Requirements for Service

“And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead” 2 Kings 9:1 (NKJV).

In our verse, Elisha is sending a messenger to anoint Jehu the next king of Israel. There are four important requirements for service that we want to note: the placement in service, the priority of service, the preparation for service, and the place of service.

Placement in service - “Called.” The first requirement for service is a Divine call. As God’s prophet, Elisha is God’s spokesman and thus declares to this young man his Divine calling. Notice that the man did not go until he was called. Neither should we. To enter the ministry without a Divine call is to be a usurper. Zeal is not enough to justify a ministry – one must also have a Divine call.

Priority of service – “Get yourself ready.” This meant to get one’s life in order to get busy with one’s area of service. This gives priority to one’s service. Service must have priority or it will not get done. Many fail to serve well because they do not have the right priorities. They are encumbered with other tasks.

Preparation for service – “Take this flask of oil.” It would have proven difficult for the messenger to anoint Jehu king if he did not take the flask of oil. If we do not prepare adequately for service, we will be of little use. Some run to Ramoth-Gilead with a lot of zeal; but failing to prepare properly, they can do little when they finally arrive. Too many Sunday school lessons and sermons evidence little preparation.

Place of service – “Go to Ramoth-Gilead.” This man was prepared for service in Ramoth-Gilead. God has a place for each one of us where we will fit well and our work will be needed. If we listen to the Lord, He will direct us to the exact place of our service. When we arrive, the circumstances will confirm our service. God does not call us to anoint someone, then send us where there is no one to anoint. (Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God measures our service, not by our ability, but by our willingness!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Depraved (worthless)

In Titus 1:16 we read, “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed!” (NASB)

Depraved (worthless) is the Greek word adokimos (αδοκιμος). It is made up of two words: “a” which means without, and “dokimos” which means tested and thus reliable or accepted. Hence the word means rejected, depraved, disqualified, unworthy, useless. Its basic definition is not passing the test, incompetent, or unqualified. It is being put to the test for the purpose of being approved, but failing to meet the requirements.

In short adokimos describes that which is worthless, spurious, unqualified, disqualified, corrupted, not approved. Adokimos was commonly used of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities. The impure metals were discarded, and adokimos therefore came to include the ideas of worthlessness and uselessness. In relation to God, the rejecting mind becomes a rejected mind (Rom. 1:28) and thereby becomes spiritually depraved, worthless and useless.

Bible Facts

“Seventy” is the number associated with human committees and judgment: Moses appointed 70 elders (Num. 11:16); Tyre was to be judged for 70 years (Isa. 23:15); Israel spent 70 years in Babylon (Jer. 29:10); God would accomplish his total plan upon Israel in 70 times 7 years (Dan. 9:24); Jesus appointed 70 disciples (Luke 10:1); the Sanhedrin was made up of 70 men (Matt. 26:57-68 cf Num.11:16).

Bible Quiz

According to James, what kind of man is like “the waves of the sea?”

**Answer to last week’s trivia: The Lord Jesus gave James and John the surname “Boanerges.” What does this name means? “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).

That’s in the Bible

“Straight and Narrow”

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:14 KJV).

To live a virtuous life constitutes walking the straight and narrow path. God’s way is found only on the narrow way, not the broad way, and “few there be that find it.” In the days of Noah, the entire population of the world produced only one righteous man and his family. God said to Noah in Genesis 7:1: “...Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” This meant that the rest of the world was corrupt and would die in the flood since no others (besides Noah’s family) were allowed in the ark. Jesus said the last days would be similar to the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37). Therefore, we can expect fewer and fewer righteous people on the earth as we come closer and closer to the return of the Lord Jesus.

Did You Know – Christian History

Jackson Kemper was born 24 December 1789 in Pleasant Valley, New York. He attended Columbia College, and was ordained a priest in 1814. In 1835, the Episcopal Church undertook to consecrate missionary bishops to preach the Gospel west of the settled areas, and Kemper was the first to be chosen. He promptly headed west. Because clergy who had lived all their lives in the settled East were slow to respond to his call to join him on the frontier, Kemper decided to recruit priests from among men who were already in the West. To aid in the recruitment process, a college was established in St. Louis, Missouri. Kemper went on to found Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin. He constantly urged a more extensive outreach to the Indian peoples, translation of the Scriptures and the services of the Church into Indian languages. From 1859 till his death in 1870, he was bishop of Wisconsin, but the effect of his labors covered a far wider area.

A Little Humor

After a very long and boring sermon the parishioners filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. Towards the end of the line was a thoughtful person who always commented on the sermons. “Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!” The pastor was thrilled. “No one has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why.” “Well - it reminded me of the Peace of God because it passed all understanding and the Love of God because it endured forever!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Conversion to Christ makes useful saints out of useless sinners!”