KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

We continue with our discussion on the condition for acceptable service

The next condition for an acceptable service is

4. Maintaining family dignity: in 1st Timothy 3:2, 4 the bible declares that bishops or deacons must be people of one wife and the man who rules his house well. The home is the best display of one’s true nature. A divided house cannot bring any good example to bear on the house of God. The bible says the prayers of the man who mistreats the wife would not be answered (1st Peter 3:7). Maintaining family dignity is very paramount to rendering acceptable service. The unity of husband and wife gives ground for a strong bonding to see prayers answered and so couples must not allow the sun to go down on their anger. They must not give any place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26, 27).
5. Serving willingly: 1st Corinthians 9:17 says “For if I do this thing willingly I have a reward, but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me”. God always loves a cheerful giver. A service done out of compulsion attract no rewards. As 1st Corinthians 9:17 puts it, a dispensation of the gospel, or you have only done your duty. Serving the Lord should be a delight. The Lord Jesus said, my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish it. (John 4:34). He implied it is my pleasure to do what the Father ask me to do. No wonder God the Father honoured Him so much. Deuteronomy 28:47,48 ” Because thou severest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thy enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness and in want of all things……”.

Dear brother or sister the consequences of not serving with willingness or joyfulness is to costly. Take the task He gives you gladly and let His work your pleasure be.

Answer quickly when He calleth, send me send me.

CONFESSION

It is a great thing to serve the Lord. It is the most rewarding venture to be part of His labourers. I excitedly dedicated my life to do His bidding and to bring glory to His name through my service.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings”:

Malachi 2:13-14 “” And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

We learnt from our previous study that serving God in His church is one of the means to seek the kingdom of God. Well for one to obtain God’s approval, he or she must serve acceptably: we would now consider some of the conditions that makes our service acceptable

1. Spirituality: spirituality is being scriptural dominated: To serve God acceptable you can’t afford to be carnal. The carnal man is not subject to the Lord and can’t be. (Romans 8:7). The spiritual man is at peace with God and enjoys a supply of divine life. The spiritual man fears God and therefore trembles at the word of God. Isaiah 66:2 “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and a contrite spirit and trembles at my word”. Isaiah 52:11 says the one who bears the vessels of the Lord must depart from iniquity. 2nd Timothy 2: 19 reminds us to depart from iniquity because we bear the name of the Lord.
2. Godly character: To offer an acceptable service unto the Lord you must manifest a godly character. You must demonstrate practical godly character. When the early church wanted men to serve the tables for the brethren, they requested for men with honest report, full of the Holy Ghost (Acts 6:3). Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:33 ” I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold or apparel”. The apostle did not use his position to manipulate and take advantage of people. He said my own hands laboured for me.
3. Love motivated: The third condition for an acceptable service is to serve with a sincere heart of love: 1st Corinthians 13:3 informs us that if he should sacrifice all that he has yet without love, it profits him nothing. Love must be your motivation for all that you do in serving the Lord. Without love, one becomes critical, legalistic and proud (To be continued).

 CONFESSION

 God has called us to bless us as we also serve Him acceptably. I align my life according to all His conditions, so my service would attract God’s total rewards.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Isaiah 52:11″1  Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD”.

2 Timothy 2:19 ” Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

Our key scripture presents two main ideas

1. Seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
2. Receiving our heart desire (rewards) for doing the first part.

As children of God one area we can seek the kingdom of God is offering services to God in our local churches. There are many Christians who are just church goers and do not do any particular service in the house of God. God rewards labourers and not people with titles. . Matthew 20:8 “So when evening was come the Lord of the vine yard saith unto His steward. Call the labourers and give them their hire…..” It is those who laboured that were rewarded.

Please note also that, it is not the title you carry that brings you the rewards but real labourers; people who are involved in exerting themselves in the house of God for God’s work and name to be exalted. What are you doing for God to reward you? Don’t just join the church, do something to contribute to the expansion of God’s work. Ephesians 4:16 ” From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part , maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love”. You are a part of the body and must give your supplies for the increase of the body.

