Lesson 11: God’s Love is Gracious to Give Us the Ability to Serve Him

1 Corinthians 12:1-6,11 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills."

When it comes to serving God - who is actually responsible for it? God is. God not only gives us gifts to serve Him, but He alone decides which gifts we receive with which to serve Him. You would think that someone who has freely been saved from eternal destruction in hell would naturally want to serve the person responsible for doing that. But what we often see, even as Christians, after being a recipient of the grace of God, we are not only disobedient to God, but often we do not even want to serve God. Even if we finally get around to so-called serving God, we still blow it by treating service like a boring job instead of a loving ministry. In case you do not know the difference between the two, here is the test:

If you do it because no one else will, - a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, - a ministry.
It you do it just enough to get by, - a job. If you do it to the best of your ability, - a ministry.
If you quit because someone criticized you, - a job. If you keep serving, - a ministry.
If you quit because no one praised you, - a job. If you do it because you think it needs to be done, - a ministry.
If your concern is just success, - a job. If your concern is faithfulness to God, - a ministry.
It is hard to get excited about a job. It is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

Average churches are made up of many people doing many jobs. Great churches are made up with many people who are involved in ministry.

People may say, 'Well done,' when you do your job. But the Lord will say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant' when you complete your ministry."

I am so glad God does not treat us like we treat Him! The same people who have been saved from hell by the grace of God look at serving Him as a boring job! If we had any idea the depths to which God is being gracious to us, it would empower us to serve Him no matter the circumstance, even when it seems impossible.

God, by His grace, came to save us from our sins, and also to give us the ability to live a life that pleases Him. God wants us to serve Him by sharing His love with others, no matter who that person might be.

Thought Question: Do you have a job or a ministry serving Jesus?