God’s Want Ad

Tommy Boland, Cross Community Church Pastor

If God posted an ad on one of those career builder/job-seeker websites, do you know what it would look like?  Do you know the kind of person He would be looking for to do the job He has for them to do?  Well, God already posted His want ad, long before these sites became popular, and He posted it in His Scriptures:  “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Help Wanted

wantIn God’s want ad, we see that He identifies only one qualification for employment in His work: a heart that is blameless.  In the Old Testament, the concept of blamelessness brought with it two different but not dissimilar ideas:

1. Sacrificial animals without defect: “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish” (Leviticus 1:3). Only unblemished animals were worthy of being sacrificed to the Lord.

2. Blameless people who cannot be accused of wrongdoing: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2).

In the New Testament, the concept of blamelessness is rooted in the character of Christ and His followers:

1. Christ Himself: “It was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens”  (Hebrews 7:26).

2. Disciples of Christ: “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4).
Those who are disciples of Christ are blameless in the sight of God because they are clothed in His righteousness.  The blamelessness of Christ has been imputed to all who have trusted in His atoning work on their behalf.  Christian, when God looks at you He sees Jesus, so He sees perfection!  Yet in everyday experience, disciples of Christ do everything imperfectly, and we still do many things that are blameworthy.  So while we are already blameless in the sight of God because of what Jesus has done on our behalf, we are being made blameless through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.  And, of course, that transformation will not be completed until we pass into glory.

So for the purposes of today’s message, a blameless heart is a heart that is sold out for God.  It is a heart that beats for the things that God’s heart beats for and is broken by the things that break God’s heart.  Notice what God’s “cosmic classified” does not identify as qualifications for employment in His work in this world:

No age limit

No experience necessary

No specific education required

Any tongue, tribe, or nation

Male or female

Those with physical limitations welcomed

No mandatory retirement age

God simply wants those who have a heart that beats for Him.  In fact, the Scriptures make it clear that God goes out of His way to go after those the world would never think of hiring for any meaningful position.

Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, and not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Wow!  What we learn from this passage is immensely comforting.  When you are hired by God to do His work in this world, He gives you everything you need to get the job done.  God equips those whom He calls; no other employer in the world can say that.
[The Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

The weaker we are, the more God demonstrates His strength through us; so when we advance, accomplish, and achieve, we boast only in the One that brought us the victory – Jesus Christ.

Working for God expands the borders of your life beyond the borders of your life and connects you to the transcendent cause for which you were created.  Because you were made by Him for Him, the only place where you will find meaning, significance, and purpose is when your heart is beating for the things of God.

So . . . what has your heart been beating for lately?  Do you believe you are qualified for the work God has for you to do in this world?  If you are reading this right now and you’re not sure, give heaven a call and talk to God.  It shouldn’t take long for Him to convince you that He can use you right now—right where you are—to do some amazing things for His glory!  You really were created for greatness, and that greatness will only be realized when you are wholeheartedly serving our Great God.

This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Tommy Boland is the Senior Pastor of Cross Community Church in Deerfield Beach. This is a daughter church of Coral Ridge and a new church plant.  The church website is www.thecrosscc.org. Visit us at 841 SE 2nd Court, Deerfield Beach 33441

What do you think God is trying to do through you? Let us know via e-mail at [email protected]!

For more articles by Dr. Tommy Boland, visit goodnewsfl.org/tommy-boland.

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