Saturday October 8, 2011

Read: Ephesians 4:1-16

 

Picture if you will, a Ferrari. Not just any old Ferrari but a brilliant red Ferrari with a white leather interior, 22 inch mags, front and back spoilers and, best of all, the keys in the ignition ready for you to take it for a spin. But before you go off in fantasy land dreaming about cruising down the freeway in this superb beast of a car, think about that car and the way it works. Basically, every piece of that car has been finely honed to perfection and put where it is for a specific reason. All the parts of the car work together to enable it to perform at its peak. Every piece of that car has a purpose, a function and was specifically made by the manufacturer.

 

The church is very much like that Ferrari. Every person in the church has been (and is being) finely honed by the manufacturer and is put there for a specific reason. All the parts of the church (ie the people, not the building) work together to enable it to perform at its peak. Every person in the church has a purpose, a function and was specifically made by the manufacturer, by God.

 

God’s purpose for the church is that each person work in unity to build up the church for works of service (that is Good Works) so that the body of Christ might be built up in unity and knowledge and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  You have a role to play in that purpose. God has made you as you are and has put you where you are so that you can help the body of Christ mature, grow and be built up, expand and come to know Christ more fully.

 

Now here’s the million dollar question – Are you active in the church, doing that which God has made you and called you to be doing? More often than not I hear people say something like, ‘But I don’t know what God wants me to do’ or ‘I don’t know what my spiritual gifts are’.  You can find your spiritual gifts and what God wants you to be doing in and through the church thus:-

 

Pray: Ask God to show you your gifts and to reveal to you what He wants you to be doing. Without prayer you will never know.

Passions: Where are your passions and desires. If you locate these you’ll probably locate your gift(s) and calling. Rarely does God give us a passion and then call us to work elsewhere. The two usually coincide.

Peer: Peer at the church, look at it and see where the needs are. Does your passion or could your passion fill a need in the church? Is there some gaping hole you could fill? Can you help in some area that is deficient or needy?

Persist: Keep filing the need or serving in the area you have identified for some time. Six months to a year  is a good time frame.

Ponder: Take time with a mature Christian to ponder the outcome over the last 6 -12 months. Have you made a difference? Have you brought blessing to people’s lives? Have you had an impact? Have you helped others in some way, shape or form? If you have seen positive results from your involvement you can reasonably assume that this area is one of your gifting and you can continue serving and blessing the body. If the outcome is not as positive as hoped, you can go back to praying and try another area that you are passionate about.

Tomorrow the body of Christ will gather again. The Lord God Almighty has created you to be actively involved in that body. He has made you to be a vital part of that body. You will never ever find anything that satisfies you as deeply as doing that which you were created for. How will you be involved in tomorrow’s gathering of the body of Christ?

 

Prayer Points:

> Pray for the Student Life ministry team in PNG being lead by George and Eva.  Please be praying for them as missionaries, that God would continue encouraging them.

> Pray as well as the student team for their growth in the faith.

> Praise God for His current provision for the team and for how He will continue to provide for them.