Well, we're going to continue on in this.
You know, Pastor ministered to us about the architect,
Hallelujah, that he's the one building his church, Amen.
Glory to God. And then we know that he
ministered on the appointment, that everyone has an appointment
in the Kingdom of God, Amen. Hallelujah.
Well, you know what? Every, each and everyone of us
have an assignment in the body of Christ.
We have an assignment, Amen. You know, one of the top
questions that people are constantly asking is what is my
purpose in life? What is my purpose in life?
And one thing that I know is that you will never discover
your ultimate purpose in life outside of you finding your
assignment in the body of Christ, your ultimate purpose,
why you were created in the earth, why God chose you.
Come on, He picked you. He chose you out of darkness and
brought you into His Kingdom, His marvelous light, for a
reason, Amen. And of course, that reason is
not just so that when you die, you know where you go, but so
that you can begin to discover why you were created and the
purpose and the plan that God had for your life from the
beginning of the foundations of the earth.
Amen. And it's so important that we as
believers, you know, another thing that the world is pushing
is, you know, one thing they do in high school is what what are
you going to for your career? They have the, you know, pushing
you towards a career, pushing you towards a career.
And we know people that have spent thousands of dollars going
to college, pushing them on a a road come on in a place of what
they think is going to be a career or what they were going
to do with their life. To only look back at their life
and realize they wasted time and money because it was never
satisfying to them. And so the greatest thing we as
believers must set ourselves in a position to do in the body is
find out what He has a sign for us to do in the earth while we
are still in the earth. Amen.
So that we will not waste the time that God has given us in
this earth. And we'll know that in every
step we are pursuing after for him and his purposes for our
life, his assignments for our life.
Because we know one of the the quotes that Doctor Miles Monroe
said was what you're, you've been busy in the wrong
assignment. You can be busy and the wrong
assignment. That's what he's saying.
And then you look back on your life and think, what have I been
doing with all my life when I should have been pursuing what
God had for me to do? Amen.
And so we're going to look at finding and discovering our
assignment in the body of Christ and realizing that it is
essential, it's essential and it is necessary that each
individual in the body finds his place, his fit in the body of
Christ. It's essential and it's
necessary. Just as Brian got up here and
encouraged us out of First Corinthians chapter 12, which
was my first scripture that we were going to look at today,
which is it's essential and necessary because in First
Corinthians chapter 12, and I encourage every single one of
you to read that chapter this week.
Read it and see how he relates the body of Christ to our human
body, right? And he relates the body of
Christ in the way that the human body functions and how
everything in our human body right now is to be functioning
properly and at high capacity. Because if something is not
working properly, come on, we are not getting all that is
necessary for our body. Amen.
And so every bit of our body working properly is important,
is necessary, and each individual part of our body is
bringing a supply TO1 organ or the next to the joints.
The bones come on from the blood, from the veins, from the
cells that are working in our body.
Everything is necessary for us to be complete and whole.
And how about this for us to grow up and mature properly?
Because if something's out of order and not working and
functioning right, what do we call that?
We call that a disability, and we can't function the way that
God designs us to function, right?
And so again, everything is necessary for us to grow and
mature properly and nothing. I'm so glad that the cells in my
brain are working and I'm not, you know, fried up there, right?
And they don't have any cells. No, I can't see those cells
working and functioning, but I thank God they are.
Amen. And so everything that we are
doing to put our hand to the body of Christ is essential, not
just for me, but for others. It's necessary for others.
And we see that. We can see that in Ephesians
where he tells us that we are here to bring our gifts to build
up the body of Christ. So it's not just about our body
functioning properly, It's about us bringing a supply that's
going to help every single one of you be able to function
properly because we're all fitted together.
We're all fitted together where every joint supplies, it brings
a supply. And so you know what, you can
feel it when somebody is not bringing their supply.
You can feel it when somebody is not bringing their supply.
I'm going to say this, as pastors, we can feel it when
you're not bringing a supply of faith for the service, just just
a supply of faith and expectation and what God has for
you. You can feel it.
