* When God wants to do something in the world, He uses people to do it.
* If He does it any other way it’s called a miracle.
* God wants to do good things through you.
* We have a part to play, but it’s God’s power on display.
* God does His part and we do ours.
* EX: Manna in the wilderness.
* We are tools!
* For us to take credit for doing anything would be like a shovel taking credit for digging a hole - we're just the tools God's chosen to get the job done!
* God uses us as tools, but He also uses others.
* He will use them to get us where He wants us.
* In Isaiah 10, God is using Israel's enemies to punish them for their idolatry.
* Then He reminds them that He's the One Who's doing it - their enemies are simply His tool of choice.
* vs 15 - “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!”
* God uses people, but so does Satan.
* We can be a tool for God or a tool for Satan.
* Our job is two-fold:
* 1) Be someone God can use (be humble and willing).
* And when you do good things, remember that you’re just a tool.
* 2) See through people to the spirit that’s animating them.
* If what the person is doing is good you won’t worship them, you’ll worship God!
* If what they’re doing is bad you won’t hate them, you’ll hate the sin in them!
* EX: Jesus complementing Peter, then rebuking him.
* On both occasions, Jesus saw “through” the person to the spirit that animated them.
* Seeing ourselves as a tool for God or Satan keeps us from getting bitter toward people or worshipping people.
* We don’t whig out when people wrong us because we know God could be using that to strengthen us or get us where He wants us to go.
* And we don’t worship people when they do good stuff because we recognize they can do nothing apart from God.
* We are all tools.
* It’s up to us as to whose tool we’ll be!