"THE MAN GOD SEEKS"
Intro: The sins of the nation enumerated in this chapter. Ripe for judgment - yet God would save.
I. "I SOUGHT FOR A MAN AMONG THEM."
A. God has chosen to use human instruments to do His work.
1. Why?
2. As an instrument I get to share in the rewards of accomplishments.
B. Sometimes God has difficulty finding a usable instrument.
1. Look at the arguments Moses put up.
2. Jonah.
C. God does not always seek qualified men.
1. David a shepherd - called to be King.
2. Amos a prune picker (Sycamore fruit) - called as a prophet.
D. God does qualify the man for the task.
II. THE MAN GOD SEEKS.
A. He must be a man of faith.
1. Little confidence in self.
2. Great confidence in God.
3. You will be facing impossible odds.
4. You will encounter impossible situations.
5. As Paul said, "If God be for us..."
6. God needed a man to "fill up the hedge, to stand in the gap."
a. The tide of evil was engulfing these people.
B. He must be a man not seeking self glory.
1. Inherent danger of being used by God.
a. People seek to glorify the vessel.
b. "God forbid that I should glory..."
c. Paul speaks of ministry gifts in
Rom. 12.
2. So many of God's instruments have had to be discarded for this reason - pride.
3. A man who has come to the cross & reckoned himself dead.
C. He must be a man of the Word.
1. How can I prepare myself for service?
2. We must understand God's purposes.
3. The ignorance of God's Word is appalling.
4. We are going to be assailed by false doctrines.
a. Some of them will sound so right.
b. They will back them up with scripture.
D. He must be a man of prayer.
1. Communication with headquarters is vital.
2. Like soldiers in the field.
a. We seek the advise of headquarters.
b. They have advantage of cumulative reports from other units & recon.
c. God looking down on scene of man, and knows where & how we can be most effective.
E. He must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
1. God's love must flow from his life.
2. God isn't interested in just getting the job done.
a. Because you are accomplishing a task isn't enough.
b. What kind of image of God are you projecting?
c. Do you serve with resentment or bitterness - For God's sake resign now.
3. If I have not love, all these things are less than nothing because God is being defamed because of me.
III. "BUT HE FOUND NONE."
A. What a tragedy.
1. When God has a need for men to serve but can find none.
2. Tasks go undone.