SERVICE-EFFORT
The Christian
world is ministered to by tired people. Eastern Europe is being evangelized by
tired missionaries who are making the most of the fleeting day of opportunity.
Show me a great church and I’ll show you some tired people, both up front and
behind the scenes, because greatness depends on a core of people who are
willing to put out as the situation demands. Men, we have to understand that we
will never do great things for God without the willingness to extend ourselves
for the sake of the gospel even when bone-tired.
Kent Hughes
Disciplines of a Godly Man, Crossway Books,
1991, p. 204.
Work! Walk through every open door; be ready in season
and out of season as if everything depended on your labor. This is one of the
great secrets in connection with successful service for the Lord – work as if
everything depended on your diligence, and trust in the blessing of the Lord to
bring success.
George
Muller
The Autobiography of George Muller, 1984, p. 222.
All quotations taken from books published by Whitaker House are used with
permission of the publisher. Whitaker House books are available at Christian
bookstores everywhere.
We are
prepared to serve the Lord only by sacrifice. We are fit for the work of God
only when we have wept over it, prayed about it, and
then we are enabled by Him to tackle the job that needs to be done. May God
give to us hearts that bleed, eyes that are wide open to see, minds that are
clear to interpret God's purposes, wills that are obedient, and a determination
that is utterly unflinching as we set about the tasks He would have us do.
Alan Redpath
If there’s a
job to be done, I always ask the busiest men in my parish to take it on and it
gets done.
Henry Ward Beecher
I am tired in
the Lord’s work, but not tired of it.
George Whitfield
Serving must
become a Spiritual Discipline. The flesh connives against its hiddenness and sameness. Two of the deadliest of our sins –
sloth and pride – loathe serving… If we don't discipline ourselves to serve for
the sake of Christ and His Kingdom, we'll "serve" only occasionally
or when it's convenient or self- serving. The result will be a quantity and
quality of service we'll regret when the Day of Accountability for our service
comes.
Donald Whitney
Spiritual
Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 117, Used by permission of
NavPress – www.navpress.com,
All rights reserved.
For more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org.
So, let us
work hard but never forget that it is not us but the grace of God which is with
us (1 Cor. 15:10).
Brothers,
We Are Not Professionals, Bethlehem Baptist Church 2002, p. 44.