Discovering your adequacy in Jesus Christ

As I write this article, I am at the Precept Eurasia Inductive Bible study center in Surduc, Romania. We are at a pastors’ conference with Dr. Wayne Barber from Woodland Park Baptist church in Chattanooga, TN. He is teaching through the epistle of II Corinthians. There are pastors here from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Israel, and Australia (as well as the USA). The conference is amazing. Parallel to the lessons with Dr. Barber, we are studying “Lord, give me a heart dedicated to You” with Costel and Mia Oglice. One of the lessons that we studied was the title of this article, “Discovering you adequacy in Jesus Christ”. I was really touched by the lesson and I want to share it with you.

I. What is it that makes me adequate in life and the ministry? Many people think that they are inadequate and cannot serve the Lord. The shocking truth of the lesson is that this mode of thinking is absolutely correct, we are not adequate. The Bible never teaches us that we are. The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is adequate and He works in us and through us and that is what causes us to be adequate for life and the ministry. II Corinthians 3 is the chapter that we studied for this lesson (along with many cross references). Here are some bullet points about what this chapter teaches us.

• God is the One who makes us adequate
• Our adequacy does not depend on our abilities
• Our adequacy depends upon the Lord
• God is the One who makes us adequate
• We receive this adequacy from God
• It gives us the ability to serve God and the people around us
• The Holy Spirit gives us adequacy and life
• It is not what I can do but it is what God can do through me
• Jesus in me makes me adequate

II. Once we are made adequate, we are to live a lifestyle of adequacy for the people around us to see. If I have been transformed by God then that transformation will be seen through my daily living, as I live a lifestyle of adequacy to the Lord. Once again, I will list some bullet points from the lesson.

• I will be totally dependent upon the Lord
• I do not try to do anything on my own
• I do all things through Christ’s help
• He is the One who does it through me
• I have to be at His disposal
• I have to allow Him to work through me (open the door of my life so that He can work through me)
• I have a pure heart
• We are an aroma of Jesus Christ
  • some accept it (pleasing aroma)
  • others reject it (aroma of death)
• The Holy Spirit causes me to live the way
• I am a living epistle
• People see my adequacy and I am able to share that it comes from God
• Our hearts are pure
• Our lifestyle shows our adequacy
• We live a righteous lifestyle
• We have the laws written on our hearts so that we can obey God
• God does it through me (I do not do it for Him)
• I do not practice shameful things
• I do not walk in deceit
  • we do not live in sin
  • we live a life of persecution and suffering
• Jesus is seen through my lifestyle
• I am a walking aroma of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• When people spend time with me, they will “smell” Christ permeating from my pores.

III. Now that God has made me adequate and I live for Him daily, I will seek to serve the Lord by serving the people around me. When it comes to service, do I try to do it all with my own power and strength, with my own wisdom and ideas or do I allow Christ to work through me so that I serve in His strength, with His power and wisdom and not my own? Here is a list of what happens when I allow Christ to work through me and I serve the people around me with Christ’s strength and wisdom.

• We do not distort the Word of God
• We teach the Word of God as It is, in Its pure form
• We do not add our ideas and great thoughts
• We just explain what is there
• I do not use what the Corinthians were looking for (worldly wisdom)
• I preach the wisdom of God
• We are servants of the New Covenant
• We give life to the people
• We do not destroy them with the Law
• We give life through the Holy Spirit
• We serve the people
• We teach righteousness
• We build people up in the Word
• We do what we do for the Lord
• We do not serve for ourselves, we serve the people for the Lord
• Give life when I teach, do not condemn
• Speak with great boldness
• Since God is our adequacy, we do not grow weary
• We do not deceive
• We do not distort the message of God
• We do not preach ourselves
• We preach Jesus Christ
• We are your servants through Jesus Christ
• We continue to serve, especially when persecuted
• Service comes from God
• It is the work of the Holy Spirit
• It is not for our own benefit, it is for the benefit of others
• There is no competition here
• God is the One who evaluates us, not others

In conclusion, there is much to be learned here for all believers, especially for pastors, both young and old. God chooses us. He gives us a ministry. He works in us and through us. He changes us through the Word and wants to use us to get others in the Word so that the Word can change them too. The process repeats over and over again. Adequacy is not a standard set by people, it is the grace of God in you, changing you and working through you. You are not in competition with others (other ministers). When I totally depend upon God then I become adequate, the pleasing aroma of Jesus Christ permeates from me letting everyone know that I am a child of God. This opens many doors for me to share the good news of the Gospel with people, allowing me to serve them. I must ask you a few questions, as a minister (child of God), who are you in competition with? Why do you do what you do? Do you serve because you feel you have to do it or is it the natural outflow of your relationship with God? Do you serve because someone else is doing it too and you do not want to look bad? Why do you serve the people around you, for your own glory or so that God will be glorified in you and in them? When you walk in a room, what aroma permeates from you, Jesus Christ or you?