Do you remember the movie “Fantastic Voyage?” For it’s time, it was an incredibly well made movie about miniaturizing a team of men and women who would then go inside the circulatory system of a defecting Russian Scientist who had developed an inoperable brain clot. The only possible way to treat this scientist is by miniaturizing a team of men and women, sending them through his circulatory system to fin the clot and break it up. To make matters worse, the team only has 1 hour to complete the task before their miniaturization begins to reverse and they begin to grow back to their original size. If you would like to see a few scenes from the 1966 movie you can catch them here:
It’s not just in sci-fi movies that miniaturizing things may work for our benefit. In our life on earth, one of the keys to having a victorious Christian life is miniaturization. Let’s see how this works by looking at a few Scriptures…
THE SCRIPTURE:
John 3:30-31
30 He must increase, but I must decrease… he that cometh from heaven is above all.
2Cor 3:2-5
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:… 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
THE STUDY:
One of the keys to victorious Christian service is recognizing that, without Him, we cannot be faithful in the responsibilities He has given to us. In other words, as we serve Him, we must minimize ourselves while exalting and honoring Christ, the One who can supply all of our needs.
John the Baptist recognized this principle of life when he taught that “He must increase, but I must decrease” and then went farther and said “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all”.
John understood his rightful position in the big scheme of things. Although he had played a very important role in preparing the Jewish people for the first coming of their Messiah; John always sought to glorify, praise and honor the coming Messiah. He refused to take praise or credit for himself. Why? Because John realized that everything he had accomplished he had done through the enabling of Christ. He had been filled with the Holy Spirit of God from his mother’s womb, thus equipping him for his ministry (Luke 1:15). When it comes to our service to the Lord, our strength and success comes from God not our talents, abilities, or strengths… the more we minimize ourselves and rely on the workings of Christ in us, the more successful ministry we will have.
In our second text, the apostle Paul presents the same principle. In 2 Corinthians 3:, Paul presents to us our role as Christians. He describes Christians as:
“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”
In other words, our lives are the personal letters, written on our hearts by Christ, lived through the leadership and enabling of the Spirit, and intended for all men to read. Our lives, like a letter, are to reveal the thoughts and desires of the author. As we live on earth, others are “reading” this letter, by watching how we live our lives.
Paul continues on “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”.
Now Paul emphasizes the role of Christ in our lives as we live for Him. He states that the reason he believes that we can have victorious testimonies is because of Christ not us. It’s not because we are such “good” people that we live victorious lives; it is because He is gracious, and works in our hearts, enabling us to serve Him. We are nothing “as of ourselves” the only way we can be sufficient servants is through God’s workings in our lives.
Paul summarizes this principle clearly in 2 Corinthians 10:2-4-
“But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION
For those who are trusting in Christ….
If we begin to consistently look to Christ for our sufficiency in service several things will take place:
- it will drive us to God out of need, submission, and humility – 2 Cor 4:7
- relieves us of the burden to produce… God must give increase to our ministry – 1 Cor 3:5-8
- motivates us to carefully listen to His Word and then follow the Spirit’s leading for our lives – Psa 119:105, Eph 6:17
- it opens opportunities for the Lord to work miracles – Mark 6:5-6
- we become more useful to Him – 2 Tim 2:19-21
- we have more peace as we serve Him – Phil 4:6-9
- Christ receives all the glory in our ministry – Phil 1:9-11
All of these will only enhance and strengthen our service to Him.
For those who have yet to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior…
The Word has made it plain that salvation is through Christ and Him alone. Just as with our service to Him, we can do nothing to save ourselves from our sin. (Isa 64:6-7) Our salvation rests on Christ, His work on the cross, and His workings in our heart. (John 6:43-47, Rom 9:15-16) We must turn from our sin and come humbly before Him, (realizing we cannot earn our own forgiveness) and trust Him to save us from our sin. For more information about salvation, please refer to my blog page: http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/all-about-salvation/
If you have any questions concerning this blog, or if you have a subject you would like discussed, please feel free to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I will answer all emails via my blog, email, or both.
Follow my Squidoo Instructional Lens “Presenting God’s Grace” “The Solemn Obligation To Present the Doctrines of Grace to the Lost and Saved Alike” http://www.squidoo.com/presenting-gods-grace
May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”
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