The online Bible teaching
ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
January
6,
2022
"The
Greatest Resignation"
(Part
2)
Message
summary: The ultimate
greatest resignation is resigning ourselves to God as
instruments of righteousness!
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Do not
offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of
wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those
who have been brought from death to life; and offer
every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of
righteousness" (Romans 6:13).
Yesterday I
wrote a note of condolence to Mel, a friend whose father
recently passed away. He wrote back and shared a link to
his father's obituary. I learned that his paternal
grandmother's maiden name was Weber and I considered
stories I heard as a child that I may have ancestors who
were Pennsylvania Dutch so that was interesting. Who
knows, I may have some roots here in Lancaster County!
(For those unaware I grew up in the Kansas City, Missouri area.)
But what
especially caught my attention was that Mel's father, a
lifelong farmer, had 11 children, 90 grandchildren and 162
great grandchildren! Should his entire family attend a
reunion it would require a very large facility to host a
family of this size. I did the math and that gathering
would include 263 family members without the in-laws!
Imagine if they chose to visit a Sunday morning worship
service - that would sure make a memorable service for any
pastor!
Today I consider this man whom I never personally met. He was a member of one of several faith groups common to our area who are often referred to as "Plain people" or "Old-order". Over the twenty years we've lived in Lancaster County we have befriended many from these groups and some are our neighbors. They may be described as "salt of the earth" type Christians and demonstrate an earnest faith. In fact Mel is a Bishop in that group and a very thoughtful and serious follower of Christ. (The 17 Ohio missionaries who were kidnapped in Haiti from Oct. 16 through December 12 last year were from a group like this. After their daring escape they have a marvelous testimony of God's protection and deliverance from their captivity.)
In
yesterday's message we considered "The Great Resignation",
a term currently being used to describe the large number
of employees who are quitting their jobs, contributing to
a significant labor shortage in many companies. But we made our message about a much greater
resignation, the resignation of those who no longer follow
the Lord based on the awful description in John 6, “From that time many of His disciples went
back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
Since we
dealt with the negative aspect of resignation in Part I,
today let us consider the positive aspect of resignation,
that is, resigning ourselves fully to be instruments of
righteousness, for that is actually the greatest
resignation! Today's text summarizes this resignation.
"Do not
offer any part of yourself to sin as an
instrument of wickedness".
That's a serious call for the faithful follower of Jesus.
But so many dabble in sin and left unchecked this
inevitably leads to destruction.
"But
rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been
brought from death to life." In
keeping with our resignation theme we could render this "but
resign yourselves fully to God". This a result
of our redemption as "those who
have been brought from death to life".
A song, "Death Was Arrested" describes this spiritual
process in the following stanza:
Our Savior
displayed on a criminal's cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That's when death was arrested and my life began
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That's when death was arrested and my life began
"And
offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of
righteousness." Notice the
"full surrender" aspect of this verse, "offer
every part of yourself".
Perhaps this is the basis of the old hymn, "I Surrender
All". Consider the great power of instruments of
righteousness wholly submitted to doing the will of God.
We admit, for us it's an aspiration, as we can't say we
are there yet and are unlikely to get there on this side
of eternity!
In his sermon "Christian Resignation" CH Spurgeon states: "So, this resignation to God’s will gives, first, joy in the heart, and then it gives fearless courage. And yet another thing follows from it. As soon as anyone truly says, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt,” this resolve tends to make every duty light, every trial easy, every tribulation sweet." [Note: This attitude of "light", "easy" and "sweet" when undergoing trial has not always been our experience, to be honest with our readers, but is more often felt when looking back in hindsight of the trials God has brought us through.]
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, I thank You for Jesus who bore the weight of
my sin on Calvary's cross, thereby giving me to
privilege of being called a child of God. So I offer
each part of myself to You as an instrument of Your
righteousness that I might further the Kingdom of
God here on earth. Your love
so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my
all so I resign myself into Your loving care. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
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