God loves losers

God Uses Losers

Dec. 3, 2006

Who am I?

Paul – I was a murderer, I persecuted the church and martyred people for clamming to be followers of Christ.

Peter – I am a ruff around the edges guy. Not much for patients, I once took a sword to a man’s head in defense of a friend. Although, later I told people that I didn’t know my friend that I had earlier tried to defend.

Billy Graham – I was caught on tape making anti-Semitic remarks. I said in a conversation with President Nixon, that the Jewish community had a strong hold on our country and that the country was going to be broken or go down the drain.

Jaret Kirkland – Born into a Christian family, I had an easy ticket as far as how Christian people should act and talk; or so I thought. My family went to church, we dressed nice for church, prayed at diner, we said and did all the right things that good Christian folk would.

I became actively involved in the life of the church at an early age. I started youth group at the age of eleven and by the time I turned thirteen I was on the youth executive. I was young and put in places of authority.

I had asked Jesus into my heart at a young age, but I didn’t realize that being a Christian was about relationship and not about doing and saying the right things. This made it easy to do what I wanted and cover it up. I didn’t worry about getting caught doing things I shouldn’t because people wouldn’t suspect a thing. I would act like a Christian and no one would think I was living a life that wasn’t living up to relationship that God wanted to have with me.

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as prophet to the nations.”

As my life went on I found myself in greater roles of responsibility. I was the intern youth pastor at my home church and was making arrangements to head of to Bible school. I knew that God had a plan for me and that I was called to be a pastor in some way or another. That part of my life was known by my friends and family, but they didn’t know that I was living this double life.

Disclaimer: I only bring this up because if you can see a part of my life and catch a part of my heart, you will better know why and how it was that I came to Gateway City Church.

This also will serve as a mark or a sign of what this church is made of.

My double life was the fact that I was sexually involved with my girlfriend at the time. We were both youth leaders and our parents were leaders in the church as well. This relationship had gone on right up to the point of us both taking time away from each other and going to Bible school. For four years we had lived this secret life and no one knew what was going on.

Well, we went off to school and I surrounded myself with Christian people. I hoped that I could move past my sins and this secret life. I wanted to center my self in a right relationship with God. I wanted to change or so I thought.

But that life I had live was still a secret. I hadn’t spoken the truth about my life. We have all heard the saying “the truth shall set you free.” The only thing is that I hadn’t really wanted that part of my life to be gone. I liked it. It felt good. Why change? I liked it and it was easier to continue sinning than it would be to come clean.

During my fist year I met Kim. She had her hair bleached out and she was cute; at least I thought so. She was fun and she didn’t care about my past. She accepted me for who I was and she knew what I was meant to be. She made it really easy to fall in love with her. The only problem was I hadn’t dealt with my past and it soon repeated itself in our relationship.

In the summer of 2000 I was working as an intern at Heart Hwy. Church in Prince George. Things were going great, me and Kim had been really good when it came to the physical side of our relationship. We had made a choice to change what was happening in that area of our lives. We had talked about getting married after I was done school and I was going to take time away from our relationship to see that that could happen. I wanted to get my life on track and if we were to get married I wanted that to be perfect. I wanted our lives to reflect Christ.

Like I said the summer was going great and then our lives changed. I got a phone call half way through the summer and it was Kim. She was upset and crying. She went on to tell me that she went to the doctor. We were going to have a baby sometime in November. I resigned at the church and moved beck down to Abbotsford. We got married in October and Isaiah was born on Nov. 20. Our lives changed; everything for us had changed. All the things that I felt I was called to do were either not going to happen or were put on hold.

Jeremiah 1:5

1 – God knew us before we were born. He knew that we would mess up and sin. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” God knew that we would sin. Yet he still loves us. He knew that we would mess things up for ourselves, but he still wants to use us.

2 – He had a plan for our lives all along. Jer. 1:5b “before you were born I set you apart.” God uses our sin and the times we fall short to make the changes He wants to see in our lives. I don’t think that I could have the same outlook on life and the relationship I have with God if my sin hadn’t found me out. For me having a kid changed my life. Yes it was hard but it is better for it. It gave me a testimony and something that I could share and maybe give someone else a chance to learn from my mistakes. I have, through God, a plan for my life.

3 – The plan God has for you will come to pass. Jer. 1:5c “I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Up until now I had no idea how God’s plan for my life would ever come to pass. Looking back it wasn’t anything that I really did. I was just willing to hold on for the ride.

Philippians 1:3-6

Final thought:

No matter what you have done or who you are; God’s plan for your life has always and will always be there. We just need to receive what God has for us.

Pray