hearts, all our privacies are open?” —Seneca
2. We Shall Receive Our Rewards from Christ, Not from Men. (Col. 3:22-24).
ILLUSTRATION: NOT YET HOME
“I heard Dr. Morrison tell at Winona Lake about his trip around the
world, preaching and teaching the gospel truth. He went on this trip at the
same time that Roosevelt went to Africa. Morrison preached the gospel at every
port. “Teddy” went to Africa to do some exploring and shoot a few water hogs.
When he came back, he was accorded a reception such as few living men had. The
governor and the mayor greeted him, the bands played, and countless thousands
thronged the wharf to welcome him.
Morrison came home. The governor of the state
did not come to meet him, nor did the mayor or the police force. The fire
department never noticed him. No flags were waving, no whistles blowing. He did
not even have a relative waiting for him. In New York Roosevelt boarded a train
and had the same sort of reception all over again when he reached his home
city. He was lauded and honored all the way.
Morrison also boarded a train and went home.
He did not have a reception at all. Nobody met him. The only person who
recognized him was the old baggage master, and he just said, “Hello, there!” in
a casual sort of way.
Morrison said: “I picked up my heavy gripes
and started off, all alone. I could not help contrasting the homecoming of
Roosevelt with my own. God had privileged me to lead ten thousand souls to
Christ on that trip—and yet there I was, without a soul to meet me! Nobody
cared. Suddenly I stopped. A new, glorious truth had gripped me. And I found
myself saying aloud, slowly, exultantly, “Maybe I’m not home yet! Maybe I’m not
home!”” —Words in Season
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