ZEROES CAN BECOME HEROES |
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A discouraged preacher came home one day and told his wife he was going to quit. When she asked why, he replied, "I just feel used." She replied, "I don't see why you are upset about that. I have heard you say many times you wanted to be used."
I am sure that you are like me and don't want to be used by people, but I do want to be used by God! The great news is that God can use us. Now you may be thinking, "Not me." There may be many of you who feel, for some reason, that you could never be used of God. I want to say that there is not one believer, regardless of who you are, what you are, that cannot be used of God. In the thrilling passage before us, God tells us that He can take the nobody and make them somebody. He can take the zeroes and make them heroes.
I think of the "Post's Its." As with many innovations, the originator of 3M's sticky yellow Post-its didn't know what he had at first. Researcher Spence Sliver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would "tack" one piece of paper to another and even re-stick, without leaving any residue on the second piece of paper. The company had no use for the new adhesive until 3M chemist Arthur Fry began having problems in the choir loft. The slips of paper he used to mark pages in his hymnal often fluttered to the floor, leaving him frantically searching for his place. Then he remembered Silver's adhesive. Fry's better bookmark soon metamorphosed into the handy Post-its that have become a fixture in offices throughout the country. 1
God can take what seems useless and transform it into something useful. He can take the person that seems unusable and make them into someone usable. In fact, in verse 26, we see that God wants to use us. We read the words, "for ye see your calling, brethren." The word "calling" speaks of an "invitation." God is inviting us, calling out to us, to let Him use us. Who does God want to use. It is the "brethren." God wants to use all those who are saved and make up the family of God. He is inviting every believer to let Him use them.
I want us to look at our text and see how God takes the zeroes and makes them heroes. First, notice:
1. THE POSITIONS THAT GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE
Many times we think that God only uses the most talented, the most skilled, and the most able. We have this "all-star" mentality. We think that we have to be someone special to be used of God. Now if you were going to be a professional basketball player you would have to be among the tallest. If you were going to be a Olympic runner you would have to be among the fastest. If you were going to Miss America you would have to be among the prettiest. If you were going to be a rocket scientist you would have to be among the wisest. But the worlds qualifications are not the same as God's qualifications. You do not have to be the tallest, fastest, prettiest, or wisest, to be used of God.
In verse 26, we see, that what the world often consider a qualification is not what God requires. First, we see that being used of God is not:
A. According To One's Proficiency
We read in verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh ... are called." God is speaking of those that are intellectual genius, those with a high I.Q. It is those who are wise after the flesh, those who are well-educated and learned and proficient. A person does not have to have a Master's from Yale or a Ph.D. from Harvard to be used of God. You don't even have to have a 6th grade education like Jethro to be used of God. Wisdom after the flesh is not one of God's requirements for usage.
Now, God is not saying that the wise can't be used of God. What God is saying is that it is not one of His qualifications. Furthermore, God is not condoning ignorance. I heard of one fellow who said in his prayer, "Lord, I thank Thee that I am ignorant." Somebody was overheard to say, "He sure has a lot to be thankful for."
Believers ought to read the Word of God, study the Word of God, and continually grow in knowledge and wisdom. Ignorance is not a commendation, but at the same time, wisdom after the flesh is not a qualification. It is not scholarship, but relationship.
Furthermore, we see that being used of God is not:
B. According To One's Prestige
We read in verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that ... not many mighty ... are called." The word "mighty" refers to those to people who have power, possessions, and prestige. God is saying that you do not have to be a millionaire or a movie star to be used of God. Again, God is not saying that He can not use those of prestige, but that it is not a qualification for being used.
Quite often we are awed by those with power, possessions, and prestige. I thank God for those of prestige who use their opportunities for the Lord. But we need not be intimidated or feel inferior by them. They are not being used of God because of their status but their submission.
Furthermore we see that being used of God is not:
C. According To One's Pedigree
We read in verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that ... not many noble, are called." The word "noble" means "well-born." It refers to those of nobility and pedigree by birth. We would think of the Kennedy's, Vanderbilt's, and Rockefeller's. Now, if you wanted to be the king or queen of England, then the one qualification would be your pedigree. If you want to be used of God, your posterity, lineage, and pedigree is not a qualification. It matters not if your ancestors came over on the Mayflower or were among those who came out of the woods to meet them; God does not require that one be a blue-blood.
