THE APPOINTED TIME
"........what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." (John 2:4).
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you; and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations...... Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, and to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:5,9-10)
"Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He hid me; He made me a polished arrow, in His quiver He hid me away." And He said to me, "You are My servant, ........, in whom I will be glorified." (Isaiah 49:1-3)
"And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.......... And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, in favour with God and man." (Luke 2:40,52)
People senses when the call of God has been placed on someone's life. They can sense when they are anointed in a special way by God. That anointed one could be you or me. One may wonder: How come even though as an adolescent, the anointed one could preach remarkably well like the Lord. He demonstrated intelligence, eloquence and articulation.
"After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished;........." (Luke 2:46-48)
He has been moved vigorously and strengthened like Samson.
"......... and the boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the spirit of the LORD began to stir him........" (Judges 13:24-25)
He is full of spirit and wisdom like Stephen.
"But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke." (Acts 6:10)
He is full of zeal for God and His word, and he is thoroughly soaked in the anointing of the Holy Spirit
"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,........., and was led by the Spirit" (Luke 4:1)
"and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, ......." (Judges 14:6)
He is always ready to yield and surrender to His will. He wrote lines upon lines of spirit-inspired words in pencil. He has delivered spirit-inspired teachings as the Spirit invoked utterance / compulsion of speech while by himself. Yet the Lord did not allow his ministry to take off as big as some expects. His time is yet to come.
Couldn't help wondering, with all the above mentioned to the credit of the anointed one (and of course to the glory of God), Father what are You waiting for? You've loaded him with the virtues, talents, gifts, ability and qualities that can accomplish your missions. Yet, his ministry seems a shadow of the real thing in the offing. What are you waiting for, oh LORD? Like Jeremiah, You have called him as a youth to go on a mission for You (Jeremiah 1:5). How come his ministry is yet to go full swing as ordained. The same applied to the Lord Jesus. At the age of 12, he clearly established potential for unique and awesome ministry. Yet he did not start until the age of 30.
The reason may not be as far-fetched as it may seem. There is need for better understanding of life. For instance
"but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man." (John 2:24-25)
The anointed one can be likened to a precious metal quite all right in God's sight. Just that he needs to be refined and purified first before entering into the Lord's service. For
"only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that can stand the fire, and it shall be clean." (Numbers 31:22-23)
He is a sword in the Lord's hand. True. Just that he needs to be sharpened to meet the Father's requirements before being put into use.
IN ADDITION
It is important that knowledge be balanced with understanding. Zeal confers on an individual the drive to do God's will. Zeal is quite conducive to impulsive tendencies. Understanding adds or interjects appropriate restraint as occasion warrants. Zeal without understanding tends towards immaturity. Conversely, zeal that is not devoid of understanding tends towards maturity. Knowledge by itself makes a person of principle out of an individual. Knowledge with understanding tends to make an individual more practical in their approach to issues. Knowledge of the scriptures (word of God) makes a person a man of the word. Knowledge of the word in conjunction with better understanding of life adds a necessary dimension - man of the world. It is important that knowledge of the word be balanced with understanding of the world.
"Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and give to God what is God's"
"but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man." (John 2:24-25)
It is true that though
"You are in this world but you are not of this world."
"I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One." (John 17:15)
Fact is: even though we are children of God's kingdom, we are still residing in this world. An understanding of the world is important even for a child of the kingdom.
"........for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." (Luke 16:8)
God bless.
Yours
'Kunle O. Majek'
H I A F E M
Of impact, quality and excellence
That's the Spirit!
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