DO YOU KNOW THE LORD NEEDS YOU?

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

April 01, 2023

TOPIC: DO YOU KNOW THE LORD NEEDS YOU?

BY T. O. BANSO

“And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it’” (Luke 19:31 New King James Version).

Preparatory to His triumphal entry to Jerusalem in His last week on earth before His crucifixion, Jesus sent two of His disciples to a village opposite them to go and loose a colt tied, on which no one had ever sat, and bring it to Him. He expected that the owners would ask why they were loosing it. Therefore, He told them what they should say. “And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’  thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it’” (Luke 19:31 New King James Version).

Just as Jesus said, these two disciples found the colt tied and the owners asked why they were losing it. They answered that the Lord needed it. The owners didn’t object to the colt being taken away. These disciples brought it to Jesus and He rode on it to Jerusalem after they had thrown their clothes on it.

Mark’s account says, “And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” (Mark 11:8-10 New King James Version).

Jesus had a triumphal entry to Jerusalem, riding on the colt as the Prophet Zechariah had prophesied about five centuries before the birth of Jesus. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9 New King James Version).

In other words, Jesus’ riding on a colt to Jerusalem was a fulfillment of prophecy. But also note that the colt He rode on fulfilled prophecy! The owners might not even have known why they tied the colt there. The Gospel of Matthew also records Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem. Matthew’s account says that, as Jesus had told the two disciples, they found the donkey tied and a colt with her, loosed them, and brought them to Jesus (Matthew 21:2, 7). When they told the owners the Lord needed it, they immediately sent them just as Jesus had said.

Mark 11:2 says no one had ever sat on this colt. The colt was probably waiting to fulfil destiny, therefore, nobody had sat on it! Jesus must be the person to sit on it. This could be because Jesus was on a mission that nobody had ever done and would never do – to die for the sins of the world. Remember that He was born by a virgin. She had never had any sexual relations with a man. The disciples Jesus sent found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it and brought it to Him.

Just as this colt fulfilled its destiny when Jesus rode on it to Jerusalem, you also have a destiny to fulfil. And just as Jesus asked His disciples to tell the owners of the colt that the Lord (He) needed it, do you know that Jesus also needs you? There is an assignment that God has given every Christian on earth to perform. Jesus needs you for this. Jesus said in Mark 16:15 to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature. This is an assignment for you and other believers, not for ordained ministers of the gospel alone. The Lord needs you. He is waiting for you.

Jesus also said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (New King James Version). This is a general command, the Great Commission, to all followers of Christ. Angels don’t win souls! It’s an assignment for human beings.

Get involved in soul-winning. Jesus said to His disciples that the harvest truly is plentiful but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37). He said they (and we) should pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. Be an answer to that prayer by joining the current workers in the field. The Lord wants to use you as He used that colt.

In addition to winning souls, the Lord needs you for other responsibilities in the Kingdom of God or His church. Don’t be a spectator. Be a functional member. Be an active participant. Make yourself available. The Lord needs you. Use the gifts that God has given you. No single person can do everything. Everybody’s gift is needed.

Paul said in Romans 12:4-8, “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (New King James Version). 

As Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 12:20, there are many members, yet one body. and the eye cannot say to the hand it doesn’t need it or the head say the same thing to the feet. All the members of the body need one another. The same is true of the church or the body of Christ. Therefore, the Lord needs you.

Furthermore, the Lord needs you in your chosen field, career, or vocation. Let God use you to establish His will on earth in this area. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 New King James Version). The Lord needs you for His will to be done in your sphere of influence outside the church, for, as Psalm 24:1 says, the earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. The Lord needs you.

Make yourself available as an instrument in His hands. Isaiah 6:8 says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (New King James Version). Will you make yourself available for His assignment?

God told the Prophet Jeremiah that before He formed him in the womb, He knew him and before he was born, He sanctified him and ordained him a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah answered the call of God and fulfilled his ministry. The Lord needs you to fulfil what He has called you to be. If you don’t know it yet, prayerfully find out and faithfully pursue your call. It doesn’t mean you must be ordained as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, or pastor and teacher. You can be used in the Kingdom of God without any of these titles and can also fulfil your divine destiny.

Don’t be lazy or idle. Don’t be an onlooker. Don’t be unconcerned about the Kingdom of God or the work that needs to be done in your church. Don’t ignore or be unserious about your destiny. “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it” (Colossians 4:17 New King James Version). The Lord needs you.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart.  By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me not to be lazy, idle, or an onlooker in the Kingdom of God or regarding the work in my church. I shall not be unconcerned but be an active participant. I shall make myself available. Holy Spirit, help me to be serious with my destiny or ministry and fulfil it. I shall not disappoint God. I shall be found faithful in Jesus’ name.

(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org