A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (August 31, 2018)
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:9)
I will never forget how I felt when I knew that God was calling me to the ministry. I argued with God about it because I did not consider myself worthy or qualified to be a preacher. I even told God that He must have made a mistake because a lot of the words that sometimes came out of my mouth were not too holy and surely He did not want me cursing from the pulpit. On top of that, I did not have a clue how to preach and did not have the first idea what to preach about.
Do you know what? Those arguments did not faze God a bit. He just pointed me to Philippians 4:9 and in a very simple way told me not to worry about those things. He said if I would just walk with Him I would have plenty to preach about from what I learned, received, heard, and saw in Him as we walked along the way. It was that simple!
Some of the most profound truths you and I will ever learn from God are so very simple. Jesus followed this same simple pattern in His ministry. Do you remember when Jesus said He did not say anything He did not hear the Father say or do anything He did not see the Father do? It’s that same simple pattern.
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. (John 3:31-33)
This same pattern was passed on to Peter and John as they ministered. Do you remember when the religious leaders became so upset with Peter and John over the lame man being healed at the Gate called Beautiful? The leaders threatened them to never talk about this Jesus ever again. Here was their response:
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19-20)
John later reiterated that same simple pattern of ministry. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
It is amazing what my wife and I have seen while walking with the Lord. We will never have enough time or paper to write or tell all that we have seen. I will never run out of topics to write about or stories to tell. The question is, do you have that same reservoir of experiences with the Lord? Have you seen God move in powerful ways? Have you heard His voice give you directions at critical times in your life? Have you seen Him provide for you when there appeared to be no way? Have you seen Him heal the sick and save the lost? Have you witnessed miracles as you walked with Him?
You can all experience those things. All you have to do is share what you have seen and heard and you can be a minister too. God is still God and He is still doing His thing!!
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:14-16)