You can feel it and so everything is important and not
one thing is not necessary for us.
You know in the body of Christ we need every believer right is
vital for the body and the thing about it is is what we see is
that God designed us in the body of Christ as individual
believers. He designed every single one of
us with as pastor said with the architect it knowing exactly
what it is that you were designed to be able to fit into
the body of Christ. What you are going to be able to
bring what you will be able to produce for the body.
All right and so it's very important that we recognize that
out of first Corinthians 12. I wanted to also I don't guess I
set my thing to where it didn't cut off Anyway.
I also want to talk about today the benefits.
Do you know there are benefits in finding your fit in the body
of Christ? There are benefits to finding
your your fit in the body of Christ.
Finding out what God has a sign for you to do #1 it helps you
discover your gifts and talents and purposes that get is given
by God. If you don't begin to serve the
body of Christ, you will never walk into those gifts and those
talents that He had in your life all along, waiting for you to be
able to discover some things about yourself and the purpose
that God has for you. The next thing that helps you
and benefits your life is it helps you be an example by
serving others over yourself, serving others over yourself
just as Christ did because we know in Matthew 20 he said this,
the greatest in the Kingdom is the what is the servant of all?
So he expects and actually desires that every single person
in the body of Christ be a servant.
And listen, if you're a servant, then you'll be able to discover
some leadership abilities within your life outside of serving.
You won't discover some things that God has for you in your
life. He designed it that way.
He created us that way in the body of Christ.
So it's going to help us see the gifts, the talents, be able to
recognize that this is not just about me, but it's about all of
us. One of the other things that we
benefit from finding our fit and serving our assignment in the
body of Christ is that is what helps connect you to other
believers. That's what helps connect you to
other believers. That's what helps you build up
the body of Christ, right? And it helps you then to begin
to bring a supply to the body. Another thing, this is the last
thing that I want to just share here is a benefit of serving and
finding your assignment is that it will glorify God, It will
glorify God. It will glorify God not only in
what we are doing, but it will glorify God to where when people
in this community look upon your life or look upon the church, it
will bring glory to the Kingdom of God.
It brings glory to the Kingdom of God.
Hallelujah. So serving is beneficial.
You know, there's this whole mindset in the world today that,
you know, people don't want you to put any pressure on them to
serve. It's the whole thing, right?
And that, you know, we just as pastors just want all of these
little minions running around doing everything for us.
This is the whole society. I'm telling you, it's a whole.
You can find any kind of blog you want to on it, OK.
And so we're always having to arrest this mentality.
God created us with gifts and abilities and talents, not to
waste in the world, but to bring to the body of Christ, to build
up His Kingdom. Come on so that the world can
see God doing things and manifesting himself in the
world. Amen.
And so it's vitally important that every single one of us find
and discover this gift and these talents that God has for our
lives. One minister said this, You will
never truly feel connected to a church until you begin to serve
in it. Because those that come and
don't serve, they can come and go and they're never really
connected. Come on, they're never really
connected. And you know what?
When you're really connected, it'll be harder for you to just
go because you'll know. This is where I'm fitted.
This is where God has assigned me.
This is what I was created to do Amen.
Hallelujah. So he says you'll never truly
feel connected to a church until you begin to serve in it.
Attending helps you grow spiritually, but serving allows
you to fulfill your God-given purposes.
And did you hear that word? Purposes?
And let me give you this word. It's not just an assignment,
it's assign mints because as long as we are breathing and as
long as you are yielded and following the Holy Spirit and
growing and maturing, there's going to be more and more
assignments that He's going to give you come on to bring to the
body of Christ. And it's through those
assignments that you will only begin to discover the real
purpose that God has for your life through those assignments
every day of being faithful, serving, and just doing the
things that you are hearing the promptings to do by the Spirit
of God putting you in the places, come on.
Because then you'll begin to find out, is this really me?
Is that really something that I'm talented to do?
