Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Are You Qualified?

          God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Have you ever wondered if you are qualified to be called of God? Have you ever wondered if you are capable of fulfilling God’s call on your life? Most of us probably have at some point in time. But allow me to say this right here: none of us are qualified to even be called of God at all! Let alone, be qualified to fulfill the call on our lives. God can do everything and all things right by himself. He does not even need us to assist him in anything he does. NOTHING! But God loves us so much and he cares about us so much, that he really does want to use us to do things here on this earth, as he works through us. But we have to be a willing vessel for him to use. He will not use anyone if they do not want to be used. He is a gentleman in that area. He will not invade our lives if we do not want him to. But he so desires to, and he so desires to use us. But we have to allow him to do that.

Too many times, when we feel unqualified to be used of God, it is nothing more than excuses, as to why we won’t allow God to use us. Oh I’m too shy, I can’t speak in front of other people, I’m too fat, I’m too skinny, I don’t make much money, and so on and so on. Excuses. Stated earlier, none of us are qualified to be used of God. God qualifies us, when we allow him to use us. The list goes on and on in the bible, of those that were not qualified to be used of God. But God used them  anyway. Why? Because he qualified them and not the other way around. Let’s take a look at a few of the biblical characters.

Moses tried to disqualify himself by telling God that he cannot even talk plainly. Apparently he had a speech impediment. God gave him Aaron to help him. God qualified Moses.

Elijah tried to disqualify himself because the evil Jezebel had announced that she was out to have him killed. He ran and hid in a cave and forgot how God had qualified him as a Man of God when he called down fire from heaven and the fire consumed three captains and each set of fifty men. God qualified Elijah.

Samson disqualified himself due to his weakness to women. After he told Delilah all his heart and the reason for his strength, he was reduced to a mere man of average strength. He had forgotten the strength he had when he slew one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Or when he slew a lion with his bare hands. Or when God put upon him the strength as he stood between the two pillars as he destroyed the building and thousands of people along with the destruction. God qualified Samson.

Peter, disqualified himself as he was so high and mighty while walking with Jesus and saying he would go anywhere with Jesus, and he would die for him. But at the trial of Jesus, Peter’s declaration changed. he stood just on the outside from where Jesus was being scourged, and denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed. But God qualified Peter on the Day of Pentecost when he, along with one hundred and nineteen more believers were in the upper room and was filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. Peter then stood up in boldness and preached the first sermon to those standing by. God qualified Peter.

God doesn’t call the qualified. Those that feel as if they are qualified to work for God, those that feel they have something to offer God; are the very ones that God would bypass. Why? Because in their heart, there is arrogance, a persona of, “I am somebody”, and God would be lucky to have me on his team.

God wants the humble, the poor in spirit. Someone who has a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Someone who acknowledges God for who he is and knows within his own heart, that he is nothing without God. Those are the ones that God looks for and wants. If any of us fall into this category, then we are the ones that God wants to use. He wants those that will give God all the glory for anything that he does through them. He wants those that will be willing for God to use them as he sees fit. God can take anything that he has given you, such as a talent; whether it be singing, playing music, writing songs, skilled craftsman, or anything else. If a person offers themselves to God for his use, he can then take what talents and abilities that a person has and utilize them for the furtherance of the kingdom.

I’ll give you an example of myself. I have been given musical talents from God as a young boy to play the drums. As I became an adult, I also furthered my musical talents and taught myself how to play piano/keyboards. I also became a song writer and wrote several songs in my younger years as a man pursuing a career in rock music. I never made it in rock music, but at point in time, I turned my life over to God and have been living for him for eighteen years now.

But due to my decision to give God my musical talents and writing abilities, I have been playing drums in church services and piano in song specials on occasion. Again, due to my giving all to God, he has now led me for the past two years in teaching myself the bass guitar. I have even played some in church services. I have over the years, also continued in my song writing, and I have written several Christian based songs since 1993. But God has not stopped there. He has also led me into a writing ministry. I have written several bible studies, several short interesting studies on biblical topics. I have written articles and poems, and continue to do so to this day. God has also revealed to me, that he also wants to use me in a preaching ministry to some degree. For the last two years, I have been preaching at a local nursing home along with another young brother in Christ that is called into a preaching ministry.

All of this is because I have chosen to allow God to use me. I have not qualified myself, but God has qualified me. He will qualify us to each event that he takes us into; to speak, or to teach, or to preach, or to write, or to do whatever he wants to use us in at the time.

So we must maintain an attitude of knowing that we are not qualified to be used of God; but we must also maintain the knowledge of the fact that God qualifies us for himself to use and not we ourselves. That is being the called that God qualifies, not God calling the qualified.
                                                           9/10 & 9-13-11

No comments:

Post a Comment