Don’t Just Bless Me, But
USE Me, Lord!
1 Corinthians 9 and 12
Pastor
Craig Ledbetter
Oct 19,
2014 AM
Bible
Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction (Ephesians 1:3)
A.
“Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”
B.
God certainly has blessed
us
1.
With the BEST kind of
benefits!
2.
We are blessed with our
families, our children, our GRAND-children, our jobs, our health, this church,
our Bible!
3.
We are blessed with a home
in heaven, and with faithful Christian friends!
4.
We are so blessed just with
life itself!
5.
Wow! We are a blessed
people!
C.
But is THAT ALL we are
supposed to be? Receivers of God’s blessings?
1.
I love the blessings of
being a Christian. But am I only interested in GETTING what I can from God?
2.
A lot of people only come
to church to GET what they can from God! They are simply “consumers” as James
calls them in James 4:3
3.
People who get what is
handed out, take it, consume it, and then throw always what they don’t use.
D.
Is there MORE we can be?
E.
A Christian, a real, bona
fide Christian, is supposed to be more than just a receiver of the blessings of
God…
F.
We are supposed to be used
of God!
G.
I am so glad for all the
blessings of God in my life… but I am more desperate now, as I grow in my faith,
to be used of God! I am so tired of serving the world, the flesh, and the devil.
I just every day of my life want to serve the Lord!
II.
Message
A.
God is Looking for Servants
(1Cor 1:26-29)
1.
Not great men or women
2.
Not talented show-offs
3.
Not blood-line royalty that
carry the titles of Prince, or King, or Queen
4.
Not wise men or very
intelligent people – Peter and John were known as IGNORANT and UNLEARNED!
5.
Just servants!
a.
Like Moses was (Joshua
1:7). He was the great Egyptian General, God’s Law-giver, great deliverer from
Egypt, and Guide through the wilderness for 40 years – and yet God refers to him
as His servant!
b.
Like David was (2Samuel
7:8)
c.
Like Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego were (Dan 3:16,17)
d.
Like Daniel was (Dan
6:19,20)
e.
Like Paul was (Romans 1:1)
6.
Do you know what was so
great about mighty SAMSON?
7.
Do you know what was so
amazing about JONAH preaching to the whole city of Nineveh?
8.
Do you know what was so
awesome about young DAVID with his sling shot when he faced a mighty giant named
Goliath?
9.
They were all just simply
used by God!
10.
They all just simply served
God!
B.
The Greatest Man who EVER
Lived, was a Servant
(Matthew 12:14-21; Philp 2:5-7)
1.
Jesus, even though he was
GOD, and Lord, and Creator, became a SERVANT!
2.
He served His Father – from
start to finish!
3.
And He served people, no
matter who they were:
a.
From widows, to wise men
b.
From publicans in the
temple, to Pharisees in the night
c.
From pagan Canaanites, to
carnal disciples
d.
From the 12 disciples, to
hungry crowds of 5,000
e.
From demon possessed
maniacs in Gadera, to lepers in Bethany
f.
Jesus served people!
C.
What does it Mean to Serve
God? (Luke
4:5-8)
1.
To SERVE God means…
a.
To work for Him – to work
hard, labour, and just do everything we do, for Him
b.
To do HIS will – yield to
His authority over ours!
c.
To wait for, and listen for
His next command, and then do it
d.
To humbly let God get all
the honour and credit for all you do – as in worship
2.
To no longer serve your
self, or your sins anymore (Romans 6)
a.
Rom 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin.
b.
Rom 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
c.
Rom 6:17
But God be thanked, that ye were
the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you.
d.
Rom 6:18
Being then made free from sin, ye
became the servants of righteousness.
e.
Rom 6:19
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh:
for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto
iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto
holiness.
f.
Rom 6:20
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
g.
Rom 6:22
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
h.
The Christian life is one
of serving God! We all WERE the servants of sin. But at salvation, we became the
SERVANTS of righteousness!
3.
And especially no longer
serve the devil (John 8:44) – doing HIS bidding and fulfilling HIS lusts!!!!
