Matthew 7:21-23 is a pretty well know piece of scripture that tells us that says "...not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven...", which is telling us that all who thought they were saved, were not necessarily saved. They did not truly give their life to Jesus. However, the verse also says "Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!". This scripture has always confused many people and to be honest, until I had heard many teachings on it, I was one of those confused people. How can you think you were being used by God, but yet have Him tell you "I never knew you"? And what I have come to understand is this....it's all about the condition of your heart. Yes, God is God. If He wants to you use you in a situation, and in the moment you are obedient or you just so happen to be a place He can use you, then He will do so in order to work out His plan. He may have used you to allow someone else to get closer to Him. He may have used a gift that He has placed in you to give someone a healing. Or like the verse says, He may have used you to cast out the demon in someone else. But the moment He uses you, one of two things are going to take place. You are going to see the good that you just did and allow pride will set in, or you are going to see the good that God just did in you and through you and your going to want to see Him do that again and again. Your heart is going to become a servant's heart. And that is the heart that God is looking for. Who will allow themselves to be used by Him....and who will serve Him?...not just once or twice or when it's convenient, but who will live a life so dedicated to Him, that you serve Him just for the point of serving Him? Not wanting anything in return other than the satisfaction of seeing Him be honored and glorified? Seeing people be set free. Seeing the lost come to know Jesus....
1 Corinthians 15:58 says "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." To me this verse explains having a servant's heart. It is about always doing, standing your ground and looking for things you can do for the Lord. Even a slave will serve....will do, but not out of love or desire. They will do it out of obligation. God does not want us to do His work out of obligation. There will be no joy in that and He knows it. The joy is part of the serving. When the heart wants to serve God, the joy is part of the reward. And it is also a part of how others will see God in you.
If you know that you let God use you, but you haven't quite moved into the place of having a servant's heart, then pray and ask God to search your heart and help change it. He will. He will only do in us the things we request for Him to do. He is not a slave driver....He is a loving savior! If you know the joy was there at one time, but has seemed to have gone away, then ask God to bring it back. Get into his word, get into a devotion on serving, surround yourself with some praise music and ask God to allow those things to penetrate your heart and change your attitude toward doing His work.
God, today, help us serve You with joy. Help us to show others the joy that can be found when we are serving You. And help us check our heart, mind and attitude when it comes to living out a life of service to You. You are more than worthy of our praise God....so help us praise You by serving You with the right kind of heart. Thank you for using us even when our hearts have not been in the right place, and show us how much more we can be used when our hearts have been changed. In Jesus name, Amen
Thank you for this Holy Spirit led post. I feel stirred up and ready to get into my secret place with The Lord! Blessings and keep these posts coming!!
ReplyDelete