Category Archives: Sacrifice
Time & Trouble
“Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit” 1 Tim.4:7 [Ph, emphasis added].
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Rom.1:20. You and I are without excuse, because spiritual things are clearly revealed even in our daily living. Take physical fitness for instance, if you want to be physically fit it is going to take time and trouble. You have to take the trouble to wake up early to jog, to go to Read the rest of this entry
What Will It Be?
“When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried” 2kings 13:14.
The pain of every leader is to look back and not find anyone following. The pain of every leader is to look back and not find anyone willing to pay the price necessary for leadership. This was a pain that Elisha was familiar with. He looked back at his life and the only son of the prophet that came close was Gehazi. Gehazi had the opportunity to collect a double Read the rest of this entry
Strike!
“But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Syria until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.” 2 kings 13:19
“Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times” 2 kings 13:18. This was the mistake the king made. God told him to start but he decided on his own when to stop. If God told you to start, let God tell you when to stop! If God tells you to strike, strike and keep striking! But Read the rest of this entry
What Is Love?
“If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing” I Cor.13:2
The vertical side of love is how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so everyone that believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life [John 3:16]. It is love that God will call us His own and make us His own children. It is love that we have access to the Father.
In Word And In Deed!
“When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matt.21:39-40
We established that serving is a three-fold call. #1. Serve the people you are with.
#2. Serve in the church you are in. Just commit to serve in church. There is a group of people that clean the church. There is another group that cleans the convenience. There is a group that is in charge of aesthetics. Another group handles content and multimedia. There is a group that ensures Read the rest of this entry
True Humility
“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God” John 13:3 [emphasis added]
Scripture is clear, Jesus knew who He was. He knew how powerful He was. Many of us think people are humble because they are downtrodden and they do not know who they are. Humility is “knowing” who you are and laying it aside. False humility is trying to pretend that you do not even know who you are. True humility is “knowing” who you are and laying it aside. Jesus knew who He Read the rest of this entry
Servant Spirit
“…You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant” Matt.20:25-26 [emphasis added]
He who wants to be the leader must be the servant. “…and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” Matt.20:27 [emphasis added]. As though the word servant is not graphic enough, Jesus went on to further define it with the word slave. So it is not about “big man-ism” but rather it is about “big God-ism”. I know some of us will struggle with this but that is the Read the rest of this entry
Criterion
“But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” Matt.20:26-27 [emphasis added].
The fifth thing that the early church was big on is Service. Jesus, the Son of the Living God that instituted the Church was Himself an epitome of service. Please read Matthew 20:20-28. James and John the sons of Zebedee, thought to themselves that even though Jesus has twelve disciples there must be a number one and number two. So they sought the help of their mother who went to Jesus Read the rest of this entry
True Sacrifice
“Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; …He humbled Himself in obedience to God… Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names” Phil.2:7-9
‘For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on’ Mark 12:44. True sacrifice and the right heart get God’s attention. God loves cheerful givers but more importantly God is after the heart of those who give. The cheerfulness you see is an overflow of the state of their heart when they give. True sacrifice with God has eternal rewards. What is it that God requires of you and how long are you going to spend Read the rest of this entry
All In!
“So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant” 1 Kings 19:21
Interestingly when Elisha went to meet Elijah to ask for permission to go back and say goodbye his people guess what Elijah said? How is that my business? Is that a nice thing to say? Not at all, for someone that is going to let go of everything to follow this man of God. Elisha was definitely in for a roller coaster. He left his Read the rest of this entry