Or is this a supernatural ability that God has given me?
See, I want to get beyond things that I can do as a talent.
Now He gives us talents, He gives us abilities.
He gives us these things. But I want to get beyond a
talent. I want to get to a place where I
am in an assignment and a purpose that it is supernatural
and supernatural alone that I cannot do it in and of myself.
Hallelujah. That I need His anointing upon
my life. I need His grace upon my life to
be able to accomplish all the things that He is assigning and
a purposing me to do in the earth.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
So it's very important that we recognize that it's not the
pastor just begging people to serve.
It's God himself that has ordained for you to serve his
body. Come on.
And what is the most greatest honor of all is that He picked
you. He chose you to be able to help
Co labor with Him. Come on, to build up his body,
to be able to bring a supply, to be able to bring people into the
Kingdom of God so that they can see His glory, so that you can
begin to demonstrate His power. Come on, Hallelujah, glory to
God. So in First Corinthians, I guess
we'll get started here in 12, four and seven, it says this.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same
Spirit is the source of them all.
There are different kinds of service, say service.
Why would he put the word service in the Scripture if he
did not expect His body to serve?
So he says, but we serve the same Lord.
God works in different ways, but it's the same God who does the
work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to
each of us so that we can help each other.
Why is a spiritual gift given to us?
So that we can get up here and prophecy and say, look at me.
Oh, and look at the power and look at the healings that are
being wrought by me. No, it was to be able to help
one another, to help one another, to bring a supply to
one another to the body of Christ, to build up his body,
his church, glory to God, glory to God.
Now let me read real quick out of Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7.
It says, however, he has given each one, Say each one, say it
again, say it again, yes, each one of us a special gift through
the generosity of Christ. He was so generous that he
decided he was going to give us each one a gift.
Hallelujah. And you know that gift was not
just that. When we die, we get to go to
heaven. The gift of salvation.
Hallelujah. Each one he wanted to give a
gift and he was generous about it.
Hallelujah. Now let's drop down and read
verses 11 through 16, 11 through 16, and I'm going to read out of
the amplified. It says this.
And his gifts to the church were varied.
And he himself appointed some as apostles, special messengers and
representatives, some as prophets who speak a new message
from God to the people, some as evangelists who spread the good
news of salvation, and some as pastors and teachers the to
shepherd and guide and instruct. And he did this to fully equip
and perfect the Saints, God's people, for the work of for the
work of. This is not a dirty word.
It's not a dirty word, but you know, it has become one and and
some churches, you know, I mean, and so it says this until we all
reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of
God growing spiritually. You see this.
It's all about building up the body of Christ until we all can
reach oneness of the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God,
until we all can grow spiritually.
It's all connected together. My growth is is connected to
your growth. If I'm not growing, guess what?
You're not going to grow. You're not going to grow.
If I'm not growing, you're not going to grow.
If someone else is not growing, that's connected to you in the
body of Christ. And so he says this, Let me see
where I was, OK? To become a mature believer,
reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ, manifesting
his spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts
in unity. You see that?
Exercising our spiritual gifts in unity.
And that's what Brian was alluding to, that the hand can't
tell the foot. I don't need you.
Because when you're in unity, you know, you need that hand,
you need that foot, you need that eye.
Come on, you need that ear. You need every part to be in
unison in unity. Oh man, you know, last night
Pastor around a movie and that's all we spent was one hour or
however long it was with TV yesterday.
But anyway, you know, sometimes you just got to take a brain,
you know, and so but he found this movie and it was called
what I don't even know, the heart of champions, Heart of
champions. So it's about a rowing team.
Has anybody seen it lift your hands?
It's about that rowing team, So powerful, so powerful.
The things that this coach was having to do to train this team
to be one in that boat, so much so that the one kid had the idea
of putting it in blindfolded. I'd like to know if we all came
in here blindfolded, would we all be in unison in what we were
doing in a service anyway? So you know, his coaching, you
know, my husband loves sports stuff.
