Trusting God to Use Us

[SERay]

Johanna and I nearly always discuss a message declared from the pulpit and found a word on Zacchaeus expansive.

We meditated on it and concluded that not only should we make ourselves available to the Lord to convey his Good News to others, but we should be properly fitted for the task. Referring back to Luke 24:49 where the Lord commanded emphatically “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father on you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high” (NKJ). As we know, being filled with the Holy Spirit will give us the will and the way to fulfill the Great Commission with striking power and conviction. Peter, the bumbly disciple suddenly was able to declare a concise word in Acts 2, and 3,000 were added that very day. Not because of word alone, but because of the Spirit of power. The disciples waited however long it would take to be filled before they acted. Thankfully, we need not fret missing a chance or shirking our calling, where the Lord will flow out of us like a living stream of water. This is of course is contingent on “IF” we seek Him as our all in all.

The disciples had followed Jesus for roughly 3.5 years, yet after the explosive garden event, they were defrayed. They were neither prepared nor able to process what was happening. Even the boisterous Peter who had professed earlier in Matt. 26th, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you" experienced an unexpected shift that motivated him to denying Christ three times. Although well-meaning and militant, we can toil in a religious fervor to do “the work” of a good Christian as many “works based” faiths persuade. If we operate out of willful duty instead of the fullness of Spirit, we can create an infernal mess instead of Kingdom glory. Johanna came from a Holiness background and was steeped rigidly in method and conduct for 30 years, but had never really been transformed. She was baptized again a few years ago after an encounter that begat a transforming experience. One sentence rent her curtain in two and she saw the Savior in all his Glory. That’s another story

I also discussed with Jo, our encounter with any unbeliever is not a singular event dependent on us to precisely conduct and lead them unto salvation at that moment. This is where trusting in the divine Sovereignty of God comes in. We can be confident that indeed Jesus meant by what he said in John 6, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him”. God is omniscient, and when a person has been selected by God for salvation, He will provide the means and methods to assure a soul is ushered into the heavenlies. While I am not a full fledged Calvinist, I do hold to this axiom of truth. God uses Saints to sow seed, water, encourage, cultivate and harvest willing souls. When it comes to a person not in the faith, God may use you as a servant over any part of the process, however trite or simple it may seem. God can take simple and make it immensely soul stirring. I am certain this happened in my experience, when we submit hearts up unreservedly one after His.

We often pray, instead of trying harder, we need to instead bow lower, fully submissive in every part of our being unto His unfathomable will and glory. That we might, “Become diligent to present ourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

[KimR]

I agree I have been thinking and doing this. The word Humble is really what you are describing here. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it says if we humble ourselves and pray. I have been very convicted this past while about first humbling myself. Just over the past few months or even days, it has brought my life into a change in posture. I agree that we don't have to pick those to be saved, I think they will come as a result of our obedience to Christ as a fruit of our relationship with the Holy Spirit as in Acts 2. There is an old saying I learnt as a young Christian, healthy sheep begat healthy lambs. When someone is near me and God wants that person to have a relationship with Him, He can use my relationship with Him to usher someone new into His kingdom. At the same time, He doesn't need me to do it either. When I was in high school playing around with satanism and other things, I ate lunch in a classroom with a group of people. But there were other little groups there as well. One group were Christians. I ate lunch with them in that room for 3 years and never knew they were Christians. I wanted to bring in the high priest from the satanist cult I was connected with and the school board denied it. So, my teacher, (not a Christian) suggested I do a report on the "Jesus People" and show how they are a cult rather than satanism. I had never heard of the "Jesus People" I had never had much religious teaching. My family were not Christians, and both my parent's parents were hurt badly by the Church. Yet with all of this I walked into a coffee house hosted by the "Jesus People" and I found Jesus. I also found all those people who ate lunch in the same room with me but never told me about Christ. So yes, I agree “we need to try harder, we need to instead bow lower, fully submissive in every part of our being unto His unfathomable will and glory. Become diligent to present ourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” It is not enough to pray, although we need to pray, but the first thing we need to do is humbly posture ourselves below Christ. We need to be servants first and ministers second. I think we need to listen to Him first rather than talking first. We need Him To be King, Lord, Shepherd, our Righteousness, our Banner, our healer and finally His voice is what needs to come out of our mouths in Prayer. This was an excellent word. It really speaks to many things that have been burning in my heart this past while. Thank you!

[Travis]

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe......

The Foolishness of preaching, not foolish preaching. The difference between the two is the abiding of the Holy Spirit, who enables us. And in that communion with Him, to "study to show ourselves approved," and thus having the ability, thru God, to "rightly divide" the word of truth. Anyone can preach. But the effective preacher, is the preacher who is so in tune with God, that God directs that man's thoughts and words, to minister directly to the need of the hearer.