4.
Is that how YOU are living?
If not, then this message is for you!
D.
Jesus Calls every one of us
to live the Life of a Servant
1.
Someone who humbles
themselves (Acts 20:19) below the world around them
2.
Someone who does the hard
stuff – unpopular jobs (John 13:3,4), embarrassing jobs
3.
Someone willing to respond
to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit of God (Acts 13:1,2), whenever He is
speaking, calling, convicting, and breaking us to do God’s will!
4.
To be used up, always
decreasing, as long as Christ the Lord is honoured and worshipped (John 3:30)!
5.
All for a greater purpose
than we could EVER accomplish without Him (John 15:16)!
III.
Application – Understanding HOW to Serve
A.
Did you know that most
businesses that have employees dealing with customers, have instructions on how
to serve the customers? So does God. In the Bible!
B.
Every Person in the ‘Body
of Christ’ (in a church) has a Ministry
(1Cor 12:13-27) – everyone, no matter who they are, already has something to do!
1.
The Holy Spirit put us into
the Body of Christ – we are part of His body now. We are supposed to live like
HE lived!
2.
There are MANY members,
parts that make up that body – just like a human body
a.
Some are feet
b.
Some are hands
c.
Some are ears
d.
Some are eyes
e.
Some are strong like bones
and muscles
f.
Some are feeble and small
like tonsils and eye-lids
g.
Some are visibly amazing
and beautiful to see, like eyes and hair
h.
Some are not so good
looking, like nose hairs and arm-pits
i.
Some have no need for
attention – they just work
j.
Some have need for a lot of
attention – like our hair, or our stomach
k.
Some are always up front
and visible to everyone
l.
Some are in the background,
and invisible to most people – like a heart, or liver, or lung, or spleen, or
tendon, or kidney.
m.
EVERY PART OF A BODY IS
NEEDED to be ACTIVE, and MINISTERING! Or else the whole body will die!
3.
All of us were brought into
the Body the same way – by faith in Jesus Christ
4.
And all of us were saved to
serve one another, and to the lost as a ministry (1Cor 12:18,24)
5.
If you are saved this
morning, you already have a great design, a great purpose -
a Ministry. Do you know yet what it is?
6.
What are YOU in the body of
Christ?
a.
Are you a
mouth that lifts us the name of Jesus
and explains what the Bible says about all that is going on today in the news
and in politics?
Or does your mouth only talk about YOU and your problems, and your unhappiness,
and your lusts?
b.
Are you
some hands that actually go out of
their way to help other people?
c.
Are you some
feet that carry a Gospel tract into
the hands of someone on a street corner?
d.
Are you a
channel through which God gives money
so that missionaries can go to some far away nation to preach the Gospel there
and start a Bible believing church?
e.
What are you in this local
church body?
f.
Are you a
prayer warrior, invisible to everyone
but God, yet begging God for the power of God to be on your pastor, and on the
ministries of this church?
g.
You are
supposed to be something in the Body
of Christ!
h.
Are you a
voice that teaches children the
wonderful works of God found in this Book?
i.
Are you an
ear, going to some lonely people and
just listening, and enjoying their presence?
j.
What are you in the body of
Christ? It is a good question!
C.
Whatever Ministry You Serve
In, Should be Not Only for Each Other, but for the Winning of Souls
(1Cor 9:19-27)
1.
So, Why do YOU come to
church?
a.
Just to be entertained? Get
a laugh?
b.
Just to get some Bible
knowledge?
c.
Just to get encouraged and
blessed by being around God’s people?
2.
At some point, God is
waiting for you to yearn to be more – not to GET MORE, but to DO more for God!
God waits for you to yearn to be used by Him! That is how you will now you are
serving God and not yourself anymore
3.
It has to be by our own
choice (1Cor 9:19) – the SECOND greatest choice any human being will ever make,
is WHOM we will now serve!
4.
Paul’s life was lived to
win people to faith in Jesus Christ – he did whatever was necessary to get them
to start living by faith just like he was living!
a.