We must also understand that God rewards acceptable service. It is this right kind of service that attracts undeniable rewards. Phil 2:7 says “But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men”. The scripture says Jesus humbled Himself and took the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, and so God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is above every name. The Lord offered Himself for an acceptable service that attracted a response from the Father who gave him a name higher than every other name.  At the mention of His name, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord.

The Lord offered an acceptable service which attracted God’s approval, conferring upon him a name above every other name. God is a faithful rewarder. He would always reward all those who sincerely seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For our next series we would consider the kind of service that God accepts.

CONFESSION

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I seek the Lord in a way that attracts His total approval for a corresponding reward.

 FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 11:6  ” But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.

Exodus 23:25 “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

Our key scripture reveals that, if we would seek to please God first in everything, then He would add all the things we have being craving for to us.

The bible makes it abundantly clear that God’s reason for engaging people in various responsibilities is basically to show kindness to them. Deuteronomy 28:47, 48 says “Because you serve not the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore you shall serve your enemies which the Lord shall send against you. In hunger and in thirst and in want of all things and he shall put a yoke of iron, upon your neck until He has destroyed you”. The scripture says, when a man serves the Lord in joyfulness and gladness, God will also bless him with the abundance of all things. Man’s current state of calamities and deprivation is as a result of rebellion against God.

In Luke 5:1–6, the Lord led Peter and his friends to make a catch that they had not encountered before, because they had given their boat to him to preach to the multitudes. These fishermen had failed to make any catch in their earlier fishing expeditions.  If men would learn to put God first in all they do, most of their miseries would cease.

The statement by our Lord in Matthew 6:33 runs throughout the whole of scripture. Psalm 1:1-3 describes the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates in the law day and night, whiles he does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful. The scripture adds, this man shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. He yield’s his fruit in his season, its leaves also shall not wither. Whatsoever he does shall prosper .God’s way to bless a man is that, he must willingly commit himself to please God.

Psalm 112:1 says “…..Blessed is the man that fears the Lord and delight greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty in the land…..Wealth and riches shall be in His house”. One may also ask, why are some people seen to be serving God all the time, still poor? Please ask such individuals if they are living according to what the bible teaches.

 God is seeking for sincere seekers and not religious people who are only seeking to satisfy their ego.

 CONFESSION

Seeking the Lord sincerely is the desire of the soul and brings true blessing and freedom to the individual. My life is spent in seeking the Lord with all my heart.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Job 36:11” If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”

Psalms 112:1,3 ” Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

The Lord said we must seek first the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God?

The bible and especially the gospels gives various presentations of the term kingdom of God. The word kingdom is a joining together of two words king and dominion. Kingdom is the dominion of the king.

The following are some of the biblical presentations of the Kingdom of God. Heaven is revealed in the scriptures as the kingdom of God. (John 3:3&5). The kingdom of God is also represented as the power of God in operation. (Matthew 12:28).In Matthew 21:43, the kingdom of God is presented as a blessing that could be lost. The Lord described His transfiguration as a manifestation of the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27)The kingdom of God is in the heart of every believer. (Luke 17:21)

The body of believers worldwide are under the dominion of God, so it is described as the kingdom of God.

 In actual fact everything that has to do with God is ruled by God. Everything God relates with, comes under His (rule) kingdom. Whatever we do to please Him is done to exalt His kingdom. To seek the kingdom of God is to seek to please Him..

He said “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. The kingdom of the Lord is established, and functions in righteousness. Psalm 45:6. “Thy throne O God is for ever and ever. The sceptre of the kingdom is a right sceptre”. This simply means the sceptre of His kingdom is righteousness. (Hebrews 1:8). The sceptre is the staff of authority of every throne. The authority of God’s throne is righteousness.

Any child of God who acts contrary to the standards of God’s kingdom that is righteousness has lost the authority of the kingdom of God and will not have the backing of the kingdom of God.

 CONFESSION

The kingdom of God is the rule of God which functions in righteousness. I surrender my life to the dominion of God and do all things in righteousness.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 1:8 ” But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”

Matthew 12:28 ” But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In Matthew 6: 23–32 our Lord Jesus talked about the reason why every child of God must not worry or be anxious about various things.

