I know a family in town who are either very rich or in
lots and lots of debt. You can drive by
their home and it looks like a castle.
Located on acres and acres of land, their home has a swimming pool, a
game room, an elevator and room after room of unique and expensive
furniture. If you were to talk of this
family people would say, “Oh yeah, I know
them they are the people with the big house and all the money”. But that’s not really who those people
are.
Old Granny Bowman who went to the little Nazarene church
I attended while in Galveston was a very poor lady. If you asked people they would say, “Yeah, she is the poor, nasty old lady who
lives over there in that ragged house on Beach Street”. But oh, Granny Bowman was much more than
that.
But that’s often how people define us.
QUESTION: What do you have?
Most of you would say, “Oh, I don’t have much. We are
just a simple family with modest possessions”.
You might think that what you have is nothing compared to others,
and you might be right. What I have
compared to what this rich man has is “nothing”. But on the other hand what I have and what
you have is a king’s ransom compared to what some others have. Our gifts and possessions are what they are when we
compare them to what someone else has.
As an example; I have been having
some problems with my right eye for several months now. I researched it on the computer and ask
people about their experiences with it and diagnosed myself as having a
cataract. So I went to the eye doctor. “Doc, I can see hardly anything out of my
right eye”, I told him. He ran test and examinations and told me “I have some patients who are 70-80 years old
who would love to have the eyesight that you have”.
Did he say I had good eyesight? No, he said I had good eyesight compared to
what some others might have. Your money,
possessions, skills, talent, gifts might seem merger to you, but when compared
to what some others have they are either great or lacking. So let’s talk about what you
have.
I. GOD MADE WHAT
YOU HAVE; IT’S GOOD AND HE GAVE IT TO YOU:
a. HE MADE IT: (John
1:3) The first scripture I want to look at proves to us that whatever you have
or think you have, was created by God Himself.
It doesn’t take long as you read the story of creation
for us to understand that “nothing, absolutely nothing” was here “in the
beginning”. God didn’t take something
that was already here and make the universe from it. In the beginning was GOD not God and
something else, or God and stuff…but God.
And God created everything else. I don’t think many of my readers would have much argument about that fact.
b. IT’S GOOD: (Genesis
1::31) Also, if you go back and read the narrative of the creation you will see
that at the conclusion of God creating the sun, moon, land, animals He says, “God
saw it and it was good”. Whatever
God creates and does is not half way.
Remember the little picture from a few years back? The little boy sitting in a mud puddle, all
dirty and ragged and below it were the words, “God don’t make no junk”. And
in Genesis 1:31 He emphasized that point when He said “It was VERY good”.
c. IT’S A GIFT TO
YOU: (James 1: 16-17) James
continues with this thought in James 1:16-17 when he says: “ Don’t make a mistake brothers, every good
gift and perfect gift is from above and comes from
the Father”.
So the gifts, the talents, the skills, the abilities and
the possessions that you and I have were: 1: Made by God 2. Are good,(very good)
3. Are gifts, perfect gifts, from God to you.
If we stopped right here it should fill our hearts with gratitude and love for a Father who loves us that much and
has given us such good things to enjoy.
And as great as that statement is, and as much as it
should bless your heart to know that God the Father loves you so
much that He gave you such wonderful gifts, the next statement is even more
mind blowing.
2. GOD NEEDS AND CAN USE WHAT YOU HAVE:
a. EXODUS 3-4:
There is a story from the Old Testament that I am sure you are familiar
with. It is the story of Moses when he
was at the back of the wilderness and saw the burning bush. God gets Moses’ attention by the burning
bush. Then God gives Moses instructions
as to what to do. And Moses gives God excuses
as to why he can’t do it. But in Exodus
4: 2 God asks “What is that in your
hand”?
You know the story, what Moses held was no more than a
shepherd’s rod, or shepherd’s staff. To
us it was no more than a stick. What’s so important about a stick? Not much, but when it is a stick, in the
hands of a man who is committed to God and that stick is given to God then God
can use that stick in a mighty way.
God used that stick to show His might before
Pharaoh. That stick was turned into
serpents, that stick was used to turn the Nile into blood, that stick was
raised toward heaven and used to cause hail and fire to fall. And I guess the most familiar use was when
that stick was stretched across the Red Sea and used to cause it to part so the
Hebrews could cross over on dry land.
It was just a stick, but a stick made by God, a good stick, a
stick given to Moses, and a stick needed by God and used by God to accomplish
His purpose.
b. The next example I want to share with you is found in
Matthew 21. Jesus is about to make His
entrance into Jerusalem. He is about to
fulfill prophesy. He needs a
donkey. So He sends His disciples into
town to a specific location and there they find the donkey.
Jesus said if anyone asks you why you are taking the
donkey tell them “The Lord has need of
him”. Come on Jesus, you are the
Son of God. All power has been given to
you in heaven and in earth and you need a donkey??? Why
not use a chariot? Why not a horse? Why not have the disciples carry you on their
shoulders?
God has a purpose and at that point and time Jesus had a
specific need. It could only be filled
by that donkey. Can you see where I’m
going here?
c. Let me give one more example. Luke 5 tells us that
Jesus was teaching near the lake. The
people were pushing and shoving to get closer to Him so they could hear His
words. I guess He was about to be pushed
into the water. So without asking, He
simply stepped into one of the boats. He
needed a platform, a pulpit from which to teach. He needed a boat. The God who created the waters, Jesus who
walked on water needed a leaky old fishing boat? Really?
He asked, “Peter,
will you push away from the shore a little ways so I can teach these people”?
III.
APPLICATION: A common old stick, a
lowly little donkey, a leaky old fishing boat; things God needed and used.
You see other examples throughout the Bible. Look in the Old and New Testaments at the
people and things God used to accomplish His plan. Fishermen, tax collectors, farmers, children
and prostates; all created, with skills and abilities that God needed and could
use.
QUESTION: What does that tell you about you and where
you stand and what you are doing today?
QUESTION: Are you using the good skills, gifts and
talents that God gave you for His service?
I’ve heard you say it before, “I don’t have any gifts. I don’t
have any talents. Others can do it much better than I”. But do you see that
WHAT YOU HAVE is a good and perfect gift from God and that He needs it
and can use it to the furtherance of His kingdom?
God could have given Moses a magic wand to use. He could have asked for a golden chariot to
ride. He could have called the Jewish
Coast Guard to provide a Cutter for Him to teach from. But He used common, everyday things and common
everyday people who were committed to Him to accomplish His goals.
QUESTION: Does it make sense to you that
WHAT YOU HAVE is exactly what God needs?
Folks, our church will not grow, God’s kingdom will not
grow, your spouse, your children, your grandchildren will not be saved until
you recognize that God needs WHAT YOU
HAVE and when you are willing to commit what you have to Him for His
work. We have talked often about
commitment.
Let’s see if we can put the hay down so the goats can get
it and figure out just exactly what committing what you have to Christ.
1. I think we need to RECOGNIZE what you have. If God has given you a good voice, if you can
sing and bless others by your singing, then recognize that and commit that to
the Lord’s use. If you are good at planning, organizing, cooking, working with your hands,
it is not vanity or boastfulness to recognize your talents and skills. After all it is not your “doing” that you
have them. They were a good gift from
God to you.
I’m not saying brag to people about how well you
sing. I’m not saying strut around like a
Bannie chicken crowing about how good you are.
I’m saying realize that God has given you a gift.
2. COMMIT that gift to Him. There is a saying that goes something like
this, “Your life is God’s gift to
you. What you do with that life is your
gift to God. Moses could have
walked around in the wilderness till his feet fell off and never committed his
stick to God and it would have been just that, a stick. That donkey could have stayed tied up by the
man’s house and not been given to Jesus for His use and it would have been just
another donkey. Peter’s boat could have
sat there on that lake till the bottom rotted out and never had much more value
than to catch a few fish. But when those
things were committed to God….they freed a nation, carried a King and became a
platform from which the Son of God preached the Word.
God’s gift to you may be small in your eyes. You may think you don’t have anything at all
to offer. But if God could use a donkey,
a leaky fishing boat or a stick He can use whatever it is that you have.
QUESTION: What are our other options? I mean, if you just don’t want to commit what
you have to God for His use, what else can we do with them?
·
You
can deny what you have. You can
just sit there and say “I just don’t have a gift. I can’t think of a single thing I have that
God needs. Do you think Moses thought
that stick was very important before he committed it to God? The wilderness was
full of sticks. Was there anything
special about that little donkey? There
were plenty of donkeys and horses and camels in Jerusalem that day. Weren’t there dozens of other fishing boats
on that lake? Couldn’t Jesus have used
any of those? But God chose to use
certain things at certain times in certain places to further His kingdom.
You can sit there and claim that
you have no skills, talents or gifts and never allow God, others or yourself
the benefit of using what you have.
·
You
can refuse to commit them to God.
“No God, it’s my boat. Go use someone else’s boat”.
I’m too busy. I’m using my boat
to feed my family. I’m using my boat for my benefit. “
There is a story told about a church in Germany during
WWII. In the court yard of that church
was a statue of Christ with arms outstretched and hands open wide. However, during a bombing raid, the statue
was damaged. Among other damages, the
hands of Christ were completely broken off.
After the war the people wanted to repair the statue and did, setting it
up in its place but with one exception.
The hands were too badly damaged and could not be replaced or repaired. So the statue stood there, Jesus with
outstretched arms but no hands. At the
base of the statue they inscribed this statement. “Christ has no hands but yours”.
Folks Christ has no hands to lift the head of those who
are downcast. He has no hands to lift up
a family in need. He has no hands to
feed the hungry or cloth the cold. He
has no hands to write notes of encouragement to your church family. He has no hands to teach, preach, sing,
organized, cook, care for His children…..EXCEPT YOUR HANDS.
My challenge to you is to recognize what you
have what God has given you and commit it to His service. Why not today,
commit or re-commit to God everything you have for His good and His work?
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