In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Quoting Scripture

Omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloriam Dei. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Let’s try a blockquote.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:8-10

Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. Propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Another Heading

Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloriam Dei. Sample link. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Et ait faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram et praesit piscibus maris et volatilibus caeli et bestiis universaeque terrae omnique reptili quod movetur in terra. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit.

The Legacy of Antioch audio by John Piper. © 2015 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Quoting Scripture

Omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloriam Dei. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Let’s try a blockquote.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:8-10

Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. Propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Another Heading

Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloriam Dei. Sample link. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit. Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam.

Et ait faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram et praesit piscibus maris et volatilibus caeli et bestiis universaeque terrae omnique reptili quod movetur in terra. In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Omnis enim quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit.

The Legacy of Antioch audio by John Piper. © 2015 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

Introduction

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 ESV 

11  For it has been reported to me

by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.  12 

What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or

“I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow

Christ.”  13  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for

you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

So if you remember from last week we talked all

about the divisions in our church, the divisions in our hearts.Divisions that come from unforgiveness,

divisions that come from pride, and divisions that come from gossip!That’s what verse 11 was all about right? “There

is quarreling among you”.Now Paul goes even deeper and he call’s out the

division for what it is, this is today’s focus, verses 12-13.1 Corinthians 1:12-13 ESV  What I mean is that each one of you says,

“I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow

Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 

13  Is Christ divided? Was Paul

crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?Today

church I want to talk about denominations.Because

honestly that is what Paul is calling out here, he is calling out

denominationalism, the early start of a divided church.And I am

just going to outright say what I am thinking: Denominationalism used as a way

to divided churches, separate theologies, and segregate believers is a

NONSENSICAL WAY to run the church. It is unbiblical, ungodly, and we are to

have nothing to do with it!

Body

Now, before I get into my message let me just

slow down a minute and tell everyone here, Denominations as organizations are

not a bad thing! They can be incredibly beneficial to the body of Christ!So please don’t go and blow up your Baptist

friends on Facebook calling them a bunch of heretics for going to a

denominational church! That is not what I am talking about in any way shape or

form.In fact, I was ordained in a Southern Baptist

church.As an organization the Southern Baptists where

amazing! They would help church plants by buying them buildings, by buying

chairs, they would come and pray over your church and encourage young new

pastors. They organize tons of mission’s trips, preach

the gospel, and lead lots of people to Christ.And for that, I praise God for the Southern

Baptists and all other Christian denominations that do likewise!SO HEAR

ME AGAIN CHURCH! I AM NOT SAYING THAT DENOMINATIONS ARE BAD! Y’all understand,

you following me?Good, now

let me tear into denominationalism and tell you why it is so bad!Let me read for you again what Paul says in

verse 12 and 13:1 Corinthians 1:12-13 ESV  … each one of you says, “I follow

Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or

“I follow Christ.”  13  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for

you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I

follow Cephas, or I follow Christ.Remember, Paul is talking to CHRISTIAN’s here!

Y’all know what the word Christian means? I do, cause it’s my name an all, it

means “Follower of Christ”.If Paul is talking to Christians, and Christian

means “Follower of Christ” then all of them should be saying “I follow Christ”

not just a few of them!Now if you don’t know Paul, Apollos, and Cephas

(Peter) are all good Christian Pastors, theologians, and preachers, and Apollos

and Cephas were both good friends of Paul.Yet people are choosing whom to follow, and not

only that, but they are being divisive about it!Not only are they saying who they follow, but we

know from verse 11 that this is causing arguments amongst the brothers of

Christ!So basically what is going on is this: Paul,

Apollos, and Cephas are all preaching and teaching, and they probably preach a

little different then one another, and they probably believe a little different

then one another, but they are all preaching and teaching for the Glory of

Christ.Non the less their preaching and teaching is

bound to be a little bit different.So some say they follow Paul, because they like

what he preaches and te

Introduction

This morning we are

going through 2 whole verses!

1 Corinthians 1:10-11

ESV  10  I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our

Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among

you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.  11  For

it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among

you, my brothers.

So lets talk about division!