The Lord added the statement of our key scripture to instruct all children of God about the proper thing to do.

He said “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. This statement is a very important one that every child of God must adhere to. Men are craving for so many things. Many Christians are living very worried lives because they are engrossed in going after every other thing except a conscious hunger for God. Proverbs 3:6 reminds us to “acknowledge the Lord in all thy ways, and He shall direct thy paths.”

The scripture says “Seek ye first”. The word translated first is “proton”. It means first in time, place, order or importance. To seek after God is the great act that every Christian must pursue. Seeking after God must come first in everything you do. Whenever you are thorn between honouring God, doing something to promote the kingdom of God as against doing something personal or for any other interest.

Bishop David Oyedepo says the secret to all that God has led him to achieve for Him was this scripture. He said he came to the understanding that he needs not worry himself about all the other things.

The scripture clearly teaches that if he should commit himself to seeking after the kingdom of God all the other things, including wealth, fame and honour would be automatically added unto him. He says he has never worried his head about any carnal, personal ambition of any sort. His experience is a clear manifestation of the validity of that statement.

There are a number of Christians, pastors who are living a very stressful lives. They run after every financial opportunity that passes by, yet they are always empty and worried. Instead of spending time in the presence of God they keep going after all sorts of things. Hannah the mother of Samuel praised God and said “He will keep the feet of his saints and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail”. Your efforts can’t bring you true blessings.

CONFESSION

Man was created not for himself but for God. I seek first for God and his will to be done in my life, then all other things fall in its proper place . This is life in reality.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Isaiah 31:1  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!”

Deuteronomy 28:1 ” And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth”:

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The Lord declared that the night comes when no man can work. The Lord knew the time that His night would come. He worked in reference to that time which He knew. How many of us know our night time?

We will do well to number our days so that we may incline our hearts to wisdom (Psalm 90:12). This was the prayer of David the psalmist. Now just take a little inventory of the times and moments that we may have. If a man is to live for 70 years, then he has approximately (27393 days), twenty seven thousand, three hundred and five days.(We are taking 70 years as the reference age. Some of us may live far more than that) If you are twenty years now then you have lived approximately 7305 days. The number of days left for you are: 27393-7305=20,093 days. This is with the assumption that you will live for seventy years. If you are presently 50 years then you have already spent 18262 days. If the assumption is that you have 70 years then you have 27393-18262=9,131 days. The question is, you cannot tell if you would live up to 70 years as assumed or beyond that. If you are to live less than   70 years then you have shorter days to work for the Lord. If it is further, then you have more years.

The Lord Jesus knew His night so He worked towards it. Do you know your night?. What then is our best approach to life in the light of the night that is coming definitely? I think the best approach should be to live each day as if that is our last day. We must work very hard and diligently. The night is coming when no man can work.

Apostle Paul advised us in 1st Corinthians 7:29-30 “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none: And they that rejoice, as though they rejoice not, and they that buy, as though they possessed not”.

“A word to the wise is enough”

  CONFESSION

Like the master said, I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day, the night comes when no man can work.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Psalms 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”.

Ecclesiastes 1:16 ” I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 ” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man, can work”

The Lord said there is a   time called the night for all persons. The night is God’s scheduled programme for everyone to end his works. It could be an old age session or a time when one has to depart this life. The import of this statement is that we do not have all the moments to ourselves.. This must cause us to work with some urgency. Work with every energy in us to complete the task given to us.

Too many Christians have not come to the consciousness that we are here on assignment, and that there is a time period to complete this task.. They go to church as a tradition or because they may be looking for solutions to some problem of some sort. There are some who understand we have a task to do, yet they are doing it as if they have all the time to themselves. There is no sense of urgency in their work. The Lord knew he had only three years to reach the whole region and also train his disciples to learn so much, so they would be able to take over from Him. No second was to be wasted. Every moment of His time was very precious. He said “I must work the works of Him that sent me, whiles it is day, the night comes, when no man can work”.

