- Meet for and meet, A.V. And in this moment of distress and clarity, Jesus tells us, the younger son "came to himself." In other words, there in the mud, the son received the gift of humility, which allowed him to view his situation with new eyes and new possibilities. healed. Then, He uses fallible people because they are inclined to depend on Him. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and, the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. *** When God Calls, He also equips! And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he . . and how his troubles and persecutions did redound to the praise of God's power, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Letters: 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in clay (2 Cor. Our flaws and weaknesses may seem like hindrances, but in the hands of a loving and all-knowing God, they can become opportunities for growth and transformation. Though Christians are not perfect, we can be humble and obedient, and when willing to do Gods will, He can and will work through us as conduits of truth, grace, and love. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Peter wasn't always bold, but he was always impulsive and often acted before thinking. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. - Glory of the ministry in the midst of its weakness and suffering, Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural. Or would he receive you kindly? says the Lord of hosts. About this Plan. But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they Gods Word is still lifes perfect blueprint, even when we fall short. the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. supereminence; adverbially pre- eminently. So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. SESSION 1 A FRESH START The Point We fail; Jesus restores. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7) Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Abraham was called into a special relationship with God (Gen 12:1-3), but twice lied and jeopardized the safety of his wife, Sarah (Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-11). 19 Bible Verses about Imperfection, And God's Purposes Genesis 1:31 Verse Concepts God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. If she isnt spending time with her friends, family, and her dog named Toby, she is writing a new thought found during times spent with God. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. Father, I ask that you use my weaknesses for your glory. When we are willing to surrender our imperfections to God, He can use them to bring about good in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Its not about our ability, Its about our availability! For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. Here are two takeaways from the life of Peter: . to have a repentant heart as But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very. the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Sure, but thats okay as long as we dont stop seeking Him. Apart from the Lord Jesus, there are no perfect people in this world. God Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold. I think theres merit to the Latin phrase, simul iustus et peccator, which translated means we are simultaneously just and sinners. I pray we are inspired by these Biblical examples of imperfect people God used, i.e. The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Another example can be found in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (NKJV), which says: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the [base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.. another. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. If I regard wickedness in my heart,The Lord will not hear; Thus says the Lord,Where is the certificate of divorceBy which I have sent your mother away?Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. has now And the earthenware vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. The six-week study begins June 22, 2020. Romans 8:28, KJV And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. All humanity, even the saved, are not perfectly righteous in character and conduct, nor ever will be in this life, for there is no one who does not sin (1 Ki 8:46), and there is not a righteous person on earth who continually does good and who never sins (Eccl 7:20; cf. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.". F Afterward, God recommissioned His prophet to return to Israel and appoint his successor (1 Ki 19:15-21). Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. We are justified in the sight of God because Christ has borne our sin on the cross (Mark 10:45), judicially forgiven us all our sins (Eph 1:7; Heb 10:10-14), gifted us with His own righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and eternal life (John 10:28). And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? These verses emphasize that God often chooses to work through those who are weak and despised in the eyes of the world in order to show His power and bring glory to Himself. In my Father's house are many rooms. God cannot use me Think God cant use you? I pray our answer will always be YES!!! The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. Dear Jesus, help me to see Im Your vessel for impacting the world around me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for He's talking about that in-between state where we, as believers, reside. To the choirmaster. Ive found myself thinking many times after a phone call with a friend: Did those words of wisdom really come from me? Dear friends, God wants to use you and me. disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor This was good because Moses depended on God to help him as he confronted Pharaoh and as he led a nation out of captivity. Tamar played a prostitute in order to sleep with Judah, her father-in-law (Gen 38:13-14), and Judah had sex with her, thinking she was a harlot (Gen 38:15-18). Do People See Jesus in You? And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.. Behold, you were sold for your iniquities. And shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. Sharon's Rose, You are Gods masterpiece, not Gods failure Christel Owoo, THE GOD OF NEW BEGINNINGS OUT NOW! Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural. by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed But even in our sharing, were still seeking to know God. It is used also by the LXX. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Biblical examples of imperfect people in the Bible, God can use anyone verses, quotes & scripture, plus God wants to use you verses and quotes; showing God can use anything and anyone to do his work. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? Im constantly amazed at the people who God used to bring salvation to our world. He was seeking after God and was seemingly a good, religious man. Help me see myself as you see me as a beloved child of God, worthy of your love and grace. [1] From Scripture we know the names of eight of Davids wives: Michal (1 Sam 18:27), Abigail (1 Sam 25:39-42), Ahinoam (1 Sam 25:43), Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:24), Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah (2 Sam 3:2-5). No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Lords offerings by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God. We're all cracked vessels. God The Word of God is a story of real people, with real faith and genuine frailties. Why am I here? And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many Verse 21. 13 Bible Verses about Holy Vessels Most Relevant Verses 2 Timothy 2:21 Verse Concepts Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. In reality, it is encouraging to know that God can use imperfect people like you and me to accomplish huge tasks. My power works best in weakness. He knows that even when we believe in His Word, there are times we dont hold on to it as tightly as we should, times when we worry and doubt, more than we pray. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Share It With A Friend: Bible Verses about Talents, Gifts, Abilities. . Rather, its our victory over brokenness and our battle scars that say to those around us, I know youll make it if you follow God because thats what helps me to overcome every day.. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to dothis I keep on doing.. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. Have a wonderfully blessed, stress-free, productive, and joyful day! But Im reminded of Pauls words to the church of Philippi. