Matthew 9:35-38 (GWT)
35Jesus went to all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues and spread the Good News of the kingdom. He also cured every disease and sickness.
36When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were troubled and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. 38So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops.”
When Martin Luther became convinced that the biblical way of salvation was by God’s grace working through man’s faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, he began earnestly preaching and contending for this doctrine that became the hallmark of the Protestant Reformation. A friend of his was equally convinced of this truth, and the two men agreed that Luther would spend his time out in the world preaching, writing, and debating, while the friend would spend his time alone in a monastery upholding Luther and the cause of the Reformation in prayer. As Luther visited the friend from time to time and reported the difficulties and obstacles of the work, the friend would intensify his praying. One night the friend had a dream in which he saw a gigantic field that stretched over the whole earth. But only one lone figure was working in the field, and when he looked closer the man saw that the lone figure was his dear friend Luther. When he woke up he immediately went to find Luther and tell him that God made clear to him through the dream that it was not enough simply to pray. He, too, must give himself directly to the work of spreading the good news of salvation. He did not forsake praying, but he set aside his pious solitude and began to labor beside Luther in the heat and dirt of battle.
Martin Luther’s friend learned that God had a place for him in ministry. God has a place for you too. God is calling you. God has shaped you for a purpose. Are you ready to answer God’s call? Are you ready to get busy living God’s plan for your life? What’s holding you back?
We have many excuses we use. Some of our excuses are pretty clever.
Lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster was a powerful orator who gave early evidence of his quick mind and way with words. One day Webster’s father, who was to be absent from home, left Daniel and his brother Ezekiel specific work instructions. But on his return he found the task still undone, and questioned his sons about their idleness. "What have you been doing, Ezekiel?" he asked. "Nothing, sir." "Well, Daniel, what have you been doing?" "Helping Zeke, sir."
Today in the Word, September 19, 1992.
Did you know that none of your excuses are valid. God has heard them all.
God has Heard Our Excuses
“I am too young.” Jeremiah (1:4-9)
4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
5 “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.”
6Then said I:
“Ah, Lord GOD!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7But 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.
8 Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.
9Then 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.
(New King James Version)
Jeremiah thought he was too young to speak for God. He was afraid people wouldn’t listen because he was a youth.
He was right, you know. As adults, we tend not to listen to those younger than we are, especially if they’re still in their teens.
God touched his mouth and put the words he wanted Jeremiah to speak in his mouth.
There’s a lesson here for us as adults: God can speak through the words and actions of youths and young adults. We must always be listening for the Lord to speak.
“I am too old.” Sarah (Genesis 18:10-14, 21:1-2, )
10And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and £Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
(New King James Version)
1The LORD came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised. 2So she became pregnant, and at the exact time God had promised, she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age...5Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born.
6Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7Who would have predicted to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I have given him a son in his old age.”
(God’s Word Translation)
Sara and Abraham found that they were not too old for God to bless them and to use them.
There are too sides to this coin. On one side are those who say they have no ability or have not to give to the Lord in their advanced years. God can take the impossible and make it become a reality. You have more to contribute than you realize. Remember your SHAPE? God has given you gifts, talents, and abilities to serve him.
On the other side of this coin are those who say they have done their time serving the Lord. It’s time to retire, relax, and live life for myself. That’s not biblical. There is no retirement in God’s kingdom. In fact, that’s pretty selfish thinking. God still has a plan for you. Your purpose may have changed. Your calling may have changed. But the Lord’s not through with you.
“I am not a speaker.” Moses (Exodus 4:10-16)
10But Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been a skilled speaker. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and can’t find the best words.”
11Then the LORD said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who makes someone deaf or not able to speak? Or who gives a person sight or blindness? It is I, the LORD. 12Now go! I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
13But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
14The LORD became angry with Moses and said, “Your brother Aaron, from the family of Levi, is a skilled speaker. He is already coming to meet you, and he will be happy when he sees you. 15You will speak to Aaron and tell him what to say. I will help both of you to speak and will teach you what to do. 16Aaron will speak to the people for you. You will tell him what God says, and he will speak for you.