Now once again, I want to say that God is not saying that the wise, mighty, and noble cannot be used. Three times in verse 26, it says "not many." It does not say "not any." Lady Huntingdon was one of the richest ladies in England, a well-to-do socialite. She was saved under the ministry of Rowland Hill. When she would give her testimony, she would say, "I was saved by one letter: the letter M." People would wonder what she meant. Then she would say, "I'm so glad that the Bible says, 'Not many noble,' rather than not any noble." God is not saying that such people cannot be used, but that it is not a qualification for being used.
Secondly, notice:
2. THE PEOPLE THAT GOD DOES NOT REJECT
We read in verses 27-28, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are." After we are told what God does not require, we are told whom God does not reject. In verse 26, God mentioned three conditions that are not required and in verse 27 and then he mentions five classes that are not rejected, or to put it another, people that God uses.
First, we see God uses:
A. The Foolish Ones
We read in verse 27, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." We get our word "moron" from the word "foolish." You could say that God uses the morons of this world to put to shame the wise of this world. Now God is not saying that He blesses ignorance or stupidity. He is saying that he often takes those whom the world considers foolish and unqualified and uses them in His work. God uses those that world often will not use.
I think of Amos the Old Testament prophet. He was a country farmer without an education, but God made him one of the great prophets of the Bible.
I think of D.L. Moody. Moody had few educational advantages and murdered the English language when he preached. Someone who had heard him said he was the only man he had ever heard that could say the word Mesopotamia in two syllables. Yet, God took him and used him to shake two continents for the glory of God and the effect of his ministry is still felt today.
God has often taken those whom the world considered foolish and used them in His work. Maybe you don't have a Ph.D. or were at the top of your class, but God can use you. As well, we see that God uses:
B. The Feeble Ones
We also read in verse 27, "… and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." The word "weak" refers to those that are "physically weak, handicapped." It describes those with some physical infirmity or a frail body. Now the world may not have a place for those that are handicapped and the physically weak, but God has a place for you in His plan and he will use you.
I think of Fanny Crosby. I think of the many places I have visited. The grave of Fanny Crosby, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was one of the most moving places I have ever been. On her grave is a simple marker that read, "Aunt Fanny -- She Hath Done What She Could." Fanny Crosby was blind from six weeks of age because of a mistreatment by a man claiming to be a doctor. Yet God used her to write more than 9000 hymns such as: "Blessed Assurance; All The Way My Saviour Leads Me; I Am Thine O Lord; Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross; Praise Him, Praise Him; Rescue The Perishing; To God Be The Glory;" and "Tell Me The Story Of Jesus," to name a few. Although blind, she was the guest of six presidents and a personal friend to Grover Cleveland. Her 9000 hymns were to set to music by every popular American tunesmith of the nineteenth century and still blesses the Church of Jesus Christ in our day.
Someone has said, "It doesn't take much of a man to be used of God. It just takes all of him."
I think of Jonathan Edwards'. He was the primary instrument that God used to kindle the fires of the Great Awakening. In Enfield, Connecticut, he preached a message entitled, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which may be the most famous sermon in American history. Yet, Jonathan Edwards was marked by physical weakness. He was a very frail man. He was asthmatic. It was not unusual for him to wheeze, cough, and hack while preaching. He read his sermons from a prepared manuscript. He read them at a very low volume because his voice was so weak. People often had to strain to hear him. He had horrible eyesight. His eyesight was so poor, that not only did he have to wear thick glasses, but to read them, he had to hold his message about an inch from his nose. Yet, in spite of his disabilities, when he preached, the power of God fell in such a manner, that people often writhed in conviction. He, as much as any other, was the instrument that God used to bring revival to America in the mid-1700's.
You may be weak, but God does not reject the weak. He can and will use you. Also we see that God uses:
C. The Familiar Ones
We also read in verse 28 that God uses the, "base things of the world." The word "base" is the opposite of "noble" in verse 26. It speaks of the familiar, the common person, those born without a silver spoon in their mouth, those without pedigree.
