Tasks That Must Be Performed

Too often I deal with the Lord’s call on my life as though I have a real choice, or better yet, options in whether or not I serve Jesus. The fact of the matter is when we are called by Christ to serve Him, the only real choice we have is obedience and disobedience. We like to use the excuse of the need to grow more in Christ or not having the gifts to perform the tasks given us. The Prophet Jeremiah tried this approach with the Lord:

    “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’ Then said I: ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.’ But the Lord said to me: ‘Do not say, “I am a youth,” for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.’” (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

God told Jeremiah two very important facts about His calling Jeremiah to prophesy. In verse 5 God tells Jeremiah that He “sanctified” and “ordained” Jeremiah to be “a prophet to the nations.” When did God do this? Before Jeremiah was even conceived. In God’s omniscience He has a plan for each of our lives. We sometimes think we choose God, when all we actually do is choose to follow Him or not. The service He wants us to perform He has already planned. We do not choose Jesus; He chooses us:

    “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16)

So we are to go forward and bear fruit and we are not to “be afraid of their faces” of those we are to witness to or even oppose. Why? Because as God told Jeremiah we too can be assured that the Lord Jesus Christ is with us and will deliver us, no matter what we face or are called to do. We must remember that we must do what Christ calls us to do. Warren Wiersbe puts it this way:

    “It is a humbling experience, for He chose us and we did not choose Him. We must keep that in mind lest we become proud and presumptuous. It means that we keep our ears open and listen to what He says to us…We must be attentive and alert. But the purpose for all of this is that we might obey Him and get His work done. The King has tasks that must be performed and if we love Him, we will obey His commands. We will seek to bear fruit that will please Him and glorify the Father. Our joy should be to please Him.”

When Jesus called Saul on the Damascus Road, He sent Saul to the city to receive His mission and eventually his sight. The Lord called on Ananias to be the one to be Jesus’ hands. Of course Ananias knowing of Saul was reluctant to say the least. Jesus said:

    “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15)

Imagine if Ananias had disobeyed the Lord and not gone to the house on Straight Street. Would Jesus had found someone else to do the job? No doubt, but imagine the life of Ananias had he refused? Ananias would have missed out of the blessing of seeing a miracle and fellowshipping with the Apostle Paul. Scripture does not record it, but I imagine the possibility of these two men becoming close brothers in Christ.

Beloved, the fact of the matter is we have been called by Jesus, those of us who call ourselves Christians, to worship Him through our service. Will you worship Him? Will you stand on His truth against the bombardment of lies and half-truths thrown at us daily, or will you go along to get along in hopes that things will get better some other way?

We have a choice: obey or disobey. Which will you choose?

And if you do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, will you choose Him today?

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2012 David Jeffers

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