I am sure if you have been here long you know

that I truly desire to have a united body of Christ! I believe it to be of the

utmost importance for the Christian life, and clearly we see this is important

to Paul as well.But before we talk about how much we should be

and can be united, we need to talk about how much we actually are divided.Y’all ready, cause I am about to bring it… I

mean this is how it is going to be with preaching through the book of First

Corinthians, if Paul encourages the church in Corinth, then my message will be

encouraging, but if Paul rebukes the church then my message will be one of

rebuke. Sound fair?

Let’s admit we are divided

So today’s message definitely leads toward the

rebuking side, and that is ok, because we have a God who loves us enough to

help correct us and guide us when we go astray! THAT’S A GOOD THING!And here we see that the Corinthians have been

going a little bit astray…Verse 11  For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s

people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.Paul is

straight up calling the church of the Corinthians out! And I want to bring the

same word to us here today church… THERE IS DIVISION AMONGST US!If we can’t admit that then we are never going

to change.So before we get into how to change let me open

your eyes to the division amongst our church here.Now let me just preface, I am talking to myself

here, alright, if these things don’t ring true to you then you can just look

down on me, ok?Here is

how we are divided:We are

divided because of politics:Because some of us are democrats, some of us are

republicans, some of us lean left, and others right.Because the way we vote for some reason holds

some sort of emotional nerve that gets all offended when someone disagrees with

us.Because we can’t humble ourselves to see

another’s point of view.Because we are deceived into thinking that we

can argue someone down and change their mind.Because we, somewhere deep down, truly believe

that the way we vote will actually effect the way the world is. That somehow if

some political party get’s elect that Satan will win and Jesus will stop being

God.Y’all know what I am talking about…. Just think

for a minute, have you ever looked down on someone for thinking differently

about politics than you? Sure you have!Paul says “Chloe reports quarreling among you”

well I am saying “Facebook reports quarrelling amongst you my brothers!”I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

POSTS ON FACEBOOK ABOUT THE REFUGEE CRISSIS.Look, I know it’s a political thing, y’all know

what I believe about it. You know why I don’t post about it on facebook?

Because I want to be united with my brothers and sisters in Christ!And even so I STILL have managed to get into a

couple of heated discussions about it. Discussions that led no where! Man that

is not Godly!Paul in his second letter to Timothy says this “Have

nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed

quarrels.” 2 Timothy 2:23That’s what these are, they are foolish,

ignorant controversies, arguments, and quarrels!Has anyone here actually changed a government

policy on Facebook?Has anyone actually changed the world by winning

an argument?Another prominent example is homosexual

marriage.Have you ever looked down on someone for

believing different then you about same sex marriage?I know I have!I get into arguments about what is more

Christian, to be for or against same sex marriage… arguments that lead to hurt

feelings and anger. Arguments that never lead to God being

glorified, neve

Introduction

So I want to do a things a little bit different

with my sermons from now on…Recently God has been opening my eyes to what is

known as Expository Preaching, and drawing me away from “Topical Preaching”And so before I get into my message I want to

explain the difference so you guys kind of know my heart going into this…Topical

Preaching is how I normally preach, and many other pastors preach this way to.Topical preaching means the pastor picks a

topic, and then goes and gets a bunch of scripture that talks about that topic.This can be great because it gives the preacher

freedom to address whatever he feels the need of the church is.Topical sermons can be powerful, well presented,

convicting, and exciting. I mean this is the way I have always preached!But there is a problem with topical sermons,

that is, it puts to much focus on the preacher, and not enough focus on God and

His Word.It allows me to go “What do I want scripture to

say?” and then I can go and get a bunch of scriptures to support whatever point

I want to make… if you are in the hermeneutics class, this is called Eisegesis.Now don’t get me wrong, I do my best not to do

that, to only preach and teach true Biblical doctrine… but even so it still puts

the spotlight on me…Like “What scriptures can I come up with? How

can I present this the best way?”And I don’t want that church, I want us to focus

on God’s word and what He is saying, not how I am presenting it.So then

there is this other kind of preaching called expository preaching.Expository preaching says “I am going to take

this section of scripture and preach through it, line by line, and simply allow

the Word of God to speak for itself”.Now that doesn’t mean that I am just going to

stand up here and read scripture, but instead it means we are going to focus on

large portions of scripture and simply drive home the point or points that

passage is making.It means we are going to let God’s word speak

for itself, and we are going to listen to whatever it has to say, even if we

don’t like it.It means wherever the scripture goes, that is

where I am going to go with the sermon.That all

being said I feel like God is leading us as a church to go through the book of

1st Corinthians.This means that when I sit down to write my

sermons instead of saying “Lord what am I going to preach about this Sunday”…

instead I am going to open up and read the next passage in 1st

Corinthians and say “Lord what are you telling your people through this passage

in 1st Corinthians for our church this Sunday”.And folks this takes a step of faith… because I

have to believe that God is going to line up our lives with what is written in

1st Corinthians, I have to be willing to preach about uncomfortable

subjects, and I have to submit myself as a preacher to the authority of God’s

word!But if I do that, and we do that as a church

then I believe God is going to do great things here, Amen!

