Setting our Minds on the Mission of Heaven - Appointed By Christ!

”You did not choose me, but I chose you and APPOINTED you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last!” - Jesus, John 15:16

I wanted to share this with you today because this is a verse that has been sticking with me over the last few days.  I have recently found found myself asking the Lord the question, “Are you Sure we’re supposed to be here?”  Now to be fair, I have been asking Him this question already knowing the answer!  God has made it abundantly clear that He called us to move, and that He brought us to the exact place where we are.  Seriously, He has left us no doubt at all, however, there are many times when you know you are following the Lord, and yet you don’t know where He is leading you! Anyone else ever been there?  I think a lot about Abraham in times like these, when God literally spoke to him out of the blue and told Abram to follow Him!  If I were to summarize their conversation it may have sounded a little like Abram answering with a “Yes, Lord, I’ll follow you, where are we going,” and the Lord replying to him, “I will show you when you get there.”  This is the part for most of us that is incredibly difficult to swallow.  When we ask the Lord questions like, “Where am I going?  What am I doing here?  Why am I in this place?”  It is often confusing and distressing to us when His response is, “I’ll tell you once you arrive there, I’ll tell you as we go, You will see in time, Just trust me and BE where I have you!”  That is the crux of the matter isn’t it.  To Trust Him, and to BE present where you are!  This is why Abraham is the father of Faith!  His faith was counted to him as righteousness because he trusted God, and he was engaged wherever God had him, which was all over the place!  I say all this because of the impact John 15:16 has had on me lately.  Listen again, and while this was originally spoken to the disciples, the Word of God is alive and active and speaks directly to us as well.  Jesus told His disciples and He is telling us too, that He CHOSE us, and he APPOINTED us!  I have been greatly impacted and challenged by this word “appointed” because of what it means.  This word means “To Place, To Set, To Establish, To Put where you want it!  Did you hear that?  Christ has chosen us as His own, AND He has placed us, set us, and established us exactly where He wants us to be!  In fact, read a little further and you will see that He has placed us exactly where we are for a very powerful purpose - That we may bear Fruit!  This may seem simple but, I for one, need to be reminded of this truth everyday!  If you are a follower of Christ, living surrendered to Him, He has placed you STRATEGICALLY where you are!  In the country, state, city, family, church, business, job, He has established you where you are so that YOU may bear Fruit Right There!  Not just any fruit, mind you, but fruit that will last!  How powerful!  He has placed me where I am right now that I may bear fruit for His Kingdom right here!  I was His to choose, and I am His to Appoint.  Who am I to ask Him, Why!  Is it not enough that He has chosen me to become His child, and that He has appointed me to the place where I am at this very moment, that I should bear fruit!  It is incredibly empowering to know that I am where I am in order to bear fruit HERE!  I just need to BE present, engaged in Kingdom business right where I am, trusting my God!  My daughter and I have just been reading the story of Joseph and the moment that always challenges me and brings me cheering to my feet is when Joseph finally unveils who he is to the very ones who had sold him into slavery.  What Joseph says is Amazing!  He tells them that though they may have thought themselves to be in charge of the direction of his life, God was actually the One calling the shots!  I am sure there are many times Joseph could have asked God, “Why in the world am I here Lord?”  “Why would any of this have happened to me?”  But you see, He knew, and kept in front of him like a shield, the absolute truth that though these people may have planned this for his harm, God was orchestrating that whole thing for Good!  Joseph tells them that the reality is God was sending him ahead of them in order to save their lives.  God sent Joseph there to save the lives of two nations of people!  In Genesis 45:8, Joseph declares these words, “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God!”  This needs to be our battle cry!  I am a servant of the Most High, and I am not here because of any accident, or because of people, or because of circumstances...it was not any of this that sent me here, but God who sent me!  He has placed us, established us, and set us where we are because He has purposed that we bear fruit right here!  Let’s get on with it then!  Let’s ask God to bring an incredible harvest from the place He has appointed us to be!  Who knows, He may have sent you where you are in order to save lives!