I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service…

1 Timothy 1:12 

We are all called to serve the living Lord and Savior! If you’re a born again believer in Jesus Christ, you have a calling, a place in the church, a purpose for your life. No, not everyone is called into vocational ministry, hold an office or position in the church, or make ministry their livelihood. But to be sure, as Christians, we all have a calling to serve God with our lives. And if you have found that purpose, that one thing that you can do, that no one else can do the way you can, then you are truly blessed. 

Take a look around at the current culture. Some have jobs in order to make ends meet. Others have found a career in which they can use their skills to make money. But only a few seem to be using the gifts, talents, and skills that they have in order to build up other believers, proclaim the gospel to the lost, and glorify God with the use of their time and money. So if you find yourself focused on serving God, sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ, whether that’s in vocational ministry or not, rejoice, because, in light of how most people live their lives, you can certainly count yourself as one of the few, one of the chosen, one of the blessed!

Humanly speaking, Paul seemed the least likely person to be chosen for Christian service. He was a Jewish Pharisee, steeped in the Law, forsaking anyone who had given their life to Christ, putting some in jail and approving of the execution of others. Paul was doing everything that he could to oppose the church and the work of God in the first century. Believing that he was doing what God wanted and convinced that he was upholding the sanctity of what it meant to be a godly person, Paul was, in actuality, doing the very opposite. But all of that would change, in an instant. As he was traveling to continue his crusade to rid the world of Jesus followers, he was abruptly stopped. That day, he met Jesus for the first time and found salvation, forgiveness, and the redemption of his life. And salvation is something that anyone can receive if they will only come to the end of themselves, repent, and turn to the Lord Jesus. But God not only saved Paul, setting his feet on the road to eternal life, He called him into service and that’s what this passage is all about. 

This should do away, once and for all, with any excuses that we may give for thinking that we are “too far gone” to be used of God. The truth is…you’re not! Whoever you are, wherever you have been, and no matter what sin you have in your past, God is in the business of redeeming lives to Himself. He is an expert at taking broken people, restoring them, and making them useful for the kingdom. So, while some people, incorrectly, believe themselves to be too sinful for God to include them, in actuality, they are not. Others, perhaps, miss out on serving God because they have chosen to serve themselves rather than follow Christ. But whatever the reason, remember that we are all useable in the hands of a loving God who desires to free us from sin and put us into service for the kingdom. 

There are three (3) things about God’s calling in which were should take notice.

#1: Being Strengthened By God

Knowing his background, it’s no wonder that Paul begins our verse, today, with thanking God. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me…” To be redeemed through faith in Jesus is enough for us to rejoice for the rest of our lives but to also be strengthened and put into service, called to serve God, that’s really something to celebrate and that is exactly what Paul is doing. 

When we are called to serve God, we operate out of the strength that He gives us through His Holy Spirit. This power isn’t reserved for the clergy, those who take positions of leadership in the church, rather the power of the Spirit is in every born again believer in Jesus Christ. Consider Isaiah’s words: 

He (God) gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait (expectantly) for the Lord. will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

      Isaiah 40:29-31

When we wait expectantly for God, we find a renewal of strength. When we need power the most, believers in Jesus Christ can draw from heavenly resources. Waiting “expectantly” means that we know that God is going to answer us and that He will be there for us when we need Him the most. When we wait expectantly for the Lord, we can “mount up with wings like eagles.” When we wait expectantly for the Lord, we can “run and not get tired.” When we wait expectantly for the Lord, we can “walk and not become weary” because it is the Lord Himself who strengthens those who seek Him and are called to participate in kingdom work. Paul put it this way: 

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

        1 Corinthians 2:2-5

Paul wasn’t in the bragging business rather he was in the glorifying God business. Weakness, fear, and much trembling don’t sound like qualities we would want to put on our resumes but that’s the point. Serving God is not like serving ourselves or the world. The world wants the fastest, strongest, most attractive, and most talented. God doesn’t work like that. He’s looking for the humble, those who will lay down their own desires in order to please and serve Him (Luke 9:23). In fact, that’s exactly what is required in order for us to walk with Christ and participate in kingdom work. God wants to demonstrate His power through ordinary people like you and me. This is why Paul wasn’t worried about revealing his weaknesses because he didn’t want anyone to put their faith in mankind anyway rather he wanted them to see the amazing power of the Spirit of God at work through him. 

