Who Is The Man GOD Can Use?

Efraim M. Tendero

Who is the man GOD can use?

The Apostle Paul lived a focused, dedicated and hardworking life as Christ’s
servant. Toward the end of his life, Paul challenged Timothy, his son in the faith,
to embody the qualities that personified faithful and effective service to the
Master (2Tim 2: 4-6)

The dedication of a soldier. “No soldier in service gets involved in civilian affairs –
he wants to please his commanding officer” (v.4). As soldiers, we need to give our
leader our undivided devotion.

 The first character Paul used he related directly with enduring hardship.
The verb “entangled” is used literally of a sheep or a hare being caught in
the thorns. Jesus parable of the sower and the seed makes the same point
with the seed that falls among the thorns; that man who becomes
consumed with the worries of life and the pursuit of money becomes
unfruitful in ministry. Paul’s concern for Timothy was that something
“might stand in the way of his readiness to obey” the One enlisting his
service.
 Paul was not telling Timothy that as a minister, he must abstain from civil
affairs and business affairs and even from marrying. The Apostle Peter was
married (1Corinthians 9:5), and Paul claimed his Roman citizenship several
times and worked leather with Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth. Instead, as
soldiers of Christ, all Christians should be wary of holding too tightly to the
temporal things this world has to offer.
Temporal things – pertaining to or concerned with the present life or this
world; temporal joys.

How is your relationship with GOD?

The discipline of an athlete. “Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does
not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules” (v.5)
Athletes are known for their self-control and endurance, which speak of
discipline. Paul said, “…I buffet (pound, batter) my body and make it my slave, less
possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified”
(1Corinthians 9: 27 NASB).

 “Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat.” This applies directly to
those who would compete in the Olympian and Isthmian games in the city
of Corinth in Greece. Paul reminded Timothy that competitors must
prepare according to the rules of the competition if they intend to win the
crown. For the Grecian games, athletes subjected themselves to 10 months
of rigorous training and diet. According to John MacArthur Jr. contestants
would have to swear before a statue of Zeus that they fulfilled the training
requirement to compete.
 Paul was not telling Timothy that he had to have seminary training before
he can preach the gospel. Instead, Paul was instructing Timothy that the
Christian life requires discipline if one intends to receive heavenly rewards.
“There must be discipline and sacrifice as well as energy.” To be
accomplished in any field, those three elements must be present; to leave
out any one will render one’s efforts useless by comparison. In evangelism,
for example, the Christian must have the safety at times to reach out to the
lost sinner. He must also have the energy to persist in his task despite
rejection and failure.

To be disciplined, we need to set our standards, basic of which is the Ten

Commandments.
Wherever we are, the laws of GOD should govern our life, our walk with GOD and
our relationship with people.
We also need accountability relationship to help us stay in the race. Majority
Christian leaders who fell into sin admit that part of the cause for their fall was
their lack of accountability. It’s important to give certain individuals license to ask
and confront us about our walk with GOD, our financial integrity, our moral
uprightness, our relationship with our wife, etc.

The diligence of the farmer. “The hardworking farmer should be the first to
receive a share of the crops” (v.6). To have good crop, we need hard work.

 “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life” (Genesis 3: 17). The farmer has no easy task.
Drought or flood may destroy his crop; burrowing animals and birds may
steal some of his fruit away; pestilence may infect his produce. Not only
does nature work against him, but his task is also very time consuming:
tilling then planting, then fertilizing, then watering, and then harvesting.
This is especially so for the farmers in Paul’s time. Those who were
hardworking ought to receive from the first of the crop.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary (s comes
before w). In all other areas, we need to work hard. Leaders need to struggle in
prayer, resist temptation, and practice spiritual disciplines in order to experience
good results in their lives.

 What parallel is Paul is trying to draw here for Timothy? “It was to remind
Timothy that labour precede rewards. That if a man would reap, he must
sow.” But the emphasis is not labouring first but “the assurance that GOD is
not unmindful, and that appropriate reward will be given, both in this life
and the next” to those who labour long and hard for the cause of Christ
Jesus.
  The farmer is a model for all believers today because of his intense labour
day after day. Though the farmer’s reward is uncertain, the Christian’s
reward is sure if he will sow bountifully.

If you want to be a man GOD can use, you need to possess these qualities:

1. Devotion to GOD will energize your service and keep you focused.
2. Spiritual discipline will keep you qualified and credible to serve.
3. Diligence in GOD’s work will enable you to see fruit in your service.

As the Apostle Paul encourages us, “Run in such a way as to get the prize”
(1Corinthian 9: 24b)