(New Century Version)
Moses gave God many excuses of why he couldn’t return to Egypt to lead his people out of slavery.
God provided a way around Moses’ speech problem — Aaron.
Every Christian has a story to tell; the story of how God saved you. That’s all he is asking you to tell. When the Christians were scattered from Jerusalem because of the stoning of Stephen and persecution, Luke tells us that they told everyone about Jesus as they went their way (Acts 8:4). You do not have be a great orator to tell your story. In fact, God doesn’t expect you be a great speaker. He just wants you to tell your story.
“I am not an important person.” Gideon (Judges 6:11-16)
11Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty warrior.” 13Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” 15He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16The LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”
(New Revised Standard Version)
More often than not, God uses the not-so-important people in powerful and miraculous ways.
God used a boy to kill a giant.
Jesus called twelve uneducated, unsophisticated men to change the world.
God called a religious terrorist to take the gospel to the Gentiles.
God chose that the Messiah, his Son, be born in a little town to man who had little or no prestige.
Your name may never be written in history books. You may never write a book. You may not be a great inventor. You may not find the cure for cancer. But in God’s eyes, you are very important. God has a great future in store for you.
Here’s another thought. You never know who you are going to influence. You may not become a person of significance in the eyes of humanity, but the child down the street may be the one to find a cure for diabetes. The man you met this week at work may become the next Billy Graham because of your witness. The nurse that took care of you at the hospital or doctor’s office could become the next Mother Teresa because you to shared with her your faith in Jesus.
God doesn’t look for those with the best credentials. He looks for those who are willing to serve him.
“I don’t have time.” The Great Feast (Luke 14:16-24)
16Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
(New International Version)
None of those invited to the banquet were willing to make the time to attend. So, the man rejected them and sought out those would make the time to attend the banquet.
Time is one of the most precious resources we have.
In a lifetime the average American will spend:
Six months sitting at stoplights
Eight months opening junk mail
One year looking for misplaced objects
2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls
4 years doing housework
5 years waiting in line
6 years eating
Survey of 6000 people polled in 1988, U.S. News and World Report, Jan 30, 1989, p. 81.
There is only one acceptable response…
“I will go! Send me.” Isaiah (6:1-8)
8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
(New King James Version)
Isaiah whole-heartedly and completely gave himself to the Lord. He was willing to go wherever the Lord sent him and speak whatever the Lord told him to say.
In his book Quiet Talks on Service, S.D. Gordon gives an imaginary account of Jesus’ return to heaven after His ascension. As the angel Gabriel greets Jesus he asks, “Master, You died for the world, did You not?” to which the Lord replies, “Yes.” “You must have suffered much,” the angel says; and again Jesus answers, “Yes.” “Do they all know that you died for them?” Gabriel continues. “No. Only a few in Palestine know about it so far,” Jesus says. “Well, then, what is Your plan for telling the rest of the world that You shed Your blood for them?” Jesus responds, “Well, I asked Peter and James and John and Andrew and a few others if they would make it the business of their lives to tell others. And then the ones that they tell could tell others, and they in turn could tell still others, and finally it would reach the farthest corner of the earth and all would know the thrill and power of the gospel.” “But suppose Peter fails? And suppose after a while John just doesn’t tell anyone? And what if James and Andrew are ashamed or afraid? Then what?” Gabriel asks. “I have no other plans,” Jesus is said to have answered; “I am counting entirely on them” (cited in Herbert Lockyer, All the Apostles of the Bible [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1972], p.31).
Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation. God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities.
-- Billy Graham. Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 4.
Invitation
God has a place for you. God is calling you into a relationship with Jesus and to serve him. God has given you a unique SHAPE. God has heard all our excuses.
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