Even to The Death

God’s Call

Jeremiah 1:4-6 ESV

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

The Lord Jesus has called each of us, who are his by faith, to be members of his body, and to use the spiritual gifts he has given us for his glory and to spiritually encourage the body of Christ (Rom. 12; 1 Co. 12-14; Eph. 4).

He has given each one of us an assignment within the body of Christ for us to do. This is not of man’s choosing, but this is of God. This he had planned for our lives even before the creation of the world, before we were even formed in the wombs of our mothers.

We don’t all have the same gifts, and we don’t all have the same assignments, but we are all called to holiness and righteousness, and to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus who brought us out of darkness into his wonderful light.

We are all called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in sharing the love, grace, and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ with a dying world. And, we are not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

But we might neglect those callings for many different reasons, one of which might be fear of man, or a sense of not having what it takes. Or, it might be because we have unrepentant sin in our lives, so we are not in fellowship with our Lord.

Or, it may be due to apathy, laziness, and not really caring about God, about his calling, and because we don’t really care about other people and the fact that many are being lied to, and that many are going straight to hell while being convinced they were on their way to heaven.

No Excuses

Jeremiah 1:7-8 ESV

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,and whatever I command you, you shall speak.Do not be afraid of them,for I am with you to deliver you,declares the Lord.”

But God doesn’t take “No” for an answer. He doesn’t force his will upon us, but he will make things happen in our lives to move us in the direction he wants us to go. He didn’t let Moses get off the hook, although Moses really tried to get out of his assignment. And, Moses eventually yielded to God.

I accepted God’s call on my life for a time, even in the midst of persecution, but then the persecution got much stronger, and more frequent, and for a time, I ran from God’s calling on my life. So, he allowed things in my life to happen to move me back in the direction he wanted me to go.

And, eventually, I said an unequivocal “Yes” to God’s call to write what he teaches me and to place it on the internet so that the internet could “run with it” where the Lord wanted it to go. And, this I have been doing for the past 15 ½ years, and for 14 years full-time. All glory to God! I could not do this without him. He has to give it to me, or nothing happens.

God’s Provisions

Jeremiah 1:9-10 ESV

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,to pluck up and to break down,to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant.”

So, know what God is calling you to do. Listen to him speak to your heart. And, then tell him “Yes.” Believe him that if he calls you, he will supply you with all you need to do the job. I know this all too well. So many times, he calls me to write when I am tired and my brain is not working all that well, and then he gives me the words, and they begin to flow. Praise Him!

So, us doing what God calls us to do has not much at all to do with our abilities, in the flesh, but with our availability to say “Yes” to his call, and to yield our lives to him, and then to let him lead us in the way he would have us to go.

And, he may ask you to do something when you don’t feel up to it physically, emotionally, or mentally, but his strength is sufficient. His power is made perfect in our weakness. Then, he is the one who gets the glory.

Persecution

Jeremiah 1:18-19 ESV

“And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

But know this! If we, by God’s grace, and in his power and strength, are doing his will, going where he sends us, and saying what he commands us to say, we will be hated, and we will be persecuted for our faith and for our testimonies for our Lord Jesus and for his gospel.

We are not going to be well liked by most people. We will probably have few close friends. Even others who profess faith in Jesus Christ will not want to be around us, because we are speaking what the Scriptures speak, which God is giving us to share. And, in today’s culture, those are not popular messages. Too many itching ears want the fluffy feel-good messages.

And, we will have people fighting against us, even pastors, even elders in the church, even other church people, even family members, and even our leaders in government in our nations.

But we must not fear them – any of them! If we are confident in the Lord that what he is teaching us is of him, because it comes from his Word, and because it is the Holy Spirit making the Word practical to our lives today, then we are to stand strong in our faith, and we must not waver with opinions of other humans. We are not to let them frighten us in any way.

Even if we are falsely accused, falsely imprisoned, and physically persecuted for our testimonies for Jesus, even to the death we must remain faithful.

I’ll Live On

Lyrics and Music by Thomas Laney, 1914

’Tis a sweet and glorious tho’t that comes to me,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on;

Jesus saved my soul from death, and now I’m free,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on.

When the world’s on fire and darkness veils the sun,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on;

Men will cry and to the rocks and mountains run,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on.

In the glory-land, with Jesus on the throne,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on;

Thru eternal ages singing, home, sweet home,

I’ll live on, yes, I’ll live on…

Thru eternity I’ll live on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr4bgQZubY8

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