What we give is never equal to what we receive – at least in this physical earthly life. But the apostle Paul had a unique perspective on the life of a serving Christian.
I Corinthians 12:15 “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”
In this verse, Paul isn’t talking about spending money. He’s speaking of spending himself – his time, his attention, his strength – for the people in the church of Corinth. He was willing to just give and give, until he had exhausted all his resources for the cause of Christ.
So often, we want to give, but we hesitate, because we don’t know in advance how much that service or ministry or kindness will cost us.
Let’s be honest – in a spiritual sense we could never give enough for God or to others that could equal the gift of God’s Son and the salvation Jesus has provided. No matter what an act of service may cost us, we are still debt to our Saviour.
I encourage you, fellow believer, just spend yourself for Christ. Spend your life for others. If there is a need – fill it!
Our pastor preached about this on Sunday. This quote particularly spoke to my heart as I listened:
“You can’t…expect the work in your church to come pick you up out of the pew and take you to it…Many times people say ‘I’m praying about what God wants me to do.’ Well, listen, there is a book full of things God wants you to do. Get to doing it!”
You may think “But you don’t know what that ministry will cost me!”
Does it really matter? Do you think Jesus doesn’t know? He suffered for us too! Hebrews 5:8 assures us that even the Son of God “learned obedience because of the things he suffered.”
He knows, my friend. He sees the life and service and money and strength and time you are spending for Him. He will reward you. Maybe here in the life, but maybe not until Heaven.
Don’t be afraid to be spent for Jesus’ sake.
Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”
Do you remember in Genesis 2, on the 7th day, God rested from His labors of creation? That was a picture of how the Christian can rest after salvation.
The difference is that we don’t rest because of OUR work. We can rest because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We stop our own striving and trust His salvation.
The Jew who was following God in the Old Testament never truly experienced this rest. God gave them a complicated formula for following Him and for the promise of Heaven. There was many laws, rituals, practices that God knew would be good for them to follow, and these are included in their worship.
The sacrifices were particularly critical for the covering of their sins. The priests at the temple officiated a yearly sacrifice for every person’s sins.
Once a year.
Can you imagine keeping a list of every sin for a year before they could be covered by the blood of your sacrifice? You were also responsible to raise or buy the perfect lamb, turtle dove, bull or goat to be that sacrifice too. If there was any blemish, deformity, or imperfection in that animal, your sacrifice would not be sufficient to cover your sins.
What an awful way to live!
And Scripture tells us in Hebrews 10:4 that it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. The sins were covered, but they were still there. The conscience was never clean. The guilt remained.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4
There was no rest!
But God provided His Lamb to be a great High Priest for us. Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice. He was tempted to sin just like we are, but HE NEVER SINNED.
When we accept the sacrifice of blood that Jesus provided, by accepting Him as our Saviour, our sins are purged. (Hebrews 1:3) They are purified, forgiven, carried away, cleared, removed and erased.
That’s why we can’t be saved and go to Heaven by worshiping like the Jews worshiped. We must come to God through the death and sacrifice of His Son. That’s the only way our sins can be forgiven today.
Sacrifices of animals, or following the Old Testament Law, WILL NOT save you! You must come through Jesus.
Once we understand Who Jesus is (the Son of God, and equal with God), and why He came (to die for us, to conquer death and the become a merciful and faithful high Priest to us), what do we do now?
Chapter 3 of Hebrews admonishes us to let go of our unbelief. We are told to submit to our Saviour, and not be like the children of Israel who murmured, complained, rebelled and disobeyed in the wilderness.
Numbers 14 tells us that God’s patience came to an end with those people. And He refused to let them go into the Promised Land. He told them their “carcasses shall fall in the wilderness”! Whew!
He didn’t remove His promise from the entire Jewish nation, but He did not allow those in rebellion to enter into the Promised Land. They all died before they got there.
Hebrews tells us to NOT be like those people. What was their problem?
It was unbelief.
They didn’t believe God was Who He said He was, and they didn’t believe He could do what He said He would do.
God has given us Jesus, His Son. He made Jesus equal to Himself. Do you believe that?
Jesus came to die in our place, to conquer Satan and to be our Mediator (High Priest). Do you believe that?
If so, you need to trust Jesus for salvation. You need to turn to Christ to save you from your sins. You need to place your eternal soul in His hands, knowing that if you do, He has promised you a home in Heaven for eternity.
It takes faith to do that, doesn’t it?
It means you have to “cease” from your “own works”, and trust Jesus.
Have you ever done that? Have you submitted your heart, life and future to the Lord Jesus?
If not, I pray you will do that today! If you need help, please message me.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God is eternal. If Jesus wasn’t human, He couldn’t die.
If Jesus didn’t die, He couldn’t pay the penalty of our sin, which required the shedding of blood, and death.
Jesus had to be human so he could experience death in the place of every man. He substituted Himself for us.
Jesus become human so that He would be a brother to man, to experience death as man does.
His suffering made Him the captain (the head or chief officer) of our salvation. He became a Saviour.
Jesus, as a flesh and blood man, destroyed Satan’s power over death when He rose from the dead.
Because Jesus conquered death, He broke the bondage death held over humans.
Jesus became a man so that He could suffer just like man suffers.
Jesus can be a faithful Priest to us, reconciling us to God the Father by the forgiveness of our sins.
Because Jesus knows suffering and temptation as a man, He can be merciful and faithful to us when we are suffering and tempted.
No earthly man can do all that Jesus did. No priest, no animal sacrifice, no penance and no good deeds can purge our sin.
Only the God Who became a man can do that. Only Jesus!
You cannot be reconciled to God, except through the salvation that our Captain Jesus won for us by His death on Calvary.
Have you accepted His substitution for you? Have you received His salvation?
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Murmuring – uttering complaints in a low voice; gloomily angry manner; grumbling. Disputing – contending by arguments; altercation.
I used to think in order to be a light to the world, I had to be perfect. Let’s be honest – only Jesus could live a perfect life.
The above verses tell us that if we want to be blameless and harmless, the first way to do that is to guard our attitude and mouth.
Don’t be grumpy, irritated, grumbling under our breath about everything that doesn’t go our way. Don’t use words to argue, fuss, and try to get our way. Don’t cause controversy or arguments.
Now that is something I can work on! I can take everything to my Heavenly Father and let Him do the changing of my heart or my circumstances, whatever He chooses.
And the second way to be a light in this dark world is to hold forth the Word of life.
Forth – forward in place; beyond the boundary of a place; out in public view.
Offer people the Bible: Give them a Gospel tract, an encouraging verse, invite them to church, send a card with verses of wisdom. There are many ways to hold forth the Word.
Last Sunday I overheard a lady asked one of the ushers if there was an old Bible laying around, as hers was very old and falling apart. He told her to take one of the pew Bibles home. She argued that she didn’t want to remove something that was needed. He assured her that the Bibles were there to be used. People took them home all the time. He literally held forth the Word of life to her!
Every light matters to those who are in the dark, trying to find their way home.
Your light matters! Don’t hide it under a bushel basket of murmuring and disputing. Let Jesus clean up our attitudes, control our mouths and SHINE from our lives.
You may never know who sees your light and finds their way to the Saviour.
