Who does God use?
Whom does God use? Those who are willing to be used by Him.
All believers are candidates for Kingdom service. Your ability is not the issue, but your availability.
Why use a shoe?
A recent U. S. census revealed that a majority of Americans used a shoe to drive a nail into a wall. But why would they do that? Surely no shoe designer or manufacturer whoever lived had this usage in mind. Shoes are for walking, not pounding nails. Actually the mystery deepens, as the same census also discovered 95% of those households polled had at least one or two hammers. So why the first object and not the second?
The answer of course is simple indeed—a shoe was always available, the hammer was not! So it is with the divine “nail driver.”
Who does God use? That one who is available.
When God looks for someone to accomplish His purposes on earth, what kind of man or woman is He looking for?
It may not be the people you would guess. We might immediately say, "educated people." Or maybe "talented and gifted people." Or even, "People who are almost perfect."
But that’s not what we see in the pages of Scripture. To begin with, we see that God uses ordinary people.
In our Scripture, Paul is reminding the Corinthians of why God called them.
God chose the foolish, the weak, the base, and the despised to show the proud world their need and His grace.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NIV
26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
The Corinthians had a tendency to be "puffed up" with pride.
God is not impressed with our looks, our social position, our achievements, our natural heritage, or our financial status.
God called them, not because of what they were, but in spite of what they were! vs26-29
"If God needs man’s wisdom and glory, then why did God ever call you?"
There were not many mighty people in the church at Corinth, not many nobles or worldly-wise people. But God still saved them!
In fact, God deliberately hides His truth from "the wise and prudent" and reveals Himself to the humble.
The annals of church history are filled with the accounts of "nobodies" whose lives were transformed by the power of the Gospel. Lives that were made great leaders; - Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, etc.
Paul is saying Christ is all we need? (vv. 30-31).
“Christ is to every saint all that he or she ever needs.”
When it comes to spiritual things, we don’t need man’s wisdom or power because we have Christ.
He is our redemption, our righteousness, our wisdom, our all.
SOME PRINCIPLES THAT WILL MAKE ONE USABLE
1. The secret of reaching men is to know the secret of reaching God.
2. The most powerful ongoing Christian witness has always been the speaking of God’s Word by one who is living in God’s Word.
3. God calls us not because of our external condition, but because of our internal condition.
• God uses common people who have been broken.
Not just broken physically, but people broken emotionally, people broken relationally.
Out of the ashes of Brokenness comes a powerful testimony of God’s power and love.
a) Broken people are God’s specialty
b) Broken people are God’s mouthpiece
4. Witnessing is not something we do; it is something we are.
a) Witnessing is not an effort, it is an over-spill.
b) Witnessing is not just something a Christian says, but what a Christian is.
5. If you want your neighbor to know what Christ will do for him, let your neighbor see what Christ has done for you
6. Every Christian occupies some kind of pulpit and preaches some kind of gospel.
The next time you feel like God can’t use you, just remember... God can use you to your full potential.
• Noah was a drunk
• Abraham was too old
• Isaac was a day dreamer
• Jacob was a liar
• Leah was ugly
• Joseph was abused
• Moses had a stuttering problem
• Gideon was afraid
• Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
• Rahab was a prostitute
• Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
• David had an affair and was a murderer
• Elijah was suicidal
• Isaiah preached naked
• Jonah ran from God
• Naomi was a widow
• Job went bankrupt
• John the Baptist ate bugs
• Peter talked too much and denied Christ
• The Disciples fell asleep while praying
• Martha worried about everything
• The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
• Zaccheus was too small
• Paul was too religious
• Timothy had an ulcer...AND
• Lazarus was dead!
The next time you feel like God can’t use you, just remember... God can use you to your full potential.
Are you a dependable “Shoe Saint”
Most Bible students would agree that the greatest Old Testament prophet was Isaiah and the secret of his success?
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).
God grant us more “shoe saints” in these last days!
