God Can't Use Me
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The whole point of this series, the whole point of the reTHINK Conference, is to begin to re-think the false ideas we have about God.
The whole point of this series, the whole point of the reTHINK Conference is to begin to re-think the false ideas we have about God.
God is anti-science. That’s a false idea.
God is not good. That’s a false idea.
Doubting my faith is dangerous. That’s a false idea.
Now that the conference is over, I want to wrap up this series with another false idea about God. This idea is one that I know I have believed in my life as I’ve been trying to follow Jesus, and my guess is that you have believed this false idea at some point too.
We need to reTHINK the idea that GOD CAN’T USE ME.
So if you’ve got your bibles go ahead and turn with me to
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
Has anybody ever broken something? Like you’re outside playing baseball and all of a sudden you hear as crash as the ball breaks through a window. Or maybe you’re wrestling and messing around inside, and you bump into a table and CRASH a pot or a vase or a piece of art falls and hits the ground and smashes into a zillion pieces. It’s the worst feeling in the world. Your stomach sinks and your first thought is, my mom’s gonna kill me. Or what happens when dad sees this...
In 1946 in Israel, a couple of teenage shepherds were tending their flock of goats in a place called Qumran. It’s a place with a bunch of rocky cliffs and many little caves dot the cliffside. And this is how I know that teenagers all around the world are exactly the same. The boys picked up rocks and were throwing them into the caves. But on one of the throws the rock sailed into a cave and the boys heard that sound that makes all teenagers’ hearts sink, the rock flies into the cave and SMASH - something shattered. But they’re out here in the middle of nowhere, nobody lives around here, what could they possibly have broken? So they hike up a little bit in order to investigate the cave and they find dozens of clay jars. The rock they had thrown had smashed one of the jars, and scrolls of paper spilled out.
After the boys reported this finding, investigation ensued, and these scrolls became what is now referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Inside these boring clay jars was a treasure these boys could never have imagined. One of the most important archeological discoveries of all time.
There was nothing special about the jars. They were normal, average, nondescript clay jars. But inside of them was a treasure, something of infinite worth.
So the first thing I want us to see in , is this:
You are Jars of Clay
You are Jars of Clay
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
2 Cor 4:
There was nothing special about the jars in the cave near Qumran. They were normal, average, nondescript clay jars. You can find them all over Israel. Their purpose is not to look pretty. their purpose is to hold things of value.
So you might be sitting there thinking, “God can’t use me because there is nothing special about me.” That’s a false idea about God.
Paul is going to write later in 2 Corinthians that we need to “take every thought captive”. That means when a false idea comes up, “God can’t use me. I’m not special” we need to see that for the lie that it is.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Because here’s the truth: God can use you because God knows what’s inside of you. It’s not any skill you have, it’s not some supreme level of determination, it’s not character, heart, will power - it’s the Holy Spirit. God can use you because you’ve surrendered to him.
In fact, Paul is saying that this is the only way you can be used! The fact that you and I are just jars made of clay means that it becomes really clear, really fast that everything God is doing through you is because of Him and not at all because of you!
David
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Remember the story of David. This shepherd boy is the youngest of eight siblings. And Samuel the prophet comes to Bethlehem looking to crown the new king of Israel. The 7 older brothers are all brought to Samuel but David is left int he field with the sheep. There is nothing special about him. He’s not the biggest or strongest. He’s not the oldest or wisest. But that was exactly why God wanted to use him.
The second thing I want us to see in is this:
Your Past Doesn’t Define You
Your Past Doesn’t Define You
Everyone has a different story. For a lot of you, you probably resonated with what I was just saying about being a jar of clay because you think that God can’t use you because you’re not special.
But for others of you in this room, you’re thinking that God can’t use you because your past is too messed up.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Pressed on every side
Not crushed
Perplexed
Not driven to despair
Never abandoned
Knocked down
Not destroyed
Things Done to You
In the context of , Paul is talking lot about persecution that’s coming from those who are hostile to Christianity. It’s outside factors that make us feel pressed, or at a loss, or hunted, or knocked down.
And I’ve had enough conversations with junior high students over the past year to know how hard some of your lives have been because someone has hurt you.
And I know of many students who feel like God can’t use them because of that thing that was done to them. That’s a false idea about God.
Things Done By You
The flip side of this is that the choices we make in our own lives have consequences that might also lead you to a place of believing that God can’t use you.
The lies you chose to weave around yourself and believe, lies about how you need to look, lies about who you are, lies about where you can go for answers, and now all those lies have caught up to you and you feel pressed in on every side. There’s no way God could still use me after all that...
The thoughts you used to have about God, not trusting him, treating him like a genie in a bottle, hating him for something that happened, and now you just feel confused and at a loss. There’s no way God could still use me after all that...
The way you chose to treat people in your past, using them instead of loving them, and now you feel completely abandoned. There’s no way God could still use me after all that...
The lifestyle you chose to live in your past, chasing after earthly things instead of pursuing God, maybe those choices have knocked you down. There’s no way God could still use me after all that...
So if you feel like something has been done to you that now disqualifies you from being used by God - rest in these promises. You are not crushed by those things, you don’t have to be afraid of your past, you are not abandoned by God, you are not destroyed.
And if you feel like you’ve done something that would disqualify you from being used by God - rest in these promises too. You are not crushed by the lies you used to believe, you don’t have to be afraid of your past, you are not abandoned by God, you are not destroyed.
Moses - had a stutter
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
David - little shepherd boy
Remember Moses. a murderer used by God.
Ehud - had a disability
John the Baptist - outsider
The Disciples - teenagers
Murderer
Conclusion
Conclusion
So whether you think you’re not special enough to be used by God or you’re too far gone to be used by God, you’re wrong. That’s a false idea.
God loves to use things that the world has passed over.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
It’s a completely false idea that God cannot use you.