God's Call
Some people are reluctant servants. I suspect some of God's most
reluctant servants are found in the heart of the queer community. When
I think of how reluctant we can be as servants, a story comes to mind.
A little girl had been trying to learn how to tie her shoes. She
struggled for days and days. Finally, she managed to learn how to tie
her shoes. Her parents thought she would be delighted. She was not
happy. In fact, she cried. Her father asked why she was crying.
The little girl sobbed, "I just learned to tie my shoes."
The father asked, "That’s wonderful. Why are you crying?"
"Now I’ll have to do it all by myself for the rest of my life."
I think that is one of the fears of serving God. We might have to
continue serving our God once we’ve started. Service is not always
easy. But the good news is that unlike the little girl, we will never
have to do it all by ourselves for the rest of our lives. God will be
with us as we serve, so we are never alone in our service.
Today, we will look a little at the story of a reluctant servant. The
story is found in the first chapter of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:4-7:
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I don't know how to speak; I am only a child."
But the LORD said to me, "Don't say, 'I am only a child.'
You must go to everyone I send you to, and say whatever I command you."
In Jeremiah Chap. 1, "God initiates the encounter."
God calls Jeremiah. God chose other Biblical messengers -
Moses, Isaiah, Samuel, and Ezekiel.
God acts that way with humanity.
God saves; we respond.
God calls; we respond.
God intervenes; we respond.
When it comes to calling people to serve,
the call is personal - individual - to YOU as a person.
I'm not convinced the call of God involves people seeking out God, ... and
offering God their services.
There might be times when it happens that
way, but I believe God calls people to service.
Jeremiah sounded reluctant to speak for God.
You might be wondering why Jeremiah was not real excited about speaking for the Lord.???
This was not going to be an easy ministry. Jeremiah was called to ministry
during a chaotic political, social, moral, and spiritual period.
You might be thinking - sounds a little like today. Good point! We are in
a period of time that seems to have almost chaotic political, social,
moral, and spiritual change.
But Jeremiah had especially bad news. He was given the difficult task
of telling the people that Judah and Jerusalem were to be destroyed
and the people carried into captivity.
As you can imagine, this was'nt a popular message.
Think how popular the message would be here.
Try saying, "Your country will be defeated and all of her people carried off into slavery."
That would wouildn't go over very well. You would never win a political office if that was the
message of your campaign speeches.
The queer community is used to hearing a lot of verbal assaults and
pronouncements of doom.
You can imagine how well it would be received
in the queer community if a gay man or a lesbian went from gay bar to
gay bar saying all GLBT people would be carried of into slavery.
Nobody wants to hear a message like that. Jeremiah’s message was not
popular in Judah. Even Jeremiah’s own family was not happy with the
message.
God chose Jeremiah before he was born. In Hebrew, the meaning is that
God literally knew Jeremiah before Jeremiah was born.
And this was a very intimate knowledge of Jeremiah. God didn't just know Jeremiah.
The Lord molded Jeremiah, like a potter would mold clay.
You almost get a picture of God knowing Jeremiah so well that Jeremiah
was personally molded into the man God wanted him to be.
God continues to operate that way.
In the first two chapters of Ephesians, Paul paints a picture of God
choosing you to be one of God’s children before the world was created.
Christians are called by God before the foundation of the world. You
don't need to fill out a long application form like a passport.
The Spirit of the Risen Lord in your heart is your passport!
The very God who knew you better before you were born, ...
than you will ever know yourself, who chose you before you were born, and who
personally molded you in the womb for service knows when the right
time has come for you to serve God.
The call may not be to serve God as a minister, but as an editor of the church newsletter...
or call you to serve your paster in Prison ministry, or welfare work, or catering...
the humblest of dutites can be a calling by God in your life.
AND YET, MANY ARE CALLED for the Ministry and FEW ARE CHOSERN.
But GOD IS: preparing you for service, by helping you
understand how to exalt/proclaim the love of God in the GLBTI COMMUNITY,...
The result of God’s work in your life, is to help you be prepared,
to step into roles of service, roles where you can serve the
Our heavenly Parent in a powerful manner.
As many people through the ages, you might be thinking,
"I believe God wants me to do this, but I am just not good enough."
Compare yourself for a moment to God’s servants in the Bible.
That way you can see how you stack-up.
* Noah was a drunk.
