True Workers
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 7397 |
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November 19, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
The fragrance of thanksgiving, joy, and prayer that each one offers up to God differs depending on their measure of faith and love for God.
If you want to be a worker used for the kingdom of God, you should rejoice always, give thanks in everything, and pray unceasingly. Furthermore, if you offer up thanksgiving, joy, and prayer with beautiful and deep aroma of your heart, it will move the heart of God and you will be able to become a precious worker for Him.
Then, let's delve into how to extend the kingdom of God as His worker.
1. You must not have selfish motives.
Selfish motive is the desire to seek your own benefits and fleshly affections. It is also selfish motive to have greed for money, fame, and power, and to insist on your pride, personal opinion and tastes. If you want to be treated nicely, enjoy more things, and earn the recognition for your work, it is all selfish motive.
The workers who are called for the kingdom of God should always first consider God's kingdom, the church, and the members. Pastors should be able to give their lives for the glory of the Lord and for the souls entrusted to them. They shouldn't put their mind on their wealth, fame, their parents and children, or their time and hobbies, but they have to care about the situations of the souls day and night. Those who have the titles given by the church have to harbor and serve the church with the heart of parents as leaders of the members. Rather than your own spouse and children, you should be able to first think about the benefit of God's kingdom and the members.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27 talks about the sufferings that the apostle Paul went through while preaching the gospel. He toiled more than others, he was in prison, he was beaten many times, he went without food, and he was cold and without clothing. He was at the brink of death many times. But the conclusion is not that he wanted others to know about and acknowledge his sufferings.
2 Corinthians 11:28-29 says, "Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?"
What mattered to him were not his sufferings. He only had the pressure on him of concern for the churches. He had pain when the believers' faith was weak, and his heart was burning if anyone stumbled.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 says, "For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?" When you stand before the Lord later, your exultation will not be fame, wealth or honor. It will be the fruits that you will have borne in the Lord. That is why 1 Thessalonians 3:7 says, "For this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith."
While Paul was going through distress and affliction, he heard that the believers in the church of Thessalonica were full of faith and love and they were longing to see Paul. The current sufferings did not matter to him, and he was comforted greatly by those believers.
I hope that you will confess if you die you will die for the Lord, and if you live you will live for the Lord as the apostle Paul did, and you will live for the church, for God's kingdom, and for the believers. In so doing I hope you will live as true workers of the Lord.
2. You have to seek the benefit of others.
If you do not have selfish motives, naturally you will seek the interest of others rather than your own. Being a leader and a worker in the church, if you do something to serve your own interests, you'd probably feel ashamed of it and embarrassed when you pray.
So, the problem is that there are times when you are seeking your own but you just don't realize it. You sometimes insist on your opinions thinking you're right. You might force others to do something even though their faith is weak. You may not be following the order of hierarchy thinking that you are a leader, and you might have some discomfort about those who are not serving you the way you think you deserve being served.
Then, peace will be broken. If peace is broken in any area related to you, you have to check yourself no matter what. You cannot put the blame on others thinking that peace is broken because the others are new-believers, they are ill-mannered, they seek their own, or they are far from the truth.
If you think, "I am the leader, and of course others have to serve and follow me. How can a lay member treat me this way?" it means you are thinking like unbelievers. If you know the truth, you will set the example of serving others first and pursue peace in the truth as the leaders.
You know very well how Abraham served Lot. When his herdsmen and those of his nephew had strife, Abraham immediately sought a way to have peace. He came up with the solution to separate the livestock because there were too many of them in a small area. Then, Abraham let his nephew Lot choose the better land first, and Lot chose the one.
Abraham said in Genesis 13:9, "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left." He did not feel uncomfortable with or rebuke his nephew thinking he was not respecting him. He did not think, "OK, I let him choose first, but how can he actually choose the better land for himself first?"
He wanted to serve Lot's interest first, sincerely wishing the best for him. And, he just followed the guidance of God. By not serving his own interests, it did not mean he had to suffer loss. But rather, because he pleased God, he received even more blessings.
I hope you will cultivate this heart of Abraham. Then, God's glory will be revealed more greatly through you, and thanks to you, more souls will be guided to the way of salvation and blessings.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I explained that to become true workers for the kingdom of God, first you must not have selfish motives. Second, you must seek the benefit of others. If you seek the kingdom and glory of God and seek the benefit of others, you will always be full of joy and thanksgiving.
You will be confident before God when you pray, so you can ask Him anything with faith. Then, you can bear abundant fruits in all respects. You will plentifully bear the fruits of Light, the Love Chapter, the Holy Spirit, and Beatitudes and quickly take after the image of the Lord.
You will also be able to bear good fruits in your given church duties. Of course, you will receive the desires of your hearts as well. The word of God will be actualized that says you will prosper in all things and be in good health as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2).
I hope you will earn the recognition as true workers for the kingdom of God. I pray in the name of the Lord that, on the day you meet the Lord, you will be praised as good and faithful servants and dwell in great glory.
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