12th July 2026

God’s Flawed People

A sermon written and delivered by Jess Jephcott on Sunday 12th July 2026,

but inspired by the sermon from Sermon Central, Paul Dayao, 2026.

Good morning. Before I begin, I just want to express my deep and personal sadness over the loss of Ann Widdecombe. May she rest in peace with our Lord and Saviour.

A prayer:

Father, loving my enemies feels impossible, but I know nothing is impossible with You. I confess the resentment I feel toward those who have wronged me. Help me to release these emotions and replace them with love and forgiveness. Empower me through Your Holy Spirit to bless and pray for them, even when it’s hard. Help me to see them as You do—with compassion and mercy.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Today, I want to talk about God’s flawed people. So, what do I mean by that?

Why do we read in the bible, time and time again, scripture that records the flawed, imperfect people, that God calls upon to do His work?

Our first reading, read for us by Janet, is from the book of the prophet Jonah, centred on that well-known story of Jonah and the Whale. We all know the story, don’t we? Yes, Martin gave us a sermon about this flawed man, last year, and now I am giving him some more attention.

In chapter 1, verse 1, of the book of Jonah, we learn that God commanded Jonah to, ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me’. But Jonah had other ideas, and he ran away, found a ship and fled from the Lord. The Lord commanded a storm, the ship was in great danger of breaking up, Jonah was thrown into the sea by the crew, who blamed him for the situation. Immediately, the sea calmed, but, as we heard from our reading, the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah. All turned out well in the end though and the Lord saved Jonah.

Only then does Jonah obey God’s call and go to Nineveh where the people repent upon hearing his message, and thus are saved from God’s wrath. But Jonah wasn’t happy. He complained, angry that the Lord had spared them, unable to understand God’s compassion. He takes four chapters of the book to moan and grizzle about it all.

How imperfect can you get? This is surely a clear example God’s unfathomable grace at work.

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Why does God use imperfect people to do His work?

I suppose that the first reason is, that is all He has got to choose from. Indeed, God uses imperfect people because ..… there are only imperfect people. If He decided to not use imperfect people, He’d have no one to choose from.

Right from the beginning, in the book of Genesis, God created Adam. However, that’s where the trouble began. We know that, then, God created a woman as Adam’s helper. Then followed the snake and the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – and, as a result, Adam became perhaps the first flawed person when he disobeyed God’s instruction. God had created a flawed person, whose DNA flowed through later generations, to create many more flawed people. Jonah was clearly one of them. Me too!

The writer of the book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, pays special attention to several of our Old Testament heroes in chapter 11, who, by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised. Abel bringing a better offering than Cain, Enoch taken from his life, Noah when warned of things not yet seen, built the ark. By faith, Abraham, called to a place that he did not know, the Promised Land. When God tested him, he offered his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. Isaac blessing Jacob and Esau. By faith, Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons. Joseph when his end was near, spoke of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Moses’ parents hid him from that nasty king’s clutches, resulting in Moses bringing his people out of Egypt and receiving the Commandments from God.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea.

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell.

By faith, the prostitute Rahab was not killed with those who had disobeyed God.

The writer of Hebrews, in verse 32, ran out of time with his story, mentioning Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel - and the prophets.

Not so long ago, I stood here to speak about a man named Gideon, who struggled deeply with a lack of courage. When God called Gideon, he wasn't acting like a mighty warrior. He was hiding in a winepress, terrified of the Midianite army.

From Judges 6:15 - "Pardon me my Lord’’, Gideon replied, ‘’but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

Gideon was so full of doubt that he asked God for multiple signs, the famous fleece being one, before he would eventually obey. Yet, God didn't abandon him. God patiently worked with Gideon's weak faith until Gideon, by faith, was willing to face a massive army with only 300 men, armed with nothing but trumpets and pitchers and winning a great battle.

Then we have Barak, who was similarly hesitant. God commanded him to lead an army against Sisera, but Barak refused to go unless the prophetess Deborah was by his side.

From Judges 4:8 - "And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go."

His faith was timid, and because of it, he lost the ultimate glory of the battle, to a woman named Jael. Yet, despite his hesitation, Barak still marched onto the battlefield. He still had faith in God, enough to fight.

The lesson here is that God does not despise your weak faith. You may be trembling, doubting, and asking for reassurance, but if you will eventually step up and do God’s will, God will use you to achieve the goal.

