Let’s continue from where we left off on ‘Position yourself to be used.’ In the last lesson, I began to talk about God’s pruning of His people. I said that one major tool God uses in pruning His people is His Word. I read to you then from 2 Timothy 3:16–17, and I think I should read it again. It says:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV)
Can you see that? God wants His servants to be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And so He prunes them with His Word. Here we are told that God’s Word is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. If we, then, want to be pruned by God, we must give ourselves to His Word.
We have all kinds of Scriptures, as I pointed out in the last lesson, that instruct us to have ourselves cleansed so that God can use us for any kind of good work. That is because, even though we are God’s children, we may not be fit for certain good works, since we may have a lot of impurities in our lives.
Let me read to you from Titus 1, a statement that is a little troubling. From verse 15:
“They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (NIV)
Can you see that? We are talking here about people who claim to know God, not those who do not believe in Him. Yet by their actions they deny Him. In other words, there are things they are doing that do not show that they know God. If we know God, there are certain things we will not get involved in. Our knowledge of God and our fear of Him will keep us away from those things. If we continually give ourselves to doing them, then something is wrong. That is the point.
So Paul says to Titus that such individuals are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good, that is, for the kinds of good works God wants His people to do. If we, then, do not want to be such individuals, we must allow God to cleanse us with His Word. God is not going to pressure us to take His Word seriously. We are the ones who, of our own volition, must take His Word seriously: by reading it, studying it, meditating on it and giving ourselves to hearing it taught. As we do this, we are cleansed by God. He is the one who takes His Word and uses it to cleanse us. Our task is to yield ourselves to receiving His Word. Keep that in mind.
God also uses circumstances
Of course, it is not only the Word of God that He uses in cleansing and purifying His people so that they can be fit for any kind of good work. He also sometimes uses circumstances to separate His people from the things that limit them. These may be activities or individuals present in our lives who are preventing us from doing what God wants us to do. And God knows these things.
As I said in our last lesson, we cannot always place our fingers on the things that prevent God from using us the way He wants. Some things are obvious. Unless we want to deny the truth, we know they are wrong and that we need to let go of them: hypocrisy, insincerity, lust, greed, pride. Where these are obvious, we should allow the Spirit of God to cleanse us and rid us of them.
But some things may not be obvious. We may be in relationships that are limiting God in our lives. They may be good relationships, even Christian relationships, yet in one way or another God is unable, through them, to use us for what He wants. He may have to separate us from those relationships, not to destroy us, but to make room to use us the way He wants. Likewise, there may be activities we are involved in that are not bad in themselves. Yet they prevent God from using us as He wants. God can open our eyes to see these things. And when He does, it is right for us to take steps to separate ourselves from them.
In Hebrews 12:1–2, we are told to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, so that we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us. But we must keep in mind that there is nothing God tells us to do that we can do by ourselves. He has to energize us to do it. But at least we must accept that anything wrong in our lives is something for us to deal with. When we accept that what God is telling us to deal with is something we must deal with, we can rely on Him for the enablement to deal with it.
Well, there are weights that we must throw off and sins that we must deal with. When somebody is running, he cannot be as fast as he should if he is carrying a weight. He must let go of the weight if he wants to run well. I will not dwell on that, because we can all relate to it. But there is a distinction between weights and sins. The Word of God speaks of the sin that so easily entangles. These are obvious sins that entangle us, and God expects us to deal with them by relying on the presence of His Spirit in our lives.
Then there are weights: loads and burdens that God has not placed on us but that we are carrying. They may prevent us from running the race He has marked out and from doing the good works He has marked out for us. If we know them, we are obligated to deal with them. But what if we do not know them?
See, we may not consider certain relationships limiting because they are fine relationships, not corrupt ones. Family relationships are legitimate. Our job relationships are legitimate, as long as what we are doing in that workplace is righteous and not dubious. Our relationships with neighbours can also be legitimate, as long as they are not corrupt. Yet some of these relationships may be preventing God from using us the way He wants.
Now God may not be able to show us how limiting these relationships are through visions, dreams or prophetic instructions. In fact, if He shows us some things about them, we may not accept them; we may think they are coming from the devil. So what does God do? He brings about circumstances that force us to disengage from such relationships or to examine them again and see whether they are profitable or to put some boundaries in place in handling them. Where that is the situation, it is wise to act accordingly and not to force ourselves to keep doing with those people, or in those situations, the things we have been doing. That way, God will be able to use us the way He wants.