Body

Church let’s open up to the book of 1st

Corinthians. We are going to start right off with verse 1:

1 Corinthians 1:1 ESV  Paul, called by the will of God to be an

apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

So Paul opens up 1 Corinthians and says “Look I

just want you to know who is writing this, this is Paul.”Now if you don’t know who Paul is, let me give

you a background.Paul was a Jewish leader who gave his life to

rounding up and persecuting Christians. He would go door to door, like the SS

in nazi Germany, looking for Christians to arrest. He even held peoples coats

as the murdered Stephen, the first martyr for Christ.But God had bigger plans for Paul and while he

was traveling to Damascus Jesus appeared to Paul and lead Paul to being saved.Paul had a drastic conversion and as a new man

decided to live his life for Christ. He became one of the best church planters

ever, and he wrote about half of the New Testament.Now as Paul introduces himself he gives his

title, he says “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle o

Introduction

So I don’t know if you guys noticed, but we have

some sweet new doors!We have been working on these doors on and off

for the past two weeks and it probably took a good 40-50 hours of work to get

done.So before I start my sermon I just want to

recognize some of the people who really helped out in putting these doors up:Would the Paige’s and the Dueschenau’s come to

the front.These guys gave up days and evenings to help get

these doors put in! On Friday we worked for 12 hours. I mean people were

hopping in and out from work, painting, sanding, grinding, and framing, can we

give these guys a hand? Pray a blessing over them.This is the body of Christ coming together, one

of my favorite moments was Wednesday, we were working all the way up to

Wednesday nhight service, Amanda brought pizza, we were all fellowshipping,

laughing, the kids were running around playing, it just felt like a family

gathering, man that’s what church is all about!BRING THE

KIDS UP!So, since

my mind has been consumed with doors the past week, I thought I would preach a

sermon about doors!And it’s funny, because y’all remember when I

went to Florida? There was a person there gift in Words of Knowledge, otherwise

known as prophecy, and he prophesied over me, and wouldn’t you know it, the

prophecy he had for me and this church was all about doors!The Prophet gave me and this church the

following verse:1

Corinthians 16:9

“because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many

who oppose me.”He said: God wants us to know that there is a

great door open for me and this minstry, but those that are opposing me are

putting up a barrier in front of that door. We need to know that the barrier

may look thick, strong, and hard to break through, but in reality it is like

thin paper that can easily be punched through with a pencil. We need to run

full force at that door and break down the barriers put up by those who oppose

me.-Going through that door means that 2016 will be

a year of great increase and blessing for CLC!Folks let me tell you, if we can break through a

concrete barrier to put a 70 inch door in a 68 inch hole, then we can ABSOLUTLY

break down spiritual barriers in our path!And if we do so, if we run through the door that

God has provided us, then HE will do great things in Cedar Rapids and the world

through this ministry amen!Today I want to preach in line with this

prophecy, and those two very physical doors… I want to preach out of Revelation

chapter three. Would you all turn there with me?

Body

While you turn to Revelation 3 I want to give

you a little context here: This section is in the book of Revelation. The book

of revelation is all about the apostle John being taken up into heaven in a

vission and shown many different things, including the return of Christ and the

end of our world as we know it.In the beginning of Revelation Jesus instructs

John to send letters to seven different churches around the world.These seven churches were very real and present churches

at the time of the writing of Revelation, but they are also very characteristic

of many churches today. I think most church bodies would fit well into one of

the described churches in revelation.My desire is that our church would be the church

of Philadelphia, and I believe that it is and will continue to be.So that is what we are going to read we are

going to read what Jesus has to say to the church of Philadelphia.Let’s start with verse seven:

Rev 3:7a  “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia

write:

I want to stop right here, does anyone know what

the term Philadelphia means? Anyone know the motto for the American city of

Philadelphia? It’s the city of Brotherly Love!That is because the Greek word Philadelphia

literally means brotherly love!I find that striking this morning because one of

my goals for this church is that we would truly be a church of brotherly and

sisterly love, that would honestly look on one another as brothers and

We apologize, notes are not available for this sermon.

