Our Responsibilities 2

In our last post, we began examining what the scriptures say about our responsibilities as believers. We outlined the subject of prayer, its importance, how the Father responds to our prayers, and how certain things are not accomplished due to a lack of earnest prayer. (James 4:2b, 5:16b)

Today we will consider our role in partnering with the Holy Spirit to reach the lost and edify other believers. God has called each one of us to accomplish remarkable things for His Kingdom and glory (Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 2:13).

We cannot do these works without Him, and He will not do them without us. This is part of the mystery of His Sovereignty. Through His sovereign will He determined our cooperation and partnership was vitally important and necessary. Thus, He has given us a significant part to play in conducting His plan.

Ministry to the Fellow Believers

God has also ordained each member of the Body of Christ to minister His grace to other believers, especially as we gather in His Name in our local assemblies.

In Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, we read his exhortation and directives concerning spiritual gifts and ministries. His admonition to the church could have gone against the theology of some individuals who may have felt God would just do whatever He wanted, whenever He wanted. Paul abolished that idea when he wrote:

But earnestly desire the best gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:31

Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1

Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy.... 1 Corinthians 14:39

Paul exhorted the church to earnestly desire the best gifts, because that was their responsibility, not God’s. They were the ones required to “ask, “seek” and “knock” as we mentioned in our previous post.

From this, it appears God wants us to desire His will before He entrusts us with the power to accomplish it. There must be a willingness on our part to see His will accomplished and to be a participant in prayer and agreement for what He wills to do in the earth (Matthew 6:10).

In his letter to Timothy, Paul exhorted him to stir up the gift of God given to him by the laying on of Paul’s hands.

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 1 Timothy 4:14

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:6-7

How amazing! Paul was not letting Timothy off the hook with any excuse of timidity or shyness. He explicitly told him it was his responsibility to stir up the gift of God, and not neglect the gift given to him through the laying on of hands.

I wonder how often we have missed God’s best because we were waiting for Him to do something, when it was our turn, our move, our responsibility to do something first.

When Jesus commanded the disciples to go to the villages to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead, their obedience was necessary (Matthew 10:7-8). It was their responsibility but His enablement. God backed them up when they went in obedience to His command.

A major revival and awakening would happen in the church if we were all disciples and not just church goers, and if we were all doers of the word and not hearers only.

You and I will not fulfill God’s purpose in our lives without taking responsibility to know His will and then to do it. We will not be instruments of God’s power as consistently as He desires if we do not stir ourselves, earnestly desire His gifts (grace), and set our hearts on the mission He has appointed us to accomplish.

How wonderful our gatherings would be if we all followed Paul’s exhortation to earnestly “desire spiritual gifts” to flow through our lives. How powerfully the witness of Christ would be if we consistently stirred up the gift of God each day. Without our cooperation and involvement, it appears much of God’s plan for our lives will not be fulfilled.

We have the responsibility for these things, and we are the ones that must make the adjustment, not the Lord. He is waiting on us to do our part so He can do His part.

Ministry to the Lost

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commanded His disciples to preach the gospel in all the world. As they obeyed, and went out to preach, He came alongside to confirm the word which they preached with signs and wonders.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:20

When they did their part, He did His part. The signs and wonders followed their obedience to His directive.

Following the Lord is not like a spectator sport where you sit in the stands and watch Him do everything. It is a participatory lifestyle that requires our involvement. He collaborates with us as we do His will.

God works through humanity, but only as they yield themselves to Him in cooperation and obedience. The late songwriter, Andre Crouch, wrote, “If we don’t go, how will they know,” speaking about personal evangelism and sharing the gospel with the lost.

The early disciples did not have an easy task in preaching the gospel to their generation. The faced trials, persecution, and rejection by their own people and the gentiles. However, they believed the command of the Lord to be greater than their comfort, so they went out and preached everywhere as He had commanded them.

We will consider more on our responsibilities next time. Until then, may God our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless and keep you.

James Brown 07/05/2023