Why God Used

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Good morning everyone. It is Wednesday, July the thirty first, twenty twenty four. It is currently eleven three am Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I'm going to ask this question, and this question is specifically directed at this moment in this episode. This question is specifically directed at this very moment to those of you who sit in the pew, not to those who stand behind a pulpit or sit in front of a microphone to broadcast, you know, philological podcast or to do ministry somehow online.

0:58 I'm talking to the average member. You go to work and then on Sunday you go to church. You sit in the pew. You have a family, you have a life, You have a career, you have hobbies, you have things you like, things you dislike. Just as you live your normal, everyday life. Do you ever, in any way, shape or form, ask yourself the following questions? Do I want to be used by God? Do you ever ask yourself this question? Do I really want to be used by God? I want to be used by God. Maybe maybe you don't ask it as a question, maybe you say it in a more a dogmatic way. You just kind of make the claim, I want to be used by God? Do you ever think that way? Say that? Do you ask this?

1:46 Do you ask yourself this question? Do I really want to be used by God? Maybe you say this in a again in a more affirmative way, or maybe you ask it as a question, do you want to do great things for God? Or do you say, God, I want to do great things for you, I want to be used by you. I want to do great things for you? Or do you sometimes just ask yourself the question do I really want to be used by God? Do I really want to do great things for God? Or do I want to do this or this or this? And you have other things that you tend to focus on.

2:29 Do you ever ask yourself this question? Or or do you ever maybe in a more dogmatic way, kind of just assert or question what does it really look like to be used by God? What does it mean to be used by God? Now it's hard for me to know how those who sit in the pew would kind of answer this question, because basically from the night I became a Christian. I mean literally, I felt like within a week, within two weeks, I was already trying to understand. Okay, so you know what does it mean to be a pastor? How do you become a pastor? I mean I was a teenager at the time. I was already starting to basically contemplate and question and look for ways to minister within weeks of my salvation. I mean, it wasn't like something I had to, you know, think about. It was like, Okay, God, how how can I be used by you? What can I do? How? How can I do great things for you?

3:26 What does it look like to be used by God in a mighty way? Like? How does this work? So for me, it's always been all right, I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. And you do this by being in ministry. That's basically been my entire Christian life. That's that's the way it's it's always been. So I immediately started looking for every opportunity. I'll do this, I'll do this, I'll do this, I'll try to do this, I'll try to do that. And then, you know, as many of you know, even before I became a pastor, I was recording, you know, case tapes and sending them all over the world. I was, you know, I was doing recordings, putting them on cassette.

4:07 And then I was just where we put an ad in the sort of the Lord newspaper, and then anyone who wanted the cassettes, they would send send us a you know, either contact us via email or through normal mail back then, and then we would just each month send out so many cassettes, and we were sending them all around the world, all around for free. Then we went to local Christian bookstores and I said, hey, can I put up a little fish bowl here, and I'm going to put cassette tapes in there of my ministry, of my teaching. And then anyone who comes into the Christian bookstore and goes up to the cash register will see see the fish bowl of cassettes and they can take them for free. Now we're not going to ask for any money. So I've been doing things like that.

4:50 So I always felt like to be I want to be used by God, and to be used by God basically was ministry. Now I do know I have had people ask me. I think it's to be honest, I think it's typically women. It's it's it's not typically Christian men. It's Christian men are kind of this is what I have typically seen. When Christian men start thinking about living a life to be used by God, they almost inevitably move towards, you know, ministry. They typically they're going to go to Bible college, They're going to go to seminary. They kind of move towards ministry. But a lot of times it's Christian women who are like, well, how can I be used by God? What does it mean to be used by God? What can I do? And I've only been asked by a few, but you can tell because a lot of times I think if you're sitting in the pew, you hear sermons about being used by God doing great things for God, and I think sometimes in the pew you're like, so what does that mean for me in my everyday life. I go to work, I'm going to school to get a degree so that I can do this. I can do this, I can do that. I'm raising my family, I'm doing that. Well. Typically, what you will be told is, hey, you are being used by God your ministry. You're doing great things for God by raising your family or by doing this or by doing that. And so then you're like, okay, so what does it actually mean to be used by God?

6:16 So maybe for this next little while, this discussion, it may be more for those of us who pursue ministry. Well, I'll try to relate it to you as well. But here's what happened. Let me try to explain why I'm asking these questions and trying to kind of bring this subject to the forefront today because this is kind of where what I'm really thinking about. And here's what happened. All right. So I got the latest edition, the latest issue of the sort of the Lord newspaper. Remember last summer I told everyone to get a subscription. Well, I got the latest edition of the sort of the Lord newspaper. Now, at the very top, on the right hand cord, the very top, it says celebrating ninety years ministry, and I'm like, wow, that's They've been making a big deal about that. And then right underneath that, the first one of the first articles is the Sword's ninetieth year. Ninety years, nine decades, nine tenths of a century, anyway you say it. It is a long time in the human Arena at the same time. It happened very quickly. The actual date is September the twenty eighth, nineteen thirty four. The actual date is September the twenty eighth, nineteen thirty four. That was the beginning of the Sword of the Lord newspaper. That's ninety years of ministry, ninety years of publishing this paper,

7:48 and I have been reading this paper basically almost consistently for a good portion of my Christian life. I can't remember the first time I picked up a copy. I may have been at time. It may have been a little after I was changer it. Maybe when I was in Nebraska, so it may have been after I had joined the military and I was in Nebraska. I think we had gone to someone's house to visit. I can't remember why we were there, and they had a stack of sort of The Lord newspaper, and I picked one up and was like, because that's typically what I do if there's people to talk to. If I could talk to people or read something, I'm probably going to pick up the thing to read versus talking to people. I know, I'm kind of very anti social that way, but they saw my interest in like, oh, you can take a bunch of those. So I grabbed a bunch and took them home, and like, well, how do I get a subscription to one of these? This is pretty this is interesting, this is awesome. Right, So I've been I've been getting you know, the sort of The Lord newspaper basically off and on for the most part of my adult life.

