Strength & Dignity

Use your gifts for the Kingdom of God. Give God all your strength and serve him alone as you are to be a living sacrifice for the Lord.  

“Jehoram his son succeeded him as king. Their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son. When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray. Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet...the LORD is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease...Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried." 2 Chronicles‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-20

Can you imagine being crowned king? Sounds fun! Imagine telling others what to do and they had to do it. The closest many of us might come could be at a high school homecoming, but that does not come with any real authority. Jehoram was given the crown, but he did not understand his calling. His role was not given to him to increase his appetite for pleasure, but to watch over God's people. Truth tells us that our strengths have been given to us so that God would be glorified.

Jehoram got it all wrong. From the very beginning the text says that he established himself. This is the opposite of what the way a righteous king would think. God is the one who establishes our steps and makes us great. Jehoram was wrong in how he was thinking. He looked at life the wrong way.

Jehoram sounds like a spoiled brat who allowed sin and selfishness to cause him to slaughter his own family. Truth tells us that your gifts were never given to just give you a life of pleasure and ease. Jehoram got off track before he even got going because of how he looked at the world. He made it all about himself, aligned his life with an evil woman, and he led those who followed him away from God. He used his strengths to serve himself and his legacy was that no one cared when he died.

The enemy of your life wants to undercut your identity and twist truth so you end up like Jehoram. Our world which often aligns with the enemy tells you that everything is about self. Self care, self love, self promotion. Jesus said you have to die to yourself to find everlasting life. He challenges us to change the way we think so we can live according to God's truth. Life is not about you. It is about God and how you can love Him and others through your gifts.

God wants you to know that you are special to Him in every way. When He looks at you, He delights. He loves you more than you could ever know not because of anything you have done, but because you are His child. God made you exactly as He wanted. Nothing about you is a mistake. He made you so could live a life of worship where He does great things in and through you with the strengths you have been given. How will you use the your gifts? Will you make everything all about yourself like Jehoram or will you follow Jesus in looking to serve God with your strengths?

“LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. Why, LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭88‬:‭1‬-18

Many people want to serve God. We love salvation. We love mercy. We are thankful for Jesus, but something happens when life's pressures come. When we experience stress or suffering, many people quit. They give up. They surrender their strength to anything that can ease the pain or help medicate the day. How are you dealing with the hardest thing in your life? Will you allow it to sap your strength?

Following Jesus is hard. We live in a broken world that is not aligned with the Lord Jesus Christ. People will offend you and loss is inevitable. Darkness can feel like your only friend at times. Though we are technologically advanced, we are relationally retreating. Isolation and loneliness is a top three issues in our country according to experts. So how does a devoted person deal with depression or feelings of darkness?

Followers of Jesus, follow Jesus. They are patient in suffering. They spend time in persistent prayer. They place their trust and hope in the God who saves. They keep moving forward by faith expecting that He who began a good work will carry it to completion. Jesus meets you where you are but He never leaves you there. He calls you forward. Look at the amount of time Jesus spent in prayer. Every day He sought God's presence. If the Son of God spent time with God, maybe we should make prayer our top priority too.

Prayer is about honesty and connecting with the source of all creation, our Heavenly Father. The psalmist does not say that life is sunshine and rainbows. He says darkness feels like his only friend. It is good to be honest about how you are feeling and what you are thinking. But it is better for you to learn to listen to the voice of truth, the voice of your Shepherd, and let Him tell you how to change the way you are thinking so you can find the strength to live a life worthy of your calling as a child of God.

“Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers! Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. A wife of noble character who can find? She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity; She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭2‬-‭30

Look at the progression of the passages. Jehoram wasted his life, the strengths he had been given by selfishly pursuing his own pleasures, ignoring God, and marrying a woman who worshiped other gods. Proverbs is a text that reflects the heart of God as the text talks of a parent trying to lead their child to a life that is not wasted. He said listen. Start there. How much time will you listen to the voices of the people who love you most, the people who have sacrificed and served you, and who want what is best to you. Often we get off track because we listen to the wrong voices. We give the wrong people authority in our lives and we worry about what other people who do not even care about us think about us. Listen to God and the people who give you life.

Wisdom tells us to use your strength to serve, speak up, and stand for those in need. The truth is we all need a purpose in our lives. We need meaning. The father is telling his son to have the right focus on what he does with his strength. Jesus teaches us to focus on helping and serving others above ourselves and in doing so we find the joy we desperately long for.

