January 14, 2017

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:3-8

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan, "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. It was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and begin my two-day journey back to the hospital. Upon arriving at the city, two men were fighting, and one was seriously injured. I treated his injuries and told him about Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camped overnight, and arrived back home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. When I arrived back at the city I was approached by the young man whom I had treated. He told me he knew I carried money and medicines. He said "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to jump your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards!"At this I laughed and said that I certainly was all alone out in that jungle campsite. But the young man pressed the point, saying, "No Sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those 26 armed guards that we were afraid and left you alone."

At this point in his message, a man in the audience jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked the exact day that incident happened. The missionary told him - and the man excitedly told THIS story - "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here, and I was preparing to play golf. I was about to tee off when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Holy Spirit was SO STRONG, I called men to meet me here to pray for you. "If you were here with me that day to pray please stand up?" The men who met together to pray stood up. The missionary wasn’t really concerned with who they were - but he wept as he counted their number -You guessed it - there were 26!

In these verses of Romans 12, Paul urges the believers with the importance of knowing the part they are to play in the local church AND to make sure they play that part. The part you should play is determined by the spiritual gift you have been given. Discover it and then faithfully use it by serving in the church.

Those 26 men in Michigan who had the gift of intercession were faithful to play their parts and they saved the life of their missionary friend!

How do you discover your spiritual gift?

Experiment

One way is to volunteer for a variety of areas in your church where you can serve discover what you enjoy doing and what you don't. You can also find out where you are effective and where you aren't.

Experience

Look back over your weeks and months or years of serving God in the church and see where you have made a difference. Talk with your pastor and see what he thinks your gifts might be. Where you have seen spiritual fruit develop from your ministry is a good indication of your giftedness.

Enlist

Ask your pastor if he has a spiritual gift inventory that you can take to help you identify your gift(s). At FredWes, that is part of our membership training class. Everyone who joins our church as a member know what his gifts are and can enlist in ministry according to their giftedness.

God has given you a "measure of faith" - a special gift enabling you to serve Him by serving your brothers and sisters in the church. If He has given you a gift, shouldn't you unwrap it? Shouldn't you do your part?

January 13, 2017

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Romans 12:3

Have you discovered the delicate balance between having to high of an opinion of yourself and thinking that God cannot use you at all? That "sober" evaluation of who you are in Christ AND of Who He can be in you is what leads to fruitfulness and fulfillment as a Christian! Therefore, one of the hardest accomplishments in life is to arrive at an objective view of yourself and your abilities. Perhaps the harder thing is maintaining it once you get it. To do so requires a delicate balance between pride and humility - OR - between arrogance and false humility.

Paul gives some insights on how to find that balance. He says the key is to measure yourself against your potential in Christ rather than compare yourself to other Christians. That will largely be determined by the extent that you know Christ and understand yourself. He has already challenged you to have your heart changed and your mind transformed by His Spirit. Only when you have the mind of Christ can you "soberly judge" yourself. Only when you know what your spiritual gift(s) is (are) can you be honest in your view of yourself.

I completely surrendered to the will of God when I was 14 years old. But at that time I had a very poor self-image and very little self-confidence. So, when God called me into the ministry I struggled gathering enough confidence to see myself in a pastoral role. It took me four years to grow and mature into the understanding of self-confidence based on God confidence. A trusted spiritual mentor constantly reminded me that with God's calling comes His enabling. And I came to understand the truth about spiritual gifts, special abilities given by God and activated by His Holy Spirit that enable me to minister in His Name. I could partner with God to accomplish the calling He had placed on my life. I began to understand that "without God I could nothing" BUT I could "do all things through Christ Who gives me strength". I could identify with Paul when he said, "To whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" Col. 1:27.

I learned during those formative years that self-confidence for the Christian is "Christ confidence". Having confidence was not about me, it was about Who He was and Who He could be in me. If I would surrender to Him and live a consecrated life walking obediently with Him He could use me. But God would not be able to use me if I thought too highly of my abilities. No could He use me if I had no confidence. The answer was to find my confidence in Him and His ability to use me in ministry.

Later, I learned about "spiritual gifts" or "the measure of faith" that God has given to every believer. Once I took my ego out of the equation, once I stopped measuring myself compared to other people and, instead, measured myself based on who I was in Christ - AND, who He was in me that's the day I was able to believe that God could use me in ministry! I believe that is what the phrase "sober judgment" means.

How about you? Have you discovered your spiritual gift? And if you have, are you using it in your local church.

If you answer "no" to either of these questions it is time to "sober up"!

January 12, 2017

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12 is such a gold mine of spiritual truths! The more you dig the more you find.

As I was looking over verses one and two I noticed it gives a great picture of what powerful worship looks like.

Powerful worship begins with sacrifice. Worship involves offering something of worth. How else can you express the worth you find in God but to give something you value the most. Paul says to offer your body, yourself as a living sacrifice.

In ancient days no one could come into the presence of royalty without an offering. How can you enter into the presence of the King of Kings without offering your best - yourself. Worship is not a casual event. Here Paul reminds you that when you enter in you must be all in!

