Who is Worthy?

What does the word “worthy” mean? It comes from the root word – Worth – meaning to have value. Things can either be worth something, or they are worth nothing. Spiritually, what is our worth?

Without Christ, many men think they are of great value. They believe some people have more value than others. When a politician here in Australia becomes ill and needs to go to the hospital, they get the best treatment – they have the best nurses and are treated in the private hospitals almost immediately. When a homeless person requires treatment, they are often put on a long waiting list in public hospitals (unless they are critical) and never are treated with as much care as the politician. Why? Is one more worthy than another? If there are two people who are compatible for a kidney transplant that has become available – one is homeless, living on the street and one is a university professor, who gets the kidney? Usually the university professor.

Many successful people feel that they are irreplaceable in their line of work and therefore demand more money and a higher position. But what is man in the eyes of God? “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14 This applies to all men.

If all men were equal and were treated equal, there would be much less sorrow on this earth. Everyone would be helping everyone.

One day while Jesus was travelling with His disciples, they were talking amongst themselves and when they reached their destination, Jesus asked them, “What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.” Mark 9:33,34. Unconverted humanity has always strived to be considered the greatest. It grieved Jesus and this was His response. “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35. Jesus never strived to be first. In fact we see Him humbly washing the disciples’ feet.

The lesson of true greatness that Jesus was aiming to impart to the disciples is this, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Phil 2:3,4

All throughout Biblical history, we can read about men striving for recognition – for the highest place. There were a humble few who realized they are not worthy of all the great blessings that God has bestowed upon His faithful followers. Then there are others who thought they were very important until they came face to face with the Lord and realized their worthlessness and made a U- turn in their lives. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4. We can learn much from the experiences of our forefathers.

JUDAS

“Judas was highly regarded by the disciples, and had great influence over them. He himself had a high opinion of his own qualifications, and looked upon his brethren as greatly inferior to him in judgment and ability. They did not see their opportunities, he thought, and take advantage of circumstances. The church would never prosper with such shortsighted men as leaders. Peter was impetuous; he would move without consideration. John, who was treasuring up the truths that fell from Christ’s lips, was looked upon by Judas as a poor financier. Matthew, whose training had taught him accuracy in all things, was very particular in regard to honesty, and he was ever contemplating the words of Christ, and became so absorbed in them that, as Judas thought, he could not be trusted to do sharp, far-seeing business. Thus Judas summed up all the disciples, and flattered himself that the church would often be brought into perplexity and embarrassment if it were not for his ability as a manager. Judas regarded himself as the capable one, who could not be overreached. In his own estimation he was an honour to the cause, and as such he always represented himself.” DA 717

Some people like to do everything in the church. They may be leaders or elders and feel that no one else is as qualified as they are, so they do it all. The members become dependent on this person and are unable to do the duties themselves should ?this person be removed. Perhaps they may have a few more talents than others, but they do not possess all the talents. God has given talents to others in the church – talents which they themselves may not posses. This is not an easy matter for some to accept and when they lose their position, they envision the church falling to pieces. However, Jesus takes care of the church as it is the “Apple of his eye.” Zech 2:8.

Is the work of the Lord dependent on men? If someone has a high opinion of himself, this proves that he is the most unworthy to be in God’s service. No, the work of the Lord is not dependent on any man, the Lord can impart gifts and talents to the most humble servant.

Just over 150 years ago, God entrusted His messages to two notable men in the church. They failed to bear the message to the people so God chose as His servant one who was the most feeble – one who was considered outwardly the least worthy to bear the messages of the Lord. Her name was Ellen G. White. God can use any willing humble servant.

