This text was written in response to a question that I was asked at a Wednesday night Bible study at Wallers Baptist Church in Partlow, Virginia. The question, which was asked by the church's pastor, was in regard to the obvious enthusiasm that some of the saints of God seem to have for the Lord's work. The study that evening was in Acts 13:13, which talks about the Apostle Paul's first Bible-recorded missionary journey. It says, "Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem."
So when the company arrived in Perga, the above verse says that John returned to Jerusalem. Exactly why he might have gone back is not known for certain. He might have been too afraid to continue since there had already been some opposition to the message that Paul and the others had tried to deliver. He might have felt the Lord leading him home at that particular moment. But the real question that was posed by the pastor was why the others had still continued the journey since their task was obviously very dangerous.
In answering that question, the model, about which this text has been written, was developed. The quick answer to the pastor's question is that Paul and his company had had a general desire to do what the Lord wanted them to do. When they understood exactly what He wanted them to do, their general desire became their specific desire. Then when what the Lord had wanted them to do was an exact match to their spiritual gifts, their desire was raised to a higher level. So they were no longer just doing church work. At that point, they were serving the Lord with confidence and enthusiasm. So this text has been written to explain how that can occur for any saint of God. The conclusion is that it is possible to not just do work for the Lord, but to actually serve Him with confidence and enthusiasm.
The attendees of that study were Judy Baylor, Collins Beasley, Pete Delosh, Matt Dickey, Michelle Dickey, Barbara Fulkerson, Robbie Fulkerson, Sheila Gist, Dan Haller, Tamara Haller, Alberta Johnson, Linda Jo Johnson, Donelle, Steve Krull, Linda Lee, Catherine Myers, Tammy Petrie, Craig Petrie, David Pritchett, Scott Sale, Clint Scott, Sue Shelton, Bob Stelman, Bill Venable, Millie Venable, Pastor Jojuan White, and Joseph White. The attendance and participation of each person was greatly appreciated. In addition, special thanks is also extended to Pastor White and Dan Haller. She had asked the question that led to the developing of the serving with confidence and enthusiasm model. Mr. Haller had designed and developed the figure which appears in the last section of this text to show how the people at Wallers Baptist Church are already serving the Lord with confidence and enthusiasm.
So now in closing, there is a final note to be made about the organization of this text. Something that the reader might find useful is boxes throughout that show the different passages being referenced at the times and in the places where they are being referenced. That way, he or she will not have to jump all over the place or get into or out of the scriptures to locate a particular reference. Hopefully that inclusion will help the reader in trying to understand the various events and to also quickly put them into their right context. So it is hoped that that addition will make this text easier to read and that the Lord will receive the praise, honor, and glory that He rightfully deserves.