You may be like the student who said, "I wasn't born in a log cabin like some of the great men of our country, but I want you to know that just as soon as our family could afford one, we bought it and moved in."
Maybe you never had the finest things in life. Maybe you were never able to wear the newest clothes and styles. Maybe you were born on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet, God can use you.
I think of Gideon. The Lord appeared to him one day and called him a mighty man of valor and told him that he would save Israel from the hands of the Midianites. Gideon responded: "And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house" (Judges 6:15).
Abraham Lincoln once said, "God must love the common people, because He made so many of them." You may be just a common ordinary person, but God can use you. Furthermore, we see God uses:
D. The Forsaken Ones
We read in verse 28 that the, "things which are despised, hath God chosen." The word "despised" speaks of that which is "contemptible, least esteemed, and set at nought." It speaks of those that are treated with contempt and scorn. The people that God is speaking of is those who others say will never amount to anything. It describes those who are looked down on others and written off as no account.
Maybe you have been told that you would never amount to anything. Maybe you have grown up feeling that you were worthless. I have good news for you. God can use you. Lastly, notice that God uses:
E. The Forgotten Ones
Finally we see in verse 28, "yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are." The ones that are not refers to those who are completely overlooked. They are not only not listed in Who's Who, but they are not even listed in Who's Not.
Now you may be someone who is never recognized, never mentioned, and never heard of, but God can use you. You may not be qualified by this worlds standards, but God can use you. He can take a nobody and make them a somebody. He can take a zero and make a hero. You can be used of God!
Thirdly, we see:
3. THE PRIDE GOD DOES NOT RESPECT
Notice verse 29, "That no flesh should glory in His presence." Now God gives us a reason why He uses the kind of people that He does. When God does His work through these kind of people, everyone realizes it was Him that did the work. He alone gets the glory, honor, and praise.
I remember several years ago meeting Gibby Gilbert the professional golfer. The fellow I was with introduced me to him. Now I had always played golf with a set of hand-me-down golf clubs. My game, as always, was terrible. Yet, I had always said that if I could get me a good pair of clubs (Pings), I would be able to play better. I was always blaming my slices and hooks on my old set of golf clubs. As we talked that day, I asked him a question about my swing. He said, "Hand me your driver." The first thing I thought of was that beat up, scratched up, scarred up driver in my bag. I confess to you, I was somewhat embarrassed to hand it to him. As I handed it to him I said, "This is not much of a club. You probably won't be able to hit with it." He took the club, teed a ball up, swung, and he hit that ball out of sight and straight down the fairway. I had never seen anybody hit a golf ball like that in my life and he did it with that old, beat up driver of mine.
I learned something that day. It was not the club but the golfer. It was not the driver, but had a hold of the driver. One of the greatest lessons we can ever learn in life, is, that it is not the vessel, but God in the vessel. It is not my abilities, but God's ability. When you look at the vessels God chooses for His use, then it doesn't take one long to realize that it is not the vessel, but God. He gets all the glory.
This remind us that there is no:
A. Reason For Our Pride
Many are like the woodpecker who was pecking away on a tree when it was struck by lightning. The tree was split from top to bottom. The woodpecker flew off and in a little while, came pack leading nine other woodpeckers. He said, "There it is fellows, right over there!"
When we realize who we are and what we are, then there is no reason for our pride. God does not use us because of our intellect, influence, or inheritance. No, we were but foolish ones, feeble ones, familiar ones, forsaken ones, and forgotten ones. We had nothing to our credit. He is the only One Who can get any credit.
Understanding this, we see that there should be no:
B. Refrain To Our Praise
Notice verse 31, "That, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." We ought to be praising Him day and night, that in spite of who we are and what we are, He would use us.
Probably one of the greatest composers of all time was Johann Sebastian Bach. He would often put the letters S-D-G on his compositions. No one knew what they meant until late in his life. It was discovered that the letters stood for the Latin words soli deo gloria, which means, "to God alone be the glory."
When I think that God in His grace would use me, all I can say is, "TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!" |