Motivation Gets You Started, Discipline Brings You Forward I
I have for the last 59 days carried you through 1 Samuel and we will soon be embarking on II Samuel where David enters as King of all Israel. As I am currently on a retreat in Korea, I thought it appropriate to spend the next 3 days discussing some of the things that God placed in my heart. We will commence 2 Samuel next Monday, 9 March 2015.
Motivation is what gets you started, but it is discipline that will bring you to the finishing line. To succeed in life, motivation is the first foundation and discipline is second. Without being rightly motivated, life becomes self-serving, a mere existence, for the sole purpose of keeping our bodies alive and entertained until we die. Mark Twain says, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Motivation: The 1st Foundation
You are chosen to be blessed in order to become a blessing.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. Ephesians 1:3-4
In God’s grand scheme of things, every person is created with a unique design to fulfill God’s purpose on earth as well as in heaven: He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Even before the earth was created, God has ordained every person for a special purpose. Therefore, having understood that we are invested with a divine call for our existence, a desire arises within us to discover that call. Hebrews 2:6-8 says that God has appointed man to rule over creation and establish His kingdom.
God has given me a mission: to reveal the truths of the bible in a form that common people could understand and live them out in their daily lives. I discharge the commission that God has given me by writing daily devotions systematically covering the books of the bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse and line by line. He has also given me the commission to bring miracles of healing to the nations by training believers in the ways of the Spirit. I discharge my commission by training believers through discipleship in the context of a local church and through training seminars and healing crusades in major cities.
In view of God’s ordination in every person’s life, God pours down His blessings and resources upon him so that he may fulfill his calling: who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. These spiritual blessings that include: physical resources, health, revelations, spiritual gifts, power and authority begin to enter a person’s life through the Holy Spirit when he receives God’s commission for him. God blesses him so that he may fulfill his calling to be a blessing to the world.
When a person comes to realize his divine calling and motivation, a switch flips within his spirit unleashing huge amount of creative energy and blessings that will power him through unsurmountable challenges. Pauls says,
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
In short, God designs us while we’re still being formed in our mother’s womb, and nurtures us by His invisible hand so that we may do the “good works” that He has ordained us to do. “Good works” refers to the works that brings blessings and truths to the world.
Application
- What motivates you: To be blessed or to be a blessing? The greatest blessing however is reserved in heaven for those who choose to be a blessing to the world. The believer’s prime motivation is not to receive more blessings, but to love God by doing what pleases Him; to fulfill our calling by doing His works.
Dear Lord, I desire to fulfill my calling by being a blessing to the world. I ask for greater spiritual gifts and insights, I ask that you give me a pure heart to serve you and the people around me. I also ask that you remove the impure motivations and evil inclinations that frequently hinders me in being a blessing to the people. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.