So I'm I'm getting with the TV program, whatever this movie,
but I love because God gives you that correlation of the body of
Christ. So I'm like, man, you know, I
didn't even think I would be using it today, but it just came
up in the spirit. So evidently it was it was being
led by the spirit to watch that movie yesterday anyway, So thank
you. And so, you know, I mean, but
what was so amazing is that when they blindfolded them, it was so
that they could hear, so that the other senses could be able
to be so they everything. And you know why else they put
the blindfold on? So they wouldn't be distracted
at what they were seeing if the team looked like it was getting
ahead. No, they had to set their eyes.
They had to determine, listen. So I'm not going to get
distracted by what I hear, by what I've seen all around me,
but I'm going to stay the course and I'm going to row in rhythm
with the body of Christ. I'm going to row in rhythm with
what I know the Spirit is saying Hallelujah, powerful, powerful.
And how much more they're doing it for a stupid little trophy
and we're doing it for the King of glory and an eternal reward
and eternal crown of glory. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
So we need to get in unison, setting our eyes on the right
thing set in our ears, to hear the right spirit, so that the
church can reign in the earth like He said it would in these
last days. Amen.
Anyway, so that was good, praise the Lord.
So when we're all exercising, you hear that exercise.
Now, how many don't like that word?
Because serving is exercising, using our gifts, using our
abilities, using our talents, using those divine endowments
that God has given each and every one of us.
And it is exercise, it's stretching, which is the most
important when it comes to exercise when you get older.
You know, Pastor, I'll be 55 Tuesday and then I'll be 55
next. And I still don't like that word
exercise. But every day I'm seeing the
necessity of for it, for my body.
And so anyway, you know how many of you men went out and played
football yesterday and had some good times?
And so he said I was the oldest one on that football team.
And I guarantee you if I just do this next time I can smoke them
all because he said I wasn't the slowest.
So I heard there was a 19 year old in here.
Come on, that was sore. Here he is.
He played ball yesterday and I said, are you sore?
He said, Oh yeah, I'm feeling it.
I said, well, good, I'll let my husband know at 55 he's OK if
he's sore because you're a 19 year old and your body sore.
Hallelujah. Why am I even on this?
But it's funny, it's exercise. Oh yes, we need to laugh at
exercising, don't we? So exercising, that means
there's there's going to be times that in things that God is
desiring for us to do in our assignment, that's going to
stretch us. Come on, that's going to push us
and when we're being pushed and exercised in some things that
God's doing within our lives, come on, this is where those
those honing in of purposes can be discovered and outside of it,
it won't happen. And so I'm going to share a
little bit about that in a minute, but let me finish the
Scripture. Remind me verse 14 so that we
are no longer children. Do you see this the reason why
it's so important that everyone brings a supply and serves the
body of Christ to build them up and help them grow and then why
is it so that will no longer be children tossed what here and
there. Listen to what the amplified
says though, so we'll no longer be children spiritually
immature. And I'm going to say, say this,
that a person that has not discovered that they are to
serve the body of Christ is an immature believer and don't see
the importance of it is an immature believer.
And so he goes on to say, toss back and forth like ships on a
stormy sea carried about by every wind.
Shifting doctrine by the cunning and trickery of unscrupulous
men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything
for personal profit. But speaking the truth in love
in all things, both our speech and in our lives, expressing His
truth, let us grow up into all things unto the body, following
His example, who is the head? And do you know what His example
was? Is that the greatest in the
Kingdom is the servant of all. Our Lord and Savior served.
He's knelt down and washed His disciples feet.
He served, He served, and so it's very important that we
recognize that each and every one of us should be bringing
that supply. Verse 16 it says from him and
whom the body, the church in all of its various parts.
You see that it brings back First Corinthians 12/12.
There all the various parts joined and knitted firmly
together by what every joint supplies.
When each part is working properly causes the body to grow
and mature, building itself up in unselfish love.
