Saturday 16 January 2010

The Altar or The Court


“I want to serve on the Altar.”

Many of the e-mails I receive contain this statement.

Now, let’s break down this phrase and see what is wrong with it, okay?

Let’s suppose you have someone working for you at home... Who decides what chores this person will do? You or her?

You employed this person to serve you, right?

So, you tell her what tasks to do each day of the week, where to clean and where the clothing that needs ironing is. If the person has to cook, you tell her what to cook.

Now let’s imagine that you are the employee.

You show up at work one day and tell your boss “Look here missy, I don’t feel like ironing today. I’m going to sit on the couch and watch some TV!”

Folks, I believe that “missy’s” expression will be of pure disbelief because she will surely not expect this sort of response! But one thing is for sure, she won’t find your behaviour acceptable and you will likely be fired…

My point is…. If you want to serve, especially God, don’t choose where you will serve. You just have to be ready to serve God wherever He wants at all times.

The work of God is not like any old profession where you can choose your tasks, it’s a calling.

The other day a young girl wrote to me “I stopped studying because I want to serve on the altar. I am waiting to be called!”

I wrote back that I found her action to be quite wrong. Think with me…

Imagine that she is never called? She stopped studying! She is “stuck” in a moment and is just waiting…how long will she be waiting???

I can just picture her a few years from now, frustrated, discouraged and turning against God and the church!

And there’s more!!!

So, let me get this straight. If you want to conquer something in this world, you study but if you decide to serve God then you don’t need to do anything, there’s no need to grow intellectually?!!!

I’m not saying that having an education is a requirement in order to do the work of God. We have many men and women of God that have no education and yet, are used greatly by Him. But, if it were up to them, they would have certainly studied.

The work of God is marvelous and very versatile!

Since I started doing the work of God I’ve done a bit of everything…

I’ve cleaned bathrooms, cleaned churches, taught English, I presented a TV show, a radio show, I’ve counseled, I’ve worked and continue to work in the church offices taking care of the finances and other things, we visit hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, I help my husband by correcting the newspaper and flyers that we prepare and I write this blog!

Wow! I’ll stop here, but there is still more!!!

And you still think that you don’t need to do anything to better yourself? Would it not be helpful if you worked on enhancing your mind?!

While you wait to be called, invest in yourself so that when you come to the altar (if you indeed do come) your talents can be used and multiplied! You will be able to help much more!

Yes, it’s true that you can learn things as you go along, but wouldn’t it be easier, and faster, if you already knew how to do them?

Open you mind my friends; the work of God isn’t small or easy!

You can have the “desire” to do the work of God on the altar in your heart but the power to make this reality pertains to the Lord. He chooses, He calls!

Lead a life that will glorify His name and when He calls, you will have something to sacrifice…

Your desire must be to serve Him, wherever your Lord chooses.

Altar or court, the choice is His and not yours.

24 comments:

  1. what`s the meaning that we can`t choose the way to serve God, just him?... put an example please
    thank you

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  2. what`s the meaning that we can`t choose the way to serve God, he just the one to choose?
    put an example please

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  3. Very helpful blog thank you.

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  4. Mrs nanda. i have read this and it has helped me alots because this whole time i have been choosing for my self and not letting God to choose for me,i always tell God that i want to serve him on the altar and that iam ready to leave everything behind to serve him BUT i never asked God how he wants me to serve him. thanxxxx a million.with love Raija (UCKG ausspannplatz Windhoek, Namibia)

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  5. this msg is touch my heart that same msg that happen to me. the same my though. please mrs nanda explain moro about women that want to serve on the altar.

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  6. This is very powerful. I see so many people young and old guys and girls, men and women that do this. They come to church and they just stop living their lives. They give up eveything thinking that is what they have to do in order to be used in chruch. I speak to a lot of the kids that have parents as ushers and they tell me that before their parents came to church or even before they became usher they had eveything, and now some dont even have a house of their own, or even have their parents home because they are at church 7 days a week. And its the same with the youth ushers. Most of them stop going to school or futhering their lives. I see this and it just boggles my mind.

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  7. this is realy true cause sometimes we forget that we came to serve not to be served and we want to choose how,when and where to serve and it realy touched me.

    Charlene Namibia

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  8. This is clear but same of the girls realy they dont understant that to do the work of God on the alter or court ,I have to make my self to be approved by God and if I have the quality to do His work then He will choose me.

    Hendrina Namibia

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  9. Thanks a lot for this message!We tend to rush things to end things basically to do things our way instead of listening to the voice of God to what we need to do to serve Him and to serve Him without receive anything in return!
    Jessica V Drogba UK London (Brixton branch)

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  10. Hi, this is Melody Habla from Philippines. The blog is so enlightening...it helps me have a better perspective of things. I do agree that it is a calling and we must have a ready heart to be where God wants to use us...in whatever way He wants to use us. God has a purpose in everything... the most important is we please him.

