14 Mar Well or Well Done (Because people vastly underestimate what God can do through a lifetime of faithfulness) PART 7

Forty-three years ago, I was an alcoholic checking IDs at a bar. I got radically saved. I did not
know too much about Christianity, but I did know I needed to find a local church so I could get
plugged in and grow as a new believer. I had no idea what to look for in a church, but
eventually I connected with a church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

My first job at that church was mowing the lawn. I did that so well I graduated to taking out the
garbage! Now I don’t mean for pay, I mean this was my area of service in my first local church.
I was so happy to be serving and I gradually got more involved. I did just about everything you
can think of…children’s ministry, youth ministry, evangelistic ministry in the local governmental
housing projects. I ministered at a jail and a nursing home. Whenever that church had
someone that no one else would want to minister to, I would be asked to do so! I was thrilled
and honored to do so!

While I certainly wasn’t perfect and needed a lot of Christian maturity…I was faithful. Little did
I know, I was learning the local church from the inside out. Not in the sterile environment of a
seminary classroom, but getting my hands dirty learning in the messy arena of ministering to
people! God wants us to be faithful!

Let’s take a look at our key scripture one more time from Matthew 25:21: “His lord said unto
him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things. I will
make thee ruler over many things: enter thou in the joy of the Lord.”
This wonderful scripture is in Jesus’ parable of being faithful with our God given gifts. It should
be the heart cry of every believer to hear “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” not
“Well?”

Join us this month as we continue in this series…