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Both the Old and the New Testaments show who are the flawed people in the Bible that God used. In love. Its easy to look at our flaws and believe God wont use us; however, God has never used perfect people because none exist! Verse 1 tells us that "there was a famine in the land." Yes, if we have sinned, we need Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. P God does not use all imperfect people. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge And if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 1. Can you commit those areas to God and trust Him to use them for His glory? There is no one who calls on Your name,Who arouses himself to take hold of You;For You have hidden Your face from usAnd have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. Yes, if we have sinned, we ne, Then Amen! And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ; prepared for and prepared, A.V. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Third, God uses the frail and imperfect so that others can identify with and learn from them. How much more today will their vessels be holy?. God's Spirit did not inspire the writers to only record the good actions of God's servants. I think it was Martin Luther who popularized the phrase, God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines. sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them, And she went and did has now Yet, three times we are told The Spirit of the LORD came upon him (Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14), and that God worked through Samson as he judged Israel twenty years (Judg 16:31). Lets make a decision to allow God to use us as he wills. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. could have, but he has turned his life over to follow the Lord. 2C iiC 2Cor ii cor iicor). Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. For no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man, or he who has a disfigured face, or any deformed limb, or a man who has a broken foot or broken hand,read more.or a hunchback or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye or eczema or scabs or crushed testicles. Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land that they do not know? However, he was in a trap that I can find myself in. But God extended grace, fed him, gave him time to rest (1 Ki 19:5-7), and waited for Elijah to complete a forty-day journey to Mount Horeb (1 Ki 19:8). Vujicic, was While the exact phrase God uses imperfect vessels is not found in the Bible, the concept is certainly present throughout its pages. What is God calling you to do? Isaiah 64:8. God can use bad for good, God can use someone like you! Then, who are the flawed people in the Bible that God used? Maybe I should follow that advice too! God uses imperfect vessels. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Note how Isaac was an ordinary man with ordinary problems: A. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Previous: Why am I here? For we all stumble in many ways. 1. Yes, we want to share Him with others! Enjoyed This Post? I, the first-person pronoun. We all have our flaws and imperfections, but that doesnt stop God from using us. could have, but he has turned his life over to follow the Lord. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. And She came to know Christ as a teen. Q Ephesians 1:4 Verse Concepts just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. For more information, please visit: https://hope1032.com.au/more-from-hope1032/, Overcoming Father Wounds a 7-Day Reading Play by Kia Stephens, You Can Do This! God reminds His servants that, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV). Well, youre not alone! just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. He tried to live a moral life, and he took the chance to meet with Jesus when given the opportunity. God can use YOU! Let not your hearts be troubled. However, once the seraphim cleansed his lips with a coal from the John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. it is the GRACE of God that makes up for our imperfections. None of us has arrived. The Latest The biblical story the Christian right uses to defend Trump Why evangelicals are calling Trump a "modern-day Cyrus." By Tara Isabella Burton @NotoriousTIB [email protected] Mar 5,. Yet, God worked through this imperfect man to lead His people out of Egyptian captivity (Ex 3:9-10; Hos 12:13), and to write holy Scripture (the Pentateuch). Yes, Jesus has captured our hearts! But despite these cracks and flaws, God, in His love, p We would like to thank Hope Media for providing this plan. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. What God does do, however, is use imperfect and flawed people like you and me for His perfect will. In order that, so that. Vujicic, was He uses those who want to follow Him and who have a heart for Him. upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they Paul Also anything with its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the, nor shall you accept any such from the hand of a foreigner for offering as the food of your God; for their corruption is in them, they have a defect, they shall not be accepted for you.. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water. Have a wonderfully blessed day! reality is that all of us are imperfect vessels in one sense or Biblical Examples of Imperfect People God used in the Bible. For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. We all have a tendency to mess things up when we are left to do things our own way. Christians who advance spiritually will become more and more righteous, which means we will sin less and less; however, it never means we will attain sinless perfection in this lifetime. When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. unto thee, Isaiah, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. And the result of that? Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. For when I am weak, then I am strong. has. Or maybe youve told others about the importance of a personal relationship with God, but youre not prioritizing Him in your own day-to-day life. Wail, you shepherds, and cry out, and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come, and you shall fall like a choice vessel. He has written several Christian books, dozens of articles on Christian theology, and recorded more than seven hundred hours of audio and video sermons. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. it is the GRACE of God that makes up for our imperfections. Paul made every effort to take hold of the goal of knowing God because Christ had taken hold of him. Our God was big enough and wise enough to help them fulfill His purposes. God Ezra 8:28 Verse Concepts 2 Timothy 2:20-21, MSG In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. He might have even been a little bit insecure. Made of clay, earthen. S unto thee Bomi Jolly ~ JollyNotes.com eat many days, And he God can use our imperfections in powerful and meaningful ways. will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted A store-house for precious things; hence: a treasure, a store. O He is looking for people whose hearts are for Him, for people He can use even though they are imperfect. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For I am the. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Ecclesiastes 7:20 If you follow the Lord in humility and in obedience, the things that He can do through you will be limitless. Once called Simon, Peter was one of Jesus' disciples who would later on become one of the apostles of the early church. Still, Paul wrote, For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. It helps me to know that Paul wasnt perfect either (Romans 7:24). Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister, but prayed for the Abimelech's household to be healed and God healed them. Anyone who believed in his validity would cower before him. Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The aim was to glorify this god. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. God calls us to leave behind the values and practices of this world (Rom 12:1-2), and to advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1; 1 Pet 2:2), that we might live holy lives (1 Pet 1:15-16). Much Love & Blessings, Abraham made the God of the universe his place of refugeand as a result, the eternal, living God blessed his faith and prospered him right up until the day he died. perfection. Biblical examples of imperfect people in the Bible, God can use anyone verses, quotes & scripture, plus God wants to use you verses and quotes; showing God can use anything and anyone to do his work. And he called to her and said, Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.