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  11. Wow I needed to hear that today..
    Thank you for sharing this message with us Mrs.Nanda, 1 alway's tries to make his own decision's according to what he/she think's is the way to do something..

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  12. hello, this blog is very nice, it inspire me and teach me as woman of god there is time for every thing and we need to work for our talents.

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  13. great blog, great messages, thank God for you. I think that a lot of young women like myself needs to here these messages in order for us/them to understand the real meaning of serving God & how best to do it.

    And thanks to you Mrs. Nanda. I pray that the Lord will continue to use you greatly in all...

    God bless.

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  14. Hi my name is Puleng from the uckg in London, Brixton. I also decided to do the same thing as the gril who e-mailed you, and thought to get a job in the church whilst waiting, but after i read the blog i can say, i was not thinking with intellegance but emotions.
    Thank you for the wake up call...

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  15. just like this message helped alot of girls it also helped me.because i was confused betwen my studies and wanting to serve God!thanx miss fernanda...collene from windhoek.ausspanplatz.

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  16. Gilesa Johnson Brixton London27 May 2010 at 03:54

    I have always say that i do not want to serve on the alter but through reading this blog i have a different view, i have a open mind, i now know that it's not up to me where i serve, it's where God want me to serve and all i have to do is to be ready to serve God wherever He wants at all times. if i am a servant i will obey.

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  17. wow,this realy opened my eyes mrs fernanda because my prayers were selfish concerning how i want to serve God,i have been asking God to give me the requirement to serve him on the alter ,but i never asked Him if He wants me to serve Him in that way or in what way He want me to serve Him.So i will take this as a wake up call to ask Him and pray in the right way.Helvi from Windhoek. Ausspannplatz (Namibia)

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  18. Thank you for this blog Mrs Nanda, we must always remember this, serving God on the altar isn't like any other job where we just search and apply, with serving God it is His choice not ours, and must be that way. And for those of us who have that desire we must be the best we can be and give our all to saving souls until God says its time for us!

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  19. We do not, chose and that is very true. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord, we gave Him the rights to our life, for Him to be our Lord, we must be His servants; and as a servant we obey, and follow the instructions we are given. The phrase it’s self. Starts with ‘I want’ so already this can appear to be very selfish, our own desires our own choices, our own will and not His.
    No matter where we are we must shine His light to others through our testimony to excel and show a clear difference between those who serve God and those who don’t. If we cannot excel and breakthrough in the court...how can we even consider being on the altar?

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  20. I still remember a question that I did once: What else do you think I could do to help here more? And the very patient and down to earth woman of God replied to me, but then I gave my excuses. She did not look at me with bad eyes as I could see that she saw I was sincere, but my reply did not sounded fine for me, by that time I still had not felt settled in the place where I was and was feeling a lot shy to do what she suggested, and that's why all the excuses given that wore all true, but I could have made the very effort it required... the reality is:

    I was thinking about me, and not about Serving God and NOTE this happened with me ON THE ALTAR already!
    Today I can do what she had suggested very long time ago with no fear, because I choose to serve God and not myself!

    ... Mrs Nanda does it ring to you any bells? I love you lots!!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  21. werever you serve don`t forget this AND SO FOR GOD IN MORE IMPORTANT WHO YOU ARE AND NOT WHAT YOU DO .werever you serve you should first make sure you are saved your self and fight to help Jesus to save others .I do hope Namibia is changing you Mrs Fernanda .Nice blog

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  22. Ms. Fernanda Thank you so much for this word of faith because I am a youth and sometimes, even being in the church you find people who decide to become assistants, pastors and otherwise because they "feel" that God has chosen them. When you spoke about the girl who wanted to leave school and wait to be called it shows that she acted on her emotions because she felt it was necessary. What we feel or we deem necessary may be contrary to what God wants for us, which is why serving God be it on the altar or the court is not ours to choose but God's. Yes we can choose ourselves but the decision ultimately is God's because not everybody called is/ was chosen, that's why some assistants or pastors fall.

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  23. I couldn't agree more Mrs Nanda;
    I hear many people saying that i WANT to serve on the altar,or i WANT to be an assistant but the truth is that we don't get to choose where we serve, we may have the desire to serve there, but ultimately the decision belongs to God; we just have to be ready and make ourselves available.

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  24. Thank you very much for this post Ms Nanda, it is so true we do not decide, God does and if it is his will it will happen but it also relates to whether God can use us aswell. If we are not available to be used in any way he will never use us. Thanks again x

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