God’s Plan
It never ceases to amaze me the people that God chooses to do His work. We would choose “the wise, the mighty, the noble”.Vs 26
1 Corinthians 1:27 – 31
We often think that God cannot use us.
We have no talents that God can use.
We have no ability
We have no education.
We have no experience.
We have no strength
We have no “know-how”
We have no opportunity.
Let’s look at what God uses
I. The Foolish things of this world
a. A bleeding lamb (Exodus 12)
You cannot look at a lamb and not go “Ahhh.” A living lamb was a lovely thing, but it could not save! We are not saved by Christ’s example or His life; we are saved by His death. Heb. 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Of course, killing a lamb seemed like foolishness to the wise Egyptians, but it was God’s way of salvation.
The blood of the lamb had to be applied to the door of the house (12:21-28). The blood was then applied to the lintel over the door and the posts at the sides of the door. Christ was slain on the fourteenth day of the month, just at the time when the Passover lambs were being offered, to God, there is only one Lamb — Jesus Christ. Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?” (Gen. 22:7), and John the Baptist answered in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” All of heaven says, “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Rev. 5:12)
The blood of the lamb was sufficient to save from death, but the people had to feed on the lamb to get strength for their pilgrim journey. Salvation is just the beginning. We must feed on Christ if we are to have the strength to follow Him. The lamb was to be roasted with fire, which speaks of the sufferings of Christ on the cross.
It took faith to be delivered that night! The Egyptians thought all these things were foolishness, but God’s Word had spoken and that was enough for Moses and his people. You see, the people were saved by the blood and assured by the Word (v. 12). No doubt many of the Jews were safe under the blood who did not “feel safe,” just as we have saints today who doubt God’s Word and worry about losing their salvation. God did exactly what He said He would do. And the Egyptians urged the Jews to leave the land, just as God said they would (11:1-3). God was not one day late. He kept His Word.
b. A smitten rock (Exodus 17:1 – 7)
The children of Israel had thirsted before (15:22) and God had met their needs, but, like some people today, they forgot God’s mercy. Moses illustrates what the trusting Christian does in the hour of a trial; he turned to the Lord and asked for guidance. The Lord instructed him to take his rod and to smite the rock and water would come out.
This rock is Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. The smiting of the rock speaks of Christ’s death upon the cross, where He felt the rod of the curse of the law.
The order here is awesome, In Exodus 16 we have the manna, illustrating Christ’s coming to earth; in chapter 17 we see the smiting of the rock, which pictures His death on the cross. The water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who was given after Christ had been glorified.
Have you ever wondered why God got so upset with Moses when he was supposed to speak to the rock in Numbers 20:1 – 13 and he smote it? By striking the rock twice he spoiled the type – Christ can die only once. The Spirit was given once, but the believer can receive added “fillings” by asking God.
c. A brass snake (Numbers 21)
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: This is our authority for making this a type of Christ. Note how it pictures for us the salvation we have in Christ.
The people had sinned in two ways: they had spoken against God, and they had spoken against Moses. Because of this, they were dying. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Here we have the two aspects of the Law of God: behaviour toward God and behaviour toward one another. Because of sin, death is in the world and all are condemned. Every person born into this world has been bitten by the fiery serpent of sin and is destined to die.
God could have ignored His people’s plight, because they deserved to die, but in His love and grace He provided a remedy. How strange that Moses should make another serpent when it was serpents that caused all the trouble to begin with! But the serpent of brass pictures Christ, who became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.).
Brass is the metal that speaks of judgment, and on the cross, Christ bore our judgment for us. Note that the serpent was not effective in Moses’ hand, or on a shelf. It had to be “lifted up”—Christ had to be crucified. The people had prayed, “Take away the serpents!” But God’s method was to overcome the sting of death by faith. “Look and live!” was the answer. Salvation came through looking by faith to the uplifted serpent in the centre of the camp.
It cost dying sinners with Moses nothing to look and live. They may not have understood the how and why of it all (and who does understand salvation?) but they could believe and live! Christ alone is sufficient for our salvation; we need nothing more. Salvation is not a process; it is an immediate miracle that takes place when the sinner looks to Christ by faith. Christ in His death and resurrection does not save us “a little bit at a time.” He saves instantly, immediately, and completely.
II. The weak things of this world
a. A rod to defeat the Egyptians (Exodus 4)
God gave Moses two miracles—the rod changed to a serpent and the hand made leprous. These would be his credentials before the people. God takes what we have in our hands and uses it, if we but trust Him. Of itself, the rod was nothing, but in God’s hands it became power.
b. A sling to defeat a mighty giant (1 Samuel 17)
The story of David and Goliath is so familiar and it has so many practical lessons for the Christian life. All of us face giants of one kind or another, but we can overcome them through the power of God.
