God Is Not Through With You Yet - Part IV
October 20118 |
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
Joel 2:28
THIS MONTH, the emphasis is on the phrases “your sons … shall prophesy … and your young men shall see visions.” Many young people do not believe that God can use them, and they allow the enemy to discourage them before they even get started. But God is saying to them, just like He said to Joseph, David, and Timothy, that He is not through with them yet.
David
David was probably about 15 years old when Samuel anointed him to be king of Israel. Samuel would naturally have picked one of his older brothers because he was looking on the outward appearance instead of for a heart that was toward God. Choosing David was unlikely because:
- Saul was already king.
- David was the youngest son (and a lowly shepherd).
- David was not trained as a soldier.
But as David yielded to God, the Spirit of the Lord helped him to play his harp for Saul
(I Sam. 16:23; 19:9-10); to withstand ridicule from his brothers; and to kill Goliath and defeat the Philistine army (I Sam. 17:49).
Joseph
Joseph was the next to the last son of Jacob. He had a hard childhood because his sister, Dinah, was raped (Gen. 34:2) and revenged by her brothers (Gen. 34:25-26); and his mother died giving birth to his younger brother, Benjamin (Gen. 35:18-19).
At age 17, Joseph was hated by his brothers for more than one reason:
- Joseph had revealed his brothers’ evil deeds to their father.
- Joseph had a heart toward God.
- Jacob designated Joseph to receive the birthright.
- Joseph told his brothers of his dreams from God, how he would rule over them.
His brothers planned to kill Joseph, but they ended up selling him into slavery. In Egypt, Joseph was put in prison for refusing the advances of his master’s wife. But instead of getting bitter, Joseph continued to trust God. This was shown by the repeated statements that God was with him (Gen. 39:2-4, 21-23). As a result, Joseph was promoted. He was made overseer of his master’s household, and later of the prisoners where he was jailed (Gen. 41:38). Eventually, Joseph became second in command over the entire Egyptian Empire.
Timothy
Timothy was a young Christian when Paul asked him to travel with him on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-3). His mother was a believing Jew, but his father was an unconverted Gentile (Acts 16:1). Timothy was strongly influenced toward Christianity by his mother and grandmother (II Tim. 1:5), and was probably won to the Lord by Paul on his first missionary journey in Lystra (I Tim. 1:2, 18; II Tim. 1:2; 2:1; Acts 14:6-23). Timothy heard the gospel, saw miracles, and witnessed the stoning of Paul when Paul returned to Lystra only after a short time.
From the time of his conversion during the first missionary journey, to the time Paul asked him to work with him, Timothy grew spiritually. This is indicated by the statement that he “was well reported of by the brethren” (Acts 16:2).
As a young man, God used Timothy even though he had problems with his stomach (I Tim. 5:23) and was timid (II Tim. 1:6-8). Paul even told Timothy not to let people despise his young age, but to be an example of believers in doctrine, lifestyle, love, yielding to the Spirit, faithfulness, and purity (I Tim. 4:12).
So it does not matter how young a person is, God is looking for individuals who will surrender to Him so that they can be used of Him, just like David, Joseph and Timothy. And they don’t have to wait because God wants to use them right now.
So pray and ask God to show you ways and opportunities that He can work through you today because God is not through with you yet.
|
|
