God has wired mankind to long for fulfillment of the deepest desires and is found only by choosing Christ and walking with Him in our unique kingdom missions.
Our Deepest Desires
God has wired mankind to long for fulfillment of the deepest desires He has placed within. Only by choosing Christ and walking with Him in our unique kingdom missions will this longing be met. We thrive and experience the truths of Ephesians 3:20 when we journey with God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work in us.”
Thriving In God’s Missions: For Necessity Is Laid Upon Me
God designed each of us for unique and incredible purposes and missions within His kingdom. Once we experience this life, nothing else satisfies, and we find that we have no choice but to live accordingly. With Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:16,17, necessity is laid us and woe to us, if we chose otherwise, “For if I preach the gospel (Place your specific kingdom mission(s) here, i.e. bringing His love and life to children.) that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.” A
ll else rings hollow regardless of accompanying wealth or praise from any source, including our churches.
This Scripture reveals that we must choose. Shall we, with joy, faith, and fulfillment, turn all over to Christ by accepting His missions as our first priority? When we choose otherwise, we experience great loss, expressed here as, “woe to me.” That choice compares to eagles choosing to live as sparrows. Regardless of outward appearance, they are dying within. Paul further confirms in verse 23, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel.” This is to be true for each of us as Christ accomplishes His missions through us in His Spirit’s power.
Entrusted As Servants And Stewards Of God’s Mysteries
Incredibly, God has entrusted us to be not only servants but also stewards of the living God. Through 1 Corinthians 4: 1,2, God draws us to this incredible life. He shares, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that they be found faithful.”
Stewards
Stewards hold positions of incredible responsibility and trust, as they are to manage another’s property with diligence and the full authority and character of the property owner. Consider all that Christ has entrusted to us as He states that we are to be “stewards of the mysteries of God … found faithful.” We are entrusted not only with property but with sharing the very mysteries of God. These are the truths of Scripture that God’s Spirit has brought alive within us. He has placed the lives of others in our hands as He touches them through us. How indescribably would our lives change if we committed to live diligently as Christ’s stewards? Wouldn’t we fall to our knees before Him, fully humbled and aware that no acts of our flesh can bring value to this holy responsibility? Wouldn’t we know, with all that is in us, that we must live by surrendering control to His Spirit and intentionally placing our flesh on the cross with Christ. Wouldn’t our lives be transformed, as His masterpiece kingdom design for us would be our first priority? Our deepest passions would be fulfilled, and our lives would be empowered as we knew no other choice held value.
Servants
Through every aspect of His earthly life, Christ revealed that He came to serve, and that we are to do likewise. He demonstrated this as He washed His disciple’s feet, one the more demeaning roles of household servants. He shares His deep love for mankind and His command for each of us to serve likewise, as in John 13: 15-17 He states, “For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you … a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent Him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” We are not to be deceived into seeking identity by serving others through religious acts of our flesh. We are to serve under the leadership of the Spirit. Galatians 5: 17 clarifies that we must choose the Spirit and avoid acts of our flesh as it declares, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.”
Therefore I Run
We find inexpressible joy through diligently running our race for Christ. In 1 Corinthians 9: 23 – 25 we read, “I do it all (living as Christ’s servant and steward of His mysteries) for the sake of the gospel … Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it …They do it to receive a perishable wreath (crown-NKJ), but we an imperishable.” He is not saying only one of us wins this race. He is instead inspiring each of us to live every moment of our incredible kingdom lives, in ways that release His Spirit to fulfill all God wired into us. This brings us great joy and energy, but it is accomplished by His Spirit, for His glory. We thrive, and the life God designed blossoms as we live according to Galatians 2: 20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God… who gave himself for me.” We set aside the futility of trying to act like Christ in our flesh, and we run our race in all the fullness and power of Christ.
Although Scripture promises crowns, we do not seek them. We have chosen life in Christ and recognize He is the source of kingdom successes. All glory and honor go to Him. We know that, with the elders in heaven, we will humbly cast our crowns before His throne, for they are His (Rev 4:10).
I Fight Not As One Beating The Air
Beating the air is an analogy conveying utmost futility, and when we walk in our flesh, we live this way. As we walk by His Spirit, we join in the living reality of 1 Corinthians 9:26, 27, “So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box (fight-NKJ) as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control …” As we embrace the vision and passion that is Christ’s identity for us, we fight with the Spirit’s purpose and power, for God’s glory. We no longer fight futilely against earthly targets. His Spirit directs and empowers us, for this battle is against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). The futility of trying to follow Christ in the flesh is joyously set aside.
Although we often may not understand what He is doing and how our lives are unfolding, we live in the faith He provides. His victorious faith upholds us, even when we feel utterly broken or unable to take another step. The lives of the apostles and many Christians throughout time demonstrate that life in Christ is not a game. It is a high calling, and the lives of many depend on our stewardship to run the race in Him.
Choosing To Truly Live
How does this God-focused and empowered life compare with the lives we are living today? To what degree are we Spirit-empowered, faithful stewards, and servants running God’s unique and incredible races with Him? Do we find ourselves merely beating the air as we seek life through actions of our flesh?
What steps is the Spirit revealing that each of us is to take with Him, as He draws us deeper into Christ’s unique and incredible masterpiece lives?
– Walking by the Spirit
– Running His race for His prize
– Fighting God’s spiritual warfare with certainty versus futilely beating the air through actions of the flesh
– Being His empowered servant
– Being His diligent and empowered steward of the mysteries of God
– Thankfully and humbly embracing His life in all its fullness.
What specific actions will we agree to take and when?
Author’s Bio: Curt Martin is an author, speaker, seminar leader, and organization consultant. God has filled him with the passion to see every individual and organization become the unique and incredible masterpiece God designed. Little touches Him more than helping awaken all God placed within you, so you thrive in His freedom, purpose, and power as you learn to walk in God’s Spirit. Only those who commit to this journey experience the fullness of living God’s victorious life. Articles include excerpts from his award winning book, “Whose Life Are You Living.”
Here is some related reading for you: Delight Yourself in the Lord – A Study of Psalm 37
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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