When we determine that we don't have to serve, what is that
saying? So it's very important that we
begin to allow the Spirit of God to deal with our hearts in these
ways so that we can find the fit in the body of Christ and the
things that he needs us to bring our supply to.
So first Peter chapter 4, first Peter chapter 4, verses 10
through 11 says this. Just as each one say, each one
of you has received a special gift, a spiritual talent and
ability graciously given by God. Employ it, and serving one
another, employ it. You know what that means?
Put it to work. Put it to work.
You've all been. Each one of you have been given
a grace for serving. Actually, when you look that up,
for those that you know, you've taken my Ki class on grace,
serving grace. He has given each and every one
of us. When you look that up in the
Greek, this grace, this special endowment, this ability, this
grace for your life, your grace for your life is not the same
grace for my life. And we have to recognize that
we've all been given grace to get us into the Kingdom of God.
But then He gives each and every one of us a certain endowment of
grace and ability to do our assignment that He is asking of
us in the body of Christ. And that word there, that grace
that He's given to us. Let me finish reading it and
then I'll talk about it. It says employ it and serving
one another as is appropriate for a good steward of God's
multi faceted grace, faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts
and abilities granted to Christians by God's unmerited
favor. Whoever speaks to the
congregation is to do so as one who speaks the oracles or
utterances the very words of God.
Whoever serves the congregation is to do it as one who serves by
the strength which God abundantly supplies.
You see that God is the one that gives you the strength to serve.
We get burnt out when we do it on our own, but if we'll tap
into no, this is the grace of God within my life to be able to
serve the body of Christ in whatever capacity He's asking of
me. Then it's His supernatural
divine ability that He has put upon each and every one of our
lives to bring that supply to the body and that word there
multifaceted grace or that grace gift is comes sound kind of
sounds like the Greek word or it kind of sounds like charisma,
but it's charisma spelled like charisma.
So, and it literally means that divine endowment gift ability
that he has given each and every one of us to bring to the body
of Christ. And then he tells us, listen, be
a good steward of it. Are we being good stewards of
what he's given us to do? Or are we, you know, not doing
anything because he's, and you know, there's a whole nother
parable about the talents that we don't even need to get into,
but there's abilities, there's things, there's gifts that God
has graced each and every one of his children, his Saints, those
that have called on the name of the Lord with a grace and an
ability to bring to the body of Christ.
And are we stewarding it or are we not using it for the body?
Or are we actually abusing it in the world?
Because that was God's gift? I know some of the greatest
singers we know today had a beautiful voice and sang in
choirs, in churches. And what did it profit them to
gain the whole world to use their talent and ability for the
Grammy? Come on.
And they're in the grave today, wasted abilities, wasted talent,
not being a good steward of what God put in their life to do to
actually glorify him. Could you?
Well, we know like Whitney Houston and some of all of
these. Come on now, bring the house
down. Could you imagine the glory of
the Lord fallen in this place if Whitney Houston had got up in
here and was sold out to the King of Glory and and used her
voice that she actually discovered by singing in the
choir at the church? See what I'm saying instead?
Died of brokenness, squandering and wasting on the world when
God has put things within you to bring to glorify his Kingdom, to
glorify his Kingdom. So he says this.
Did I finish that scripture? Whoever speaks OK, whoever
serves the congregation, do it as one who serves by the
strength which God abundantly supplies, so that in all things
God may be glorified, he may be honored, he may be magnified
through Jesus Christ. To him belongs the glory and
dominion, forever and ever. Amen.
So again, these things that God has put within our heart, the
assignments and the purposes and the things that He has given
each and every one of us is only going to continue to be
discovered through US serving and using what it is He's given
us to bring to the body of Christ.
That's how they're going to be discovered.
Every believer, we've said this before, has a a general
assignment and a general purpose because assignments lead into
your purpose. Every believer has an assignment
and a purpose from God. Every one of us general and one
of those general assignments are is we are just supposed to live
like the word. If we could just get past this,
not past it, but actually doing it, you understand what I'm
saying? If we could just all live by the
word and do what the word is saying OK, and then it's then we
can see that we will then discover specific purposes for
our life, but it's only discovered in US.
