I AM HUMBLED WHEN I REMEMBER THAT I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO BE USED BY GOD – Bishop David Abioye



THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING APPOINTED ON MERIT AND BEING CHOSEN DESPITE YOUR ‘DIS-MERIT’.

-Bishop David Abioye at CHoP
* It is only a privilege.
* This sense of privilege will keep motivating you
*When next you are going out for outreach, it is a privilege.
* You will never get tired of doing this when you see it as a privilege given by God.

Heavenly Father, we thank You again this morning, for waking us up this morning to extend your goodness and mercies to us. We do not take it for granted, receive our thanks in Jesus wonderful name.

It is my privilege this morning to bring to us a word of exhortation on this last day of the Covenant Hour of Prayer for this week. I have no doubt that God who woke you up this morning is giving you and I our daily bread from His Word in Jesus precious name.

You would recall that our exhortation line for this week has been:

UNDERSTANDING THE DEMANDS FOR PROFITABLE STEWARDSHIP.

This exhortation line clearly shows to us that there is unprofitable stewardship. That is somebody can be labouring without seeing the fruits.
-From this moment, you will never labour in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58
“…for we know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Your labour is not in vain but for gains. You are not labouring in vain, but you are labouring for gain.

In all labour, there is profit, the scriptures tell us – Proverbs 14:23
In all labour is loaded profit. Every labour we invest in the Kingdom is meant to be for our profit. So if you are not getting your profit, it is in the account of poor or lack of understanding.
That’s why we must go for understanding.

The Psalmist said, “give me understanding and I shall live” – Psalm 118:114
The quality of your life is enhanced by deeper understanding. If your life is not being lived well, query your level of understanding.

The deeper the understanding, the more enhanced the quality of your life.

Now, God is not looking for who to use but who to bless. Serving God is creating a platform, an opportunity for you and I to be blessed without begging for it. There are those who beg for blessings, there are those who do not beg, blessings look for them.

Exodus 23:25.
“You shall serve, He shall bless”: It is a contract, a spiritual contract.
You: face your service.
I, God will face your blessings. Do your part and leave the rest to Me, that is what God is saying.
God does not intend for any of us to beg for blessing but to serve. Not to beg, but to serve.

We have looked at various demands or requirements in enhancement of our profitable service.
1. This morning as we round up, let’s understand that we must serve God as a privilege and not as a burden. Each time you are serving God, you should ask yourself:
Who am I that God should consider me?
Who am I?

You are talking to drug addicts, why are you not the drug addict that they are talking to?

You are praying for souls to be saved, why are you not the one they are praying for?
You are following up new converts, why am I not the one that they are following up?
You need to ask yourself the question because nothing makes you and I better than the ones we are reaching out to.

Lots of our mates: age mates, school mates, class mates are still wallowing in sin and He saw you, He enabled you and He gave you the ministry of reconciliation, when you should be the one that they should be pursuing for reconciliation.

I think of this all of the time. That humbles me. I am not qualified to be used of God. It is a privilege. This sense of privilege will keep motivating you. If you open up to God so that you can continue to serve God
Jeremiah 23:33
God was rebuking the people of their time including prophets and priests who were saying:

“What is this burden of the Lord?

Every time outreach, every time interceding for people, Kingdom advancement prayers when I have my personal prayers to pray. I don’t know why Papa will keep disturbing us all of the time.

Why do we have Pastors, can’t Pastors be doing the preaching.
Why will you tell a business man to go to the streets, to the highways and be preaching to people?

What are the Pastors employed for?”
That is the complain they make: Papa just pray for us to prosper, you can face anywhere you want, to preach to them.

They see it as a burden: carrying handbills to circulate in the neighbourhood and you can find members who are even castigating other members, “don’t you have work, Papa will just be using you anyhow, every time.”

They complain because it is a burden to them while some other fellows, out of excitement take the handbills. He doesn’t have money for transportation, he treks from one distance to another and all of us are witnesses. People have testified of the advancement in their lives, including you and I.

-You will never cease to enjoy these blessings.
1st Corinthians 1:26-29
Hear the testimony of Paul, this will humble every one of us. God saw the great, He didn’t call them, He saw you as small and He called you. But God has chosen: it is a choice He made, not based on merit, not on qualification.

There is a difference between being appointed on merit and being chosen despite your ‘dis-merit’. That is what God did. You and I are ‘dis-merited’, we were foolish.
I told myself sometimes ago, that the reason God called me was that He saw me as a fool, that is what that scriptures is saying – 1 Corinthians 1:27
He chose the weak things, it will interest you to know that God does not call the Able, He calls the Unable and makes them Able. He calls the Unable and enables them to use them. You and I are unable.
He calls the disgraced and engraces them. Peter was disgraced out of business and Jesus engraced him.

Peter said, “depart from me, I am a sinner.”
Jesus said, “I will make you a fisher of men.”
He called the terrible sinners to make them righteous and carry the ministry of reconciliation. Paul said, “I have received grace despite the fact that I am a terrible sinner.

He enabled me and put me in ministry” – 1 Timothy 1:12
He calls the disregarded and regards them for the assignment.
He calls the incompetent and makes them competent.
He calls the inefficient and deficient and makes them efficient – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
So you see, we have no basis to boast of anything. We have no right to talk of ourselves but to take it as a privilege that He calls you and I.
When next you are going out for outreach, it is a privilege.
When next you are circulating handbills, to make people’ eyes to be opened, it is a privilege.
You will never get tired of doing this when you see it as a privilege given by God.
2. What more, we must serve God tirelessly –Matthew 24:45-47
The Kingdom assignment demands continuity.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Always abounding, not sometimes, not for a while, but forever. Abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labour in God is not in vain.
Say with me, “I know that my labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Don’t care about how other people see you, since you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Therefore, remember he that endures to the end is the one that will be saved – Matthew 24:13.
3. Finally, let’s beware of sin. Sin erodes our profit in stewardship.
Sin is a sinker.
Sin is a ‘stealer’ of our blessings. Anywhere sin goes, man loses. Anywhere sin goes and it is accepted, the receiver of sin ends as a loser.
You know the story of Gehazi – 2 Kings 5:20-27
He ended as a loser even though he was entitled to double portion or more of the anointing upon Elisha. He ended as a loser.

We saw how Judas Iscariot als o lost –John 12:6
He was a thief, his eyes were on the things he would get from Christ.
Don’t allow sin of any kind in your life: sin of lying, sin of stealing, sin of immorality.
Don’t allow it. If you do, you will lose your reward.

There are people who are there, who claim to be serving but they are living in sin.

You don’t live in sin and expect God’s grace to multiply – Romans 6:1
Clean up in order to remain useful. Usefulness has its roots in cleanliness. If you are not clean, you will be an abandoned vessel. Make yourself clean and God will fill you up.
Clean up and God fill you up.
Clean up and God will engrace you.
-None of us seated here will miss our rewards.

Prayers: Count it a great privilege and say it very loud before the Lord. It is my privilege Lord, I know I am not qualified, I know I am unable, I know I cannot do it and as you do, ask God to continue to grant you grace to continue to work through you and use you to the glory and praise of His name.
Give Him thanks for it.

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