Wednesday, August 4, 2010

KINGDOM COMMITMENT (Pt. 5)



By Joseph Akinola

THE CHALLENGE OF SERVICE 
(1Acts 6:11; Romans 8:35)

This Lesson would be the concluding part of this series. From all we have learnt from the beginning of this series, a summary of it is: Service is a way of sharing your Resources, Time, Personality and Life with others or a group of people in the Love of Christ.

Service is the proof of your love to God and the challenges of service are likened to a test/an examination which will always lead you to your place of rest. {If you are not thrown here and there in service (through errand), you cannot really enjoy the throne you will possess after your service}.

I want you to know that for every position, there is always an opposition (1 Corinthians 16:9 “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries”). Because your service in God and to God will always lead you to a successful end/destination, lots of oppositions; such as the people around you, friend and foes, name it, will not want you to get to your destination in service, even the devil will want to distract, deprive and discourage you from becoming who you should be at the end of your service.

All the things you experience along your way in service are all called Challenges.

Challenge comes your way, not to separate you from the love of God but in order to make you closer to God and also, to make you become a matured Christian.

Amongst the things you would experience as challenges in service are stated below and how you respond to it will greatly determine How Much you would GROW as a Christian and How Far you would GO with God.

1. Persecution – Acts 6:11

2. Tribulation – trouble of all kinds Romans 8:35

3. Distress – Romans 8:35

4. Famine – Romans 8:35

5. Nakedness – Romans 8:35

6. Peril – Danger of life, health, etc.
Here, you are exposed to lots of risks that can hamper and harm your destiny both Physically, Emotionally, Psychologically And Spiritually.

7. Sword – This literally means Death. The day you sign-up for Service, you are signing into a life or death mission.

Don’t forget that challenges are really not meant to break nor destroy you. Challenges are meant To Make and Refine you. It is how you respond to the challenges of Service that determines what becomes of you.

To scale through all the above stated Challenges Of Service, you need MATURITY.

Spiritual Maturity begins with one having the Fruits of the Spirit such as Love, Joy, Peace, Long-Suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance – all stated in Galatians 5:22-23.

These fruits of the Spirit make every Spirit-filled Believer become a personality with a Magnanimous Heart, which enables the individual to be Very Generous at all he does, makes him to be Kind regardless the harsh whether/situation and Forgiving despite the offenses.
 
In our Subsequent Series, we shall be looking at the Lesson titled, The Holy Spirit and His Gifts.

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