The Joy of Sacrifice

people have the same gifts; not all people have the gift they think they have. One of the reasons we lay hands on deacons or preachers is the affirmation of the church body that this person has been gifted to that particular ministry. In some way we do that with our Nominating Committee report each year when we elect folks to ministry positions for that year; we affirm their suitability for that ministry.

CIRCUMSTANCE

There are times when God just drops a ministry into your pathway and you have no choice but to know “this is it”. God did that with Paul. Paul just knew his calling was to persecute that crazy cult called Christians – those followers of Jesus. Then came the Damascus Road, a blinding light and Jesus turned Paul’s world upside-down. What he thought was his calling became the very opposite of his real calling.

God doesn’t do that “blinding light thing” with everyone – and many of us miss God if we’re not paying attention. The key is to know that God does single us out for ministry, and it is our business to listen very carefully in prayer. This is because…

#2. God is not interested in pedigrees, He wants Hearts

In the Chapter 12 list of brave men who were selected to live in the city, two of the tribes mentioned were Judah and Benjamin. These two tribes really have a checkered past. At least one of Judah’s children in the Patriarchal days was born of incest (Perez). This Perez became known as one of the mightiest warriors of the nation.

The tiny tribe of Benjamin also had a record of sexual sins, including rampant homosexuality. From Benjamin came two Sauls – one, the first king in Israel; the other Saul later had his name changed to Paul. After Paul got over that blinding Damascus Road thing, he started churches all over the known world and wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else. Two tribes – horrible pedigrees; God used them for His purposes anyway!

We have some tribes here today that may have gotten a rough start like Judah and Benjamin. Starts are only that – the beginning; it is how you finish that counts! Michael Jordan always looked kind of uncoordinated when he lunged to steal the ball from an opponent – but when he drove down the court to the basket, there was a man who could finish with style!

Friend, God is not interested in your pedigree – where you got your start, who your Daddy might be, or what degrees and honors the schools wrote on your sheepskin. God is after your heart – that’s what will determine how you finish!

These three statements are connected, layered one on top of the other:

God singles you out for ministry…He wants you to serve.

He doesn’t care about your history…He cares about your heart’s desire to serve Him…

and…

#3. He Singles You Out, But It’s Up to YOU to Respond

Responding to God means you come to the point where He can have anything you’ve got; it comes to the point where you release everything to God – past, present, future – all of it. It requires sacrifice to serve God. Anita Burnett, our friend in Greenville, Florida sent me a story that illustrates the point.

A Sunday School first grade class teacher asked her young charges, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would I get into Heaven?" "NO"! the children all answered.

"If I cleaned the church every day,