The Man God Uses: Moved from the Ordinary to the Extraordinary
The first quality that Blackaby brings up today is faithfulness. He defines it like this:
Steadfast, dedicated, dependable and worthy of trust.
Revelations 2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.
I would say that is pretty faithful! He also notes that faithfulness “is a lifelong goal”. We often talk in our class about that timeline that leads us to spiritual maturity. The longer you stay on the path, the closer you come to faithfulness and every other trait that we’ve talked about.
Blackaby also brings up Ezekiel 22:30, where God is looking for a man to stand in the gap. He wants someone He can trust to do His will. That requires complete faithfulness.
The second quality for today is obedience, defined as:
Submission to the instructions of an authority.
1 Samuel 15:22 Then Samuel said, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.
Jesus said, If you love me, you will obey my commands. And, Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? Obedience is probably the hardest thing of all for a man to do. We are raised to be in charge, our culture admires those that have an aggressive attitude. Breaking away from that mold and being obedient to Christ’s calling is not easy for a new believer.
The third quality listed for today is “seeks and loves God”.
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.
Back to that paradox thing again. We must seek God yet it is God that puts in us the desire to seek Him.
John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
No one. Strong words, especially in light of the theology that most of us have heard. Why do some seek and not others?
The last quality that Blackaby discusses is to be a “servant of the Lord”. The only thing harder than obedience is servitude. Jesus modeled this by washing the feet of His disciples. How hard would that be?! Almost impossible in today’s society and I doubt it was any less in His time, hence the lesson.
Inherent in being a servant is that we recognize that we are where we are in life because God has chosen to place us there. So often we seek another situation, another position, when the work of the Lord is starting us in the face! That is why we have to learn to relax and as Paul said, to be content in all situations, knowing that God is in control.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose
Leave a Reply