“The promise of the Spirit is not appreciated as it should be. Its fulfilment is not realized as it might be. It is the absence of the Spirit that makes the gospel ministry so powerless. Learning, talents, eloquence, every natural or acquired endowment, may be possessed; but without the presence of the Spirit of God, no heart will be touched, no sinner be won to Christ. On the other hand, if they are connected with Christ, if the gifts of the Spirit are theirs, the poorest and most ignorant of His disciples will have a power that will tell upon hearts. God makes them the channel for the outworking of the highest influence in the universe.” COL 328

JACOB

Jacob worshipped the Lord more faithfully than his brother Esau. His mother noticed it and she loved him for it. I am sure Jacob also noticed the wayward life of Esau and felt that he was more worthy of the birthright blessing than was his brother. In fact it had been pronounced to his mother at his birth that “the elder shall serve the younger” Genesis 25:23. Unfortunately, he did not trust God to give it in His time. He took matters in his own hands. He was a proud man. Because of his pride, he made a terrible mistake and had to leave home for 20 years. It took 20 long years before he learned the lessons of humility. On the way home he met Jesus one night and wrestled with Him. When we read this story we see that he was a changed man. “And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant;” Genesis 32:9,10. He now trusted in God. He knew that he was not worthy of any of the blessings of the Lord, so his name was changed to Israel meaning ‘Overcomer’. In the eyes of God, Jacob now was counted worthy of the kingdom of Heaven.

JAMES AND JOHN

James and John thought they were worthy of high positions in the Lord’s kingdom. Their mother entreated Jesus to “Grant
that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.” Matthew 20:21. They thought they were worthy of this honour, but were they? Why were they called the “Sons of Thunder”? (Mark 3:17). When the Samaritans rejected Jesus, they got angry, and showed their true temperament. “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” Luke 9:54. No, they were not worthy. Not until they had humbly sat at Jesus feet and learned to be meek and lowly as their Master, were they worthy of salvation.

PETER

Was Peter worthy to be a worker for theLord? He stated that he was ready to sacrifice all for the Lord, “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” Luke 22:33. Unfortunately he proved himself unworthy in the Garden of Gethsemane when he pulled his sword and “smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.” Luke 22:50 Later that evening we see Peter confronted with the fact that he was a follower of Jesus, “But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.” Mark 14:71. No, Peter was not worthy to be a missionary yet. The look of Jesus in the judgement hall broke His heart and he ran out and wept bitterly. Now he realized how unworthy he really was. After humbling himself, he became a ?worthy worker for the Master.

JOHN THE BAPTIST

When John the Baptist was in prison, Jesus commended him. “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11. John, however, had a different view of himself. “And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.” Mark 1:7. John saw nothing of value in himself. He gave all honour and glory to Jesus and therefore was counted worthy for the kingdom of heaven.

ELDAD AND MEDAD

“But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.” Numbers 1:26. Who were they? They were two of the Seventy Elders that were chosen as leaders in Israel. All seventy were to gather at the tabernacle so that the spirit of the Lord could be poured out on them. Eldad and Medad did not feel worthy of such great an honour so, although they were chosen, they did not assemble. However the Spirit of the Lord recognized their humility and was poured out upon them where they were. They were worthy of the honour.

MANY MORE

Those who seem most unworthy of salvation by the world have been considered the most worthy by the Lord. People like the thief on the cross, Mary Magdalene, the Prodigal Son, the Samaritan woman and the widow who put her two mites into the treasury all were looked up on with contempt by the religious leaders, however they were counted worthy of salvation by Jesus.

Why were these people worthy? They repented and confessed – they saw nothing in themselves with which to glory.

There is also the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:10-14). Which one did Jesus count worthy? The one who realized he had nothing in himself in which to glory. The Pharisee was proud of his personal accomplishments. There are Christian ?people who are always talking of their great accomplishments – taking glory to themselves and talking as if they are invaluable to the cause of God. We are counted worthy only through the blood of Christ.

DEMONIACS

The Lord can use any willing servant to do His work. They do not need to be trained in universities and possess the greatest eloquence. The demoniacs whom Jesus cast the devils out of were the last ones that anyone would have expected to be missionaries. They had little training, and had few talents, but they could share their experiences.

“Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him” Luke 8:38-40. They accomplished a great missionary endeavour. They were more worthy than Judas.

