One time not long after I became a Christian I believe God connected me with a person who I was to have a “spiritual friendship” with. The connection was immediate and strong but I totally misunderstood it. I assumed it was to be a romantic relationship but it was not, it was to be a spiritual relationship.
In Part I of this 2-part blog series we compared and contrasted the ministries of the John the Baptist to Judas Iscariot. We highlighted the importance of death to our lives vs. serving God out of personal giftedness and talent. In this second part we will apply the same principles to people serving God today.
Using My ‘Talent’ to Build For God – (whether he likes it or not)
To build a church on Christian’s natural “talents” (which many church leaders do today) I believe hinders Jesus from building. Men building for God from their own resources is an entirely different thing from surrendered and empty men allowing God to build. Allowing God to daily rule them and work through them. Many today I fear are doing their own thing, with human power and ingenuity.
And to add insult to the Lord we kiss him like Judas did. With fake affection we say “look what the Lord is doing!” as we proudly do our own thing with our own talents.
Jesus set the example of how to minister and explained it in detail but it appears that Judas ignored it.
Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my initiative, but the father abiding in me does the works. – John 14:10
Another time Jesus taught that “he only does what he sees the Father doing” …and absolutely nothing else. Jesus was empty of self and was completely consumed with the will of his father.
Another time Jesus said to the Father in prayer, “not my will but your will be done”!
Jesus himself laid down his natural gifting’s and will as he ministered. Why do we think we can ignore that as we set out to serve and please God?
Repentance, the turning back, the laying down our lives is the answer. Often even the “good and talented” parts of our lives need to be surrendered as much or more than the sin. That is what the Lord is teaching today and forever.
This concept is not popular, it does not fit into the ministry marketing plan as we advertise for volunteer church talent. We feel the need to appeal to the humanistic things in people that God would want to die.
Wasted Effort and Time
The truth is my best volunteer talents are filthy rags, they always were. I used them to serve him for years with ambition, zeal and with a clear conscience. I am not saying I was bad or sinning. However, I believe it was wasted effort compared with how he wants me to serve him.
The truth is Jesus is just not asking for that sort of trying and zealous effort. He has a new set of gifts for me, he has pure white robes for me after I live repentant with a willingness to die. I am to let my natural skill, my natural persuasiveness, my natural dreams and ambitions fade away unsatisfied and die in disappointment.
A man or woman who is not dead to their old man will always act like Judas did. He or she who doesn’t know how to die daily will always abandon or betray Jesus just like Judas. It’s only natural.
Yes Lord, not my will, but your will be done.
Yes Lord, not my talents but your talents on display in me.
Jesus is described as a seed in 1 Corinthians 15.
The seeds that we see and use to grow food are not the real seeds, but they are a shadow of the real and true seed of life Jesus Christ. Jesus is the spiritual seed that was planted in the ground of humanity.
Can he germinate in you? Will you spring up to new life and the coming new creation? For those who will, like seeds get new bodies, so will we after physical death.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
1 Corinthians 15:42-45 NASB
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