The Lord had a job for someone to do. He asked, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" He needed a messenger and He is asking who will do this job? The Lord has chosen to use men and women in His service. There is a lot of work to do and we need a lot a workers to do the job. Isaiah responded to the Lord’s call by saying, "Here am I; send me." He wanted to be used of God. He was willing to work for the Lord. May I say this morning that this is the greatest need in the work of the Lord today. We need people who are willing to get involved in serving God and doing His work! However, just as with any job there are some requirements to do the work of the Lord. There are some demands that must be met. I want to spend some time this morning reminding you of what the work of the Lord demands.
I. The Work of the Lord Demands a Vision.
A. There is a cause.
1. David asked his brothers concerning the battle against Goliath, "...Is there not a cause?" cf 1Sam. 17:29b
2. Do we believe that there is a cause for doing the work of the Lord?
3. Jesus commanded us to go into all the world preaching the gospel, baptizing the saved, and training them to serve Him. cf Mt. 28:19-20
4. Can we see the cause to obey Him in this matter?
5. "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." cf Pr. 29:18a
B. There must be conviction.
1. We must be convicted about the cause and be moved to action.
2. In 2Tim. 2:2-4, Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ and not to become entangled in the affairs of this life.
3. He went on to tell him that there was a time coming when people would not want to hear the truth. cf 2Tim. 4:3-4
4. It seems that time has come!
C. There must be commitment.
1. We are instructed to study the Word of God and know what we believe. cf 2Tim. 2:15
2. We are to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord and His truth. cf 2Pe. 3:18
3. According to Jesus, "It is the truth that makes men free."
4. We must be committed to that truth and seeing others come to understand it.
II. The Work of the Lord Demands a Vessel.
A. A Holy Vessel.
1. The Lord tells us to come out from the world and be separate.
2. The word ‘holy’ means set apart for a purpose.
3. We must be set apart for the purpose of doing the work of the Lord.
B. A Humble Vessel.
1. The Lord wants to use us, not because of who we are, but because He chooses to do so.
2. If we will not allow Him to use us, He will choose to use someone else.
3. The Lord is everything and we are nothing!
a. "I can do all things through Christ..."
b. But Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing."
C. An Honoring Vessel.
1. God said, "...for them that honour me I will honour..." cf 1Sam. 2:30
2. The Lord is worthy of our respect and reverence.
3. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
4. We should seek to honor Him with our life.
III. The Work of the Lord Demands Spiritual Vitality.
A. Spiritual life.
1. The Lord imparted spiritual life to us when we were saved. cf Jn. 10:10
2. But to do the work of the Lord we must be spiritual...filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.
3. Paul told the Colossians, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:" cf Col. 2:6
4. The work of the Lord demands that we live spiritual lives.
5. Too much is done in the flesh today... that’s why there is so much trouble and so many problems.
B. Spiritual Love.
1. God revealed to us His great love at the point of salvation.
2. In 1Co. 13, Paul describes the spiritual love that God wants us to have.
3. We are to love others with the same love that the Lord loves us.
C. Spiritual longings or desires.
1. God puts the desire in our heart to do the His work.
2. When we have a spiritual longing to do the work of God, we will want to work.
3. We will cheerfully serve the Lord who lived and gave His life for us.
IV. The Work of the Lord Demands Volunteers.
A. We need to give our time.
1. The Word of God tells us to ‘redeem the time’ or make the best use of the time that we have.
2. How do we spend our daily allotment of time?
3. He gives us all 24 hours, and it is up to us how we use it.
4. We ought to give some of our time back to God in service.
B. We need to give of our talents.
1. A talent is an ability or capability that comes naturally or it is something that we have learned.
2. Everyone of us have talent:
a. It may be a manual talent; something that is done with your hands.
b. It may be a ministry talent; like singing, teaching, or helping.
c. It may be planning or organizing or some other kind of talent.
3. Whatever it is we ought to use it for God!
C. We need to give our lives.
1. The Lord has blessed us so much.
a. Count your blessings!
b. Health, family, job, etc.
2. We should respond to His blessings by giving of our life to Him.
3. Giving to the Lord involves much more than dollars and cents!
4. Tithing, giving to missions, and the building fund is important, but God is pleased when we give of ourselves!
The work of the Lord demands a vision, a vessel, a life of vitality, and a willing volunteer. Will he find that in us? Will we be like Isaiah of old and say to Him, "Here am I Lord".
Are you born again? Have you been washed in the precious blood of the Lamb of God? Trust Him today, and commit yourself to the work of the Lord.
Christian, are we involved in the work of the Lord? Are we doing what God would have us do? Why not?