# Not Hard to Be Used by God

Category: Faith & Trusting God
Key Passage: Psalm 23:1-3
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: January 4, 2020

Turn your Bibles to Psalm chapter number 23, Psalm chapter number 23. I am trying this ear microphone, and it is good because I can talk through it and I can also listen to the ball game at the same time. If I say touchdown, you know what I am listening to. I actually preached revival where they had one of these, and it worked so well. I said when our lapel mic messes up next time, I will get one of these. It is actually cheaper than a lapel mic, considerably cheaper, and it seems to work so good. Maybe our YouTube channel won’t have all the clicking and cutting in and out, so we are going to see if we cannot improve on that.

I have tried to dial into football games. I have not got it yet, but I am still working on it. Psalms 23. We are just going to read the first three verses, probably one of the most familiar passages in all the Bible—the Shepherd Psalm. And what a great Psalm it is. The first three verses. Let us just get there real quick. Let us stand, if you would please.

The title would be, “It’s Not As Hard As You Think To Be Used By God.” It is not as hard as you think to be used by God. I just realized I might have an issue putting these glasses back on right there. That is going to be interesting, but we will see. We are trying to get it dialed in a little bit before Sunday morning.

But Psalm 23, verse number one, let us just quickly read this: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Let us just pause for a second and kind of grasp that. The more I have read of men that were shepherds, the more that has meant to me. You think about a shepherd that oversees a flock of sheep. They are continually watching those sheep. They will count their sheep; they always know my name. They will count them, call them by name. If they are missing a sheep, they will go looking for that sheep until they find it.

Sheep will eat all the way to the root and kill the grass, so they are continually taking them to green pastures. They are moving them. They will not drink if it is running water, so they are always looking or making sure they have some water available. If they are getting a lot of parasites and fleas and bugs, they will put ointment on them. They are always out there to protect.

I read a shepherd’s book. He said, “I learned quickly into it. I always had my .308, I think it was, by me. If I heard any noise in the middle of the night, I was up with my light, my flashlight, and my .308, always.”

Now, the Lord is your shepherd. He is always watching over you. Just grasp that. He is always looking for what you need. “The Lord is my shepherd.” What is the last part of that first verse? “I shall not want.” You do not want—we shame ourselves when we go looking to the world for help when we have the Lord as our shepherd.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” We already mentioned that. He leadeth me beside the still waters. If it was a running river or whatnot, they do not drink; they have to be still waters. The Lord knows that. By the way, the water is often compared to in the Bible—to the Bible.

And he is always leading you beside the still waters. “He restores my soul.” Most shepherds and people that know sheep think that this is speaking of a sheep that will get what they call cast. He will actually fall over on his back, and his legs will be sticking out. If they are left like that, they will die.

Several reasons that can happen. Sometimes because they need their wool sheared, and they get so big and long and heavy and wet, and bushes and everything caught up in there, and it will flip over. You cannot get up. Sometimes they are laying on the ground, there is a little rut there, and they will roll over in that rut. I cannot get up. And the shepherd will have to come along and kind of straddle them and pick them up, get them on their fours, so they do not die. “He restores my soul,” your shepherd.

Now, this next little phrase is a phrase I want to focus on for just a little bit tonight. It is very interesting. He has already laid you out in green pastures. He has already led you beside the still waters. He has already restored your soul. Now he wants to use you. Look at this next little phrase. He said, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

That little phrase right there—would you read that little phrase out loud with me? Here we go: “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Let us pray. Let us ask the Lord to do work in our hearts very quickly tonight. Lord, we do come. Lord, we need you. Father, would you again tonight feed us, your sheep, with the manna from heaven? Give us what we need, Lord, please. Father, help us to be wise with time, help us to go home and just praise you for what you have done in our hearts. Thank you, Lord, already for the songs and the testimonies in your people. Bless them tonight, and we ask for this, Lord, in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.

“It’s not as hard as you think to be used by God.” In fact, according to that little phrase right there, “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his namesake,” all I have to do is follow.

I mean, really, that is all. If you want to be used by God, all you have to do is follow. He leads in paths of righteousness for his namesake.

You know, as a preacher, sometimes a preacher, a pastor, you can tell like, “Man, I have to make things happen.” And that is the devil talking to me. I cannot make anything happen. All I have to do is follow the Lord.