* Abraham was too old.
* Isaac was a daydreamer.
* Jacob was a liar.
* Leah was ugly.
* Joseph was abused.
* Moses stuttered.
* Gideon was afraid.
* Samson was a long-haired womanizer.
* Rahab was a prostitute.
* David had an affair and was a murderer.
* Elijah was suicidal.
* Isaiah preached naked.
(Aren’t you glad I don’t preach like Isaiah!)
* Jonah ran away from God.
* Naomi was a widow.
* Job went bankrupt.
* Peter denied Christ.
* The disciples fell asleep while praying.
* Martha worried about everything.
* Mary Magdalene was . . . well you know.
* The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.
* Zaccheus was too short.
* Paul was too religious.
* Timothy probably had an ulcer.
* And Lazarus was dead!
I've always accepting that being dead, as a good reason for not serving God.
But God doesn't. The good things we do in our lives live on long
after we are dead.
Have a few personal problems, a few issues? Well so did the ancient
servants of God. Thinking you are not worthy, because your only
problem is your sexual identity or your gender identification?
Your sexual orientation and your gender identity are nothing that can stop
God from touching lives through you. As TROY PERRY once said
"God created you... not so he could have some one to bash, God LOVES & CREATED AS YOU ARE.
Now! No more excuses! God can use you to your full potential, because
the very God who formed you in the womb, who called you before the
world existed, equipped you for the task at hand. Besides, you are not
the message; you are the messenger.
I don't think anybody can be a good servant of God without understanding
the most important part of servanthood - respect for one’s heritage.
When you don't respect and appreciate your heritage in Christ, you
aren't going to be a powerful person of God.
There is a story of a tourist. When traveling in France, he purchased
an amber necklace. Customs duty on the necklace was rather steep, so
he decided to have the necklace appraised. The jeweler that appraised
the necklace offered him $25,000 for the necklace.
The man suspected something was not quite right, so he got it
appraised by another person. The second appraisal was for such a high
figure the man was stunned.
He asked why the necklace was so valuable.
He was told to look closely and was given a magnifying glass.
The inscription read, "From Napoleon Bonapart to Josephine."
The name on the inscription made the necklace valuable.
Inscribed on the necklace of your heart and soul is Jesus.
That inscription makes you valuable and gives you worth. People may look at
you and not see your value. They might look at you and not be able to
see anything other than your sexual orientation, or your gender
expression.
But when they look closer, when they look into your eyes,
right into your heart, they can see the inscription of Jesus, the son
of God, on your heart.
I want you to reflect on the second picture of God. You may know the
chorus that goes, "Surely the presence of our Lord is in this place."
Think about that song and how it applies to you, as I make a change in
the words.
Surely the presence of our God is in ME.
I can feel God’s power and God’s grace.
I can hear the brush of angel’s wings.
I see peace on my face.
Surely the presence of our God is in ME.
God is calling you to help build the Kingdom, to invite new people to
join the Kingdom. And nobody can explain the grace of God better than
the queer community, better than people who have felt excluded so
long, and found inclusion and love in God.
God is not just on your side. God is living in you, working in you. So
you are capable of doing the wonderful things God is calling you to
do.
HYMN: "Just as I am without one plea..."
Rev. Dr. Shane K. Andersen DD (Hon)
or Facebook: www.facebook.com/shane.andersen1 Ph: +612-9680-0575
Message by Rev. Dr. Shane Andersen DD (Hon) OMC Sydney
14TH January 2015
"Humility" ('Oh ye of little faith')
Search the scriptures & read from 1st Corinthians 1: 10-18 about the church in Corinth having some major problems, and Paul wrote them a stirn letter, since he was the one who set up this, the first Christian Church, and was deeply concerned about the troubles & strife going on at that church. He spoke about the divitions/factions starting up there, when its members took their eyes off Jesus, with some power plays.
A poem from my Mother's recent poem book:
"LIFE'S PATHWAY" entitled... 'Morning Thought'
What will the new day hold for me of pleasure or of pain?
Will it leave memories behind ofd sunshine or of rain?
Where does the morning signpost point, to failure or success?
To paths of trials and troubles, or peace and happiness?
Will there be friends to walk with me along the road I tread -
Or will it be a lonely track with no bright lights ahead?
Will there be something to regret when twilight fades away -
Or will my heart be grateful for a good and perfect day?