Introduction

So last

week we started this two part series on the two sons.We examined the first half of this parable

commonly known as the Prodigal son.And if you remember, we talked about how there

are three main characters in this story:The wealthy, powerful, loving, compassionate,

and forgiving father who represents God.Then there is the younger son, known as the

prodigal Son, who wasted his father’s inheritance on a life of debauchery. This

represents a sinner.Then there is the older son, who we did not talk

about last week, he is the focus of this week’s message, and his interaction

with his father.So just to recap, the story of the Prodigal Son

is as follows:A father has two sons, the younger asks for his inheritance

early, in short saying “I can’t wait for you to die dad, I want my inheritance

now”. That son runs off and waists all of the money living a sinful lifestyle,

then a famine arises and the son realizes he is starving. After a short stint

of trying to make it on his own he finally returns home where his Dad welcomes

him with open arms… even so much as to run up to him and embrace him while

still a ways off, forgiving and forgetting what the son had done, only caring

that his lost son had returned home.That’s when we get to this part of the story,

turn with me to Luke 15:25-32

Luke 15:25-32 ESV 

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near

to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 

And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

27  And he said to him, ‘Your brother has

come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him

back safe and sound.’ 28  But he was

angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29  but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many

years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave

me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30  But when this son of yours came, who has

devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

31  And he said to him, ‘Son, you are

always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32  It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for

this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”

So now we are getting to the heart of this

parable.In fact I was talking with my dad a couple weeks

ago about this… did you know this parable is less about the Prodigal Son then

it is about the older grumbling son?In fact the whole reason Jesus was telling this

parable was to explain to the Pharisees why He accepts sinners, and the

conclusion of this parable is a direct rebuke to them. Check out the beginning

of this chapter to see the context of this parable:Luke

15:1-3 ESV  Now the tax collectors and sinners were all

drawing near to hear him.  2  And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled,

saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”  3  So

he told them this parable:Then

Jesus goes on to tell them three different parables, concluding with this one.You see

the Pharisees thought they were the bee’s knees! They had been born Jewish,

raised Jewish, trained Jewish, and their whole lives believed that they were

the only ones making heaven!So when they see this guy who is supposed to be

their savior hanging out with sinners they are like “Woah, hold on there bro!

Shouldn’t you be hanging out with us, not them? I mean we are awesome, and they

are… well they are them.”So they straight up call Jesus out on it and

Jesus responds with this parable… and in this parable it is pretty clear that

the older son, the one whom we are talking about today, represents the

Pharisees. Those who have been living their whole life with God and are now mad

that sinners are being accepted.And I want you to pay attention because I

believe that sometimes we as Christians have tendencies to behave as the

Pharisees do.

Point One: The Older Son’s Behavior

Let’s start looking at the brother’s behavior from verse 25:

Luk

Introduction

This

morning I want to kick off a two part series on the parable of the Prodigal

Son…Maybe some of you have heard this story, you may

have even recently studied it with us in Men’s or Women’s group. But I wanted

to re-approach it because I think that there is so much truth in this parable

that can help, encourage, rebuke, and guide us in our Christian life.Would you all turn with me to Luke 15:11-24?While you turn let me remind you what this story

is about. This is the story of a family, led by a father who was probably

pretty wealthy. The father had two son’s and one of them decided he wanted his

inheritance before his father died, he took that inheritance, moved far away,

and wasted it all living a life a debauchery… then he nearly starves to death

before finally coming back to his father… here it is in Luke 15:11-24 ESV:

Luke 15:11-24 ESV 

And [Jesus] said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12  And the younger of them said to his father,

‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided

his property between them. 13  Not many

days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far

country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14  And when he had spent everything, a severe

famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15  So he went and hired himself out to one of

the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16  And he was longing to be fed with the pods

that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17  “But when he came to himself, he said,

‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I

perish here with hunger! 18  I will arise

and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against

heaven and before you. 19  I am no longer

worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”‘

20  And he arose and came to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion,

and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 

And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and

before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22  But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring

quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes

on his feet. 23  And bring the fattened

calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24  For this my son was dead, and is alive again;

he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Now generally this story is called the Prodigal

Son. The word prodigal means someone who spends money recklessly or lavishly.