The Lord led us to start a church. I think there are a lot of guys much more talented and got more charisma and smarter than all that. How on earth can I start a church? And a lot of those guys have felt that way. It is so reassuring with the Lord saying, “All you have to do is follow.” But that is all you have to do.

Sometimes I think, “Man, I have to come up with a great message and all that.” And I am still learning that. I do not have to do all that. All I have to do is follow what he tells me to preach. That is all.

You just follow. You see, the pressure is off. We sometimes think, “Man, I have to make it happen.” You cannot make it happen. I mean, I might as well just humble down—there is just no way we can make it happen. All we have to do is follow.

So as parents, “Man, I have to make my son, I have to make my daughter into this man and this lady and all that.” You are not going to make your child. Just follow the Lord’s leading in how to raise that child. God is the one that makes them.

“I have to make my marriage like this, and I have to make my marriage so good, and I have to make my marriage.” No, no, no. All you have to do is just follow the Lord’s leading. When it tells you to be this certain type of husband, you be that. When it tells you to be this certain type of wife, you be that. You just follow.

“Man, how can it be used by God? It is not as hard as you think.” He just followed. He is the one that leads in paths of righteousness for his namesake. You are talking about the land—I have nothing special about the land. All I did is follow. That is all. He opens doors, and I will just follow.

That is all I am saying. The devil puts all this pressure on you. “Oh, you want to be used by God?” All you do is follow.

Young people, it would be wonderful if you are just determined right now while you are young, just, “I am going to follow. I am going to follow the Lord. I am going to follow him all the days of my life.” He will use you.

I like it when Brother Richard said they were at another church, they were in a town. He said they got out of church, and he said, “I was impressed.” My daughters were telling me where they were off, even doctrinally. They were saying this, that, and other, where it is different, you know. And he said they said also that when it is a little bit off, they would always look over at Brother Richard, at Dad. And they said, “Every time it is a little different from home and whatnot, they said, ‘Dad, you look uncomfortable about that.’” That was cute. Hey, just following.

Isn’t it interesting? Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you what?” He will use you. He said, “I lead you in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” You say, “I want to be used by God.” Sometimes I am like, “Man, I have to convince God to use me.” God wants to use you more than you want to be used. You just follow.

Now, he might lead you down some roads that are pretty steep, a lot of bumps in the road, but you just follow. It would just be a good, good night tonight, our first service of the year. Just say, “Where he leads me, I will follow.” Tell you what, would you sing that with me? We will just get that chorus of him. Here we go:

“Where he leads me, I will follow. Where he leads me, I will follow. Where he leads me, I will follow. Where he leads me, I will follow. I’ll go with him, with him all the way.” He will use you.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. How can I be used by God? Just follow, just follow.

Number two: Just three thoughts real quickly here. Number two, look at that phrase. Look back at it real quickly there. Just want you to catch a letter in that phrase, verse number three. He leadeth me in the—what is the next word? Plural—paths.

Now, by that I mean this: Some of our paths, God’s will for our life, are going to look somewhat the same. God’s will is for everybody to get saved, amen. Everybody get baptized, everybody in church, everybody reading their Bible, everybody praying, everybody witnessing. That is clear. But beyond some of those basic things, your path is going to be different than my path. David Humphrey’s path is going to be different than my path. Brother Patterson’s path, and vice versa.

I mean, look if you will, over in 2nd Corinthians chapter number 10. What a—it is a good verse of wisdom here. Second Corinthians chapter number 10. Look in verse number 12, if you would please. Second Corinthians 10 and verse number 12, if you would please.

Paths. I was going to lead you individually down many different paths, but not all of that, but we all have a different path. Paths. Look at what it says here in Second Corinthians 10. Look at verse number 12: “For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves. They measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.”

He is going to lead you down the paths of righteousness for his namesake that he wants you to go through. I cannot compare. When I start comparing and start looking, I lack wisdom. And he said the people that are doing that are not wise.

Friend, do not start comparing. Do not—it was a good day for me in Bible college. Some great Christians there and great leaders, and I can learn from great Christians and great leaders and all that, but also had to learn: I cannot be like them. I have to go down the paths he has called me to. And it is not always the same.

