1 Timothy 1: Commanded By Jesus

It's time for me to get back to what I do best: instruct on the Word of God. I may throw in some extra blogs from time to time but I must get back to expounding on the Word in a systematic manner. Considering the craziness that is going on, I am led to once again go through Paul's letters to Timothy. There is a lot of excellent instruction for us in this current age included in these letters.

From Paul.

God our Savior and Christ Jesus commanded me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. (1 Timothy 1:1)

Do you know who you are in Jesus and what you have been appointed to? Do you know your place in the Body of Christ? Your gifting from the Spirit? Without knowing these things how can you serve?

We don't get to do whatever we want to do or whatever we feel like doing. Our calling and place in the Body has nothing to do with talents, personality or our preference. It should never be a matter of filling out a volunteer form or us being asked what we would like to do. All of these things are divinely appointed by God. Don't think so?

The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. (1 Corinthians 12:7)

But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us. (v. 11)

But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. (v. 18)

Not our decision. That is why apostle Paul says with great clarity and boldness, "Jesus commanded me to be an apostle". Not Paul's decision but God's. It is the only way that he was able to run the race to completion, knowing he was appointed by Jesus for the task. It is this knowledge that causes us to go the distance.

If at any point you think that what you are doing in the Body was your choice you will also eventually believe you have the choice to walk away. Service is not easy. Carrying your cross will take everything you have to give and beyond. With it being so hard, if you believe you have a choice, you will walk away. It is only when you are "compelled" that you are willing to die in your calling. Can you express the urgency of your calling in the same manner as Paul?

I don’t have any reason to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don’t do it, I am doomed. (1 Corinthians 9:16)

In seminary I remember filling out a missions survey which was filled with questions about by likes and interests. This was suppose to tell me where I was suited to serve. Wrong! Unless I am called by God I will not serve with the power or conviction of God and I will do only a tolerable job in my flesh, which might, at the end of the day, kill me. The Body is filled with people filling positions halfheartedly, without passion because passion comes from conviction and conviction comes from knowing you are appointed to your task by Jesus.

Until we can say in truth "Jesus commanded me" we will not serve with all our passion. We will not serve with conviction. We will not serve with authority and power. When Paul spoke he knew he spoke with the authority that came with his office. We need to accept the truth:

Not everyone is an apostle. Not everyone is a prophet. Not everyone is a teacher. Not everyone can work miracles. Not everyone can heal the sick. Not everyone can speak different kinds of languages. Not everyone can tell what these languages mean. (1 Corinthians 12:29-30)

But everyone is appointed to something. It means that some ARE apostles; some ARE prophets; some CAN work miracles; some CAN heal; some CAN speak different kinds of languages. The Word clearly says:

Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body. (v. 27)

Every part has a function and purpose as appointed by Jesus and you are one of those parts. But which one?

That is the question that you need answered. Ask the Lord to reveal your purpose, calling and then wait on his response. He will put it on your heart, confirm it through the Word and confirm it again by what people receive in the Spirit for you. You may not like what you have been appointed to but you will feel compelled and your joy will be found in your obedience.

Are you convinced you are commanded by Jesus today?

Jesus Chooses, Not Us

Even after all these years I still find it amazing that God chooses to use the foolish of this world to confound the wise. Unfortunately the "wise" choose to see the vessel instead of hear the message and reject both. I am not referring to the world here. I am speaking of the Church. We still don't get it. We don't get that God uses whoever he wants whenever he chooses. We don't get that it has little to do with education and much to do with obedience. We don't get that it is not about our talents and everything about God's anointing. We don't get that Jesus' chooses us, we don't choose Jesus, when it comes to calling and purpose.

The apostle Paul was a foolish man when he was called Saul. To the Jews he was a success. He was a young scholar, learning under the best, filled with zeal for Israel. He was so zealous and ignorant of God that he actually attacked the one he supposedly loved and served. Jesus looked at this man who hated the Church so much that he set his mind upon destroying it, and chose him to bring to the world the gospel of grace. Grace was nothing new, but Jesus was about to bring Saul to a greater revelation of it than anyone else had ever received. But here was Saul, a great persecutor of the Church. What would Jesus do?

