FAITHFUL STEWARDSHIP

"It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don't even ask myself questions. I have a clear conscience..."! (1 Cor 4:3-4, GW).
"Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Cor 4:2, NKJV)

Apostle Paul reveals to us in this passage what his attitude is regarding the matter of him being judged by others or indeed judging his own self. But prior to this, Paul first revealed a fundamental spiritual principle that should guide all who follow Christ, namely: we are God's stewards and it is required of stewards that they be found faithful or trustworthy (1 Cor 4:2). It is this that informs his non-judgemental attitude, as should be the case with every believer too.

The teaching of our scripture passage leads us to the conclusion that people’s assessment of you or your own subjective evaluation of yourself does not influence God's opinion. Seek to impress God and not people or yourself. The real question is: Can God count you as one of His faithful, trustworthy and reliable servants; one who takes care to follow the Master’s teaching and directives and to do all that He appointed you to do? Do you live with a clear conscience that you are faithfully doing all that you know to do according to the revelation of God's word?

Do not get hung up on people's judgement of you because the only opinion that really matters is God's. If God does not rate your work highly, you may well have laboured in vain regardless of how highly you rate yourself. What is acceptable to God is clearly revealed by the word of God and judged by God alone. And we know that we live and serve God acceptably because we seek His will and His glory in all things.

We are all managers of God's resources in one form or another. Faithfulness in doing that which pleases God is the mark of the steward whom God will judge faithful. Nothing else is as important as rendering an acceptable service to God & later to hear His say to you, “well done, good and faithful servant”!

SURRENDERED LIFE

“Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand…” (Jeremiah 18:6, ESV)

“For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” - (Ephesians 2:10, HCSB)

With this analogy of the clay in the potter’s hand, God illustrates His will for the relationship between Himself as creator and the believer as His unique creation. It is the will of God that the believer lives a “surrendered life” – a life that yields to God’s revealed plans and purpose. We are God’s creation, intentionally “created in Christ for good works”.

To fully understand what it means to be God’s creation and reach our full potential “in Christ”, we have to live a totally surrendered life.  Hudson Taylor, an English missionary to China and founder of China Inland Mission (now OMF International) lived this truth; and was quoted as saying: “I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked God if I might help Him. I ended up asking Him to do His work through me”. Taylor discovered that it was not about what he wanted to do but all about what God chose to do through him. God will use anyone who willingly and totally yields to Him.

God will mould you, equip you and work through you if you become available to Him by living a surrendered life. And yours will truly epitomize a surrendered life when you become the clay in the potter’s hand. The potter works and reworks the clay into the shape he determines and for the purpose which he has prepared ahead of time, yet the clay does not resist or resent being used for one purpose and not another.

So learn to live the kind of life that permits God to freely work through you. Let your attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus our Lord who prayed, saying, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). It is a blessed life!

GOOD SUCCESS (1)

“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

Complete dependence on God is the foundation of that which can be qualified as “good success”, for God alone is good. Whether you are building a house (or your life) or watching over the same, unless God is the ultimate builder, our passage insists that the effort is in vain.

One key lesson that stands out from our passage, especially for the person for whom Jesus Christ is Lord, is the necessity of insisting on "good success" and of living by a different standard for evaluating success in your life and ministry. Child of God, your definition of success should have "Jehovah" at its core. It is about what God is achieving through you as you submit to His ways. Your decisions regarding the path you must walk to attain success in your endeavours will not be determined solely by the “end” itself, but by God’s approval of the “means” also.

The second time the people of Israel complained about thirst during their wilderness experience, God told Moses to “speak” to the rock as a means of getting water to flow from it, but Moses “struck” the rock with his rod instead. Now, even though God gave the people water to drink, Moses himself, however, did not escape the repercussion of failing to follow God’s means for achieving the end. That success did not glorify God. Some will say the end justifies the means, but not so with God.

God's ways are higher than ours; His word is a superior foundation on which to build for success. In all your ways as a husband, wife, parent, sister, employee, minister, and so on, if God’s word and therefore God Himself is not your foundation, then what you build will be no different from the man who built His house on sand. It may look good, but will it withstand the storm? Will it honour God?

Good Success is succeeding God's way! Let God lead you in everything you do, and your labour will never be in vain. He will lead you into good success!

Other reference Scriptures: Matthew 7:21; Numbers 20:7-12; Matt 7: 26-27

A SAFE PLACE

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” ” (Psalm 91:1–2, ESV)

Fear is easily one of the most dominant force in people’s lives and we are ever seeking a safe place where we can be free of our fears.

