It’s Sunday evening and I've made myself a cup of tea... It's been a long day and I love tea!!! I've just sat down to write to you guys, pondering what I want to speak about. Then, all of a sudden, THAT question pops into my head... It's a question we've all asked ourselves in our lifetime... "Why are we here? What is our purpose?"
Want the short version? In the "Christian" world, we are taught that we were created to worship God and to serve Him only. Whilst this is true, this is but a small portion of what we were designed for.
"Go on then...l hear you say. "Tell us why we're REALLY here!!" Well... I'll try.
Let's go back to basics... The human anatomy. We are made up of flesh, blood, bone and organs; designed intrinsically and specifically by God. Each body part has a role to play in our everyday lives; for example, our ears are not just for hearing and listening but to give us balance and help us to stand, walk and run (bet you didn't know that!!!)
So... What's your point, Stephen? What I'm trying to say is that we weren't put on this Earth to accomplish just ONE thing! My wife, Serena, is crazy about dance and the arts; this is her passion and she is very good at what she does. However, today was VERY different. For the first time ever, she preached an amazing word to our congregation; it was mind blowing to watch her do something she has never done before, as if she does it all the time. Now, please understand; this is something that was way out of her comfort zone, and yet, with the aide of the Holy Spirit she was able to convey a passionate and on-time message from God.
God will use us to do things to advance His Kingdom, whether we believe we can do it or not. This says a lot about us as human beings; we have a higher threshold than we think. It is up to us to make a decision and allow our capacities to be increased a hundred fold. Don’t get me wrong; it is HARD!! The hardest part is accepting that if we enlarge our tents, we cannot go back to our “normal” ways of living. Once we have been exposed to God’s glory and our excuses have been removed, then we must move forward and begin to move in His power.
Serena said something very key today; she said that we must begin to distribute what we have received. There’s no use in storing our capabilities in our homes, churches and close circles. Jesus ventured across all of Israel, just so that God may be glorified. He saw a need for a widespread movement of the Spirit and did whatever it took to ensure God’s glory was revealed at any given opportunity. What more could be possible if we as born again, Holy Ghost filled believers (much greater in number) came together on one accord with a common goal? In Matthew 5:13, Jesus describes us as the salt of the Earth. Again, salt isn’t just for flavour but for preservation, cleansing and purification. Let’s apply this to ourselves; Jesus is saying that we are here to flavour (influence) the people, to preserve the Church, cleanse (heal) the sick and afflicted, and to purify the hearts of the many. Wow! There is so much inside of us that we can do, none of which requires any special skill or talent but a willingness and a pure heart for God will suffice.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? So, what’s stopping us? That’s easy… US!!! We must begin to take responsibility for everything that happens in our lives. Yes, the enemy occasionally has some influence when things go wrong; but ultimately, Satan’s involvement is a reflection of our current state. Does that make us bad people? NO!! But if we do not want the enemy’s interference, then we must shut down the access gate. I love Ephesians 4:27 where it says “Neither give place to the devil”. It’s only recently that I understood what this scripture means… We blame the Devil for everything that goes wrong in our lives, whether it be sickness, finances, depression, etc. You name it, we blamed Satan! But the reality of it all is we have made bad choices that have led us to be in such lowly states, and the enemy says, “Hey, I had nothing to do with this one!! But by all means, I’ll accept!!” Thank You, God, for this safety net called Grace! Holy Spirit, we salute you!!
So, how do we become useful in the Kingdom of God? Well, first we must look at ourselves and ask “What do I have in me that is useful?” Once we have done that, we must honour God with that list and allow Him to guide us in line with His will. Trust me, His will is better than our own ideals and motives… My tea has gone cold and it’s time for bed! Until next time. God Bless.
Stephen McCormack (NNDC Blogger)