VITAL TRAIT IN GOD'S SERVICE

1 Corinthians 4:2
"Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man [or woman] be found faithful."

Are you considering another job? Are you considering serving in the military? Are you considering service in any capacity? Then I encourage you to have a well established track record of faithfulness. In fact, whatever your passion is - faithfulness to that person, place, thing or idea will display your dedication to whatever or whomever.

Being entrusted to manage anybody's business, especially God's Kingdom Business of studying, keeping and teaching His Word is the greatest responsibility of all. This duty comes with knowing the rules and parameters of God's organization. 

The word "steward" in the original Greek is oikonomos. This word means court officials or palace officials in the Old Testament. The application for these officials is to fulfill their requirement or duty by honoring the law of the land in private and public life. As Christians, stewardship in any position needs to be portrayed as following the commands, instructions and lifestyle example given by Christ.

Notice that the verse states - "it is required in stewards". One could render required - needed or demanded so that the verse reads, it is needed/demanded in stewards. However, in this verse, the original Greek word for "required", zeteo, means a thorough, investigative search. The fact that God has to search for this quality in someone is a sad indication of the lack of this vital trait in our lives and in His service.

So far we have God conducting a thorough search for administrators in His House. How is this executed? With the very weighty last two words of the verse - "found faithful". When God finds a believer who is "found faithful" His search concludes.

The original word for "found" in the Greek is eurisko, meaning to find or discover. Remember 2 Chronicles 16:9? This Scripture also speaks to God searching for those who would be consistently dedicated to Him and rewarding them. The verse reads - "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 

The original Greek word for "faithful", pistos, has no spiritual connotation. It means a person who is trustworthy, reliable, dependable and faithful. Once again, I emphasize this fruit of the spirit, this much needed characteristic is lacking. If the Holy Spirit told Paul of the lack then, imagine our condition now. Mr. Rick Renner concurred by saying,

"This means that the people who possess the necessary qualities that God wants in order to use them are not abundant in the Christian community. Faithful, trustworthy, reliable, dependable, true and unfailing people are so rare that God must thoroughly and exhaustively search to find them. But once He finds through observation that a particular believer is committed to do His will and to do it with excellence, God has made a valuable discovery. He has found a faithful person He can depend on to lead and carry out a new and important assignment." (p.82, Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, Renner)

This charge to be faithful in God's Household becomes more heavy with purposeful actions on our part now-a-days. Mr. Renner helps elaborate on my point by stating - 

"If you were an employer, before you promoted someone into a position of great authority, wouldn't you watch that person first to see if he or she would be found faithful? Since this is true of humans when they look for someone to oversee short-lived, temporal responsibilities, how much more is this true of God, who entrust people with matters that impact people's lives for all eternity? There is nothing more serious than eternal business. That's why before God promotes someone over greater spiritual matters, He watches to see if they are found faithful." (pages 81-82, Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, Renner)

The requirement of a steward in God's House, someone entrusted with anything of God's, is an exhaustive inquiry of God to find a track record of someone trustworthy, dependable and reliable. These are characteristics that would support the idea of Jesus saying to you in the end - "‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" (Matthew 25:21) This is a Vital Trait In God's Service.

THE FIRE WILL PURIFY

Our spiritual report cards in our Christian walk are the bon-fires of testing that the Holy Spirit uses in certain seasons of our life. 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

"But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames."

The Christian's eternity - body, soul and spirit - is secured upon accepting Christ as Master and Savior. With this decision, Jesus becomes the Foundation of his or her life. Everything after this choice is susceptible to the fiery judgment of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul, in the passage above, speaks about "the Day" being when the worth of the deeds of Christians will be revealed. "Day" in the original Greek can translate to season, dispensation or specific 24 hour period or set time. Many biblical scholars I have read interpret "the Day" in this passage to be referring to The Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ. Paul states in his second letter to the same group of believers - "we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:9-10) This judgment is not of the believer's salvation but of deeds, good or bad, after accepting Christ. As I stated before, our Foundation in Christ is rock solid. 

