“Lord, remember David And all his afflictions; How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: ‘Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ (Psalm 132:1-5).
“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 world, the offscouring of all things until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-14).
“Still others had trials of mocking and scourging, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 11:36 - 12:2).
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24).
These are a few passages from the word of God that are not frequently read by the believers.. because the great majority cannot bear it.. and the majority says: these words are hard!!!
I listed in the beginning of this message this number of verses because:
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).
Only the word of God accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, reveals, convicts and examines the motives and rectifies the path..
Because most of the believers tend to rely on emotions and feelings while serving the Lord:
I feel I have to do this and not that.. I don’t feel that I should renounce this or that.. what is wrong with this matter or that?
Beloved: we shouldn’t at all rely on emotions and feelings while serving the Lord and walking in the truth, because emotions and feelings are subject to mood fluctuations, and the body desires always to run away from sacrifice and submission to the word of God.. Rather the believer has to focus on the word of the Lord alone, so it can discern his motives, behaviors and conduct.. and we have to give it the absolute authority over us, if we want and long to be in the will of the Lord for our life.
Peter’s emotions and feelings didn’t want at all to cast the net that night, when the Lord asked him to do so, as he said to the Lord: we have toiled all night and caught nothing.. but he continued saying: nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net, and he caught a great number of fish.
Many studies around the world have revealed that those verses we mentioned can only be applied to a very small number of believers.. and the reason is that the majority doesn’t want to pay the price..
What is regrettable is that without exception, they grumble for not finding any fruit in their life, their ministry or the ministry they belong to. What is more regrettable is that everyone without exception blames others, and they don’t even once consider themselves responsible.. but today and in the light of these verses if we let the Holy Spirit examine our motives, our ministry and our life, with sincerity and integrity, many views, judgments, paths, thoughts and emotions will change.
David swore that he will not enter his house, go to his bed, and give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eyelids, before building a house for the Lord and a dwelling for His ark.. he succeeded in this.. and he was according to the Lord’s heart..
So where do we stand from such objectives and motives..
And where are we from what David did effectively later on to realize his objectives?
As for Paul he didn’t care about all he was exposed to from hardship, danger, stoning, thirst, hunger, nakedness, weariness, insult and persecution… Rather he continued his race and finished it, and he allowed himself to declare:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness”.
And the reason is that he decided to pay the price to serve faithfully who paid the highest price for Paul’s redemption, and he decided to serve the Lord indifferent to the opinion of others and their stand of him, they insulted him but he blessed them, they persecuted him but he endured, they slandered him but he preached to them and encouraged them, he became filthy and didn’t care.. because his only concern was the Lord, and not other people’s opinion and their appreciation of him..
The major reason for believers’ and ministers’ withdrawal and isolation when they are offended or they are not appreciated as they were expecting to be from others, is that they are serving themselves and not the Lord; in other words, they are serving to show to everyone that their ministry is successful so they can receive praise and encouragement, but this ministry is not the secret ministry that is only seen by the Lord, it’s not the ministry in which the Lord increases and I decrease, and it’s a ministry that will never bear fruits.
How about the cloud of witnesses that the word of the Lord has put in front of us to be an example for us?
Many trials, mockery, whipping, chains, prison, stoning, sawing, death by the sword, homelessness, humiliation, poverty, wandering in the mountains and the wilderness.. and the Lord says about them: that the world did not deserve them..
Those are difficult words.. but they are from the New Testament.. and the word of the Lord made them witnesses for us, so we look at them, follow their example, and lay aside every weight, sin and matters that stop us from fighting and walking in their steps, enduring and looking at the Lord to give us the faith and the power needed to carry out what the walk behind Him implies.
How can I endure all this?
How can I be slandered but I preach and exhort?
How can I be insulted but I bless?
How can I continue giving, offering and sacrificing when I’m not appreciated and praised?
How can I be persecuted but I endure?
How can I need, be poorly clothed, humiliated and…
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24).
Complete and final death.. for the dead person doesn’t feel anything, he is not affected by nakedness, cold, poverty, stoning, humiliation, lack of appreciation, wounds, tiredness, hard work, danger, sacrifice and…
This is the only solution.. because the word of God doesn’t present to us another choice!!!