Allowing him to use us in a general assignment and serving
and doing these things every day, and then things can begin
to develop and mature within your life.
And then you know what you're actually going to see where you
actually flow and function best in.
But if you're not doing anything, you're never going to
discover it. You know, I'm going to use this
testimony. I feel like it's already late
with me. Listen, I just got born again
and I just wanted to serve the Lord.
I just start, you know, when Pastor Earl and I got married at
21, this year will be 34 years that we made that decision
before we walked down the aisle that Jesus was going to be our
Lord. He was already our Savior as
children, but he became our Lord the day that we determined
before we got married. And you know, so every since
then for 34 years that's all we have pursued is the Kingdom of
God. And in the beginning I just
wanted to serve the Lord. I didn't have any mindset.
Y'all heard my testimony. I just wanted a happy little
marriage, a house, white picket fence and a husband that would
love me and work 9:00 to 5:00. Working 9:00 to 5:00, right?
That dated me a little bit. Anyway, you already know my
date. So anyway.
Just started serving the Lord. Nobody had to beg me.
When we started going to church and made a commitment that we
were going to raise our family and our kids in church, we just
started serving the Lord. I remember just working in the
nursery because I had children. I knew how to take care of kids.
So just put me in the nursery. I can take care of them all day
long with my eyes closed. OK, and had no problem.
Just started serving. Had no mindset that we were ever
going to be doing what we're doing today at all.
Nowhere ever in my mind, in my body.
Still have to slap myself sometimes multiple times, get it
right anyway. Had no desire, no mindset.
But what I did know is that I was going to serve.
No one had to ask. So I just volunteered in the
nursery and started serving, you know, in the little Bitty
Baptist Church with little bitty room this big and where all the
kids go in, you know, started serving.
And then as we started going to church for a couple of years,
then other things just started, you know, other things, Then we
ended up, you know, ended up in a, in a Assemblies of God church
where we all got filled with the Holy Ghost.
You know, I'm not, I'm skipping a lot, But anyway.
And it was then that the pastor's wife said, hey, you do
such a good job with the kids teaching, you know, taking care
of all the babies, but I want you to teach a Sunday school
class. And I say, well, I've never
taught a Sunday school class. It was actually with AG.
It was Missionettes, Missionettes and Royal Rangers.
And I'm like, I've never taught a Sunday school class.
You know, I've never done this. I've never.
But you know what she was doing stretching me.
You know what she was doing, saying, come on, you can do it.
You can do it. So then I'm like, well, OK, I
guess I'll do it, you know. And so I began to teach this
little Missionette class, little Sunday school class, and had all
these kids and, you know, all these things.
And then, you know, we're doing that for about a year or so.
Then Can you believe this? All of a sudden she comes up and
says I want you to sing a solo and this is when it was back on
tapes. Do y'all know what these things
cassette tapes are? So, you know, it had the
background music on the cassette and you put it in and then you
sing along, you know, and I'm like, I've never sang a solo
before. I've, you know, I think at that
time I was doing maybe she had asked me to be on the worship.
So as I'm like, I Can't Sing. I've never, I don't want to be
up here. Just put me in the room, close
the door with 50 kids. I'll be fine, you know, and,
and, and So what is she doing? She's stretching me and not even
probably in her mindset knowing, but there was something that
needed to be done and she thought you can do it.
And what if I would have resisted?
What if I would have said, well, I got my own kids to take care
of? I don't have time to be on the
worship team. I don't have to tell what you
want me to do a solo. I've never spoken in front of
anybody before and you want me to get up there and like sing a
literal solo and sing and you know what song it was?
I'll never forget. It's because when Brownsville
was happening Revival and I ended up singing Mercy or some
song called No Lord come running, Mercy come running,
mercy come running. Anyway, I remember the name and
I don't remember the words or whatever.
