PREACHED BY: PASTOR CHRISTIAN
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. John 1:19-28
It takes a determined mind to speak for God. There is a price to pay when you want to be a voice for God in your generation: you cannot speak for God and speak for man at the same time. John identified Himself with the Voice of God when he was questioned about who he was. Physically, he could boast of a few things -his father was a high priest, a Levite, that was the tribe that handled the word of God in Israel, but John didn’t remember all that, he said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness”. It takes humility to represent what God wants you to represent. We are quick to arrange our portfolios when asked who we are -it is to us, a platform to sell ourselves. This is not bad, except that when it comes to God, you cannot even represent Him if you have not met with Him, and you cannot meet with Him and be proud. God is not looking for preachers, He is looking for those who can carry His voice, hence, the need for His search.
To have a proper awareness in God, you need to have a personal identification, ministerial identification, calling identification, and conversion awareness. You are not in God because you are in an assembly, it doesn’t even mean that you are converted. This is the reason we have many church goers hindering the furtherance of the gospel -they are not aware of identity. Friends, understanding brings healing. When you have perfect understanding of what He has made you, it ends your competition and hustling. When Samuel received anointing, he didn’t jump out to start his ministry, he had to still be groomed by Eli. There is a time of calling, there is a time for grooming. Submit yourself and be humble; The proof of your calling is your ability to submit it under authority -in fact that is one of the evidences of the Holy Spirit. Instead of fighting authority, walk out discipline.
Do you realize that Jesus was not the Voice? He was the Light; he needed the Voice to introduce the Light. So, Jesus told John, “Suffer it to be so now”. Consider the greatness of the ministry of John to Jesus, he carried such grace and anointing for that ministry, yet his words were these: I am not worthy to unloose his shoe latchet, he is preferred before me. The Voice of God is usually in solitary places, they often stand alone because they only speak what God wants -which brings enmity to them.
The question before us is not far-fetched: which voice are you? At your workplace, in your career, at home, during crisis -are you a mere religious person or you are a voice that represent God’s heartbeats. God is looking for you and I to be a voice for Him. Let’s consider another case study in the Old Testament in Isaiah 6.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Isaiah 6:1-9
Isaiah was a prophet in the land of Israel -a major one, yet God was not seeing him in his office, God was looking for a voice. He was attached to a reigning king, and enjoying political affiliation and that detested God, the privilege he had was that he had an experience with God, where he saw that his office up for advertisement. That was when he declared woe on himself. You may be standing physically but are you standing spiritually? If you must speak for God, you must stand for God. God weighs us spiritually, and what He is looking for who could be that solitary voice for Him. What you need is an encounter with God. He is the One you want to be a voice for. You can’t represent Him if you have not met Him. Pray to meet Him; He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
Shalom!
You can watch the sermon video here https://www.youtube.com/live/mcySOVPFM8k?feature=share