THE "BUT" MENTALITY

The "BUT" Mentality

Don't you just hate how our buts get in the way? When I say "but", I mean B-U-T.   You see, we all make excuses about going on a diet and working out. And even when God calls us, we still make excuses like, "But God I am not good enough", "But God, how can you use me?"
The bible is packed with stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things when they let go of their "buts", and surrender to Gods call. So today I will be showing you one of the three steps we will be looking at on losing your "but" and becoming the person God has called you to be.
So the first thing we have to realize is that we are set apart. And this is something Jeremiah had to learn in Jeremiah 1:5-9 NIV;

[5] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ” [6] “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” [7] But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, 'I am too young.'   You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. [8] Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. [9] Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my a mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth." 

I love how God called something out of Jeremiah that even Jeremiah didn’t know was there. God has a tendency to call out things in people that even they --in their in-most being -- don’t know is there.

Now here’s where the “BUTs” begin.
Jeremiah responded with “But look at me, I don’t know anything. I am only a boy!”. I don’t know about you, but I have used that excuse once or twice -- okay maybe one hundred times -- in my life. Yet every time I try to use that excuse, it makes me remember this one time when I was fourteen years old.

I was at a youth camp and it was during a worship service. I stood in the back of the building since it was the only place where I wasn’t surrounded by sweaty teenagers. I was worshiping and then I suddenly felt like God was telling me to ask this adult pastor if I could pray for him. And I -- who was filled with the Holy Spirit -- responded; “You want me -- a kid -- to ask an adult pastor if I can pray for him?” And God responded with “Yes.”


So I walked up to him, and asked if I could pray for him. I expect a “No thanks, I think I got this.” and then I’ll have the chance to walk away. But he responded with not only a "yes" but he told me how he was nervous about the next morning because he had to go to court over a speeding ticket.


Then we prayed together and I asked God to show favor on Him. And guess what? The next day when he got back to camp, he walked up to me with a big smile on his face and he told me that the judge dropped the charge. Now to some of you, this might not sound like a big deal but it was to me.

That was where God broke this idea that I had to be ________ to do his will. I believe that this is why we don’t see any big revivals anymore when God’s spirit pours out because we have believed the lies from the enemy that says we are not ________ enough to do God’s will. We have accepted this “BUT” mentality. “BUT God I am not old enough,” “young enough,” “good enough,” “smart enough,” “speak good enough,”... the list can go on and on!

So what lie of the enemy have you been believing?