So, to a Jew, he would
become AS a Jew – knew everything about them and what would get them saved! He
talked Jewish politics, discussed Jewish problems, and talked to them like a
converted Jew!
b.
To those under the law, he
would live as under the law so that he could get them free from the law! He
worked hard to prove to them that a law-keeper could never be good enough to
enter God’s presence, and so neded to be born again!
c.
To someone non-religious
and ignorant of God’s law, he would deal with them as if he too was living
without knowledge of the law, but show them that their own conscience was
exactly like the law that condemns us and points us to our need for a Saviour!
d.
To the weak, he would
ignore his health and strengths, and become as weak.
1)
He would not eat meat
around those who didn’t eat meat
2)
He would go and visit the
fatherless and sickly
3)
He would use him time to
witness to criminals in prison
e.
He assumed every shape and
form of life around him, giving up his own will, his own way, his own ease, his
own pleasure, and his own profit…
f.
Why?
1)
Not to get money,
influence, or honour, but to save souls!
2)
It was not to get ease but
to increase his labours.
3)
It was not to save his
life, but rather that it should be a sacrifice for the good of immortal souls!
4)
He did all so that he could
win just SOME of them!
D.
Are You Wanting to be USED as a Servant?
(Joshua 24:14,15)
1.
Not just live in the
blessings of God, but live as a servant of God!
2.
It is the Greatest Way to
Live
a.
Some people seek to please
audiences and crowds – live for the joy of the crowd
b.
Some people seek popularity
and applause – enjoy the power of praise
c.
Some people, if not most,
seek for their talents to be used in some great way on the Movie Screen, or in
Science or Politics
d.
Even religious leaders who
look so “spiritual” are actually only serving their own bellies, using their
fair speeches to deceive the simple!
1)
Rom 16:17,18 “Now
I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such
serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair
speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
2)
Jude 1:16 says, “These
are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth
speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of
advantage.”
e.
Oh, but the greatest life,
is one that is lived as an unknown servant of God, ministering to all that God
gives us to serve!
3.
Are you willing…
a.
To work for Him – to work
hard, labour, and just do everything we do, for Him
b.
To do HIS will – yield to
His authority over ours!
c.
To wait for, and listen for
His next command, and then do it
d.
To humbly let God get all
the honour and credit for all you do – as in worship
e.
To no longer serve your
self, or your sins anymore (Romans 6)
f.
To no longer serve the
devil (John 8:44) – doing HIS bidding and fulfilling HIS lusts!!!!
4.
Listen to the answer of
God’s people to God’s call to go and serve Him:
a.
“Here am I; Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8)
b.
“Lord, What wilt thou have
ME to do?” (Acts 9:6)
c.
“What saith my Lord unto
his servant?” (1Sam 3:10)
d.
“But I keep under my body,
and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1Cor 9:27) – a throw away, unusable,
unprofitable!
E.
If you desire to serve God, then start today!
1.
Like the great apostle
Paul, fall on your knees and start your life all over and say as a sinner in
need of God’s forgiveness, “please save a wretch like me!”
2.
Then, Ask God WHY did He
save a wretch like you? What is His purpose for you now that you belong to HIM?
3.
Then start doing something
FOR God
a.
Your job is for the bills
b.
Your hobbies are for your
pleasure
c.
What will you do just for
GOD?
d.
Start getting trained in
the Bible by signing up for Discipleship
e.
Join in the Choir and start
singing, and learning to sing
f.
Serve God with your talent
1)
Help with our small
orchestra
2)
Use your talent for no
praise at all, just for God – one day HE will honour you
3)
Learn how to help in Sunday
School and in Creche
4)
See if there is something
you could do in the Church Office
5)
Help Mona minister to the
Missionaries that we support
6)
Get a Bus Driving license
and help Eric and John and me
7)
We need some people to
start up a puppet ministry for reaching children with the Gospel
8)
We need some more men to
come out to Preaching Workshop to learn how to preach the Bible
9)
We need some more people
willing to be trained to win souls out on the street corners and in coffee shops
and from door to door!
g.
Do whatever is needed to
win someone to Christ!