obstacles in serving godobstacles in serving god

Join The Hoot & Howl community for access to all the insider info! (praise and worship, teaching ministries, financial ministry, homeless ministry, recovery ministry, jail ministry, outreach ministry, cleaning ministry, building maintenance , food pantry, missions ministry, and so forth). Be willing to say yes to whatever God wants you to do. Many of us feel like we need to take a break from all the work we do for God. Jesus is praying. But what needs to be impressed on us is that, Now, besides faithfulness to the Lord and faithfulness to fulfill our God-given roles, there is another area where faithfulness is required of us. Christians are called to make disciples, but we are not capable of changing people. You can be secure in Gods love, which is a demonstrated, sacrificial, and caring love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10, 19). That sounds crazy because rejection is not easy. But the enemy doesnt like this, so he would use anything to stop you. Confess Unbelief Be honest. You can be assured of Gods intentions that He has your best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11-13; Hebrews 12:10). This was their main priority: In a Christ-centered church the preaching and teaching of Gods word must be the main priority. As God reveals His plan to you, you will be able to better understand how to overcome the obstacles in your way, or Gods reasons for putting them there. Through the Bible, we can understand the promises God has made for us, how He can help us in our time of need, and His amazing love for us. This is His purpose of why we were created and the reason why we are here on earth. In v.24 he reveals how willing he was to deny self in serving the Lord. Galatians 5:16 (NASB) calls us to walk in the Spirit. The Greek word for walk, peripateo, means to walk around, to conduct oneself. Walking is a step-by-step process, a sequencing process of behaving habitually. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Some use their service to God to upgrade themselves they urge people to give and give sacrificially to support their ministry, but they fly business class or in their own private jet, they stay in the most expensive hotels, and they eat at the most expensive restaurants. This email address is being protected from spambots. This warning comes in the form of a close call, or near miss event. 1. They were responsible for the spiritual health of this new community. No matter how big your problem may feel, or how impossible it may seem for it to get better, know that nothing is too difficult for God to handle. Others have been blessed with spiritual gifts of faith, administration, discernment, hospitality, giving, mercy, or encouragement. It requires a true heart in full assurance of faith. This is a full and rich and satisfying relationship one that is more real to us than anything else. Tit was through all these works of God that the Ephesians had now grown into a thriving churchwithin three years. As followers of Jesus, we battle against difficulties, obstacles on our way to accomplishing Christ's mission in this world. Here Paul begins his discourse to the church elders in about the same way that he begins every epistle by drawing attention to the Lord whom he served: the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible has scripture for every one of your needs. Trusting God gives us confidence not a flesh-driven confidence, not confidence in the wrong things (like money/possessions) or with wrong motives, but confidence rooted in God and His Word (exemplified by the Bereans of Acts 17:11). Extrinsic Challenges The church, since the time of Paul, has had to confront philosophies that challenge God's existence, and deny the Christology of Jesus. Tozer, Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1955), p. 156. The Emotional Barrier: Is It Safe to Trust God? You see, regardless of the challenges we may face in life in our ministries, Jesus expects us to be faithful to his call of making disciples, his call to reaching those who dont know him. Is anything too hard for me? When faced with an enormous obstacle, dont focus on how big the problem is. The ministry of food distribution lasted until the severe persecution broke out and people had to be mobilized. Get FREE "He Cares for You" teaching sheet, Build up your faith as you meditate on inspiring Scripture verses of how much God loves you, "It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.". Has your love for the Lord grown cold? While he was there, Paul sent a messenger to Ephesus (which is about 40 km away) to call the elders of the church to come for a conference with him, as he believed that he would never see them again. Discover steps to bring you closer to Christ. Yes they certainly did. . As you dig into the Word of God, start with a great study Bible, ( this list has some of the most popular Study Bibles for women.) Michael Chriswell. " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge " and " wisdom " (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). Did the Ephesian elders fulfill their role well? Just before those verses, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) define a path to spiritual happiness and significance totally contrary to what were normally taught (blessed are the meek, not the proud). In Romans 12 Paul reminded the church not to be conformed or fashioned by the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of the mind. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Being full of the Spirit and being wise are evident qualities in a person. Are we a biblical people, or do we just get our truths from our emotions or non-emotions? The Bible says that the church is like a human body. Job had three friends who came to see him when they heard about the misfortune that befell him. But what do we see here? Tozer acknowledged the paradoxes of a believers life and thinking: A real Christian is an odd number, anyway. Any complaint would arise, and they will go to any of the seven selected to handle this ministry. We see in God's dealings with people, that in almost all cases, God uses the obstacles/difficulties and overcoming them, as a means to inculcate great character in people and to prepare them and use them for great purposes. It is acceptable to have feelings of anger at God when hard things of life happen. they did not let this issue distract them from their mission. Thus we have seen that Paul and the Ephesian elders were faithful in fulfilling their respective God-given roles. They made pledges and promises which they had every intention to keep at the beginning, but sadly they did not keep them in the end. With this obstacle, we ask, Is it possible to trust God? Download the free myCBN app. 8) Luke 1:37 "For every promise from God shall surely come true.". If you are united to Jesus by faith, the anger is gone. The whole counsel of God also includes the need torepentof ones sins and to receive Christ not only as Saviour, but also asLord. As we now enter into our 67thyear, let us resolve to give Him thefirst and central placein all that we do as a church, so that we may be faithful to Him. Before the Throne of God Above Shane Barnard and Shane Everett. You may be diligent in feeding others, but you also need to, If you want to remain faithful, you must give sufficient time to the study of Gods Word. In addition to natural gravity, Satan uses the same methods repeatedly and they work much of the time. They had a great system going on, a great fellowship and God reminded them that though that ministry is important, it was not the mission of the church to run a food program, but to preach the gospel to those who are lost. Abraham Taking Isaac to be Sacrificed. The writer tells us . -- Jack Hyles #People #Needs #Serving God Church was never intended to be a place where we serve God to the exclusion of meeting with Him. He is patient toward us, always showing his mercy toward us, always deals with us in his steadfast love. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes - the hope of the world hangs on it (Rom 1:16). Within that time, Paul put in all his efforts to fulfill his role in several ways: Public teaching is mentioned in v.20 and havetaughtyou publickly, and from house to house.Testifyingboth to the Jews and also to the Greeksis mentioned in v.21. Through his faithful teaching, and testifying to Jews and Greeks, and preaching the kingdom of God, and warning the Christians against false teaching, the Ephesian church was firmly established on a strong foundation. More growth was taking place. This doesnt happen automatically. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). The outcome of the apostles decision? Here are 4 ways to find contentment in Christ: #1 Accept rejection. He was committed to obedience. Fast-forward now to a time about 40 years later, and we find this commendation that Christ gave to this church in Revelation 2:2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: andthou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.The elders had faithfully kept watch over their flock and had exposed the false teachers who tried to subvert the flock. How can tell if your agenda or actions are from God or Satan? It isfaithfulness to the whole counsel of God. The experiential barriers are ongoing, and they can range from broken family relationships that make us reticent to trust or accept love to bad church experiences. Others have been blessed with spiritual gifts of faith, administration, discernment, hospitality, giving, mercy, or encouragement. But in serving God, there will always be obstructions and hindrances. The world tells us, Take charge! You are the master of your own destiny, and God helps those who help themselves. This kind of advice flies in the face of the Bibles urgings to submit to God, trusting and yielding ourselves to Him (cf. What happens when the trapdoor opens in your life? Discover God's peace now. Look at what he said in v.33,34, When this question has been settled, we should then go on to another area that requires faithfulness , Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of, Three years was actually the longest time that Paul served in one city throughout all his missionary journeys This was because of its strategic location in reaching out to the whole province of Asia. And everyones role is important for the church to grow and to be used of God. There an be obstacles in our spiritual walks, too, and sometimes we place them; sometimes we embrace them - addiction to television, busyness, overextending ourselves, video games Identify and address your obstacles.

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