Devotionals
1 Corinthians 9:16
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!
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Something amazing happened to me a year ago: God placed a burden upon my heart that I should write. That first morning as I wrote, I did so as much as an experiment as anything else, not really knowing what the Lord had in store. I rose early and asked God to tell me what He wanted me to write. The words came quite clearly to my mind, "Exodus 4:2." And as I sat and prayed over that passage, seeking the illumination of the Holy Spirit, I knew that I was entering a different realm of service for the Lord. Of course, that day I thought I would just write for a month and be done with it. Then a month became three months, three became six, and now a year has passed and the burden has not been lifted.
In writing every morning, I have, of course, learned about God's Word in ways I never imagined. And since I started on this journey of daily writing, I have also learned discipline I did not know I had. But perhaps the greatest thing I have learned is that when God calls us we must act.
In today's verse from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle uses an interesting word regarding preaching the gospel: "necessity." The Greek word is "anagke", a word that means constraint or requirement. The Greek word carries the idea of experiencing distress if you don't go the way you've been shown. Such was indeed the nature of Paul's calling!
As we read in the Acts of the Apostles (9:1-19), Saul of Tarsis persecute Jesus' disciples, calling them out and bringing them before the temple authorities. And then Jesus appeared to this Saul and blinded him, forcing him into submission and to dependence, and Saul then obediently followed Jesus' directions and had his sight restored. What was Saul's response to this encounter?
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Acts 9:20
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
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Saul--later known as Paul--didn't start off in strength, he increased in strength. He had to grow in his anointing, bear up under terrible persecution and trial. Even after just those first few days, he faced plots to kill him. And yet the necessity of preaching the gospel--the distress and grief he felt if he wasn't preaching--fell upon him and drove him onward. The threat of death was nothing compared to the joy he received in preaching Christ.
I cannot say that I have been called so powerfully as was Paul, and mine was no Damascus road experience. But I do know that a necessity has been laid upon me, that all my striving will be for Christ's gain because He has given me this sword to wield in His name, He has sent me to speak His Word to all tribes and tongues and nations. This is my own necessity, but we have all been given a similar burden. The Great Commission was not given just to the Apostles, it was given to all who have received the Holy Spirit.
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Acts 1:8
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
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God elected us to be saved, and in accepting that salvation we received the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit Himself who inspires our faith and action for the Lord God. Paul wanted nothing more from the Corinthians that their obedience to Christ. He sought no reward from them, and he sought no greater reward than that the gospel was preached without any cost to those to whom he preached, that the gospel went forth freely and willingly for no other reason than that Paul felt compelled to share it.
Does the gospel of Christ move you? Does the passion of Jesus--His arrest, torture, crucifixion, death, resurrection--drive you to share it with the world? What is the witness you bear to the world that Jesus Christ has saved you? Have you been regenerated by the Holy Spirit to live a new life of service to others? Is your life and speech and desire a living testament of Christ?
This journey I am on is my own, and God will undoubtedly call me to other avenues of witnessing for Him. I feel that same necessity that Paul felt, that same need to share the gospel and to be a witness to Christ in all the world. Your calling will be different but no less compelling, no less necessary. When you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart, then you will begin to be strengthened to do things for God that you had never done before. His will for you will become more apparent, and the more you exercise the gifts He has given you, then the more amazing the journey you will see. The best advice I ever got about this journey was this: "Ask God to search your heart and show you how to serve Him!" Go ahead, ask God, and see what necessity he lays upon YOUR heart.
Holy Father, I sought Your will and You responded. I seek now to continue to grow in strength for Your service, to be taken down roads I never thought to travel. Break me anew, Lord God, and mold me ever more to Your will, that the necessity of being Your disciple will be the best reward I could ever know. Amen.
© 2010 Glenn A. Pettit-Noel
NOTE: After July 1st, I will no longer be posting daily on FaithWriters. I will continue to post daily on my web site (pastorgadget.wordpress.com), but I will be focusing much of my time on writing a book. I will post here now and then, just not regularly. Peace, GP-N
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