8:50 So but ninety years, ninety years, would they say that they're being that they wanted to be used by God? I'm assuming they did. Do they want to do great things for God? I'm assuming they did. And what does it look like to be used by God? Well, I think they would say, We've been publishing a paper for ninety years that's been read by who knows how many people around the world, and I bet you they get letters of telling them, people telling them how great the paper has impacted their lives. They've probably have received all kinds of testimonials. There's churches that do sort of the Lord, you know, like little meetings so that they can promote the paper. The Sword of the Lord has a national conference on and on all the things that they've done.

9:38 They could say, we wanted to be used by God and we want to do great things for God, and they would say, how do we know we've been used by God? Well, we've been publishing a paper for ninety years, we have conferences, this paper has been read by millions of people around the world. We have all of these testimonials of how this paper has impacted their life. They have been used by God. So that kind of got me started thinking about this subject. So then I started thinking, well, do you want to be used by God? And I remember going way back, way way back as a young Christian. I wanted to be used by God. I definitely I wanted i God use me. I want to be used by you. I want to do great things for God.

10:29 Now I kept trying to process what does it look like to be used by God? But I was, at least from my experience, I was taught that to be used by God, if I want to be used by God, if I want to do great things for God, that I had to meet very specific requirements and if I did certain things, then I could possibly be be used by God. I wanted to be but I had to do certain things in order to be And then even though maybe some of some of the things I was influenced by in the past, maybe they would deny this, but I think for the most part, I was taught the way I would know I'm being used by God, the way I could measure this would be on the basis of the success of what I was doing. So if I was doing a cassette ministry, well, then the way I would know I'm being used by God would be the number of people who ask for those cassettes, right, And how many people would send a message or a letter or an email saying, oh, whow you transform my life, you change my life, you help me here. This is such a blessing. So it would I hate to say it, but it would almost be numbers, right, numbers. How do you know you're being used by God in ministry because

12:01 your church is growing. If your church is not growing, something is wrong spiritually, there is a deadness. You need to be revived, You need repentance because something is holding it back. I remember I remember even early on, even early on, where if a revival service, if a lot of people weren't coming forward to the altar, they would look for a reason. Why, Hey, why why is this? Why is this not working? What is happening? Look, I I could tell you some crazy stories about this, but I can remember people being asked not to come back to the revival service because it was understood that there was something like not right with them spiritual, spiritually, and they were hindering the move of God in the revival.

12:55 Literally being told, don't come back to the Revival service because you are hindering the move of God. There's something wrong. And you're like, whoa. Because the way you knew God was moving was based on numbers. Numbers, how many people were coming to the revival service. How many people were coming forward to the altar. So I my early influence was I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. And what does it mean to be used by God? Well, I know people would deny this, but it came down to numbers. How many people listened, how many people showed up, how many people gave positive, you know, feedback, how many people went to the altar, how many people did this, how many people made a profession of faith. That it was always numbers, numbers, numbers, number.

13:45 I know Christians constantly say no, no, no, no, no, it's not about numbers. But I'm telling you you have two churches. One church is growing. There seems to be a sense of excitement. People are talking about it. Yet and then people will say, see, God is moving. You see another church. People are leaving. It's getting smaller. It's getting smaller, it's getting smaller. Inevitably, people say that church is dead. God is not moving, God is not happy with it, God is not Immediately it will be spoken of in a negative way. Now at the same time, those very same people who will praise the one church and condemn another, then they will look at other churches that are very, very big and say, well, that's because they have compromised and because they're easy believism, and they're seeker friendly and they're purpose driven or whatever thing they want to accuse them of. So it's really weird, like, on one hand, that church is dying, God is not moving.

14:42 Hey see things are happening, people are coming here. It's growing. God is moving. But then they'll look at another church and say, well, they're so big because they're compromising and they're seeker friendly, and then they're not godly. So wait a minute. So sometimes growth means God, sometimes it doesn't, and you get to decide when it is and when it is it really can be maddening. It can be maddening. So I've always been trying to kind of figure this out, and I'm gonna be honest with you, there were times I've kind of gone through different phases in this, all right, So let me try to explain. There was the younger me who I desperately wanted to be used by God.

15:26 I wanted to do great things for God, and I felt that the way to accomplish these great things for God, or the way I would know I'm being used by God and doing great things for God, would have something to do with numbers. Right now, when I look back, oh boy, this is gonna this is confession time, all right, ladies and gentlemen, this is confession time. Are you ready for this? When I look back, I think my desire to be used by God. I think my desire to do great things for God, and me trying to figure out what it looks like and what it means to be used by God. I think all of that was being done. Oh boy, you ready for this? For my own ego, my own selfishness, and my own insecurity. I think I looked at my life right as messed up as my life was, and I'm like, well, where do I Where am I ever going to accomplish something? Where am I going to ever be good at anything? What am I ever going to do? Like, you know, I'm not going to have this opportunity because of the way I'm being raised. I'm not going to have this opportunity.

16:41 Everyone's got this. They can accomplish this, they can accomplish that. I'm never going to be this. I'm never going to be that. I'm never like I basically kind of came to the point, like you know, I hate to I'm just going to be very blunt. Basically I'm a loser and I don't even know why I'm alive. I should probably just die. There's no point in living. And then when I kind of like, Okay, this Christian I'm gonna I'm gonna use it more fleshly terms. Okay, this Christian thing, this is where I'm gonna find purpose, This is where I'm gonna find identity. This is where I can be better than everyone else. I can read more than everyone else, I can know more than everyone else. And it became more about me than it did about God. So then I'm like, I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God because while everyone else and then I could be very like sanctimonious and pious.

17:29 While everyone else is pursuing a career in this and they're doing this, and they're getting the girl, and they're getting the car, and they're getting the house. Well they're or they're doing all these fleshly things. Look at me, I'm doing things for God. I'm I'm I'm pursuing God. And so it became almost a way to build myself up, for me to be successful, for me to accomplish things. Oh, you've got a degree, Well guess what I've got three. You've got a degree from these big fancy universities. Well maybe so, but I've got three degrees, and I got a degree in biblical studies and religious education and philological studies.

