Today we’re going to talk about what it takes to be used by God. I’m excited to teach this word today not because I feel like I’m the most qualified to teach it. I never feel that way; I know for sure I’m not the smartest person in the room. But I’m so excited because today I get to tell you about Jesus. That’s an honor! He’s doing some incredible things in our church.
We’ve got two little girls. Blakely is now two months old and is very healthy. Emily is very healthy; she is the real hero in this story! She got both girls dressed and in class today, then had to take care of one of the girls, then packed everybody and everything back up and took them home. She’s incredible!
I want to talk for just a second about my two-year-old, Ella Jane. Anybody who has raised toddlers knows that sometimes there are some complications that go along with that.
Emily says that Ella Jane is a princess, and that’s true because she loves princess movies right now. She loves Cinderella. She loves Frozen. But sometimes she’s like a princess who just ate a bad apple. Some days she wakes up and wants to fight us on everything, like on what to wear “Ella Jane, you HAVE to wear clothes to school!”), what to eat (she just wants bread and fruit), she fights us on what to watch (Frozen! Frozen! Frozen!).
The other day, we had a battle at breakfast. She was eating her yogurt with fruit, and she had her spoon, and she got excited, and she started flinging her yogurt all over the kitchen with her spoon. She even did that little trick where you flip the spoon and then flick it, and the yogurt starts flying across the room. I thought, “Who taught you that?”
So I tell her to stop, and she does the opposite. She just got even crazier! So then I thought, “I need to take action!” I’m reading a book right now about first-time obedience; so I scooted over and said, “Ella Jaaaaane…No, you need to let it go.” So I started to grab the spoon out of her hand, and that’s when I realized how strong my two-year-old daughter is! I don’t know where she got her grip strength! I couldn’t pull it out of her hand! So I said it again, “Ella Jane? Let it go! Let it Go! Let it GO!” And about the third time I said it, she remembered her favorite movie, Frozen. You can’t make this stuff up. I said, “Ella Jane! Let it GO!” and she looked at me with a smile and sang, “Let it go!” And she sang the two or three lines she knows of the song. So I lost that fight. I lost that battle; I let her have the spoon, thinking “That’s adorably cute, but we do need to figure something out as we move forward.”
As Christians, every single one of us is called to fight for God’s Kingdom every day. We’re called to go to bat for the Lord. In medieval times, a knight would honor the king by going out and battling for new territory, expanding the king’s kingdom. Every day, we honor God by choosing whether or not we’re going to expand his Kingdom, as well. But God’s kingdom isn’t land; He already owns it all. No, the kingdom that we’re fighting for is souls. Are we willing vessels to go fight for lost and hurting people in the world around us?
I want to discuss the type of person God needs us to be so that we can be effective at reaching people.
What type of person does God use?
Matthew 21:1-6 NLT As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said. 5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’” 6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.
What does it take to be used by God? If I were to give this a title, I would call it “God Doesn’t Need Stallions.” The Bible says that someday Jesus is going to return on a white horse, on a stallion, in all of his glory, and He’s going to gather His people and bring us into His eternal home. Until then, he’s still using donkeys—regular people like you and me—to get the job done.
This means that no one is useless when it comes to the kingdom of God. That’s good news for you and for me because, I don’t know about you, but I hate feeling useless.
Have you ever been the third wheel on a date before? No one likes being the third wheel. I don’t wanna be the audience to your chick flick! No dude wants to be the one who holds the flashlight so that the real man can change the tire. You just start to feel useless.
During tornado relief, they called out about ten dudes to haul out three huge oak trees from this lady’s backyard. They said, “Get your tools and be there at 8 a.m.!” I was like, “Yeah. Let’s go.”
So I went into my garage and thought, “Where are my tools? Do I even have tools?” Do I look like a guy who even has tools? I mean, all I could find was my electric mower, some hedge clippers, and an electric trimmer that’s broken. It’s still hanging up in my garage, in case it works again. But I didn’t want to show up empty-handed, so I just brought some manual hedge clippers. You know, those scissors? I didn’t want to show up being the guy that’s totally useless. I didn’t know what everybody else would bring.
And when I got there, I saw eight dudes already there in a circle, showing off all the tools that they brought. The first guy had three industrial chainsaws, and he started cranking one of them up. It was the loudest thing I had ever heard! The next guy backs up a legit tractor from out of his trailer and pulls it up. The next guy goes, “I’ve got an excavator; we’re gonna get to work today.” And then they all looked at me, and they were like, “Tanner, what did you bring?” And I said, “Well, honestly, you don’t even have to worry about it.” They all looked like they were ready for war, while I was about to go plant a little garden! I felt so useless when I showed up!
Maybe you’ve felt this way before with your faith.
You love God, but you don’t know how God could use somebody like you to reach the world around you. You love God, but even if you shared your faith, you wouldn’t know what to say. You love God, but you don’t feel like you have boldness. I want to make it clear that God doesn’t just need stallions of the faith. He’s just looking to use you. He just needs you.
I’m so thankful that the people who came before me understood the need to carry Jesus with them because otherwise, who would have told me of a God who loves me when I feel unlovable? Who would have told me of a God who calls me by name? Who would have told me of a God who wants to give me a second chance? Who would have told me of a God who wants a relationship with me?
If you’re in this room today, it’s because God used somebody to reach you.
Let me tell you, He wants to use you, too! It’s God’s design. It’s the way He operates His Kingdom. Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:20:
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors (“representatives”) as though God were making his appeal through us.
And that’s exactly what God is doing. He’s using regular people like you and like me to reach people. He’s not just using stallions to do it.
There are three things that we can learn from this story about the donkey in order to be used by God—three things that we can learn from a donkey.
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God Uses The Humble
If you want to be used by God, you have to understand that He uses humble people and humble things.
“Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.—Mark 11:2
Notice the underlined part. It’s crazy that that line was put in there. It meant that this donkey had never been trained or qualified, yet Jesus decided to use it anyway. If we’re going to be used by God, he doesn’t require us to have a theology degree. If you’re going to be used by God to reach your friends and family, it’s not required of you to know the ancient Greek or Hebrew. It’s not required of you to rock a sports coat and preach with a nice southern drawl like Pastor Harry.
What is required of us?
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.—Micah 6:8
That’s God’s requirement for us. Just like the donkey was about to walk with Jesus upon its back. I love the humility that this story teaches, that a donkey may not seem as appealing or as qualified as a stallion, but boy did it serve a special purpose that day. It’s the same purpose God needs from us today!
If you ever travel to a third-world country you’ll see donkeys all over the place and they’re always holding massive loads of whatever you could imagine—wardrobes, closets, shops, people’s entire belongings! In third-world countries you don’t rent a U-Haul. You rent a donkey, and that’s what they do all day long, just carry weight. Carry a burden.
I think it’s time we have more people who humbly carry a burden for the widows in our city. I think it’s time we have more people who humbly carry a burden for the lost in our city. I think it’s time we have more people who humbly carry a burden for prayer in our church.
Understand the difference between carrying a burden and having a passion. Having a passion is like, “Man, I can’t wait to go do this!” But a burden is you taking on the responsibility of something, even though you may not feel comfortable doing it. That’s what this donkey was doing; it was taking something on its back, even though it had never been ridden before.
We’re all called to humbly carry Jesus. The problem is too many people want to be like stallions. Stallions look good, go fast, and honestly get all the credit, but they’re not very useful to their Master. You see, stallions are hardly ever ridden because stallions don’t like to be tamed; they’re not humble enough to carry the burden of being teachable, of putting something on its back. If we’re going to be used by God again, it’s not because we’re the most qualified person, but because we’re humble, ready to take God with us. God just needs us to be humble.
One time, Emily and I went horseback riding with some friends at this ranch. They told us to all get in line and they were going to assign us a horse based off our height and stature, which seemed like it could get really offensive really quickly for a lot of people. Me emily and my friends wife all got these beautiful horses. And the last person who was assigned a horse was my friend. Now, my friend, he’s not a tall guy, and he’s not very thin. When the rancher looked at him she said, “go get ginger snap from outback.” Out walked the shortest, plumpiest, little pony-looking horse thing I’ve ever seen. Not to mention, Ginger had intestinal issues…all the way down the trail!
My friend said, “Great, my spirit animal is Ginger Snap. Short, fat, and gassy.”
Here’s what happened: Our horses didn’t really like to be ridden, and they wanted to throw us off the whole time. Ginger Snap, on the other hand, knew why he existed: to carry. And Ginger snap knew, “If I do this effectively, he’ll give me some biscuits!”
So many of us want to be like stallions, racing to the top, getting the credit, getting promoted, making a name for ourselves, and achieving a higher position. Obviously, as a church, we teach the importance of work ethic, but in this story, the donkey understood that the highest position it would ever serve would be to serve Christ. More people need to carry that weight with them. That’s why Jesus taught us this:
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”—Mark 9:35
We have to understand that when it comes to the kingdom of God, success is not defined by how many people you can get serving you. Success is defined by how many people you can serve. God uses humble people.
If We Carry Jesus, He’ll Do the Heavy Lifting.
The donkey was willing to carry Jesus on its back, but Jesus, in return, was about to carry the sins of the world on his back. That’s what happens when we’re willing! Moses was willing to raise his staff, but it was God who split the Red Sea once Moses raised it. David was willing to release that stone, but it was God who guided that stone at the giant’s head once David released it. Paul was willing to preach the gospel, but it was God who gave his sermon power when he preached it. If we’re just willing to carry Jesus, if we’re just willing to shine our light, there’s no telling what He would do with it!