However, there is another perception. As I mentioned in my opening remarks - the Holy Spirit will use "the Day" as fiery testing seasons in our lives. By testing I mean purification, much like a blacksmith removes the impurities from a weapon or metal-piece by using extreme heat/fire. 

Our response during those Holy Spirit bon-fires of life, during those times of purification should be to try and recognize this process. If we have our Godly antennae up and respond to life's pressure-cooker moments in a Christ-like manner then we are well on our way to building on Christ's Foundation with the likes of Gold, Silver and Costly Stones. These are materials back in Roman times that were found to adorn significant structures inside and out. Costly stones were the marble of that day and all these materials would survive a fire for the most part.

However, the flames of a fire would certainly consume wood, hay or straw. These materials were commonly found in the poorer, slave labor communities of Rome. The shacks were made of wood, their roofs made of hay and their floors and walls made of straw or miscellaneous stuff. One ember or spark from anything close by and a house or possible entire community could be eradicated. 

"By using this illustration, Paul was confronting us with the question:  How are you building your life? Are you building hastily and with perishable materials? Or are you taking your life seriously, building carefully with materials that will last throughout your life and are strong enough to impact not only this present generation, but also the generation to come?"

"The Foundation under our lives is Jesus, but what we build on top of that Foundation depends on our personal commitment and the level of excellence we demand of ourselves in every area of our lives. So I ask you:  Are you building something with your life that will be enduring--or are you building so hastily and poorly that everything you've built could go up suddenly in a puff of smoke?" 

(p.69, Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, Renner)

We build on an Eternal Foundation. We should be building with Eternal Materials that have Eternal Dividends because either in a season of testing or during the Bema Seat - The Fire Will Purify.

HEADWATERS OF CREATIVITY

Jesus says in John 7:38 - "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." What Scripture was Jesus referring to? Cross references list about two handful of passages to consider. However, there were two verses I thought that really fit the bill nicely when speaking about the Holy Spirit within each true believer as the Headwaters Of Creativity.

John 4:14 is the first verse to examine and compare. The verse records Jesus speaking to the woman by the well, saying - "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life." Notice the elements to this water. 

1. Jesus declares Himself as the Headwaters - "But whoever drinks the water I give him..."
2. Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, becomes The Source of everything, especially Creativity. "...will become in him a fount of water..."
3. His Holy Spirit is active within us for eternity and for eternal reasons. "...springing up to eternal life."   

The second verse to study is Isaiah 12:3. This verse reads - "With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,". Isaiah predicts by using words like "with" and "will" that believers "with joy" will take advantage of the Holy Spirit as the Headwater of "salvation". Not only will Christian's eternal relationship with God and everlasting destination be secured by Christ through the cross once and for all, but Christians can experience continual savings/deliverance from attempts of worldly entrapments. 

In essence, within each believer in Christ is the beginning of potential beyond our imagination - the Holy Spirit as our Headwaters; our Fount. From Him comes not a river, singular, but rivers, plural - of living water. These waters are creative flows that bless everybody - God, you and others - because they have eternal purposes. For example, in my own life, I have been used by God as a worship leader/singer, author, blogger, teacher, missionary and mentor.

The responsibility then becomes ours to inquire of God about His Plan of the many different ways He desires to use us. I believe this is a lesson in not being pigeon-holed in our gifts, talents and ministries. Just one area of specification is limiting to us and The Creator of all. We need to be willing to be used in other avenues of service. I encourage all of us to ask God to reveal the other ways we can have an eternal impact by drawing from the Holy Spirit, the Headwaters Of Creativity. 

BE ON YOUR P's AND Q's

Many people have common sense, but others who are true Christians have the Holy Spirit active within their lives to aide them in all their perceptions. Common sense can be fooled, but the Holy Spirit always speaks truth. However, you marry them both - common sense and the Holy Spirit - and you have a pair designed to supply you with clarity of view in all things.

