“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24(NIV)
SELFLESS defined: 1) having little concern for one's own interests; 2) showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others; 3) disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others.
There are two main points I would like to get across this morning; 1) being selfless is difficult, but necessary, and 2) God’s unmerited favor is worth talking about.
As humans we have a natural proclivity to being selfish. The old joke “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine” represents our normal thought process. Being anything other than that is extremely difficult for most people. I believe that without God’s assistance it is impossible. So it is no small thing when Paul says “… I consider my life worth nothing to me … “. This life, temporal though it may be, is all we’ve been given. It’s all we have. We strive to make the best of it ... we overcome obstacles ... we meet daily challenges ... to consider our life worth nothing flies in the face of human nature with all the 'pride of life' issues we carry. We do not achieve selflessness in one fell swoop, it is an acquired attitude. In reading scripture and seeking the face of God we start to become a little more like Him. This can take place as slowly or as quickly as you allow it to. It is a progressive thing. Understand this, the closer to God you become, the more of a threat you are to the enemy.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; …” 1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV)
Be vigilant. Be strong. Do not succumb to the wiles of the evil one, for his aim is to derail you from the Godly path you are on. Allow God’s Holy Spirit to guide you in all that you do. Do not give a foothold to the devil. And do not be deceived for he can be upon you in the form of a temptation or worse and the next thing you know you are undone.
The unmerited favor of God or His grace towards us is a spectacular thing. To not understand its value and importance in our life is to, whether deliberately or unintentionally, cheapen it. I suppose you could say that just like the dock for a ferry boat is wide enough to give the ferry enough room for error when docking, God gives us a wide berth to negotiate the fashioning of our faith. Our growth in Christ is a progressive series of actions, decisions, thoughts and words. Everything we think, say and do means something … and there are always consequences to our words and deeds which generally speaking correspond directly to what those words and deeds are.
To understand the grace of God we could perhaps look at my dog. My dog Mikey loves me no matter what. He always comes running to greet me when I arrive home after work. He shows his affection for me by licking me. He follows me wherever I go and looks to me to provide for him. In a way my dog is an example of both God’s grace AND us in relation to God. With regards to grace, I don’t always deserve my dog’s gracious favor, but he liberally bestows it upon me regardless of my disposition. It is in his nature. So it is in our Heavenly Father’s nature to be loving, kind and full of grace and mercy regardless of our attitude or disposition. With regards to our relationship to God, we rely on Him to provide for us and we need to follow Him wherever He leads us, for He will never lead us to a place He cannot sustain us.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
(Disclaimer: It is my sincere hope that I have not offended anyone with my comparison of God’s grace to my dog. I certainly did not mean this to be disrespectful toward God in any way, but simply used it as an example of how our pets lavishly shower us with favor whether we feel we deserve it or not. If you have been offended in any way by my analogy, please forgive me. Rk)
(All definitions are courtesy of www.thefreedictionary.com & all scripture has been taken from www.biblegateway.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment