1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according

to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

This series of verses has three parts, it describes what we were before, what God has done in His grace to change it and what He expects of us as His children.

 What

we were before Eph.2:1-3

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

 What

God did in His grace Eph 4:9

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 What

God expects as a result Eph 4:10

10 For we are his workmanship, created

in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 We

are all given work to do, even Adam and Eve was given work in the paradise of Eden.
Genesis 2:15 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

 Whatever

skill, talents or abilities God has given us, He intends that we exercise it in a Godly manner, in a way that will glorify Him, in way that impacts people around us that they may see the joy of serving God.
are to work as unto the Lord, Jesus Christ is our boss.

We

Peter 4: 9-10

9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God

 Everyone

has received from God his/her own spiritual gifts, gift that are best suited to us and must be put to work. often uses us to serve Him, through serving other people. We are interdependent on each other, all around you see nurses, doctors, teachers who use their skills in helping others.

God

 God

wants us to be good stewards of these gifts, that we employ them productively to bear fruit for the Lord. We are responsible to God for these gifts. IMPACT other people. You might not know, but we do. They may not tell us but people watch our lives and we must keep a good testimony.

We

 Whosoever

serves is to do so through the strength of God. He is not going to ask you anything that He is not going to help you with.
is why, before Jesus rose up to heaven he left us one more thing aside from our spiritual gifts.

This

 When

we received the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit is in us, with us and upon us. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit and acts as our helper in life.

After giving us all these gifts, God is not pleased when we sit around and do nothing , seeking to satisfy ourselves, our own desires and feel content with what we do.
For everyone is to stand before God and give account of His life on earth.

 Romans

14:12

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

When

God asks how you used his gifts, what did you do to use it in a glorifying manner, how will you respond?

Poor self image We feel we are not worthy.

 All

of us are on the same level when it comes to being worthy . Nowhere in the Bible does it say you have to be worthy to serve the Lord.
at Apostle Pauls life, Paul jailed, persecuted, and even killed Christians. Do this deeds make Him worthy of God? NO. But he was used by God to serve Him.

Look

 Inadequacy

It is good that we feel inadequate. When we come to the point that we already feel adequate, something is wrong.

 Because

if we were, He wouldnt have sent the Holy Spirit to help us, He wouldnt have left His words to guide us.
Corinthians 3:4-5 And such trust have we through Christ to Godward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God;

 When

we are challenged to do something that tests us and we feel inadequate, it drives us to look to, trust, lean on and rest upon God. And by that process we grow in faith and draw closer to God.

Sin You cannot serve God faithfully and live in sin at the same time. The Lord and sin will never go together.

Weaknesses All of us are weak and incapable, but the power of the Lord is more than enough to get the job done through us. The strength of God is sufficient and can be shown to us in ways we can never imagine.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.

Comparison God made us different from any other person because we are all given different tasks and what we have is exactly what the Lord wants us to use to fulfill our purpose.

Fear Many are afraid to step out in faith. While you may think it is natural, it is a consequence of measuring tasks against our ability to do it. If only we measure them against Gods ability, we will see that nothing is too difficult for the Lord.

Laziness It is one of the most common causes of not serving God. Many say that they do not have time, or itll take them half an hour to share the gospel. This is TRAGIC.

 You

mean to say, out of 168 hours in a week, you do not have half an hour for the Lord? He who gave you all the remaining 167 and half hours , skills, gifts, provisions and blessings, and you do not have at least half an hour to spare?

Self Centeredness Some say, Well, Sunday is the only time I have for myself.

Think maybe if you give God that Sunday that you say you have for yourself, Hell fix the other days of your schedule. Give time everyday to hear his directions for our life.

 One

of the most tragic things a believer can say is :

Im not available to give you my time. Im not available to give my money. Im not available to help others. Im not available to serve God.

Availability Commit your time to serve and be available whenever God calls us. Motivation God looks for the right motivation, serving him for pride, acceptance and self glory cancels all effort out and God does not honor it.

Humility We should be humble and submit ourselves to the perfect will of God. Acknowledge that on our own we will fail 100% of the time and it takes God grace to work everything out. Purity Purity of the heart, God weighs the motives. We should behave in a Godly character and right conduct.

12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

We believers are as to be palm trees planted by God in the world. Many think that after extracting the juice and fruit from a coconut it is worthless, but it can be used in more than 100 ways. Some of which are oil, matress, shampoo, blanket, charcoal, medicine, etc. Like coconuts, a believer who wholeheartedly submits his life to God will bear much fruit like the palm tree.

was a drunkard Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a liar Joseph was abused

Noah

stuttered Gideon was afraid Samson was a womanizer Jeremiah and Timothy was too young David had an affair and was a murderer

Moses

was suicidal Isaiah preached naked Jonah ran away from God Naomi was a widow Job was bankrupt

Elijah

denied Christ Disciples fell asleep while praying Martha was worried about everything Zaccheus was too small Paul hated and killed Christians

Peter

LAZARUS

DIED

 Those

are all reasons to feel God cannot use you. But, did God use them?

YES.
God used every single one of those people to serve Him and showed His power through this people.

Now, what legitimate reason can you give to say that God cannot use you?