Using What God Has Given Us

USING WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US

By Rodney W. Francis

In Matthew 25:14-30 we read of the Parable of the talents. It tells us how the Lord gives talents to His people that He requires we use for His Kingdom and glory. The ones that used what He gave to them received a reward. But the one talent man, because of fear, went and buried his talent and gained nothing for the Master from that. The result was that he lost everything. Fear robs so many Christians of being effective and victorious. Fear takes the place of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Quote: “Human fear dominates and destroys, while fear of God develops character” (David Tait). That is why we need to know the love of God personally in our life, because His perfect love casts out fear (see 1 John chapter 4). Fear makes us submit to whatever we are afraid of. Jesus Christ did not come to give us a fear that prevents us from doing what He saved us for. He came to take away our fear(s) so we can live a victorious and fruitful life to His praise, honour and glory.

Make very sure you are submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ on a daily basis.
True Christianity is a total commitment to the Lordship of Jesus.

Through our love for Him we desire to please Him in everything. He knows what is best for us, and He has saved us for a specific purpose so He can use us to extend His Kingdom here on earth ~ today.

He has sent the Holy Spirit so that we can have power to overcome every obstacle in life that the world, the flesh and the devil throws at us.
The infilling of the Holy Spirit gives us everything we need to fulfil the call and purpose of God for our life.
Wherever we go the indwelling Holy Spirit goes with us to enable us to be effective witnesses of His truth and will.
The Holy Spirit gives us power (“dunamis”) to be witnesses (“martyrs”) to our Living Lord Jesus to the very ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Through the Holy Spirit we can accomplish great things for God ~ but we must be totally yielded to Him.
There is no room for a half-hearted Christianity in the New Covenant!
When we live to please and obey the Lord, then we are used by Him to fulfil His will and purpose for our life.
Do not miss His calling and purpose for you.

The sad thing is that many/most Christians are not heeding the call of Jesus Christ. He told us that the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers (the willing Christians) are few (Matthew 9:36-38). He told us to pray that He would send forth labourers into His harvest. If you read on in Matthew 10, you will see that the ones who prayed got sent forth. Why? Because God’s purpose in saving us is so that we can be “workers together with God” for His plans and purposes to be fulfilled in the earth today (2 Corinthians 6:1). Bible Christianity is much more than attending church meetings. When Jesus is truly Lord of our life, then He is able to lead and guide us into His specific purposes for our life, so we can live a very fulfilled and meaningful life. You may ask, “How can I know His specific will for my life?” Let the Bible tell you: “I beseech (“urge”) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable (“pertaining to the reason, rational - logical”) service. And do not be conformed (“fashioned in the same way”) to this world, but be transformed (“to alter or be altered radically”) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove (“put to the proof, examine; prove by test”) what is that good and acceptable and perfect (“complete, perfect, full, wanting nothing”) will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

Think carefully what the Bible is saying to us here.

It is a total commitment to the purposes of God.
There is no way we can fully know and prove His will for our lives unless we obey His conditions given.
That means that our relationship with Jesus Christ has to be a “full on” one and developed according to His terms.
When we love Him enough to make Him “Number One” in our life, then we are going to know Him in ways that enable us to know and prove His perfect will for us.
We will then bring forth fruit and use the talents He gives us for His glory. Hallelujah!

If we are only half-hearted in our commitment to Jesus, then we will never really know what He has given us, and so will not be able to use His giftings to fulfil His purposes and extend His Kingdom here on the earth. We will be people “running around waiting for an accident to happen”. Nothing is accomplished for God that way.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE GIVEN BY GOD

The Holy Spirit has wonderful gifts that He brings with Himself when He comes to live inside of us. Those gifts (recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11) are given so that we may function in the will and purpose of God and accomplish things to the glory of God in the realm of the Holy Spirit. When we are functioning rightly in His Gifts, we are bringing forth fruit in time that will last for all eternity. Why? Because we are ministering to people “Spirit to spirit” – that is, it is an entirely different realm than ministering head knowledge to head knowledge. It is Holy Spirit revelation that is exactly right for the person or people we exercise the gifts to for that time in their life/lives.

God knows the exact needs of people and through the exercising of those gifts we are able to bring the right word, to the right person or people, at the right time, and get the right result.
Only God can organize such appointments.
Our task and responsibility is to be willing and available for Him to use us as and when He wills.
It takes a total commitment to Him to function that way. But it is worth it.
The results and testimonies that come forth as a result of our obedience to the Holy Spirit never cease to amaze us. Praise the Lord!

These Spiritual Gifts are like the talents given in Matthew 25. What are we doing with them? Do not “bury them”. Know today that God never gives us anything that we do not need. Spiritual Gifts are God’s gift to the Body of Christ to enable it to function in supernatural ways to accomplish eternal things for God and His glory. Do not ignore them! Every Holy Spirit-filled believer has the ability to “earnestly desire” the gifts and to exercise them (1 Corinthians 12:31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-6, 12, 24-25, 31, 39). Our responsibility is to use what God has given to us. We are accountable to Him for what we do with what He has given to us.

SOME OTHER GIFTS

In addition to the gifts mentioned above, there are a host of other gifts that we can function in. Our responsibility is to seek the Lord to find out what specific gifts He desires us to be functioning in, i.e. prayer, evangelism, missions work, giving, helps, part-time or full-time ministry, pioneering a new vision in God, helping to feed the poor, etc.

There are so many opportunities for willing-hearted Christians today ~ no one should be idle in the Kingdom of God.
Do you know your calling?
Can you clearly explain it to others when they ask you?

It is very important that you know ~ and can prove ~ your calling in Jesus Christ and what gifts He has given to you to use for His glory. Functioning in your gifting means you will accomplish so much more in the purposes of God than merely attending church meetings. The best is yet to come for those who know their calling and are fulfilling it. God bless you.

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