If our main purpose is to tell others about the Good News of Christ (and it is), then does it mean we are limited to just having conversations with people? No. There are many ways to tell others about Christ. There are many ways to plant seeds, either directly or indirectly, that play a part in God’s plan to work through every Christian to tell the world about His love. It all comes down to using the three T's as effectively as possible.
TIME
Time is a precious commodity. Maybe the most precious. Through an efficient use of our time, much can be achieved. But time can be wasted. The thing about time, and why it is so precious, is that you can never get it back. Once used, either effectively or squandered, it’s gone.
Christ Calls Us
Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life." Matthew 16:24-25
How we use our time can make all the difference in being an effective witness and a servant of God. Taking a Saturday afternoon out of your schedule to help make door-hanger invitations to your church for your surrounding community is a way of using time effectively to serve God. Or, you could make the choice instead to go the beach or do some other fun activity, and think, "Someone else will do it." This is squandering the time God has given you.
Now don't get me wrong. God gives us time so that we can enjoy life and do pleasurable things. God wants us to have time to relax and enjoy life. Balance is the key. How many times have you made the choice to do something for yourself rather than help your church with a project or answer that nagging call God has placed inside you to start serving His purpose, yet you ignore it? It's much easier to not get involved, not talk about God, not put God first over our own desires. Isn't it? Oh yeah, it sure is.
Listen to what Paul says in Romans 7:15-25:
"I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
"I know that I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
"It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord..."
Is this guy kicking himself in the pants or what? Here we have the apostle Paul, arguably the MVP of apostles, beating himself to a pulp over and over saying I want to do good, but don’t; I want to do right but don't. So I hear you, people. It is hard to put God first, to make Him the priority, to serve Him first before serving yourself.
Yes, it's hard. But just as at the end when Paul (you can just hear him scream it out) bellows out, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!", we too, know that Jesus will save us, strengthen us, help us.
You just have to decide to make it your priority and discipline yourself to keep at it. And pray, pray, pray. Read, read, read (the Bible). Those are your two best tools to keep you motivated and focused in using your time to serve God. Seems obvious, right? But how often do we have this great idea to serve God (the spirit is willing) and start out gang-busters, only to realize a week or so later we’ve fizzled out and become distracted or discouraged?
Yeah, me too. Just like Paul.
Don’t let time slip through your fingers.
Use your time wisely. Use it to serve God first – in all that you do.
TREASURE
The second of the three T's. Money, money, money. It’s a tricky thing, money is. The root of all evil – yes, sometimes. But we need it, too. And it is a blessing from God. How we use it, that is, how we prioritize its use, however, is the key – just like time. When you make money more important than God, you're not serving God. As Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Luke 16:13)
Like time, using your treasures, your gifts from God, to serve Him, is a way of planting seeds. It may be more of an indirect way, but it's a powerful way.
Our churches, our missionaries, our outreach programs are all funded through monetary gifts. We tithe on Sunday. We give of our first fruits as a thank you to God for all He has done. We don't give our leftovers, or only if we can afford it, but we give because He first gave to us.
You know the parable in Luke 21 about the poor woman who put two pennies into her offering. Jesus said she had given more than all the rest, including the rich people, because they gave only a tiny part of their wealth, but she gave everything she had.
The point is to make a conscious effort to put God first in your treasures. Everything you have is from God anyway; you're simply giving back what He has given you. So give first to Christ, right off the top. Don’t first think about what bills you have to pay or vacation you have to say up for. Give first. Give joyfully.
Look at the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Here was a very rich and very influential tax collector, albeit a little short in height. He climbed a tree to get a look at Jesus, but then to his surprise, Jesus called him by name and basically invited himself for dinner in Zacchaeus’ home. We know from the accounts in the Bible that tax collectors were traditionally cheats and robbers – otherwise known as notorious sinners. But Jesus had touched this man’s heart and he repented of his ways and said to Jesus, "I will give half of my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" And Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."
Imagine what wonderful things Zacchaeus did with his wealth to help others from that moment going forward for the rest of his life.
Give first. Give joyfully.
TALENTS
With TALENTS I'm also including INTERESTS. Usually the things that we are good at are things that we like to do. Or we just may be really interested in a subject or an activity that we get really excited about. God has given you special talents and interests so that you: (1) experience extreme joy in using your talents; (2) share your talents to benefit and serve others; and (3) at the same time, use your talents in service to God by fulfilling God's purpose for you (and you know what that purpose is, right? I know you do but lets just say it again, okay? Your purpose is to share the GOOD NEWS of salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord).
When it comes to your talents and interests, everyone is different. God's covering all his bases. Let's go back to Romans again and see what God tells us (I just love the book of Romans. It’s like the ultimate survival guide for Christians. If I was on a desert island and could only have two books from the Bible to read, I'd pick Romans and Psalms. It would be a tough choice not picking one of the gospels, but Romans has it all. Check it out and see).
"...We are all parts of His one body, and each of us has different work to do...God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly...Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." Romans 12:5-11
More to follow...
1 comment:
I enjoyed reading this post. Thank You.
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