1Corinthians 2:1-5
God Is Looking for A Servant
While you find the text, let me read some other verses.
2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to shew himself
strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward him….
God is looking for a servant.
Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the hedge, and stand in the
gap before me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none.
God is looking for a servant.
Isa 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and
wondered that there was no intercessor….
God is looking for a servant. But what kind of a servant is God
looking for? You might answer, "God calls men like the Apostle Paul!"
You are correct, but what kind of person was Paul? The answer might
surprise us. Notice how Paul described himself:
1Cor 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you,
came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom,
declaring unto you the testimony of God.
\\#1\\ No excellent speech.
No extraordinary wisdom.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among
you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear,
and in much trembling.
\\#3\\ Weak, fearful, trembling
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God.
\\#4\\ No enticing words
In fact, Paul’s poor appearance and unrefined speech was one of the
reasons some discounted Paul as an apostle.
2Cor 11:5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind
the very chiefest apostles.
6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in
knowledge….
2Cor 10:10 For his letters, say they, are
weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is
weak, and his speech contemptible.
This was the Apostle Paul:
1. In appearance - Not very attractive. Someone much better fitted
for radio than television, frail, small, bad eyesight.
Someone might say, "Yes, but what a voice!"
2. Apparently not - He wrote better than he spoke, He had no gift
of speaking, no way with words. He struggled and was called
rude, meaning one who was hard to listen to.
3. Demeanor - He trembled when he spoke. Oh, he had the courage of
lion and the heart of bear. He would stand like the great
wall of China, but he looked like he might fall over at any
moment.
This was the Apostle Pau. I wonder if we have anyone like that with
us today?
God is looking for a servant.
Whenever a preacher makes the suggestion that God is looking for a
servant, the excuses begin to fly.
"I am too old," someone ways. Really? God did not even call Abraham
until he was 75 \\#Ge 12:4\\. Nor did He begin to use Moses until he
was 80 years old \\#Ex 7:7\\. In Sunday school, we have been able to
calculate that Eli was 58 years old before he became Israel’s judge
\\#1Sam 4:15, 18\\
Someone answer, "Then I’m too young." Samuel was so young when God
first used him that he did not even know who God was \\#1Sam 3:7\\.
Jeremiah called himself a "child" when God first called him
\\#Jer 1:6\\. Paul challenged Timothy not to waste his youth
\\#1Tim 4:12\\. Daniel, Shadrach. Meshach, and Abednego could not
have been older than teens when God first used them, perhaps even
pre-teens.
God is looking for a servant.
I. God uses people.
A. God did not have to use people.
1. God can use angels.
a. He created them better than us \\#Heb 2:7\\.
b. God has used them before, and He uses them in some
ways now, but their use is greatly curtailed.
c. They do more watching and watching over than anything
else now.
2. God uses the Holy Ghost.
a. The Holy Ghost is the third Member of the Godhead.
b. He is involved in every aspect of what we do, but
even the Holy Ghost will not stand in for a task
that a man or women was assigned.
c. No. The Holy Ghost prepares hearts and opens doors,
but people must respond and walk through them.
3. And of course God could create other ways to accomplish
what He wants done.
a. God is God.
b. He has no limits, no needs, and He never comes up
short.
B. But God does none of those things. He uses people.
1. People to preach, to teach, to witness, to be
missionaries, to give to His work, to do the physical
work that He desires done.
2. Every time, all the time, God uses people.
3. God is looking for a servant.
II. God uses incapable people.
A. We have already read what Paul and others thought of him.
B. Note the kind of people God uses and why?
1Cor 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, [are called]:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things
that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
C. All the way through the Bible, we see God uses incapable
people.
1. God can use capable people, but they will have to work
a lot harder to be used.
2. God specializes in using the incapable.
3. When God called me to preach and to pastor, I knew
nothing.
a. I did not know anything about the Bible.
(1) I had never read through a single book of the
Bible.
(2) I did not know any of the books of the Bible.
b. I did not know how to study. Today I believe I would
be classified as having a learning disability, but in
my day, they did not look for those kinds of things.
c. I could not speak publicly.
d. I was not a spiritually-minded person.
e. I was not a leader.
