Willing & Ready, In Season & Out

[dave c]

A HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #120e Written 10NOV07 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

In The Footsteps Of Abraham: Part Five—Willing & Ready, In Season & Out

by dave c

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise (NIV).


As stated at the conclusion of Part Three, Hebrews 11:8-11 can be titled “Willing & Ready” as we are presented with Abraham’s 1) Preparedness, 2) Patience, and 3) his Belief in the face of God’s command to, “Go!”. It is important to note that Scripture says God called Abraham “to go”, it was not a matter of the patriarch getting restless with his job, his home, or his family back in boring old Ur. In our mobile society it is easy to suddenly pack up and leave our employment, our church, our community, or our spouse on the whim of a moment—or because we become hurt or angry—or because we’re tempted by the lure of “newer, better, and brighter”. In order to discern between the voice of God and our own agendas, it is essential that we listen carefully for the ministering and directives of the Holy Spirit when we are confronted with the urge for dramatic change.


That said, we must be ever prepared to respond to God’s commands. In Luke 9:57-62 we read the Lord’s response to those whose situations and choices inhibit them from immediate obedience. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (NIV). Employment, family, friends, possessions, debt, and/or doubts can, and do, prevent us from rising to the occasion of Christ’s commands.

Both Paul and Peter urge us to be willing and ready, to be prepared, when God calls us to His purposes. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work (2Ti 2:221&22; NIV). Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction (2Ti 4:2; NIV). Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed (1Pe 1:13; NIV). But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1Pe 3:15a; NIV).

I fear we too often seek an existence and a church where we are comfortable with who, what, and where we are, rather than a life and a fellowship that challenges us with the word and the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. I fear we seek a Jesus of complacency, rather than a Jesus Who brings us to repentance and change. I fear we are more interested in God and His Church fulfilling our expectations, than in our fulfilling His. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. (Mt 21:28-31; NIV).

We (I) spend much time and effort proclaiming a desire to be obedient to the call of Christ to “go” (into the vineyard, into the fields, or into foreign territory), but how willing and ready are we to actually do it? Are we willing and ready to go into missions? To go visit the sick and incarcerated? To go across the street to help our neighbors? In Matthew 15:8 Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13—"'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me'" (NIV). By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. If we claim faith as a believer, let us demonstrate it, whenever we are called by God, as we follow Abraham in his willingness and readiness “to go”. Amen.