Dear brother or sister, there is a night, when you would have no more time. Some of us are procrastinating their response of working for the Lord. There are others who are waiting till they get very old before they would respond to God’s call to serve Him. The younger you are to start serving God, the greater you can serve, and the better your rewards would be when you meet the master. There are neighbours whom we have to reach with the gospel, yet we keep postponing. There are others in distant areas and we do not even think about them at all. Too many Christians are not doing any work of evangelism.

Please do not deceive yourself. One day we would stand before the judgement seat of Christ. (2nd Corinth 5:10) All that we might spend our precious moments labouring for will mean nothing before the Lord. It is the souls we bring to the master that would matter.

Please take counsel from the Lord, the night is coming when no one can work.

CONFESSION

I do not have all the moments to myself. I commit my life to the cause of Christ, leaving no moment to pass by. I would judiciously use my time to maximise all my results.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 Corinthians 7:29-30 ” But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;”

Romans 13:13-14 ” Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 ” For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”.

Prayer Point: O God my father help me to see the urgency of your task that I may stay on course.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 ” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The final part of our key scripture says “…..for the night comes when no man can work”.

There is day and night in everyone’s life. We are active and work during the day but in the night everything comes to a standstill. In the night we go to rest. The Lord said, the night comes when no man can work.

There is a kind of night that comes our way that some of us yield to, yet this is not the night God has instituted. The bible calls it the evil day. Ephesians 6:13 “wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand “. Please the evil day is not the night, the Lord is talking about. The evil day is a satanic aggression that rises against you to stop you from doing what God has asked you to do. The evil day is like the red sea that came across the Israelites’ path to the promise land. They had to team up with God to overcome in the evil day.

The evil day can be a threat of the devil on your life. It may come as sickness or something that comes to stop you. Every evil day is meant to be overcome. God expects us to stand in the evil day and overcome. (Ephesians 6:12-14)

Please children of God, you are a great target of the devil to resist you to terminate God’s agenda for your life. The bible suggests that we daily put on the whole of God’s armour to be able to stand in the evil day.

Please do not confuse the evil day with what the Lord calls the night. The night is a natural occurrence that happens to all men. It could be one’s old age or even call unto glory in God’s own time. The evil day is very different. In Paul’s ministry he had a lot of evil days yet he stood and overcame them all. The following passage reveal series of events that could be described as days of evil yet he stood on the word and overcame (2nd Corinthians 11:23-28).You will overcome in the evil day.

CONFESSION

There is a time called the night and there is the evil day which is an aggression of the devil. I stand on the word and always overcome the evil day.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 8:24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

Luke 22:53 “When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness”.

Prayer Point: In the name of Jesus no power of darkness shall stop me from finishing my assignment.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:4 ” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.

The Lord said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me…..” The Lord Jesus knew He had been sent to fulfill an assignment.

The Lord never stopped declaring in a number of times that He had been sent to do the father’s task. There are about forty references in the bible where Jesus said, the father has sent me.

Let us consider a number of instances that the Lord revealed that He had been sent by the father. John 4:34 “Jesus saith unto them; my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish it”. In this instant He said my satisfaction is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish it. The following are a few of the scriptures that talk about the fact that Jesus was sent by the father. (John 5:30, 5:36; 6:38, 39,40,44,57….).

The Lord kept making references to the fact that he has been sent. This act always reminded Him of  His assignment, and subsequently His commitment to the assignment.

Many Christians today have lost their sense of awareness that, they have been sent. To be sent means a superior one has sent you to do an assignment and that He is counting on you to execute your task to the end. This task if well executed would attract rewards. Now listen to what the Lord said about us in John 17:18 “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world”.

Dear child of God you are here to execute the Lord’s assignment. He said as thou has sent me, even so have I sent them. He is saying we must go about preaching, teaching, healing and blessing humanity like He did.  If He is sending us as the Father sent Him, then, we have been given the same provisions that was given to Him. We must respond with that same sense of urgency as He did.

We should also say our meat or satisfaction is to do the will of Him that sent us and to finish it.

 CONFESSION

I have been sent by God to continue doing what Jesus started. My satisfaction is when I willingly do this commission.

FURTHER STUDIES.

John 20:21.  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

John 17:23 ” I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me”.

Prayer Point: I pray that by the grace of God, I do my assignment with gladness.