18:14 And so it became about finding It became about building me up. And I think sometimes it can be very dangerous when we say we want to do great things for God and we want to we want God to use us. I think it's sometimes because we want to be elevated. We can find purpose, we can find meaning in that. Hey I may not accomplish that, but look what I'm doing for God. I look, there's no way for me to deny that. There's no way for me to deny that now. And I think I became painfully aware of that. I do. I think I became painfully aware of that because early on in my ministry, early on, you know, I became very like, Okay, here's what I'm going to I'm not going to I'm not going to use my name, right, I'm going to try to hide my name. I'm not going to use a photograph of myself.

19:17 I'm going to hide my name. When I became a pastor, my name is not going on the church sign. I'm not going to do any of this or early days even broadcasting on Cermonadio. I did not want my picture. I did not want my name. But then I had some rule that if I wanted to be able to do this, that I had to use my name and I had to submit a picture. I'm like, I don't want to submit a It was really weird because I and it's not because I was godly. It was the opposite. It's because I knew deep down what a lot of my motivations were, right, I knew what a lot of my motivations were and I, and so I had to try to combat it. I had to try to fight it. Right, don't make it about you as much as though I wanted to be about me, Right as much as I wanted it to be about me. So I did things like, okay, do not do not put up your diplomas all of you.

20:08 Don't put them in a box. I don't even know where. Most of them are in a box in my garage. I do not have them on a wall. I don't want them. Because it became I don't want to make it about me. So I knew I was internally fighting this, but at the same time, I wanted to be used by God. And at the same time, how do I know I'm being used by God? Because look at how many people listen to my podcast, listen to how many people download it, Look at how many people are coming to my church. My church was in the located in the middle of nowhere, and next thing you know, it was full. Okay, So then I was like I'm accomplishing something. There was a little bit, there was a brief time where I felt like I was, but then over time things change because the one thing now, the one thing I was good at. The one thing I was good at also became detrimental to me. And then what it became detrimental to me is, even when I started finding success, I would not just maintain the course to maintain that success or to build upon it, I kept continuing to think and to challenge theological conclusions, and not just learn theology, but do theology, creating a philological hypothesis, challenging things, testing things, changing things, constantly develop growing in my understanding and being willing to change. Well, I used to believe this, Now I believe this, which then ultimately began to become massively

21:42 detrimental to my success. And then, little by little, well and my own failures in the midst of all of those changes. Well, next thing, you know, you wake up one day, I look around and many of you know, you know, we're basically at the end of Victory Baptist Church. It's basically over. There's a big for sell sign and it's you know, we're waiting for someone to buy the building. And for all practical purposes, it's over. The end. The end is nigh, the end is near. So is that a failure? Well, in some ways, you know, it's twenty three twenty four years. I don't know. Is that a failure?

22:24 You can look at it, I guess from a human perspective. It would be from a human perspective if you look at my podcast and my ministry. I mean, it's not like, well, you know, what are you really accomplishing? Yeah, I don't know. So now I can't say, like, I think there was a good portion of my Christian life for I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. And here's how I measured that success. And now I'm kind of like, well, was I average really used by God? Did I ever really do eight things for God? Based on everything to say around me, it's complete and total failure. How do you measure that?

23:09 How how do you measure if you're being used by God? So then I started so so as I was contemplating all of this, I flipped over the paper. So you've got the sword's ninetieth year, right, So I started thinking about their ninety years and what was that successful? They've been used by God? Started just trying to all of those things I just discussed. Was kind of kind of bouncing around my mind. So I flipped over and then look, what is right here. I would show you if I had a camera. It is why God used DL Moody. And I'm like, oh, this is interesting. So my mind has already started going this way, and immediately I flip over and on the other side of this why God used DL Moody, here's an article about why God used someone.

23:57 So we're going to be reading through that in just a minute. But I want to go so kind of the three things I wrote down, do you want to be used by God? Do you want to do great things for God? And what does it mean to be used by God? So I'm going to kind of go to that last part, how do you measure success? Because I started thinking about the following individuals? Are you ready? So there are several men in the Bible who had ministries that, from a human perspective might be considered absolute and complete failures. Now I've mentioned one many times because we spent a good portion of time studying this individual and his book, Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as the Weeping Prophet.

24:49 He had a ministry that spanned over forty years, during which he warned Judah of and pending judgment due to their idolatry and disobedience to God. Despite his persistent effort, the people did not listen to him, and he faced significant persecution. If you look at the book of Jeremiah, you kind of have the calling and commission. It was called to be a prophet at a very young age. And then if you look at basically a good portion of the book, he is giving warnings and prophecies to the people of judgment, and for the most part he's completely ignored by the people. Then he's in prison, thrown into a cistern, and face threats of his life. Jeremiah, from a human perspective, his ministry was an abysmal and absolute failure. He didn't build a large church, he didn't build a large following. Nobody listened to him. Everyone ignored him, and they persecuted him. So Sith, was he used? Did he want to be used by God? Well, whether he did or didn't, he was used by God. Did he do great things for God? I don't know how do we measure great things? Because his ministry from any perspective, we would have been like, see, God's not moving, God's not using him because look, nobody's following him, nobody's listening to him. Nobody's going to his church. Isaiah's ministry included

26:21 powerful messages of judgment and hope. He warned the people of Judah about their sins and called them to repentance. Despite his profound prophecies and visions, he faced a resistance and was largely ignored during his lifetime and ultimately, according to some tradition, that Isaiah was sawed in half under King Manassa's reign, so he was largely ignored. All these great prophecies who but ultimately he was ignored at least during his lifetime. Ezekiel prophesied during the Babylonian exile, delivering messages of judgment and restoration. His ministry involved dramatic symbolic acts and visions, but he faced largely an unresponsive audience.

27:19 Noah's ministry involved building the Ark and warning people of the impending flood. Despite his faithfulness, it was met with ridicule and disbelief from his contemporaries, resulting in only his family being saved. Everything Noah did ultimately just his family. Everyone else dies. These men and their ministries, they were ignored, they were persecuted, they were ridiculed. Yet we would see them as they did great things by God, they were used by God. So then what does it mean to be used by God? See, in my mind as a young person, I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. And then that in my mind would mean I'm going to have a church of four hundred people, one hundred people, two hundred people.

