Calling All Nobodies

I Samuel 17:46, “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

John 9:1-3, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

God often works for the purpose of one goal: His own glory. This sounds awfully selfish to us, but we need to realize something.

Revelation 4:11, “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.”

We need to realize that God deserves glory. We do not. It’s a great offense to God when we try to steal His glory. That’s easy to do when you’re strong, noble, and smart (Ex: Nebuchadnezzar, Herod). So God delights in using unlikely candidates: foolish individuals, weaklings, lowlifes, despised people, and nobodies.

FALSE HUMILITY

Sometimes we say, “I’m nothing. God could never use me.” While it’s good to be humble, sometimes we might say this because we don’t want to be used by God. So this kind of false humility is actually sin.

Why would you not want God to use you? There is nothing greater in life than to be used by God!

GENUINE HUMILITY

The truth is, you ARE nothing. You’re a nobody. But God can still use you, and He wants to. Hopefully you want to be used. Martine Luther once said, “God created the world out of nothing, and so long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.”

It has been said that humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is not thinking of yourself at all. In other words, you are nothing. You’re a nobody.

Don’t live your life to become a somebody. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Keep a humble mindset, but desire to be used by God.

As God picks out His team, He is looking just for you.

“God can’t use me; I’m not talented or smart.”

“God doesn’t want me; my past is awful, I have too many scars.”

“God won’t want me; I’m too shy.”

“I’m too old, I don’t have good health.”

“I can’t seem to do anything right.”

None of these excuses work. God wants to use you!

CONCLUSION

Lance Wubbles and Terry McDowell wrote a book entitled "Bible Nobodies Who Became Somebodies." The book talks about 50 Bible characters who are often overlooked, people that you probably won’t recognize because they’re not that important. But God used every one of them because He delights in using nobodies.

The lad who gave Jesus his lunch was one of these nobodies. We don’t even know his name. And yet he has taught us a great lesson. Concerning this nobody, Charles Spurgeon writes, “No matter what you feel about your abilities or life, bring all that you are and possess to Jesus so that it may be joined to Him. Bring Him your mind, which can be associated with the teachings of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God. Bring Him your heart, which can be warmed with the love of God to touch others. Bring Him your tongue, which can be touched and purified with the live coal from off the altar as Isaiah’s was. In association with Christ, your abilities will be sufficient for any occasion to which God has called you. Never dwell on the inventory of your deficiencies, which you probably have updated on a daily basis. Bring what you have, and let all that you are—body, soul, and spirit—be placed in God’s hands.”