Using What God Has Given to You

            So often, Christians are reluctant to actively serve God.  They go to church, give some money, say their prayers, and try to live good lives and feel that they've done their part.  That's only a start though.  God has called us into service.  Our Creator has blessed each of us with our own special talents and He wants us to use them.  We may not realize that we even have these talents, but it is up to each of us to examine ourselves and discover what those talents are.

            You may remember when Moses went into the wilderness and came upon a burning bush from which God spoke to him.  God equipped Moses with all sorts of wondrous powers and yet Moses still doubted that he was capable of doing the job that God had called him to do. In the following verses we see part of this conversation between God and Moses.


 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?  Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
Exodus 4:10-12 (NIV)

             Sometimes we think too much.  We may worry about what we can't do or what might happen if we make a mistake.  We can talk ourselves right out of what we know we should be doing.  This is where faith plays a big role.  Do we believe God has power and can instill us with power that can be used to glorify Him?     Are we ready to join the body of Christ to do the work that needs to be done?   You and I can't do the job by ourselves and really be effective.  We must be a part of a cooperative effort and each of us has a role to play.

It was he [God] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)


               God is the ultimate CEO.  He heads up the company of believers to whom he has provided with specific talents.  For us to be most effective we need to be aware of what our talents are.  We all aren't going to be good at the same things and there are others who can do things that you or I can't do.  When we have identified our individual talents and fields of knowledge and honed them to be used in the service of God, then we will be like a finely tuned machine working efficiently and doing the job that needs to be done.

 
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Hebrews 2:4 (NIV)

          We know from studying God's Word what He is capable of.   We know how Moses, Joshua, David, and many others did His work by using their talents and how others organized to use their talents to create a unified body.  Our evidence is in the Bible.  But it is also evident when we are obedient and using the gifts that we have been given by God to serve God.   The work we do is not for our personal gain or the glory of our specific church---if that is the outcome then let that be from God working through us.  Our reward is the salvation we received from Jesus Christ before our work began--our work is the fruit of the Spirit working through us to glorify the Almighty God who has given us grace.


May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV)