THE 5 W’S OF Service

1 Kings 18

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

I want to put everything into perspective. Serving the Lord is such a privilege, it is the outflow of knowing the Lord.

When the Lord called me to write, he called me using these verses, so these verses are very precious to me.

Let’s look at the five W’s of serving GOD, through these wonderful verses.

THE WHO OF SERVICE VS 36

Elijah knew who he served; he knew that he served the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We serve the all-powerful God, we can serve him, because we know who he is. We can have this amazing confidence in preaching the gospel and sharing Christ, because we are not serving gods of wood, stone and iron, like the 450 prophets of Baal were.

Do you have that confidence?

We know that the same God who did the miracles in the lives of his former saints, is still the same today. He doesn’t change and his power does not weaken.

THE WHERE OF SERVICE VS 36

We serve God in two situations, first of all, we serve God in the midst of the world, we seek to share Jesus in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. We live in the world, but we are not of it. 

Secondly, we serve God’s people. Look at the time, Elijah was serving and sacrificing, at the time of the evening sacrifice. We are to serve God’s people in the local church community, that is where we serve. Our gifts are for the edification of our fellow brothers and sisters.

THE WHAT OF SERVICE VS 36

Luke 17:10 says

So, you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

What are we?

We are nothing really, God is everything.

Elijah says, that he is God’s servant, he doesn’t try to grab any of the glory for himself.

Someone put it like this” We are nobodies, seeking to tell everybody about somebody who saved my soul”.

THE WORD OF SERVICE VS 36

We all want to serve GOD, we want to be at the forefront, me included. So often we fail in our service for God, we fall flat on our faces and we wonder why.

The reason is that God didn’t tell us to do that thing, we are led by our flesh, we need to make sure that the service we do, is because the Lord tells us to..

We do not preach ourselves, but we preach Christ.

THE WHY OF SERVICE VS 37

This is the most important one, why do we serve God.

We serve God for one reason and that is to turn the hearts of the people back to God. How can you spot a faithful ministry or a faithful preacher?

They are seeking to bring people closer to God, they are seeking to lead people to Christ, they are seeking to uplift God and the gospel. It is not about them.

It’s all about Christ

THE RESULTS OF GOD’S SERVICE VS 38-39

When we keep to the five w’s, God does certain things:

He shows his power.

The people worship God.

They acknowledge HIM AS GOD

They turn from their idols and serve God

Right service brings right results, God blesses right service.

Elijah honoured GOD, so God honoured Elijah.

In all we do, lets serve God in the right way, we will surely get the right results.

God bless you

Keith

True Faith



“And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net… Luke 5:3-5.”

True faith is taking God at His Word. There are many examples of true faith in the Bible, and in this passage, Peter is about to learn that lesson. To many of His day, Jesus was the new teacher in town, and when He talked, people listened. In this text, Jesus requests the use of a boat in order to keep the crowd from smothering Him as he spoke. The boat that He got into belonged to Peter. What Peter did not realize is that the moment Jesus stepped into the boat; life would never be the same.

After preaching to the multitude, Jesus turns His attention to a crowd of one: Peter. He directs his future disciple to launch the boat out into the sea for a catch. Peter’s response was based on experience. He was being real with Jesus. Many times, when Jesus asks us to do something that appears not to make sense, we feel the need to get real with Jesus, and tell him our situation. We often stop at the first part of peter’s answer. We say, we have tried everything, but no result. The response from Peter is incredible. Here he is an experienced fisherman and he is trusting this carpenter turned teacher.

Remember that Jesus was and is God; he knows everything and he understands everything. His deity shines through in this story, Jesus knows us totally; he knows our needs and he provides. Peter shared with Jesus the fact that he and his friends had been fishing all night long and caught nothing. However, Peter did not stop there. What he says next would change his life forever: “Nevertheless, at Thy Word I will let down the nets.”

Faith looks beyond our obstacles! Perhaps you have toiled all year at your church and seen no fruit… don’t give up! Keep letting down your nets. The fish will come in due time. Peter obeyed Jesus, even when it did not make sense. Listen carefully: Jesus did not need to know anything about fishing, because He was in control of the sea and the fish that were in it! As soon as Peter let down the nets, Jesus called for the fish to fill them! And that principle works for you and me today. Jesus knows what we are dealing with, and He has the power to command every situation to bow to His will.

So take Him at His Word, and wait patiently on Him to move on your behalf. Faith is summed up in this verse in Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Peter and his fellow fishermen were tired. They were frustrated. They were demoralized. But, this one act of obedience by Peter transformed a long night of failure to a moment of overwhelming success!

There is another important lesson we must consider. After looking at the abundance of fish, and the financial benefit that would come from the catch, Peter took another leap of faith: He walked away from the fish, and the financial success to follow Christ. As Christians, there are two insights we gain from this passage: First, we need to take God at His Word and let down our nets. Second, we need to be willing to walk away from the “catch” and follow Christ, depending on Him and Him alone to meet our needs.

God Bless, Keith

A Passionate Heart

“A prophecy: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi… Malachi 1:1.”

Malachi was a very special prophet. He was the last prophet to speak before the long silence of 400 years and he had a real passion for speaking truth. So, what did Malachi have a passion for? He had a passion or a burning desire for God, and for God’s honor.

Look at verse 6 of chapter 1:

“A son honors his father and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

Let me ask you… Do you have a passion for God’s honor and glory? Do you have a burning desire for God Himself? Malachi had a passion for the word of God. The word of God was being trampled underfoot. It was listened to but not obeyed, just like it is today. Does that make you burdened or even angry?

Malachi had a passion for God’s work. All through the book, especially in chapter 1, he sees the altar of the Lord being polluted (vs 7). He sees eye service to the work of God and he is burdened and passionate to speak out under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Malachi has a passion for God’s people. They were living lives that appeared to the outsider, good and sacrificial lives, but in reality, within they were living lives that were a lie.

There were many in Malachi’s day, which saw the same things, but said nothing… It is the same today. Be open to the Spirit’s voice. Share God’s passion with the world. Share God’s passion with His church.

God bless you, Keith