Title: Serving from the Heart
service from the heart
2005-07-20
The God whom I serve with my heart in the gospel of his Son is my witness, always speaking of you in my prayers without ceasing (Romans 1:9)
In his letter to the Christians in Rome, the apostle confesses with what kind of heart he serves God. ‘Spirit’ refers to the deepest seat of the human mind. Among the days we have served, how many times have we truly served with the spirit? Many serve as work. And many more are inattentive and cannot even afford to serve. They serve the world with their hearts and the lusts of the flesh. A person who realizes who he is in front of the cross, knows that he is a sinner, and has the consciousness that he is a sinner forgiven by the blood of Christ, serves God with his heart. A person who serves God only through work can become a hardened and ferocious person the more he serves. They become more sincere, neither becoming sanctified nor becoming a person who has nothing to do with God's grace.
A life of progressive sanctification is closely related to his attitude to serve God. The lives of those who serve God as revealed in the Bible are amazing. While living a life of struggle in the world, the hope of the kingdom of heaven grew. To that end, the service became a life of sincere service, not a formal one, and had an outstanding influence on sanctification.
The meaning of “in the gospel of the Son” refers to the saving grace that the Lord has given us. It refers to the awareness that one has benefited from the gospel. The apostle's perception was not that he was superior in pride, but that he was 'the chief among sinners'. Because he was an absolute sinner before God, neither the success of his gospel ministry nor his service could be righteous. Therefore, it means that we are serving God because of our gratitude for His grace in the thrill of redemption.
In the church, people with specialized knowledge are required in many ways. Mission strategies must also be specialized and diversified. However, even if you have such knowledge and talent, your heart to serve God with the grace of salvation must be prioritized. Are you serving God? Look back on whether you are serving in the thrill of redemption. Like an apostle, we can serve with the spirit when we have the thrill of redemption. Serving starts from the heart where the emotion stayed, and you can handle those tasks with spiritual joy. Is there such service? At that time, just as many supporting actors in the movie contribute to the main character, the life of God, the Holy Spirit, who has been given to him, serves him.
Even if you receive a lot of grace, if you do not serve that much, you will quench the Holy Spirit in a negative sense. The touchstone for discerning whether you are serving God with your heart is to ask yourself if you have ever wept in pain because of what you are serving. Do you have a heart that is sad about the work of serving, and a heart that has been passed down from God? Those who serve God with their hearts have a spirit of earnest and earnest prayer. Such a spirit of prayer is a spirit of service. Foolish people are those who do nothing but hope for God's grace. It is only hypocrisy that those who do not desire to serve seek grace. If you serve God the Creator with your soul, Augustine says, the Spirit of God given to you will serve you.
Not all things happen by luck for those who serve God with their hearts. They also have hardships. If there is no blockage in everything, will we be able to sustain a humble heart? Such is the case with David. When we earnestly cling to God and ask for it, the world's greed and dirt and dregs in our soul are washed away. If we serve with a heart like that, the Lord provides abundant resources of the world and uses us as protagonists in God's work.
When we serve God with our hearts, the life of God serves us, and the world's resources and people also serve us. Also, our bodies serve us who serve God. The most essential and important factor that hinders us from living for the Lord is our body above all else. The body at this time is a physical body that is affected by the soul that is controlled by sin. However, both the old nature with the self-indulgent habit of living against God and the new nature pursuing God try to join hands with the body. This is because the help of the flesh is needed both to express love for God and to act according to a corrupt nature.
When we are immersed in God's grace, our bodies can resist sin. However, when the body is captivated by its old nature, in order to subdue it, it must be treated like a slave. How the body frustrates the decisions of the heart. In order to control the body, one must go through the passage of the soul. In other words, in order for the body to serve God well, a change within us must precede.
The function of the human soul is to divide it into intellect (or thought), understanding, and heart. The intellect accepts God's will, the understanding makes a judgment, and the mind applies the judgment and causes the body to execute it. If you do not serve with all your heart, your thoughts are somewhere other than God. At that time, it is not truly serving God, and there is no renewing action in his soul.
Human intelligence is not in a fixed state, but when we receive grace, we can think about what our thoughts are thinking, and we can discern vain things. However, if you turn away from grace, darkness enters your soul and your thoughts become blind. Human beings apart from God devote themselves to vain thoughts. It is important to receive grace, but it is even more important to keep it.
Intelligence is enhanced when you are in grace. Intelligence has the variability to be enhanced or blurred. Through the process of serving God with all your heart, your understanding is renewed. When the mind tries to keep it attached to the work of God, it begins voluntarily, but it experiences a renewal of the mind. When the mind, intelligence, and heart are restored, the inner person of the soul is renewed and leads the body in the desired direction. Therefore, the body cooperates with the soul to serve God well. This amazing inner renewal is experienced by those who serve God as the center.
Jesus lived a life of suffering without rest, and so did the Apostle Paul. However, because their souls were always attached to God, they could always rejoice and became a driving force in their prayers without ceasing. The uprightness that many people of faith did not give up on the Lord's work even in the midst of hardship came from constant fellowship with the Lord. God pours out amazing power on those who long for Him. It refreshes both the inside and the outside. What kind of attitude you serve God is more important than what you do.
Serve the Lord with all your heart, meet the Lord, and see the glory of the Lord. If we do not live a life of serving God for the rest of our lives, our souls cannot but be corrupted. A Christian who eats the word of the Lord and eats it, rots and decays. At home, at church, or at work, there is always the voice that God calls and the service God gives us. I want you to decide to give your life to be loyal and serve every day to the best of your ability. At that time, the body, which was in a corrupt state, yields and becomes an instrument to serve God well. 2005-07-27