28:04 You know, maybe my idea of success was, you know, not very smart, because you need far more than that, I guess if you really want to be successful. But no, no, but just just that would have been to me, that would have been awesome. But then it was like, okay, wait, now how many people are gonna walk the eye? How many people are going to say a prayer? How many people are gonna give me positive feedback? And then I started thinking and all my measurements for success, what does it look like? Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, but his leadership was met with constant complaints and rebellion from the people. Despite his significant achievement, he was denied achievements.

28:48 He was denied entry into the Promised Land due to his disobedience. But for the most part, I mean you may say he was successful. Maybe maybe not. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus though his preacher, through his preaching and baptizing. Despite his crucial role, he was impre imprisoned, and eventually executed by Herod. From a human perspective, these men faced significant opposition, rejection, and often saw little fruit from their ministries. However, their faithfulness and obedience and lasting spiritual impacts faviliing God's purpose beyond their lifetimes. Now you may say, well, all of these men were successful, but during their lifetimes they would not have appeared to be successful. It was failure, It was rejection, ridicule, and being completely ignored. So do you want to be used by God? Do you want to do great things for God?

29:44 What does it mean to be used by God? What does it actually mean? Now for some of you, again, I'm going to go back. I told you there's really a ton of two perspectives here. From your perspective sitting in the pew, I don't know if this even ever bothers you. I don't know if you even are ever motivated by this. I don't know. I know, I don't know if you just like you know whatever. Look, I'm a Christian, but my focus is my job, my family, my finances, my retirement, my hobbies, And you don't really give much thought about doing anything for God. You're just kind of like, you know, yeah, I'm a Christian, so what I'm not here to try to do great things for God. In fact, your identity is more tied to your job, your career, your family, your degrees, your achievements, your your hobbies, your entertainment. Then your identity has identified anything with what you're doing for God or even care about accomplishing for God. So now let me go to this article why God use D. L. Moody. Now we can see whether we agree or disagree. The article begins, I can think of no subject upon which I would rather speak. I shall not seek to glorify mister Moody, but the God who used him so mightily. Furthermore, I hope to make it clear that the God who used D. L.

31:15 Moody in his day is just as ready to use you and me in this day if we do what D. L. Moody did, which was what made it possible for God to use him so abundantly. Now, when I was a young Christian, those words I would have written those words down in a notebook. I'm like, okay, I want to be used by D. L. Moody. I want to be used as God use deal Moody. I want to be like dal Moody. I want to be used by God as he used deal Moody. I want to be used just like this. But I have to do what D. L.

32:02 Moody did. I have to do what he did. And if I do, God is ready to use me just like D. L. Moody. See. God is just as ready to use me as he did dal Moody, and to do the same great things he did for dal Moody. But I have to do what D. L. Moody did. So I would have been like, okay, I would have had this my notebook and I would have been like, okay, what are the ten things dal Moody did. I'm going to do all ten. Now, we could argue that the problem with people not being used by God is because we don't do the things that dal Moody did, or we could argue maybe it's not that simple. But this right here, this article, I'm gonna read it again. All right here we go furthermore. I hope to make it clear that the God who used dal Moody in his day is just as ready to use you and me and this day. If we do what D. L. Moody did, which is what made it possible for God to use him so abundantly. So if we do what deal Moody did, then we can be used by God, because that's what makes it possible. The whole secret of why he was such a significantly used man, as found in Psalm sixty two eleven, God hath spoken once twice have I heard this that power belongeth unto God. Power did not belong to D. L. Moody, or to Charles G. Finny, or to Martin Luther, nor to any other Christian whom God

33:34 has greatly used. Now that is crazy that you put those three together, Moody, Finny, and Luther. We could argue that Finny supposedly great success was actually great failure over how all of that went down and the damage he did. I don't think Moody and Luther would have much in common. Definitely not have much in common with Finny. Maybe Moody would have more in common with Finny than Luther would. Okay, all right, power, the article continues, belongs to God. If D. L. Moody had any power, he had great and he had great power. He got it from God. So there's this great power, and you and I can get it from God.

34:17 We can get this power that God has. And if we get this power, then obviously we can be used mightily by God. But God does not give his power arbitrarily. It is true that he gives it to whomsoever he wills, but he wills to give it on certain conditions which are clearly revealed in his word. So there is great power. If you want to be used by God. And if you want to do great things for God, you need power. You don't need your power, you need God's power. God gives it to whomsoever he wills. However, there are conditions which you must meet in order to get said power.

35:03 Because Dial MOUDI met those conditions, God made him the most wonderful preacher of his generation. So if I could meet these conditions, I could be the most wonderful preacher in this generation. I just have to meet the conditions. Well after, well after well over thirty years of some form of ministry, I don't think I've ever met the conditions. Obviously, Let's see if they outline any of these tells me to turn to page three. So I'm going to turn to page three. But how was it that he had that power of God so wonderfully manifested in his life?

35:56 As I pondered this question, it seems there were seven things that accounted for God using him so largely as he did. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we have just stumbled upon what it could become a series, all right, but seven things. Seven things that accounted for God using D. L. Moody in such a great way. And guess what You and I could be used probably by God, and we could do great things for God if we could just do these seven things? Are you ready for number one? What do you think? Number one is? What do you think? Number one is? What do you think? What do you think?

36:47 Anybody want to take a guess? Number one is? D L. Moody was a fully surrendered man, a fully surrendered man. Here's what is written in regards to this subject. The first thing that accounts for God using D. L. Moody so mightily was that he was a fully surrendered man. Every ounce of that two hundred and eighty pound body of his holy belonged to God. Every ounce of his two hundred and eighty pound body belonged to God. Now we could argue, I mean, I'm just gonna throw this out there, two hundred and eighty pounds. What does that stop anyone in their tracks for just a second? Does it at all? I'm gonna pull up some Bible verses, Thy God, give me one second. I'm doing a searge. Okay,

38:21 I'm gonna I'm gonna read from a couple of verses here, from a translation that has pulled up on here right all right now. The Bible addresses the issue of gluttony, and it presents it as a form of excess that is contrary to a life of self control and moderation. Proverbs twenty three twenty through twenty one reads, do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor and drowsiness and drowsiness clothed them and rags. The verse warns against the excess of eating and drinking, associating gluttony with poverty and laziness. Now, I just want to stop two hundred and eighty pounds. I don't know what do you think?

