Serving God's Purpose, part 3

The required qualities for serving are heart qualities. Every person has the ability to cultivate heart qualities. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul talked about our “reasonable service,” which applies to every one of us as believers. All believers should serve God’s purposes - but not all do, because of the failure to cultivate certain heart qualities. God’s Spirit must touch the human heart in order for it to gain the qualities needed for service. 

But in order for the Spirit of God to touch us we must cultivate the heart. I use the word “cultivate” on purpose. To cultivate means to break up fallow ground, to prepare the soil to receive the seed. A month ago we went on a three-day fast as a church. I believe praying and fasting is a part of the cultivating process. Praying, fasting, and giving all dig into our heart and work it over. Many times, in order for the Spirit of God to touch our human hearts, there needs to be a brokenness in the heart first. 
 

Do you really want to find out the kind of person you are? Then sacrifice something. Sacrifice your money. Sacrifice your time, or energy, or _________ (fill in the blank – your choice). Whenever we sacrifice our money, or sacrifice our time by spending it in prayer, or sacrifice meals to focus on God and His Word, we suddenly see ourselves a little differently. However, the reason we see ourselves differently is because those practices open us up to the Holy Spirit’s work in us. 
 

At the beginning of this message, I asked two questions: Have you ever wondered why you were born when you were? And why you were born where you were? God has purpose in all He does. You weren’t just born, without purpose. The Bible says that in the fullness of time, God sent His Son. 

Fullness of time basically means, when all things are ready. When all things were ready, God sent His Son. John the Baptist had been making straight a path in the wilderness, the Roman empire had constructed a network of highways the like of which the world had never seen before, which meant the spreading of the Gospel would be much easier than prior to that. The stage was set, the fullness of time had come, and Jesus came on the scene.

Continued tomorrow