CENTRAL THOUGHT
God will use a man that is yielded to Him.
HYMN: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
TEXT: Daniel 1:8, 6:1-5; Luke 14:25-27; Ephesians 2:10, 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:19-21
INTRODUCTION
The Scripture is full of the accounts of men and women who encountered God, experienced transformed lives and were used mightily by Him. From Abraham, Daniel, Esther, in the Old Testament to Peter and Paul in the New Testament; these were men and women of like passions like us but who had encounters with God that set them apart for His use. While it is God who takes the initiative to reach out to man, the Scriptures show that how well or how useful we are in God’s hands depends largely on us: the states of our hearts, our innate desires and the daily exercise/submission of our wills.
The Scriptures state in 1 Corinthians 12 that everyone who gets saved belongs to the body of Christ since we are all baptized by His Spirit into His body. It further shows that every part of the body is useful. Every part has a predetermined function which God intends for it to grow up maximally into. But what happens if the members of the body are ignorant or the body part has a “disease” that paralyzes it and makes it nonfunctional or diminishes its functionality? In this study, we look up to the Lord by His Spirit to teach us from the experience of God’s people how we can be more useful to Him.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are:
- To understand the requirements necessary to be used by God.
- To understand some qualities that endear a man to God for service.
- To distinguish between religious service to please men and genuine service in God’s vineyard.
BIBLE TRUTH
Q1A. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF BEING USED OF GOD?
A. Being born again: Ephesians 2:10 states that believers are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. The first requirement for service is that a man must be born again. Work in God’s vineyard is only for the new creation whose sins have been washed away and who share in the nature of God and have their names written in heaven, Hebrews 12:23. These are God’s sons and His sons are led by Him, Romans 8:14.
A man must consciously decide to turn away from sin and then receive pardon from Christ. Only then can such persons qualify for use by God.
We find the examples of the sons of Sceva who wanted to cast out demons without being saved and Bar-Jesus who wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit without being saved. Cornelius was a religious man but God had to arrange for him to hear the gospel and repent to enable him obtain mercy in His eyes.
B. Denying oneself and carrying ones’ cross daily, Luke 14:25-27
The Master insists that those that desire to follow Him must first deny themselves. Self here may represent our concepts of life and fulfillment, our desires and ambitions that have no spiritual focus. In spiritual terms, self may embody our concepts of service and status in the kingdom and our cravings for position and relevance in places of worship.C. Being filled with the Holy Spirit: Another requirement is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord told the disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and then they would be His witnesses, Acts 1:8. This is reinforced in Ephesians 5:18, where we are exhorted to be “filled continually” with the Holy Spirit. This is the only empowerment that the believer requires for service. The new believer must crave the baptism of the Holy Spirit soon after salvation and be taught to abstain from things that grieve the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4, and yield to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in life and ministry.
Q2. WHAT ARE SOME QUALITIES THAT ENDEAR A MAN TO GOD FROM THE FOLLOWING SRIPTURES?
Deuteronomy 1:35-36; Daniel 1:8, 6:1-5; Proverbs 4:20-22; Hebrews 12:8-10, 24-25; John 15:1-8
The Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt with the intent of leading them into the Promised Land. As they faced trials on the way, the Israelites grumbled and rebelled against God. However, the Lord permitted only two men of that generation, Joshua and Caleb, to enter because they followed Him wholeheartedly. To follow God wholeheartedly means to follow God unconditionally, to follow Him no matter the circumstances and trust in Him irrespective of the situation.
Daniel served God with his whole heart and God exalted him such that while kings changed in Babylon, he remained a leader at the highest level. Despite serving in a very corrupt and hostile political arena, Daniel refused to take glory for the gifts of God upon his life and obeyed God in his daily responsibilities such that the heathen testified that he was blameless in his life and work.
Another quality is yieldedness to the chastening of the Lord, as His children; this is for our profit both in life and ministry. A man is endeared to God if he disciples himself to give heed to His warnings and admonition.
Abiding in Christ guarantees fruit bearing and this also endears a man to God the Father.
These qualities endear men to God and attract His favor in every dispensation. It is captured in the appeal that we “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God…”, Romans 12:1-2.
Q3. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MERE RELIGIOUS SERVICE TO PLEASE MEN AND GENUINE SERVICE IN GOD’S VINEYARD? 1 John 2:15-17
Much of the religious world is based on worldly principles, on the three principles that govern the world system; the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. While Christ warned His disciples not to lead the church like the leaders of the Gentiles do, Matthew 20:27, in terms of behaving as though they were benefactors of the lives of the people depended on them – unfortunately this is often the case.
When a man serves God, his primary focus is on pleasing Him in every way irrespective of what those around him feel or practice. This may mean standing alone or being called names, misunderstood and persecuted, Matthew 5:11-12. In contrast, service to please men depends on who is in charge; it aims at currying favor, gain or promotion or just to be in someone’s good books. The scriptures speak of those whose god is their belly and hearts are on earthly things. We are warned that many will depart from the faith in the last days based on love for themselves, money, among other things. We must set our hearts to serve God, and not on things that are not heavenly, Colossians 3:1.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
It must be emphasized that only those who are alive in the Spirit can serve Christ. The song-writer prayed thus, “take my intellect, and use, every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine…” We are the workmanship of GOD! We must follow GOD wholeheartedly and trust Him, no matter the circumstances.
MEMORY VERSE
2 Timothy 2:21
“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Monday: Reflect on Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 12:23
Tuesday: We must deny ourselves to follow Christ.
Luke 14:25-27
Wednesday: Quality that endears a man to God.
Daniel 1:8
Thursday: Quality that endears a man to God.
Daniel 6:1-5; Hebrews 12:8-10
Friday: Give heed to God’s warnings.
Proverbs 4:20-22; Hebrews 12:24-25
Saturday: Meditate on
Romans 12:1-2