And clearly that name is talking about this younger son who took his father’s

money and waited it all. But I

really don’t like the name “The Prodigal Son” for this story (The Bible never

calls it that, that was added later) because it really on focuses on one of the

three major characters in this story.The three major characters in this parable are The Father, who is loving, merciful, and

forgiving (If you haven’t gathered that character represents God)Then there is the younger son who takes his

father’s money and waists it, this young man represents sinners who eventually

come to repentance.And then there is the third character, the older

son, who we are going to talk about in depth next week.So for this week I want to focus on the younger

son, his behaviors, and his father’s reaction.

Point One: The Prodigal’s Behavior

So let’s get into point one, the Prodigal Son’s

behavior.We can start by looking at verse 15:12 “And the

younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that

is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.”So this story really starts with the younger son

asking his father for things, lots of things…And if we know that the father in this story

represents God, then really this story is starting with someone asking God for

things! Lots of things!Y’all know anyone who asks

Introduction

Hebrews 13:20-21 NIVNow may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant

brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21

equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what

is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

Amen.

There is a saying that preachers sometime like

to throw around, one that I first heard and was encouraged by from Pastor Matt

in Seattle after I was just recently saved. The saying says this“God

doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called!”What this means is very simple, it means you do

not have to be a mighty warrior of God, to be called by God to be a mighty

warrior.Instead, all you need to do is be available, and

to whatever He calls you to He will equip you, He will train you, He will get

you ready!Hebrews 13:21 [May God]equip you with

everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to

him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. AmenToday this sermon is for two kinds of people:First it is for the Christian who has found

their calling and is feeling horribly inadequate, feeling like “That can’t be

me, I am not smart enough, strong enough, or faithful enough.. maybe if I was

more like Amanda I could be a worship leader, maybe if I was more like

Christian I could be a preacher, maybe if I was more like Shana I could lead

Children’s church… but not poor little ol’ me, I must of heard wrong, God

certainly could never use me for THAT calling!”If that’s you then you are in good company,

because that was me when I was called to be a pastor.At just 17 years old God spoke to me clearly

“Christian you are supposed to be a pastor” The next night at church a little old woman came

to me and told me “God told me you are supposed to be a pastor” And then on Sunday a guest preacher from Texas

came and preached and said “Someone here is supposed to be a pastor, come up

here so I can pray for you” and I thought to myself “HE CAN’T BE TALKING ABOUT

ME! I am only 17! If only I was older I would know He was talking about me!Of course he was talking about me and I made a

fool of myself by NOT going up.So if you are that kind of person who is

thinking “This calling can’t be for me, at least not now, I’m not old enough,

I’m not smart enough, I’m not good enough” then this sermon is for you!But it’s for another kind of person too, this

sermon is for the person who does feel equipped, who does feel smart enough,

good enough, well trained and ready to go… because sometimes that person will

rely on their equipment instead of the equipper… not only that, but sometimes

that person can look down on the unequipped and think “Man if only they were

more equipped, then God could use them!If that is you, the you too are in good company

because I found myself in this camp sometimes as well… LORD can’t you just send

us some extremely faithful, Godly, wise, and passionate Christians who are

ready to give up their lives for you so they can work full time for no pay here

at this little church? THAT WOULD BE GREAT!And what God has been telling me this week is

“Look, look Christian at what I have given you in this church, you have tons of

faithful people who love Me and are willing to serve, don’t worry if they are

not equipped, I can equip them!”

Point One – Don’t make excuses, God can use you as you are, and if not, He

can make you what you need to be!

I saw a poster online that said the following:Do you SERIOUSLY think God can’t use you?Noah was a drunkAbraham was too oldIsaac was a daydreamerJacob was a LiarJoseph was abusedMoses was a murderer and had a stuttering

problemGideon was afraidRahab was a prostituteJeremiah and timothy were too youngDavid was an adulterer and a murdererElijah was suicidalNaomi was a widowJob went bankruptPeter denied ChristThe Disciples fell asleep while prayingMartha was a worrierThe woman at the well was divorcedZacchaeus was too