What do you chose... His place or yours?

To learn to do God's will you must start by choosing accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then by allowing His Holy Spirit to help you will find out what or where your place is!

You noticed I said allow Holy Spirit to help!

He will not make you do it, no more than God Himself made His people blow their horns against Jericho in the Old Testament or for Jesus to die on the cross!  

He wants free will from His people... not robots

What or where is your place in the vineyards?

It is up to you and God!

You can chose the wrong place...  or the right place it's up to you.  Do not be deceived into thinking another can tell you which way you should go, you must seek God's direction for yourself to really know what He desires for or of you.  Oh sure you can ask someone, and you probably should, hopefully you would ask a  trusted and mature Christian, to intercede for you and help you determine what God's will is all about in your life; but, ultimately it is up to you, and how well you are willing to follow His leading!  No one else is responsible, only you!

If you want to know more, read on.

Your place in the vineyards

Robbie L. Rogers

Please read Roman Chapters 12-15  It points out the responsibilities a Christian has to God, and what we are to be to this world that we are an alien to; in it you will find out what a great portion of your efforts or your place in God's vineyard should be like!

Unfortunately, our mouth causes many problems in our life, more so or as much as our actions do. 

"Hey, I got it all under control," you might be saying, yet, if we think we are wise scripture tells us to beware for the fall is near.

James 3:9 through 12 "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water."

We have many of the same problems that the New Testament people's problems were.   We would like to think we are an educated people and know what it's all about, this doing God's will, what we ought to do. 

Yet, what is our place in the vineyards?   Where has God established us to be?  He promises He has plans for us and knew them before we were born.  Again, our job, our ministry as a Christian is as spelled out in Roman 12-15.  It's a great task and by God's power we can do it as best we can!   Isn't that what it's all about?!  God's power in our life.  Being God's person at all times, praying without ceasing, trusting in God, doing only that which is from Faith, not that which is from fear!   In doing so we can pass through the waters of our life, if not, we might perish in the floods, it is up to us... God gives us a choice, doesn't he?

James 3:13 through 18  "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

God usually places authority over us by way of other people's hands; but, this does not mean we have to blindly follow them.  It is not rebellious to not follow a leader who would lead you astray according to God's Word.  And in like manner, if you see wrongdoing according to God's word and after you brought what you feel is wrong to the attention of the leadership and no change is made you may then depart from their guidance and strike out on your own asking God to place another leader or church  in your path and so on.  Nonetheless, as long as you are under authority of one you must follow them to your absolute best, or leave the covering of God through rebellion.  Be very careful about rebellion.

James 4:1-10  "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Again, God would not have you follow unclean leadership, never!  But also, never would He have you rebel against His authority, or the one or ones He placed there.  All of your actions should be done in faith, which is reckoned as righteousness.  Conversely, all forms of unrighteousness is sin, (1 John 5:17).

1 John 4:1-6 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

Okay, so what's your attitude like?  That's one thing we need to pray and ask God about, that is, what it means to us, or how ours as a Christian should be.  ATTITUDE?  I think Christians should spell it by placing a "G" for Grateful or Godly and "R" for Righteousness at the beginning making our attitude always GRatitude.

If any man robs you of your birthright (your Salvation), as a Kings kid in the Kingdom of God, you have been robbed greatly indeed. However, no one besides you can do such a thing. They do not rob you, instead you gave them what they did not ask for.  Sort of like Pogo, we have met the enemy and he is us!

When you loose your cool and you chose hate, jealousy, malice, envy, greed, fear, pride, guilt, and any matter of others over the will of God you lose much more than the mere curse word you said using God's name in vain; or the ill look or contempt you blessed someone with.  You lost that your place in the vineyards, your ministry, your rewards, the imperishable service of the Master, and only He can give it back.  He will, if you only ask, but ask you must ask for His forgiveness.

Matthew 5:3-12 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

What does Jesus say there?  God's way contradicts the way of the world.  What is our attitude suppose to be?  You must be willing to say and do what sometimes seems to your friends as strange.  Don't expect fame and fortune. 

Col 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

As a LOVING WILLING SERVANT TRUSTING GOD, we should give thanks in all things, because we know who the Father is and believe He has our best interests at heart.  As such the Beatitudes give us essentially a code of ethics for the Christian, contrasting Kingdom values against the world's.

1 Cor. 10:13  "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

You know, I fully believe the SECRET TO LIFE LIES IN BEING GRATEFUL for what God has given us, happy no matter what the circumstances are, knowing and being ready to answer those who ask why we have such hope.  Isn't that what it is all about?  We can be this way Psalm 32:8   "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."   Or this. Psalm 32:9 "Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you."

Please read Colossians 3.  YOU HAVE EVERYTHING TO GAIN BY BEING THE GRATEFUL SERVANT, WITH FULL GRATITUDE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE, BEING SECURE IN YOUR PLACE IN THE VINE­YARDS, NO MATTER WHERE IT IS, UNTIL HE LEADS YOU ELSEWHERE.

A word of caution here:  Many people end up getting their priorities mixed up when seeking what ministry or the place in the vineyards they should be about.  Then too, many preachers and churches confuse the issue by being over exuberant concerning churchly things, trying to often shame you into service to the church.  God doesn't want you to do things in His vineyards because you have to; He wants you to do things out of love, because you want to.

Your priorities are ONE:  To get to know God, fellowshipping with Him by prayer and the reading of His word; your new life manual.  Making God first in your life. 

TWO:  Your wife or husband; your helper in this world is your second priority. 

THREE: Your children; your disciples, your family beyond your mate. 

FOUR:  Your place in the vineyards, your ministry; the job you do nine-five that earns you money, certainly not necessarily things you do at the church. 

FIVE: The church, not the buildings, not the organization, not the pastors, the people, the congregation, fellowshipping with them, the people like yourself, singing songs and praising God, discipling others and being discipled.

Don't let people confuse you about these things, too often they have an agenda which is mostly of their own making not God's. 

Be careful, know you place and hang on to it... God will be please with you if you do.