“… I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well…”
2 Corinthians
I received and accepted this challenge on Sunday, March 17, 2024, after watching the online funeral service of my childhood pastor, Rev. Floyd Lawhon. The Lord put my sincerity to the test 2 days later with an invitation to preach the Nigerian National Women’s Conference for the Church of God. I gave the bishop several reasons and excuses why I could not come, but he would not take “no” for an answer. The Holy Spirit convicted me, “You’re willing to spend and be spent for me?”
While in Nigeria, I was spent in every possible way - emotionally, financially, physically, and spiritually. I laid myself back on the altar of sacrifice from when I first answered the call to ministry in 1985. As a teenager, I memorized Romans chapter 12. The first verse reads, “…Present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (or pleasing to the Lord) which is your reasonable service.” (KJV) Little did I know that my obedient sacrifice to go to Nigeria in May was only the initial surrender and commitment to most gladly (NASB) spend and be spent for Jesus.
Too many of us want the gift of salvation paid for with Christ’s blood to be an easy relationship with Jesus that only costs an hour of time on Sunday morning. A common Western Christian mindset or attitude is, “Lord, don’t ask me to give my time, talent, and treasure on a regular basis.” However, I challenge you today to go deeper in your relationship with Jesus beyond a casual prayer to a covenantal promise that says, “Lord, I’ll go where you want me to go, do what you want me to do, and be what you want me to be.”
Are you willing to witness to your neighbors, be present to the needs of others, and invest yourself in prayer for more than your own health, wealth, and happiness? Will you seek God for family, friends, and others in their challenges and sorrows?
If you’re willing to spend and be spent for Jesus, for the gospel, for souls, why not fully surrender saying yes to the Lord for more than fire insurance or a quick ticket to heaven?
God wants more of you. The more you spend yourself for Him, the more He empowers you, and the more He blesses you. The more you pray for others, the more you’ll see him move in the areas and people that you love.
As I prayed for others’ prodigals, mine came home.
As I prayed for others’ financial provision, God has brought solutions to my money concerns.
As I’ve invested in others’ lives, my life has been made fuller.
Jesus sweat blood for us, but I whined in my heart while suffering in the extreme heat of Nigeria for the privilege to preach the gospel. Throughout that summer, my life and ministry felt like it was turning upside down. Lots of weeping, intercession, and wrestling with God in the late night/early morning hours left me feeling spent like my heart was being crushed. I sacrificed a former, familiar, and fulfilling ministry for what I did not realize would be an abundant blessing.
Since that time, God poured in the oil and wine to my soul and has opened doors beyond what I desired or imagined. I challenge you to pray, “Spend me, Lord, for your glory and my joy.” There is no joy or peace outside his powerful presence and will.
Pastor Lawhon often said, “Get under the spout where His glory is being poured out.” Let God fill you to the brim with His Spirit. Your overflow can be poured out for others that are torn by sin to be mended by the blood of Jesus; for the anxious and addicted to be free; for marriages and families to be whole and healthy; for healing and miracles to be the norm rather than the exception in the church. Are you willing to be that good Samaritan who spent his own money in caring for the man left on the side of the road for dead? (from Luke 10:25-37)
Singer/Songwriter William McDowell put it this way in his recording released in 2009.
Take my heartTake my lifeAs a living sacrificeAll my dreams all my plansLord, I place them in your hands
I give myself awayI give myself awaySo You can use me
I give myself awayI give myself awaySo You can use me
My life is not my ownTo you I belongI give myself; I give myself to you.
Reverend Sandra Kay Williams, an ordained minister in the Church of God, is a graduate of Lee University and holds a Master of Theological Studies from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Sandra Kay has ministry experience on local, national, and international levels. She has served on numerous academic, denominational, and community boards. Sandra Kay is a committed prayer intercessor and dedicated to mentoring new generations and supporting men and women in their ministry callings. Married to Dr. Mark L. Williams since 1989, they have two grown sons.
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