MEN DON’T CALL THEMSELVES – God calls them

God sees and judges man’s character and chooses men for His service as seen in the early Christian church. God communicated with the devout prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Acts 13:2

“No one is to bind himself to serve for a term of years under the direction of one group of men or in one specifiedbranch of the Master’s work; for the Lord Himself will call men, as of old He called the humble fishermen, and will Himself give them instruction regarding their field of labour and the methods they should follow.” 9T 170

“God has made His church on the earth a channel of light, and through it He communicates His purposes and His will. He does not give to one of His servants an experience independent of and contrary to the experience of the church itself. ?Neither does He give one man knowledge of His will for the entire church while the church–Christ’s body –is left in darkness. In His providence He places His servants in close connection with His church in order that they may have less confidence in themselves and greater confidence in others whom He is leading out to advance His work.” AA 163. Just because God called them doesn’t mean that they are infallible. Some faithful leaders have apostatised as seen with Jones and Waggoner after they brought such stirring messages to the General Conference in 1888. “Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness.” PK 188.

If Jesus chooses a person to work full-time in His vineyard, should we not support these people? “And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthyof his hire. Go not from house to house.”

Luke 10:7 “Let the elders that rule well ?be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” 1 Timothy 5:17,18

“ ‘My brother, you have not taken a course to encourage men to give themselves to the ministry. Instead of bringing the expense of the work down to a low figure, it is your duty to bring the minds of the people to understand that ‘the labourer is worthy of his hire.’ ‘The churches need to be impressed with the fact that it is their duty to deal honestly with the cause of God, not allowing the guilt of the worst kind of robbery to rest upon them, that of robbing God in tithes and offerings. When settlements are made with the labourers in His cause, they should not be forced to accept small remuneration because there is a lack of money in the treasury. Many have been defrauded of their just dues in this way, and it is just as criminal in the sight of God as for one to keep back the wages of those who are employed in any other regular business.” 5T 374

EVERYONE WORTHY OF SOMETHING

The reality is that everyone is worthy, but what are they worthy of?
We are either worthy of life or worthy of death.

Life: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Matthew 21:36. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” Colossians 1:10

Death: “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:32 “He that despised Moses’law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy,who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto ?the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:28, 29

Those that are worthy of only death have proven that they are not worthy of Jesus. “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37-38 “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.” Matthew 22:8

Every one is worthy of something, some are worthy of life – others are worthy of death. The dichotomy is that those who think they themselves are worthy of life are the ones who are worthy of death and those who think themselves worthy of death are worthy of life.

Those who think themselves best suited for a certain position, are the least worthy of the position – those who think themselves least worthy are the ones who are most worthy – the ones who God can use.

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6 Who is this talking about? Is it talking about the members of the church who are not in position? Or is it talking about all the members in God’s church? I’m sure we all know this answer.

TIME OF END

God will use simple means to finish the work on earth. Often not the most talented or the one in the highest position – rather the ones who are most humble – who see nothing in themselves in which to glory does the Lord see worthy to use for His work.

“Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.– Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God, they will need the divine touch. They will need to drink more deeply and continuously at the fountain of livingwater, in order that they may discern God’s work at every point. Workers may make mistakes, but you should givethem a chance to
correct their errors, give them an opportunity to learn caution, by leaving the work in their hands.” TM 300

WORTHY TO SUFFER

Those who are worthy of life are also happy when they suffer. Theyfind it a privilegeto suffer for Jesus’ name. This sounds so strange to the people in the world, but when you love someone who has done so much for you, to suffer reproach for His name is counted an honour. “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Acts 5:41. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18. We are close to the end of time at which time we will face the real possibility of suffering for Jesus’ name.

JESUS IS WORTHY

Jesus is the only one worthy to receive praise and honour. Not that He is a proud being, but He is a perfect sinless person and the praise and honour will not make Him proud and self-righteous. “Sayingwith a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12 Yes, Jesus is worthy.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

His greatest joy is not for Himself, but in making sacrifices so the creatures He has created are happy and safe.

WHAT MAKES US WORTHY TO GOD?

“Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves.” Luke 3:7

“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelations 3:4,5

May God help us to be found worthy of life when He appears in the clouds of glory.
AMEN

Wendy Eaton, Australia