Christ-placed position

John 11:48--If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.
     Fear.  II Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  After reading John 11 today, two very simple messages were given to me: be confident in where God has placed me and if God sends someone more gifted than I, more over. 

     As a minister, the simple fact that God has called and positioned you in the place you are in is very comforting.  The trouble arises when one may not be certain that their position was Christ-placed.  Possibly they are in a place because the pay was good, the perks were nice, or the community was appealing.  Maybe they chose the location because they were afraid no other church would take them.  Not being assured of the fact that God placed them where they are can cause all types of problems.  When this fear arises, ministers can become territorial and very concerned with keeping the power they feel they possess.  Others within the church can be viewed as competitors instead of companions.  Having others speak or share during a service would be looked on as a threat or challenge.  This all stems from the uncertainty of a firm, Christ-placed position.  When one truly understands that God has placed them where they are at, the fear of replacement is of no concern.  Such a minister realizes that God's will cannot be overcome by any person or group of people.  Are you such a minister?  Do you feel threatened by others that desire to share?  Do you struggle with power and desire clear lines of authority to be set?  Or do you rest at ease, knowing that you were placed by God, and that His plan is irrevocable?  

     The second lesson I learned from John 11 is that if a more gifted minister comes along to preach the Word, I should be humble enough to step aside.  One must remember that God is not into building our ego, but His church.  Being a minister of the One True God is not about us at all, but about Him and His glory.  Just as John the Baptist did not resist Jesus, but acknowledged Jesus as ranking higher than he (John 1:27), we also should not resist the more gifted preacher. 

     We must not forget how weak we are and how quickly we can revert back to the attitude that was displayed by the religious leaders of Jesus' day;  concerned with our name and our position, instead of the name and position of Christ.  May we never forget that we are His vessels, and that we can feel totally secure when we are in a position that is Christ-placed.