Are You Useful to Christ?

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

The Warning of Being Useless Before God

I'd like to start with this quote from Spurgeon. It's hard to go wrong with a Spurgeon quote. I heard the other day of a Sunday school address in America which pleased me much. The teacher speaking to the boys said, Boys, here's a watch.

What is it for? The children answered, To tell the time. Well, he said, Suppose my watch does not tell time. What is it good for? Good for nothing, sir. Then he took out a pencil. What is this pencil for?

It is to write with, sir. Suppose this pencil won't make a mark. What is it good for? Good for nothing, sir. Then he took out his pocket knife. Boys, what is this for? They were American boys and so they shouted, To whittle with.

That is to experiment on any substance that came in their way by cutting a notch in it. But, said he, suppose it will not cut. What is the knife good for? Good for nothing, sir. Then the teacher asked, What is the chief end of man?

To glorify God. But suppose a man does not glorify God. What is he good for? Good for nothing, sir. Now, that may be amusing to you just to think about that, but just stop and think about it for a moment.

Though children were involved, was this a childish idea? And when we look at the word of God, we see that this wasn't a childish notion, but this is the assessment of God. In Ezekiel 15, we see Israel likened to the wood of a vine.

Wood that is good for nothing has no purpose other than to be burned. Or in Ezekiel, or in John 15, Jesus said, If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. And the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned.

Or in Matthew 5, Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

This resembles almost word for word what the kids were saying. Good for nothing. Does this describe you this morning? Good for nothing? Useless? Does the one who created you for his own glory look upon your life, how you occupy your time day after day and then year after year, and say of you, good for nothing?

Notice I didn't say worthless. Every person has been created in the image of God and has inestimable intrinsic worth. Nevertheless, the teaching of Scripture is that all people, unless they have been born again, do not serve the purpose that God designed for them when he created them.

And for those who have been born again and given a new heart, these ones begin to be useful in glorifying God, but even still they must battle the desires of the flesh and must strive and make war to become as useful as they can be.

And so very often they find themselves falling short still. So whether you are saved or lost, all people have this in common. We all have a natural inclination to uselessness. My aim this afternoon is twofold.

For the first half of our time, I would like to address those who are here who do not follow Christ. We will look at Jesus' visit to Nazareth in verses one to six and discover some truths about walking on the path of uselessness.

And I hope to show you the awful nature of this path so that you would change your mind and get off of it before it's too late. And then for the second half of our time, I'll be appealing to those who are followers of Christ.

We will look at the sending forth of the twelve apostles in verses seven to thirteen and discover some truths about walking on the path of usefulness. And there I hope to identify some obstacles that might be hindering your usefulness and show you the great value of usefulness so that you may become all the more useful.

Christ Rejected in Nazareth

So if you're there in Mark chapter six, let's have a look at the path of uselessness. Verses one to three, the first part. He went away from there and came to his hometown and his disciples followed him.

And on the Sabbath he began to teach in a synagogue and many who heard him were astonished saying, where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? So Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth in an attempt to reason with them and teach them to repent and teach them of the kingdom of God.

And he didn't come just making assertions but he came with proof. Jesus was displaying divine wisdom and divine power wherever he went. And the Nazarenes couldn't deny the evidence that was now before them.

So how would they respond to Jesus? And here we come to the first feature of this path of uselessness. Those on this path do not heed Christ. How can someone ignore Christ when the evidence is so strong?

Well, when someone doesn't want to face the truth but they're unable to refute the truth, they do the next best thing. That is they create a diversion. And the form of the diversion the Nazarenes chose to use was to ask another question.

Look with me at verse 3. They asked, is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? This happens all the time when Christians try to persuade others of the truth claims of Christianity.

A sound theological argument is given and rather than having their argument acknowledged or addressed, they're just met with another question. Maybe you've presented compelling evidence for the resurrection of Christ to someone and the response you get is, well, why is there so much suffering in the world?

This kind of person will always be asking for more proof but never be satisfied with proof. And here in Nazareth, they objected because they knew him. In Judea, on the other hand, they objected because they didn't know him, precisely the opposite reason.

We read that in John 9, 28 and 29. It's where it says, and they reviled him saying, you are his disciple. But as for, you are his disciple but we know, we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.

So why is it that people are so resistant to face the truth of Christ? Well, very often it's because they resent Christ. They don't like him making claims on their lives and they don't want to be ruled by Christ.

The resentment doesn't always appear outwardly. The Nazarenes seemed pretty innocent. They were only asking questions, right? But were they innocent? Turn with me over to Luke chapter 4 because our passage here in Mark is not the first time Jesus visited Nazareth.

Jesus' first visit to Nazareth happened very early in his ministry, shortly after his baptism and temptation in the wilderness. And what happened there is that Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah and had some discourse with the Nazarenes.

