Tuesday, 30 June 2015

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL – TUESDAY – 30/06/2015 – IS IT AS TO THE LORD? – BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

IS IT AS TO THE LORD?

Memorise

Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

Ephesians 6:6

Read

Ephesians 6:5-8

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Message

The story was told of a preacher who went to church one Sunday morning, fully prepared to deliver his sermon, only to find out that the bad weather had prevented members from coming to church except one little boy. This preacher, as the story goes, preached as if the whole auditorium was full of members. After the sermon, the preacher made an altar call and the boy gave his life to Christ that glorious Sunday morning. It was one morning, one preacher, one-member congregation and one convert. That little boy became a world-renowned evangelist.

Today's Bible reading encourages us to render our service, either in church or outside of church, as to the Lord, not with eyeservice or as men-pleasers. Unfortunately, there are men-pleasers today in Church, who would rather offend God instead of offending the feelings of people, even when this is unscriptural. Such an attitude affects our service to God negatively. It taints our holy service to God. Paul in Romans 12:1 says thus about Christian service:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

The work ethics in our church organisations should require little or no supervision. This is one of the first things we were taught when we applied as volunteer workers in church. There is danger in working with eyeservice, because when the one you intend to impress is not around, you will do something else.

Some civil servants short-change themselves when they think that government work is not to be done wholeheartedly as if one's life depends on it. If you work in any organisation, particularly a government establishment, and you think you can loaf around and still get paid at the end of the month without repercussion, you must have been deceived. The law of natural justice and equity establishes the fact that if your work is worth 50,000 of your country's currency but you receive 1,000,000, by the time you have spent the last unit of the money, you will realise that the value of what the 1,000,000 obtained is not more than what is obtainable with 50,000.

Prayer Point

Father, deliver me from eye-service, and please help me to serve You acceptably from now onward in Jesus' Name.

Bible in one year

1 Chronicles 5:23-7:13;
Luke 14:12-35

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