Finding Your Voice - Direction

Your Directional Voice – Who’s your audience? 

WHY AM I HERE?  WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?  WHAT MUST I DO?

God had invited Israel to the wedding and then He sent the bridegroom …Jesus.  In Matthew 22:1-8 we can see what Israel’s response was and what God’s response to them was.  While we know from Romans 11 that this was not a permanent state of grace for Israel (they had been in the penalty box many times before), it did open up the door for the gentiles.  Many Christian apologists believe we have taken Israel’s place and cast their future into Hell but it can be proved in scripture that Israel does indeed have a future in God.  My purpose here however is to discover OUR future and OUR responsibilities as Christians.

Beginning in verse 9 of Matthew 22 we read, “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Here is the reason we Gentiles were received into the kingdom of Heaven.  God the Father, wanting to honor His Son with a large and extravagant wedding, invited EVERYONE to the wedding.  Everyone was compelled to enter into the wedding hall, both good and bad.  Everyone was offered a free wedding garment of righteousness and was encouraged to put it on.  Many did but a few did not.  The righteousness had been paid for and the hall was full.

Matthew 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

Why do you suppose that some of the wedding guests did not have on their wedding garment?  They were paid for, provided free of charge.  This particular man sat there in the wedding chapel clothed in his own moth eaten, polluted foul smelling garments when the King came through to see if all was ready for His Son’s big day.  First we see that God called him FRIEND.  The Greek word means comrade, partner, dear friend.  The King had not withheld his love or concern for this man; had provided the proper clothing and sat him in a seat of honor.  In response this man disdained the clothing and arrived at the wedding unwashed, uncovered and ultimately…undone. 

Verse 12 says the man couldn’t even answer.  Have you ever met someone who argued about EVERYTHING.  Even when they knew they were wrong they would argue, unwilling to admit their mistakes.  Verse 12 shows us something extremely important.  If we have not partaken of the gift of God and put on Christ’s righteousness and accepted His sacrifice, there will be no arguing or debating between us and God.  Your mouth will be closed and speechless in this circumstance.  There will be no arguments because NO ONE will dare argue with God on that day.  It’s rather like the day after the rapture when those who thought they knew God but didn’t, looked up and wept.

Verse 13 makes God’s serious attitude toward righteousness perfectly clear.  God said unto the angels, “Bind this man hand and foot.  Carry him away from this place of honor, love and joy and cast him into outer darkness.  He will know nothing after this but weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Verse 14 says, “Because many are called, but few are chosen.” 

If you are one of the chosen it is not only because of God’s call, but because of YOUR obedience and YOUR surrender to God’s will.  When God first calls your name, you might not know how to live in Christ; might not know what is expected of you, but if you are willing to surrender your future for His, God will qualify you precept by precept until you are fully clothed in your perfect wedding garments.  The man in verse 11 above was not cast into outer darkness because he didn’t have the same opportunities as everyone else.  He was cast away for refusing the free gift and promises of God.  He was cast away for disobedience to God’s Word and the heavenly calling.

One thing you could say about Saul of Tarsus is that he was a man of faith and conviction.  He fully believed in God’s holy Torah.  He was flawless in his obedience to it.  He knew he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees until he met the man called Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Blinded by our Lord he was forced to reconsider all his beliefs and to his credit was willing to change to serve the risen Savior.  Paul did not have to throw away his faith in God.  He simply discovered that he was incorrect in his doctrine and chose to bring it in line with the Eternal Lord.  He was one of the few Pharisees who would do so and certainly the most open about it.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when you are seeking God’s will is that your opinions and plans may not be in keeping with God’s.  Paul was a Pharisee.  He spoke their language and understood their rules and laws.  After Jesus explained all the connections revealing Him in the Tanakh, the Old Testament, Paul thought he would be the perfect choice to witness to the priesthood and the Jewish people.  He was wrong.

Acts 22:17-21 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him. ’ And he said to me, 21 ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.

Notice that Jesus did not say, “Well, give it a month or two and let’s see what happens.”  He said, “Move it!  Get out of town NOW!”  Paul like many of us felt led to disagree with Him.  God never explained WHY they would not receive Paul.  He simply reiterated His first statement, “GO!  I am sending you FAR AWAY to the Gentiles.”  It was at this moment that Paul blew Jonah’s example out of the water. 

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them He was going to destroy the city in 40 days.  After running away and being dragged back by a fish he grudgingly did as he was told.  His witnessing technique was kind of like, “Hey scumbag Ninevites!  In 40 days you get yours so burn in hell!”  I don’t recommend that you adopt his technique but from the king on the throne to the donkey in the stable the entire kingdom put on sackcloth and ashes and repented so sincerely that God gave them 100 more years.  Perhaps it was because Jonah was bleached completely white and covered in seaweed but it worked.  This of course irritated Jonah who sulked for days about the grace and mercy of God and argued with God over whether or not he had a right to be angry.  Jonah chapters 2-4.

It is much better to go where God sends you with a good will than grudgingly and of necessity (2 Corinthians 9:7).  If you are a cheerful and giving witness you will be able to walk in all of God’s grace (v. 8-12). 

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 

Whether Paul wanted to witness or not is irrelevant.  His attitude in Ephesians 3:1 was, “I am a prisoner of Jesus and I will do what I must to get you people saved.  Woe unto me if I preach not this gospel of Christ to you (1 Corinthians 9:16-27).  Verse 27 is one of the most important of the Bible.  Paul could have remained in Jerusalem.  God is unlikely to have sent angels to drag him to Ephesus and Corinth.  Well, I don’t think He would have anyway.  The point is that Paul wanted to please God.  He took all his own passions and loves and desires and made them all subordinate to God. 

Like Jesus and Peter he wanted to hear God say tetelestai, it is finished.  He wanted to hear God say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.  So do we.  We all long to say, “I did it God!  I did what you asked!”  What passions and loves and desires are you willing to put second or even third behind God’s will.  In the case of flexible morals in the world today, it isn’t that one sin is any worse than the others (usually), but that God has called it sin.  He is the final judge and arbiter and we will answer to Him. 

Since we are all depending on God to finally say, “Well done,” we need to make sure we have obeyed His voice and His purpose in our lives.  To discover what our voice is we need to pray and seek His face.

·      Jesus directional voice was the salvation of all mankind.

·      Paul’s directional voice was the salvation of gentiles.

·      Peter’s directional voice was the salvation of the Jews.

Your directional voice is to:

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

Do you know His voice?  Have you prayed, fasted, studied His word and obeyed His unctions enough that you are able to say, “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth (1 Samuel 3:9-10)?”  Once you do, even others will begin to understand God’s leading in your life.

Galatians 2:7-9 AMP But on the contrary, when they really saw that I had been entrusted to carry the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles, just as definitely as Peter had been entrusted to proclaim the Gospel to the circumcised Jews, they were agreeable;

 For He Who motivated and fitted Peter and worked effectively through him for the mission to the circumcised, motivated and fitted me and worked through me also for the mission to the Gentiles.

 And when they knew perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged the grace God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas Peter and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised Jews.

Whether someone accepts your call or not, as long as your spirit and God’s Word agree and God is making a way to accomplish it, rejoice in the work.  Not everyone will agree but some will and perhaps help you along your way.