39:08 Do you think that's gluttony. Do you think that's perfectly acceptable? I don't know. Now. The only reason I'm bringing it up is not because I would ever pick on anyone's weight. Only reason I'm bringing it up is the argument, is every ounce of that two hundred and eighty pound body wholly belong to God? Well, if gluttony is a sin, then not all of you belongs to God? You don't. And I don't know if two hundred and eighty would be considered over eight. I'm not here to get I don't even know. I don't have the weight chart in front of me and have to figure out how tall he was, and is he considered obese or morbidly obese? And do we follow that chart? And is that chart accurate? And how does God view gluttony? Does God view gluttony on the basis of how much you weigh? Or we could go all day on this subject. I'm just saying I find it interesting that it's like here ever realitce of his two hundred and eighty pound body was one hundred percent surrendered to God? And immediately I'm thinking, well, two hundred and eighty pounds, that sounds like possibly, possibly, and I stress possibly. I am not saying definitely. I'm saying possibly. Could that be an indication of gluttony? And if it was, then not all two hundred and eighty pounds of his body was surrendered to God. Proverbs twenty five sixteen says, if you find honey and eat just enough, too much of it, and you will vomit. This is how this translation actually reads. This passage emphasizes the importance

40:41 of moderation, warning that over indulgence can lead to negative consequences. Philippians three nineteen. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach. Paul criticizes those who are led by their appetites, and so could I could go on and find more verses here about possibly gluttony. Now, sometimes gluttony is considered a sin, but most of the cases it's not. I've seen pastors stand behind the pulpit yelling and screaming against homosexuality, and yelling and screaming against this sin and against this sin and this sin, and they are clearly way overweight, to the point that it's almost hard to watch them preach, because you can see them struggling, you can hear the way they're breathing, and you're like, man, you need you may you may need a little help. But everyone else is a sinner but they don't see. And then they're like all worried about what they're gonna eat after they're done preaching. Now, I'm not saying this someone should be picked on or shamed by that, And no way, shape or form, what I'm trying to articulate is this articles like, hey, you want to be used by God, you want the power of God. You want it? Well, the only way you can get it is you've got to be just like D. L. Moody. And how do we know d it?

42:00 I did D L. Moody get this power because he was a man completely surrendered to God, all two hundred and eighty pounds of him, every bit of it was surrendered to God. And I'm like, well, wait a minute, are we sure? And then the very next part says I'm not saying that he was perfect. He was not. But how can you be one hundred percent surrendered to God and not perfect? Because the minute you sin that, you're not surrendered to God. If I attempted to, I presume I could point out some defects in his character.

42:48 It does not occur to me at this moment what they were. But I'm confident that that that I could think of some if I tried really hard. Right, So he wasn't perfect, but he obviously was so close that it was hard to pick out any of his faults. I have never yet met a perfect man, not one. I have known perfect men in the sense that the Bible commands us to be perfect men who are holy gods and out and out for God, fully surrendered to God, with no will but God's will. Now again, that makes no sense. If the only will you have is God's will, then how in the world did you ever commit a sin?

43:35 But I have never known a man whom I could not see some defects, some places where he might have been improved. Right, So none of that makes any sense. Like, Hey, you can be completely surrendered to God, but you're not perfect. You can have no will but God's will, but you won't be perfect. I don't know within any of those words mean. Henry Varley, an intimate friend of doctor Moody or mister Moody in the earlier days of work, love to tell how he once said to him. It remains to be seen what God will up holy to him.

44:17 Mister Moody said to him, well, I will be that man. So so let me read this again. It remains to be seeing what God will up wholly to him. Mister Moody said, well, I will be that man. That That's that's written very weird. The way I always was taught the quote in Bible College. The way I was always taught the quote in Bible College in a seminary is I'm gonna paraphrase that it remains to be seeing what God can do with a man who is wholly given himself to God. That's that's how I've always heard the quote that that this man said to D. L. Moody, Hey, it's yet to it's yet to be remain seeing what God can do to someone who is fully given himselves to God. And then D. L. Moody famelessly says, I will be that man. I'm gonna be the man who so fully gives himself to God. Then the world will see finally what God can do with a man who has fully given himself to God. That's the way I was always taught it that I think that seems what that's referring to. And I don't know if it's a typo, but it's written very weird. Now, the article continues, I, for my part, do not think it remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up holy to him. I think it has been seen already in D. L. Moody. So it's like, hey, hey, At one point someone says to Moody, Hey, it's it's yet to be seeing what God can do with someone

45:48 who's fully given himself to God. Dal Moody says, I will be that man. Then the writer of this article is like, hey, we no longer have to consider what it looks like what will God do for someone who's fully given themselves to God? Because we've seen it in D. L. Moody. It has happened, ladies and gentlemen in history. We have seen what God will do with someone who has fully given themselves to God. And D. L. Moody is the example. But the answer. But the issue is God could do the same thing today, but you have to fully give yourself to God. What does that mean? To fully give yourself to God? Now see, this had profound impact on me as a young Chris. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna be that man. In fact, I think I could go probably find a notebook somewhere, and all the hundreds and thousands of notebooks I have filled out in my Christian life, and I know that somewhere I had that very quote paraphrase it has yet to be seen what God can do to a man who has fully given him self to God. And I probably then paraphrase it and put, I will be that man. You I've yet to be that man, now. D. L. Moody supposedly was it.

