How to do something for God?

In the Bible there are 3294 questions: We can make many messages from these questions. One such message is what I am going to present to you.
I am going to take 5 questions from the Bible and want to share with you.
So that you can do something for God which is going to impact and influence your village.

My message is “FAITH“.
1.      F    for  Faith
2.     A    for  Availability
3.      I    for  Initiative
4.     T    for  Tongue
5.     H   for  Holy Spirit.

1. Faith

   Ze 4:7   Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
   Jo 4:35 Jesus said: „Do You not say, there are yet four month then comes the harvest?
   Look, I tell you, lift up your eye and see, that the fields are white for harvest !“
   Have Faith! Bigness of the job is not a problem!
   Worry, Fear, Doubt  –  that are Human opinions.
   Study: Acts3:16; Heb11:33-34; John7:37-39; John14:12; Ex3:11-13; Ex4:1-12.
   The power of mother’s prayer:
   American soldiers captured a place, wanted to fix the American flag, sent three men.
   All were killed. The captain hesitated to send anyone.
   One soldier came up and opted to go, „but only at 4 pm“. The next day he went at 4 pm.
   The enemies shot many rounds, but he was not at all hurt.
   He fixed the flag and came back safely.
   The captain asked the reason and also the timing of 4 pm.
   He replied: „That is the time my mother is praying for me.“

2. Availability
   

   John.6: 9 „There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish,
   but what are they among so many?“
   Lack of Resources is not a hindrance for God, provided you are available to Him.

3. Initiative

   1Sam17:43 “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”
   2Kings2:14 “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?”
   David was inexperienced for battle and Elisha for prayer,
   but they took the Initiative and the Lord did the rest.
   You do what you can do and the Lord will do what you cannot do.
   Initiators:   people who make things happen.
   Helpers:      people who help or support to make things happen.
   Clarifiers:   people who wonder how things happen.
   Hinderers:  people who hinder that thing don’t happen.
   Inventors, innovators, pioneers, Initiatives to abolish sates, slave trade, etc.
   
   Pandit Ramabai (1858 – 1922) pioneered an organization to reform the treatment of women: widowhood, polygamy and child marriage. In the last 15 years of her life, she mastered Greek and Hebrew to translate the Bible into Marathi Language. As death neared, she prayed God to give her grace for ten more days to finish the proof reading and her heart desire was fulfilled by God.
   In 1919, the king of England conferred on her the Kaiser-i-Hind award, one of the highest awards an Indian could receive during the period of the British Raj.
   Her contributions as a builder of modern India was recognized by the Government
   of India by issuing a commemorative postal stamp on 26th Oct 1989 in honor of her.
   Isaac Watts A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring to him. The father said: „If you think you can write better hymns, then why don’t you?“ The boy went to his room and wrote his first hymn. The year was 1690, the teenager was Isaac Watts. ‘When I survey the wondrous Cross’   ‘Joy to the world’
   ‘Come ye that love the Lord’   ‘Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove’   ‘Jesus shall reign’
   are among almost 750 hymns written by him.
   Anybody could have done these.
   Everybody thought that somebody else would do, and at the end nobody did.

4. Tongue

   Abraham said “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old?            And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Gen17:17)
   Barrenness in the ministries is nothing before God, if you are able use the tongue in the right way.
   Tongue-positive confession: „Death and Life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs18:21, Jer1:6-7)

   Moses: God used simply a stick of wood.
   Moses reacted and raised several specific objections: „I have no ability“ Ex3: 11;
   „I have no message“ Ex3: 13; „I have no authority“ Ex4: 1;
   „I have no eloquence“ Ex4:10; „I have no inclination“ Ex4: 13.
   God directed Moses’ attention to the simplest thing imaginable the staff in his hand,
   a shepherd’s rod, a stick of wood somewhere between three and six feet long. Ex 4:2
   The rod of Moses had become the rod of God Ex 4:20.
   It became the rod of judgments (Ex. 7:15-17; 8:1-10:15), rod of deliverance (Ex. 14:16),
   rod of supply (Ex. 17:5-6), rod of victory (Ex. 17:9).
   For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.

   You say:                                   God says:
   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   It’s impossible                       All things are possible
   I’m too tired                           I will give you rest
   Nobody really loves me       I love you
   I can’t go on                           My grace is sufficient
   I can’t figure things out       I will direct your steps
   I can’t do it                             You can do all things
   I’m not able                            I am able
   It’s not worth it                     It will be worth it
   I can’t forgive myself            I forgive you
   I can’t manage                       I will supply all your needs
   I’m afraid                                I have not given you a spirit of fear
   I’m always frustrated           Cast all your cares on ME
   I don’t have enough faith    I’ve given everyone a measure of faith
   I’m not smart enough          I give you wisdom
   I feel all alone                        I will never leave you or forsake you

5. Holy Spirit

   Ezekiel 37:3    And He said to me: „Son of man, can these bones“
   Deadness of the church can be revived by the Holy Spirit and His gifts
   Four characteristics of living things
   1.      Made up of cells  –  Some cells of the church-body are not working.
   .                                       –  Some walk worthy of their calling, but not all (Rev3:4).
   2.      They need food   –  Church had stopped taking the right spiritual food (Rev3:3,6)
   .                                       –  to listen to His Word and Spirit
   3.      They grow            –  this church had stopped growing as a body
   4.      They reproduce  –  a church in such a bad shape stops reproducing
   .                                       –  when christians get cold and weak they stop multiplying.

   5.      Some christians     are full of fear and unbelief (Mk16:11)
   .                                       –  to such disciples Jesus said “Go and preach the gospel”
   .                                           but in Mk16:20 they were full of faith and power;
   .                                           what happened in between?  –  Pentecost !

   The Holy Spirit is not given to us make us happy and clappy,
   but to do great things for God.
   .                           Preaching            Healing             Deliverance
   Jesus                  Mt 4:17                 MT 8                 Mk 5
   Peter                   Act 2:14               Acts 3                Acts 5:16
   Stephan             Acts 6:10              Acts 6:8            Acts 6:8
   Philip                 Acts 8:5                Acts 8:7            Acts 8 .7
   Paul                    Acts 9:20             Acts 19:12         Acts 19:12

   God is more pleased with those who step out and fail than with those whose fear of failure restrains them from doing anything for God.
   We need to be passionate and not passive.   Be in hot pursuit of spiritual gifts.

May the Lord bless you to have Faith, to be available, to take the needed initiative,
to use your tongue creatively and to operate the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that you can transform the village, the community, the city and the nation for the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Summarization of a sermon by Rev. Louis Prabhakar)