And then we see the response in Luke chapter 4, verses 28 and 29. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath and they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff.

Those on the path of the useless don't heed Christ and very often it's because they resent Christ. So examine yourselves. Are there any certain aspects about the word of God that you resent? And be careful.

You may be on a dangerous path. Having seen that those on the path of the useless don't heed Christ, we see the response of Jesus that follows. Observe Jesus' response to the Nazarenes in verse 4, back in chapter 6 of Mark.

And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. So what was Jesus' response? Did he continue to reason with them and point out the flaws of their logic?

Did he stretch out his hands and perform a miracle before them to convince them? He did neither of these things. He simply stated a proverb and let them go their way. Jesus' response was to stop striving with them.

If you are not a Christian, and if you continue to live your life your own way without any regard to heeding Christ, this is what may happen to you. Christ may leave off striving with you. If you are an unbeliever and are under the impression that you can ignore Christ over and over and his mercy will just continue lasting forever, you would be mistaken.

Christ does not strive forever to those who resist him. God said in Genesis 6, My spirit shall not always strive with man. And then immediately after that, he destroyed man off the face of the earth with a flood.

But Christ has not stopped playing with you yet. You keep hearing the gospel week by week, and you are pressed to repent and follow Christ and have your sins forgiven and inherit eternal life. But if you keep on rejecting him, you may find that the day will come when he leaves off striving with you and gives you up to the desires of your heart.

It is an error all too common. People think that they can live without Christ and enjoy sin, and then someday when they are ready, they will repent and receive forgiveness for all they have done. Maybe that's your plan, but will it really turn out that way?

Perhaps your conception of the way of life is that it is like a path ascending slowly up a hill, and then there is the path of death that runs parallel to it, following its curves all the way up the hill, and it's never very far away.

And then once you get towards the end, your plan is to just take a quick hike down the ditch and come up to the other side and join your Christian friends. But that's not how it works. The path of death doesn't run parallel to the path of life.

It runs in the opposite direction. And the longer you walk on it, the farther from Christ you get. And it takes you lower and lower. And a time comes when you lose sight of the path of life altogether, and then you are lost, and who then is going to help you?

That is how it works in reality. If you continue to disregard Christ, Christ may stop striving with you and give you up, just like he did with the Nazarenes. And this brings us to the third aspect of this path of uselessness, as we continue to observe Jesus' dealings with the Nazarenes.

After a person has failed to heed Christ, and when Christ has ceased striving with them, there is but one inevitable thing to happen, and that is Christ will leave them. Drop your eyes down to verse six, and then the second part of the verse.

And he went round about the villages teaching. Jesus departed from his hometown of Nazareth, where he had spent the better part of 30 years. There is no record that he ever returned again. That little insignificant village had for a while the favor of God upon them.

The light was shining in their midst, God in the flesh walking in their streets and teaching in their synagogue. But because of their continual refusal, Jesus left them forever. Think about the gravity of losing Christ.

Christ is the most glorious being conceivable. Think of any majestic and glorious sight that you have ever seen. A beautiful sunset, looking up at the starry sky on a clear night, the powerful ocean waves under the moonlight.

And he brought all of these into existence by speaking a word. All of these are but a shadow of the beauty of Christ. What is your conception of Jesus? A Jewish carpenter? A good moral teacher? Or very God in the flesh?

If you would, turn with me to Revelation chapter one, where we see John, the apostle, who captures just for a moment the glory of Christ. Revelation chapter one, verse 12. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me.

And on turning I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow.

His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze refined in a furnace. And his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.

And his face was like the sun, shining in full strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Upon seeing the splendour of the world and the glory of it, have you ever fallen down as a dead man?

But this is the reaction of those who see Christ in his glory. If you are here today and remain in unbelief, consider the path you are on. Are you prepared to lose Christ? And knowing that this is the direction you are heading, are you going to carry on this path?

Will you today divert your attention away from the truth? Or will you face it? As the scripture says, today is the day of salvation. Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Christ's hand is stretched out to you still this morning.

Will you continue to ignore him? Or will you turn from your resistance and rebellion and trust him to rescue you from the path you are on? You can become united with Christ. Have your sins washed away and spend eternity in the presence of Christ.

For having become a vessel of mercy, he will pour out mercy on you that will never end. And no one can believe for you. This is something you must do. If any of you hearing my voice will turn to Christ, I plea with you to do it right now.

The Usefulness of Imperfect Disciples

Now we're going to carry on. And for the rest of our time, having addressed the unbelievers who are here, I would like to address the Christians who are in the room. We saw how Jesus responds to those who carry on in unbelief.

