How to be Used by God

5 Requirements for Being Used by God

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To be a vessel for honor, you must walk in the light, confessing all known sin to God. Vessels of dishonor walk in the darkness and do not cleanse themselves from sin. So, you must choose the type of vessel you will be.

Cleansing yourself to become a vessel of honor is your responsibility. It is used three ways in the Bible. There is positional sanctification.

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Through the death of Christ, believers have been sanctified once for all 1 Cor. There is also progressive sanctification. As we grow in Christ, we are progressively conformed to His image 2 Cor. Finally, when we see Jesus, we will be like Him, which is ultimate sanctification 1 John 3: In our text, Paul is talking about the process of progressive sanctification. You would rightly demand a clean fork or plate. The dirty one is not useful. In the same way, if our minds embrace false teaching and our lives are tainted by sin, we are not useful to our Master.

Prepared has the idea of being willing and ready. The cleansed vessel is waiting for the Master to pull it off the shelf and put it to honorable use. Dirty vessels are not ready to be used. Have you ever been angry when suddenly you have an opportunity to bear witness for Christ? Or have you ever been grumbling about something when you encountered a brother or sister who needed a word of encouragement? He goes on to show what this looks like in practice:. There are two commands, flee and pursue. We are to flee from youthful lusts and pursue what we may sum up as godliness, broken down under four qualities: Rather, Paul was probably referring to wrong desires that younger men are more prone to than older men are.

So Paul was telling Timothy that while it is right to defend the faith against serious errors and to stand firm on the central doctrines of Scripture, there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. He will go on 2: Here, he is warning against the wrong way, which is to be arrogant about how much you know, impatiently to blast those in error, and to be quarrelsome and self-assertive. The fruits of the Spirit include patience, kindness, and gentleness, along with self-control Gal.

Youthful impetuosity is not on the list! Paul says to flee from these youthful temptations. The Bible commands us to flee from some other sins.

If it comes knocking, run for your life! You never allow watching TV or playing computer games to usurp the time that you should spend alone with God or serving Him? Run from anything that pulls you away from full devotion to God! Are you tempted to gamble? Are you tempted to steal or cheat on your taxes or be greedy rather than generous? Cleansed people flee from sin.

Fleeing and pursuing are opposites. It is not enough just to flee from sin.

Also, you must pursue godly character qualities. Run hard after these four aspects of godliness:. It gives us the commandments of God, which are for our good Deut. Years ago, an elder in my church in California told me that people like his wife, who grew up under austere, authoritarian religious fathers, could not relate to my preaching. But he insisted that people such as his wife, who grew up in these authoritarian homes, could not relate well to my emphasis on obedience. It means that you are trustworthy or reliable. When someone gives you a job, you can be counted on to do it. Faith is related to your concept of God.

Does He hear the prayers of His people and act on their behalf? Do you trust Him to do far more than you are able to do in your strength? He could read, as I remember, more than 30 Semitic languages! One time about twelve years after Donald Grey Barnhouse had graduated, he went back to the seminary to preach to the students.

Twenty-Five Ways to Be Used by God

It is not only a one-off U-turn but it is something that you have to try to put into practice every day. It is not easy! Father, help me, like Jesus, to live a life not seeking to please myself but rather seeking to please you. The people of God were in trouble once again.

As a result they were oppressed v. Lord, thank you so much for the many times in my life when you have answered my cry for help. Today again I cry out to you …. How can I save Israel? Thank you, Jesus, for your promise that you will be with me always , until the very end of the age Matthew Thankfully, God uses cracked pots! I often feel that God cannot use me because of my weaknesses. But sometimes God works through our weaknesses better than through our strengths. Personally, I draw great comfort from the words of the apostle Paul: I find that I am often timid in the face of opposition.

However, the opposition we face is nothing compared to what Gideon and, certainly, what Jesus faced. God does not need large numbers.

Twenty-Five Ways to Be Used by God

He does not want the people to think it was their own strength that saved them. He reduced the numbers from 22, to vv. We do not need large numbers to see a nation transformed but we do need the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you are confident in God, he can work through you as he did through Gideon. Lord, I need your Holy Spirit if I am going to fulfil the calling you have given me. Please send your Holy Spirit upon me today. I can relate to Gideon.

5 Requirements for Being Used by God

He was frightened, inadequate and uncertain. That makes him even more of a hero to me. When he died in , his executors were unable to trace a single member of his family still living. No one came forward claiming to be even a distant relation. Yet, The Times obituary about him rightly noted that his influence within the Church of England during the previous fifty years was probably greater than any of his contemporaries. John Stott, who was one of the numerous influential Christian leaders whom he led to faith in Christ, said of him: How can we be used by God?

It is no secret, the Bible tells us how. If we want to change our actions we need to start with our thoughts and words. Avoiding quarrelling is also a major theme in the New Testament passage for today.

We are so privileged to be able to bring the good news of the gospel. Sometimes it is important to stand our ground. The only person you should try to control is yourself. Self-control is one of the characteristics that make up the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5: You do not need to fear bad publicity or slander.

Paul uses the analogy of being a soldier v. Soldiers have to endure hardship. Keep a clear focus and avoid distractions that waste time. Paul reminds Timothy that soldiers need to keep their focus and seek to please their commanding officer v.

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