47:07 So all we have to do is fully give ourselves to God. Then we can be used by God. We can do great things for God, and we will know that we're doing great things for God because it's going to be clearly made manifest and all the things that we accomplish. The article continues. If you and I are to be used in our sphere as He was used in his, we must put all that we have and all that we are in the hands of God for him to use us as he will, and to send us where he will, to do whatever he wills, and we, on our part to do everything God bids us to do.

47:52 So all we have to do is so surrender that we will do whatever God tells us to do, go wherever. All our entire life is focusing on serving God. Serving God. That's it. Nothing else matters. Now. This is why, as a young Christian I was greatly focused, almost obsessed in some ways, consumed in some ways with the idea of being a Catholic priest. Right, not so much. This is what kind of drew me to Catholicism was this idea that how you marry yourself to the Church, you your will, you give up the even the pursuit of romantic love, physical intimacy, you give up all of that. Your focus, your intimacy is with Christ, the Church, the liturgy of the hours, prayer, confession, you you're you're, you are constantly, you're you're doing Mass multiple times a day, you're all these things that there. That's a life that's completely surrendered to God. That that's at least what intrigued me by.

49:06 I'm like, well, how does that work in the in the in the in the in the Protestant world, like in the non Catholic world, Because I was like, okay, wait a minute, So we're supposed to give ourselves fully to God, completely to God in the meantime, we're trying to find a girl today, or we're trying to find a wife, and then we're trying to do this, and then we're trying to do this, and we're well, wait a minute, what does that? How does that look like? People who truly give themselves to God? What like? How does that? What does that work? How does that look? There are thousands and tens of thousands in Christian work, brilliant men and women, rarely gifted, who are making great sacrifices, who put all conscious sin out of their lives, yet who nevertheless have stopped short of absolute surrender. Therefore, they have stopped short of fullness of power. I want you to hear that. See what they're calling for here is a surrender that goes beyond any Listen, listen how he's gonna describe these people that there's tens of thousands of them.

50:06 Look how he describes them. But this is not yet full surrender. Are you ready? Right? There are thousands and tens of thousands in Christian work. So they've actually given their life to Christian work. They're doing something. They're brilliant, they're gifted in a rare way. They don't just have normal gifts, they're rarely gifted who are making great sacrifices. They're making great sacrifices. They have put out all conscious sin out of their lives. Every sin that they're conscious of, they have put out of their lives. The only sin that they are committing is unconscious sin. They're not even conscious of it. That's how godly these people. There's tens of thousands of people like this, right. They're brilliant, they're involved in the work for Chrazey, they're gifted in a rare way, they are making great sacrifices, and they have no conscious sin in their lives. Yet they have stopped short of absolute surrender. So even doing all of that is not absolute surrender. I don't know what that absolute surrender is absolute surrender. You can get rid of all conscious sin in your life, be sacrificing, doing work for God, demonstrate great gifts, demonstrate you're brilliant. Yet you're still not absolutely surrendered. So I guess absolute surrendered. I don't know what.

51:39 I don't know that takes it to a whole new level. And therefore, because they're not absolutely surrendered, guess what they have stopped short of the fullness of power. So God's power is available only for those who are absolutely surrendered. Then you get the fullness of power. You may get power, but if you want great power, if you want the fullness of power, you have to be absolutely surrendered. This article never articulates exactly what that means. What does it mean to be absolutely surrendered? What does that look like? Now?

52:25 I've known people when when I first joined the United States Military, and I arrived by greyhound bus in Omaha, Nebraska, in the middle of the summer. My sponsor was waiting for me, because in the military, when you get to your first base, you have a sponsor to help you get all settled because you don't know what in the world's going on, right, So you show up, you got your basically, you got your uniforms in a bag, some other a couple of other things. That's basically all I had with me. I didn't basically I didn't have. I had very little. And then I, you know, get off the greyhound bus and next thing you know, you know, my military career starting. But here's my sponsor. And when I met my sponsor, immediately within minutes, I found out that he was a Christian and I begin to realize his Christianity was far different than all the other Christians I had ever met. He had very strong rules, right, Like, he didn't do anything for entertainment, right he believed entertainment had nothing to do with a life that was dedicated to do for God. He wanted to do great things for God. He wanted to be used by God. So if you went to his house, basically had no furniture.

53:30 All he did was listen to sermons, read his Bible. He was teaching himself other languages so that he could minister to people. That's it. If you invited him over to your house, he would be like, well, I'll come over if we do, like, you know, a Bible study or a devotional or something. So he would come over to eat and then do Bible study, and then as soon as that was over, the second he was gone, he went back home to spend more time listening to Christian radio. There was no entertainment, there was no hobbies, there was nothing his life. He would go to work, but then even during lunch, he would fast during lunch and read his Bible. It was it was like, and I mean, his life was completely consumed and dedicated to God, I wouldn't say again, obviously he was a sinner, just like anyone else would be, because well, you know, I don't I don't believe that you can just get rid of all conscious sin. I think that's ridiculous, that's I don't even agree with that. But if there was anyone who came close to absolute surrender, it would be him.

54:26 But like, was he used by God? I don't know. Did he have some special power that I don't even know where he is anymore? I don't even know where he is. I think he ultimately he got married. So I what does absolute surrender? What does that look? What does that even mean? Absolute surrender? I don't know. Next number two, absolute surrender number two a man of prayer, A man of prayer. Now we don't have time to get into this. What I'm going to do is, I'm gonna just give you all of these really quick. I'm just gonna go through all seven. So, first of all, the reason D. L. Moody right was God used him and he had such great power, it's because he met certain requirements. The first one was he was a fully surrendered man. Number two, he was a man of prayer.

55:36 Number three, he was a deep and practical student of the Bible. Right, so, a man of prayer, A deep and practical student of the Bible. He was a humble man. He was a humble man. So let's go through these again. A fully surrendered man, a man of prayer, a deep he been, practical student of the Bible. He was a humble man. He was to see again, he was a humble man. Did it? Was there another one here? He was a humble man. Okay, then it jumps to page fourteen.

56:22 Hang on, I feel like I'm missing something. Where's number five? All right? So number one a fully surrendered man. Number two a man of prayer. Number three a deep and practical student of the Bible. Right, did I miss one? Here? Page six? Number four? Here they have a humble man. They do not have a number five. They do not have a number five. And then I go to page fourteen for the next part. Oh, here we go, his entire freedom from the love of money. There we go.