And now we continue to follow Jesus as he leaves Nazareth and has some important lessons to teach his disciples. Through the grace of God, you have been transported from the old path of uselessness and have now begun to serve the true purpose for which you have been created.

And though you have attained a measure of usefulness already, you are not yet as useful as you have the potential to be. Every Christian has room to grow and glorify God more in their lives. So to help us run more swiftly on this path of usefulness, I have two observations for your consideration.

The first observation I'd like to make is this. Those who are useful to Christ are not hindered by imperfection. In verses 7 to 13, we see Jesus sending his apostles on an important mission. For a quick refresher, just have a look at verse 7, where he calls them and sends them out.

Verse 7. And he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. And then also look at verses 12 and 13, where they performed the task that they were assigned.

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent, and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Up until this point, Jesus had been doing most of the work himself.

The apostles, for the most part, just observed and learned. But now we see a transition, and Jesus begins sending them out to preach and to perform miracles in his stead. And who did he send but 12 ordinary, imperfect men?

The 12 certainly weren't the most knowledgeable in the things of God. Just bring to mind their track record and see if you can relate to some of these things. They often didn't understand what Jesus was teaching them.

Or when they did understand, they forgot and needed constant reminder. They asked misguided questions. They questioned and even rebuked Jesus as if he was a mere man. Just two chapters prior in Mark, we saw when they were caught in a storm.

They woke Jesus up, assuming that he didn't care they were perishing. And when he exercised power over the winds and the sea, they were astonished with great amazement. And their progress remained slow the whole time Jesus was with them.

Even after Christ's resurrection, he said of them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. And the apostles earned themselves such titles as Doubting Thomas or the Sons of Thunder.

So let me put the question to you now. Does your lack of expansive knowledge in the word of God hinder you from serving Christ? Jesus didn't think it should be a hindrance. Knowledge is important and they would continue to grow in knowledge.

But they didn't have to wait until they had perfect knowledge in order to be used. What they did have was some knowledge and they went with what they had. But it wasn't just knowledge they were imperfect in.

They were also imperfect in ability. It would be much later on the day of Pentecost when the apostles would be filled with power from the Holy Spirit. It is only then that they would be filled with power, able to proclaim the gospel with the boldness of lions.

And though they were to become these able men, that is not what they were now. And so here we find them with far from perfect ability, yet Christ sent them out. So if you think you need superior ability before you can be used by God, you overestimate your own importance.

Listen to this account from Spurgeon's autobiography of an instance where he was used by God. Certainly Spurgeon was an able preacher, but in this case the result can't be chalked up to any giftedness on his part.

Here's what it says. In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed. And in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

In one of the galleries, a workman who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words. And it came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace in life by beholding the Lamb of God.

I think it pleases God from time to time to humble us and to show us that power does not lie in the vessel, but in God who wields it. Do you shrink back from service because you are not perfect? Are you like Moses who, when God called him to a good work, said, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue.

Are you like Jeremiah who said, Well then, ask yourself this question. Did God use Moses and Jeremiah? Repent from your unbelief and give your head a shake. Jesus is able to use those who are imperfect.

More than that, he is pleased to use those who are imperfect. Don't make the mistake of thinking that God requires perfect perfection here in order to be pleased. It isn't like justification, where God only accepts perfect righteousness.

You are a Christian now, and this is a different matter entirely. You don't have to be perfect to be useful. I hope that this is helpful to you in some way. It will be much more useful if you remove this obstacle from your thinking.

Valuing the Importance of Christian Labor

Now let's look at one other observation that may help you in your usefulness to Christ. The observation is this. Those on the path of usefulness place high value on the importance of their labor. Read with me verses 8 to 10.

He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. They were not to bring a store of provision with them, no bread, no money and no extra clothing.

In other words, don't pack, just go with what you have. What I'm interested in here is not the particulars of the commands, but in trying to understand the reason behind them. Why did Jesus command these things?

Though Mark doesn't give us a reason for the commands, Matthew does. If you'd like, you can flip over with me to Matthew chapter 10. It's the parallel account, and Jesus adds a little bit of important information.

In Matthew chapter 10, in verse 9, he reads this. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey or two tunics or sandals or a staff. And here's the reason. For the laborer deserves his food.

And why is it that the laborer deserves his food? Because the work he performs has very real value. The apostles must have been underestimating the importance of their work, otherwise Jesus wouldn't have to tell them, or he wouldn't have to give them this lesson that he was now teaching them.

The apostles needed to understand the weight and the significance of the work they were about to engage in, if they were ever going to be useful. This was not to be compared to some earthly mission, such as going on a political campaign and telling people who to vote for.

Their message was on an altogether different level, from a different realm. They were to preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven has come near. They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and cast out demons.

