Inspired Service

Wow. If you happened to not be at Bash 2006 last night (or for those helping with the activities - ALL night) you missed a phenomenal turn out of many teens, many seeking the truth. The truth...that takes me into this post, being inspired to write this Saturday morning. Truth be told, a conversation I had last night helped to spur the desire to write this, something I have wanted to write for a long time. Too long.

Inspired Service. Not human inspired, but God inspired service. The only fruitful service that we can experience. Fruitful for Him, not us. Being inspired to serve means you have it in your deepest part, your are committed to serve and there is a fire inside that never stops burning, while illuminating all about you. The Holy Spirit causes this phenomena in us.

The nature of the service is not important, as God needs servants in all aspects of our lives and our world around us. Alter workers, youth pastors, lay persons that get into God's Holy Word and take it to the world via their secular jobs, missionaries who take it to the countries you only wish you could pronounce their name; yet in all that the worker must be inspired to do the work, and that inspiration comes only from God through the Holy Spirit.

The hypocrisy of many churches, and a huge failing in my eyes, is the limitations that are imposed on service, inspired or not. I am not super versed in the Bible, still being a young student of study in His Word, but I have yet to find where God has written or said, "If you have sinned, you cannot serve me in the capacity that I inspire (lead) you to serve." I wonder why that is. God took Paul from being a Christian Killer to being a Christian Creator (now I know some will take that wrong, God is the Creator, but through Paul God pulled people to Christ).

Inspired. Paul was a full-bore-to-the-max hater of Christians, killing them and blaspheming God. Until on the road to Damascus. God chose Paul to do great things for GOD, and His Church. God chose Paul. Paul merely Accepted that choosing. In simple kindergarten terms, God asked Paul to be on his team, Paul said yes. Paul could have said no. Wouldn't that have made the Bible interesting, losing all of Paul's God inspired contributions. I would have a much smaller drive to serve had that been the true case. God chose Paul, Paul accepted.

Paul was a full-bore-to-the-max Christian now. Singing hymns of faith and love in the lowest of all low dungeons at midnight, praising God for all things, good or bad in Paul's mind. That, inspired service led to several things. A great quake that opened up the captives to be able to leave, and a great testament to the truth of God. See, Paul kept God's word close, kept the Great Commission in his heart. What happened next?

The guard had fallen asleep, and when the quake happened and he awoke, he frantically was fearful that all the prisoners had escaped. That Paul had escaped. That Silas had escaped. He started to panic, and would have killed himself with his own sword fearful of the punishment he would receive for not having kept the prisoners as charged in Acts 16:23. When from the depths Paul echoed up, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here." The jailor was saved, and all his house (family) was saved, and baptized.

Even at the worst of times, Paul and Silas gave inspired service, shared the Gospel and the plan of Salvation to whom was just their enemy, their jailor. An entire household was saved and baptized in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. They did not clamor at their situation, they did not whine or complain or turn away from God. In fact they did the opposite, were inspired and God did work great things that night. Very great things. Obedience to God on the part of Paul and Silas showed to God they were inspired by Him to do His Will, not their own will.

The meat of this post. Paul, a confessed murderer, still had inspired service. He had the fire within him of allowing the Holy Spirit to consume him. Lead and guide him. See, once Christ chose Paul and Paul accepted, he was doing the Lord's Will, not his own. Was it God's Perfect Will? I personally believe it was, for to be singing praises of God in prison, the lowest, deepest, darkest, nastiest level, only to have God release you, allow you share the plan of Salvation and an entire family choose is God's Will. In fact, I believe it is His Perfect Will. In 2nd Peter 3:9 "..not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Not willing that any should perish. God, loosed Paul and Silas to testify of Christ to the jailor and his family. They followed what God inspired them to do. Even when so many had told them NOT to testify of Christ, even though they had been beaten and striped, they followed God's Will, what I believe was His Perfect Will.

I once was told, after revealing that I felt called into the Ministry as more than just a person going to Church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evenings that I could never be in the Perfect Will of God. I had no clue what level or portion of ministry God wanted me in at the time, but I knew I was to do more than just sit a pew and listen. I was to act. At that point I was told I would probably never be able to be a pastor, a youth pastor, a deacon/elder or anything but maybe a Sunday School teacher or a general helper around a church. I was also told that if I felt I was to be one of those, then it was clear I would never be in the Perfect Will of God because almost no church would allow me to serve in those capacities.

Was I being told to NOT testify of my Lord, of my Christ and what depths he has brought me out of? Or was I just being told HOW I could testify and serve the Lord by someone other than the Lord? Either way, what I was being told was by a man, not God and I knew to listen to God first. Just as Paul and Silas listened to God first.

The reason I was told I would not be able to serve in any of those capacities, and that I would probably never be in the Perfect Will of God? I married a woman who had been divorced.

Next post I talk about Sin, how it is viewed by the world, some Christians and God. I also will reveal why limiting boxes imposed on inspired service can shrink and kill a church, or at least kill the servitude of the church. I will also reveal how it has affected myself, sharing where I am at now in my Christian walk, my faith, and my service to the Lord.

Oh, and Paul and Silas were given leave of the prison. Released. Set free. Do you suppose God had placed them in prison for one reason only? To witness and share the plan of salvation to the Jailor and his family? That's what I believe. When John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I believe that he would put someone in prison just to reach a jailor to share how to receive everlasting life. I believe that is part of the Great Commission of His Call to us as Christians and I believe answering that call strongly and courageously for God is his Perfect Will for all of our lives. Not serving as a pastor, a deacon, an elder, a youth pastor, a Sunday school teacher or any other "churchy" title. But sharing the Gospel, the plan of Salvation and following what Christ has commissioned us to do. And I believe anyone can do that if they accept Christ's choosing of them to do it for Him.

Scripture for this post (KJV):
Acts 16:23
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
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Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
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And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
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And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
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And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
Ac 16:28
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
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Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
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And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
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And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
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And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
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And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
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And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
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And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
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And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.