57:06 He had no love for money. There was number five. He had no love for money. Number six his consuming passion for salvation of the lost. And number saw seven definitely endued with power from on high. Don't know exactly what that means. So let's go through these again. He was a fully surrendered man. He was a man of prayer. He was a deep and practical student of the Bible. He was number to go to page six, number four. He was a humble man. He was a humble man. Then he was he was free from the love of money.

57:48 He had a consuming passion for salvation of the lost, and then he was definitely endued with power on high. I don't know how number seven is something you do that makes literally no sense, but okay, those are the things he did, and as a result he had power and boom, he was used by God. Now the thing on prayer, I've got down here next to me, the complete works of em Bounds. I used to take this book that I have next to me when I was a teenager and I would walk out of my house kind of walk down was in the middle. We were in the country. We were living between Buffalo Gap and Tuscola, Texas, in the middle of nowhere, and so I would walk kind of out the front door, down the steps, kind of through down the driveway and there was kind of like this just dusty dirt, little drive that would kind of lead to where our house was. I walked down that crossed the road, kind of went down this little ditch, kind of went climbed up this hill, and then I sat on top of this hill which overlooked I mean it was like a big drop fifteen twenty feet drop down to where the railroad tracks were. And I would sit there once the train goes by, whenever it did go by, and I would sit there with the copy of the book The Complete Works of Embounds, and I would sit there and read. And I was a teenager, and guess what I kept saying to myself, Okay, I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. And what does that look like.

59:20 That's going to be like a successful ministry, and it's going to have all these things. And I would sit here and I would read the Works of the Complete Works of Embounds on prayer. And there were sections in that book, great sections where he would talk about these great men of God who were used mightily by God. And guess what they did. They prayed hours and hours a day. That would wake up at three am and pray from three am to seven am. They would pray this time and this time they would pray at night from midnight to two way, and I would be like, okay, if I prayed more and if I do all of these things, and so I had this really like I can be used by God, and so I would try everything that these books would tell me to do. I tried, and I tried, and in many ways from a human perspective, I completely messed everything up, right, because if I would have stayed a Baptist right, I possibly could have got into ministry sooner. I could have got it ordained sooner.

1:00:18 But I just would not go along because I kept asking questions and I kept challenging theology, so that I ended up a Lutheran right. So I ended up a Lutheran. Well, there was there was talks about getting into ministry, but nobody could really tell me exactly how I was going to do so and how I was going to afford because in all these situations, and I had to go off to school somewhere, So I'm like, what am I going to do? So then I joined the ministry the ministry, I joined the military. Next thing you know, I find myself in Germany. Right, So I'm in Germany, and guess what I get confronted over some of my Lutheran beliefs, and I'm like, well, you know, I can't really support infant Baptism. So then I go back to being a Baptist. Okay, So then I end up in the independent Fundamental Baptist Church. Okay, great, Now their idea was, now that you're an independent fundamental Baptist. Okay, what you need to do is get out of the military, show that you're really committed to ministry. So get out of the military, go get two jobs to help support yourself and your family, and then attend our Bible Institute and then you can get in ministry. But you got to if you're ever going to get it. And then what we can do is you can go start a church somewhere. I'm going to go start a church somewhere.

1:01:23 So basically you want me to. And so if you really did that, then you really trusted God, and then God would use you. See, God's not going to use you until you show God you want to be used. And the way you show God you want to be used is by basically sacrificing your career, your job so that you'd show yourself. And so I watched all of these other men get out of the military, and next thing you know, they're barely able to pay their bills. They're working two three jobs, They're at work all the time. They have a hard time even spending any time with God. And I'm like, I don't know. They medical bills, they got this, and I'm like, ah, no, they're working all the time, and I'm like, no, I think I'm going to stay in the military. I think I'm going to stay in the military. Now you can say I had a lack of faith whatever, but guess what, even in that situation, I wouldn't just go along to get along.

1:02:12 I kept questioning and I kept challenging, and boom, next thing you know, I'm having problems there. So then I ended up in another independent film, Baptist Church. I ended up being ordained twice in two different churches. So I'm ordained. I'm going to school. After school, I'm getting I graduate from Bible institutes, I graduate from Bible colleges, I graduate from seminaries. I'm getting every bit of education. Okay, so I'm going to be the best student because I want to be used by God. I want to be used by God, and I kind of rejected their idea that I had to basically put my family into basically, you know, poverty in order to be used by God. Because many of those men who did that, guess what they got out of the military. Guess what, I don't think maybe out of all the men I attended Bible Institute with who got out of the military today, I think only one even made it to ministry. I think none of the others even made it in the ministry, and they only impacted themselves negatively financially. I'm like, I, so they didn't get used by God greatly by doing that. From a human perspective, they may have been used by God in a different way. But okay, so I'm like, ah, so, so then I you know, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna stay in the military. I'm gonna stay the military. You're going to stay in the military. Now. I was supposed to then get out of the military because I was going to become the associate pastor. And guess what I do once again, I can't keep my mouth shut. All I'm supposed to do is preach a little fifteen minute sermon for pastor appreciation night where I'm supposed to say all these wonderful things, but instead I use the opportunity to go off on everyone, like I'm sick of these

1:03:44 little so called pastor appreciation things where we're all gonna get togegether, go downstairs, shove food down our throats, give the pastor a card. If you really want to appreciate your pastor, how about show up to church. How about be their Sunday morning, come back Sunday night, and be there Wednesday. Because this church is a joke. Four hundred of you show up Sunday morning and there's twenty of us on Wednesday night. If you want to show appreciation to your pastor, save the stupid cake and show up to church. And then when you people show up, you don't even show up with a Bible, and then you argue and you disagree all the time. And so I went off on everyone for how they treat the pastor, and well, guess what, the pastor was okay, But then I was told I could not become the associate pastor because I had stirred up too much trouble. So you probably shouldn't get out of the military. I was very close to getting out of the military, but I did not so then I come here, and so then I moved to Texas. I'm like, okay, ministry, ministry, okay, because I want to be used by God. I want to do great things for God. I want to do that.

