We see in God's dealings with people, that in almost all cases, God uses the obstacles/difficulties and overcoming them, as a means to inculcate great character in people and to prepare them and use them for great purposes. Notice how verse 19 begins, Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. He means that we have access to God now because Jesus died in our place. Is anything too hard for me? When faced with an enormous obstacle, dont focus on how big the problem is. Many of us feel like we need to take a break from all the work we do for God. This is mentioned in vv.26,27 where Paul said,Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Please take time to read your Bible each day, and let God speak to you through His Word. 2. This can be seen in the call which He gave to the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:10Be thoufaithfulunto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.It is also seen in the commendation which the servants received from the Lord in Matthew 25:21Well done, thou good andfaithfulservant: thou hast beenfaithfulover a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.. Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! The apostles were the shepherds of the church. The Emotional Barrier: Is It Safe to Trust God? Watch on Hey! But the enemy doesnt like this, so he would use anything to stop you. Paul explains to the Philippian church that the evidence of true Christianity is found in humble service to each other. (v.4) We will attend constantly or persist in prayer and the preaching of the gospel. Did you laugh or cry tears of joy? The most important requirement is to befaithful to the Lord. After all, God had purchased them with His own blood, as Paul mentioned in v.28 (to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.) This of course refers to God the Son who suffered and died on the cross for our sins. Because the call of God is heaven bound, Satan opposes it with all the weapons in his arsenal. For the past 66 years, we have seen how faithful God is to provide, preserve and protect us so marvelously despite all our weaknesses, faults and our little faith. God loved you so dearly that He gave His one and only Son to save you from your sins. -- Jack Hyles #People #Needs #Serving God Church was never intended to be a place where we serve God to the exclusion of meeting with Him. In order for us to get grace we have to surrender ourselves to God and accept His grace as a free gift. Here are 4 barriers to getting through to God: 1) Harboring secret sin. Download. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. God does not willingly make His service hard; it would not be hard if we were not sinful. For some people, time crowds out their ability to serve the Lord. They wept, Gods pattern for his people! I hope that everyone who is serving in any ministry of Life Church will take this exhortation seriously Guard yourself! The word of God continued to spread (to be taught and preached); more people were becoming disciples, even some Jewish priests received the gospel of Jesus. If anyone here is still unsaved, please listen to this carefully, because it is part of Gods whole counsel If you are still outside Christ, you are still in your sins. By: Ysrael De la Cruz At the beginning of the pandemic, I was able to witness many so called prophets come out to predict what the Lord was telling American through the worldwide epidemic of Covid 19. Image Credit: Hero Images/Hero Images/Getty Images. Do you remember when you first yielded your life to Christ? No tongue can bid me thence depart nor can anything else in all creation separate us from his love. Fast-forward now to a time about 40 years later, and we find this commendation that Christ gave to this church in Revelation 2:2, Thus we have seen that Paul and the Ephesian elders were faithful in fulfilling their respective God-given roles. The Bible is God's unfailing, unchanging Word. 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. The role of these church elders is basically to look after the flock of God as shepherds by providing them with spiritual food and protecting them from spiritual predators. You see, regardless of the challenges we may face in life in our ministries, Jesus expects us to be faithful to his call of making disciples, his call to reaching those who dont know him. Staten Island, NY 10314, http://sichristianchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sept.19.mp3. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. Regardless of any problem or issue we face as a church; we must never neglect Christs mission: to reach the lost; to make disciples of all nations through the preaching of his word. 1. We dont have to be afraid of Gods judgment anymore. Doesnt this remind us of what our Lord Himself did? 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? Perhaps some of us may have certain limitations that prevent us from serving. You may not enjoy having to eat more high-fiber, low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt meals regularly, but the long term benefits do make it all worthwhile. They would rather increase in fame and fortune. Prayer helps you to build a solid relationship with Christ, which increases your ability to trust in Him and feel confident about His plan for you. Serving God is what we were made to do as his creatures, but our service has been corrupted by our sin and rebellion which has rendered us unable to please him. If your love for Him has grown cold, you are unwell and you need to rekindle that love before things get worse. