Quarters or Dollars?

By: Jennifer Hallmark

Do you want a quarter today or a dollar tomorrow? A simple test of maturity: a child is offered either a quarter today or a dollar tomorrow. Most younger children will take the quarter now. Let’s compare this to our lives in Christ. Do we want a small amount today or much more tomorrow? This is a question that God asks each one of us.
We can look at the story of Mary and Martha in John 11 where Jesus is speaking and Mary is at His feet. Mary is spending her time learning, worshiping, adoring and just plain listening. Martha cannot seem to understand. Martha is serving Him which is good but Mary is taking in things that will be with her for the future.
For many, the vision of things that God has for them and for the Church is strongly imprinted in their hearts. By things, I mean ministry or service in the church or community. At times, life seems to be paused when everything we plan and want and try is halted or falls apart. We feel “checked” at every turn which can be frustrating but God is revealing why if we will listen.
God does give visions and dreams of things to be and will plant a strong desire in our hearts to serve Him and to see these dreams and visions come to pass. However, it has to be in His timing for only He knows when we are prepared for what He has in store. Like most children we think we are ready. In the same way that it would be dangerous to let a 8 or 9 year old child go on a date or drive, it is dangerous to let a person that has not built their character and prepared their heart go into ministry.
The most important preparation goes on in the heart. All the Bible school and study will mean nothing if our hearts are not prepared. Many ministers fail because either their character was not built to handle where they are or they didn’t take time to prepare their heart for what lies ahead. They had not reached the place of humility that Jeremiah talks about in Lamentations 3:25-30:
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust-there may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full of reproach.” NKJV
Humility is a virtue that must be embraced. Whether is takes you two months or two years, pride must be dealt with. A great way to deal with pride is to serve those around you. During our time of preparation and learning, God will use us to serve others. Doing simple but important things such as nursery work, greeting and witnessing will speed up the process of breaking the pride in us. All ministry is important whether you are the Pastor of a 5000 member church or an usher in a 50 member one. And guess what? Even if you wind up in a bigger ministry role, you still have to remain servant-hearted!
God is preparing His church by taking each individual and asking them the question, “Do you want a quarter today or a dollar tomorrow?” Many will settle for the quarter. They will start in ministry with little or no preparation, many with a heart for God. But like the quarter, it will only be a fourth of what they could accomplish, not being what it could have been. God is calling His people to prepare! Like Mary, we must spend time at His feet, learning and listening. While we are there, He will gently point out our sin, error, pride and any other thing that would hold us back in the future of service to Him. By spending time in His presence, we will get to know His heart and become more like Him. At certain points, God will release us into different stages of service, this time as He knows we are ready. The Church will explode in growth, each person taking their place which God has prepared for them. Only the prepared in heart will be ready for the next stage. Just like in II Chronicles 29:34:
“But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burn offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests.”
In that day, the priests were the main ministers and the Levites their helpers. This scripture shows us that the Levites were more prepared than the priests! Another example would be in Matthew 25 in the parable of the ten virgins. Five were wise and brought extra oil with them to be prepared for whatever was in store for them. We must not be like the foolish virgins! There will not be time to run and get prepared when revival breaks out in its fullness in the Church! Start to prepare today by spending time in His presence, both at home and corporately. Seek Him while He may be found. The time is now; this is the moment. Let us prepare so we can say to God, “I will wait for the dollar tomorrow!”

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

www.jenniferhallmark.com www.aclarioncall.com

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