Do you desire to be a servant of God?

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Have you ever asked God to use you, if not why not? As a Pastor and a Minister of God I did not ask God for the service He has chosen for me. God chose me, because serving God is not a choice but rather an appointment. While this verse is in the form of a question it is not a question because God does not make request, serving God is not an option it is a command. What sort of God, Master, omnipotent God would our God be if He had to make request. God does not ask, plead, or beg people to come to Christ as so many claims, oh no, God draws them. John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” God did not ask Isaiah to volunteer but rather God ordained it of him, gave him the willingness and when the Lord asked God drew him into accepting. Our Sovereign God would never leave the accomplishment of His work in the hands of people, He ordains and administrates every step. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." 1 Corinthians 12:4 – 6 The word “administrations” means – the spiritual services of a believer. Therefore, we see Isaiah quickly jump at the opportunity to serve God as all of his servants are. Therefore Isaiah responded, with no hesitation "Here am I". Why are people not falling on their knees to ask God for service appointments? Why are Christians with great voices not serving God in music, why are men with great scriptural knowledge not serving as ministers or teachers, why not? Because God has not called them, God has not chosen them to His service. Isaiah did not say, Lord I am busy. Or Lord I cannot do the work, or Lord I am bashful or shy, he did not even say why me Lord, oh no, not at all, he simply asked God “Here am I; send me.”

I remember seeing the Prophet Jeramiah ask God, “behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” And then God’s response to him was, “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Jeramiah was not refusing, he was not rejecting God’s will, he just could not believe with his age and experience that God would use him. However, doing God’s will is not about us, it is about how God elects to use us, God will take care of everything, we just need to enjoy the blessings in serving God. So, as God told the Prophet Jeramiah, “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.” The blessing of all blessings of God is to be used of Him in His service. None of us are ready, none are prepared, we are all meek and lowly but God has made us what we are by His grace. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed." 1 Corinthians 15:9 - 11 Do you desire to be a servant of God, do not be afraid, shy, or never say “I cannot do it” because we are all in God’s gracious hand.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD”

Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”

It may be silly to ask this question, but what do you think it means to trust in the Lord? Most people say and even believe they trust in the Lord, but do they? On a scale of one to ten with ten being 100% what is your trust level in the Lord? The word “trust” means – to be confident or sure in someone or something, it also means to be sure and have hope in it. – This word is aligned with faith, but they are somewhat different. Our trust in the Lord makes us blessed and the more trust we have the more and stronger the blessing we have. Our blessings are centered in our hope through our trusting God. However, the stronger trust we have the stronger faith we have and the more blessed we are. The Lord said in Psalms 125:1 “A Song of degrees. “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” So, when is our trust in God strong enough, when we are unmovable from trusting in Him. This trust all starts with how strong your belief in in God’s Sovereignty or God ability to control everything in your life. The preacher Solomon wrote in Ecc. 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” God just said that to “everything”, that would include anything that exist whether it is an event, tome, happening, or anything else in your life. Believing in the sovereignty of God means that we understand that every step of our life is by the appointed will and power of God. God has appointed every happening in our life by His will and for His purpose. Most Christians and at time all Christians have trouble with this. Sometimes when some events or happenings develop, we do not understand what is happening and fail to remember first that God is controlling it. Let’s test your trust and faith in God, how strongly do believe in Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Did you say a 7 – 10? Do you genuinely believe “that all things work together for good”? Now can you say truthfully in your heart that you “KNOW” and believe that everything, everything in your life is (1) ordained of God for you, and (20) works out for some good in your life, without though or question? When God said, “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion” why did He mention mount Zion, because He said, “which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” This is exactly where both our trust and faith both ought to be in God. Without doubt, question, or fear, but recognize that anything or everything, is appointed by God and that everything in life has a good for us. John Gill had these remarks, “Who trust not in themselves, and in their own hearts; nor in anything of theirs, their strength or wisdom, riches or righteousness; nor in any creature whatever, in the mightiest or best of men; but in the Lord; in God, as the God of nature and providence, for all temporal mercies; and in him, as the God of grace, for all spiritual and eternal ones; who should be trusted in at all times, whether of affliction, temptation, or darkness; for which there is abundant reason.” God said in Jeremiah 17:7 - 8 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” If our trust in the Lord is strong as it should be that we will never worry about the happenings in our life but instead we will pray and look for the good in the outcome. We may not always see the good bit we must still trust God in them.

Does your heart cry because of sin?

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

We are sinners, we cannot help being sinners because it is how we were born. It was not just David that was born in sin, it was every human ever born except for Jesus who as the Christ. When you are born something, you cannot change what you are, male is male, and female is female, and a sinner is a sinner. A born sinner is never anything else, just as an apple tree bares apples and an orange tree bares oranges a sinner can only sin. Because of our father Adam who sinned God condemned the entire human race under him. God said “For as in Adam all die…” 1Co 15:22 and this is why we are born sinners and cannot change who we truly are. Since we were “shapen in iniquity” it is “in sin did my mother conceive me.” Because mama and daddy were both born in sin and sinners then their children were born sinners. Even if one or even both were born again believers in Jesus Christ, I was still born a sinner. No one is born a Christian all Christians were born again a second time which we were born of God. Our sinful nature is something we never leave behind not even in salvation or in our new birth from God. Unfortunately, we were born with sinful natures, and we will die with sinful natures, and it is only after this death our human natures will leaves us. God said, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12 This is not a choice for a lost soul, and if God does not supply us with enough grace, it is not a choice for a Christian. Our human nature will always make us desire sin because it gets its strength through sin. The war within the Christian is the battle of two natures, one sinful and the other holy, and this battle within us will be until we die. God said, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God…” Rom. 6:13. This is the very reason the Psalmist David prayed, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight… Ps 51:4. He was begging God to cleanse him from His sin and to make him walk in a righteous path of life. The Psalmist went on to pray these words, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:12 David was miserable as a person because as long as he was on this earth he was a sinner. If a Christian is left alone, they will always choose sin over righteousness, it is only within God’s blessed grace we will choose righteousness over sin. The Psalmist knew he was still a sinner, but he prayed constantly two things, (1) that God would forgive his sin and (2) that God would lead him away from sin. God warned us, “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;” because “For I say, through the grace given unto me” therefore we are only as strong as, “according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”  This is why we sing, “I am weak but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong;” therefore David wrote these words “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Ps 51:10. Our hearts as Christians need to cry unto God this same prayer, we need to realize and never forget that we are sinners, we need to pray for the grace of God to overcome our sinful desires of our fleshly nature. And let us all pray as David prayed, “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” Ps 143:10. Beloved, grace is not what we needed just to be saved, oh no, grace is something we need every hour of every day. As the song so truly says, I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is vain. I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill. I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.” Please dear Lord, forgive my iniquity and keep me for sin! Oh Lord, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” Ps. 51:11