Introduction:
Do you think God can use you? As Christians we should have the confidence that God can use us, but often we don’t. Why? The simple answer is a lack of faith, but what does that mean? Jesus talked about faith moving mountains, but most of us don’t have any connection with that level of faith. Does that mean God can’t use us? Can Jesus use people who struggle with the mountains of life? I believe He can and does! But it takes some commitment on our part, and that commitment takes faith. So what does it take to be used by God?
Text: Hebrews 12:1-3
I. He Needs to be our Center of Attention
1 …let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith…
If we want to be used by God then HE has to be our focus—the center of our attention. There are so many things that compete for our attention, that it is often hard to keep Jesus in the very center of our life. But if we want to be used by God that is exactly what we must do.
What can focusing on Jesus do for us spiritually, and how can that help us be useful to Him? When Jesus is the CENTER of ATTENTION in our lives we can…
1. See our Sin Problem
If we aren’t focusing on Christ we will never SEE our sin problem. Listen to what David said about the “wicked” Psalm 36:
There is no dread of God before His eyes, for in His own yes he flatters himself too much to discover and hate his sin. (Psalm 36:1-2)
Instead of flattering ourselves we need to be focusing on Christ which is what we are challenged to do in Psalm 119:
Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in Your ways. (Psalm 119:37)
I like the way the Living Bible paraphrases this verse:
Turn me away from wanting any other plan than yours.
If our focus is not on Christ, then we won’t be able to turn away from any other plan but God’s. Let me illustrate using God’s call of the Prophet Isaiah. Before Isaiah could respond to God’s call to be SENT, he had to understand the problem of His SIN. Isaiah was given a vision of God being “High and lifted up,” and of the angels calling out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts.” His response to that vision—to the Lord being the CENTER OF HIS ATTENTION:
“Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean life and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5)
Isaiah saw his SIN PROBLEM, but that isn’t the end of the story. Because of his repentance God provided forgiveness. And angel brought a burning coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips and said:
“Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7)
Once Isaiah had SEEN his SIN PROBLEM, then he was ready to see His…POTENTIAL for SERVICE:
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Who should I send? Who will go for Us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
Like Isaiah, once we see, and address our SIN PROBLEM then we can…
2. See our Service Potential
I have said more times than I can count that Jesus doesn’t save people to SIT, He saves them to SERVE! Many of you could probably quote, or at least come close to quoting Ephesians 2:8-9:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lets anyone should boast. (NKJV)
Unfortunately, not nearly as many can quote the next verse:
For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
Is Jesus the CENTER of your ATTENTION? If so, then you should be SERVING Him. If you aren’t SERVING then He is CENTRAL! Jesus himself addressed the challenge of keeping our eyes on Him when it comes to being His disciple:
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
Let’s face it, if you try and plow while looking backwards you simply aren’t going to get the job done. And what you do get done is going to be a crooked mess! Your SERVICE POTENTIAL is directly related to your willingness to keep your eyes on Jesus! Let’s move on to another principle that is necessary if we are going to be used by God. Not only does Jesus need to be our CENTER OF ATTENTION…
II. He Needs our Complete Allegiance
1…let us lay aside every weight …, and run with endurance the race that lies before us…
Not only must the Lord have our attention, He must have our allegiance. We must be committed to what HE is committed to. His priorities must become our priorities. We need to be able to see that God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives, and that He wants us to fulfill that plan and purpose.
It’s not just being repentant of our sin, we must lay aside every weight that is keeping us from living for Jesus Christ on a daily basis. That means we have to give oup our AGENDAS…our ATTITUDES…our PLANS…our PRIORITIES…so that might run HIS RACE…and that we might run with ENDURANCE—in other words—run to the finish line, DON’T QUIT!
The Apostle Paul understood that principle:
But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Philippians 3:7-8)
Does Jesus have that kind of ALLEGIANCE from you and me? Have we LAID ASIDE EVERTHING that keeps us from being who He wants to us be, and from doing what He wants us to do? The reason many people aren’t more USEFUL to Christ is that that are too busy with all the other commitments in their lives.
That will take us to our final thought for today…
III. He Needs our Commitment to be Available
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.
God wants to use us for His glory, but if that is going to happen our focus should be on Him—and His ability not our own. If we don’t, then we will, as the verse says, “grow weary and lose heart.” But we don’t have to! Jesus has provided us with the strength to be His servants, but to do so we have to make ourselves available to Him.
Here are a couple of sayings that I have built my ministry upon:
“Whatever God calls you to do…He will empower you to accomplish.”
“God is not nearly as concerned with your ABILITY as He is your AVAILABILITY. He can give you whatever ABILITY you need…But only you can make yourself AVAILABLE to Him.”
Let me offer you thee ways that we can apply this principle:
1. Personally
Jeremiah 1:5-8 (HCSB)
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” 7 Then the Lord said to me: Do not say: I am only a youth, for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. 8 Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you.
God wants YOU to be available! We must quit looking around for someone else to do that which God has specifically set aside for us!
2. Purposefully
Matthew 6:33-34 (HCSB)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(MSG) “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. God wants you to want what HE wants! As long as we are still viewing everything from our perspective we are going to continue to miss opportunities to fulfill God’s purposes and plans.
3. Practically
Galatians 6:9-10 (HCSB)
9 So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
There is no substitute for DOING good. Yes, we all get tired. Yes, we all feel unappreciated. Yes, it seems like our DOING is DOING no good! What’s God’s Word say? DON’T GIVE UP! Keeping DOING good whenever you have the opportunity. Remember, it’s not us who should get the glory anyway!
Conclusion:
So let’s go back to our original question: Can God Use Me? And as we ask ourselves that, we should examine these key areas of our relationship with Him:
1. Am I giving Him my full Attention?
2. Have I given Him my full Allegiance?
3. Am I Available to be used for His glory?
Then you can turn that question into a statement. Instead of asking: Can God Use Me? You can change the order of two words and say with confidence: God Can Use Me!
