Now we shall read what Paul said to them, as recorded in Acts 20:17-35. Try. We must continue to work together tobuild a united church family that is committed to making disciples through Salvation, Sanctification and Service to the glory of God. There is always a temptation for those who serve the Lord to get so busy and involved with serving that they neglect their own walk with God. Can God change your life? Jesus is praying. 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. Its a rich relationship, not a mechanical one. God rewards faithfulness. Christians are called to make disciples, but we are not capable of changing people. Choose seven men from among you: men of good reputation (Good testimony) (known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. These dark moments can leave you feeling frustrated, scared, and broken. Prayer is the best way to communicate one-on-one with God. 3. Through these strategies, you can gain the confidence to face your problems head on and come out victorious. Please see the Disclosures for how it will all go down. We Never Heard Back. Much as we have faith in God and promise to maintain closeness to God at all times, there are few things that will give friction to us in the way of our Christian life to love God at all times. Before the Throne of God Above Shane Barnard and Shane Everett. When we come within inches of making an enormous mistake that could lead to injury or some other kind of catastrophic failure, we have to praise God for allowing us to dodge a bullet. Unfortunately many would rather listen to a message that makes no demands on them at all, but offers them all the blessings of God they could ever wish to receive, like good health and wealth. Obstacles that we face in life are riddled with anxiety, fear, worry, anger, stress, and every negative emotion that you can think of. Perhaps you want to serve the Lord but you face certain challenges that come with age. And it is the Holy Spirit who made the elders fit for their role as overseers, so that the flock would be well fed. The apostles would give their attention to prayer and the preaching of the word. We have to fully believe that God is in control and that He has a great plan for our life. DAVID David is a Bible character who is no stranger to hard times. These men were presented to the apostles who prayed and laid their hands on them. If we want to befaithfulto the Word we cannot pick and choose only what we love to hear from it, or what we love to think about all the time. Trusting God gives us direction (Proverbs 3:5-6). Were on a mission to change that. Tough times and obstacles in life build Christian character and faith. God's purpose for the problems he allows us to face is so different than our way of thinking. I'm sure you all could have guessed this one would be on this list. God would use any thing to mobilize his people when they get inwardly focused and neglect to fulfill his mission in the world. -- 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. Tozer acknowledged the paradoxes of a believers life and thinking: A real Christian is an odd number, anyway. Tozer, Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1955), p. 156. Jeremiah 32:27 states I am the Lord, the God of all mainkind. We can certainly learn how to handle any challenge or difficulty when we examine how the first century church handled her own challenges. Their widows were being overlooked or neglected in the daily distribution of food. But Paul did not expect the elders of Ephesus to do what he did, because they had adifferentrole to fulfill. - Obstacles to Following God's Call The Hoot & Howl What's Stopping You? These men were to handle or to manage this task (We will turn this responsibility over to them (v.3)). Please do not think that there isno rolefor you at all in Gods kingdom. Stephen was murdered, Philip and the rest had to leave. Picture this scenario: people complaining that others were being shown special favor in the distribution. This is mentioned in vv.26,27 where Paul said,Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Abraham Taking Isaac to be Sacrificed. Prayer helps you to build a solid relationship with Christ, which increases your ability to trust in Him and feel confident about His plan for you. To move in. In v.24 he reveals how willing he was to deny self in serving the Lord. (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). But what do we see here? 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.". To be faithful to the Word is to give our attention to thewholecounsel of God. God was Pauls confidence that the Ephesian church would remain faithful. Luke 1:37 ESV / 248 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful When the stresses of this world and the worst of suffering might seem to extinguish our hope, it doesnt. He is patient toward us, always showing his mercy toward us, always deals with us in his steadfast love. 9) 1 John 4:4 "Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them. When we spend too much time in a secularized society, the enemy can infiltrate and weaken our spiritual walls. There is one good way to know whether you are spiritually well or not. Do you seek to fulfill God's purpose? Here are 4 barriers to getting through to God: 1) Harboring secret sin. Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! We can speak to God about the obstacles we face in a safe, judge-free setting. These feelings can keep us paralyzed from dealing with the obstacles correctly. We dont know for sure. . Sometimes people who begin a ministry die or moved and there is not one else to carry it; they come to an end. It isfaithfulness to the whole counsel of God. Satan began to attack the church through severe persecution. CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ through mass media. Watch popular content from the following creators: Make 30s Fit(@make30sfit), Christ (@glimpseofchrist), Danna Hagans(@dannahagans), Mckenzie Young(@mckenzieyoung93), WC(@warriorsofchrist_), WC(@warriorsofchrist_), Praise on TBN(@praiseontbn), Throwback Praise(@throwbackpraise), The grace of God(@the . 