During this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam brought out a wonderful point: "When God asks us to do a God job, it can never be done by us alone." Amen.
One of the hallmarks of Paul's letters to the Corinthians is the recurring theme of community. The letters contain appeals to work together, to share the Lord's supper together, to mete out justice together. In chapters 8 and 9 of Second Corinthians, we see Paul speaking of the collaborative effort that spurs on the work of the Lord in that region. He mentions the Macedonians, Titus, an unnamed "brother", and Christ. Our collaboration with other believers on earth are reflective of the perfect collaboration between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in heaven.
So, together, we can get the work done. But what is the process? How do things get done? Pastor Sam mentioned three key components.
Passion. The person whose ministry work is mere routine will never express passion. And, the absence of passion will result in work that is lackluster and unappreciated.
Effort. If one is able to work passionately, then one will be motivated to expend energy. One will be excited about bringing "God projects" to completion.
Commitment. If a person has passion and expends effort out of a heart of love for God, then he or she will have no problem making a commitment to God. God made a full commitment to us through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Will we do any less for Him?
Pastor Sam said, and I paraphrase here, "We are called to join hands with others." The work is too vast for one person to try to go it alone. Could you imagine trying to build a building alone, with no one to support you? At Bronx Bethany our church is building. We need contractors, plumbers, electricians, designers, inspectors, architects, and more. And the Church universal is built of people. We need pastors, prophets, teachers, administrators, intercessors, and more, working together for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Passion. Effort. Commitment. Are you in?
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