Your church began a new ministry initiative and a plea has gone out for people to help with it. Should you volunteer? The pastor presented some needs and requested assistance. Should you get involved? A call goes out for Bible teachers or small group leaders still needed. Should you accept the challenge? I could go on and on for we constantly face needs and opportunities to serve.<\/p>\n
Reading through the book of Ezra, I was struck by the reality that God does not lay it on everybody’s heart to do everything<\/strong>. Judah had been taken captive. God led Cyrus, king of Persia, to permit the exiles to go back and rebuild the house of the Lord. He said, “Any of his people among you may go . . . \u00a0And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide” (Ezra 1:3-4)<\/span>. Look at what follows in verse 5 —<\/p>\n Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites \u2014 everyone whose heart God had moved \u2014 prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If we break this verse down, we can use it to draw out some principles for serving.<\/p>\n 1) God’s desires define our primary criteria for involvement.<\/p>\n Notice that the verse reads “everyone whose heart GOD has moved.” It does not say, “everyone who heard the king’s proclamation.” Nor does it say, “everyone who was nudged by their fellow Jews.” And, it doesn’t say, “everyone whom the leaders determined.”<\/p>\n We need to let God do the moving in people’s hearts. In recruiting we should look for the right person for the right ministry at the right time<\/a> … the person of GOD’s choosing. This means we should spend much time in prayer when we recruit, not arm-twisting people to get involved.<\/p>\n We don’t have to feel guilty, nor should we make people feel bad, for not accepting each and every opportunity presented. We are accountable for what God moves us to do.<\/p>\n 2) God does not expect everybody to do everything.<\/p>\n The verse implies that there were some whose spirit God did not stir to go and rebuild. Not everyone will be moved by God to the same task. We need to be careful not to look down on or judge those who do not get involved like we do. We can sometimes project our own heart passions<\/a> on others thinking that they should feel the same way we do if they love the Lord like we do.<\/p>\n 3) If God lays it on our hearts to do something, we should do it.<\/p>\n Notice how EVERYONE whose heart was moved by God obeyed His prompting. We don’t read of any excuses about it not being a convenient time for them to go. We don’t observe them immobilized by fear of what might lie ahead or be expected of them. The journey would undoubtedly be filled with hardships and uncertainties but “everyone whose heart God had moved” went.<\/p>\n 4) Just because God has obviously moved you to get involved doesn’t mean you can forego preparation.<\/p>\n Notice that “everyone whose heart God had moved \u2014 prepared to go.” For us this could mean pulling resources together, getting some training for the ministry ahead, praying for God to go before us to open doors and work in people’s hearts, etc.<\/p>\n 5) If God hasn’t moved your heart to be involved in a specific ministry, it doesn’t mean you are absolved of all responsibility toward it.<\/p>\n The people were to “provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:4). In this case it was their neighbors, undoubtedly both the Jews who stayed behind and the people of that land, who “assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings” (Ezra 1:6). While God might not lay it on everybody’s heart to “go”, those who don’t still support the ministry. For us this could be financially as seen in the way their neighbors provided materially but it also could be through prayers and encouragement.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your church began a new ministry initiative and a plea has gone out for people to help with it. Should you volunteer? The pastor presented some needs and requested assistance. Should you get involved? A call goes out for Bible teachers or small group leaders still needed. Should you accept the challenge? I could go on and on for we constantly face needs and opportunities to serve. . . . Continue reading But, Did God Lay It on YOUR Heart?<\/span>Principles about God Laying Something on Your Heart<\/h2>\n