A TOOL IN GOD'S TOOLBOX

PART 8:

Our hearts have been individually fashioned by God. Each one of us is special. When you

look in a regular toolbox, you find many different kinds of tools, each one designed for a

specific purpose. Inside a typical toolbox you may find a

hammer, screwdriver, small saw, tape measure, or even a

level of some kind. Each tool has a specific purpose. Using

them for something other than the purpose they have been

designed for usually results in failure. The same is true for us as Christians. Each one of

us is a tool in God's toolbox. We have been designed in a specific way for a specific

purpose and we need to figure out what that purpose is. 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 tells us,

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are

different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in

all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the

manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." The Converterlator says, "I

want Christ to live and work through me. Here I am, a special person, uniquely gifted by

God, designed for a special purpose, and more specifically to do good works that God has

created for me to do."

It's important that we understand what each tool is designed to do and then use it in the

way it is designed. You can't really evaluate the effectiveness of a tool if you don't know

what it is supposed to accomplish. It may look pretty. It may be intriguing. It may look

like it has great strength. But you can't judge the excellence of its design until you

actually use it.

I experienced this in my own life. I was in God's Toolbox, but I didn't really understand

what kind of a tool I was. I had to figure out if I was a hammer, a screwdriver, or a saw.

There was no point in trying to be a saw if I had been designed to be a hammer. For me,

it took a lot of time. After graduating from college and law school, I entered the business

world, and began to experience some success.

After Christ came into my life, I left the secular world and joined the staff of Campus

Crusade for Christ. Even though I was serving the Lord in full-time ministry, I sensed,

after a few years, I could have a greater impact for the expansion of the kingdom of God

in the business world because of my particular gifts, talents, and interests.

Therefore, I left my full-time ministry position and returned to the business world to

focus on business investments. I came to the conclusion that I was designed to serve the

Lord in the secular world. This was my calling. This was my "full-time ministry" for

God.

As I have served the Lord in this way, he has allowed me to "road test" the

KingdomNomics concepts. He then prompted me to write my first book, KingdomNomics,

with a focus on communicating how the Word of God can become personally operative

in our lives, transforming us into becoming strategic kingdom investors. This led to

founding the KingdomNomics worldwide ministry. It is a journey for many of us as we

utilize our gifts, abilities, and opportunities along the way. We experience God's best for

us and have the most significance when we move in faith to find God's purposes for

using the talents he has given us.

Even though we may think our time, talent, and/or treasure is small or insignificant, God

can take them and exponentially multiply them for the advancement of his kingdom. We

learn a tremendous KingdomNomics principle from the small boy in the New Testament

who gave his two small fish and five barley loaves of bread to Jesus. "Here is a boy with

five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

(John 6:9). The disciple Andrew questions how so little can be relevant when they were

trying to figure out how to feed a multitude of people. But Jesus took that little boy's

offering, which was insignificant in the eyes of the world, and miraculously used it to

feed 5,000 people!

Each one of us needs to be a "five loaves and two fish" person, willing to share so Jesus

can do great things through us when we make ourselves

available to him. This little boy's life echoes through

eternity because he was willing to share what he had and

yield himself to the purposes of God. No matter what kind

of tool we are, we need to be available to God! God created

us and has given us life. He orchestrates all that we do and we need to cooperate with him

in every way.

GOD'S PURPOSE

It is critical to understand that what we are talking about here is a work that is being done

by God, and not by us. The Bible tells us:

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like

fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our

great power is from God, not from ourselves.

—2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT

God is always on the move in the ever changing circumstances of this world. He is also

at work in each one of us.

The apostle Paul wrote, "He [Jesus] gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to

cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds"

(Titus 2:14, NLT). God has created us, designed us, and given us various capacities fordoing the good works that he has prepared for us to do. It is a contradiction in terms to be

a Converterlator and not be out there as an agent of change.

For me personally, when I think of what salvation has accomplished, I am compelled to

be a Converterlator, actively doing whatever I can do to help advance the kingdom of

God. Think about these two passages of Scripture:

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the

inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of

darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom

we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

—Colossians 1:12–14, ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who

sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed

from death to life.

—John 5:24, ESV

Wow! God has qualified us to share in all of the benefits of having a relationship with

him both now and forever. As I understand what all of that means, I really get excited

about what God has done, and what he is doing. God has also delivered us from the

domain of darkness, the hopeless state or condition of our sin that held us captive under

the dominion of the Chief

Consumerlator. God has freed us from

that awful state, and transferred us to

the kingdom of his Son, granting us

access to the transforming promises of

God. We have already passed from

death to life! We are freed now so that

we can be Converterlators, changing

the eternal destinies of people,

building treasure in heaven, and

leveraging time, talent, and treasure

for the imperishable values of heavenAs we seek to accomplish God's purposes, it is important to stay focused on God's plans.

As we converterlate our resources we need to be careful not to play to the applause of the

world. It is easy to be swayed by the praise of those around us, even as we seek to do

God's will. The temptation is always out there to be involved in the more visible types of

spiritual endeavors, such as making an effort to be in more prominent positions of

leadership, or giving our money in places where our donations will be publicly

recognized. However, we must stay focused on God's ultimate plans and desires.

One of my goals as a practitioner of KingdomNomics is to be a low-profile, high-impact

Converterlator for helping to fulfill the Great Commission. I want to have a low profile so

as to not draw unnecessary attention, but I want to be making a big impact! Think about

the soccer team or the football team. Each player is most significant when they are

fulfilling the role they were designed for. In order to win, each player must play in the

position he has been assigned. You are the most significant and have the most impact

when you are faithfully filling the position on the team where the coach has placed you.

GOD TRUELY IS AT WORK

IN OUR LIVES

As we grow in our relationship with God we will find ourselves becoming increasingly

more Christ-centered. As we become more Christ-centered, we will focus more on the

will of God. "You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you

will be anxious to do the will of God" (1 Peter 4:2, NLT). And as we focus on God's will,

we will increasingly experience his grace: "And God is able to make all grace abound to

you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every

good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8, ESV).

God working in the lives of his people is a huge theme in the Scripture. "From of old no

one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for

those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who

remember you in your ways" (Isaiah 64:4–5, ESV). He acts for those who wait for him!"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong

support to those whose heart is blameless toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9, ESV). God is

actually searching for people he can strongly support here in this world! I want to make

sure my heart is blameless before God. I want to make sure my heart is completely his. I

want to be a person God can strongly support!

All we have to do is meet God's conditions, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and

he will establish your plans." (Proverbs 16:3).When we commit our way to him, having

the expectation that he will act, we can have confidence that God will respond to us in his

way and time. Moses got it right, "Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight,

please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.

Consider too that this nation is your people" (Exodus 33:13, ESV). And in response, "He

[God] made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel" (Psalm 103:7,

ESV).

Moses experienced the favor of God, and both he

and the people witnessed God working in their lives

and circumstances. I strongly believe having the

favor of God on one's life should be our paramount

desire. When Christ shines on our life, things

happen. In Proverbs it says, "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the

Lord" (Proverbs 8:35, ESV). When we have the favor of God, we have everything we

need. God has designed us for a purpose and he will provide his presence and strength to

help us accomplish that purpose. The Bible encourages us with these words: "'I will

never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I

will not fear; what can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5–6, ESV). When we have a

relationship with God through Jesus Christ, he is with us!