If I am being poured out as a
drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and
rejoice with you all. —Philippians 2:17
“Are you willing to sacrifice
yourself for the work of another believer—to pour out your life sacrificially
for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, “I am not willing to be
poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want
to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ‘Well done.’
” It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero,
but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming
a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to
say, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be
sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket—
to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of
those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used
up and exhausted— not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints
cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel
such service is beneath their dignity." CHAMBERS
(John 12:43) “…. for they loved human praise more than praise from
God.” John is describing the actions of
certain religious leaders who were followers of Jesus, but hid their faith from
the Pharisees. The principle at work is
that we crave the acceptance and praise from others. Some times to the extent that we will not be
open about our faith … and at other times, we take credit for something that
God has done through us. Still at other
times, we are jealous because some people are recognized and we are not. All of the glory and praise goes to God. None of it is ours. Why do you look to others for affirmation of
our worth, when God has affirmed us in a
way that cannot be matched … ever … God sent His Son to redeem us. The answer is found in our old nature. Our old nature is self-indulgent and has a
ravenous appetite for those things that would seem to fulfill that
self-indulgence. I say “seem to” because
our flesh will never be satisfied. Doesn’t
sound very “Christian” does it. It’s
not, but it happens all the time, even in Christians who appear to be serving
sacrificially. My point, we must be on
our guard. Temptation, in general, is
choosing something other than God’s best.
That can take many forms. Even
not being recognized for something that you have done for the Lord. ELGIN
“When It’s All Been Said And Done” Don Moen
“When it's all been said and
done, There is just one thing that
matters, Did I do my best to live for
truth?, Did I live my life for you?
When it's all been said and
done, All my treasures will mean nothing,
Only what I've done for love's reward, Will stand the test of time
Lord, your mercy is so great,
That you look beyond our weakness, And find purest gold in miry clay, Turning sinners into saints.
And I will always sing your
praise, Here on earth and ever after, For you've shown me heavens, my true home, When it's all been said and done
You're my life when life is
gone...”
Charley Elgin
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