Being Used.
By God.
Being Used.
Maybe, some already know that I like to watch and listen to Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church. He has very nice sermons.
Some time ago, I had watched one of his videos and just wanted to share my thoughts and parts of his sermon with you.
The video is called “Learn How God Can Use Anybody” and you can find it HERE on YouTube. This video is 1 hour and 26 minutes, but it is nice to watch and listen to.
There is another video that I would like to share, but that will be in a different post.
Disqualified or Unqualified.
He starts with something that I think that we all had thought, at one time or another. We all thought that we are disqualified or unqualified and that God could not use us in any way.
Because of what we did in the past or that we think we are not good enough.
Or we don’t have the ability to do things. We think less of ourselves. We don’t have the gift(s) or talent(s) for it.
But all of this is not true. Pastor Rick is giving a few reasons why this is not true.
- It’s all because of God’s mercy.
- Be real.
- Remember it’s not about me.
- Use my pain to help others.
- Stay focused on eternity.
It’s all because of God’s mercy.
Because of God’s mercy, we don’t need to dwell on our mistakes. It doesn’t matter what we did in the past. No matter how big or how bad our mistakes were. Look at Paul. In the past, he was a “terrorist”.
1 Timothy 1:12–13 (NIV)
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
God already knows what you did in the past. He also knows what you will do in the future. And still, He can use you, no matter what. It’s all because of His mercy.
Pastor Rick also made a nice remark.
“If God would only use perfect people, what would get done in the world?
Nothing.”
Because there are no perfect people in this world. Nobody is perfect. We all have our mistakes.
He also mentioned a whole list of people in the bible who all had made mistakes, had their weaknesses, or problems but were still used by God.
“Every Saint has a past and every Sinner has a future.” People like Jacob (a liar), Gideon (was poor), Rahab (was a prostitute), Jeremiah (was depressed), Peter (anger management issues), etc.
Be Real.
You have to be yourself and not someone your not. God doesn’t want us to be like someone else. He wants us to be the person He created.
This is something that is not that easy. We are always comparing ourselves with others. And we try to be like others because we think that that is the way to be. Or because we are jealous of that person and we would like to be like them.
We also think that if I show how I really am, people will not like me. But we don’t need to prove ourselves to others. God knows who or how we are and that is what counts. If people don’t like the way we really are, then that is their loss, not ours.
Remember it’s not about me.
The first sentence in the book of Pastor Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life) is, “It’s not about you.”
This goes against all we think and hear. Because we live in a self-centered world. All around us we hear and see that it is all about me. But actually, it is all about God.
God is more interested in why you do what you do, than what you do. Its motivation is what counts. Why is more important than what.
No matter what you do and how wrong things maybe go, as long as you do it with the right motive. You do things not to please yourself, you do it to please the Lord. If you do things with the right motive, God will show you how.
As soon as you realize that it is not all about You, God will use you in ways you would never imagine. God will use humble people, not prideful people.
Pastor Rick said something nice. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”
Because it’s not all about you, but you also don’t have to put yourself down in the process.
Use my pain to help others.
Use your pain and problems in life to help others. I can agree with this.
That’s one of the reasons I have my blog and share about the health problems I have. In the process of sharing all of this, I hope I can help others also with it.
And it is also a way for me, to process things in my life.
Just to show others, that they are not the only ones that are going through this. I also share my thoughts about my life and things in my life. So others maybe will get a better view of things. And who knows what can come from this.
Even with the smallest pain, suffering, or problems, we can help others who are going through the same thing. No matter how small or how big, we can help others.
With all of these things, God is using us. Using us to help others. The more we help others, the more God will use us and the more we grow in spirit. As long as we do it with the right motive.
In the video, there is a very nice testimony of someone who was in prison for life. He opened up his heart and let God in. And God used him and his pain, to start a church in prison. Now he is a free man and a pastor at Saddleback Church. If God can use someone like him, then God can also use people like you and me.
Stay focused on eternity.
The more you understand what will happen in eternity, the less you are bothered by the problems here on earth. You need to look at the future and not get stuck in the past.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (CEV)
“These little problems are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.”
This is a very difficult thing to see or understand. Because you are facing the problems now and because of these problems, it is difficult to see the big picture or future. For me, it is also difficult. You have the problems or health issues now and are also focused on it. So it is difficult to look in the future.
But it is good, that now and then you are reminded through verses like this, that these things you are going through, are temporary. As humans, we always look at the present and the past. Because we have no idea what the future will bring. We are not God and we cannot look in the future.
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)
18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
It is saying, that this life is a test. It’s the get-ready stage for eternal life, in heaven.
It is difficult to stay focused on eternity. One of the things that can help with that, is being part of a small group. In small groups, you support each other, you help each other.
Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
20 Jesus: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Closing.
I think it is important that we understand, that no matter what we did, no matter how unimportant we think we are, God can use each and every one of us.
As long as we do things with the right motive and keep the 5 points in mind, we should be okay.
Also, try to be part of a small group. My wife and I are part of several small groups and we still learn from each meeting we have. We discuss, share our thoughts, share our experiences, and in the process, we learn from others.
I hope that this post had put some things in a different view and made some things clear to you.
Please, take care and stay safe.
God Bless.
Originally published on my blog on September 18, 2020
