BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods." Jesus knew what was coming. He knew He was leaving this physical world. He also knew there was more work to do. He'd invested three years training His disciples. They were going to be without Him very soon, and He needed to convey the importance of ownership to them. They were going to have to step up and take charge of sharing the gospel with unbelievers so that lives would continue to be changed. That was the ultimate goal. Yes, they would have the Holy Spirit to direct, convict and comfort them, but they had a responsibility. They had to take ownership of their calling. Reward for Our Works If you've ever lived in a rental house, and then bought your own home, you know there's a big di erence in the two. Once you sign your name on the line, you care a whole lot more about the home you own than the house you rented. You want to take care of it and, you know if you don't, you'll pay. It's the same with every area that God has given to us: our callings, our cities, even our countries. There's a weight, an importance and a responsibility that comes with taking ownership of them. We must take care of them. Protect them. Do what needs to be done. Each of us will appear at the judgment seat of Christ. That moment won't be about salvation or punishment; it will be about rewards for our works. We will each be rewarded for what we did in the Body of Christ…not what we wanted to do but rather what He told us to do. That's what our reward will be based on: whether or not we took ownership of what God gave us. It isn't enough to sit back and wait for things to happen. We have to rightly divide the Word of truth and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must take ownership. 2 0 : B V O V important distinction. We must distinguish between what is real Truth (God-inspired) and man-made truth (seemingly good ideas that can go awry) when we're taking ownership. Even what starts as real truth, when pushed to an extreme, can lead to error. That's when we begin to speculate and participate in conjecture about the mysteries of God. That's when we take an element from Scripture and build a premise without su'cient proof. It doesn't hold. Those of us who have been in the Body of Christ and those of us who have served in the fivefold ministry for a while have seen our share of error: well-meaning believers who add rules to biblical principles. Before we know it, they can get o track. But we can know and apply real, God-inspired truth without getting into error if we have personal maturity; an understanding of the Word of God; the leading of the Holy Spirit; and relationships with fellow mature, Spirit-led friends, leaders and mentors. That's when we can take ownership of our callings, our cities and our countries and do what God has called us to do in a way that brings results. The Disciples and Ownership When Jesus ministered to His disciples on the Mount of Olives before His crucifixion and eventual resurrection, He spoke to them about His second coming. He said, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). Notice this wasn't about the Rapture, as some have suggested. It was about the Second Coming. The Hebrews of that time would have had no concept of the Rapture. It wasn't a concept they would have understood. No, Jesus was telling them about His return and the rewards that they would receive for taking ownership of what the Lord had given them. Verses 45-47 says, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat i Happy Caldwell is founder and pastor emeritus of Agape Church in Little Rock, Ark. He is also president and founder, along with his wife, Jeanne, of the Victory Television Network ® in Little Rock. For more information, go to vtntv.com. We must distinguish between what is real Truth (God-inspired) and man-made truth (seemingly good ideas that can go awry).

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