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. Earlier on we witnessed the addition of new members through baptism, reaffirmation of faith and transfer of membership. Let us therefore be faithful toChristin all our service. Here are some key strategies you can use to help overcome your obstacles with Gods help. Growing in Christ wont be without struggles. You may be diligent in feeding others, but you also need to, If you want to remain faithful, you must give sufficient time to the study of Gods Word. *A.W. Our sinful souls are counted free and our names are written on his heart. These verses will strengthen your faith in God. Do you remember when you first yielded your life to Christ? How do we trust and submit to God? Be willing to say yes to whatever God wants you to do. 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. As a Christian, its important to not let your obstacles in life tear you away from your faith. Many people will spend a lot of time trying to think and maneuver their way around obstacles . This shows that Jesus was a very big part of Pauls life. We're God's creation, and that means we were created to serve Him. The apostles prayed for these ministry leaders and their ministry. We Never Heard Back. Psalm 32:11, "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!". To draw near. But in serving God, there will always be obstructions and hindrances. Download. We dont know for sure. Your soul needs the nourishment contained in every part of it, and not just from your favorite books or passages of the Bible. Thats why his discourse ends by saying,And now, brethren,I commend you to God(v.32a). They really piss me off. The fear of disappointment, on the other hand, says, Oh yeah, I get that relationship stuff. and its ok. The Emotional Barrier: Is It Safe to Trust God? So, this distribution of goods took place before and there wasnt a problem. We relish our sin too much to renounce it. Gods plan may seem confusing, unconventional, or mysterious at times, and especially when you are facing difficulty. The trouble is, many congregations face substantial obstacles that make the daily practice of experiencing God more challenging. 2. If you dont know how to manage the small, then you wont be able to manage the big. The second part of verse 21 gives us another reason to draw near to God: Jesus prays for us. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels the worst. If you want to remain faithful, you must give sufficient time to the study of Gods Word. But he also said that the gates of Hades will not overcome his church. (Food pantry ministry). In the midst of difficulty and temptation, were told to come closer. This relationship were called to is not our building a tower, or our climbing stairs, or our somehow trying to maneuver our way to get close to him. While he was there, Paul sent a messenger to Ephesus (which is about 40 km away) to call the elders of the church to come for a conference with him, as he believed that he would never see them again. I hope that everyone who is serving in any ministry of Life Church will take this exhortation seriously Guard yourself! Beliefnet is a lifestyle website providing feature editorial content around the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news and entertainment. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. All these things should remind us that God is working in our midst and has enabled us to grow. We must look to Him for all the help we need to remain faithful. Growth is great, but with much growth comes great challenges as well. The three tools Satan uses to keep us ineffective on the volitional level are as follows: These three tools work, often interrelatedly (Ephesians 2:1-3), against the life of Christ in us and present the volitional barrier to our trust in Him. Deborah: Trusting God through the demands of life. During his third missionary journey, Paul spent most of his time in Ephesus, a city on the western coast of present-day Turkey. Choosing our own way over Gods is always a losing option. The Bible says that the church is like a human body. God created us in his own image and likeness Gen. 1:27-28. God will help you knock down that wall in front of you. Christian author A.W. 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. Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:13; James 4:7 NASB). If you are united to Jesus by faith, the anger is gone. Within that time, Paul put in all his efforts to fulfill his role in several ways: Public teaching is mentioned in v.20 , But Paul did not expect the elders of Ephesus to do what he did, because they had a, Did the Ephesian elders fulfill their role well? "Serving God" is one of the important reasons man was created from the beginning. The ministry of food distribution lasted until the severe persecution broke out and people had to be mobilized. Listen now to what he said at the end of v.24 so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.Paul knew exactly what role the Lord wanted him to fulfill: He was to testify ofthe Gospel of the grace of God. Let's stay in touch! If Christ has purchased His Church at such great cost to Himself, do you think He will leave its fate to be determined by the changing hearts of men? Persecution mobilized the church, and the food ministry came to an end. You can place your steadfast trust in Him. . Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.". Submit yourselves therefore to God. But what needs to be impressed on us is thatwe allhave a role to play in Gods kingdom. Using television and the Internet, CBN is proclaiming the Good News in 149 countries and territories, with programs and content in 67 languages. A preacher was once heard yelling, Oh, [expletive]! on the way down. "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will My servant be also. Picture this scenario: people complaining that others were being shown special favor in the distribution. We all want to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ better and He certainly wants us to know Him better. Trusting God gives us a better perspective a mindset focused on a higher truth (Isaiah 55:7-9; Proverbs 14:12). Thats why Christ also sent the Holy Spirit to work within each believer. Remember, rather than call the equipped, God seems to like to equip the called. All you have to do is put your trust in Him. God rewards faithfulness. Biblical Truth #2) Trust in God for strength and wisdom to deal with the obstacles. He is our perfect, spotless righteousness and our lives are hid with him on high. No! More Ken Boa on Trusting God in Turbulent Times. Repent and believe right now! Christs mission must be the churchs main priority. Faith is from God and fear is from the enemy. One of the glories of God is that He left the majesty of heaven to have intimate relationship with us. They see the ministry of the Word merely as a means to get what they, There is always a temptation for those who serve the Lord to get so busy and involved with serving that they neglect their own walk with God. God sometimes challenges us with a warning. He is there right beside you. Look at v.21 where Paul says that he wastestifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks,repentance toward God, and faith toward ourLordJesus Christ.. Christians are called to make disciples, but we are not capable of changing people. The river was flooded and nearly impossible to cross. Focus on how strong Gods power is. - 2 Timothy 1:1-18 By Pastor Mark Thomas on 10 April 2016 at the evening service. Tozer, Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1955), p. 156. Two of the biggest barriers to adults being engaged in serving the body of Christ are these feelings: "I don't have anything in common with those I want to serve" and "I don't have anything to offer.". It requires a true heart in full assurance of faith. This is a full and rich and satisfying relationship one that is more real to us than anything else. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Paul fulfilled his role well despite the many difficult challenges which he faced at Ephesus. No matter how many ministries a church may have, if the preaching and teaching of Gods word is not the main priority then I doubt that true disciples are being developed. The whole body suffers! This will not dampen my faith or take me away from knowing Him. This helps you build confidence in faith. Satan began to attack the church through severe persecution. The punishment has been paid. This can be seen in the call which He gave to the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:10. Paul then left Ephesus to visit all the churches he had planted in Macedonia and Achaia during his previous missionary journey. We Must Obey God Rather than Men (Acts 5:12-42) by, Gods Wisdom and Requirements for Church Leadership (Acts 6:1-7) by, Stephen-A Man of Faith (Acts 6:5, 7:54-8:3) by, Acts 20:17-35 - The Challenge to Serve Faithfully, Mailing Add: 10 Gilstead Road Singapore 309064. Confusion: Perhaps worse than the ignorant are the confused. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. 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. 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. Thats why Christ bestowed all the spiritual gifts which the Church needs for service. Prayer is the best way to communicate one-on-one with God. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. If it has, one way to restore it is build yourself up spiritually. Stephen: (a man full of the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas from Antioch a convert to Judaism. Christ went to Jerusalem towards the end of His earthly ministry, despite, The apostle Paul would have disagreed with them very strongly. Thats why Christ bestowed all the spiritual gifts which the Church needs for service. (It is not right that we give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. (ESV) We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. Quote This: 2 Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. In v.24 he reveals how willing he was to deny self in serving the Lord. (v.6) This was his role in serving the Lord, and he devoted himself to fulfill it faithfully wherever he went. Without prayer all that we do willlackGods power and enablement. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.". Have you ever wondered why we get caught in the same sins over and over? The death of Jesus and the intercession of Jesus, then, provide the grounds by which we can have a rich relationship with God. Some ministries exist only for a time. Jesus isnt appealing to the irrational, but to a higher truth. Whatever Peter said to Jesus did not support Gods plan. If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. ". This ministry functioned well before, as we are informed in chapter 4 that there was also distribution of funds (there was no needy people among them); the first Christians cared for their needs by sharing and distributing goods. Serving God is one of the greatest things we have been given by the Lord to do. Jeremiah 32:27 states I am the Lord, the God of all mainkind. Click to Tweet In chapter 6 Satan tried to distract the apostles from their main mission. The enemy of God, the devil will not stop until he turns away the people who are drawing closer to God. December 10, 2018. In Pauls discourse we can see how greatly concerned he was that the Ephesian church should remain faithful. If the work of Gods kingdom depends entirely on our faithfulness what assurance is there that it will succeed? It is acceptable to have feelings of anger at God when hard things of life happen. 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