"How much is your reputation--and the reputation of the Holy One you represent--worth to you? If you want to maintain a good name and testimony in front of others, you must refrain from any action, language, or contact that gives the appearance of evil. And this is not just my suggestion--it is the commandment of God found in First Thessalonians 5:22."

"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

"Paul was telling us, 'It doesn't matter what you think or what you know to be true; what matters is what appears to be true in the eyes of others.' Even if there is a small chance that someone may mistake your actions as evil or if what you do even resembles something evil or wrong, you need to stay as far away from it as you possibly can."

"So many people have forfeited their testimony because they didn't use their heads [common sense] and think about how their actions might be perceived by others! Perception is often reality in the eye of the beholder."

"Even if you know that you're doing nothing wrong at all, the fact remains that people don't see your heart--they see your actions. If they see you do something that appears immoral or unethical, you will likely be judged by what they perceive."

"By understand the Greek words in this verse, we can interpret First Thessalonians 5:22 to read:  'You need to terminate contact with any place, action, language or relationship that gives people the impression that you are doing something wrong. It doesn't matter what you think is acceptable; what matters is what other people perceive. So put a great deal of distance between yourself and anything you are doing that people could misinterpret and that could thereby stain your reputation."

"This , however, should apply not only to ministers of the Gospel, but to every believer who cares about the integrity of his or her witness." (pages 43, 45, 46, Sparkling Gems From the Greek, Renner)

I am not trying to place the Christian on a path of eggshells for the rest of his/her faith journey. However, I am, along with Mr. Renner, calling all believers to more of an awareness of our behavior and surroundings so to protect our witness as representatives of Christ and His Family. In short, as they say around here - just Be On Your P's And Q's.

TASTY

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23

Do you love someone? That is precious because there is a great chance love will return to you. 

Do you experience joy at times? Believing you do, cherish those times for they can bring a smile to your face later by remembering them and possibly be recreated. 

Do you know peace or is there no peace in your life? A calm, steady assurance of who you are makes all the difference in living in this world. 

Do you instill Forbearance or long-suffering or tolerance over things for a long time in others? This is a kind of patience that goes above and beyond the call of duty. I find there is usually a nice reward that comes from with-holding some thoughts, words and actions at times.

Do you see your kindness paid off and appreciated? There is nothing like seeing your efforts go the distance and perhaps receiving a pat on the back occasionally for your gesture. 

Do you find you have a good heart that matches up with good deeds and blesses others? If you are this type of person then I believe blessings will follow you. For the rest of us who may find this a challenge, remember, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." - James 4:17

Can people feel the impact of your faithfulness? When good managers and leaders recognize that their group or organization is running like a well oiled machine, I like to believe they look for the cause. Some supervisors that experience success because of your dependability are gracious enough to verbally, publicly and monetarily reward you.

Do people feel the effects, later on in their day or life, of a gentle touch or approach you imparted? We would do well to remember the wise words written in Proverbs 15:1? "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Our decisions over our words and thoughts are met on the battlefield of the mind. That battle needs to be already won by the Holy Spirit everyday before the word "Go" so that "a gentle answer" can be distributed, not a sarcastic one.

Do others see and feel the restraint you make at times when you desire to strike somebody with words or actions? Again, I return to a wise Proverb - "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." - Proverbs 18:21 Choose wisely your words and actions. This calls for thinking before speaking and action. In this thinking process, include the Holy Spirit as your filter and Counselor and you will be protected from stupidity.

As you can see, having the Fruits of the Spirit of God in your life is commendable. To be able to see your love in others, joy in others, peace in others, long-suffering in and for others, kindness in and for others, goodness in and for others, faithfulness toward God and others, gentleness in others lives and self-control in others - is a huge indication that you desire to operate out of the Fruits of God's Spirit.

