"Amasiah, A Willing Volunteer" Lesson 146

Lesson 146: “AMASIAH, A WILLING VOLUNTEER”

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him” (2 Chro. 16:9). The Lord found someone fully committed to Him in Jehoshaphat’s army. Amasiah (the name means whom God bears) was a secular career soldier in the king’s army but his priority was not to serve King Jehoshaphat but to serve the Lord. The Navy coined a phrase; “better one volunteer than three pressed men”, and this is what the volunteer Amasiah was. He needed no pushing and brought with him 200,000 men for the service of the Lord (2 Chro. 17:16). Our priority should be ‘service to the Lord’ with reasonable service meaning we owe it all to Him and honorable service meaning that you feel good when you serve the Top Man. Are you a ready volunteer or do you need a push? Do you ask first; ‘what’s in it for me’? Don’t be too ‘picky’ about the job God calls you to do or where he sends you to do it or He might decide you are not worth fooling with.

Romans 11:29 says that God never changes His mind about the people He calls but He may very well do some changing within the person He calls. God’s servant never works for nothing but you may not be able to ‘spend’ what He gives you for your labor. You are earning His love, receiving His power, gaining His pardon, living in His peace and you have a retirement plan that assures you will live forever with Him in Heaven. You must understand that when you sign on to work for God that He is the boss. He is in charge and He does not accept ultimatums about what you will do for Him if He does this or that for you. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). We are all a part of the body of Christ and God has arranged us just as He wants them (1 Cor. 12:18). We cannot all preach from a pulpit but remember that you may be the only Bible some people read so ‘preach’ daily wherever you may be. Give of yourself and do not be content just to ‘grease’ the collection plate on Sunday morning or sing the special or paint and decorate the fellowship hall. God wants all of you all of the time!

One Sunday morning the ushers were passing the plate to collect money for missions. When the plate came to a little boy he asked the usher to hold the plate lower. The usher, smiling, accommodated the little boy by placing the plate near his lap. The little boy said; “No! Lower”. Again the usher lowered the plate below the boy’s knees, this time becoming a bit irritated. The little boy insisted this time and pointed to the floor and said; “put it down on the floor” and with a sigh the usher did what was requested of him. By this time all eyes were on the plate on the floor and with anticipation they watched the little boy as he stepped into the plate. “Now” said the boy with a satisfied smile, “I have given all of myself to the service of God”! “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

If you follow God’s plan willingly and obediently you will see results, not because of your ability, dynamic personality or intelligence but because you are a willing volunteer. God will use obedient willingness to cause His church to grow. Paul speaks about jealously and quarreling among the church members causing division. He was assuring all of us that preachers, teachers, leaders and laymen are only willing servants to whom the Lord has assigned to each their tasks. Paul considered he and Apollos ‘field hands’, explaining that he planted the gospel seed and Apollos watered but God made it grow (1 Cor. 3:1-9). In the same way, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, planted the seed of the fear of the Lord in the minds and hearts of Israel. It was his willing volunteer Amasiah, along with experienced fighting men that watered this seed. However, notice “The Lord established the kingdom under his control------ because his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord” (2 Chro. 17:5-6).

Not all of the people in the Bible that God called were willing volunteers. Moses gave every excuse know to man when God came to him to deliver His people out of Egypt. The first of the whining begins in Exodus 3:11 when Moses asked God, “who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt”? When God assured Moses that He would be with him then Moses said, well, who do I tell them you are? He continued to question God with, well what if they do not believe me or say that You did not send me. The Lord showed Moses how to perform miracles to prove himself but Moses was not out of excuses. For a man that “was slow of speech and tongue” (Ex. 4:10) this man was doing a good job of talking back to God. When Samuel told Saul that God had chosen him to be king of Israel he was stunned and asked; I am a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe and my clan is the least of all clans so why me (1 Sam. 9:21)? And who can forget Jonah? He ran so fast from the calling of the Lord that he ended up in the belly of a great fish, spit out upon dry ground and given a second chance. Rather than go through this entire trauma again, Jonah went where God told him. However, he tried to get in the last word by getting angry with God and furthermore telling God that he had every right to be angry enough to die (Jonah 1:3, 17, 3:9).

Not all were so rebellious and hard to convince that they should follow God’s calling willingly. Judges 5 records the Song of Deborah which includes; when the people willingly offer themselves-----praise the Lord; with the willing volunteers among the people---- praise the Lord. Isaiah 1:19 states that those who are willing and obedient will eat the best from the land. Isaiah was a willing servant when he heard the voice of the Lord answering with; “Here am I. Send me!” Elisha was not only a willing servant but a ‘sticky’ companion. Elijah tried to make him go his own way when he knew that the Lord was about to take him away. Elisha would not turn loose, telling Elijah, as surely as the Lord lives I will not leave you. This willing obedience gained him the double portion of his master’s anointing. Ruth did not realize that she would become a servant of God when she desperately clung to her mother-in-law declaring; your people will be my people and your God will be my God.

How do we become a willing volunteer?
First we STOP: “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).
Second we LOOK: “Look for Him with all your heart and soul” (Deut. 4:29).
Third we LISTEN: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:9).
Fourth we GO: “Go and make disciples, teach them to obey” (Matt. 28:19-20).