DARE TO BE YOURSELF FOR GOD

David was a shepherd boy when Saul was the King of Israel. 

David loved God with all his heart but Saul was insecure about himself and about his faith in God.

• The Israelites wanted to have a king like the other nations. When they demanded a king, God was not happy but God gave them what they wanted. 

• The Israelites demanded a king because they were unsure of their faith in God and insecure about their God given identity.

• We often put preachers on a pedestal for the same reason.

• When God gave them Saul to be their king, Saul was anointed and his leadership was blessed in the beginning but in the end he too was insecure about his identity and so he became a tyrant.

• The same thing can happen when you put a preacher on a pedestal instead of putting your full trust in God and daring to become who God designed you to be.

Be careful what you desire and believe for. 

God might answer your urgent prayers but the thing you pray for might not be a blessing in the end. 

• Consider your motives. It can be dangerous to want to be like other people and to have what other people have.

God wants to give you His best but He does not want you to be like other people.

• He wants you to be YOU because He designed you to be you, just as He made David to be David.

When David decided to do battle with Goliath, King Saul offered to give David his own armour but it did not fit. David went to fight Goliath without armour, armed only with a sling and a few stones.

If God has called you to preach the gospel, don’t start competing with other people for the pulpit of your church. 

If God has called you, God will give you a pulpit. Jesus often preached in private homes, on hillsides or in fishing boats. 

Be like Jesus. Don’t play politics with church leaders to become one of them. 

• Go where God leads you and say what God gives you to say.
• When we read the Gospels, we see a lot of the teaching of Jesus was in the context of personal interaction with people along the way. 
• If we anxiously strive for promotion in church, we may miss a lot of these opportunities.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) 

• The world is tired of preachers who copy other preachers. 

• The world is tired of Christians who play church to get promotion to a pulpit.

Be different. Be yourself. You are unique.

(Jesus) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Mark 16:15 (NIV)

How can you go into all the world for Jesus if you are busy in church trying to be promoted in ministry? 

What if you are not gifted to be a preacher?

You might be a good musician. 

God might want to use you to play at the front on Sundays, or He might want you to play somewhere else instead. 

There are so many elderly people in institutions who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

They might not want to listen to Billy Graham but they will listen to beautiful Christian songs. 

There are so many older people just waiting to die without any hope. A few songs and a few words from you can restore the faith to many who have lost hope.

What if you are a gardener or a handyman. (I am not.) 

Deeds often speak louder than words. Simple kindness and practical help bring many to faith.

Has God given you a nice house or apartment? Do you like entertaining guests? 

You could invite a few Christian friends and not yet Christians to meet each other. Pray that God will reveal Jesus through your hospitality and your Christian friends.

Do you like cooking? 

My wife met a lonely older woman on a bus. The woman lived alone and was troubled by poor health. My wife made a pot of soup and took it to this lady’s home.