If you are breathing, God still has plans for your life.I don't see anywhere in Scripture where someone retired from ministry. They may step down from being a pastor or another prominent leader in the church, but they still continued to pursue the plans God has for them.
Where will the adjustment take you?
What great work does God have prepared for you?
How are you going to impact the kingdom of God in the days ahead? How are you going to see God do a great work within you and outside in the world?
Ephesians 3:20 contains the steps you can take to see God do more in your life and ministry. It says this.
"NOW ALL GLORY TO GOD, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might ask or think."
The first step is to make sure that you want to see God do more for the right reason. Look back at what it says...
Now all glory to God...
Seeing God do more is not about feeding your ego. It's not about bringing praise to your ministry. It's not about being the biggest and the best.
What it's about is bringing glory to God.
It's not about making you famous. It's about making Jesus famous. It's not about lifting up you and your ministry. It's about lifting Jesus up.
Check your motives. Why do you want to see God do more? He will not share His glory with anyone. The purpose of seeing God do more is to bring glory to His name.
"Now all glory to God, WHO IS ABLE, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might ask or think."
The second step is this - believe that He is able.
You can't change a child's life. You can't save a teenager's life. You can't salvage anyone's marriage.
But the good news is this - God is able.
Do you believe that God can do more? Do you believe God can work through you to reach people for Christ? Do you believe God can save marriages? Do you believe that God can use you to change a community?
Walk confidently with a faith that believes He is able.
Here's the next step. Trust in His mighty power.
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through HIS MIGHTY POWER at work within us, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might ask or think."
The word "power" here is the same word that is used in Acts 1:8.
"But you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth."
The same power that the disciples used to turn the world upside down is available to you as well. This same Holy Spirit lives inside you and can work through you.
We must trust and operate within the power of the Holy Spirit.
God doesn't anoint programs. He anoints people.
You may feel like you don't "have what it takes" to make a difference. Or perhaps you have been used by God in the past, but now you feel like your ministry is over and isn't impacting people for God.
Guess what? You are right where God can use you. Look what it says about the disciples in Acts 4:13.
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men that been with Jesus. God loves to fill ordinary people with His power and do extraordinary things through them.
Look what Paul says.
"And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."
The more you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, the more you will see Him working through your life.
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work WITHIN US, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might ask or think."
Before God does a great work through you, He first wants to do a great work within you.
This means allowing Him to not just rent a space in your life, but rather it means letting Him control everything in your life. Letting Him do a total makeover. The more God does a work within you, the more He will do a great work through you.
What do you need to surrender to Him? What are you hanging onto that you need to let go of? What parts of your life are not aligned with His will for your life?
Surrender. Sacrifice. Serve.
If you are going to see God do more through you, then you must also SPEND MORE TIME IN PRAYER.
Notice again what the verse says.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might ASK or think. Ephesians 3:20
Remember what happened in Mark 9? The disciples tried to cast an evil spirit out of a boy. But they couldn't do it. Jesus came and cast out the evil spirit. He told the disciples the reason they couldn't cast out the evil spirit was because of a lack of prayer.
He said, "This kind only comes out through prayer and fasting."
We must remember that nothing of eternal value happens without prayer. The more we spend time with Jesus, the more we can see Him at work.
Here's the final thing found in the verse.
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely MORE than we might or ask or THINK."
If we want to see God do more, then we've got to have a VISION FOR MORE.
Think with me about Joseph. God placed a vision in his life. He would be a ruler.
He was mocked for His vision. His vision was misunderstood. His vision was challenged. His vision at times seemed too far out there.
But the vision was from God and so it came to pass.
What is the vision God has placed in your spirit? What is He calling you to do? Is it so big that you are afraid to even try? Or you fear the vision will never come to pass, so why spend time on it.
Remember this. If the vision is from God, it can come to pass. Never give up on the vision God has placed in your life.
If you want to see God do more in you and your ministry, then remember these 5 keys we have talked about.
-Make sure you want to see God do more for His glory, not your glory.
-Believe He is able to accomplish the vision.
-Trust in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than your own power.
-Let God first do a work within you, before seeking a work through you.
-Spend time in prayer, asking God to see the vision become reality.
-Dream Big. Have a great vision. Ask God to fulfill the vision.
I'm praying that you will have a such a great year in ministry, that you will turn around in 12 months and realize that only God could have made it happen.