So don't ask me to sing it. And the Holy Ghost isn't going
to remind me either. So anyway, but I'm just saying
all of this, me just serving wherever I could put my hand to
and just doing whatever because I just had a heart to serve the
Lord. I just wanted to do whatever the
Lord wanted me to do. I was just yielded to want to
serve Him in whatever capacity, whatever need, because I loved
Him, I loved him, I loved him. There was no agenda in my mind.
There was no agenda in my heart. Only thing in my heart is that I
love the Lord. I loved his body, I loved the
church. I knew what God had done for me.
And that's all I wanted was just to serve hell with all of my
heart, with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of
my strength. But if we don't have that heart
to just serve him, we'll never discover.
We'll never walk into things that you could have never
imagined that you would see yourself doing.
And every day, every day, every day is a day that you have to
say yes because Amen, Hallelujah.
Every day is a day you have to say yes to whatever it is the
Lord is doing because it's producing something within you
to mature you, to grow you, to equip you to discover gifts and
talents and the purpose things that God has had within you all
of your life that He wants to bring out for the body of
Christ. And so it's so important that we
just allow him to use us in whatever capacity because it's
then that we are going to see, Oh, I'm really good at that.
Oh, I could do that. I mean, not like you're good at
it in yourself, but you can see, Oh, I can do that.
Oh yeah, I can, I can, you know, I can teach a class, I can study
the word. I can do this and and be able to
teach children and and share that into the next generation.
And you know, it's so important that we recognize everything
that the Lord is asking us to do in the body of Christ is there
to equip you to be able to do something that He has assigned
and purposed for your life. And we're responsible for it.
We will stand before the Lord because He gives us that in that
the talents He shows us in that parable.
We'll be responsible for us not stewarding the gifts and the
talents that God has given us in the earth while we're here still
in the earth, before He returns to be able to bring that
blessing to the body of Christ. Amen.
Hallelujah. I could give you tons of
examples, but we need to move on.
You know in Romans, Romans chapter 12 talks about these
these giftings as well and how again, here's Romans.
It shows us a picture of the body again and all the different
functions and all. Listen to this in Romans 4 it
says For just as in one body we have many parts, and these parts
do not all have the same function or special use, so we
who are many are nevertheless just one body in Christ and
individually we are parts of one another.
Say I'm a part of one another. This is it.
We're fitted together. We're fitted together and our
assignments are the things that continue to fit us in those
places to where we are together. We're going to run this race
together. We're A-Team.
Someone told my husband an analogy just this week too,
about a team. You know, I am.
When they were in a sport in college, they were a part of a
team, a baseball team. And those baseball team players,
they were best friends. They were practicing together.
They were going to school together.
They were doing all kinds of other events together.
They're a team. And he said.
And I was connected to that team.
And for that season in my life, I ran with that team.
I was a part of them. We didn't do anything outside of
one another, but when we all started going into our own
individual lives after college and stuff, I didn't see that
team member as much. There was nothing wrong with it,
but I was grouped together with a team.
And that's how it is here in this church, in this box body,
in this house. We are of the same team.
We are connected. We are here to run the race
together, to win the prize together.
Come on, we are here. We're going to see each other
day in and day out. And just as I was watching that,
that heart of the champion, they got in fights, they were beating
each other up. Because you know what, to grow,
there is pain to grow. You have to get past people's
weaknesses. So we're not all where we need
to be. But when you're a team, you work
together, you don't abandoned the ship, you don't bail on your
team. You know, couple of them on that
rowing team wanted to not do it, but they made a determination.
I'm not going to abandon the team and they made a
determination. I'm going to give 100%, a
hundred. Do we have any hundreds in here?
