Based on “The Church—Why We Do What We Do, Part 4” by Pastor Mark Balmer;
2/27-28/10, Message #MB409; Daily Devotional #4 - “God Wants You”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): During this week’s message we looked at Jesus feeding five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and fish in the context of the gap between what we know God can do and what we personally expect Him to do. I was struck that Jesus was able to do so much with what we would think was so little, and therefore unusable. Another example of this was when Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). One of the things I considered was that Jesus could easily make wine or food appear from anywhere, but in both cases He started with something overlooked and fulfilled the needs of those around Him with it. In doing this Jesus provides us with much more from what we would consider insufficient in order to further His Glory.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Throughout my Christian growing process I have often felt insufficient to deliver God’s message. I remember all the outward insecurities and inward personality flaws that made me doubt my ability to lead people to Jesus. I often imagine how easy it would be to spread the Gospel if I were a celebrity with chiseled looks or had large amounts of income. The truth is, though, that God wants to use what the world considers insufficient to achieve amazing things in His name (1 Corinthians 1:27). In choosing the people who would be His first disciples, Jesus did not choose the rich or politically powerful people to influence the world. Instead He went to the absolute polar opposite and chose less than ordinary men such as fishermen and tax collectors. Although the Gospel records the many doubts and failures of these twelve, eventually God would transform them into some of the most influential people in history. Throughout the Old Testament God also used the imperfect, like Moses with his violent past, to free the Israelites, or even an undersized shepherd named David to rule His people.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Looking back on my history of mistakes and failures, it is amazing to not only know they are forgiven but also to know that they actually make me a better candidate to be used by God. Our God excels in using the broken and imperfect to reach His divine purpose of furthering His glory. We, as messengers of the Gospel, are to not be flashy, but instead should be as common as jars of clay so that we do not distract from the Lord’s glorious message we are entrusted with.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): 2 Corinthians 4
WSK
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.