Abraham, Lot and Ishmael
Let me give you examples from Scripture. Though they may not be entirely fitting, they are related to what I am talking about. First, the case of Abraham and Lot. This has nothing to do with what God wanted to use either of them for. But when God called Abraham, He called him alone. He did not ask him to take Lot along. It was only natural for Abraham to take Lot, because Lot had lost his own father, who was Abraham’s brother. So, Lot was his nephew, and he was willing to follow him. But the promises God made were to Abraham and his descendants, not to Abraham and Lot. So at some point, Abraham and Lot would have to go their separate ways. (Cf. Genesis 11:27-31 & 12:4-6)
God also had plans for Lot. Scripture says clearly that Lot was a righteous man who feared God. So, as we see in the bible, when the children of Israel were going into the Promised Land, God told them not to provoke the descendants of Lot or take their land. He said, in effect, “I will not give you even a foot of their land, because I have given those places to the descendants of Lot.” So God cared about Lot, and He had plans for Lot and his descendants. But those plans did not include sharing the land of promise with Abraham and his descendants. (Cf. Genesis 2:19-21)
The same thing applies to Ishmael. Ishmael was Abraham’s direct son. Yet at some point God told Abraham to let the boy go. It was actually Sarah who wanted Ishmael and his mother out of the house. She said that the son of the slave woman would not share in the inheritance with her son. That bothered Abraham, but God said it was the right thing to do. God told him, “Ishmael is your son, and because he is your son, I will make him great too. But the plans I have for him do not include the land I have promised to you and your descendants.” That means Ishmael was not to expect anything in the Promised Land. (Cf. Genesis 21:8-13)
Coming back to Abraham and Lot in Genesis 13: both had been travelling together, and both were rich. At some point, however, the land could no longer sustain them. So, there were frequent quarrels between Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. Abraham could have insisted that they continue to live together. But he could see that their circumstances would not permit it. So he called Lot and said, in effect, “We are brothers; we should not fight over this matter. The whole land is before you. Choose any part you want. If you go north, I will go south; if you go east, I will go west.” Lot, then, chose to settle near Sodom and Gomorrah, while Abraham lived in the land of Canaan. God used that situation to separate the two of them, so that He could focus on dealing with Abraham and fulfilling His promises to him.
So there are times when God uses circumstances to separate us from some people and some activities. And it is not right to force ourselves to stay where we are not meant to stay. When something is obvious, just deal with it. Do not force yourself to maintain a relationship that is no longer suitable for you. You do not have to live with certain individuals or work with certain individuals or in certain places, if it is no longer suitable and the circumstances are showing you so. If it is obvious that you are no longer supposed to be doing certain works or involved in certain activities, do not force yourself to be involved in doing them. Otherwise, they may end up ruining you or preventing you from doing what God wants and being the person He wants you to be.
Paul, Barnabas and Mark
I will give another example, an unusual one, though it is also related: Paul and Barnabas. They started out as friends and partners in ministry. In Acts 11, it was Barnabas who went to get Paul and brought him to Antioch, where both began to teach the Word of God. And God gave them tremendous results. Then, in Acts 13, God, through a prophetic instruction, spoke to the leadership of the church in Antioch to release the two of them for the work He had assigned to them. So, they went out on their first missionary journey, preaching in various places. And God blessed their work.
Now somebody went along with them, John Mark, to serve as their assistant. But at some point Mark left them. Let me read from Acts 13, verse 4:
“The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.” (Acts 13:4-5NIV)
The John mentioned here was the writer of Mark’s Gospel. Then, in verse 13 of the same chapter, we are told:
“From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.” (NIV)
Now we are not told what occasioned his leaving. It might seem he was sent on an errand or that necessity required him to go to Jerusalem. If this were all we had, we would not appreciate how serious it was. Well, they came back to their people in Antioch after the first journey, and everybody was glad to have them back and hear their report. Then, from verse 36 of Acts 15, we have this:
“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.” (Acts 15:36-38NIV)
Look at that. These apostles wanted to go out on another missionary journey again to follow up those that they had previously ministered to. This, I believe, is where we get the idea of ‘Follow up’ in the church. But to say the fact, we see the same idea of following up the brethren communicated all through the book of Acts of the Apostles. That means the preachers of that time would not abandon the brethren but kept on following them up to see how they were doing in the faith. So, they were visiting them. They were writing letters to them. They also were sending people to them, just to see that they remain in the faith.
In Acts 13 we get the idea that Mark went back to Jerusalem. But the idea that he deserted them is communicated here. We will not know why he deserted them. But he did so because he was no longer pleased to work with them. It was not that they did not want him or that there was no work for him to do. He simply did not want to be with them anymore. That is why Paul did not want to take him along again.
