5/28/2018 – Repurposed – Pastor Steve Blayer

Repurposed

When we give our lives over to God, He takes everything which has happened in our lives and makes it useful. While we are re-made into His image, He always uses the existing “materials,” making all things work together for our good!

Repurposed “junk” (Upcycling) (5 slides)

Since God rested on the 7th day, He has never again created anything out of nothing. He always works with existing materials – both in nature, AND in our lives. He uses whatever we have to offer and makes something beautiful — even from what we might consider “ashes.”

1 Cor 15:3-10 …by the grace of God I am what I am

Often, the very issue we think should disqualify us from being powerfully used by God is the very thing which God sees as our greatest asset. When we offer ourselves completely to Him, we discover that our weaknesses are our strengths

Ø  Peter and John– foul mouthed fishermen preaching to the most educated Jews

Ø  Israel herself   Deut 7:7  “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

Ø  All of us!   1 Corinthians 1:26  For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

What is your “because I…?” Ask:– how can He take that “weakness” and make it a strength to you? A ministry to others?

2 Cor 1:3-4  Blessed be the…God of all comfort [paraklesis]… 

For God to redeem those areas of brokenness and weakness, we first must receive from Him the “comfort” He provides through Grace – we can “receive the grace of God in vain” if we continually reject it , opting to live based on what we could accomplish without Jesus.

The comfort of Grace may come in the form of: forgiveness, a deep inner prompting to do something we feel “unqualified” to do, inner healing, a renewed perspective on our life story

Barnabus [son of comfort]– expert at spotting junk and repurposing it! (Saul, John Mark)

Acts 11:25  And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul    Key turning point in church history

Acts 15:37  Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. 

Once we have become repurposed, our purpose is to find others in need of being repurposed, and help them find their purpose in Christ