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”—Matthew 5:14
This is why we built this church with the chapel up front, so that, not just on Sunday, but every night of the week, it would be lit up with people seeking God inside. That’s a step in the right direction, but that isn’t truly enough! This scripture doesn’t say you’re just a light in the church! No, we are the light of the world, because our world needs light!
Have you ever gotten up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and you chose not to turn the light on? Because you couldn’t see, you failed to navigate the corner of the bed, and you stubbed your pinky toe…not your big toe. The little one woke up the whole neighborhood! The problem was that you wanted to negotiate without the light. We live in a world where everyone wants to negotiate without the light. Darkness just seems to be more and more normal, and there’s not as much light out there.
The other day I was at Chipotle with a student, and we just prayed over the meal. After I prayed, I looked over and this old lady, with a tear in her eye, gave us a thumbs up. Fifteen years ago, that wouldn’t have made someone cry, but now you just see more darkness than you do light. After all, nobody is hiding their shame anymore! At least shame used to be done and kept in secret, but now shameful things are put out there on display for all to see. And if nobody is ashamed anymore about their shame, then Christians better not be ashamed to carry Jesus with them wherever they go!
I’m not angry! I’m just convicted! I think about the people I pass up who don’t know Jesus, who could use a little bit of light. I’m not acing this like I should. Listen, we are the light of the world. Our Christianity should be visible. Carry Jesus with you because if you carry Jesus, He’ll do the heavy lifting.
On Easter Sunday of this year, Emily and I were on our way to Conway, but I needed to fill up the gas tank first. I met a guy at the gas station, and we made awkward eye contact. So I said “hello.” He ended up being cool. He gave me a punch card to his restaurant…in Seattle. When am I going to go to Seattle? Could you imagine, in 15 years I finally go there and I pull the punch card out of my wallet, “I’ve been waiting for this moment!” I pray in 15 years I’m gonna be able to afford my lunch, ya know? So I just prayed, “Lord show me what to do with this.”
A week later, a guy came to church who isn’t active in church. We got to talking, and he said he was traveling through and lives in Seattle. You just carry Jesus with you, and He’ll do the heavy lifting.
You may say, “But Tanner, I’m not a pastor – I’m not qualified!” Remember this verse:
We are Christ’s representatives.—2 Corinthians 5:20, MSG
That means, wherever it is that you’re qualified to go, and whatever it is that you are qualified to do, all you have to do is represent Christ while you’re doing it. We are all representatives of Christ! And if we just took Him with us to a hurting and dying world, there’s no telling what He can do with just a simple step of obedience! Will you take Him with you? Because if you do, He’ll do the heavy lifting!
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God Will Untie You So He Can Use You.
Jesus couldn’t use that donkey until it was untied. So he told his disciples, “When you get to the donkey, untie it! Because as long as it was tied to something, as long as it was tied to that post, all it could do was walk in circles, round and round until it got all tangled up.
Think about it, as long as the donkey was tied up, its scenery never changed. Just like when we’re tied, our scenery never changes, either. When we’re tied up, things stay the same. When you’re tied to guilt and shame, all you see is guilt everywhere you look. When you’re tied to fear, all you see is another reason to get anxiety everywhere you look. When you’re tied to a substance, that’s all you see—the next holiday, the next event, the next reason to use. But when JESUS unties you, He’ll take you to places you’ve never seen before. And you begin to carry Him with you. He’ll take you to places you’ve never been. You’ll see a whole new world, a whole new life. You’ll realize, “I was thinking so small. God really can use me. I was just tied up!” If you would just get loose and let Jesus lead you, then Jesus would change the road you’re walking on.
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.—Psalm 32:8
God has a great path for your life, a better one than you’re walking on right now. He will show you how to walk down it and protect you as you go. I’m so thankful that God is my protector. Even though God has untied me from a lot, there are still things the enemy tries to tie me to weekly.
On Tuesday of this week, anxiety tried to tie itself to me. I woke up feeling it trying to tie itself to my chest. I could feel it creeping into my chest, taking my joy away, distracting me. What I’ve learned is that if anxiety can make me shut up, then it’ll keep me tied up. But it’s honesty that always breaks me free.
Around that time on Tuesday, Harry came walking by. He’s typically the source of my anxiety, and he asked me, “Are you Ok, Tanner?” I responded, “Yeah, I’m alright.” But he could see through that, and in a 5-10 minute conversation, as he brought up Scripture and encouraged me, God used him to untie me and get me back on my mission.
Listen. It’s time we get untied from fear. It’s time we get untied from anger. It’s time we get untied from doubt.bIt’s time we get untied from addiction.bIt’s time we get untied from pride. It doesn’t take a stallion to be used by God. There’s a road that He has for you that He wants you to walk down. All it takes is for us to be humble enough. He’s just looking for people who are ready to be untied so that they can take on the responsibility of carrying Jesus with them.
Are you going to be humble enough to let him untie you?