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. Fear. He gave us a once-for-all sacrifice and he gives us never-ceasing intercession. What happens when one organ in a persons body is not functioning well? How do we trust and submit to God? Many people will spend a lot of time trying to think and maneuver their way around obstacles . He was committed to obedience. *A.W. First and foremost, you must know that you are a part of Christ. As a result of this they become spiritually weak, they fall into sin and become ineffective in their service. Your browser does not support the audio element. Obstacles Serving God's Purposes? At a camp in North Carolina, the high ropes course has a trapdoor at the end. Notice how verse 19 begins, Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. He means that we have access to God now because Jesus died in our place. Let us look now at three exhortations which he gave to them elders from v.28 onwards to see how we can remain faithful. The particular, electing love of God from before the foundation of the world is the reason why anyone becomes a Christian. The Bible is God's unfailing, unchanging Word. But this one thing we know:God is faithful! Did you laugh or cry tears of joy? After all, thats their role as the elders of the church! We can manipulate Him into giving us what we want. Leaders should empower others to serve and not overwhelm themselves with every ministry. Paul did not say, I kept back nothing that waspleasantunto you.Certain teachings in the Bible maynotseempleasantto our ears but they are profitable. In verses 9-21 we, Dont be deceived! This doesnt happen automatically. And if praying is the only role that you can fulfill in Gods kingdom, then please make sure that you are a faithful prayer warrior pleading before Gods throne everyday. Be bold. But not all the ministries would last forever in a church. The elders of Ephesus were faithful in their roles asshepherdswho provided for the flock and protected it from danger. Although the Lord Jesus commended them for guarding the flock well against false apostles, He also rebuked them:Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, becausethou hast left thy first love.(Revelation 2:4) Let us ask ourselves this question: Have you left your first love? Challenges in serving God. More Ken Boa on Trusting God in Turbulent Times. As followers of Jesus, we battle against difficulties, obstacles on our way to accomplishing Christ's mission in this world. Please check your information and try again or call us at 1-800-759-0700. (NLT). So, this distribution of goods took place before and there wasnt a problem. Serving God is what we were made to do as his creatures, but our service has been corrupted by our sin and rebellion which has rendered us unable to please him. We asked a few members of our staff at Deep Spirituality for their favorite biblical characters who trusted God in the midst of difficulty and came up with 10 examples in the Bible of trusting God in difficult times to inspire you. You may be diligent in feeding others, but you also need tofeed yourself. After all, God had purchased them with His own blood, as Paul mentioned in v.28 (to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.) This of course refers to God the Son who suffered and died on the cross for our sins. The church has faced external and internal challenges since the day it began through the preaching of the apostles. 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. Have you ever wondered why we get caught in the same sins over and over? The writer tells us . Growing in Christ wont be without struggles. Click to Tweet Its always telling us, Youd better take charge. So how do we stay yielded to God? And since Gods awful judgment on this world is coming soon, you must not delay obeying His command any longer. The fear of disappointment, on the other hand, says, Oh yeah, I get that relationship stuff. Understand Gods love will help us demolish the intrusive thoughts we have. Paul did not say, , If anyone here is still unsaved, please listen to this carefully, because it is part of Gods whole counsel . Thats why Christ bestowed all the spiritual gifts which the Church needs for service. It is fascinating to study these spiritual gifts, but that is not within the scope of this sermon. Much of the ministry of Jesus was devoted to correcting bad teaching; see, for example, Matthew 5:21 on murder, 5:27 on adultery, and 5:33 on oaths. The answer to this is that our confidence must ultimately be placed in God. God detests pride, but humility prompts the gift of His grace. Fear and faith cannot co-exist, and they battle for space within us. 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. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Over the last three months we have seen God clearing away all the obstacles for the launching of a new Bible College. A very sermon in the current challenge of CIVID-19, which should not deter the preaching of the Word of God. More growth and new challenges would come ahead. How do we keep doing all these things until we reach the end? Will we be able to do these things well? The punishment has been paid. 3. If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. If the work of Gods kingdom depends entirely on our faithfulness what assurance is there that it will succeed? There are obstacles in our way. The river was flooded and nearly impossible to cross. Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near. Join The Hoot & Howl community for access to all the insider info! This is a spiritual thermometer. 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). Your prayer requests, receive prayer and the rest had to leave spiritual gifts, we. Cross for our sins we be able to do these things well was to deny self serving! Than our way of thinking 1 ) Harboring secret sin at all in Gods kingdom in North,! 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