Do not get your eyes on other people. Our eyes will be on Jesus. If you are not careful, you will say, “Well, I wish I had kids like their kids. I wish I had a marriage like their marriage. I wish I could see as many people saved as Brother Frank sees. I wish I had their car. I wish we do not have this and we do not have that. And I wish I had their truck. Wish I had their house.” And you are wanting for one thing, so the Lord is not your shepherd as you ought to be. Cannot compare. God has different paths.

He leadeth me in paths. I think for each individual, it is more than one path. And for two different people, it is totally different paths. I cannot compare. It is a good day when I just said, “Hey, there are some great leaders there, great Christians, and I will try to learn what I can from them. But I have got to be Paul Chesgar and be what God wants Paul Chesgar to be.” Because when I try to be what they are and I try to compare myself, it is disaster.

By the way, I have said so many times, when you start comparing with other people, one or two things happen: either pride or pity. One of the two always happens, always does. And I have got to say, “Hey, this is what God wants me to be,” and I am going to be content being what I ought to be.

My wife and I, we did not purchase or buy a house until we were married ten years. We were looking around, so-and-so has got a house, so-and-so has got a house, we ain’t got no house. And somewhere along the line, you realize, “Hey, we are doing what God wants for us, and we are going to trust our shepherd.” That is he is leading us, and we are following him, and he has got a plan, a path for us. And it is not going to look like anybody else’s. We are just going to have to follow his will for us.

You see, here is the thing: When I start looking too much at others, I am tempted to make my own plans instead of following the shepherd. Because I do not have my eyes on the shepherd; I have got my eyes on the other sheep. And the unfortunate thing of that is, often I miss the paths of righteousness that he wants me to be on.

It is interesting. Good preacher, good preacher. But I heard him talk about it one time. He said he was told about praying all night long. I was interested in that. I am not saying I have done it or anything like that, not trying to act like I am there or anything, but I heard it, and I was curious about that. And it was very interesting. He said, “When the Lord led me to pray all night long, the next day I would have plenty of energy.”

Now, he did not say it, but it let me think: the times he tried to do it or did it, and the Lord did not lead him, he did not have the energy the next day. Friend, the Lord leads in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Now, here is the temptation: “Man, I heard so-and-so prayed that long.” If God is leading you, praise the Lord for that. I might go after it. But my temptation has been, “Well, they did it, I am going to do it,” and the Lord is not in it. Friend, it is pretty tough to do.

I am just saying that do not compare. He leads in paths of righteousness.

Path—that is, of righteousness—for his namesake. Now, let us get that last part. We are done. Number one, we said, “Hey, all you have to do is follow.” Boy, I like to be used by God. All right, the pressure is off. All you have to do is follow. That is it. Number two, paths, plural. You are going to look a little different for you than for me, vice versa. You follow his path of righteousness for you.

Then number three, number three, and we are done for tonight: That last part, “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his namesake.” If he is leading and I am following, it will be all about him. It is sad when it becomes about us.

King Saul in the Old Testament—boy, it became about him. He started off good. He started off very, very humble. And God said, “When you were little in your own eyes, I made you the king.” But boy, it became all about him, him, him, him. And now I am going to take the throne from you. It was a sad thing.

Joseph—boy, he had his brothers try to kill him, sell him into slavery, and Potiphar’s wife lie about him and in prison. And the butler and the cupbearer forgot about him for years—two years there—and all those things. One of them got his head chopped off. But many of those things going on.

And in the end, remember the very end of it all, he is the prime minister over there, and his family comes, and he feeds them and all that. Dad dies, and then the brothers say, “Oh, Joseph, you are going to get us now that Dad is gone.” Remember what Joseph said in Genesis 50, verse number 20, I believe it is? But he said, “As for you, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

Now, here is the thing: It was not about Joseph. It was all about Joseph. Joseph being hurt and offended and mad, ready to get revenge and kill them all. Joseph said, “God has a plan here. God is doing something. God is working.”

And if I am following the shepherd, it is not necessarily all about me. It is a shame on us when we just want to take credit. We want to put our fingerprints on it. It bothers me. I see it sometimes in my flesh. No, no, no. If I am following the shepherd, it is not about who cares who gets the credit. It is about the Lord’s work getting done for his namesake.

If the Lord is leading you, it is not about us. It is about God and his glory and his credit.

