Serving God Without Using God

Introduction

We only have one life to live, and we need to make good use of it. Pastor Maréchal opens his message with this simple line, on a Thursday evening in May 2020, just days before church services reopen at the evangelical church of Nantes. He chooses a quiet passage from Acts: Barnabas leaves Antioch, travels up to Tarsus to look for Saul, finds him, brings him back, and for a whole year these two men teach together. It's there, for the first time, that the disciples were called "Christians" (Acts 11:25-26). One ministry coming to the aid of another. A service carried out not out of personal ambition, but because God himself calls and sends. What Pastor Maréchal wants to tell you tonight is this: the service of God cannot be passed from one man to another. It comes down from heaven. And when that heavenly calling is missing, the church suffers.

Outline of the message

1. One ministry coming to help another ministry

Barnabas is already in Antioch. He sees a work growing after the persecution, a church born out of the scattering of the Christians from Jerusalem.
Rather than relying on himself alone, he travels up to Tarsus to look for Saul, who had been there for nearly ten years since his conversion on the road to Damascus.
"When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people" (Acts 11:26).
It's in this humble partnership that Antioch becomes the great missionary center from which the gospel will go out to Europe and the world. God unites men and women in a shared task.

2. God's service comes down from heaven, it isn't passed from man to man

Paul is aware of three things: the Lord appeared to him to appoint him as a servant, God chose him as a servant of the gospel, and he made him a servant of the church.
"God... called us with a holy calling" (2 Timothy 1:9): the calling comes from above, from the heaven of glory, and to the end of his earthly race Paul will remember it.
Serving God is not the same as using God. The servant doesn't appoint himself, nor is he appointed by the will of another man. It's God who calls, it's God who sends.
The church belongs to Christ: "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). It's his own possession, purchased with his own blood.

3. Painful situations in the midst of God's people

There are painful situations when men are called and don't answer the call. The church suffers because of it.
There are also painful situations when men who haven't been called take the place of those who have. Out of a lack of humility, out of jealousy, out of envy.
This is the calling of the flesh: a human being who thinks he can do something, when the work of the Holy Spirit isn't there. It brings great difficulties into the work of the Lord.
The answer isn't found in our complaints, but in the sovereignty of the Head of the church: "May his name be glorified."

4. "I did not send them": the tragedy of false prophets

Jeremiah prophesied what the Lord told him. Alongside him, others claimed to be sent: "I had a dream, I had a vision, the Lord told me..." Those dreams were false, those visions were false.
And God is clear: "I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them" (Jeremiah 14:14).
Pastor Maréchal tells the story: "I was on the train, reading Jeremiah, and I came to this passage where God says, 'you say I said, and I said nothing.' I burst out laughing. The other passengers were staring at me. Which of us likes having words put in our mouth that we never said? And yet we do it to God."
The prophet Ezekiel denounces the same thing: "Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (Ezekiel 13:3). Their visions are empty, their oracles are lies, and yet they say, "The Lord declares."

5. The way of Cain, the way of Balaam, the rebellion of Korah

The letter of Jude warns against those who, in the last days, "walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error, and perished in Korah's rebellion" (Jude 11).
The way of Cain is worship according to your own terms, salvation by works, jealousy that goes as far as killing your brother.
The way of Balaam is the way of profit, of publicity, of honor, of money. It's prophesying for whatever price you're offered.
The rebellion of Korah is the man who appoints himself and tries to overthrow the servants God has placed, like Moses and Aaron.
By contrast, Jesus teaches Peter to forgive 490 times (Matthew 18:22), in answer to the vengeance Lamech claimed 77 times in Genesis 4:24. No human can forgive at that level without God's help.

6. Pray to the Lord of the harvest

Jesus looks at the crowd, moved with compassion. He sees people who are hurting, harassed, without a shepherd, or with shepherds who exploit them.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38).
Prayer isn't optional. If we don't pray, the Lord won't send laborers. And being sent by the Lord of the harvest is a great mission, not a title you give yourself.

Key takeaways

God's service isn't passed from one person to another. It comes down from heaven, addressed to you personally by God.
Serving God also means serving the gospel and the church. The three go together, you can't separate one from the other two.
Much of the suffering in the church comes from two extremes: those who are called and refuse, and those who aren't called and settle in anyway.
What God has not said, don't put in his mouth. Invented dreams, visions, and prophecies lead people away from the truth.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest. Without prayer, no sending. Without sending, no laborers for the hurting crowds.

Personal application

Do you know, today, what God has personally called you to? How did you receive that conviction, and what have you done with it?
If you're called and you're holding back, what's holding you: fear, pride, an old wound, comparison?
Is there, in your service or in your church, a place you occupy out of personal ambition rather than because God sent you there? Are you willing to hand it back to him?
Who could you help this week, the way Barnabas came looking for Saul, a brother, a sister, a worn-out or isolated servant?
What real place does praying for the harvest have in your week? How much time do you spend asking God to send out laborers?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What does "serving God without using God" actually mean?

It means recognizing that the calling comes from above, not from below. You don't appoint yourself as a servant, and you're not appointed by another person's decision alone. Serving God means answering a calling bigger than you, one in which you seek neither honor, nor payment, nor position. Using God, on the other hand, means using his name, his word, or his church to build something for yourself, the path Jude calls "Balaam's error."

Why does Pastor Maréchal talk about "painful situations" in the church?

He points to two realities that hurt God's people. On one side, people God has called who refuse to answer, leaving a gap. On the other, people God hasn't called who take the place anyway out of jealousy, pride, or envy. In both cases, the work of the Holy Spirit is hindered and the church suffers. The answer isn't rebellion, it's remembering that Christ remains the Head of his church, and praying to the Lord of the harvest to send true laborers.

How can I tell a true calling from a calling of the flesh?

Pastor Maréchal points back to Jeremiah 14 and Ezekiel 13. A true calling is recognized by its faithfulness to what God has actually said in his word, by the support of other tested servants (like Barnabas for Saul), and by fruit that builds up the church rather than the person. A calling of the flesh, on the other hand, proclaims itself, seeks visibility and honor, invents what God never said, and ultimately weakens the body of Christ. Praying with humility, letting yourself be corrected by the word and by brothers and sisters further along in the faith remains the first form of discernment.

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