In This Issue:
Is It My Life?
Obeying God
Gifts for Today’s Christians
Volume: 1006 May 19, 2025
Theme: Serve the Lord!
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“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” Matthew 20:15
Does a Christian have the right to do whatever he wants with his life? According to God’s Word, no!
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Romans 9:20-21
The context in Matthew 20 is the millennial reign when Christ rules Earth for 1,000 years. It gives one an idea of what will happen during that time and how some will be rewarded.
In Jesus’ illustration, he told of how workers starting at different times of the day got paid what the master thought was fair. All were paid the same, whether they worked 10 hours or one hour. The “boss” was doing the hiring, and all agreed to work for what he offered them. The whole point of the illustration was to teach that the master was in charge, and it was by his rules they had to abide.
Although Matthew 20:15 was the reply of the landowner doing the hiring, it holds a great truth in describing a Christian’s relationship with the Lord. A Christian is not his own. We are purchased with Christ’s blood. We have a promise of Heaven. Everything after getting saved is a bonus! Let us surrender our lives and do with our lives what God would have us do!
When adults are asked what they want to do in their future, they usually tell you what they have figured out they would like to have happen with their lives. When a child is asked the same question, you similarly get a battle plan that he would like to see happen. Seldom does one answer, “Whatever the Lord wants me to do, I’ll do!”
Sadly, that open-invitation to do God’s will is rarely even thought of by Christians. Unfortunately, when you hear of people handing their lives over to God without any reservations, it is often only after they have tried it their way, and that way failed.
It would save much heartache and much of a “wasted” life if one would immediately, after one is saved, hand one’s life over to God as a signed, blank check to God. “Fill it in with what you want me to do God, and I will gladly, happily, and faithfully do it until you tell me otherwise!” Boy, would that attitude change lives and Christendom as we know it!
“Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love
At the impulse of Thy love.”
— Excerpt from Frances Havergal’s hymn, “Take My Life, and Let It Be”
In the introduction to his second letter to the Corinthian church (II Corinthians 1), Paul tells part of the secret of his success. The preacher was used of God because it was the “will of God” (vs. 1).
I say “part of his secret” because there was another factor not mentioned here, although Paul’s testimony throughout the New Testament made it clear what it was. It was God’s will that Paul, the one-time enemy of God and His people, got saved, became an apostle, and was used by God. It was critical that the preacher allowed himself to be used by God and did what God showed him to do.
This distinction between “God’s will” and obeying God’s commandments is very important. After being saved by trusting in Jesus’ work for them on the cross, most have a purpose in God’s mind. None of us are saved to sit and soak up God’s goodness. There is a spiritual war raging in this world (Ephesians 6:12), and it is always God’s will that each soldier of God participates in the battle.
I believe everyone is convinced and convicted of God’s will for them, at least once. The tugging spirit of God sometimes makes all feel guilty of involvement in sin. Many hear that “voice” encourage them to be saved. At times, they feel uncomfortable in their lifestyle and desire to change. Some do heed God’s encouragement to get them to do His will. Unfortunately, too many ignore it.
The encouragement of the Holy Spirit of God is soon not even listened to. They did not do God’s will, and eventually, because they chose not to obey it, the “voice” of the Holy Spirit no longer “speaks” to them. They never get used of God because they had chosen not to obey Him previously.
Paul ignored the “pricks” (Acts 9:5) of the Holy Spirit for a long time. He ignored God’s true calling for him as he watched his acquaintances kill the first martyr for Christ. Paul closed his ears to the cries and pleas of the Christians he had killed and persecuted.
One day, however, God’s will was clear to Paul. He heard the voice of the Son of God on the Damascus road, and he obeyed what Jesus told him to do. His life was different after that decision, and the world has never been the same because of his obedience.
God’s will for every one of us is to do something for Him. This, sadly, does not happen in too many cases. Many get saved. Some obey for a while. God has great plans to use them, but because of some act of disobedience, they never get used in the way God intended. The key to ever being used effectively by God, as was true in Paul’s life, is obedience to what one is shown to do.
It is God’s will that all that are saved serve Him. It is not His will that we disobey Him by putting off or ignoring what He has placed in our hearts to do. We can also have effective lives for Christ’s cause if we obey God’s will for our lives!
“The will of God will not take you where the power of God cannot keep you.”
Gifts for Today’s Christians
Bill Brinkworth
God has plans for every Christian. To better equip each child of God, each is given a gift to serve the Saviour. Some may have more than one gift. These are not the gifts the early church had before they were given the Word of God. These seven gifts (Romans 12: 6-8) are necessary to get the work of God done in today’s world. They include the gifts of:
- Prophecy. This is not the same ability Old and New Testament prophets and Christians had. We have the entire plan of God in His written, preserved Word of God. We do not need to foretell the future as they did earlier. Today’s gift of prophecy is taking the Word of God and helping others understand it better. In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster defined the gift as the ability “to preach; to instruct in religious doctrines; to interpret or explain Scripture or religious subjects …”
- Ministry. This God-given gift puts a great burden on a Christian to meet the needs of others.
- Teaching. This is a gift that allows one to help others understand the things of God better.
- Exhorting. This vital gift helps one be an encourager to others — a most needed gift, especially among God’s people.
- Giving. This gift gives one the burden of meeting other’s needs by giving of things and themselves.
- Ruling. This gift allows one to be a leader. Too many think they have it, but few have the God-given ability to lead God’s people.
- Mercy. This gift gives one a heart to have understanding, patience, and kindness with others.
If you are a child of God, God does not plan for you just to sit. He desires that you serve Him and help others. He has given you at least one of the above gifts for this church age. What are your gift/gifts, and are you using them to help others, honor God, and bringing others to know and serve the Lord better?
Additional Reading on This Subject: God’s Toolbox (https://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons/toolbox.html)