Serving Jesus Christ

QUESTION: Serving Jesus Christ – What Has God Called You To Do?

ANSWER:

We must learn that for us to be truly free to serve God (now listen to this carefully so you will not misunderstand) we must sometimes free ourselves from the distractions of the organized church. Now, I did not say to free yourself from church, but it may be necessary to free yourself from the activities you are not called to in order to clearly focus on that which God has called you to do. Is this not what the Disciples did in Acts 6:1-7?

"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

The body of believers was growing and the work among them was increasing. The twelve (the remaining eleven original disciples plus Matthias) were not able to focus on their gifts and calling, that of ministering in the Word and prayer, because there were needs in the body of believers, and, well, someone had to "wait on tables," right? The result was that the twelve were becoming frustrated, the people were beginning to complain, and the real need for spiritual ministry was not being accomplished. Sound familiar? What was the solution? Today we might think the solution is for those lazy Disciples to work harder, work faster, and work longer hours until they get the job done!

Serving Jesus Christ – The Miracle of Focus
But no, these wise men realized they were out of focus. Their solution was to find men gifted to carry out this important ministry and let them have the authority to do so. Meanwhile the twelve were able to correctly focus on their calling and gifts. What was the result? The people were happy, the twelve disciples were spiritually renewed for their work, others in the group were able to use their gifts in service to the body of believers, the Word of God spread, the number of believers grew, and a great many were obedient to the faith. WOW, that sounds like a miracle! It was a miracle, the Miracle of Focus!

Rendered with permission from the booklet, Free to Serve God: 7 Principles Every Believer Should Know, by James O. Jones, Jr. (Light of Life Ministry, revised printing 2009). Compliments of James O. Jones, Jr., and Light of Life Ministry. All rights reserved in the original.