Our church serving is a labor of love. A labor of love is involved; loyalty is involved. Do you know what loyalty is? It is your mingling with Godโa consecration. That perspective is the nature to define all of our serving. ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ค๐. ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐, ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐, ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ. ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐.
Serving this church life requires a different level of sensitivity. Serving this church life requires loyaltyโnot just submission from this very loveโand that loyalty is the sense of happiness and the sense of ownership. It is the sense of security that you are owned by someone and that you also are owning someone. Serving this church life requires continual fruit bearingโa fruit of love that sustains you, that nurtures you, that keeps you productive. At the end of the day, the labor in love issues very distinct characteristics in your serving the church; none of these attributes can be used to assess your โChristian deedsโ or be used to bind or be bound as a law in the church life. We are not trying to preach a moral life of transcending humanity. We are preaching this Christ crucified for sinful, wretched, remote and lost people. Before, we could never have thisโyet now we own Him.
The church life has been here for many years, however, we often just skim the surface without gaining anything. We go in, we go out, and yet we donโt gain anything. When we are not sensitive or tuned to those memorable encounters of spirituality or the spiritual things hiding in plain sight, then nothing will solidify us, anchor us or give us power. Do you want to serve the Lord, serve the church? ๐๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐. When people call you an elder, it doesnโt mean you are an elder. It is only when the Lord says โgoodโ that you are good. The Bible never says that when you are brought to the judgment of the Lord, there are such things as โelders,โ โfull-time workers,โ or โdeacons.โ There is only the Bride, nothing else. Yet, for some reason, we have been taught that we should all regard ranking, hierarchy, and systems. We are conditioned to think that if we donโt have those titles, then we are not serving the Lord. ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐? ๐๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ? Can you serve one another without a trace, yet impact people and bring them into that sphere of life, which is the essential realm for them to grow?
๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ. These are the ones who are not sleepy. When the night comes, they are watchmen. They watch over Jerusalem, this household, and are vigilant when everyone else is distracted. Three times a day they face Jerusalem, their hearts on the testimony of the city. These are the ones who survive the fires. ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐; ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐โ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ. ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐: ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐.
(๐ด๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ โ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐กโ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 06/14/2020 ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐).