Use me Lord as long as it suits me, Lord!
Sunday, January 15
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
“Use me Lord as long as it suits me, Lord!”
What is meant by today's text is this.
Many Christians want to serve the Lord, but they don’t possess the will to do what God may require of them. “Use me Lord, but only it if suits me, Lord.”
Many Christians have the will to do what God may be calling them to do, but they, don’t have the want to do it in God’s way.
“Use me Lord, but only if it suits me, Lord!”
Many Christians really have no desire to do anything just attend Sunday am or not and their happy with that existence.
“Use me Lord, but it's never gonna suit me, Lord!”
And then there are those who have o confidence in themselves to do anything.
Their hearts might be in it, but their minds cause sincere doubt if they can.
“Use me Lord, but I know I can’t do it, Lord.”
And the 5th the believer who wants to serve the Lord and willingly answers God's Call for the work he will ask them to do.
The first 4 examples are individuals who will use every excuse in the book to not answer the call of God, they love God but…
“Use me Lord, as long as it suits me, Lord!”
I wonder how many times our Lord has experienced hearing similar words.
Old Testament Saints and New Testaments Christians have been called by God to serve him and his spiritual kingdom, but I would venture to guess how dismal the numbers would be of those who just immediately gave themselves freely to God’s calling and to his will for them to submit to what Jehovah would want them to do.
When they heard God’s voice, when they felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit when Jesus beckoned them to take a role in his Gospel, the excuses would begin to form in their minds and settled in their hearts the objections came forth from their lips of why they couldn’t or wouldn’t answer the call and will of the Lord to become who god needed them to be.
In the Old Testament, I think of Moses when Jehovah spoke to him from a burning bush.
Calling him to lead the Hebrews from bondage to freedom.
Moses was one of the few who immediately accepted God's call and will. Right?
Wrong, Moses' excuses came spilling out like a galling gun spraying bullets around.
Excuse #1 – I am not adequate to undertake this task!
God’s response “you will be fine I will be with you.”
God’s presence and power were always with Moses and available for his call.
When God calls, he provides his responses for our success.
Excuse #2 – I have no idea what I am doing!” I have no idea how to answer any of their questions.
If I go to the Hebrews and say to them “The God of your Father has sent me to you, and they say (Oh yeah) then what’s his name?”
What am I going to tell them?
God’s response “I am who I am” Your response will be “I am has sent me to you. God understood reveals himself as Jehovah no one compares.”
Moses doesn’t worry, you won’t have the answers, when that occurs when you say “I am not capable and I’m not intelligent enough, that’s when I say “I am!”
Excuse 3 - What if they don’t believe me? Like “What if they say, “The Lord didn’t appear unto you.”
God’s Response – “I promise you that they will listen to what you say!”
But Moses was still not convinced.
Excuse #4 – I am not eloquent with words.
God already told him exactly what to say.
He had promised Moses they would listen to him.
I believe that it wasn’t the words, but the delivery of them, scholars, in general, conclude that he had a speech impediment most likely a stuttering problem.
God’s response – “Moses, who is it that creates a mouth on human beings, who is that causes a person to be mute, deaf, blind, or unable to see?”
“Moses, I know! It’s me the Lord. Now go I will send your brother Aaron to help you speak.”
Excuse #5 It wasn’t really an excuse.
Moses said – Please Lord, send someone else!! In essence “Lord I do not want to do this. I am happy now, I am now a shepherd, reclused, I do not to this.
For every excuse, God had an answer or response. He ran out of response, so he had to reveal that his heart wasn’t in it.
Moses for various reasons wasn’t willing to believe God nor was he willing to step out in faith, in obedience.
He wasn’t ready, but God was, he wasn’t even to say, “Use me Lord, but only if it suits me, Lord.” He flat-out said NO. I don’t want you to use me Lord because I’m nothing is going to suit me, Lord.”
He finally relented and took the step of faith, and 2 million Hebrews were led from bondage to freedom.
A New Testament example of “Use me Lord, but only if it truly suits me, Lord.
A young man of great social status identified as a rich young ruler came to Jesus questioning how he could gain eternal life.
The man was a Jew, believing the keeping of the law would suffice.
Jesus responded by setting him up in a way Jesus gave a litany of examples of the commandments, the man said “I have kept each one since I was a child, what am I lacking?
Jesus now challenged him, “If you want to really be righteous before God and gain eternal life, then follow me and sell everything that you have and disburse it to the poor, then you will store up riches in heaven.
The young man was really disappointed because he couldn’t let go of the things of this world.
“I wanted you to use me Lord, but it simply doesn’t suit me, lord!” AND HE WALKED AWAY.
He didn’t render any excuses, did he?
No, he simply walked away.
This man wanted to follow Jesus, but he wasn’t willing to pay the cost of doing so.
God can use anyone if their willingness to step into the water in obedience.
He used a carpenter and a young teenage girl to assure that his plan of redemption would happen.
What are the Plans for Redemption?
John 3:16 & 17
May I ask each one of you what are you doing right now toward the continuation of God’s great plan?
If you're doing something, thank you for taking the step of faith to do so.
Maybe you doubted yourself, your ability, and your heart, but God never doubted you.
Your ability, your heart.
Now, If god has called you to a certain role in his kingdom and you have used every excuse you could think of and for reasons, you won’t step into the water of obedience, then you telling God, Christian, that your heart isn’t in it, I tell you personally that you are missing a multitude of blessings.