God…His Church…and YOU!
Our God has identified Himself as 3 persons in one Godhead. All one and all equally God. Hard to comprehend! We say the words, “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I think visioning a loving father can be easy…A son who would die for others can be easily understood…but what about the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us (makes us holy) by bringing us to faith. He has invited you and drawn you to the gospel. He gave you the saving knowledge of Jesus as your Savior.
The Holy Spirit also calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian faith. You and all believers are His church on earth. Most of you reading this have been called to be part of the local “congregation” known as Royal Redeemer.
All Christians individually as well as all Christian churches have the same general mission. Matthew 28:19-20…Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” It’s God’s mission and His promise to be with us as we serve Him!
Each church is uniquely created by God to accomplish His plan. Each church has unique leaders, members, gifts, and a location that God wants to use to His glory to reach those who need to hear and see His love for them.
Royal Redeemer started a new 3-week sermon series last week. The leadership team had many hours of discussion over the last year to determine the unique purpose and the reason that we (Royal Redeemer) exist. We looked at our mission (what we do)…and our values (why we do what we do)….so that we can make an impact in the world, to influence others to know and serve the Lord….and to celebrate God’s Love for us, all the while, managing our resources that God has blessed us with.
Pastor Zahrte has put it this way “Living in a pandemic offers us an opportunity to refocus our attention on the kind of people God wants us to be, the values He wants us to embrace, and His desire for us to make the most of our abilities and resources. Regardless of what we experience in life, the greatest gift we can offer to our gracious God lies in understanding what He has called us to do, putting our talents to work, and being faithful with what He has entrusted to us.”
Now, you may be saying that this devotion sounds more like a lecture, with little action steps to follow and where are the stories but:
Do you know what your shape is? No, not whether your diet is working…who are you?
Your:
- Spiritual Gifts
- Heart (what are you passionate about)
- Abilities
- Personality
- Experiences
Want to know more about your Spiritual Gifts? You can contact Bennie at [email protected]
Do you know that God hand made you and placed you right where you are? But there may be a problem. Many people are part of the church but not doing their part in the church! Being a Christian is not a spectator sport!
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Every one of you has a purpose within the church…within God’s bigger church. If you are not doing what God is calling you to do…it may not get done. Do you know that you may be the answer to someone’s prayer…..WOW!
Ephesians 4:16…From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Do you spend time talking with the Lord in prayer so you can know where you fit in His plan?
- Sometimes God is calling you to be part of a church service opportunity or event or life group…or to volunteer to lead a group or event.
- Sometimes God is calling you to reach out to someone…. especially in this Covid world that we live in. The needs are everywhere.
- Sometimes He wants you to just sit and listen to someone. To call someone who is isolated and lonely. The ministry of presence.
This story may help you to be ready to “be the church” in every situation that you find yourself.
A teacher had a weeklong vacation Bible school and then she invited the students to join her in the usual closing ceremony. Let’s make our churches, she said. “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open a door and here’s…. Just then it hit her. She had totally forgotten about a little boy who had joined the class that day who was missing one arm. She had been so worried about one of the children making a comment about the handicap or saying something else to embarrass him. Now the very thing should worry about the children doing, she had just done. As she stood there speechless…. Trying to decide what to do. The most wonderful thing happened! The little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with their left hand placed it up to his right hand and said, “Davey, let’s make the church together.”
We all need one another. It is easy for us to see how the weak need the strong, but we also need to realize that a strong need the seemingly weaker parts to be a complete body.
I want you to read this section of God’s Word each day this week….asking God to let you know what He has gifted and called you to accomplish thru Him and for Him.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27… Unity and Diversity in the Body
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.