8/30/2017
Do you celebrate the great things you do for the Lord? Is your life dedicated to accomplishing those tasks that you feel will advance the Kingdom of God? Well my friend the things of real value to our Father are not about what we do for our faith, but in maintaining a good relationship with Him, and allowing His work to flow through us.
“Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"”
John 11:40 ESV
As Jesus prepared to raise Lazarus from the dead these were His words to Martha. He didn't tell her that she would see His power or His great work, but rather He said she would see "the glory of God." The work of raising Lazarus was not done by Jesus, But by God through Jesus.
The great saints of faith that I know have very little understanding of the extent to which God is using them... the greatest have no idea whatsoever. They are busy behaving as Jesus would have them behave and their focus is on emulating Him... not serving Him. Do you know such people? Oswald chambers describes this motivation in these words...
"The tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make usefulness their ground of appeal. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure that ever lived. The lodestar of the saint is God Himself, not estimated usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him." - Oswald Chambers
When God calls us into His service it is not because we have some great skill or strength but because He can take whatever ability we have and make it greater than we could have imagined.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 ESV
I was amazed when I read an interview with Paul Simon regarding how he wrote the song " Bridge over Troubled Water." As it turned out Simon was enamored by Gospel music and had set about to write a hymn. When asked about this he said that it was a mystery to him and that...
“Nothing prompted me to write it. I was listening to a lot of gospel quartets, particularly the Swan Silvertones and the Everly Brothers album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. I was stunned and I thought, ‘that’s a lot better than I usually write.'”
This is what God does through those he uses, and we heard it in Paul Simon's own words... "that's a lot better than I usually write." Then Garfunkel, who sang the song, said something equally remarkable...
"I was very pleased to hear such a rich song intended for me. I always felt he did some of his best writing when it came in the form of a gift." (Read More: The History of Simon and Garfunkel's Masterpiece, 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/simon-garfunkel-bridge-over-troubled-water/?trackback=tsmclip )
Have you ever attended a Holy Ghost revival and as the Pastor preached, the congregation reached such a point of spiritual fervor that the Holy Spirit began to fall on them? If not you are missing something incredible because what you will see is a pastor preaching above what he is typically able to deliver, and God pouring Himself out from the pulpit in contagious and emotional worship that spreads like wildfire.
These are examples of God using those He has called to glorify Himself. If these men had used their own skill to deliver what God had given them, they would have failed miserably in glorifying Him. If Paul Simon had written what he was capable of, his song would have been alright, but with God flowing through him it became epic. When preachers believe they are able to serve God from the pulpit they fall flat, but when they allow God to use them then something spiritually powerful explodes from them and finds its mark in the congregation... and souls are saved.
We too need to concentrate on our relationship with God and allow Him to take our meager skills and magnify them to achieve something worthy of Him... something which brings Him glory! From what should be nothing comes the remarkable, and it happens without our knowing, and only when complete do we stare at it in shock and wonder as we say "Oh my God! How great thou art!"
Prayer:
Father I thank you for taking something small and insignificant in me and magnifying it into the grandeur of heaven. I thank you for hiding it from me and then revealing small glimpses as I praise you. Holy Father I desire but to wash your feet and yet you work in me so much more; you take my hands and anoint them out of grace. Jesus you spoke to the masses everywhere you went and yet that was just the beginning of what your Father would bring forth through you. I thank you for showing me that in humility we find excess and in our weakness strong oaks spring forth; they reach towards God on high as they carry our praise. Lord hide me in your shadow and let me serve you in my love, from the quiet places. Let me shout your name from beyond your mountain and sing of your glory in the echoes of the valley. Father, may all saints raise their arms to you in your brilliance, and I pray that you allow me a glimmer of that moment from the shadows as I praise your Holy Name. It is you who lift me up Father, and it is you who comes forth from every offering of myself. You are great and greatly to be praised!
Rich Forbes