1:04:42 So then I, well, I end up becoming a pastor. I get the job as a pastor, and then I get on Christian radio once again. I can't keep my mouth shut. So I get kicked off Christian radio because I take off all the Christians because I call out some of the foolishness happening in churches. Well then, okay. Now I'm in a church in the middle of no nowhere. But it starts growing and it starts growing, and it starts growing, and I'm like, Okay, now am I doing great things for God? I don't know. I don't know if I'm doing great things for God. And to be honest, I kind of reached a point and this is my own foolishness where I felt burnt out. I felt like I did. I don't even like the word burnt out. I just felt like, what am I really doing? I'm working, like you know, I'm working. So it's like I was a full time I was a full time pastor, full time in the military and basically a full time podcaster.

1:05:32 I mean I was basically working well over eighty hours a week sometimes, I mean like I was working so many hours a week it was not even funny, barely sleeping, never seeing my family, and it just led to complete and total, like spiritual collapse in my life. Like it was just absolute destruction, foolishness, stupidity, sin, you can label it all the different ways you want, and it was absolutely devastating. Now before really I reached that breaking point, what started to happening as people started leaving the church Even before I reached the breaking point, people started leaving, People started leaving, and people didn't like this about me, and people didn't even though they showed up saying they loved it. And so then I was like, Okay, if I continue this way of ministering the way I think I should minister, I'm losing everyone. So you know what, what's the point. So I got very frustrated, and well, then you know, slowly but surely, you know, I was never able to I was never able to reverse course to go back to growing it, and it only got smaller and smaller and more and more people left because I would not play along with the game. So then I could ask myself, do I want to be used by God? Well? I did? Now I don't know. I don't even know what that means anymore. Do I want to do great things for God? I do want to do great things for God. I don't even know what that means anymore. Now, what does it mean to be used by God? I don't even know if I know what that means anymore, because it sounds like what it means, even though Christians say it's not. The case comes down to how much your church is growing, how many people love you, how many people listen to you, and how

1:07:04 many people financially support you. Because if God really wants your ministry to work, if God is really in your ministry, then the money's going to come in. The numbers are going to be there, and it's going to be it's going to look like a success. If it's failure and nobody is supporting it, then take the hint. God doesn't care about what you're doing. God is not in what you're doing. God is not supporting what you're doing, So then you view it as an Then you just have to give up and realize that God was God wasn't using you in the first place. But then you go look at Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Isaiah. All of their ministries were earthly failures. So then do you take from that? Go, well, then mine, mine is actually the success. The one that the success is the one everyone else deems a failure, And the one everyone else deems a success is actually a f failure. Well you see how self serving that is?

1:07:54 When when when yours seems to be the failure, if you then look at everyone else and say that they're the failure, that's self Obviously I want that theory to be true because, well, then it would prove that what I have done has been right. What does it mean to be used by God? What does it mean to do great things for God? What does it actually mean? Because we're all told that our life is supposed to be dedicated to serving God. Our life, remember, you go to church to be equipped to do the work of ministry.

1:08:35 Everyone has ministry. This is where your focus is supposed to be. Your life is supposed to be dedicated in to serving God. Now for some people, they can say, well, okay, my ministry is raising my family. I do that, okay, great. Others Others are like, no, it's maybe it's it's you have to try to figure out what it is. But I'd not necessarily a fan of this idea that, hey, you could be doing great things for God today. You could, you could be accomplishing wonderful things, and it would be clearly manifest that you're doing these great things for God, that God is using you. But you cannot do that unless you do what D. L. Moody did. Now I'm going to stop. I'm a sixty nine minutes. I don't know if any of that was even helpful. I have no idea. Again, I told you that maybe it's more for me just struggling with these concepts because I've been struggling with these concepts in my whole Christian life about want to be used by God? What does it mean to be used by God? What do I gotta do?

1:09:41 What do I gotta do? What do I gotta do? What do I gotta do? And everyone gives you the list of things you're supposed to do, but there's people who do those supposed things. Well, some of those things you just nobody can do. You're just living in fantasy land. But then there what are they doing? So you're saying that every ministry that gets smaller, every ministry that is not necessarily being supported, and every church that closes down and every podcast that goes off the air because people don't support it and people don't seem to care, that's because God wasn't using them, and it's their fault because they didn't do enough things. I say, I don't know about that. All right, I'll stop there. You can email me news I f Yahu dot com news I Fyahu dot com. I just want you to think today about what it means to be used by God? What does it mean to do great things for God? What does that all look like? And do you even care about any of that? Have you struggled with any of this in your Christian life? And if so, what conclusion did you come to? I will the conclusion I have come to and is just I was never used by God.

1:10:57 I never accomplished great things for God. So from a human perspective, I've simply failed. And maybe spiritually that's the best thing that could ever happen to me, because maybe any success would have just been about me and not about God. I don't know, so then I could argue, then maybe it's my fault. I was never used by God because I didn't have the right mentality for it. Maybe that's the case. I don't how do you process all of that? I don't know news I fit Yahoo dot com. That's news at Yahoo dot com. I know this was not probably a very good episode, and I apologize for that, but it's just me trying to process.

1:11:40 And really, I mean, I've always said one of the things I've said about this podcast is in many cases, this podcast is about me just working out my own salvation, just working out things live on the air, and if you want to listen, great, and if you don't, you don't. So I know this was not a great episode, So please, if you want to criticize, feel free to criticize. You can email me News dot com. But in reality, what I just did is kind of what this podcast is really about. Just a Christian who's a sinner with a microphone trying to figure out the Christian life. And this is just an area of things I've struggled with my entire Christian life, and I still don't have answers the sort of the Lord congratulation. Ninety years of producing that paper ninety years. They have something that they have, something tangible.

1:12:26 They have something that they can say God has used this. They could argue that they have done something great for God. But what does How do we measure anything? I don't know. Thanks for listening everyone, have a great day. God bless