Dare I set forth upon the road unlaided and along?
I'll need a more than human will, and strength beyond my own -
If I'm to fight temptation all the while and all the way.
Without God's Grace I cannon meet the challenge of the day.
:Lilian Lorroway Tigel ( My MOTHER)
Tonight I want to speak about HUMILITY and which I sub titled...
"Oh Yea of LITTLE FAITH" which eventually corrupts, and hinders the Lords work in our churches... as we have seen in so many examples.
Have you ever wondered how much of your humility and servant attitude is truly Christ like? You can easily find out—the next time you are given the opportunity to submit yourself to someone who, in your estimation, should be serving under you...like in a job situation etc., or perhaps you do a great work in your church, but feel you don't get enough recognition? How do you react?
What are your thoughts and feelings? Is your heart at peace and your joy undisturbed, or do you struggle with resentment?
Andrew Murray includes in his small book titled Humility the essence of the following
text (paraphrased here):
Humility is far more than being broken because of our sin. It is participation in the very life of Jesus. Humility is the only root from which the genuine fruit of the Spirit can grow.
Pride degraded the highest angels into devils. Humility on the other hand, has raised fallen men and women to the throne of angels.
The great purpose of God in raising up a new creation is to demonstrate this great truth throughout eternity that all evil begins from pride and that all goodness springs from humility.
In Ezekiel 28:11–17 and Isaiah 14:12–15, the Bible gives us an account of the creation of the archangel Lucifer and what happened to him when he abandoned humility. The Word of God points out that Lucifer was perfect in two things: wisdom and beauty.
That’s about the ultimate dream someone could wish for him or her self. Not even Solomon, whom God granted to be the richest and wisest man under the sun, could claim to be perfect in wisdom and beauty.
The Apostle Paul had such incredible revelations and an understanding of the Word of God, yet he still says in Philippians 3:10 that his greatest desire is “that I may know Him.”
And when Paul lists all his accomplishments and outstanding achievements, he never mentions a word about his physical appearance. Tradition says Paul was a hopeless looking creature: short, bald, bowlegged, hunched over and partially blind.
Yet here was Lucifer, head of the archangelic order, absolutely perfect in wisdom and beauty. But the day came when this wasn’t enough for him. What happened? His heart was lifted up by pride.
No where do we read that he conducted a huge rally in heaven to voice his opinion before the rest of the angels . No, he simply said in his heart—no words spoken—“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13, 14).
And God immediately cast him down. Through Lucifer’s pride, Adam and the entire human race fell. Pride is the root of all sin and evil that came into the universe.
But our salvation, redemption and recovery can only come through the humility of the second Adam, ... JESUS the Christ ('the anointed'), inGREEK: the one who is CHOSEN. The Hebrew word for this is... "The Messiah".
Philippians 2:5–8 shows us the heart of Jesus, which is diametrically opposite to Lucifer’s. Instead of looking for ways to go up, Jesus looked for ways to step down.
He laid aside all His glory and emptied Himself to become a human being. But He didn’t stop there. His humility took Him much farther:
“He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).
The Bible says in the following verses that this was exactly the reason why God highly exalted Him. Seeing our struggle with pride, Jesus invites us in Matthew 11:29 to follow His example:
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,and you will find rest for your souls” (emphasis mine).
This simply means that if we take the low road like Jesus did, all our striving will come to an end. And when we are asked to submit to someone who is younger or to serve others instead of being served, we will find that our hearts will be at peace.
Do you want to be more like Jesus? Look for opportunities to humble yourself.
I will close off this message with one more, very short poem by my Mother:
"The precious things that never change, The simple and the true,
The things that really count in life, Can they be seen in you?"
May God bless, Keep, strengthen & guide your spiritual pathway in life.
-------------------------------
Rev.Dr.Shane Andersen often works in voluntary Mission work/Human Rights, you can help by sending a donation to any St.George Bank (NSW) OUTREACH MINISTRIES AUSTRALIA BSB:112-879 A/C:476145045
or P.O. Box 181, Ermington Sydney, NSW Australia 1700 www.facebook.com/omcsydney
He also teaches Photographic Skills up there, helping them with job training in that area, with Photographic Workshops, and a free Photographic training web site.
Check out Shane at www.facebook.com/shane.andersen1
and feel free to chat with him on SKYPE: trekmate