(1) The first church I pastored was Valley View
Baptist Church in Tennessee. Brother Dennis
Walker was the outgoing pastor. On his last
Sunday night, the church was to vote on a new
pastor. I believe I was the only candidate.
After the vote, Brother Dennis thanked the
church for the opportunity to be their pastor,
then he just stopped speaking. I thought,
"Isn’t he going to dismiss us?" Then I realized,
"That’s the pastor’s job. That’s my job."
(2) It wasn’t natural to me, but it was my turn to
step up—just like it is the turn of some of
you today.
(3) Brother Ben Corley passed away this last week.
A dozen men, working hard, still could not fill
his shoes, but someone must step up.
(4) God is looking for a servant.
III. God uses incapable people by giving them grace.
1Cor 3:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God
our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the
grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in
all utterance, and in all knowledge;
A. Grace means God does the work.
B. Grace is God working in us, through us, and around us to
accomplish His will.
1. You cannot see Him.
2. Sometimes—especially at the first—you may not feel Him.
3. But grace means that He is there, working around you,
through you, and in you.
C. \\#1Cor 1:5\\ God actually "enriches" them.
1. The word means "to make wealthy."
2. Not financially but in ability and opportunity.
3. God takes what you cannot do and makes you so able to do
it so that it looks natural for you.
D. With God’s grace, you are able to do anything and everything
God wants you to do.
1. \\#1Cor 1:4\\ God gives utterance, the ability to speak.
a. Some of the best preachers I ever heard testified
that they were just like me.
b. Introverts, not too bright, not raised in church, and
with no particular talents or gifts.
c. But they were endued with grace from on High!
2. \\#1Cor 1:5\\ God gives knowledge, the ability to know,
understand, and remember.
a. Knowledge means that God gives the ability to know,
understand, remember, and use the facts.
b. Bible knowledge leads to true wisdom.
3. \\#1Cor 1:7\\ goes on to say that God gives these graces
so that we do "come behind in any spiritual gift,"
meaning God will give us anything we need so that we
can do whatever He tells us to do.
IV. What do you need to be used of God? You must give the first
three. God steps in more potentially for the last three.
A. Salvation
B. Surrender-God, I will do whatever you want.
C. Steadfastness-Won’t quit or be stopped.
D. A Calling
1. This is God giving us a direction in which to move and the
ability to go there.
2. The calling that I think of most is the calling to preach,
but there are others.
3. Most callings fall under three areas:
a. Skills of the head - preach, sing, lead
b. Skills of the heart - give, mercy, love
c. Skills of the hand - build, fix, maintain
4. I believe God gives to every church the means to be self-
sufficient, but sometimes His gifts are:
a. Not developed
b. Not used
c. Used selfishly
E. Hunger to learn
1. Unfortunately, I see a lacking on people who claim to be
called learn and developing their gifts.
2. Like so many other things, we do not appreciate what we
have.
3. There are still tremendous Bible colleges, online Bible
schools, books, websites, and videos in abundance—from
which can be learned the wisdom that God has revealed
from His Word through the ages; but all most preachers in
fundamental, independent, Bible churches seem to want to
learn is how to scream and holler.
a. The volume of the speaker, the length of his message
or lesson, and his humor are nothing more than his
style of speaking.
b. Content is what is the most important Learn the
Bible.
c. And after, demeanor.
(1) Is the speaker proud or humble, scattered or
prepared, militant or speaking with the
authority of God’s Word?
(2) The man does not make the message, but he should
model it.
F. Determination to serve
1. This is another short coming in today’s servants.
2. Even Bible colleges seem to be training their students
that preachers and pastors are a specialty.
3. Hogwash.
a. While the first and the most important calling of a
preacher is to handle the Word of God, all of God’s
servants must be able and capable to do many tasks.
b. Every Christian must be able to witness.
c. Every Christians should be able to give a reason for
the hope that lieth within him \\#1Peter 3:15\\.
d. And everyone who feels called of God to pastor needs
knowledge of the law, of computers, and should have
basic plumbing, carpentry, and electrical skills.
e. Anyone who thinks teaching and preaching are all they
are supposed to do inside the church needs to go back
and examine their hearts.
f. God only calls servants, never specialists.
g. God is looking for a servant.
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