However, to have others display a resemblance or reaction to words and/or actions you might have said that meet all the traits of Galatians 5:22-23 is just one part of the equation. The other vital part is the complete transformation of our character to those traits or Fruits. So, instead of knowing that you are capable of love because you love at least one person, you now are a loving person, allowing God's Love for all to flow through you. Likewise, you become a joyous person, a peaceful person, a highly tolerant individual, a kind soul, a good human being, a faithful man/woman, a gentle spirit, a person of self-control. Observing these Fruits in others is wonderful and promising, but owning them as a major part of who you are makes you more usable of God and to the rest of us - Tasty. 

A TRAVELING, FRUITFUL TREE

Jesus used the analogy of The Tree in Matthew 7:17-20 to have us gauge our character. He said, "...every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." So, what kind of tree are you? What kind of fruit do you produce? Does your life attract fruit lovers?

Paul encourages us to be a portable tree of many fruits. In Galatians 5:22-23, he lists many ingredients, characteristics or fruits of God's Spirit that should flow from a believer's life. 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Joy is a wonderful fruit to bear in one's life and having just a Joy Tree would be nice but our God is a God of Abundance! There are other fruits God desires us to possess and share with each other. This list continues with - love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

There are some people who are like this tree. I find their company, presence and everything that surrounds them to be just what I need. Their humor matches mine, their serious talk matches mine, their tolerance matches mine and their peaceful demeanor matches mine. I believe we all need to be and have this kind of person or tree in our lives.

The key to an excellent, fruit-producing, edifying tree or person is the Source of The Root System. Read what the Holy Spirit had David write (Psalm 1:1-4) -

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers."

Do you see the equation here? The one who is completely enthralled with God's Word and turns it over and over in their mind during the day and night is like this Tree that is being personified. The Tree is well nourished by Living Water, produces its fruit at the proper time, the tree is preserved by God - meaning our attractiveness or leaf doesn't wither and God's favor is upon its life.

So, are you a "good tree" or "bad tree" as I earlier put forth by Christ? Hopefully, you are a good tree or at aspiring to be that good tree. If this is the case, your roots need to go down to The River that never will run dry - God's Holy Spirit. Then as you soak and meditate in God's Word, He will develop in you the many different fruits He desires to harvest from you as - A Traveling, Fruitful Tree.

FROM THE OLD TO NEW WINESKINS

As much as I detest the song "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen, there are many times when we should heed the advice in the title of that song. Certain relationships fall into this category. 

Timothy knew all too well that there were people in his life not worthy of his time and energy. He was pouring into their lives but they were not being faithful with the teaching and blessing given. New wine was being poured into old wine skins and the wine skins were bursting and spilling all over the place.

"In Second Timothy 2:2, Paul wrote to his young disciple and told him, '...the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.' The word 'commit' in this verse is a powerful key to building strong and lasting relationships. It is the Greek word parathou, which is a compound of the words, para and thou, the latter being a form of the word tithemi."

"When the words para and tithemi are compounded into one word, the new word is parathou, which means to come closely alongside someone else in order to put, place or deposit a part of oneself into that person."
(p.22, Sparkling Gems From The Greek 2, Renner)

So for Timothy, the time had come for him to sever ties with those old, fruitless and possible hurtful relationships and begin pouring into new, potential good ones. Timothy needed to start pouring the New Wine into new wine skins.

The context of the passage on old and new wine skins has to do with what Jesus was doing for His Disciples as He was with the disciples preparing them to be vessels of the Holy Spirit after He left (Matthew 9:14-17). The original question raised by John's disciples was - “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” (Matt. 9:14) Christ's answer had two parts: (1) relationship and (2) proximity.

"Jesus answered, 'How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.'" (Matt. 9:15) 

Notice in the first part of Christ's answer relationship is established. Jesus identifies His Disciples as "guests" of not just any bridegroom, but "the bridegroom" - 'How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?'. In the same breath Jesus identifies Himself as The Bridegroom. Even though Jesus answers John's disciples, Christ really pours His teaching, His love and His life into His Disciples and those of faith seeking a miracle.  

In the latter part of this question and in the next statement, Christ mentions His proximity. First, Jesus mentions He is The Bridegroom who "is with them" now. Then He prophesies of a time when He "the bridegroom will be take from them". 