This is something we need to pay attention to. As I said in one of the previous lessons, it is not enough that you may make yourself available to work with a leader; it is also important that you follow up that decisions through with integrity and consistency. If you do not want to work with a leader, you need not. But if you choose to work with a leader, then, stay with them, as long as they are working in the will of God. Do not give the impression that you are available, and the leader puts so much trust in you, only for you to disappoint them. They give you assignments and you mess them up. They commit to you things they were doing well before and then those things begin to fail in your hands. That is not commendable. It may change their minds about you. And once a leader has concluded that you are not fit to work with him, it may take a while to change his mind.
Well, because of what Mark did, Paul did not want to take him again. But Barnabas argued for him, partly because Mark was his relative. Look at verses 39–40 of Acts 15:
“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.” (NIV)
From this point, the ministry of the two together ended. They had gone out the first time not just because they liked each other and wanted to preach together, but also because the Spirit of God had clearly spoken to the leaders of the church in Antioch that the task was for both of them.
But on this occasion, it came to Paul that they should go back and follow up on the brethren they had first ministered to. And since both went the first time, it was natural for him to want Barnabas to go with him again. But evidently, that is not what God wanted. It may not have looked so at first. But as events unfolded, it became clear that God would have them go their separate ways. What happened may be considered by some of us as something small, even trivial, something that should not have separated them. But eventually it did.
Paul insisted that they should not take Mark because he had deserted them. Barnabas insisted that they should take Mark because he believed Mark could change. And besides the fact that Mark was his relative, Barnabas believed in people. He believed in Paul when nobody else did. He was the one sent to the church in Antioch when it was just starting. And the brethren who began that church were not recognised as apostles or teachers; their names are not even given in the Bible. Yet when Barnabas saw what the grace of God was doing among them, he encouraged them. That was because he was a good man.
So Barnabas was an encourager. He was someone that would believe in people when no one else would believe in them. He had spiritual insight to see what God could do with lives that, even if, at the moment, their lives may appear useless. And interestingly, later, writing to Timothy, Paul would ask him to bring Mark, because Mark was useful to him in ministry. (Cf. 2 Timothy 4:11)
But in that hour they quarrelled and went their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and went to strengthen the churches. And the text shows us that the church commended Paul, which means the church agreed that the two should go their separate ways.
Why did the church not make a rule that they must go on the journey together with Mark or that they must not go with Mark? It was because the Spirit of God was involved. Paul had his own ministry and Barnabas had his. Both had to work together for a time, probably to prepare Paul for what God would use him for later. But then it was time to part, they parted.
Now I am saying that there are times we may have to be separated from some good people in our lives, so that God can use us for the things He plans for us. This does not mean Paul and Barnabas became enemies. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Barnabas with respect, though Barnabas was not with him when he preached in Corinth. So I am not talking about becoming enemies of good people. Rather, I am talking about a situation in which temporarily, or for a while, God separates us from some people or stops us from doing certain things together, so that He may use us for the good works He has always planned for us. What is happening there is pruning.
So, in pruning His people, God sometimes uses circumstances of life. And where that is the case we need to pay attention. Where things are going in a direction we do not want, we may want to talk to God about them. Suppose there is a quarrel between you and someone you have been close to, someone you have done many beautiful things with, and you cannot understand why such circumstances should cause a quarrel. What should you do? Go and pray.
Perhaps you said something that should not have made the person angry, and now the person no longer wants to do anything with you. Pray about such situations. Do not fight it. Do not try to impose yourself or insist on maintaining fellowship in the manner you have always had it. Pray to God. It may just be that God wants you, for a while, to go your separate ways so that you can accomplish certain things in both your lives.
I hope you can relate to this. My prayer is that the Spirit of God will give you a clear understanding of what I am talking about, so that you may see where it is applicable in your life, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wish you all the very best. God bless you.
Summary
God prunes and cleanses His people so that they are fit for every good work. His primary tool is His Word, which teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16–17), and we must yield ourselves to it. Some hindrances are obvious sins, which the Spirit helps us deal with. Others are hidden weights, such as good relationships or harmless activities that limit what God can do through us (Hebrews 12:1–2). Because we may not accept such truths when He shows them, God sometimes uses circumstances to separate us from people or activities, as with Abraham and Lot, Abraham and Ishmael, and Paul and Barnabas. Such separation is not enmity; it is pruning for each person’s own ministry. We should pray rather than fight the situation, and we should be faithful and consistent when we choose to serve a leader, as Mark’s early desertion shows.
Message questions
Position Yourself to Be Used(8)
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