God is so good and I want to
let you know that He is in Love with you.
He dances over you and seeks your affection. Worship in feeling and action. Feeling is the presence of God that fills you
as you worship Him with your whole heart and body, bowing down and saying you oh
Lord are the only one worthy of this degree of willful submission, honor,
respect, praise and adoration. Action is
the worship of our coming into a tangible contact with God’s will. How we treat others. Our will submitted to the higher calling of
God’s worldview. One in which we are
God’s hands showing our worship for God
by acting on the love He has for people with our time, thoughts, emotions,
talents, and money. This is
worship. This is why we come together on
Sunday morning and offer of the sacrifice of praise. It becomes the culmination of our week’s
service and submission. It is with that we go into the presence of God together.
As always, that one is for
free, the message God has for you today is one He has been working in and
through me for years… Qualified.
As you’re turning to the
book of Colossians the first chapter
let me tell you a little story.
Joke: A new pastor
moved into town and went out one Saturday to visit his members. All
went well until he came to one house. It
was obvious that someone was home, but no one came to the door even after he
had knocked several times. Finally, he took out his card and wrote on the back:
Revelation 3:20 and stuck it in the door.
The next day, as he was reviewing the prayer request, he found his card in the stack of request. Below his message was the notation Genesis 3:10.
Revelation 3:20 reads: "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me."
Genesis 3:10 reads: "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked."
The next day, as he was reviewing the prayer request, he found his card in the stack of request. Below his message was the notation Genesis 3:10.
Revelation 3:20 reads: "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me."
Genesis 3:10 reads: "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked."
That literally had nothing
to do with my message, but it did make me laugh so take that home with you
today.
Let’s read the word Colossians 1:12-14 (NKJV)
12 giving thanks to the Father who has
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He
has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption
through His blood,[a] the forgiveness of sins.
We
are looking at a new day in the world. With
the advancements of intellect, reason, sciences and technology, we have
invented, reinvented and changed terms and words that have had different
meanings in the past, all in efforts to reshape our thoughts. We have replaced words like sin with issues
or even worse, not even issues but a way of life or “just the way we are”. We can’t even call wrong wrong today without
being called intolerant. Even the word
tolerance has changed to mean that we have to accept everything and everyone as
equally right. With all of this, it has
left a weak and unstable individual with self worth and self-esteem
issues. Many Christians today struggle
with guilt, unworthiness and being qualified for service to God, while some
even try to create a check list or “righteousness” without ever thinking about
this one question.
What does
it take to be qualified?
This can be a misleading and is a problematic
question in and of itself, but we will get to that in a minute. A while back we were in need of a Graphic
Designer at the Church. I had received
many resumes’ and was taken by one in particular. Let me just read you some of the things this
person wrote for their qualifications to be a Graphics designer.
“I possess the abilities to multitask, be
dependent, fast paced, dedicated, and often very diligent when
inconvenienced. Previous employers has often bragged about me being good
at working under pressure. Moreover, I am licensed to serve liquor (TABC)
licensed, with grocery store and general laborer experience. I previously
worked for many trade jobs and plants. Throughout it all, I have learned
that hard work can keep a person very protected. Accordingly, I will say
that my productiveness, creativity, diligence, trustworthiness, and overall
experience in high level jobs has kept me employed."
- pouring cement
- guzzling truck
- scaffolding
- shoveling dirt
- Inventory Clerk
- cranes, tractor parts, and basically transportation of motor parts
- Flipping chicken
- washing dishes
- sweeping
- taking out trash
- sanitation work
His
qualifications while great and even some of them humorous had no bearing on the
position in which he had applied. This
is a is what Paul is talking about in
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not
of works, lest anyone should boast.
What can we do to qualify ourselves for
Salvation?
·
Nothing,
Jesus has to become our Savior
We
can’t do anything to gain salvation. We
are in the grace of a living God and are in need of a Savior. Our lives are held in His hands.
What can
we do to qualify ourselves for Service?
·
Nothing,
Jesus has to become our Lord
Colossians 1:12-14
(NKJV) 12 giving thanks to the Father who has
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He
has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through
His blood,[a] the forgiveness of sins.
This
is where most Christians fail is that they believe that sin somehow disqualifies
us from the service that God has called us to perform. This is a falsehood as if a lack of sin was
the qualification then everyone would be disqualified and no one would be
reached. We cannot abdicate the position
that God has given us. We have to be
humble and repentant but cannot use our faults as an excuse to exclude
ourselves from His calling.
It
would be like a father quitting fatherhood because they did something
wrong. We have to be lead by the
spirit, not by guilt. When we allow
Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, we are justified and qualified by His
righteousness and calling.
What does
it take to be disqualified?
In
short, if you couldn’t do anything to qualify yourself, then when you have made
Jesus your Lord and Savior you can’t disqualify yourself. Look at Jonah. He was completely against what God wanted to
do, running from God then thinking he could out smart God by having the others
throw him to his assumed death, only to be used by God to see the single greatest
revival the world has ever known, all while hoping for death and judgment. Does that sound like any of us? Hope no one has tried to outlast God in the
belly of a fish at the bottom of the ocean.
We
get very good at pointing out other people’s disqualifying acts without ever
thinking if God has disqualified them for His service. They may be a testimony in progress, or
repentant and I heading towards their greatest day.
But that is about others, what about the way
in which we condemn ourselves? How often it is that someone will
feel disqualified for service because of past sin or fear of future
fallings? We can’t afford to go down
this road of disqualification.
Parents are the worst about
this when it comes to report cards. The
first thing we do is look at the lowest grade and build the conversation around
it. We even impose punishments for that
one grade without ever considering the unjust nature if we do not also
implement rewards for the grades that are good.
Don’t focus on the one F, look for the A’s;
that’s what God does
Weather it is our kids,
spouses, friends, coworkers, bosses, pastors, etc… this can apply to everything
including ourselves. So often we break
relationship when someone disappoints or hurts us. How tragic it is and counters the Will of God
for us.
I have experienced this from more than one angle. The time of my testimony and God revealing
who qualifies us, to the miracle of God saving a dying baby in my arms at the
scene of a wreck.
It’s not the quality, but the qualifier
that counts
I’ll leave you with some questions in
closing,
Who can qualify?
GOD
Who can disqualify?
GOD
Are you qualified?
Savior
- Salvation
Lord - Service
Lord - Service
For some, it’s working in
our youth, for others its Praise and Worship or even the 3rd
service. The point is that we don’t let
anything including ourselves stop or derail us from the place and purpose God
has called us to.
Find your qualification in
Salvation through Christ. Make Him your
Lord and put your hand to the plow.
Remember you are the treasure in the field that God gave everything for
a chance to have it. Be worth the price
of the field.