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I am flawed, I am imperfect. I have left it a bit too late in life to do any more than I have already done to change that, but I can still try. Surely, our love for God and our hatred of sin should lead us to want to live perfect lives.

Perhaps the second reason for why God uses imperfect people is that imperfect people have to depend on Him.

God chose Gideon, who was a coward, to lead his army. Gideon didn’t have the courage for the job, so he had no choice but to depend on God.

Jonah was angry at God’s compassion. Our second reading, read to us by Philip, from Matthew 5, tells us how Jesus asked us to show love for our enemies. The reading finishes with verse 48, ‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect’. As with Jonah, I struggle with this too. Love my enemy? Really?

Jesus said we are to aim for perfection. We recognise we aren’t there yet, but like the apostle Paul, we strive for it. From Paul writings, Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”.

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If Gideon and Barak struggled with fear, the next two struggled with foolishness and sin.

Samson is famous for his supernatural strength, but he was incredibly weak when it came to his own desires. He broke his vows, played with temptation, and ultimately lost his strength, his eyes, and his freedom because of his sin with Delilah. He ended up as a blind slave grinding grain in a Philistine prison. But in his final moments, in the dark, his faith flickered back to life.

From Judges 16:28 - "And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." God answered that prayer.

Samson achieved his greatest victory in his final breath, tearing down the pagan temple. His life was a mess, but his dying faith was undeniable.

Next, Jephthah was a mighty warrior, an illegitimate child, kicked out of his home by his half-brothers, forced to live as an outcast with a band of "vain men" (according to Judges 11:3). He is famous for making a rash, tragic vow to God, that, if God would give him victory, he would give the first thing that came out of his house as a burnt offering to God. His daughter came out and Jephthah fulfilled his vow. By faith, he believed God could deliver Israel through him, and God did.

What lesson do we take from this? Your past failures, your background, and even your self-inflicted wounds, do not disqualify you from the grace of God.

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The last, but one, person that I am going to talk about represents the transition from the chaotic period of the Judges into the era of the Kings and Prophets.

David, the man after God's own heart, is perhaps the greatest example of flawed faith. David was a giant-slayer and a sweet psalmist, but he was also a man who fell into the horrific sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah.

Scripture openly notes though, “But the thing David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). Nevertheless, his sincere repentance and enduring faith shine through the Psalms, revealing that mercy follows even staggering failure. How does a murderer make it into the Hall of Faith?

True faith does not mean you never sin; true faith means that, when you are confronted with your sin, you fall on your face in absolute repentance.

Last but not least, I have singled out Peter.

Peter, Peter, what were you thinking? Peter denied any connection to Jesus in a moment of raw fear. The Gospel recounts, “He began to curse and swear’’. From Mark 14:71,  ‘I do not know this man you are talking about!’ Of course, we all know now that, in so doing, he had fulfilled Jesus’ prophesy and had had a change or heart. He was Christ’s Rock on which Christ’s church was built. If it wasn’t for Peter, where would we be today? Truly, a powerful story of restoration, but one of a flawed man, nevertheless.

It’s all well and good, pointing out the imperfections of others in the bible. But what about today? Do you know any perfect people? I know of people who have done well in life. I know of a trillionaire. I know of people who have said that God has called them to do something, often in a missionary capacity. I know somebody who is waiting for God to tell them what to do next with his life. I have felt sometimes that God is guiding me. Hey, wasn’t it God who found me a perfect wife - and God who guided us both to where we now live, leading to me speaking to you today?

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Perhaps a third reason for why God uses imperfect people is that He gets the glory. Perhaps a cynical view but undoubtedly true.

If God chose extraordinary people and they did extraordinary things, everyone would think, ‘Of course that person accomplished that.’ But when God uses imperfect people, when He chooses those who are very ordinary, and they accomplish the extraordinary, everyone is amazed. They realise it had to be God, and so God gets the glory.

Jesus chose imperfect, everyday normal guys, and asked them to lead His movement and change His world. They soon began doing the extraordinary, and everyone realised that it couldn’t be them alone. From Acts 4:13, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

I will finish with a short prayer.

Lord God, you are perfectly faithful in everything you do. You show your faithfulness to me in caring for me, protecting me, and providing for my needs. Please forgive me if I have ever questioned you, grumbled about my circumstances, or turned my back on you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.