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.". God rewarded their faithfulness and decision: All these things should remind us that God is working in our midst and has enabled us to grow. 9) 1 John 4:4 "Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them. In my two previous blogs, we takes about finding God's purpose in our lives. Life is full of ups and downs. This letter exhorts us to persevere, and this profound call to draw near to God is right at the heart. Overcoming Obstacles to Serving. Serving God is not without challenges and difficulties. Were on a mission to change that. Sometimes, the key to overcoming your problems is through replacing these negative emotions with Gods love. Stephen was murdered, Philip and the rest had to leave. Therefore, Jesus said to Peter Get behind me Satan. DAVID David is a Bible character who is no stranger to hard times. Its a God-accomplished relationship, not one that we contrive. Paul belonged to Him alone, and so he lived to do the will of the Lord Jesus. Error: There was an internal error submitting your form. Money Money. Challenges in serving God. But there is still so much more that needs to be done as we move forward as a church into our 67thyear. After our conversion, our inner person matures and grows, but our flesh is neither removed nor improved. During the voyage one of the ports that the ship stopped at was Miletus. Benefits Of Serving God: The Challenges, The Pains, The Blessings And The Rewards - Kindle edition by Kanu, Kenneth. The Lord has blessed Life Church with 66 years of service to Him. Your browser does not support the audio element. Right when the church experienced such growth (a problem arose). But its not that simple. We have already read the first 11 verses of the passage during the responsive reading. Yes, we deserve punishment. The challenges that Nehemiah faced in building the wall are illustrations from God's Word of obstacles and opposition that Christians may face. they did not let this issue distract them from their mission. You can cling to its truth when life throws you a curveball. During the voyage one of the ports that the ship stopped at was Miletus. In our study of the Book of Acts we have been following his three great missionary journeys which took place over a period of 10 years, between the years 47 and 57 AD. The apostles prayed for these ministry leaders and their ministry. . If Jesus had to endure them, so do we. He is patient toward us, always showing his mercy toward us, always deals with us in his steadfast love. It is fascinating to study these spiritual gifts, but that is not within the scope of this sermon. Do you seek to fulfill God's purpose? This is biblical! This is a spiritual thermometer. He knows about every detail of you, and has your best interest at heart. They even say,Surely God wants His servants to have the very best!, The apostle Paul would have disagreed with them very strongly. This is His purpose of why we were created and the reason why we are here on earth. Can God change your life? This helps to shift your perspective and gain the confidence needed to know you can handle it with Gods help. But in serving God, there will always be obstructions and hindrances. You can place your steadfast trust in Him. Nothing like a twisted ankle because you stepped on an uneven surface, rock or twig. As in all things, God's ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son ( Romans 8:29 ). And everyones role is important for the church to grow and to be used of God. Doesnt this remind us of what our Lord Himself did? Here are 4 ways to find contentment in Christ: #1 Accept rejection. Unfortunately many would rather listen to a message that makes no demands on them at all, but offers them all the blessings of God they could ever wish to receive, like good health and wealth. However, this didnt stop the gospel; the believers continued to be strong in their faith amid persecution and their number continued to increase. Deborah: Trusting God through the demands of life. This is better than anything we could imagine. One of the ways we can serve God is by helping his children, our brothers and sisters, through paying a tithing and a generous fast offering. More Ken Boa on Trusting God in Turbulent Times. It can be frustrating to give up control of your life, however to be a follower of Christ it must be done. He didn't say, "you should not serve both God and money.". Three obstacles keep us from coming to Christ, and these are the same barriers that keep us from yielding to, trusting in, and submitting to Him on an ongoing basis. Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. The point is that God is behind this. And therefore weve bunkered down into a Christian life solely about survival. God sometimes challenges us with a warning. The particular, electing love of God from before the foundation of the world is the reason why anyone becomes a Christian. Jesus was able to recognize Satan in Peters words. Look at what he said in v.33,34I havecoveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. But what needs to be impressed on us is thatwe allhave a role to play in Gods kingdom. and its ok. Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near. Psalms 119:1-127 - ALEPH . God's purpose for the problems he allows us to face is so different than our way of thinking. And so as Proverbs, Unfortunately not everyone in Ephesus heeded Pauls exhortation to guard themselves. These obstacles can be as basic as being stuck in a numbers mentality, or as complex as generational patterns of viewing pastors as the only ones capable of experiencing God. If you dont know how to manage the small, then you wont be able to manage the big. Rejection and betrayal are part of life and help us grow closer to God when we realize our weaknesses are actually strengths. Theres really nowhere else to go, as the apostle Peter said, for true life eternal life is with Him alone. Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. The first exhortation is found in v.28:Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flockThe Ephesian elders would already have known that they were to guard the flock, which is the church. He is our perfect, spotless righteousness and our lives are hid with him on high. The same thing happens if one member is not fulfilling his or her role faithfully The whole church suffers! and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near . Please take time to read your Bible each day, and let God speak to you through His Word. 1. This requirement is highlighted in the words which Paul spoke in v.19Servingthe Lordwith all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations(v.19). Focus on how strong Gods power is. Paul would never think of himself apart from the Lord Jesus. 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