HOW TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTLOOK WHEN SERVING THE LORD

Matthew 5

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are they meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

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1. Understanding Satan’s strategy which is continuous provocation

Today’s churches are so busy teaching prosperity and gain that they forget to educate believers methods to deal with Christians’ number one enemy, Satan. Although God is much more powerful than Satan and is capable of delivering His people, those preachings of vain empowerment offend God and make God distance Himself from them. Believers in such situations are hopeless because God will not help them and they lack the knowledge to have victory over sin.

We must understand how Satan works to be able to neutralize his allurement.

Let us look at Satan’s attempt to tempt Jesus.

Matthew 4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And he saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

After examining the passage above, we can see that Satan is confident and daring in his approach. Knowing Jesus is the Son of God did not shy Satan away to try Jesus. Moreover, Satan was persistent when he put out first, second, and third attempts. Satan is desperate and jealous of believers who have the promise of eternal life so he will do whatever it takes to destroy us.

We can also see his confidence and daring when he approached Jesus after the fast of 40 days and 40 nights. Fasting can enhance our spiritual strength because we set aside the worry of this life to be closer to God. Nonetheless, Satan was not scared of that moment when Jesus completed His fast. This fact suggests that attacks may come at any moment, not necessary only in times of weakness.

Through the passage, we learn that Satan exploits the weakness in the flesh. As Jesus had finished the fast and was hungry, Satan employed a suggestion that Jesus might turn stones into bread. When we are weak and stricken, the devil can work overtime to make sure we choose the easy way out. We must be cautious during times of trial and tribulation.

After a failed attempt, Satan continued to suggest Jesus to “cast thyself down” (Matthew 4: 6). Self-harming and suicidal thoughts are devilish proposals to cause body damage and untimely deaths in many humans. We must not listen to such advice because our bodies and souls are precious to God.

Satan also used wealth and power to tempt Jesus. He showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;” (Matthew 4: 8). This is a common device that Satan utilizes to trap celebrities with short-lived fame and money, but they would soon have to pay the price with their souls.

Furthermore, we see that Satan imitates God. When Jesus said “It is written,” (Matthew 4: 4), Satan used the same manner to reason with God (Matthew 4: 6). Not everyone that comes to us and cites the Bible is the follower of Christ, only the ones that fear God and obey His commandments completely. Even the devil knows the Scripture and can manipulate the Scripture to deceive souls.

How about the frequency of temptations? We can be assured that the devil initiates constant, ongoing spiritual battles, whether the victim is aware of them or not.

1 Peter 5

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

When a lion wants to hunt some victims, it will watch the victims from afar. Carefully and silently, the lion will draft its steps so that it can catch the victims in vulnerable moments. Similar to that character, Satan patiently plans many devices and waist to trap careless human beings.

To combat such relentless forces, we are called to be watchful soldiers in Christ. We are advised to wear the whole armour of God to be able to fight schemes of the enemy, because Satan also has many dominions and workers ready to tempt us.

Ephesians 6

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Keep yourself in prayers and wear the whole armour of God. The elements of the armour are included in Ephesian 6: 13-18.

At times, Satan utilizes human persecutors and provokers who do not know God to frustrate Christians. How should Christians react in those situations? This will be the subject of the next segment.

2. Facing peculiar situations with Godly virtues

Luke 6

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Satan indeed knows how to manipulate people around us to make us frustrated, especially people who do not have Jesus Christ’s control over their lives. Suddenly, you may see them act oddly against you when you try to do something for God or when you try to live a faithful Christian life. The matters can be worse if you have to live with strangers in a rental situation. It could happen in the workplace with your coworkers and your employer who may pressure you to do wrong things. It is also not uncommon to have family members persecute you just because you follow Christ. The intensity of such episodes could be hurtful and unbearable at times. Therefore, we must always rely on God for wisdom and grace to have enduring strength for those situations.

As the passage above teaches us, we must not pay evil with evil. We have to “Love your enemies,” (Luke 6: 27) by providing them with what they need and praying for them. We must not curse or pray for them to die or pray for bad things to happen to them. It is unbiblical to do that to any humans even if they are our enemies. The passage above even tells us that if we only do good things for people that do good for us, we are just at the level of sinners. Christians are called to be enduring, long suffering, and forgiving as Christ is. These virtues may help to amaze sinners and win them for Kingdom of God.

Be cautious and remove yourself from dangerous or life-threatening situations. Always converse with God for what to do next.

3. Looking up to the hope of heaven which is better than this world

2 Corinthians 4

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worked for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

We learned that our lives are filled with temptations and persecutions from Satan, his followers, and other human beings. It is challenging, but with understanding of this reality in life, we can develop a winning strategy for our issues. We no longer have to merely bemoan our fate, but we can actively seek Christ to become victors in our spiritual battles.

We now know that every struggle on earth is temporary. It has an expiration date. Our hope is eternal salvation and the entrance to heaven where we suffer no more, where our rewards are great, and where Lord Jesus is waiting for us.

That is how to maintain a positive outlook when serving the LORD.

Sam Christian

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Acknowledgements

Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.

The Bibles used are the King James Version by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA (King James Version Bible Large Print Thinline Edition, 2016) and the King James Version by Hendrickson Publishers (ISBN 978-1-59856-461-7). Some texts were inspired by boldfaced words, verse finders, and the concordance from these Bible books. This work is inspired by teachings and preparations for teachings during attendance at Deeper Life Bible Church, Bronx, New York. Also, it is inspired by listening to teachings from RAPEC, Lagos.

Style of quotation followed partly the APA style-7th edition.

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