73. We Have A Heavenly Home. 2Corinthians 5:1.

Few things in life compare to the excitement of moving into your dream house. But if you are a redeemed child of God, Here’s the score; No matter how beautiful your house on earth may be, it’s nothing compared to the one you will have in eternity. That’s why Jesus said, in (John 14;2) ‘ In my Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” When it comes to the house we want to live in, certain questions arise. First, What’s the price? Answer: More than you could ever afford! In order to redeem you and take you to Heaven, “God gave His only begotten Son” (John 3;16) “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….” Nobody in Heaven will ever be able to say, ‘Look at what Jesus and I accomplished.’ That would make you a co-redeemer with Christ. And that would be an insult to the Cross. You would be guilty of a level of pride that would make it impossible for you to live there. Hymnist Horatius Bonar wrote ‘Upon a life I have not lived, Upon a death I did not die, another’s life, another’s, death. I stake my whole eternity.’ The Bible speaks of labouring and working for God, but don’t get it mixed up. You don’t work to be saved, No, you work because you are saved. You don’t labour for your redemption, you labour for your reward, that is so ‘God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His Grace and Kindness towards us.’ (Ephesians 2:7) When it comes to the house we want to live in, Here’s another important question; What kind of people live in the neighbourhood? Describing the joys of Heaven, John the apostle wrote, (Revelation 7:9-10) “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, peoples, tribes and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (who is Jesus)’ Author Max Lucado tells this story of his friend Joy, who was a Sunday school teacher and had a timid nine-year old girl named Barbara in her class. She was an underprivileged child from an impoverished area of town, and Lucado writes; Barbara’s difficult home life had left her afraid and insecure. For the several weeks my friend was teaching this class, Barbara never spoke a word. While the other kids talked and played, she just sat. When the others sang songs she was silent When the other kids giggled, she kept quiet. Always present, always listening, always speechless. Until the day Joy gave a class on Heaven. Joy talked about seeing God She talked about tearless eyes and deathless lives. Barbara was fascinated. She couldn’t release Joy from her stare. She listened with real hunger on her face Then she raised her thin hand and said “Mrs. Joy, Is Heaven for girls like me too.?” Joy was stunned, that child had never asked a question before. Joy took Barbara in her arms and said “Yes Barbara especially for girls like you’ When you think about your dream house, Two more questions arise. How close is it to where I work? Have you ever wondered what you will actually do in Heaven? Since heaven will be Paradise regained,. Read this; God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; Have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth”(Genesis 1;28.) The Bible does not provide specific job descriptions for what we will do in heaven, but the first Paradise gives us two important clues. a.’Be fruitful and multiply.’ You wont struggle to make ends meet. You wont live with crushed hopes and disappointments. Every dream and creative idea you have will be fulfilled. b. ‘Have dominion over every living thing that moves.’ The word ‘dominion’ means ‘to rule over’ So we will be promoted to positions of leadership or management. But here’s the difference in Paradise lost, God said to Adam, in (Genesis 3:17) ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake, in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.’ But in Paradise Found God said in (Revelation 22;3) ) ‘There shall be no more curse. Gazing up at the stars one night a little boy said to his Dad, ‘If the wrong side of Heaven is so wonderful, what must the right side be like’? So here’s the next question. Are you going to Heaven when you die? Are you sure? You can be-- In 1.John 5;13 he says--’These things I have written to you who believe in the name of The Son of God that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.’ At present we live in a fallen world where we loose sight, hearing, limbs and loved ones. But Heaven will make up for all we’ve lost, we will be reunited with our redeemed loved ones, and we’ll have bodies free from sickness, pain and every sort of limitation. ‘There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ (Revelation 21:4) and on that day you will live in your dream house. Thank you for reading my thoughts on ‘Heaven’ ‘Your dream house’. God Bless, See you there!!! Phaline. -------------------------

