The answer is simple, but not necessarily easy. There's three main categories: People, Places and Things. Hebrews 4:12 states: His word is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, able to pierce to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow and even able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Gods Word is incredibly powerful and holds the key to many of our problems. Yes, we are sinners. These feelings can keep us paralyzed from dealing with the. Persecution mobilized the church, and the food ministry came to an end. Mailbox Club Bible Correspondence Courses, As we thank God for His faithfulness today, let us be reminded that God requires faithfulness from us. In our choices, we dont so much turn to evil as we turn from God. You do. Yes, we have sinned. Faithfulness to the Lord demands this attitude in our service:He must increase, and we must decrease., It is sad that many who serve today arenotinterested in decreasing. Growing in Christ won't be without struggles. Notice the language: Were to draw near with our hearts sprinkled clean from a evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. This echoes the God-centeredness of the New Covenant, when God promised that hed write his law on our hearts, that hed give us his Spirit, that hed make us clean (Jeremiah 31:33). In Romans 12 Paul reminded the church not to be conformed or fashioned by the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of the mind. This is because the fear of God is a foundation. In the earlier chapters of Acts we had seen that some are called to serve as deacons, some as evangelists, and some as teachers. Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near. Tough times and obstacles in life build Christian character and faith. Paul belonged to Him alone, and so he lived to do the will of the Lord Jesus. And that's hard to do. Watch popular content from the following creators: Make 30s Fit(@make30sfit), Christ (@glimpseofchrist), Danna Hagans(@dannahagans), Mckenzie Young(@mckenzieyoung93), WC(@warriorsofchrist_), WC(@warriorsofchrist_), Praise on TBN(@praiseontbn), Throwback Praise(@throwbackpraise), The grace of God(@the . This letter exhorts us to persevere, and this profound call to draw near to God is right at the heart. The fear of disappointment, on the other hand, says, Oh yeah, I get that relationship stuff. If you are united to Jesus by faith, the anger is gone. Please see the Disclosures for how it will all go down. Being full of the Spirit and being wise are evident qualities in a person. Its a rich relationship, not a mechanical one. God created us in his own image and likeness Gen. 1:27-28. A spiritual war is taking place. Error: There was an internal error submitting your form. For greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.". He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.". The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes - the hope of the world hangs on it (Rom 1:16). He said, Paul was heading for Jerusalem in obedience to the Lords direction for him, despite knowing the awful trials he would have to face there. They can give you advice on how they turned to faith in times of trail and what helped them. and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near . When this question has been settled, we should then go on to another area that requires faithfulness fulfilling our God-given roles. They see the ministry of the Word merely as a means to get what they, There is always a temptation for those who serve the Lord to get so busy and involved with serving that they neglect their own walk with God. You can tell God how you feel and in what areas of your life you are struggling to trust Him. Job eventually repents and is humbled before God. I hope that everyone who is serving in any ministry of Life Church will take this exhortation seriously Guard yourself! Thus we have seen our need to be faithful to the Lord, faithful to fulfill our respective God-given roles, and faithful to the whole counsel of God. The writer to the Hebrews commands us to draw near to God. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.The counsel of God here refers to the complete Word of God which we now have in the 66 books of the Bible. Confess Unbelief Be honest. The same thing happens if one member is not fulfilling his or her role faithfully The whole church suffers! Others struggle to serve the Lord because of illness, a serious disease, or a litany or other reasons. Using television and the Internet, CBN is proclaiming the Good News in 149 countries and territories, with programs and content in 67 languages. You know your sin and guilt, and although you like the idea of a closer relationship with God, you wouldnt dare pursue it. We relish our sin too much to renounce it. Others have been blessed with spiritual gifts of faith, administration, discernment, hospitality, giving, mercy, or encouragement. Sometimes, the key to overcoming your problems is through replacing these negative emotions with Gods love. God calls His people to serve and love one another with humility. This was a great thing happening. Choose seven men from among you: men of good reputation (Good testimony) (known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. The punishment has been paid. I signed up . God wants you to open up about your fears, doubts and anxieties so He can help you overcome them. Have you seen how crazy my life is? This is a fear that doesnt tempt us to stop believing; it tempts us to forfeit a life of intimacy with Jesus because we just dont think that kind of life is possible for us. God sometimes challenges us with a warning. We are here to help and encourage you! Obstacles that we face in life are riddled with anxiety, fear, worry, anger, stress, and every negative emotion that you can think of. So, our attitude to serving God should be one that is reflective of Psalm 100:2 (NKJV): "Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.". Look at your, If it has, one way to restore it is build yourself up spiritually. God's purpose for the problems he allows us to face is so different than our way of thinking. 