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The Tyranny of the Good Things

Words of Faith Final

The Tyranny of the Good Things
Words of Faith 12-10-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipw
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Romans 15
    [23] But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, [24] I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

    No place in these regions for Paul to work? Had Paul actually so saturated Asia Minor and the Grecian Peninsula that there was no need for the Gospel to be preached there? No, surely there was much work that remained to be done… but it was not work for him.
    There is a difference. Paul knew his calling. He was called by God to carry the Gospel to places that had never heard of Jesus. Once a new territory was seeded by Paul, it would be up to others to water and develop God's work there. There were now local churches formed that could continue the work of evangelism in the area so Paul would turn to a new field of endeavor. Hopefully, Spain would soon be in his grasp, and, if so, he would at least stop by in Rome, but he would not tarry there.
    You see, Paul understood clearly both his call and his limitations. We can learn from that. It is as important to know your limitations as it is to know your possibilities. It is just as important to know when God calls us to leave a work as it was to know His call to start it.
    It is important for us to know our gifts of the Holy Spirit; but it is absolutely as important to know what our gifts are not. And out of that knowledge, the things you say "no" to are every bit as important as the thing you say "yes" to. Knowing where "not to be" is at least as significant as knowing where to be. Paul knew those things.
    Paul knew that his gift was to be an apostolic missionary. He knew he was not called to be a local church pastor, an itinerant teacher, a traveling evangelist to the churches, or a resident prophet. He was called to be a missionary, pure and simple. His call was to boldly go where no Gospel had gone before (to collect a phrase from modern culture).
    Sometimes we must reflect with God upon the "good things" in our lives that He may not want us to be doing. There are many "good things" to do in Asia Minor and the Grecian Peninsula, but only one "best thing" that He has called you to. Do what is best.

   Lord, free me from the tyranny of the many "good things." Reveal to me clearly the call you have upon my life, be it simple or grand. Show me what is best that I may do it. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2021 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.