Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman and tells her, very directly, that they (Samaritans) don’t know who they worship, but the Jews do…
I cannot help but feel that we, Christians, don’t know who we are worshiping.
If we truly knew the God to whom we pray, then surely some form of awe, wonder, and reverence of His glory would be obvious in our day to day lives. Surely some expression of ecstatic praise should escape our overflowing hearts at the mere thought of His overwhelming love. How could we just go through the motions as people saved by His amazing grace and not proclaim His goodness?
Love and WORSHIP the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, because He is deserving of so much more than all the honour and glory we (the entire human race) could ever give Him in a million years! HE IS WORTHY!
Jonathan G Ettrick
You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
1 Timothy 3:6-7 (NLT)
It is so tempting to put people into places of service before they are ready for it. In many, many churches there is a shortage of good leadership. Many churches find it hard to find people who are willing or able to be a part of the leadership of the church, so what they often do is put people in place who are relatively new in the faith. Elders are elected who have not yet been tested in the fires of life. Many elders have not yet been developed in their Biblical thinking to the point where they can make Biblical decisions about matters that come up in the church. Many elders are still immature in their faith and are unable to humbly handle being in a position of leadership. Many stumble and fall because they just aren’t ready to be put into such a role.
It is important to always examine the life of a church leader. There must be evidence outside the church that elders are walking the walk. It should be evident that elders are real in their profession of faith. And, those outside the church are the ones who really know whether or not one’s faith is real. It is easy to be godly in a church setting where everyone is godly (or at least pretend to be).
When a church leader stumbles and falls because he was not ready to lead, the cause of Christ is damaged. It is fuel for the fire for those who are not believers. It gives many non-believers a cause to judge believers as being hypocrites. It keeps many away from the church.
If you are in a church leadership position, you need to be on your knees daily. You need to be in the Word, learning, and growing in Christ. You need to always strive to have a humble heart before God and man. You should hold yourself accountable before your church family for how you are walking with Christ and your church family should hold you accountable for it. In fact, I believe it would be good if you were to ask your church family to hold you accountable for your prayer life, Bible study times, and service to the Lord. It would also be good to withhold participation in passing judgment on others if you know in your heart things are not right between you and the Lord. Integrity and humility are key parts of being a church leader.
If are relatively new to the faith and are asked to assume a key leadership position in the church, I would encourage you to pray much about it and turn it down if you sense you are not qualified to do it yet.
If you are seeking people to serve in leadership in the church, please remember Paul’s warning and only pursue those who are established believers who are respected in and outside of the church.
To the best of our ability, we must stand guard over the souls in the church and not let Satan get a foothold, especially in the leadership of the church.
He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
1 Timothy 2:6 (NLT)
Jesus did not die for just a select few. He died for everyone who would believe in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. Salvation has no limitations or favourites. Anyone anywhere and at any time can be saved. We must never assume anything about anyone’s soul. The power of Christ to save the worst sinner on earth is more than sufficient to save him.
We should pray for those who aren’t saved. Pray that their hearts will be made tender, that they will have ears to hear the voice of God. Pray that the Lord will send messengers to them with the message. Pray with faith believing in their salvation at the proper time for their souls. Pray without ceasing, knowing that the Lord is faithful and will do all He can to bring them to salvation. Pray knowing that the Lord is not willing that anyone would leave this life without salvation. Pray that we will have the same compassion of our Lord for lost souls, whether we know them personally or not.
How many lost souls are on your heart’s prayer list? If you don’t have a list, ask the Lord to lay some soul on your heart. No one will be saved without the work of the Spirit on their heart and it is prayer that moves the Spirit to act.
And, whenever you can, put feet to your prayers and tell them about Jesus and His desire to save their soul. And, don’t just tell them, show them the love of Christ as much as you can.
Praying backed up by loving actions opens the door for talking. Someone you know needs you to be God’s voice to them. Ask the Lord to show you who he is.
