Isaiah 58:
5Is such a fast as yours what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself with sorrow in his soul? [Is true fasting merely mechanical?] Is it only to bow down his head like a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him [to indicate a condition of heart that he does not have]? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?
6[Rather] is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every [enslaving] yoke?
7Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house--when you see the naked, that you cover him, and that you hide not yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood?
8Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am. If you take away from your midst yokes of oppression [wherever you find them], the finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and every form of false, harsh, unjust, and wicked speaking,
10And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity and gloom become like the noonday.
11And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.
12And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
I remember that in Bible school days, there was always someone sitting in the front row on the edge of his seat with his finger in his Bible. We identified him as one who had the preacher's itch.
If there was no indication that he would be asked to preach, eagerly he would go downtown to a mission hall, hoping for an opportunity to preach to vagrants who were waiting for their tickets for the soup line. He had to do his thing.
How much has really been accomplished in the Kingdom of God because of the preacher's itch, because of the desire to be important and have an opportunity to do his thing?
How much true motivation has been in the many reports and pictures we have seen of healing campaigns? It seems uncanny that the photographer was always there and lighting conditions were exactly right at the moment when hands were laid upon the sick and the miracle was performed.
Why did the healers have to use their gifts to raise great sums of money and promote big meetings? If they really had the gifts of healing, why were they not emptying out hospitals?
In the early days of the Pentecostal movement, this was done. One man, who was passing through east St. Louis, went to a hospital and emptied it out. Everyone there was healed.
Who was he? He never gave his name. No one took his picture, there were no cameras at the right moment. He just went in and did it?
There must be a time when we completely forsake this idea of doing our own thing. Instead, we must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, as we are moved by His compassion, with true motivation of love reaching out in the name of the Lord.
We have had gifts without love, and sometimes we have had love with such unbelief that we had only sympathy to give, with no gifts operating; but happy days are coming- the days of the Kingdom!
The end of all fleshly motivation is at hand! We will do the will of God with all of our hearts, and we will do it because we are motivated by love to do it. We will not serve God for a name or for any other reason, not for publicity nor to receive credit or praise of man.
Perhaps you are working continually in sacrificial labor. If you never receive even a thank~you, let alone any recognition or money for your efforts, that is the way it is supposed to be. From the ministers on down to the humblest of the people, let us labor as unto the Lord, refusing the recognition or the praise.
When people labor for recognition and praise, that is the only glory they will receive. We will have our reward when the Lord says, "Well done, good and faithful servant." In the mean time, it is up to us to be dedicated to serve Him, to glorify Him, to do what He sets before us, without being involved in any way with our own ego.
We cease from our own labor and from our own inner striving and enter into His fullness.
Those who try hard to be blessed rarely are, but those who seek to be a blessing are always blessed. That is what it is all about. That is what walking with God is all about...
Give the gift of yourself this Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment