"THE GOD WHO CAN USE YOU!"

EXODUS 4:1-17

A sixteen year old boy named William left home to seek his fortune. He took all his worldly possessions with him, tied in a small bundle carried in his hand. On his journey, he met a canal-boat captain who befriended him. William explained why he left home so young. His father was too poor to support the family and if he left it would make it easier; he didn't know what he would do, since the only trade he knew was soap and candle making. Here was a young man short on resources. He is a lot like Moses. Remember that Moses had tried to deliver an Israelite from the hand of an Egyptian and had killed the Egyptian in the process and had, as a result, to flee into the wilderness. He'd been there for 40 years tending flocks. God spoke through a burning bush and instructed him to return to Egypt to deliver the people. He'd tried it once (on his own) and failed and he was not about to jump back in and try it again. He was keenly aware of the lack of his resources. We are a lot like Moses. Sometimes we've tried and failed; sometimes we've failed to try -- and we are afraid to try because we are so acutely aware of the deficiency of our assets. Today we will consider the God Who can use you -- but:

• WE MAY NOT HAVE MUCH THAT SEEMS USEFUL: V2:
• Consider Moses for a moment:
• All he had was a rod in his hand. Sort of a shepherd's crook, perhaps. Maybe a cane upon which to lean.
• All he had was a faltering tongue -- he was not eloquent or a refined, polished speaker.
• Others have had little in the way of personal resources, but were of use to God in spite of that:
• Gideon was the least of his family which was the least of the tribe of Manasseh!
• Jeremiah was but a youth and lacked confidence!
• The widow had but two small copper coins.
• A lad had 5 loaves and 2 fish.
• Dorcas had but a needle!
• The Macedonian Christians had little resource; in fact were poor to the extreme!
• It doesn't matter what you possess -- little or much -- but very member of Christ's Body is to be functional with what they do have; none is to be considered useless or second-rate: 2 Corinthians 8:12 "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have." So, if we become aware of our meagerness, or the meagerness of others, Paul has a word for us:
• Concerning our own inadequacies: 1 Corinthians 12:15-17 "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?"
• Concerning the inadequacies of others: 1 Corinthians 12:21 "And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you;' or again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'"
• Paul urged Titus to remind those who believe to be ready for every good work. It doesn't take a lot to be ready, but it does take availability with what we do have! So, take stock:
• Can you play an instrument? We need alternate pianists, we need a keyboardist or two.
• Can you sing, solo or in a group? We need more who are willing to do special music.
• Can you drive? There are people who need transportation to services and activities.
• Can you prepare meals for the sick or grieving?
• Can you open your home to others for times of fellowship or hospitality in time of need?
• Can you take a day each week to visit our shut-ins or our visitors?
• Can you provide child care for some of the activities?
• Can you teach a class or work with the young people?

We may have little; but use it! So, William had but little; all his possessions in one hand, and only the skill to make soap and candles -- no home and no job, and out on his own at sixteen. But he met a kindly canal-boat captain who prayed with him. Then he encouraged him, "Someone will soon be the leading soap-maker in New York. It can be you as well as someone else. Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make an honest soap; give a full pound, and I'm certain you'll be a prosperous and rich man." The captain tried to get William to commit whatever he had to the Lord for His use and to depend on God. That's all Moses would need to do. He was looking at self, rather than God; he saw his own scant ability and shirked. But he needed to learn, and we need to learn, that it wasn't Moses, and it isn't us, but it is the Lord who is sufficient. The God Who can use you is enough! So let us learn that:

• IT DOES NOT DEPEND UPON US, BUT UPON GOD: V12:
• Forgetting that and feeling entirely inadequate, Moses gave his list of excuses:
• "Who am I? I'm nobody!" And God answered, "It doesn't matter if you are nobody -- I am with you!"
• "I don't know what to say, or who to tell them has sent me!" And God answered, "You shall say to them "I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent you!"
• "They won't believe me!" And God replied, "If they don't believe you, I will give you miraculous signs to perform."
• "I'm not eloquent!" And God said, "I made your mouth and lips; don't whine about being a poor speaker!"
• "I'm not available -- send someone else, anyone else!" And God responded, "I will send Aaron to help you -- but you're going too!"
• Let us settle this once and for all: it does not depend upon us, but upon God! To be sure, we must surrender all we have to Him, but apart from Him there is nothing.
• The moment we begin to depend upon ourselves rather than on God, we're in for failure.
• Our musical ability is not of us, but of Him.
• Our intellectual capacity is not of us, but of Him.
• Our ability to teach or preach is not of us, but of Him.Our power is not of us, but of Him.
• 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 "And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."
• 2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves;"
• Excuses will not relieve us of responsibility, nor will self-adequacy make us equal to it -- only God, working in and through us, is enough!

William was about to learn that as he went Into the city; lonely, but uplifted by the canal-boat captain's prayer and words of insight to be faithful to God. He united with a church in the city, got a job, and started immediately tithing one dime out of every dollar. Having regular employment, honoring God, and being a hard worker resulted in William becoming a partner in the firm. He had put his little into God's hand, and God had blessed it. What Moses needed to do was put all of himself at God's disposal, no excuses, no hesitation, no quibbling -- for it didn't depend on him, it depended on God. When we put all we have in the hands of the God Who can use us, we discover that:

• LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT: V17:
• Moses was weak; He only had a rod in his hand, and a faltering tongue but he had more: He had God.
• There are times when the smallest, most insignificant things are of greatest worth -- that is true when they are surrendered to God and He uses them.
• Gideon's 300 men routed a great host of the Midianites.
• Jeremiah was used to speak powerfully to royalty.
• The widow's mite was a greater offering than the surplus of the rich.
• The boy's lunch was enough to feed more than 5,000 individuals.
• Dorcas' needle was used to clothe many of the poor widows and orphans of her community.
• The poor Macedonians were used to bless the even poorer Judeans in time of famine.
• Listen to Paul who knew that little is much if God is in it:
• Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
• Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
• When we work in partnership with God, our little plus His power and provision becomes an abundance!

William worked faithfully with and for God. He became a partner in, and later sole owner of, the business. The busines grew and William instructed his accountant to give 1/10 of the income to God; then 2/10, 3/10, 4/10, and 5/10 and even more as he succeeded. William Colgate knew how to operate in partnership with the God Who can use you. Now, to all who feel they are too small, unworthy, or useless for God to use, hear Paul: 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God." So, enough emphasis on our inadequacies! Say instead, "What I have, He asks; what He asks, I yield; what I yield He accepts; what He accepts, He blesses; what He blesses He uses!" So, as the song says, let us say today, "All to Jesus, I surrender." When you do that sincerely, you enter partnership with the God Who can use you!

Return To Archive

Return To Home Page