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1 Thess 5:16-18 NIV
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Curing Familiarity’s Plague
A shepherd cannot cure familiarity, for it is his person who others have become dull-of-hearing with. He can, at best, help sharpen another's perspective. Only God can cure this plague.

Charles Spurgeon
Jesus Christ deserves the best men to preach His gospel, and not the empty-headed and the shiftless.

King David
He was a “doer…not merely a hearer who deluded himself” (ala Jam 1:22), described in the Lord's own words as, "A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will" (Ac 13:22).

"Glory Be to God"
These are the very people God can use, because they get the heck out of the way and just follow Him as a willing servant.

"Glory Be to God"
It's when we lean heavily on Christ that He allows us the privilege of doing great things for Him. Phil 4:13, Jn 15:4-7

Good Servants
Their humility doesn't allow them to get too familiar; it's all a grace gift of God, each and every day! Their proper perspective as a servant of the Lord saves them from themselves, and from the trap of creature credit. All the glory belongs to God!

James 4:6b AMP
God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).

"Glory Be to God"
The humble servant of God never assumes responsibility, or even control, over bringing glory to God.

Real Men (and Women) Do!
Why? Not because there's anything extraordinary about them (consider "Why Are the Apostles So Encouraging"), but rather because they are humble. They aren't interested in self-glorification, only God's glory, by grace.

Serving From the Heart
The proper perspective on serving is that it's a pure privilege.  It's nothing less than a privilege, a grace gift, and an opportunity to honor the Lord from the heart.

Recognizing Privilege
With the Lord's perspective, you will see how much you've been blessed. While you get familiar, Christ never does (Heb 13:8). If you've lost sight of your privilege to serve, you've lost sight of Christ!

Remembering Where You Came From
If you remember that you didn't have the privilege to serve the Lord until He chose to save you, maybe, just maybe, you'll be more grateful for your current opportunity to do so.

Php 4:8 [Message]
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Php 4:9 [Message]
Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

John 14:27 NIV
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The Value of Pressure
Pressure proves the mettle of a person's heart.  Under pressure, true faith emits humility; pseudo-faith emits arrogance. God reminds us of our arrogance by pressing us to this latter point and then saying, "See?…you're still arrogant."

Jesus’ Call
Why didn’t Jesus choose the Pharisees? Why the Apostles? The answer is simple - the Pharisees thought they could save themselves; whereas the apostles looked to Jesus to save them. (e.g., Mt 16:15-16)

“do not suppose”
This wreaks of the contemporary plague in the churches, where people are convinced that they are saved just because they are “official” members of a church (or a group, lineage, etc.).

Surefire Evangelism
Always includes, "The Bible says…" or "The Word of God says…" This places the burden of conviction on the Word and the Spirit in that moment, not the evangelist. It also relieves the evangelist of bearing the responsibility of saving others. God saves.