Ephesians 4:11-15 (AMPC)
“And
His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be
apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and
expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling
missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.
12 His
intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His
consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward
building up Christ's body (the church),
13 [That
it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the
comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we
might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which
is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the
measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness
found in Him.
14 So
then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between
chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of
doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men,
[gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to
mislead.
15 Rather,
let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing
truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in
all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed
One).”
Dear people of God, we stated in the first part of the post on
this topic why and how a Christian should give to God through firstfruits,
tithes, offerings and financial contributions to kingdom projects of the Church
for the work of the Gospel.
Another equally important way of giving to the Church is your
time. As you can see from today’s lead Scripture text, the Lord Jesus has given
spiritual gifts to each of His children to function in one of several ministry
offices – Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.
There is therefore no room for a bystander or an onlooker
Christian in the body of Christ because there is work to be done to equip the
saints to do the work of ministering towards building the Church.
No wonder the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (AMPC), “Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in
the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your
labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].”
Since working for humans here on earth carries a reward in form
of wages, promotion, recognition, commendation, how much more reward for those
who diligently work for the Lord.
Dear friend, working for your Creator God Almighty and Father of
our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ is the best employment one could engage in
for it carries a great reward here on earth and an eternal reward in the hereafter.
Having become a Christian by God’s grace and having realized the
need to serve God, make up your mind to co-operate in service to God to achieve
His ultimate objective of building up His church and making the members ready
for eternity in Heaven.
No matter how this present world runs, it would surely come to
an end someday and so nothing else is more important than giving of your time
to God in His service.
Jesus Christ is coming shortly to take in Rapture ONLY those who
are qualified according to His righteous standards in the Holy Bible.
Are you living a genuine life as His disciple? Are you ready for
Him? Repent and come to Jesus today, for tomorrow may be too late for you.
Once Jesus takes away His children, the entire earth would come
under God’s wrath and Divine judgement in a most terrible manner never
experienced before.
Why do you risk your life in sin, risk the grave danger, pain
and suffering ahead and risk ultimately damning your soul forever in the lake
of fire?
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on
it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Holy Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama.