Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me
I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than
you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Dr. Lamar Vest preached at times square church when I visited the church in NYC some 2 weeks ago. I was really zapped that day because we had slept late, having spent the entire day roaming about NYC and heading back to the hotel, we spent much time packing the bags and getting ready for check-out.
It is a terrible thing to always go to the house of God tired and sleepy, more so when you are overseas and attending a church you are not familiar with.
I don't remember 50% of the message, but the one thing that he had shared about which struck me was the need for us to recognised that we are all saved by grace. Not just a simple truth that we often read and take lightly, but we, who are sinners unworthy of saving grace, were redeemed by a Holy God.
Don't be deluded by pride that we who serve actively are holier than those who sit about idly. Even if you can preach better than me, it doesn't make you any better than me in the eyes of God. Even if you are more talented with skills that could astound anyone, does not make you any better in the eyes of God. For by grace, we stand before God the same. Covered by the same blood of Christ, covered by the same love and showered by the same amount of grace.
For that reason, we stand before God, neither better or worst compared to the person beside us in church because nothing that we do can elevate us to be superior to another.
For by grace we have been saved and we serve out of our own heart, not looking to the person on the left or right in judgement or comparison.
M.