David arrived on the scene with provisions for his brothers and immediately he was interested in the challenge of the giant. His brothers tried to discourage him (Satan always has someone to tell us “it can’t be done”) Evan Saul told him he was “not able” (V 33). In himself David was not able, but in the power of God he could overcome any enemy.
David had proved the power of God privately in the fields caring for his sheep; now he would demonstrate this power publicly to the glory of God. Throughout this entire episode David gives the glory to the Lord.
The lesson here is that God gives victory in response to our faith. God had tested David privately with a lion and a bear; now He tests him openly with a giant. David used simple, humble weapons; a sling and five stones.
Neither his brother’s criticism nor Saul’s unbelief kept David from trusting the Lord for victory. The stone hit its mark and the giant fell to the ground.
III. The base things of this world
a. A harlot’s son who became a mighty judge (Judges 11)
Jephthah wasn’t to blame for his birth. His father Gilead had only one wife, but he consorted with a prostitute and fathered a son. At least Gilead acknowledged the boy and took him into his home, but his other sons didn’t accept this “son of a strange woman.” When Gilead died and the inheritance was to be divided, the legitimate sons drove Jephthah away.
Jephthah left his father’s territory and went north to the land of Tob, which was near Syria; Jephthah was already known as “a mighty man of valour” (v. 1). His brothers didn’t want him but soon the elders of Israel needed him, Jephthah was willing to lead the Children of Israel against the enemy and was named ruler of Gilead. I wonder how his brothers felt when the man they rejected returns home as captain of the army and leader of the land?
Empowered by the Spirit of God Jephthah musters his army and the Lord gave him the victory over the Ammonites. We are told in Hebrews 11:32 that Jephthah was a man of faith. You see, the circumstances of birth or of family are not a handicap to the person who will live by faith.
b. A heathen girl who became David’s great-grandmother (Ruth 4)
The book of Ruth begins with a funeral and ends with a wedding! It opens with famine and closes with fullness! Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law and her willingness to obey the Word brought her into joy and blessing. The decision she made in chapter 1 determined her future. If she had gone back to her heathen way of life, she would not have been heard of anymore.
Certainly Boaz is a picture of Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer. Christ took upon Him our flesh (without sin, of course) that He might redeem us. He paid the price, and He did it because He loved us. Like Boaz, He is the Lord of the harvest; He supplies our needs; He redeems the inheritance for us; He gives rest.
Look at the significance of this book: Ruth becomes an ancestress of David. Deuteronomy 23:3 excludes a Moabite from the congregation of Israel “even to the tenth generation”; but the grace of God makes Ruth the Moabitess a member of the earthly family that gave Christ to the world (Matt. 1:3-6)
c. An immoral woman who became a great soul winner (John 4)
The Samaritans were “half-breeds,” part Jew and part Gentile. They were considered outcasts and were despised by the Jews. They had their own religious system in Samaria that competed with the claims of the Jews and believed in the coming of the Messiah (4:25). In the conversation recorded in John 4, we see the different stages by which this woman came to believe in Christ.
i. A Jew (Verse 9)
For a Jewish rabbi to ask a favour of any woman, especially a Samaritan, was surprising to her. She was aware of nothing more about Jesus than that He was a thirsty Jew. The sinner is blind to Christ and is more interested in the affairs of life than in the things of eternity.
ii. Sir (Verse 11)
In v. 10, Jesus tells her that she is ignorant of two things: the gift of God (salvation) and the identity of the Saviour in her presence. Jesus speaks of living water—water of life—but she takes this to mean literal water. How typical of the sinner, confusing the physical and the spiritual! Jesus points out to her that the things of the world do not satisfy, and men without Christ will always “thirst again.”
iii. A prophet (Verse 19)
Having expressed interest in the living water the woman found herself confronted with her sins. Christ’s command, “Go, call your husband!” was for the purpose of forcing her to face her own sin. No person can ever be saved who hides his sins. (See Prov. 28:13.)
iv. The Christ (Verse 25)
Her eyes are now opened to the Person of Christ, and on the authority of His Word, she trusts Him and is saved. She proves her faith by giving public testimony to the people in the town (and they certainly knew her character); and they too came to trust Him. Note the final testimony of these believers, “This is indeed the Saviour of the world!”
Conclusion
Are you foolish – World says you are – God can use you
Are you weak – We know we are – God can use you
Are you base (worthless / of no family) - God can use you
Keep your shoulder to the wheel
Your hand to the helm
Your eye on the ball!
Your nose to the grindstone
Your ear to the ground
And you will not have time to
Put your foot in your mouth.