They were to be engaged in matters of life and death, things that carry eternal consequences. So the work is important. But why am I saying that we need to understand its importance in order to be useful?

One of the reasons is that when we see the value of our labor, it is then that we will begin to safeguard ourselves from anything that would hinder that labor. And this is perhaps the reason behind Jesus' command back in Mark 6, in verse 10, when Jesus said, whenever you enter a house, stay there till you depart from there.

They were not to be moving from house to house, which would involve extra time moving and making arrangements and getting settled in. Because of the importance of the mission, they needed to free themselves as much as possible from every distraction.

Can we not see this principle at work in our own lives? Perhaps you've had something like this where you were looking forward to a vacation that was coming up, where you would have some time apart from distractions where you could set your mind upon the things of God, or maybe read that book that you've been waiting to read.

You'd finally be afforded that time for some prayer and meditation. Or maybe it wasn't a vacation, maybe it was just a time where you'd have the house all to yourself. And so you looked forward to that time with every good intention, but when it came, then you had to take care of one little thing first.

And then something else came up, and then by the end, you hadn't done those things you had intended to do. Little distractions, though they can begin ever so small, can destroy all of our good intentions.

They not only consume our time and focus, but they dull our sense of the gravity of heavenly things. And so Jesus here gives a lesson for all who desire to be useful. Now please note that the commands themselves are not to be understood universally for every Christian who proclaims God's word.

After all, Paul made tents to earn his own living, and John the Baptist didn't have people providing his food for him. He ate locusts and wild honey. And Jesus himself gave them an entirely different set of commands before his arrest.

If you want, you can read about that in Luke 22, verses 35 and 36. But though these commands themselves were temporary and instructed for the apostles, the principle behind the commands remains the same.

Those who desire to be useful are to place a high value on the importance of their labor. That brings us then to an end of our look at the text in Mark, but I feel it would be important here to make a few comments in closing about what kind of labor it is that ordinary Christians are called to.

We have been looking at the 12 apostles who were given a unique commission and miraculous power. And you may be asking, but how is the ordinary Christian to be useful? And to compound the problem, we have biographies of great men and women of God who we hold up in high esteem as the models of usefulness, preachers and evangelists and missionaries.

And we think that that is what it must be like to be useful. But the good news for the ordinary Christian is that preaching and evangelism are not the only ways to be useful. When you think about it, the Bible doesn't have a whole lot of instruction to believers about preaching or evangelizing.

What we do see emphasized in the Bible over and over again is good works. We have been saved not only for the purpose of proclaiming his word, but for the purpose of doing good works. Let me read to you just a few verses to illustrate the point.

Ephesians 2 .10 says this, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Here's Colossians 1 verses 9 and 10. And so from the day that we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

And then lastly, there's Titus 2 verses 11 to 14. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

And that's just a sample of our calling to be useful in good works. I had another dozen verses here that I'm not going to go through right now. But is this not encouraging? You can be useful and glorify God by keeping your eye out and doing good to those around you whenever you have opportunity.

But perhaps for some of you, even this seems out of reach. We have some here who are sick. And rather than being able to help others as you would wish, you have need that others help you. And what about you?

Can you be useful to God? Yes, you can. Turn with me to Psalm 50. Psalm 50, verse 23. The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. To one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God.

Everyone here today has been created for a purpose. You exist to glorify God. If you are not a follower of Christ, you are not fulfilling the purpose for which God made you. But if through repentance and faith you have become a follower of Christ, you have a sea of opportunity that lies before you to be useful to Christ.

Let us who have begun to be useful lay aside our hindrances and learn to rightly value the importance of our work and then go and do what we can with what we have. We are Christian soldiers. Let us go out and make assaults on Satan's kingdom.

It may be we never cast out a demon, but God through us can deliver from sin those who have been captive all of their lives. Through acts of kindness, we can strengthen the hearts of those who are cast down and let them see the goodness of God once more.

And through praise, we can offer the fruit of our lips as a sacrifice well-pleasing to God. Don't come to the end of your days where it may be said of you, good for nothing, but set your heart to serve your King when at last it will be said of you by the Master himself.

Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

Amen.

Lord our God, when we look at you, the things you require of us are grand. They are great. Yet you put them within our reach because you have Christ in us working through us. Thank you that with Christ all things are possible and that, as it says, if we would only believe, we would see the glory of God.

Show us your glory and help us to be more pleasing to you, to walk in your joy and to have the blessing of grace upon us, no more condemnation, yet continuing to strive in those things that are beautiful and good and righteous.

And thank you for the transformation that you work in us. You think about things like this and it requires nothing but grace. There's nothing but grace that enables us to be pleasing to you. And we thank you that we may now become that.

Amen.