God Knows Your Work On His Behalf

The last month has been exciting for Redeemer. I wanted to say thanks for all your help supporting, working, inviting, praying, and giving. I thought you might find this article encouraging.

Lee

God knows your work on his behalf

By Rick Warren

"As I was beginning to enjoy my pity party, the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey Rick, who are you doing this for anyway?'" Rick Warren

It takes enormous amounts of energy, creativity, commitment, time, money, and preparation to pull off a worship service that will attract visitors and focus them on Jesus. Why go to all this trouble trying to bridge the cultural gap between the church and the unchurched?

We do it in service to Jesus and we do it because we care about the lost people he cares about. Knowing this keeps me encouraged, even when I’m exhausted from such a huge event as Easter services.

I know you’re tired, too, but God knows how hard you’ve worked. “God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged.” (2 Corinthians 4:1 TEV)

I remember one particular Sunday morning many years ago, we were setting for the weekend services at the local high school and, for one reason or another, about half our set-up crew had not shown up. As I was carrying nursery equipment from a trailer to one of the classrooms across the campus, I remember feeling overwhelmed with a sense of discouragement.

Satan began to throw darts of self-pity at me: ‘Why should you have to do all this set up and take down while all other pastors have to do is just show up? They just walk into their own building. Most pastors don’t have to mess with setting up and taking down every week but you’ve had to do this for years!’

As I was beginning to enjoy my pity party, the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "Hey Rick, who are you doing this for anyway?” I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the high school parking lot and began to cry.

I thought, I do this for Jesus’ sake. It is nothing compared to what he’s done for me.

“The God who said, ‘Out of darkness the light shall shine!’ is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 TEV)

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times best seller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers.



Copyright © 2010 Rick Warren