And this death is carried out by the Holy Spirit alone..
For the body cannot – rather never wishes – to die to himself..
And the word says:
“… but if by the Holy Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13).
Beloved: we shouldn’t go astray, for every ministry that is not coupled with real sanctification and dying to the self and its desires, will not bear lasting fruits.
Also, we shouldn’t waste our time searching for reasons for the absence of blessings and fruits in our personal life, our ministry and our church, trying to put the blame on others, or on circumstances, and on the country’s situation and on.. and on… rather let us submit to the word of the Lord today, and let us allow Him to work in us deeply, so we can bear much fruit, for through the ages, and according to what the word of God recorded to us, one person, or two or even a few persons, in each period of history, decided to die to themselves and to submit to the word of the Lord, not caring about the price, the difficulties, and the sacrifices; and the Lord used them mightily, and they entirely changed the face of history!!!
I would like to bring to your attention another important matter..
Do not accomplish these things out of necessity or sadness, for the word of God says:
“Each one as the purpose of his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
This is the ministry that the Lord loves.. because the opposite, i.e. the ministry motivated by obligation, will make you firstly, lose strength in the middle of the way, and secondly, you will always see yourself as a victim and a martyr of the duty, you will always play the role of the hero and the savior, and it will lead you to compare yourself to those who do not sacrifice or labor like you do.. and your thoughts and speech will pivot around yourself: I get tired, I stay awake, I fast, I sacrifice myself to serve the Lord, I.. I.. and the like of other similar expressions..
Rather, let us be at the image of the Lord Jesus Christ who:
“for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.”
He endured the cross, the insult, the shame and betrayal, and like a sheep taken to be slain He didn’t open His mouth.. because He saw joy in the redemption of humanity, in my redemption and yours; with joy He accomplished all that He did.. He didn’t care about all He suffered, from insult, humiliation, despising, and from the rejection and abandonment of His family and disciples.. His joy was only to accomplish the will of the Father.. This is how we should also be..
Let us now see what happened when Moses decided to carry out God’s command to build the sanctuary:
“And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, ‘The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.’ So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, ‘Let neither man nor woman do anymore work for the offering of the sanctuary.’ And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done – indeed too much. (Exodus 36:3-7).
How great are these words, and how great and precious are those motives and heart..
They brought much.. more than enough for the service of the work.. and more!!!
Does this happen nowadays?
Regretfully: no..
So let us be serious and true, and let us confess that we are not like that.. rather how many meetings do we miss.. in how many activities we don’t take part.. how many ministries are delayed and not fruitful because we don’t find anyone to carry them or to help in them.. and the excuses are various.. we are busy with our own personal matters.. wounded and isolated because someone has hurt us or doesn’t appreciate us as we wished to be, or for other various reasons. I let each one think about them..
I wish we allow the Lord today to deepen these lessons in us, so we wake up from our sleep and we shake the dust, the wounds, the offense and the negligence and we start anew, and we see those verses being applied in our days..
We are today about to launch ministries in the church that were halted, like the mercy ministry, the evangelism Sunday once a month, the work of the evangelism team, administrative ministries… And the evangelism conference in September, requires a lot of work and preparation: prayer and intercession, inviting our acquaintances and family, distributing invitations, administrative preparation, participating in practical matters during the conference…
Let us be like the people of God in Moses’ days, racing to put the potential and gifts the Lord endowed us with, in the hands of the leaders, and in the hands of the Lord, like the two fish and the five loaves of bread, let us give the Lord the chance to satisfy through them the multitudes, and let us decide not to draw back, grow weak or lose strength. Even let us hear the Lord say to us, like Moses said to the people: You brought much.. more than enough for the service of the work.. and more!!!
Let us be partners in the work of the Lord, as one man in the war, let us toil, sweat, stay awake, pray, work silently and in secret, knowing that our labor for the Lord will never be lost, and let us see ourselves always jobless slaves who only do what is required of them.
Let us go back to our first love, searching for one lost sheep to bring to the Lord, knowing that our God is the God of the one sheep, and knowing that heaven rejoices with one sinner repenting, and in other words:
Let us be faithful with little so the Lord will put us in charge of more..
Let us start from where we stopped, and the Lord will glorify the work with us.. to Him be all gory.