Jesus was among many different people groups who heard and witnessed His teaching, compassion and power. However, Christ distanced Himself from certain people groups like the Pharisees and Sadducees whom He called a "brood of vipers" (Matt. 3:7). Christ was closer in proximity and heart to those that "listen to His voice" (John 10:27). These are the ones He poured into. These are the ones He drenched with the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, my challenge is for us to take example from Timothy and Christ by taking inventory of our wasteful resources we continually apply to fruitless and unfaithful relationships. After we stop this we need to begin pouring into other probable coworkers in the Kingdom who may even become good friends. Disappointment and hurt were probably part of the old relationships but new ones hold a hope of better things to come - From The Old To New Wineskins.

NEVER ALONE

I do not know how people who choose to live a solitary life - live that lifestyle. Looking at Scripture we observe God and Adam existing with each other for a season, then in Genesis 2:18 God declares that Adam needs someone like him; like his kind, to enjoy the days with him and the Lord. So, God creates Eve from one of Adam's ribs while Adam sleeps. 

Life is all about relationship(s). The first, most important relationship is the one between you and God, then the second between you and your family, especially your spouse. Ephesians 5:21-33 spells out how to do this, but verse 33 summarizes the whole passage nicely by saying, "each one of you [the husbands] also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." 

Not that alone moments are not healthy for us now and then. Our own personal time balanced with our precious relationships is a must for a healthy us. Jesus exercised this personal time and even then He was never alone and neither are we. 

One thing all of creation is guaranteed is No Privacy. God is everywhere, sees everything and knows all. His numerous Holy angels are present also, executing God's will in every area of creation. I cannot speak to those who have passed on - whether they "look over the Banister of Heaven" and can view our lives here on earth. However, just the fact that God and His interested spectators are watching should be enough to warrant a lifestyle change or at least a pause to consider one.

The lifestyle I am speaking of here is matching your unseen life with your seen one. Do your practices, attitude, and words with God in private translate over into your public demeanor? Ones demeanor is like a tell in a game of cards, it notifies people of who you are and what your tendencies will be toward them and others. A Christ-like demeanor says you are a Christian and you practice what you preach/teach/believe.

Observing the ultimate example in this - Christ Jesus - His alone moments matched His lifestyle. His alone moments were spent in prayer and He prayed publicly for people also. I discovered Jesus loved mountainsides as locations to pray. 

I noticed that "when" He prayed the time of day ranged from early morning hours all the way through to all-night hours. This meant to me that there is no set time to pray. However, whenever Jesus could get alone with Father God, He took the opportunity no matter when it was during the day. 

I uncovered "what" Jesus prayed. 

1. He prayed for children, 
2. Himself, 
3. His disciples, 
4. all Believers, 
5. and people at Lazarus' tomb. 

He thanked Father God for... 

1. food and for hearing Him. 
2. With the children He might as well have prayed, but it is not recorded He did, just that He touched them. 
3. With Himself, Jesus prayed for glorification, "cup" to be passed, and the surrender of His spirit. 
4. With His Disciples, Jesus prayed for protection, sanctification, identification (who are the twelve), and revelation (of who He was). 
5. With all Believers, Jesus prayed for unity, company in heaven, and forgiveness. 
6. With the people at Lazarus' tomb, Jesus prayed for the power of God to be displayed for the benefit of the people standing there. (http://pritchardsplace.blogspot.com/2012/04/jesus-experience-with-prayer.html)

With no privacy granted to us from Heaven - do my alone moments truly match behavior in public that would bring glory to God? If I praise Him in private to His face, why not in public? If I proclaim to Him who He is to me in private, why not in public? If I pray in private, why not in public? As long as we still have the freedoms we have and as long as there are lost and struggling people needing to see a good life-example of a true Christian, then we must match up our private and public moments to show forth a level of integrity struggling to be seen. This journey, this lifestyle all starts with you and it all begins in your alone moments but it also means you are really, Never Alone.