Stepping Out With God - Pasir Panjang Church of Christ Singapore

need to work on their faith, before attempting to serve in the local
congregation.
Jesus taught in Matthew 5:23-24, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to
thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
In the Old Testament God was very careful in selecting people to serve Him
as priests. Take a look at Leviticus chapter 21 and you will see how those
serving God must set the example for the entire nation.
The Lord wants servants who are regular in worship, faithful in giving and
display integrity in their lives and service to the Lord. They must speak well
of the church and its leaders and not be given to gossip or slander.
3. The extra mile
While competency and good standing are so important in deeming us fit for
kingdom work, what I most look out for is this third factor, which the Bible
refers to as the ‘second mile’. Over the decades, I have seen many fine
Christians in good standing serving God in a most competent way. Among
this number, some have come and gone, and are no longer in the faith,
much less, serving God. What went wrong? I put it to you, the missing extra
mile.
I am very aware that there are some who serve out of duty, rather than
passion or zeal. Others serve to promote themselves or have other ulterior
motives. Still others serve grudgingly. When I do not sense 'the second mile'
in a Christian worker at PP, I am not keen in keeping the person in the
ministry or using him on a frequent basis.
I firmly believe that those who serve the Lord must want to do it fervently.
They must count it an honour and privilege, and even rejoice when they
have to suffer loss in doing God's will (Acts 5:41).
When I see servants of the Lord digging into their own pockets, giving top
priority to their calling and making sure the entire body is edified, I sense
that the worker is going the second mile. These are the kind of servants God
wants for His church. People who will set the example and lead His people
to do greater things than we ever could hope to do.
In Luke 10:2, Jesus said, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are
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