By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville
Baptist Church
Who will speak for the
Lord? The Lord called me to
preach in March of 1983. I can
remember clearly how that the Lord spoke to me about taking up the task of
preaching His word to His people. I
can remember having a great fear. I
was afraid of what people would say. Since
my Dad was a pastor I felt that people would think that I was becoming a
pastor just because he was. I was
afraid of the response of people when I preached.
I was afraid of what they would say and do me if I preached exactly
what I was commanded to preach. I
was afraid that I wouldn’t know what to say or do.
I was afraid of how they would look at me and that they wouldn’t like
me. I have had nightmares that when I would begin to preach that
they would get up and leave or leave during the message. I was afraid that the people would try to tell me what to
preach. I was afraid that people
would want to physically beat me and threaten me.
In the last 20 years of preaching and the last 16 years of full time
pastoral ministry I will have to say that I seen most all of my fears come to
pass. Don’t feel sorry for me.
Through the midst of those fearful times there is the presence of the
power. This is the Spirit
of the only true living God who launches his spokespersons as lights into a
world of darkness. He is the
power that propels the message through the earthly messengers.
But, through all those fearful times I have witnessed the power and
presence of the Lord to deliver me, help me, strengthen me, guide me, protect
me, forgive me, use me, provide for me, and make me who He wants me to be.
The greatest joy of life is to know that you are who you were created
to be by the Spirit of the only true living God of the universe.
Scripture Text:
Deuteronomy 18:15 (NIV) The LORD your God will
raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must
listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on
the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the
LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." 17 The
LORD said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a
prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth,
and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen
to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to
account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not
commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must
be put to death."
Will you listen to the
Lord? He has sent a
messenger to the person who is from the people.
He has sent Jesus who spoke the message of the Lord with unusual power,
clarity, and effectiveness. He
spoke the exact message that God wants to give to those who live on the earth.
Will you listen? He spoke
to me to accept Him as my God. Then
He continued to speak to me so that I knew he had plans to use me in his
service. I answered his call to
be his servant as a deacon in the church and as a youth leader, Sunday school
teacher, visitor, and pastor. He
has spoken to you. Have you
listened? Have you followed the
directions from the Lord?
Yes, but how?
We can’t see Him face to face. The
people realized from their own experience that if they saw and heard the Lord
in person that they were afraid that they would die.
They were afraid. So they asked Moses for a messenger like Moses who would
speak to the Lord and then bring back the message.
That is what the Lord has done by sending his own Son to speak to the
people. How did we receive Him?
We killed him, but He was raised from the dead.
Then His message gave hope to all who would hear and listen.
Now He speaks to us through the presence of His Spirit.
Will you listen to the
Lord’s prophet?
Who is this prophet of the Lord? He
is one like Moses. A leader who
is able to lead the people to the Promised Land even when they are rebellious. He will be from among their brothers. God will put his words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I have commanded them.
He gave us the good news.
Warning, Warning! ! God will call us into account.
Make sure that you speak as you have been sent and empowered to.
Be sure to speak only the message of the Lord.
Be sure to realize that the message may be as sweet as honey and sting
like a bee. Be ready to deal with
the rejection of the message and the rejection of the messenger.
Although people can’t separate the message from the messenger, you
must realize that you aren’t the whole of the message but the messenger.
Jesus is the message and he chooses people like you and me to deliver
this most important of all news. It
is the good news that Jesus is alive and you can know him and have him in your
life. Not answering the call is
not a way out of the responsibility and accountability.
Would you speak for the
Lord?
The prophet who presumes to
speak in my name anything that is not commanded or speaks in the name of other
gods must be put to death. God
wants you to speak and live for Him every day.
He wants to raise up one from the people like you.
Why should we want to
speak for the Lord then?
Why not?
He wants us to. He calls us
to. He commands us to. We
can and we should. The spiritual
message of the Lord will not be said as it can be said if we don’t.
Sure there will be others who will preach or speak the message of the
Lord, but the message won’t be spoken by those who have been called,
commanded, and sent; that is, you.
Is.
41:10 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.
11
"All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who
oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your
enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as
nothing at all. 13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right
hand and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Ezek 2:3 (NIV)
He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious
nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in
revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are
obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' 5
And whether they listen or fail to listen--for they are a rebellious
house--they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of
man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers
and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid
of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. 7
You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for
they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do
not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give
you."
“At a country fair there
was a Buffoon who made all the people laugh by imitating the cries of various
animals. He finished off by
squeaking so like a pig that the spectators thought that he had a porker
concealed about him. But a
Countryman who stood by said: "Call that a pig s squeak!
Nothing like it. You give
me till tomorrow and I will show you what it's like."
The audience laughed, but next day, sure enough, the Countryman
appeared on the stage, and putting his head down squealed so hideously that
the spectators hissed and threw stones at him to make him stop.
"You fools!" he cried, "see what you have been
hissing," and held up a little pig whose ear he had been pinching to make
him utter the squeals.
Men
often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.
Likewise, mankind has embraced one false religion and prophet after
another. But when the only begotten Son of God came to earth they crucified
him rather than embrace him!” From
Bible Illustrator.