"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cornet/i, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, lam the light of the world. "John 9:1-5. "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecute thou me? And he said, who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecute it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling answering said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts 9:4-6. It is prudent for us to note that Saul did not wait to be ordained and set forth as a qualified minister of the gospel. "And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God."

Paul offered a word regarding his knowledge of Christ and the religion of the Jews, as a testimony to his qualification to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fat hers. Galatians 1:13,14-16. The immediate truths that we have at our finger tips, are that priority in the lives of these individuals was given to the call of God upon their lives where the gospel of Christ is concerned.

The truth that enabled Saul to enter the ministry of the gospel (as Paul) was based on this divine action that was recognized by the Apostle. "But when it pleased God, Who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; (meaning among the Gentiles) immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." All of what we have said so far is laying a foundation upon which the rest of the study will be built. Putting the ministry, (or all matters concerning the gospel of the Kingdom of God) at the top of our list of "things to do" is the correct action to take. In Sunday school and young people's auxiliary meetings, we learned to sing and worship with the words, "I am in the Lord's army" and the reality behind our salvation is that "we are saved to serve." No Christian is saved, only to he a spectator while others are involved on the frontline in our battle against sin, Satan, and the works of the flesh. When we look at more than 65,000 fans watching a game in progress, we are blown away with the tempo and atmosphere created at that moment. But at the end of the game, only the players get paid. In other words, spectators are not paid simply to watch the game. Payments are awarded only to the players. The same holds true where our salvation is concerned. We must work while it is day before the night comes.

Back in about B.C. 712, the Lord spoke to Israel by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah saying: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have .caved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, suit/i the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let (hinder) it? Isaiah 43:10-13. From the moment one gets saved, he or she is given the responsibility of making the Savior known to the rest of creation; by telling the glorious story of the redemptive power in the blood that flowed from the Lamb of God upon Calvary's cross.

Paul was very emphatic in his instruction to his son in the gospel (Timothy.) Thus he wrote: "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou host heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2nd Timothy 2:1,2. This scenario is like running in a race and passing the baton from one runner to another. Working the works of God is not dependent upon a special time, after undergoing special training in the preponderance and knowledge of eschatology and writings of the prophets. Salvation, as we are being taught is based upon certain truths such as what Jesus said. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." John 15:16. This is the total sum of our salvation! Period!

In accepting the salvation of Jesus Christ, as a rule, we do not willingly run to Jesus to activate his saving grace. To the contrary, we tend to run in the opposite direction from Jesus Christ. More often than not, it is out of trouble and severe difficulties that we finally turn to Christ for salvation and the peace that only he can give. The vital point for careful preponderance in what Jesus said in based upon this single truth. No matter what our religious training, or forms of doctrine we embrace, Jesus, in a single verse placed before us, the reason for our salvation: and that is to bring forth fruit: and to that end Christ placed himself at the forefront of our salvation. He is the author and finisher of our faith, and the captain of our salvation.

It is so important for us to bring forth fruit, that Jesus brought the focus back to the fact in John 15: "I am the true vine, and and my Father is the husband man." Right up front as without any hesitancy, Jesus brought into the conversation this fact: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that bearth fruit, he purgeth it, that it it that it may bring forth more fruit. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples. "John 15:1,2;8. The emphasis in the words of Christ goes from bearing fruit—to bearing more fruit—to bearing much fruit.

As it pertains to the salvation of mankind, it is plainly outlined that this mighty transaction is based upon the freely imparted grace of God. It is not based upon anything we can do to earn his grace. If, indeed, he grace is freely given (and it is) there is left no ground for us to ascribe any part of our redemption to any aspect of our personal effort. Paul was emphatic in his teachings based on man's salvation. He wrote: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9. Referring to our salvation, Paul wrote: "God who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 2nd Timothy 1:9.

Paul also wrote: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Ephesians 1:4,5. When the woman at the well discovered Jesus, she dropped her water pot and ran back to the village as an instant evangelist. "The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men. Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him." John 4:28-30.

The woman did not enquire how to enroll in the Jerusalem School of Religion to work her way up in her training to get ordained as an evangelist, or to move up the ladder to become a lady of prominence in religious circles. She was a simple woman from the village, and she came to the well to draw water as she had done day after day. But drawing water on the day in question was totally out of the ordinary, because Jesus was at the well, and he was ready to engage the woman in conversation, even though she was not a Jew. In fact, she observed that same issue in her conversation with Jesus. "Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, how is it that thou being a Jew, askest drink of me, which I am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." John 4:9.

Over and over, in his earthly ministry, Jesus repeated the fact that he came into the world to do the will of the Father who sent him. As far as the biblical narrative goes, we are not told that Jesus took a day or two off for relaxation, and for rejuvenation. When he attempted to find a place to get away from the crowd, before long they found him and quickly gathered themselves to him. Many sought him because of the bread and fish that he generous served the other day. After his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, the disciples of Christ went into the village to buy food for themselves and for Jesus. Having done so, they returned to Jesus with the food they bought, The biblical narrative gives this account: "In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore, said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.." John 4:31-34. We can safely infer at this juncture that the Lord Jesus was so consumed by the call of his Father upon his life, that nothing else mattered. That kind of commitment brings to mind the testimony of the Apostle Paul. "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (filth) that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Philippians 4 7-9. A preacher once said: "He that has given ALL to God, can expect ALL from Him." It is the same measure that we use in our offering to God that he uses to measure back to us.

Luke addressed this subject head-on as shown in the following scripture: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38. We should not play God like the stock market, in paying tithes or free will offerings. God loves a cheerful giver, and from my vantage point we should enjoy giving to the work of God's gospel of grace. For instance, when you give to a gospel outreach program, although you never leave the comfort of your living roam, when the gospel is preached far or wide and souls are won for Christ, you have a qualified share in the harvest.

I do not know how to apply mathematics in sharing the results of soul winning. But we can rest assured that God will reward each person that which rightly belongs to its earned place. I like the account Jesus gave concerning the workers who went to work almost at closing time with no prearranged wage. The master simply said: "Work, and whatsoever is right. I will pay you." I love the idea that God keeps the books, and he will be no man's debtor. What a glorious thought that God will not "short change" a single person on earth. He takes into account every pain you are made to bear. He sees and makes note of every tear you have shed in secret, and your groanings for which you could not find the correct words, but you relied on the Holy Spirit to plead your case before the throne room of the Mighty God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, honor, and Majesty throughout the ages and the new world to come.

Be blessed in all things!