"If any man's work is burned up..."

[Brother Mike]

Is Paul talking about the effort of his work being perishable, or imperishable--harvested, or cast away? Or the results of his work in God's fields and buildings being perishable, or imperishable? He himself is imperishable. His reward is based on whether or not his work survives the fire, or not. Does this mean the effort of his work, or the results of his work?

1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Right, God gives the increase. Only God.

Eph_2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are God's workmen ship. God created us with his purpose in mind, his plan, his will, His path for us. Paul ran his race and competed it. Paul did everything the Lord asked him to do, was were He was suppose to be, and speak to those He was directed to speak to. That is God's path, his workmanship that we are for his purpose.

1Co 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Everyone has a part in the Body of Christ, God's path, God's workmanship. God picks what part we are suppose to be.

Being an eye is good work, but if your called to be an ear, then trying to be an eye is good work, but it will be hard, tedious, the funds dry up because your trying to do a good work as an eye, but your grace and empowerment is suppose to be an ear. You do the work of the ear to stay on God's path.

Any man building on that foundation is by their thinking a good thing. For the Work of an eye is good. However, if God created you to be an ear and you lay the foundation of the work of an eye, then your works are burned up because you did your own thing off the path God designed for you.

The only lasting eternal reward is to build upon the path your were given to follow. Doing what we think needs done, our will, our own building, though it seem good will get burned up. There is grace to do what God called you to do.

A Pastor I was working with wanted to do a community Drug program. It's a good thing, seemed good. The problem was it never got the funds, never got the interest, started a few times and flopped. The Pastor came to me and asked what was wrong!! He could not figure out how this good work of the Lord just was not working.

I asked him a simple question. Did God really tell you to do this? Spend all this money? He then said he thought it would help the community and bring people to Jesus. I then said, that was not my question. Did God specifically tell you, for your church to start this program? He then said, no, I did not get God telling me, I just wanted to help the community and thought God would be pleased with it.
I then said, it fails and is hard because there is no grace to get this done. You can't do your own thing, though it's good, and just expect God to go along with it and fund everything. He got it!!! Praise God!!!

WE CAN"T MAKE OUR OWN PLANS AND JUST EXPECT GOD TO BLESS IT!!!!!

If what your doing for God is not working out so great, you have to ask yourself if your really suppose to be doing it? God anoints who he appoints. If God said do this, then the grace and ability will be there to do it, no matter how hard it is.

Building on the good foundation with your own work, your own desires will get burned up. We have to stay on the path, be the body part we are called to be, do what God says do.

Mike.

 

[Deborah13]

If what your doing for God is not working out so great, you have to ask yourself if your really suppose to be doing it? God anoints who he appoints. If God said do this, then the grace and ability will be there to do it, no matter how hard it is.

Building on the good foundation with your own work, your own desires will get burned up. We have to stay on the path, be the body part we are called to be, do what God says do.

I really enjoyed this post and it spoke to me and some decisions we have to make as a family.

I think sometimes God has a destination for us and we know what it is. But we may not be understanding the path we are to take to get there. So we can end up going south when God wants us to go north, so to speak. North would have been easier but God does not just give up on us, He still gets us there but it's not so easy as it would have been.
I also think that when God says to tell Him the desires of our heart, He takes those desires (maybe because He put them there to start with) into consideration.
He is a good Father and wants to bless His children.

 

[Brother Mike]

I think sometimes God has a destination for us and we know what it is. But we may not be understanding the path we are to take to get there.

Praise God. Follow the peace in your heart. It's not always the most easy Path, may not seem affordable, may not even make sense. It's in your heart though which way to take. It's there, we have to get quite.

The path of the Just is as a shining light. On God's path we don't see the next provision station around the corner, we don't see how it is going to work. Just stay on the path, that is it.

A man I knew was a great musician. He knew He was called by God to produce Christian CD's and some of his songs where amazing. He knew!! He played professionally and got many gigs but he wanted that door to open, and God opened it. He was in Atlanta on a trip and someone approached him to take him under his wing and help him produce his first CD. This meant giving up his house he just bought in IL, and leaving his family there in IL. (Mom, dad, sisters and such)

He felt that since the guy liked the music so well that He could go back to IL instead, keep the house, and find his own publisher.

He picked a house, over the plan of God. He left the path, and the grace.

Nobody would publish his awesome songs in IL, and he had to continue to work to pay bills. Soon He had to take gigs at bars to keep the mortgage paid and got behind. His wife got sick, and the Lord tried to direct them back, but to no avail.

He came to play at a church I was speaking at and I was just up there teaching the word when I say a jet plane, and it was in Africa. I did not think anything about it, but made a joke with this guy on Keyboards next to me. I did not even get it that it was not my thought at the time but the Lord's.

After service I was home, and the Lord spoke to me. He said, "That plane I showed you was not a joke. He will stand before me and be responsible for not having it, or doing what I told him to do."
Oh my........... I was stupid, I did not pick that up right away. His wife died finally, He left God and stopped playing in churches. I never got a chance to talk with him again.

Shutting out the World is so important to hearing that direction.

Mike.