Consider this – Let us examine our make-up. There are three men:-
1 THE MAN I THINK I AM….(Sometimes I forget that I stand by God’s grace alone and He has to remind me that my standing is in Him when I wrongly compare myself to others.)
2 THE MAN I WANT YOU TO THINK I AM. Do I want to receive the praise of men for the gifts and talents God has blessed me with?… when the truth is that I am just an ordinary man, but blessed by an extraordinary God for HIS glory.
3 THE REAL MAN – This is the man that God sees – the real me! God does not look on the outward appearance as man sees, He examines the motive of my heart. He sees why I do what I do. If I live to make myself appear good in the eyes of men, wanting to receive their praise, this is all “wood, hay and stubble” in God’s eyes, (1 Corinthians 3:9-21)
When we gather together before the Lord we do not gather to share everything that pops into our minds, or our good ideas but we want to hear what the Spirit is saying for this hour, so we are dependent on Him to give us utterance. For this to happen we have to die to ourselves.
As a servant of the Living God I must depend on the Holy Spirit to speak the words He wants me to speak. My motive is key. It is not what I do that counts in God’s eyes but why I do it. Only God knows my motive. We are all called of God and gifted in a variety of ways, but what do I do with my gift? Do I use it for my glory or do I use it to minister to God before the people for God’s glory?
The Apostle Paul had a great oratory gift but he recognised the source was OF GOD. Look at his words in 1 Corinthians 2:3-4, “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, BUT IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER.”
Ephesians 6:19 “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Colossians 4:3 “…that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ…”
Paul knew that his gift was OF God and that he was totally dependent on Him in order for the gift to operate. Our gifts are given for kingdom purposes to bring glory to God, not to ourselves. Incidentally I will be blessed because the greater, that is God’s glory and kingdom purpose, includes the lesser, which is my blessing. It is a joy to serve our Heavenly Father and joy is an evidence of fulfilling His divine will.
God has no special people. He is not a respecter of persons. He does not love one person more than another. It does not matter who we are but what matters is who He is! It is important that we come to know Him in every area of our lives. We are so important to Him that He sent His only Son to die for us at Calvary – but He did not stay dead! He rose again and we now have opportunity for His resurrection life living within us. This is the mystery Paul spoke about: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” God wants my life to glorify Him. If I am full of my own ambitions and desires I cannot glorify God. I must be emptied of self in order to be filled with all the fullness of God, Ephesians 4:13. God does not want celebrity, the world is full of it but there is only One who is wonderful and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s glory is safe with Him because He does not hold it to Himself but He always passes it on to His Father.
The most important thing is that we have our relationship with God first. Jesus said that He only spoke the words His Father gave Him and He always did the things that pleased His Father. Everything Jesus did was in obedience to His Father’s direction. His ears were tuned into listening for His Father’s voice. We can start right now by following in His footsteps and living our lives to the glory of God.
