Based on “Under HIS Influence – Changed Lives”
by Pastor Mark Balmer; 9/26-27/09,
Message #MB390; Daily Devotional #4 -
“Servant?”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction):
Servant, slave. When you think of a servant, what comes to mind? Usually in our culture we would think of someone who gets his orders from those over him and then goes off by himself to accomplish the tasks. The servant does the work in his or her own strength or abilities. It is a hands-off approach. The boss just expects the job will be done unless he hears differently.
It is not that way with God.
Too often we look at the work of God the same way. We ask, “God, what do you want me to do for You? What task do You have for me?” Once we hear from Him, then we are off trying to accomplish the work of God in our own strength and abilities, and when we run into trouble, then we call on Him for help. Again, that is not God's plan.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth):
Notice in Acts 9:1-22, God was working in the lives of those involved before He told anyone to do anything. Too often we make the mistake of trying to do for God instead of being with God. Paul thought he had a relationship with God through his religious works.
Yet, when God took the initiative to make the relationship personal, Paul had to make a choice. He could continue in his old ways or let this personal experience with God change him. He chose the latter. It was similar with Ananias. He had a personal relationship with God already, however God wanted to keep their relationship continually growing.
So when God told him to heal this man, Paul, who was an enemy of all that Ananias believed in, he also had a choice. Was his faith In God bigger than his faith in himself? The work that God wanted him to do was not in his own abilities.
He could not do what God wanted him to do on his own.
He needed God. He chose to let God work through him and accomplish much greater works than he could have accomplished through his own strength and abilities.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): You see, in each case it was more about the relationship between God and man than it was about a task being accomplished. Furthermore, the task was not something they could do without God. When God has a job for us to do, its purpose is to deepen our relationship with Him.
The work we do for the Lord is not so much about what we are doing for God but more about God working through us. As God works through us, we have the privilege of truly seeing firsthand the power and the love of God in a way that could never be learned by reading a book. As we read the Bible and see the love and compassion God has had throughout history, we can begin to see the character of God. However, when we let our relationship with God become personal, He seeks us out, and we respond, “Yes, Lord.”
Then we experience the character of God.
We experience His love and compassion, His power touching our lives and the lives of those around us. After God started working in these men, their lives were never the same. As we respond to God’s taking our relationship to a new level, we will never again be the same either.
When God asks us to do something for Him, remember it is about a relationship: God working through us, not about us doing for God. Let God reveal Himself to you through the work He has already planned to accomplish in and through you.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
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