Not hunters, but hunter, right? I know we have some hunters in
here too. No, we're going to give 100% for
the team. That means we're all going to
have to day in and day out, bring our supply when it feels
good, when it don't feel good, when you want to cry, when you
want to scream, when you want to bust somebody in the face and
when you don't. And that's why we have
self-control, right? And that's why we have all those
fruits of the Spirit. But I'm telling you what, for
him to be able to build as the architect, what he wants to
build in the church, it's going to take every one of us
realizing that we are here together as a team, working and
serving. Now drop down to verse 7 of
Romans 12. Again, it says if service in the
act of serving, in service, there's an action of serving.
You can't just say, Oh yeah, I serve the body of Christ, Oh
yeah, I'm a Christian. And then you there's no action.
There's no action behind it. No, there has to be action.
That means you're going to be out being one that is actually
bringing service to the body of Christ and serving and actually
doing one who teaches. You're going to actually teach
one who encourages. Man, we need people to be
encouraged today. I need encouragement.
Can somebody please pump me up and tell me I'm not running my
race in vain? Come on, We need encouragement.
We need people to come along inside of a US and say we can do
it together. Come on.
And then you know what? There's a gift to give.
There's a gift to give one with generosity is always able to
just give. You know God will actually give
you the gift to give and be such a blessing upon your life.
Be able to be creative. He'll give you God ideas so that
your business will prosper or your whatever it is that you're
putting your hand to. You're just able to be a
blessing to anybody that comes in your way, then be it, he
says. Give, be, be generous.
One who leads. Not everybody is a leader
because we have to have some followers, but one who leads,
Listen to how you are to be a leader with diligence.
With diligence. If you're going to be a leader,
then you better be diligent about what you are doing.
You see that We're going to be diligent about it.
And then he says, this one who shows mercy, man, we need those
that are very merciful. Please.
We need those that are very merciful, OK?
We need the cheerfulness, right? And then, of course, love being
sincere and go on down, down, down, down.
But this is the point I wanted to make.
Verse 11 or verse 10, be devoted to one another with brotherly
affection as members of one body, a family, give preference
to one another in honor. Verse 11 never lagging behind
and diligent, always a glow in the spirit and enthusiastically
serving the Lord. This is how He tells us we
should be serving enthusiastically on fire,
purposeful, diligent, not lacking behind, not being lazy,
not being a good steward with the things that He's given us to
be, but enthusiastic about actually being able to come in
and serve the body of Christ, Amen.
That's what He tells us that we should be.
And you know what, Revelations? I'm closing with this.
Revelations chapter 2 and verse 19 says this.
I know all the things you do. You know he's talking to the
churches. I know all the things you do.
I've seen your love. Guess what?
You know that's not the only thing he's looking at.
I've seen your love. We all only want to focus on
that. How about this?
It also says I've seen your faith.
But you know what also says? It says he sees your service.
He sees it. He sees it all.
And your patience, endurance, and I can see your constant
improvement, oh, improvement in all these things.
He sees it when he's talking to the churches in the Book of
Revelations, he's letting them know I see it all.
I see your love. I see your faith, but I also see
your service. I also see your service and what
you're doing for the body of Christ, your patience, endurance
through it all. And not only that, He sees the
improvements. You see that isn't that awesome
that He's letting us know. Listen, I see it.
Nothing goes unseen even though I can't see my brain cells.
Nothing goes unseen with Him whose eyes are upon everyone,
looking to see not just how you're walking in love, not just
how you're operating in faith, but also how you're serving the
body of Christ. Amen.
Hallelujah. Glory to God, glory to God,
glory to God. Last Scripture, Matthew 2446.
Blessed is that faithful servant when his master returns and
finds him doing, finds him doing.
Finds him doing so I encourage you if you are not serving in in
some kind of capacity the body of Christ, you need to get
plugged up. You need to get connected.
You need to start putting your hand to something so that you
can continue to improve in discovering your fit your
assignments, your abilities, your talents and the things that
God has for you. There is, there is a grace upon
your life to be able to serve the body of Christ.
Amen. There's a grace upon your life
to be able to serve the body of Christ.
And he tells us that we ought to be good stewards of it.
Amen. Hallelujah.
Let's pray.