Jesus did for Saul the same thing he has done for all of us; he reached out and allowed him to make a decision. Perhaps Saul's encounter with Jesus was a little more dramatic than yours, but then again Jesus really needed to get his attention. Jesus met with him, revealed his glory to him, appointed and anointed him for his task. Saul became Paul, the great herald of the gospel of grace. Paul never forgot this moment. He never forgot the charge given to him. He never took it lightly:

And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. (2 Timothy 1:11)

We don't get to decide. We don't get to choose what we feel comfortable with and do that. We don't get to tell God what we are willing to do for him. We are servants. We listen for the Master's voice. When he appoints us he equips us. The last thing we want to do is try to walk in a calling that is not ours, trying to do it in our strength and ending up destroyed. When we are called by God for what we must do, we will look back at that moment again and again to remember it was not our choosing but God's. It makes a big difference when you end up suffering for that calling. In your strength you will quit and run away. In God's strength and energy you will stand your ground and remain faithful to the task.

Too many people are choosing their own calling. Too many people are operating in Jesus`name but lack authority. Too many people are being destroyed, quitting, walking away because they chose and were not appointed. It looks so simple at the beginning. It looks like a simple choice but you have no idea of the trials, persecutions, suffering that marks the way. In the Lord we have joy and peace but if you have chosen that path for yourself you are facing destruction.

Set your mind and heart on things above and listen. Listen for the Master`s voice and obey. It does not matter the task we are called to. The only thing that counts is faithfulness to that which we have been given to do. Obedience, faithfulness, determination, going the distance is success in our calling and it is possible because we were chosen.

Discouragement Comes When We Forget

Is it possible for a Christian to become discouraged? Absolutely, when we forget. There are a lot of things we can forget that would lead us to discouragement, even depression. We can forget God's promises, presence, love, forgiveness, mercy, grace. We can even forget that we did not choose him but he chose us.

We forget this because we think that the decision we made meant that we chose him. We forget who created us in the first place and we forget he created us for friendship with him. We forget that he has pursued us throughout time and he laid down his plans to rescue us. We forget that he chose the cross. We forget he sent the Spirit. We forget that he decided for us before the beginning of time. We forget that Jesus even told us:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. (John 15:16)

I think Paul often reminded himself and his readers that he had not chosen this relationship and calling himself but he had been chosen:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. (Colossians 1:1)

This was important to remember because Paul had been a persecutor of the Church and there were many people in the world who did not want Paul to forget. I am sure there are many people in your life who do not want you to forget what you were or what you have done. The great accuser certainly doesn't want you to forget. He wants you to remain weak, pitiful and useless to God. Between yourself, other people, and the great accuser it is hard to forget. But you must forget in order to remember who chose you.

You are not a freak chance of nature; you were purposefully designed and given life. You have been called to greatness in the Kingdom of God of which you are a citizen. You are a constant companion of God, called friend by Jesus and filled by God himself. You have been pursued by Jesus who does not want to lose you. You are cherished, loved and protected.

There are other choices you can make yourself. You can chose to ignore God. You can chose to stay miserable in the darkness of your soul. You can chose to hide under the blanket of tormenting emotions. You can chose to hide behind the frailty of man's logic. You can chose to remain enslaved to things you do not even realize exist. You can make these other choices or you can accept the fact that you are chosen.

Jesus is reminding you today, to encourage you, to lift you up, that you did not choose him but he chose you. Live in that knowledge today, accepting the fact that you never face anything alone but are always in the presence of the great overcomer. He said he will never leave you or forsake you. You will never be abandoned or forgotten. You are precious. Despite how you feel, what you think, how you act, God is always pursuing your friendship. He has chosen you, and his forgiveness, mercy and grace are enough to preserve you until the day of Jesus' return. Relax, forget about everything else, enjoy the journey and enjoy Jesus.