But Paul wanted others to experience that same power in their lives as well. Here’s a portion of what he prays over the church in Ephesus:

…that He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…

        Ephesians 3:16

What did Paul want God to do in the lives of those first century believers? He was asking God to strengthen them with power in their inner man, which is where we find divine power. Serving God is all about emptying ourselves and making room for the power of God to be displayed in our lives. This is something that the unbelieving world will think of as foolish but for those of us who walk in this kind of power, we get to experience first-hand what it means to be filled with the power of God.

#2: Being Entrusted By God

One of the ways that we can check to see if we are really obedient to God is through our use of finances, skills, and gifts. God gives us resources that neither belong to us nor something that we get to keep. So, the way that we use those resources, whether it is money, gifts, talents, or even time, determines whether or not we are being faithful with what God has entrusted to us. Consider Jesus’ words regarding this topic:

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” 

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

    Luke 16:10-13

Have you ever been faithful in something, perhaps in your marriage, or repaying a loan, or in some task that you were given to accomplish? When we are faithful in something, we demonstrate that we can be trusted with more. But how about the opposite? Have you ever been unfaithful in something, perhaps in your marriage, or with your finances, or failure to faithfully execute the duties of an office or position that you were given? When we are unfaithful in any area of life, the after effects can sting and sometime remain with us for an extended length of time. But, thankfully, with God, this is not the end. Making mistakes, poor decisions, and failures in general, while carrying with them earthly consequences, do not disqualify us for serving the Lord. Consider, again, the words of Paul:

Not the we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also makes us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter (of the Law) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

        2 Corinthians 3:5-6

Do you know where the death of opportunity can be found? It is found in the letter of the Law. The idea that we can only serve God if we have lived a good enough life or if we have been perfect in our execution of the tasks that we have been given, is simply false. This is what the Law does. It reminds us that we have all broken all of God’s Laws (James 2:10). The Law of God does not bring life because none of us have kept it perfectly (Romans 5:20). But do you know where new life, strength, power, and second chances can be found? That’s right, in the power of the Spirit of God living inside of you. Our callings may go through changes and seasons but when God calls you to serve Him, that calling is a lifetime assignment. Our adequacy to serve God comes from Him for it is He that makes us adequate in Christ. That is why Paul could brag on his weaknesses yet glory in the power of God. And this is why we can still find service to God even after failure. 

But back to Jesus’ words on stewardship…He was saying all of this in the context of reminding us that we cannot serve God and money at the same time. Eventually, every person will make the decision to live for themselves and what they can get out of this life or they will come to the end of themselves, surrender their life to Christ, and then walk out their calling in the power of the Spirit. It will be one or the other but never both.

#3: Being Given A Gift

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

    1 Corinthians 12:4-7

As born again believers in Jesus Christ, we have all been given a gift or gifts from God to be used for the building up of the church. Notice that Paul mentions these gifts, ministries, and effects are of a variety of things. That means that your gift may not be mine and vice versa. But the main thing is that we are operating out of our spiritual gifts, using them, relying on the power of the Spirit of God as we do. But perhaps more important to the recognition that we all have a variety of gifts is the fact that they all come from the same God…”same Spirit,” “same Lord,” “same God.” This is important because there is only one body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6). There is diversity in our gifts, yes, but they all come from the same God. Notice that the Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit are mentioned in this passage. “The same Spirit,” “the same Lord (Jesus),” and  “the same God,” point us to this truth. 

So, do you know what are your spiritual gifts? These might be different from natural talent but the two can coincide. Are you using your gifts or are you caught up in other things that keep you from being fruitful for the kingdom? (Luke 8:14) We should not be neglecting the gifting given to us (1 Timothy 4:14) nor should we allow the enemy to convince us that we have no place in kingdom work. But it is important to remember that only born again believers in Jesus belong to the kingdom of God therefore, only true believers have these spiritual gifts. People in the unbelieving world may have talent, and that is often used to further their own kingdoms and promote themselves, but that is not the same as a born again believer in Jesus Christ using their gifts for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. Find out what your gift is and then put it into action as God empowers you and gives you opportunities to do that which is of eternal value (Matthew 6:19-21).

We are all called to serve the living Lord and Savior! If you’re a born again believer in Jesus Christ, you have a calling, a place in the church, a purpose for your life. Don’t squander your life. Don’t get blinded by all that will pass away. Invest in eternity and the things that will last forever. And if you find yourself, not only saved, but in service to the kingdom, rejoice in your salvation, rejoice in your calling, and rejoice in the opportunity that God gives you everyday!

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

      Ephesians 5:15-16