Are You A Living Example Of Someone Working Responsibility For God With Everything You Have?

Are You A Living Example Of Someone Working Responsibility For God With Everything You Have?

 

Good Morning Friends,

 
 

Well if you do not believe in God that is one thing, but if you do you really have to wrestle with today’s question. Are You A Living Example Of Someone Working Responsibility For God With Everything You Have?

Scripture: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.

  
 

Matthew 23:27-32 (NRSV)

 
 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 
 

Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSV)

 
 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

 
 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NRSV)

 
 

Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

 
 

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 (NRSV)

 

Message: Part of our heritage is not so wonderful as I have written about before. But addressing the hypocrisy can come with violence if we force it. Therefore, we must accept personal responsibility for doing what we can quietly as well as publicly, to move the needle of the Kingdom to Come knowing that there is a time and season to everything. We must fully understand with a focus that until the Lord returns there are souls to reach and ministries of every sort to be performed. And we are responsible for our money, time, energy, talents, gifts, bodies, minds, and spirits, and we should invest in nothing that does not in some way contribute to the work of the Lord. Sometimes it will be small acts of grace to buy culture more time to heal but knowing that justice is also required.
The Bible teaches us that our responsibility as believers is to work uncompromisingly as the Lord has gifted us and share what we have learned about God. But not everyone is made to be an evangelist or social change agent and fewer still to do so in foreign countries. The harsh reality is that in countries like North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen, Christians suffer persecution. The same is true in parts of India and South America. Indeed, knowing where to go and what to do is not so easy. It must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps your ministry might be closer to home with family and friends and acquaintances. Jesus told the disciples to go first to the Jews. So, the local globalization goal is nothing new. Still there is a test and whether it is a call to Wall Street or Main Street or the back alleys of slums around the world or even rural villages needing water and power or flooded cities needing evacuation, I cannot say. But wherever you go, if you go, know that as with Paul there will be times of testing. Some will persevere and others pack it in. And woe to those not prepared for the task even closer to home. One must figure out how. Oh, we can mind our own business, living in our comfort zone but how then can we demonstrate Christ in our life? Not everyone is willing to suffer the shame and sacrifice for Christ and not all are called to do this. It cannot be forced upon a person… it must be an act of free will… a choice led by the Spirit. So, do we live lives pleasing to God or lives pleasing to ourselves and others? Are we gentle, genuine and generous to others? Well, maybe we are and maybe we need some help to keep open to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Simply put, our responsibility lies in working for the Lord. And our motivation is that we have God’s own promise that our work is not in vain. Friends, when one door is shut another will open. Paul was given the responsibility to blaze a gospel trail to the Gentiles. Your journey will be different but know this, God does expect us to take personal responsibility in all areas of life with what we have been entrusted. But we are to live our lives in the will of God. And that is something we must rediscover each day anew.

 
 

And So, our responsibility is to abide in the Word but in addition, the Word is to abide in us. To be continually filled with God’s presence is our responsibility and that can be enjoyable and an act of love. But we cannot do this alone. We must ask God for the grace to experience the love of service to God. Here grace is an amazing thing and I must admit that I have a hard time getting my arms and head around it. And that is both from the perspective of receiving grace and extending that grace to others. But as usual, God knows our difficulty and provides us with the presence of the Spirit. It is a gift but there are some things we need to consider related to our responsibility and our relationship with God. The Word and the Spirit must be in balance in the person of Jesus. Too much of academic scripture can dry us up in legalism. Too much Spirit in praise and enjoyment of the world can blow us up. We need a balance to grow us up. So as a friend of mine once put it, today is God’s present to us and what we do today is our present to God. We have a responsibility to unwrap this day with love in both our work and play.

 

Pray we are filled with God’s presence in the unity of our lives so that our work and play become as one in love. Pray we open to new callings each day in the opportunities given to us. Pray we share what we have been entrusted as we are able. Pray the hole in our heart is filled with the truth of God. Pray we have a purposeful boldness that assures we are heard but not so bold as to get us killed. Pray we find a way to address God’s expectations, plans, purposes and priorities despite encountering hostility and hate. Pray we put away childish ways. Pray we make a commitment to both sow love and reap grace in the balance of a relationship with God. Pray we realize that we will be held personally responsible for our actions and lack of actions as well as attitude. Pray we realize that our faith without works is dead. Pray we are moved to do all the good we can where we can. Pray the Word of Christ dwell in us filling us in all wisdom, with grace in our hearts to the Lord guiding us. Pray we are obedient to God’s leading. Pray we believe and love. Pray the Holy Spirit give us Jesus’ strength, wisdom, courage, and compassion to act wisely and to love unconditionally.

  
 

Blessings,

  
 

John Lawson