We're Called According to His Purpose

 Jeremiah 1:4-9 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.’ 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.’

 

“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.’”

 

Before He Formed Us

 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are all called of God. We are his possession to do his will. Our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, for we were bought back for God (redeemed) by the blood of Jesus shed for us on that cross so that we might now honor God with our bodies (our lives).

 

God had a plan for each our lives from even before he created the world, and he is the one who formed us in the wombs of our mothers. And he placed us in the families we were brought up in for his will and purposes, to make us into the people he wanted us to be to be used for his glory.

 

Not one of us is here by mistake. Not one of us is an accident. God created us for a purpose. And that purpose is to give glory and honor to God by our lives, to be his possession, and to do his will. He called us, not just to save us from our sins, but to give us new lives in him.

 

And this means that every aspect of our lives is to be given over to the Lord to be used for his will and purposes, and that includes the words that we speak to others. We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we are to be his witnesses, and we are to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 

For, when we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, this is not just about us getting forgiven of our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven. This is about a radical transformation of our hearts and lives away from living to sin and to self to now living for the glory of God.

 

We no longer can claim ownership over our own lives, for we are now God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God planned in advance that we should walk (in conduct) in them. For, he gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 

[1 Co 6:19-20; Ps 139: Rom 8:29; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Eph 1:3-4; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Matt 5:13-16; 1 Pet 2:29; Eph 2:10; Tit 2:11-14]

 

No Excuses!

 

So, we have no excuses for not surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ to doing his will. We cannot claim, “I can’t!” because he made us, and he can! Now, that doesn’t mean we can do everything, but we can do everything he has called us to do in his power and strength.

 

So, what has he called us to do? He has called us to be saints, which means to be holy, which means to be separate (unlike, different) from this sinful world because we are being made to be like Jesus in thought, words and in actions. So, this is a calling to purity, honesty, obedience, and faithfulness.

 

He has called us according to his purpose, and his purpose for our lives is that we die with him to sin daily and that we follow him in obedience and in surrender to his will. And it is that we give our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him.

 

He has also called us to freedom from our slavery to sin so that we would no longer live under the control of sin, but that now we would live holy lives, pleasing to him, now enslaved to him and to his righteousness. Sin should no longer be our master, but Jesus should be our only Lord.

 

He has not called us for impurity, but for holiness, not to walk in darkness, but to walk (in conduct) in this light (truth, righteousness), and not for our own glory and praise, but for the glory and praise of God, which includes our thinking, our words, our attitudes, and our actions.

 

[Rom 1:6-7; Rom 8:28; 1 Co 1:9; Gal 5:13; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3; Rom 12; 1 Co 12; Eph 4]

 

Whatever He Commands

 

Jesus Christ is not to be part of our lives. He is to be our life! And our lives are to be surrendered to him to do his will. So, whatever God calls us to do, that we must do. And how do we know our calling? Well, there is a general calling for all of us, but we have specific assignments, too.

 

We are all gifted with spiritual gifts, and we are all given assignments (our parts) within the body of Christ which we are to do. So, how do we know what these are? If we are walking closely with our Lord, daily in his word, listening to his voice, he will show us, and we will know.

 

The gifts he has given us will become evident, and we will know what we are called to do, for his Spirit who lives within us will make it known to us. For example, in 2004, the Lord spoke to me clearly through Habakkuk 2 and he let me know he was calling me to write down what he teaches me through His Word, and that I was to place these writings on the internet.

 

If I had not listened to the Spirit’s promptings, I would not be doing this, for I would not have chosen this ministry for myself. I was content doing ministry within a local church fellowship, but the Lord had something specifically that he wanted me to do, and I’ve been doing it ever since then.

 

Is it easy all the time? No! Do I get tired? Yes! Do I want to give up? Never! Am I totally dependent on the Lord for this? Yes! He choses the passages of Scripture, and he teaches me what he wants me to learn, and he guides me in what to write, and he picks out the songs, too. I just type and then post.

 

Do I face opposition? Sometimes, yes! Is it fierce at times? Yes! But do I have encouragers, too? Yes, thank the Lord! But the Lord taught me that I must write what he gives me to write and that I must not fear opposition, but that I am just to obey the Lord, and he will accomplish his purposes.

 

So, the encouragement here today is to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly with your lives, let him be your master, do his will, let him lead you in what he has for you to do and then do it. And don’t be afraid of opposition or persecution, for the Lord is with you and he will see you through it all.

 

Just listen for his voice, and continue to do his will, for he created you for a purpose. So, let him work his purpose in your life for his glory and praise.

 

Seek the Lord  

 

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

 

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

 

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

 

https://vimeo.com/379408296