Power Point - January 19, 2006

January 19, 2006

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established — that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.   --Romans 1:8-12

In his book Waking from the American Dream, Don McCullough told a story about England’s need to increase its coal production during World War II. Winston Churchill called together all labor leaders to enlist their support. At the end of his speech, he asked them to picture in their minds a parade that would be held in Piccadilly Circus after the war.

The first to come would be the sailors who kept the sea lanes open. Then the soldiers who had come home from Dunkirk and then gone on to defeat Rommel in Africa would follow behind. Next the pilots would come who had driven the Luftwaffe from the sky. And finally, a line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in miner’s caps would trail behind all others.

Someone from the crowd would shout, “And where were you during the critical days of our struggle?” And the miner's would answer, “We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.”

Christian service is not always glamorous of prestigious. Oftentimes, it is those members of the body of Christ with their “faces to the coal” who help the church accomplish its mission of building the kingdom of God. But there are many people who are working to gain the approval and favor of God. The Bible teaches us that we are never good enough on our own, but it is by the finished work of Christ who died for us on the cross, was buried, and rose three days later that we are saved and we serve (see Ephesians 2:8-9).

You are to serve and worship God because of your positive, thankful, and prayerful spirit. If you make prayer a priority in your service to the Lord it will make you fully aware of the presence of God in your life, release power and blessings, transform your personality, expand your possibilities, and influence people. Ask the Lord to give you the kind of spirit that not only prays, but serves.

SERVE THE LORD WITH A SPIRIT OF PRAISE, POSITIVITY, PRAYERFULNESS, AND PRACTICALITY.