VIRTUE WILL ENABLE YOU TO FOCUS ON YOUR DUTY – Acts 17:11
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Paul and Silas left Thessalonica by night to go to Berea. Paul and Silas had been called to be missionaries to the Gentiles and while they were in Thessalonica, the unbelieving Jews tried to persecute them by making many false reports. Because the Jews could not find them, they instead persecuted those who housed Paul and Silas. Even though they were called to the Gentiles and the last time they preached to the Jews they were driven out of town, this did not stop Paul and Silas from going to the synagogue in Berea to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the Jews.
Paul and Silas were not going to allow the disturbance in Thessalonica to cause them to keep quiet about the good news of God’s gift of salvation. Paul and Silas were more concerned about obeying the command of Christ to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, … Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” than they were about their personal safety.
Because Paul and Silas were willing to keep preaching the gospel to the Jews, they saw many believe in Berea. God had prepared the hearts of the Bereaians in that they were willing to study the scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas taught them was correct. They were willing to give up the traditions of their fathers if the tradition of their fathers was not in accordance with the scriptures.
By adding virtue to your life, you are putting on the mind of Christ. Christ was willing to sacrifice HIS life so that you might be save. Paul and Silas had this same mind and even though their lives had been threatened for preaching the Good News, they were willing to continue to teach in the synagogues so that the truth of God’s gift might be revealed. Because they were persistent and did not easy quit the race that was set before them, God enabled them to see much fruit as a result of their persistence.
God has a special purpose for your life. Just because you run into trouble in fulfilling God’s will for your life, this does not give you the right to stop and abandon the will of God. Instead, you need to have the mind of Christ which will enable you to continue to pursue God’s purpose for your life. Rather then worrying about the lack of results, you will continue to persist in doing God’s will and allow God to control the results. You do not want to follow the example of the children of Israel who were willing to follow God until they reached the Promise Land. Once they reached the Promise Land, they allowed the fear of failure to cause them to reject God’s clear direction.
When you add to your faith virtue, no longer are you concerned with the results of your work. Instead, you focus on your part of obeying God’s instruction and allow HIM to control the results. When you begin to become concerned about results, this is a good time to examine your life to see why you are allowing the cares of this world to crowd out the things of God. Use these concerns to enable you to focus once again upon God’s will for your life. Put on the mind of Christ and continue to obey HIS’ commandments and allow HIM to choose what results come from your obedience.