72. You Are Called. 1 Corinthians 12:5

“Many are called, but few are chosen.” Paul believed God has called us all to ministry, but the choice to follow that calling is ours. If, after praying and seeking guidance we are still not clear about our particular ministry, and we decide to ignore God’s calling on our lives, God will choose someone else. You see!, He is not dependent on us to carry out His will, in fact the reverse is true, we should feel privileged to be chosen to answer His call. His will, will be done by us or some body else. This doesn’t mean you don’t have a ministry, it just means you have to keep praying, looking and seeking His will. You have a place in His body and it’s up to you to find it. But be aware Satan does NOT want you to be in God’s will. Now, there is no harm in trying for a ministry, and if you find it’s not for you, go back to the Lord, and see where He is leading you. One thing is clear, If you regularly attend a church, God is calling you to ministry, You are part of “That Body” therefore, you have a job to do in it (a Ministry or gifting). In our human body every part of us from our head to our feet, has an assignment or a function. Although the eye cannot walk like the feet, without the feet the eye is not mobile, likewise without hands, the mouth and tummy would go hungry. The whole body is sustained by the whole body taking part in sustaining and maintaining it. The Spiritual body is just the same, unless each member of the church-body exercises its ministry or gifting, the church will not function as God intends. . Why do we come to church? Because, deep inside, we all know there is a God who made us, Loves us, and sustains us, and He wants us to know, love and serve Him in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next. To achieve this, God has given the church-body gifts and or ministries not necessarily talents, (although they can be) a Spiritual gifting is a special gift, which He gives for a specific purpose or use in the church. These gifts are essential for the proper function of the body and should be sought out and encouraged by the leadership. If this does not happen, the church will not function at its full capacity or potential. So what is your ministry, gift or function in the church that you attend? Have you asked God what He requires you to do, that will glorify Him in the situation in which He has placed you Paul tells us in (1 Corinthians 12.5) ‘There are different ministries, but the same Lord’ You may not recognise it, but, other people will. They will say things like:- I love the way you sing, pray, teach, or how great you are with children, or teenagers, or perhaps you have a cleaning ministry. There are always these functions to be carried out in any church. Yes, they can be mundane and down right boring, but they all require commitment, Now, you can say, “I don’t know if I can spare the time regularly to vacuum and dust the church or clean the toilets or go to singing practise once a week” If The Lord gives you the ministry you can be sure He will also give you the time, inclination and energy to do it. If it feels like a bore and a chore, You either have to question your ministry or, think very carefully who you are doing this for. Often God will test us and our commitment to Him by giving us small, seemingly insignificant (but necessary) functions in the body. He did this in the 18th century with Brother Lawrence, a Kitchen-hand in a French monastery, & also with Mother Teresa, of Calcutta, she had a very servile position for years before God picked her up to higher things, both these people had walking, talking relationships with Jesus. and their love for God was known while they were still in this world. A deep love for God and a commitment to Christ make a big difference to our spiritual future. God is looking for a people who love Him enough to be as committed to Him as He is to them. He will not give us a ministry or gifting that requires a large commitment unless we can prove we are faithful in handling small ones. Wouldn’t you do the same with your children or subordinates? We are not in a church-body to have a spiritual Sing-song each Sunday, or listen to a good sermon before coffee with our friends. No, we are there to express our Worship, Love, gratitude and dependence on our God. To listen and learn what we can do for the advancement of His Kingdom in our homes, and churches, schools and work-places throughout our towns and country and indeed the world This is what is meant when scripture says we have to ‘work out our Salvation with fear and trembling’. Yes, Our Salvation is already guaranteed, but, Paul writes in (2 Corinthians 5:9-10) ‘We make it our goal to please Him, for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due to us for the things done while in the body whether good or bad.’ So we will be required to give an account for what we have or haven’t done to advance the Kingdom of God, Our Mandate is to bring all nations, peoples and tongues into The Kingdom. This can only be done by Almighty God Himself; as He uses His Body (the church) to minister the gifts He has given it. Now, if you are in a quandary and still wondering, about your ministry, gifts, time, commitment etc. A thought may be to find one or two others who are like minded and make a roster, or do the function together, this shortens the time and the commitment. Some great friendships have been forged this way. But you need to know and keep in mind, God has made you for a particular purpose, so go to Him first, then talk to your minister or another member of the Leadership, they will help and pray for you. Think about this,--> “When you see a car that you like at the car-sales and it meets all your requirements. Good mileage, and suitable price four new tyres and metallic blue. Very nice, but you can’t make a decision until you actually get behind the wheel. and drive it. That car will sit in the car-lot with you visiting it day after day thinking, wishing and hoping, but not getting anywhere. Coming to God for anything is just the same. You can come to church week after week knowing and hearing what Christ can and will do for you, but if you don’t commit to Him you will be like the lad at the car-sales getting nowhere. Before a car can move, YOU have to turn the key on, and YOU have to put it into gear. To really test it’s value and capabilities. You have tried everything else, and it hasn’t worked for you, Why not give Jesus a chance? Take Him on a test drive of commitment, you wont regret it. If pleasing people is your main goal in life, you will be disappointed the moment you stop pleasing them, chances are they will criticize you or leave you. Plus they won’t be with you when you stand at the judgement seat of Christ to be evaluated and rewarded besides, you are not assigned to everybody. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in ministry is to compare yourself to someone else. Although it’s true that without help from others, you will never become all you can be. God wants you to be mentored, not cloned. He has called each of us to emphasise certain truths and qualities at different times. For example, John emphasised love, Solomon emphasised wisdom and Paul’s major emphasis was grace over law. You see, the need determines the emphasis. I have concentrated on the more practical giftings that I believe are just as necessary in the running of any local church-body because they are co-dependant with the spiritual giftings as listed in “(1 Corinthians 12:8-11). S o it is with the more practical gifts. Not everyone will understand or appreciate your style of ministry and that’s okay, it’s not a popularity contest. You and I are called to be servants not stars. And a major prerequisite for servant-hood is that those who have been given a trust must prove to be committed and faithful first of all to God and then to His body. Thank you for reading my thoughts on “getting to know your calling.” If you don’t have a “Baton” there will be nothing to hand on to the next generation and your gifting will die with you. Pray, Think and do something about it!! May The Lord lead and bless us all with ministries and gifts that praise Him alone. Phaline. -------------------------------