What’s In Your Hand?
What's in your hand? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsAre we doing well with what we have?
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Ignite Hype Night 2023
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
One of the things that has really been pressing on my heart, is to take an assessment of where we are. What we are doing. How well we are doing it. I have quickly come to understand that it is not what you do not have that keeps you from building God’s Kingdom, it is wasting what we have.
Each of us have tools we use on our jobs, in our homes, just about anything we do on a daily basis requires a tool. Your next meal will probably use tools; like forks, knives, spoons, etc. If you have never seen me eat, I assure you I am really good at using those tools.
My question to you is; are you doing well with what you have?
We all wish we had more money, more time, more resources, more authority, more grace, more power, more options, and more opportunities. Many people will base their ability to achieve something on the economy. The past couple of years have not been so great for a lot of people and families. People have lost homes, cars, jobs, and a lot of other things we consider tools for success. But I believe in God’s economy; we already have everything we need to be successful in life.
We have everything we need right here, right now, to do what God is calling us to do. We have everything we need right here to be considered a healthy, vibrant growing student ministry. I even believe we have everything we need right now to make a significant impact on our schools and community. But are we doing well with what we have?
In some cases, I would have to say that we need improvement; for myself and for the ministry leaders. We are making strides to be better. As a ministry, I believe there are things that we could be doing better; outreaches, and evangelism. These things do not cost a dime, but do require our effort.
This is the question burning in my heart; are we doing well with what we have?
Everywhere we turn, the church is under scrutiny. Unfortunately, our generation is growing up in one that is more hostile towards the church than accepting of it. We have so many valid reasons to not try, to give up, to hide, to quit…I don’t know about you, but I am not built that way! Here is the part we need to understand; neither is Jesus. Neither were the disciples. Neither was Paul. Neither were the many leaders, pastors, and believers who went before you and me. Excuses are like bad days, sooner or later everybody has one?
That reality does not override the greater reality that God still calls us to engage in our world, share His love, and tell His story! None of us are exempt from this calling. Just look at what 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
The question will never be if you have something in your hand. The question will only be, “What are you doing with what you have?”
but I can ‘t sing…oh well but I don’t know a lot about the Bible…ok great! But I haven’t prayed in public before…fantastic!
YOU’RE EXACTLY WHO GOD WANTS, AND WHAT YOU DO HAVE, HE GAVE YOU…NOW, LETS FIND OUT WHAT THAT IS…
One of my favorite stories in the whole Bible is about a guy named Gideon, who had to use what he had to defeat a much bigger enemy. From here, Gideon is going to help us uncover a couple things.
In order to do well with what we have, we have to know what we have. Judges 7:1-7
In the book of Judges chapter 7, Gideon is preparing to go to battle. At his side are thousands of soldiers; God then puts Gideon and his army through a series of tests to eliminate the unnecessary clutter that would prevent God from getting the glory. Gideon did not need 30,000 men to destroy the enemy; he only needed 300 of the right ones. The entire purpose of getting rid of the soldiers was to eliminate the things Gideon thought he needed for victory. God does the exact same things with us! You have what you have, you can do what you can do, you are who you are because it is exactly what God needed in order for you to do what God wants you to do. You are the best you that will ever live on this earth!!! No one can replace you.
Philippians 4:13 says, “…with Christ, all things are possible!”
Know who you are, and know what you’ve got. Do not get caught in the trap of thinking you have to have what others have in order to be used of God. Mother Theresa had virtually nothing; all she did was impact the world.
In order to do well with what we have, we must empower what we have. Judges 7:8-18
The 300 remaining at Gideon’s side must have thought to some degree that perhaps they made a mistake. “Hold up Gideon, um, is there a plan B?” Certainly a question I might have asked in that moment. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all... The enemy has as many camels as the sand of the sea! Our chances of survival, much less victory, are ridiculously poor! It is not like they could not see the obvious that they were heavily outnumbered. But here is the thing about people who are crazy enough to believe God:
They do not really care what the odds are; they do not really care what the enemy has at their disposal. What they do know is that if God said it, it is done. So Gideon is not concerned about their faith at this point. He needs to empower them to do what God has sent them to do.
Victory does not come with having more numbers than the enemy. It does not come because the enemy is intimidated by who you are, or who you proclaim to be. Victory comes because God has spoken and moved, and we have responded appropriately. God does not need more people to overpower the enemy; He empowers the people he has to be victorious over the enemy. God and Gideon empowered the 300 by doing 4 things:
He gave them a promise -
Get up! God has given you victory today. Without God in the picture, Gideon himself may not have moved from where he was. But God’s promises are always on time. God has promised us some things too! He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He promised to save whosoever will call upon His name (Romans 10:13). In fact, God has made hundreds of promises to you!! Isn’t that cool?!
He gave them a plan –
He divided them into 3 groups with instructions. He used his resources wisely. The Bible is our roadmap for life, and if we follow the plan, we win!
-Part of the plan is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
He gave them provision –
He gave them horns and jars with torches. Right weapons for the job. Not the ones others thought they would need.
- The reality is, God will never call you where He will not equip you. Just know going in, even if you do not see the tool in your hand, if God has called you to it, He will get you through it.
He gave them a purpose –
“For Gideon and the Lord”. Why is this significant? Remember the dream was interpreted that Gideon would wipe out the armies of Midian. They had to know who was rolling into camp and who was coming with him.
In order to do well with what we have, we must unleash what we do have. Judges 7:18-25
Gideon turned those 300 men loose on the enemy; they pursued the enemy and brought back the fruits of the battle. My dream is to unleash you to pursue the enemy across borders and barriers. The greatest joy of a pastor is seeing the people they serve turned loose for God. It is my greatest joy to see lives recommitted to the Lord, to see you step into the reality of God’s plan for your life. At some point, Gideon had to let go of his soldiers and entrust them to do what he needed them to do. We will not grow, and we will not do well with what we have, if we do not release it. Here’s the bottom line: there will always be smarter, more capable people than you and me to accomplish certain things. None of those things matter when it comes to obeying God’s call and using God’s gifts. There are more examples than I have Wednesdays to show you in scripture where the wrong people were the right tool for the job.
Close:
If you return back to Matthew 25, I am going to quickly read this parable.
His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
This parable teaches us that if we can be faithful over the few things, God will move us to greater things. (v.23)
I am not asking anyone to perform a miracle today, but are we doing well with what we have? Are we being good stewards of what God has put in our hands? Are we using the talents and abilities He has given us to build His Kingdom? These are questions you need to ask yourself and respond to in your own heart. I know I am….
Let’s pray…