It is a normal thing to hear from Christians nowadays that as long as it is for the Lord, it is okay to do it! In fact, William Carey, one of the known missionary to India said, “Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.” This echoes the noble desire of a person who yearns to please God. Just like King David. When the Lord gave him rest from all his enemies, he also desired to do something for God. But to my surprise, the Lord did not let him build that dwelling place but God gave that task of building the temple to his son Solomon (2 Samuel 7:1-13, 1 Chronicles 22:9-10). However, when King Solomon dedicated the temple, in his God-given wisdom, he expressed the idea that God cannot really dwell in the temple he has built because even the heavens and the highest heaven cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27). This thought was mentioned by the Lord himself through the prophet Isaiah when the Israelites became proud of their offerings in the temple, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD (Isaiah 66:1-2). Can we really accomplish things for God? Or can we even do anything that we like to do for God? These questions puzzled my mind lately.

“Just do it!” is a familiar tag-line that is embraced by most of the people nowadays and affects even the Christians. Whatever you think is right, whatever you think is true and whatever you think you want to do is alright as long as it gives you pleasure. This way of thinking is what we call “postmodernism.” According to Alister McGrath, postmodernism is a philosophy which “is generally taken to be something of a cultural sensitivity without absolutes, fixed certainties, or foundations, which takes delight in pluralism and divergence…” The nature of postmodernism as McGrath explains is hostile to “systematization” or any claims to have absoluteness or exclusivity. Simply put, postmodernism is a worldview that is against absolute truth, against exclusivity and against systematic order. Everything becomes subjective. This is the mindset of the people of our time. Everyone wants to do his own for personal pleasure. Christians “righteously” decorated it and came-up with the phrase “I do it for the Lord.”

cartoon strip from One For The Road...

Nowadays, we find it hard to develop true followers of the Word because every person in church has his own way of doing things. It’s a norm that when a Christian has been corrected, he/she will transfer to another ministry. And this cycle continues from one church to another not knowing that little by little, we are going farther away from the life that God wants for us. We love to do things on our own and we say that we are doing it for the Lord. King Saul disqualifies himself as the king of Israel because he did not follow the specific instruction of God for him. He even reasoned to the Prophet Samuel that he did it so that they can offer it to God (1 Samuel 15:15). It is impossible for us to accomplish something for God especially if we are the one who’s dictating what to do for Him but He desires to accomplish things through us. Throughout the history of humankind, it was God who accomplished things through his ordinary servants, prophets, judges and etc. Most of them struggled to carry out the instruction that God gave to them but they did it anyway. It was not what they thought they like to do but rather it was what God wants to do through them that they have accomplished. However, most ministers today think differently. Instead of seeking God, they look for a ministry that would give them comfort. We even make it worse by venturing to another ministry when we are no longer happy with our present ministry.

It is time to combat this evil mindset of our generation. Let us put an end to the subjective feelings of doing things for our own pleasure. Let us abandon the thought of “self-centeredness” or “egoism”, and restore the absolute lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not the time to argue with God about how we feel about His Words in the Scripture, nor innovate what He has already commanded in the Bible but to absolutely obey His instructions.

Absolute obedience is what this ministry stands for. The Lord freed us so that we could serve Him for the rest of our lives. Do we become slaves? Are we in a life-sentence imprisonment? The Apostle Paul confirmed it by saying that he was a prisoner of Christ (Ephesians 3:1) – choice was not an option because he was Christ’s prisoner and Christ wants him to be an apostle to the gentiles (Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8). Thus, for the sake of the call, Paul obeyed even if there were sufferings. There’s no way for him to innovate the call and he don’t have the right to change his specific mandate from God.

We all have specific task in the kingdom that God has already designed for us to do. For this reason, I encourage all of us to be closer to God so that we will find our place in His ministry so that there will be no more displacement of people again. We don’t want to see doctors who are working as engineers, teachers who are working as secretaries or lawyers who are working in the farm. This sad reality is actually happening in the body of Christ. The root of this problem is the thought of doing whatever things we want to do. The Lord wants our absolute obedience more than our service (1 Samuel 15:22).

Last May 11, 2008, during one of our Sunday fellowship service in CSAFMI Bicutan House of Prayer, a selfless servant of Christ has been commissioned as a “Pastures Finder” to Doha Qatar to fulfill God’s specific instruction for us in Jeremiah 23:3-4, "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the LORD.” Despite of fear and uncertainty that she might encounter in the place where God leads her, Pastor Analiza Cabayao and her family, obey God’s mandate for her without hesitations. They need our prayers as they leave in the Philippines on May 20, 2008. The Lord will always accomplish things if we will respond with absolute obedience. God will gather the weary, lost, and dying flock not only in Qatar but out of all the countries. Take part of God’s moving in these last days. We will stop doing things in our way but let us absolutely obey Him in every way. Like Paul’s encouragement to the believers in Ephesus, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” God can show His love, blessing and power but He did not do it because He waits for you and me who will respond with absolutely obedience to His call. God will accomplish great things through us! Are you willing?