June 4th, 2000, Sunday Evening

"God's Toolbox"
How God uses the weak and not the strong to do His work

OPENING: 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, KJV

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• 1 Corinthians 1:26: This verse tells us God doesn't use wise and mighty men (like the Goliaths and the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the world) or noble men (like presidents and those high in the political realm) to carry out His work.
  
  
• 1 Corinthians 1:27: God uses the foolish and dull people of the world to disgrace the wise. The world calls us (those who follow Christ) foolish for proclaiming the Gospel, going to church, tithing, and doing the work of God.
  
  
  • EXAMPLES
    
    
    • 2 Corinthians 12:9: In the Bible, Paul's ministry turned the world upside down but Paul, himself, was a weak person. In this verse, Jesus says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and Paul acknowledges this by gladly saying he will do the Lord's work through his infirmities.
      
      
    • Hebrews 11:32-34: At the end of verse 34, notice it says, "out of weakness were made strong,"
      
      
    • 2 Corinthians 12:10: Understand that weaknesses and necessities are tools that God uses. If you are weak tonight, you are exactly a tool God is looking for.
      
      
    • 1 Corinthians 1:28: As the verse says, God is looking for the despised, base (meaning "simple") things of this world. The second half of the verse, "and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are" means a discarded tool that brings about things that are. In other words, at first, the Jews we're God's people and the Gentiles were despised. Now today, God uses the Gentiles, as well, for his work. While a Catholic church would discard you, the church of the Living God won't.
      
      
    • 1 Peter 5:6: This reinforces the fact you must humble yourself before God and that God is looking for humble people so that He "may exalt you in due time"
      
      
    • Joshua 1:1-3 and 2:1: This is an example of how God used a despised tool. When God ordered Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed Moses in leading the children of Israel to the land God prepared for them, Joshua sent two spies. These two spies, as it reads in verse two, "came into an harlot's house named Rahab and lodged there." God used Rehab, a despised prostitute, to comfort and help the spies.
      
      
    • Genesis 37:3-9 and 37:23-28 and 41:39-43: This is the famous Bible passage of Joseph. Joseph's brothers hated him and sold him to Midianite merchantmen. These men, in turn sold Joseph to Potiphar, Egyptian captain of the guard. Joseph, a slave and God-fearing man, impressed Pharaoh with his wisdom and soon after, Pharaoh gave him land, power, riches, and made him second-in-command!
  
  
  CLOSER

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• So why does God not use the wise and mighty things of this world?
  
  
  • #1: Because of 1 Corinthians 1:29: that no man himself (the "flesh") should be glorified but rather his work glorifies the Lord.
    
    
  • #2: The people of this world who are engrossed and own its money, power, fame, and property, do not wish to lose that control of power. They wish to do things their way. Movie stars, politicians and corporate presidents; what stories have we heard of people like these being totally submissive to God?
    
    
  • #3: 1 Corinthians 1:30: Those who put 100% of their trust in God and humble themselves before God and are hated by the world are those that can be taught the wisdom as opposed to the proud world.
    
    
    • The weak and humble will demonstrate righteous living; The strong and proud will want to live their own way.
      
      
    • The weak and humble will continually practice "separation from the world." The strong and proud need the world to live.
      
      
    • Finally, the weak and humble are the only tools that can be used to bring the word of God / salvation to this lost and dying world.