Consequently, people build hedges around their lives to shield themselves. Yet a complete sense of security continues to be elusive because ultimately trust is being placed in “humans” who are mortal and fallible, and in “things” that can readily cease to be as secure as we imagined. We accumulate wealth but it can lose its value; the security measures we set up for personal protection can fail; whether intentionally or unintentionally, man can disappoint us.

In our passage, however, the psalmist tell us of another place where we can seek shelter. A “safe place” where we are totally free from all fears can be found neither in man nor in things. This safe place which is sufficient for our salvation, protection, deliverance, preservation and provision can only be found in one place: “in the shelter of the Most High.”

If you are born of the Spirit of God, you already have access to dwell in that safe place where the divine presence of the Almighty cast a protective shadow over every part of your life, and casts out every fear.

And those who have learnt to abide in God as their shelter from all conceivable, even the inconceivable, calamities and shortcomings of life will experience the joy and blessing of being able to say, the Lord is “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” My Safe Place is in the Lord!

TRUE WORSHIPPER

“Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness...” (Psalm 112:4)

The upright person that is spoken of in our passage is such a person who worships God with sincerity, honesty, and in a way that is pleasing to God. The upright is a “True Worshipper” - worshipping God in spirit and truth.

The sincerity of your walk with God, and as one who worships God without hypocrisy, should fill you with strong confidence even in your darkest hour just in the same way that our Lord Jesus’ sincerity in His relationship with the Father gave Him the confidence to embark upon His mission and boldness to declare that “He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (John 8:29).

It is the uprightness of a true worshipper's life that gives such a person confidence with God, and it is the light of God’s presence that will rise upon him even when there is darkness everywhere. “Sincerity lifts the Christian’s head above water”, William Gurnall wrote, “and makes him float on the waves of trouble with a holy presence and courageous spirit”.

As you worship the Father in spirit and truth, no darkness or adversity can dim the light of His glorious presence that will shine upon you! To the upright, God will always show Himself mighty!

TRUE WORSHIP

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23–24, ESV)

The word of the Lord implies that this is the hour of the true worshipper. It is an outcome of God’s redemptive plan: to raise a generation of worshippers who will worship the Father in spirit and in truth! God wants "True Worship" - Spiritual and of the Truth!

When you made Jesus your Saviour and Lord you were quickened in the spirit. Now you have the ability to worship the Father who is Spirit the way He wants to be worshipped. This is the hour in which God wants to be worshipped in spirit and truth, and through Christ every Christian can be a true worshipper.

True worship is a life of complete surrender to God. Romans12:1 is clear about that – “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” The true worshipper seeks to glorify God by living the truth. That is, living according to God’s word and not according to personal opinion or tradition. Paul comment about Israel's zealous worship illustrates the point. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul wrote, “…I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” (Romans 10:1–3). There was zeal and fervency in what they did, but Paul observed that it was not true worship. It was wasted worship!

Offer to God "True Worship". Worship the Father in spirit and in truth by living according to His Word: His Word is Truth! His Word is Spirit!

WITH ALL YOUR HEART & MORE

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ” (Mark 12:30, ESV)

It is so easy to claim to love the Lord with your heart, but with how much of your soul? How much of your mind reflects on His word and how much of your strength (physical and financial) are you willing to commit to serving Him? How do you prioritize your time, energy and life-focus?

In our text, our Lord Jesus commands us as Christian to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It means that we are to give all to Him and He in turn will determine how much we commit to other things and to what other things we do actually commit the rest of our being. This means that we are to place the Lord first and seek to please Him in all things, thus fulfilling this first aspect of the most important commandment God has given us!

When a believer’s lifestyle choices are such that leaves him or her too busy, too tired, or too stressed to find the time, energy, or quietness of mind to sit at the Lord’s feet to reflect on His word, there is a clear misunderstanding of what is of real importance (Luke 10:38-42). If you truly understand the nature and the value of the relationship you have with God in Christ, you will make time to spend time with Him and commit to Him totally!

The “busy Christian” who, like Martha, is preoccupied and busy with many other things is a picture of one who has lost focus of what really counts. God is not interested in mere heart commitments that have no impact on our priorities. Giving to Him the left-overs of your strength and soul is far from proving your loyalty and love to Him.

Love the Lord and serve Him with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength! Genuine love will produce faithful commitment and it will not be a struggle. It will be by grace!