My former pastor, I mentioned every once in a while, my brother Howells. He was my pastor. I was there in the church for seven years on and off. I listened to his sermon tapes for years growing up, and he influenced my life greatly. But after all that, I listened to thousands of sermons under that ministry and all that. We moved down here to Middle Tennessee to start the church. And I never heard this, but through someone—I cannot even remember how I heard—someone, I think that went to Franklin Road back in the day when Bob Kelly—do you remember Bob Kelly? Yeah, machine gun Kelly they used to call him—I mean, he just kept there, boom, boom, boom, boom, when he was done. But his wife, Mrs. Kelly, she had gotten, I think it was MS, if I remember right. And I did not realize until I got down here and close to that ministry, and some of the ministry said, “Well, Brother Howells had bought her her motorized wheelchair.” Nowadays, you can get it a lot of times with a different organization. Back in the day, there was a little bit harder to come by.

Now, here is the thing that I appreciated so much: I had heard thousands of messages under that ministry for years, and I never heard him tell that story. He never bragged or told that he had bought that. I like that. That is the way Christianity ought to be. It ought not be about, “Well, I did this, that, and other.” Nobody knows about it. Not for us. It is for the Lord.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He leaves me beside the still waters. He leaves me in the—well, I am messing it all up. My goodness, let us just go back and get it. We will get it right. We will get it back. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his namesake.”

All you have to do is follow. Paul, it is not as hard as you think. The devil convinces you that you cannot be used by God. All the Lord will lead you; you just follow. And do not get caught up in too much what everybody else is doing. Just say, “Hey, this is a path God has for me,” paths of righteousness. And in the end, not about us, for his namesake.

Hey, tonight, how about let us just determine in the first service of the year, let us just follow. Let us just follow. Maybe we will make that song our prayer tonight: “Where he leads me, I will follow.” Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? We are going to have a word of prayer. We will get our instruments playing. I think it would be a great night for all of us just to come down and just spend some time: Lord, I will follow you this year. It is 2020. Where you lead, I will follow. I am excited that you will lead me in paths of righteousness. You will use me for your namesake. Would you do that? Let us just come tonight and say, “Hey, Lord, I will follow. I will follow.” Let us just as a church family let him know, “I will follow, Lord.” Would you please stand? We will have a word of prayer. And let us come. Just present ourselves: Lord, I will follow. I will follow.

Father, thank you, Lord, that I do not have to make it happen. I am not equipped. I cannot do all that. I am not much of anything. But Lord, thank you I can follow. Thank you, Father, that you lead. Help us just to follow. Help us be wise enough not to compare. Lord, help it not be about us, but about you and your namesake. Bless our people. The invitation, Father, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Would you come as our instruments play? Let us just come. Say, “Lord, I will follow.” “Lord, I will follow.” Would you let him know that? That would be good. Let us just all come. “Lord, I will follow. I will follow.” Just let him know that. “Lord, I will follow.” 2020, first day of the year, “Lord, I will follow.” Just let him know that. It will be a great night. “I will follow. I will follow. I will follow.”

I thought about an instance in my life, just about following. You do have to follow. Years ago, we had a man come through. He is a good man. I have known him for years. And he had a printing press. And he had wanted to take a message I preached one Sunday morning who was here and print the message out. And I said, “Well, I tell you what, let me go through it and get everything right, grammar right, spelling right.” Spelling, you do not have to spell in the message, but I said, “I will get it all right,” you know. And he said, “No, let me just print it like it is, all hillbilly and everything,” you know. And I said, “No, let me, let me work it over a little bit.” And I dropped the ball. Never got it to him. And it has been years ago. And I will be honest with you, I had to tell him a little bit later on, I am sorry. If you leave somewhere like that again, I will follow. I will just say, hang on that. You can take him pretty far. You do not have to follow. And he might lead you somewhere. It is a little uncomfortable. Go witness to your neighbor or something. But all he has got to do is follow. He will lead. He will lead. Just follow. That is all he has got to do is follow.

Let us just follow. Let us just follow. Let us just decide. 2020, just going to follow. Just going to follow wherever he leads. And he leads in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Amen. And just to keep that, I am going to follow this year. Amen.

Original File: ＂It’s Not As Hard As You Think To Be Used By GOD＂ Pastor Paul Chisgar Wed. 1⧸1⧸20 [mQWuqSsxoFI]