2. It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 10) 1 Corinthians 15:57 " But thanks be to God! Overcoming Obstacles to Serving. One of the glories of God is that He left the majesty of heaven to have intimate relationship with us. God was Pauls confidence that the Ephesian church would remain faithful. When Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians some time later, he said,I count all things but lossfor the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.(Philippians 3:8). Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! More Ken Boa on Trusting God in Turbulent Times. Through his faithful teaching, and testifying to Jews and Greeks, and preaching the kingdom of God, and warning the Christians against false teaching, the Ephesian church was firmly established on a strong foundation. . See also: Is 40:31, Eph 6:10, and Jas 1:5. No tongue can bid me thence depart nor can anything else in all creation separate us from his love. The emotional barrier deals with bad experiences, but the intellectual barrier deals with bad teaching. Confusion: Perhaps worse than the ignorant are the confused. Although the Lord Jesus commended them for guarding the flock well against false apostles, He also rebuked them:Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, becausethou hast left thy first love.(Revelation 2:4) Let us ask ourselves this question: Have you left your first love? Verse Concepts. Thats why Christ bestowed all the spiritual gifts which the Church needs for service. We must look to Him for all the help we need to remain faithful. Image Credit: Hero Images/Hero Images/Getty Images. There are many other roles of service in Gods kingdom besides these. But now we come to the question. Jesus isnt appealing to the irrational, but to a higher truth. Just before those verses, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) define a path to spiritual happiness and significance totally contrary to what were normally taught (blessed are the meek, not the proud). If the work of Gods kingdom depends entirely on our faithfulness what assurance is there that it will succeed? Listen now to what he said at the end of v.24 so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.Paul knew exactly what role the Lord wanted him to fulfill: He was to testify ofthe Gospel of the grace of God. The experiential barriers are ongoing, and they can range from broken family relationships that make us reticent to trust or accept love to bad church experiences. However with God, your biggest setbacks can become your biggest comebacks. He didn't say, "you should not serve both God and money.". Here are seven ways you can rely on God to help you break down and overcome the challenging obstacles that are standing in your way: Focus on God's power rather than on the size of your problem . Fast-forward now to a time about 40 years later, and we find this commendation that Christ gave to this church in Revelation 2:2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: andthou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.The elders had faithfully kept watch over their flock and had exposed the false teachers who tried to subvert the flock. Discover God's peace now. They must be placed well above our own personal pursuits and interests. And we must be very thankful to Him. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. They had a great system going on, a great fellowship and God reminded them that though that ministry is important, it was not the mission of the church to run a food program, but to preach the gospel to those who are lost. Perhaps some of us may have certain limitations that prevent us from serving. While he was there, Paul sent a messenger to Ephesus (which is about 40 km away) to call the elders of the church to come for a conference with him, as he believed that he would never see them again. sign me up! Download. Satan could not stop the growth of the church through outside influence. It is fascinating to study these spiritual gifts, but that is not within the scope of this sermon. Extrinsic Challenges The church, since the time of Paul, has had to confront philosophies that challenge God's existence, and deny the Christology of Jesus. Trials and suffering tend to truly reveal who your true friends are. Notify me by email when the comment gets approved. And since Gods awful judgment on this world is coming soon, you must not delay obeying His command any longer. This is the goal of the Christian, and everything in life, including the trials and tribulations, is designed to enable us to reach that goal. Sign up for a CBNDaily Bible Reading Plan.
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