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Romans 12:1 ”I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
God has a plan for your life! He has provided for your salvation and now has a plan for your new life in Christ. He has purchased us with the blood of Christ and we now belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). We should, however, surrender our life to Him without reservation (Romans 12:1). The surrendered life is the one God can use and is the one which bears much fruit of Him. Another reason, surrender should be our response to what He has done. If someone should save your life you would be indebted to him, and would desire to do something for him in return to show your appreciation. Well, God has saved our body, soul and spirit from eternal separation and wrath from Him. This is of more value than our physical life. Should we not desire to show our appreciation and thankfulness by surrendering our lives to God to use as He directs?
God wants to use us and has a particular job for us to do. In order for us to be a useful vessel to the Lord we must turn from all we know that is contrary to Him (2 Timothy 2:20, 21).
Read 1 Corinthians 12. Here we find the Apostle Paul drawing a parallel between our natural body and the church, the Body of Christ. Our body is made up of many different parts, all with different functions. So it is with the church, the Body of Christ. It is made up of many different members and all of us have different jobs or functions to perform (Romans 12:4). God has given every one of us talents or abilities and wants us to use them for His glory. Some can preach or teach and God wants them for pastors, missionaries, etc., others can teach a high school Sunday School class, others are good at working with children and teach a child evangelism class, etc. There are many other gifts or abilities God has given that can be used in other areas of service. The important thing is that every Christian has an ability or abilities and is to use them in serving the Lord. If we fail to use that which God has given us, the same thing will happen to the Body of Christ as will happen to our human body if one part ceases to function. It will not work perfectly and it's efficiency will be hindered if enough parts do not do their job. If enough of us fail to do our job, the Body of Christ will be drastically hindered and will be of little influence in the world. The reason the church is not having an effective position in the world today, is because many of us are not performing the job Christ has given us.
Another sad fact about not using our talents is that we will lose rewards. If we serve God faithfully while here on earth and use our talents for Him, we will be rewarded. But, if we fail to use them, the loss will be ours and our rewards will be few. We all will stand before God one day and give an account of ourselves (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 25:14-30).
Some may thing, “buy my talent or talents are very small and they don't really mean much.” Look again at 1 Corinthians 12:21, 22. Every member is the Body of Christ is necessary. Everyone's job in the Body is important. As you first use your talents you may feel inadequate and want to give up. Remember, that any talent one has must be developed. Expert musicians such as Beethoven had to practice their talent. It did not come without work. So the same will be with, we will not be an expert first, but must work on developing improving our talent. We must not become discouraged. Discouragement is just what Satan would want so that the Body of Christ will be weakened and have little influence in the world.
You may not be aware of some of your talents right away. Pray, asking God to show you what abilities He has given you. Then go ahead using what abilities you do have depending on the Lord to reveal any others. Ask the pastor and Sunday School superintendent what you can do to help out. If you find you are incapable of doing a job you should not continue with it. Perhaps you just need more training to do a better job. No matter what, anything that we do for the Lord should be done well.
Perhaps you should consider the possibility of attending Bible School even if you not planning on going into “full time” Christian work. It will give you a good spiritual foundation and will make you a more effective layman.
Maybe the Lord is calling you into “full time” ministry, such as in missions or other areas of full-time service. Don't let age stop you in case you think your are “over-the-hill”. There are those in there 30s and 40s, who have pulled up roots, gone to Bible school and then out to serve the Lord in a full-time capacity. Pray about it.
Included in our service for Christ is sharing our faith with others. Any one who is a Christian can and should do this. It should be natural for us. We have been give the greatest gift in the world, by the One who loves us more than we can comprehend, and our response should also be to want everyone else to see it and to share this wonderful gift with them.
We should posses a true concern for those who are lost and doomed forever. Receiving Christ is their only hope of eternal life. We have experienced this and have the privilege of sharing it with them. People are looking for answers to life and their purpose for living. We have the answer to their searching. Should we hoard it for ourselves? You can be a missionary at your school or place of employment. You can also share Christ with your family, friends, neighbors and others you come in contact with. One should always be ready to tell others about Christ (1 Peter 3:15). Always look for opportunities.
Sometimes, sharing your testimony of how you came to know Christ and what it has meant to you will be the best way to handle certain situations or opportunities. Know the plan of salvation:
Memorize these verses so you will be prepared to share the Gospel. A soldier is not much use without his weapon and neither will we be of much value without having the Word of God.
When talking with someone, be natural and sincere. Be yourself. Don't become sidetracked on doctrinal questions but stick with the Gospel. Don't argue for this accomplishes nothing. Make your message simple and definite and invite the individual to receive Christ. Do not force the Gospel. However, it is better to “plant the seed” than to force the person and perhaps offend him so that he will never want to talk with anyone about Christ again.
You will find that some will reject what you say and even reject you. You may lose some friends. Read John 19:1-18. We have the example of Christ, Paul, Peter and many other men and women of God who have experienced rejection, ridicule and persecution. This should not hinder us, for it is a part of the Christ life, (2 Timothy 3:10-12). You may find a tendency to be fearful in sharing Christ with others, remember 2 Timothy 1:7-8 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God.”
We can be a witness for Christ through our life and conduct. Our Christian life should be consistent and above reproach. All our talking with people will mean nothing if our life does not back up what we say. On the other hand, our life can give emphasis to what we say and help in bring a person to Christ. People will see that we are different and it may be through this that they will ask us about Christ or what makes us different. This is our open door to share our faith in Christ with them.
One other thing that should be mentioned in regard to your service for Christ is the stewardship of your money. A steward in the New Testament was one who managed his master's money and possessions which his master committed to him (read Matthew 25:1-30). We too are stewards. Everything we own is not ours, but the Lord has entrusted it to us to use wisely. This includes our money. We are to give to support our local church and it's ministries (1 Corinthians 9:7-14). There are many other worthwhile missionary and Christian organizations that we could support as well.
In the Old Testament, God required ten percent of everything from His people. Today, in this age of Grace or the Gospel, we are not under this requirement, but we are told to give as God has prospered us (1 Corinthians 16:2). Since we don't have herds of cattle, sheep, oxen, or flocks of pigeons, we are to give of our finances at least ten percent and more. We are told that what we sow we will reap (2 Corinthians 9:6). If we give very little we will get very little in return and if we give much we will gain much back. Finally, God want us to be cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7). There is real joy in giving. Try it and see.
Service for God can be a real joy and I trust you will soon find God's place for you and experience this joy. Be faithful in sharing your faith in Christ with others and you will find delight here as well, especially when you are able to personally lead a soul to salvation in Christ. And then be a faithful steward of the finances God has entrusted to you, for here too, one may experience joy.