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Sunday 9 March 2003 - "Uniquely made to serve God"

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

Jer 1:4 - 7

4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

7 But the LORD said unto me, 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.

Ps 139:13

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

These are marvelous words! Before the heavens and the earth were created, He already saw you and called you by your name. He determined the exact time when you would be born, who you would be, your personality, your family, your mind, talents etc. You could not choose anything of that, but it was freely given to you. Why? He gave it to you, so that you might serve Him in the capacity and sphere he placed you. Do not try to be someone else, but be content with how He made you and use what He gave you to His glory.

Today people are become weird. Women are not content to be women and try a sex-change. Likewise with men. Others are not content with their hair and dye it a different colour. Those that are unmarried seek marriage with a passion, and the married wish their spouse would die or that they could get rid of them some other way. No, your love and desire should be to Christ, whether you are married or unmarried.

What happens to God's rich seed that is sown in your hearts Sunday after Sunday. Is it stolen by the birds or does it bring forth fruit. How many souls have you won to Christ? When I came to Christ, my first desire and instinct was to win others to Him too. I went with my Bible into the black people's huts and told them about this Jesus whom I have found. I used to be fond of hunting and many times brought some birds or buck back home. When I won my first soul to Christ, I came home with joy. They thought I had shot a buck, but then I told them how I've led my first soul to Christ.

Jesus won us to Him, so that we might live for Him and win others to Him as well. It is just natural to win others to Christ if you have truly met Him. How will you stand before Him one day, being spiritually barren?

Let me illustrate this with 5 people:

• Peter was always forward, the first and to the point. Sometimes he was right and sometimes wrong. On the day of Pentecost, he was the one to stand up and preach, and then the others followed. He was uneducated, but trained by Jesus. When he stood before the Jerusalem counsel, they marveled at his wisdom and realised that He had been with Jesus.
• Paul was an intellectual, trained under Gamaliel. He could reason and debate well and prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Ironically, Paul was sent to the uneducated, whereas Peter was sent to the educated, and God used both mightily. God's ways are not our ways.
• In Jn 9 we read of the blind man that was healed by Jesus. When the Jews questioned him and later interrogated him about his healing, he simply gave his testimony and did not feign himself to know more than he did. He answered their questions with, "Whether He be a sinner or not, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see" (Jn 9:25).
• The Samaritan women, who had five husbands, ran to her city and told them of how Jesus told her all that she did, and many in that city believed on Him. Her past was full of sins, but her testimony brought many to Christ.
• Matthew the tax-collector followed Jesus the moment He called him. Mark and Luke call him Levi, which indicate that he was of priestly decent. He fell far below his calling. Even today we find young people, from a godly home, going into the world and falling to the depths of smoking, drinking, prostitution, lies, deceit, etc.  You that call yourself a child of God, where are you found today? However, when Jesus called Matthew, he left his prosperous profession and followed Christ. Immediately he made a big feast so that all his friends might meet Jesus. When the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating together with the tax-collectors, His reply was simply that the sick need a physician and not the healthy.

When Jeremiah excused himself for being a youth, God rebuked him and touched his lips to speak His words. Let us follow Matthew's example and follow Christ the moment He calls us, and serve Him undividedly with all He entrusted us with.