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WHERE DOES GOD WANT ME?

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Ultimately, God wants all men today in the church.

1.      The church is the institution that has been purchased with the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28).

 

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

 

2.      God calls men by means of the gospel to come to the salvation found in Christ (II Thess. 2:14).

3.      Those who answer the call obey the gospel and are saved (Acts 2:21, 37-38).  The saved are added by the Lord to the church (Acts 2:47; I Cor. 12:12; 12:18).

 

Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

 

4.      These are “the called out ones,” the church, the ekkesia.

5.      Why it is essential to be in the church?  When Jesus returns, He is going to be looking for His bride, the church (Eph. 5:27, 32).

 

B.      In this lesson, we want to look at some of the other places God wants us to be as Christians.

 

I.                   AT MY DESK IN STUDY

 

A.    God commands us to study, to eat, and to consume His Word (II Tim. 2:15; Matt. 5:6; Ps. 119:103; Heb. 6:5).

 

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

B.      Our use of the word “desk” is symbolic.  When a person pictures a desk, it is a place of reading, study, research, meditation, and learning.

1.      Note:  It could be your kitchen table, the floor, or sitting on top of your bed.

2.      The place is not nearly important and the acquisition of spiritual knowledge.

 

C.     Proverbs 19:2

 

Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good…

 

D.    Peter’s command to add knowledge to our virtue and faith should be high priority for the child of God (II Pet. 1:5).

 

And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge.

 

E.      Without knowledge, we will come to ruin (Hos. 4:6).

 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…

 

 

II.                IN MY CLOSET IN PRAYER

 

A.    The Pharisees were a unique lot.  They loved to display their spirituality to others.  One way this was done was through public prayer.

1.      The loved to be seen praying in public (Matt. 6:5).

 

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:  for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.

 

2.      They also prayed long, redundant prayers in public (Matt. 6:7).

 

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:  for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.

 

B.      Where God really desires for us to pray is in our closets.  He wants our prayers to be very private with Him as the only audience (Matt. 6:6).

 

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

 

1.      Note the private nature of the prayer Jesus discusses

a.      Closet

b.      Shut the door

c.       Pray in secret

2.      Jesus’ example (Matt. 14:23)

 

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray:  and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

 

3.      In private prayer

a.      There is no showy display of our skill in prayer to others.

b.      There is the test of genuineness and sincerity.

c.       There is a display of our faith as we speak to our heavenly Father.

d.      There are no time constraints placed upon us.

e.       There are just our words and our hearts being poured out unto God.

 

C.     Dear listeners, God wants to hear from us.  He wants to hear from “just us.”

 

III.             ON MY KNEES IN SERVICE TO OTHERS

 

A.    Most of us know exactly where I will go to discuss this point, John 13:4-5.

 

He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

 

B.      After Jesus completed His humble service, He made application to His disciples (John 13:12-15).

 

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you?  Ye call me Master and Lord:  and ye say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

 

C.     Again, being on our knees is symbolic.

1.      When we think of servants, they are on their knees before their masters completing their tasks.

2.      The idea, however, is taking actions on behalf of others.

3.      Application:  One of the reasons I participate in our Adopt-A-Highway Program is for this reason.  It is one of our lowest service projects.  We pick up trash.  I am reminded every time what it means to be a servant.  I would encourage parents to bring their children to this program and teach them this vital lesson.

4.      LESSON:  God wants us to learn to serve, and serve on our knees if we must.

 

IV.             ON THE ROOFTOP SHOUTING GLAD TIDINGS

 

A.    In Matthew 10, Jesus gave instructions to His disciples before sending them out on the Limited Commission.  Listen to Matthew 10:27.

 

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light:  and what ye hear in the ear, that preach upon the housetops.

 

B.      The Lord wants His message to be heard.  The higher we can get in order to shout out His Word, the more people will hear the message.

 

C.     God literally wants all men to hear.

1.      “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

2.      “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47).

 

D.    We need to use every method at our disposal to get the good news of salvation in Christ out to the lost.  If we started on our housetops, we might eventually find our way into the streets, and, ultimately, into the homes of the lost.

 

V.                IN THE ASSEMBLY FOR WORSHIP

 

A.    It is our heavenly Father who has established the Lord’s Day assembly of the saints (Acts 20:7).

 

B.      He does not want us to forsake that assemble (Heb. 10:25).

 

C.     First and foremost, it involves the worship of our Creator, our Sustainer, and our Savior (John 4:21, 23-24).

 

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father…But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:  for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

D.    Worship is also designed for the worshipper.’

1.      We fellowship one another (Acts 2:42).

2.      We speak, teach, and admonish one another in song (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

3.      We exhort one another (Heb. 10:25).

4.      We confess our faults and pray for one another (Jms. 5:16).

5.      We seek to address the spiritual needs of our brethren (I Cor. 5:4-5).

6.      We proclaim our unity in the body of Christ (I Cor. 10:17).

 

VI.             ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

 

A.    Another place God wants His children to be is on the battlefield fighting the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12).

 

Fight the good fight of faith…

 

B.      The field of battle is in two places:

1.      It is out in the world where we struggle with all kinds of evil and opposition to God (Eph. 6:12).

 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

2.      It is within our own hearts (I Pet. 2:11).

 

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

 

C.     Our Lord want us to gird ourselves with the armor of God (Eph. 6:11, 13) and stand without fear (II Tim. 1:7) in the power of God (Eph. 6:10).  He wants us to be victorious over self and over all of our foes. 

 

D.    When the hour of Paul’s death drew nigh, one of the things that he said that he had done was to “fight a good fight” (II Tim. 4:7).

 

VII.          IN THE PRESENCE OF THE NEEDY RENDERING ASSISTANCE

 

A.    We have mentioned being servants, but God highlights our being willing to render assistance to those in need.

 

B.      Three Scriptures come to mind.

1.      The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:36-37)

 

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.  Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 

2.      The Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matt. 25:34-36)

 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom parpared for you from the foundation of the world:  For I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  naked, and ye clothed me:  I was sick, and ye visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

 

3.      Pure and undefiled religion (Jms. 1:27)

 

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

CONCLUSION

 

A.    God wants us in a lot of places.

1.      At our desks in study.

2.      In our closets in prayer.

3.      On our knees in service.

4.      On the rooftop shouting glad tidings.

5.      In the assembly for worship.

6.      On the field of battle fighting the good fight of faith.

7.      In the presence of those who are needy rendering assistance.

 

B.      Ultimately, God wants me in heaven with Him (John 14:1-3).

 

Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.