My 9th grade basketball coach had an interesting expression. If he had a player on the team that wasn’t contributing, he called him a “chicken fryer.” A “chicken fryer” was only on the team to sit on the bus on the away games and eat fried chicken. He wasn’t making a difference.
There are a lot of “chicken fryers” on God’s team … people who are saved but are not focused on the goal. They don’t even know why they’re here! But God has left you and me here to be His witnesses. Jesus told His disciples:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
If you want your life to count, you’ve got to get on mission with God and not be a “chicken fryer.” You need to say, “Lord, I want to contribute to Your Kingdom.”
The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion. Jesus didn’t say, “You might want to do this.” No! That’s your purpose. “But witnessing makes me nervous,” you might say. “I don’t have what it takes.” Well, I want to encourage you today—you do have what it takes! And the first step to making your life count is very simple: You must be available to Him.
Peter … Thomas … the two guys on the road to Emmaus whom the resurrected Jesus spoke with … they were just ordinary people like you and me.
First Corinthians 1:26 says: “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.”
God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things so He gets all the glory. You don’t have to be greatly skilled or have it all figured out. You don’t have to be able to answer all the questions or have completed three years of seminary.
In John chapter 4, the woman at the well won a whole city to Christ. She had been saved for just minutes. She said, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” And they came because of her witness and believed in Jesus.
When Isaiah saw the glory of God and heard God say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). That’s being available!
Someone once said, “The best ability is simple availability.” Are you available to God? God wants us to be available to Him 24/7. And when He calls, “Whom shall I send?” He wants you to raise your hand and say, “Here am I, Lord. I’m available to You.”
That’s how you get on mission with God and start reaching the world for Christ one heart at a time. Every believer can do it. To those who put the fried chicken down and say, “Lord, I want to be in the game,” the Lord says, “Great! I’m going to use you.”
Remember, Jesus is always with you and He will help you. Just make yourself available to Him today and say, “Here am I, Lord. Send me!