An Approved Worker

In II Timothy 2:15, we read:  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

A South American President was right when he said, "The difference between North America and South America is that South America was founded by men seeking gold, and North America was founded by men seeking God."  I find inscribed on American money the words, "In God We Trust."  Because of this high and holy motive, God has blessed America more than any other people on the face of the earth. But we must not forget that Luke 12:48 says, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required...."

       AWorker Must Know the Power of Prayer
Prayer is the key to being a successful worker.  We are all very familiar with II Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  If there has ever been a time when we need a healing from God Almighty, it is now.  Martin Luther was not satisfied with the religious world in which he was born, and his deep desire for personal piety caused him to spend much time in prayer.  The results of that agonizing prayer brought great reformation.  When Moses prayed, the sea opened up in front of the Hebrews.  When Abraham prayed, God gave him a son when it was an impossibility.  When Joshua prayed, a mighty city fell.  When David prayed, God helped him to slay the giant, Goliath. When Elijah prayed, he called down fire from heaven.  When Daniel prayed, he was saved from the lions.  When Paul prayed, the prison doors were shaken right off their hinges.  When Hannah prayed, God gave her a son, Samuel.  When Hezekiah prayed, God spared his life fifteen more years.  Every miracle in the Bible is the result of a fervent prayer  -  and there are many more stories from just the past couple of centuries.

What the world needs is a generation of God-fearing men and women willing to pray  -  all night, if necessary  -  that God will bring lost souls into the fold of God.

   A Worker Must be Committed to the Task
Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit your way to the LORD, trust in Him, and he will act."  Without a strong commitment on our part we cannot finish the task that God has entrusted to us.  Paul certainly admonished us to make that commitment when he said in Romans 12:1-2, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  If we are to make solid commitments to the Lord, they must be out of a pure heart.  Unless we are willing to give our lives, we do not know the commitment and sacrifice that God is expecting from His workers.

(Dr. Billy Kim, Gideon International Convention, July 2013)