You spend your time with and choose to love matters. Often we may be drawn to other people because of outward appearance, but wisdom tells us to look at someone's heart. Is it any wonder that so many marriages end in divorce? Are we choosing spouses because they love the Lord Jesus, have a heart to serve, would make a great parent, have tremendous work ethic, display faithfulness in all their words and actions, and have the Fear of the Lord? Or do we just go out with who looks best on the outside? God wants to change the way we think about how we live and who we do life with. Are your friends helping you be more faithful to God? Are you helping others be who God made them to be?

“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD." ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭14‬:‭3‬-‭23

What an amazing passage that connects to our other teachings today. Repent. Change the way you think. Turn in another direction. Jesus said this often and we know that it is a daily call for us to consider if we are walking in the right direction. Repent. How do you need to repent today? Where have you been walking away from God, worshiping other idols, or allowing the world to influence your thinking? Repent. Now. Don't wait. Turn to Jesus and let the voice of truth establish your steps.

Do not miss the promise in this passage for the power within it is much stronger than the sin of the people. God promises to be with you. God promises to be in personal relationship with you. Do you understand the promise of God to be your God? Do you understand what that means for your today, tomorrow, and forever? The God who created the heavens and the earth declares that you are His and He is yours. If God is with you, what can come against you? Stand on God's promise and learn what it means to be His person. His people do His will. His people follow His voice. His people use their strengths for His kingdom.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought...We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭18‬, ‭21

This is a drop the mic moment. Paul could have dropped the microphone and walked off the stage after Romans 12. In the culmination of beautifully perfect connections today, Paul calls us to use our gifts for God and each other. He says look at your life as a living sacrifice because of how much you have been loved. Respond to the love of Jesus by living for Jesus. Paul says it all begins with how you look at God, yourself, and the people around you.

Jesus came to set you free and help you find your place in the kingdom of God. This is the ultimate invitation to freedom. Paul says be who God made you to be. Do not compare yourself to others. Be who you are and use your gifts for God. He told us that the world has taught you conformity. To fit in and be like everyone else. We are not made to conform. You are not meant to be like everyone else.

God made you to be a light in the darkness and for His love to transform every aspect of your life. We are to be transformed and never conform to culture. How does this relate to you? Where are you fitting in rather than being faithful to God by using your gifts for His kingdom? Where have you been more worried about being politically correct that personally empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Jehoram had a crown, gifts, and influence, yet his life meant nothing. It has been said a faith that costs nothing, demand nothing and changes nothing is worth nothing. Jehoram lived a worthless life and the text said no one regretted him dying. What a missed opportunity! He had everything to impact the lives of millions, but he forfeited it all because he forsook the Heavenly Father and pursued the desires of the flesh. Will we? Will we let our flesh win or will we by faith pursue our calling to be the sons and daughters of the King?

God has given you strengths. Many of them. Have you taken time to write them down? If you are unsure, start by thinking about the time over the last year that you felt most alive. Think of what energizes you. God made you that way for a reason and the key is using the things that energize you to honor Him. Will you spend them trying to get more worldly things for yourself, or will you use your gifts to strengthen others?

Following Jesus to a life of service requires sacrifice. What are you willing to give up to gain the best that God has for you? You will have hard times, but you are not not alone. There are people who love you more than you know. Listen to the people who love you, encourage those who need you, and pay attention to where Jesus is leading you. The direction of your life matters more than any position you hold.

Some days you will feel ready to serve, and some days you may feel like you have no strength. Bring both days to God and let the Holy Spirit strengthen you when you are weak. He invites you to be honest. You do not have to be anything more or less than you already area. He will meet you where you are and lead you through the hills and valleys. He wants your heart. Will you give it to Him? Always remember we love because He first loved us.

So what will be your response? What will you choose? Do you want to live a life of impact? Start by letting God fill you with His love and mercy then look out. Encourage someone. Give something away. Lend an ear to someone who is hurting. Focus on making someone else's day. Bless someone who has been difficult to love. You do not need a crown or a title to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. You have Jesus, and you have gifts He can use right now. Offer Him all of yourself. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Paul said overcome evil with good. Be a light. Your light matters and your life matters. Use your strengths to serve God and you will see Him do great and mighty things through you.