“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. 12. Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.”
We are told in verse 11 to fervently serve the Lord. In verse 12, we are reminded that fervency alone will not result in effective service. This verse will give some direction to our fervent service. “Rejoicing in hope” – Let’s just say that we are to be hopefully joyful. The word for hope here does not mean that there is any doubt as we serve the Lord. We can serve joyfully, because we know that the Lord will be with us in our service, and that He will help us serve effectively. The Greek word for hope, “elpidis” carries the meaning of expectancy. We can serve the Lord in a spirit of joyful anticipation, because we know that the Lord will be with us in what He has called us to do. That is why that I say when I preach that the Lord is going to use His word to touch somebody’s life. That doesn’t mean that I will have to know about it, but I can anticipate God’s word “will not return to Him void.” (As promised in Isaiah 55:11.). Does this describe your attitude in your service? “Patient in tribulation” – The word that is translated “patient” here means to be willing to wait. When we serve the Lord, the world being as it is, we are bound to encounter trouble along the way. Jesus never promised us that our service for Him would be trouble free. We cannot let the troubles that we might encounter cause us to grow discouraged and give up. This happens all too often in churches. We can begin to see things moving in the right direction and Satan will throw all kinds of troubles in the way. If we give up, he wins a victory, and keeps the work from going forward. That is why we are told to have patience, and trust in the Lord’s timing. His timing is perfect, ours is not perfect. “Continuing instant in prayer” – This can be translated, “stay faithful in prayer.” Another translation that I like is to be “constant in prayer.” Nothing is ever accomplished in our service to the Lord without prayer. It is constant, faithful prayer that causes us to rejoice in hope and to be patient in trouble. Dwight L. Moody wrote that “every great movement of God began by a man on his knees.” Too often we try to bring revival to our churches by a program. Programs work well only when they are bathed with the faithful prayers of God’s people. Think about your own service for the Lord. Are these three qualities involved in your service? It is at least worth thought isn’t it! Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|