Coming into God's presence fully surrendered allows God to respond to your worship. When you consecrate yourself to Him He moves upon your heart and mind with His Spirit. The result is a transformed mind and a renewed heart. God cleanses the sin that had separated you and allows you to experience intimate spiritual fellowship with Him. THAT IS WORSHIP!

Authentic worship is transformational. When you sincerely worship and when you actually meet God, you will never be the same. The result of a renewed heart and transformed mind is the ability to hear from God! God can now trust you with new truths and deeper revelations. You leave worship a different person than when you came.

Is that how you worship or are you a "casual" worshiper?

Do you consecrate yourself to God when you come to worship? Do you come with an attitude of "getting something from God" or do come to give something to God?

Are you the same person you where before you worshiped or do you allow God to change you? Will you offer yourself completely to God today?

January 11, 2017

Good news this morning! God calls you to "not be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with (His) good" and He has given you EVERYTHING you need to win! And I also believe He has given your family, your marriage and you church all that is necessary to win! All it takes is for you to execute the game plan.

Now, sometimes you have to keep executing for a quarter, sometimes it takes a half, and there are times when you have to go into overtime, but believe in God and trust His plan and you WILL be an overcomer!

What is the game plan?

SURRENDER, Vv. 1-2

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

You can't overcome evil in the world until you overcome the evil in you! That takes surrender. Humble yourself by confessing your evil nature and repent of your sinfulness. When you do, He will transform your mind and renew your spirit. He will place His nature within you through the infilling of His Holy Spirit. And then, walk in holiness each day by living a surrendered, Spirit-filled life.

Have you done that? Are you doing that?

SEEK, V. 2

"Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, perfect, and pleasing will."

Once you have had a spiritual transformation in your heart and mind you get on God's wave-length and can know what His plan is for you. Are you seeking His will?

I want you to notice what this verse says about God's will. It is good! That is good as in "righteous". So, if you are called to overcome evil with good wouldn't you want a "good" will at work in you and through you? Seek it! Seek it daily!

Also, notice that His will "perfect". How many things do you know that are perfect? God's will is perfect for you and for the purpose He has called you to accomplish. The word means "perfectly fitted for a task". For example, if you have a slotted screw and a phillips screwdriver that tool is not perfect for the job. A slot screwdriver is. So, this will that you seek is perfectly designed to fit you and to fit you for the task of overcoming evil with good! How good is that!

SERVE, Vv. 3-8

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

A huge part of the "perfect" will of God for you is discovering the "measure of faith" or the "spiritual gift" that He has hard-wired within you and activated by His Spirit. Once that happens you will find your place - the position you are to play to contribute to a winning team!

Once you discover your place then ministry will become a joy instead of a job! You will find greater satisfaction in serving! You will have boundless energy for serving rather than burn out!

Have you sound your position? If not, keep seeking! If so, keep serving!

Once you surrender to God and seek His will and then serve in that will, you will find that you grow stronger and you will bring strength to the church where you serve AND you will shape the people you serve! Week by week and day by day as you serve you will bring God's goodness to bear against the evil around you! You will accomplish the purpose God called you to!

Sound good? Sounds Scriptural!

Will you surrender today?

Will you seek? 

How will you serve?

January 10, 2017

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:3-8

In the first two verses of this great chapter Paul shows the Church how to have unity on the team. That is by each member consecrating his ego to God, conquering the evil within, and concentrating on God's will. A winning team is the result of each team mate overcoming their personal battles through the power of God. No team wins without unity.

Now, in these next several verses there is another step forward from unity to community. And there is a change in metaphor from God's team to God's body. The Church is the Body of Christ and each member is part of that body. As you know, the more healthy parts that a body has the healthier that body will be. So, the great apostle shows you and me how to be a healthy, helpful and happy member of the body. That is the emphasis of our thought today.

How do I become a healthy member of a strong and productive body?

Examine Your Faith - " Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Once you consecrate your ego and get that out of the way, humility is the beneficial by-product. Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is thinking of yourself less. False humility is just a pathetic form of pride. Humility is valuing who you are in Christ. Humility is the ability to objectively see yourself as God sees you. Humility is declaring, "I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength." Humility is understanding, "Christ in me, the hope of glory."

Humility is understanding that God has faith in you! Humility is understanding that God has faith FOR you! Humility is allowing His faith to operate through you! Community results from faith operating with humility in the Body.

Express Your Faithfulness - "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. "

The evidence of your humble faith is your desire to serve God. You serve God by serving in His Body. Faithfulness comes from the willingness to do your part. Faithfulness is the operation of God-given faith through your God given talent. Faithfulness is understanding that every member of the Body is important to the health of the Body. Faithfulness realizes that God has given every Body all the parts it needs to be healthy BUT every member of the Body must exercise healthy faith.

The "measure of faith" given to serve God within the Body is called a "spiritual gift". Every believer has at least one! Using that gift within the Body is the equivalent of playing your position on a sports team. Community is the result of every member using his spiritual gift.

How do I discover what my "spiritual gift" is?

Experience Fruitfulness - "If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

One of the primary responsibilities of the pastors and leaders in a local church is promote the health of that church by helping each member discover his spiritual gift and one of the main ways that happens is by experimenting by serving in a variety of positions within the church.

By experimenting with different areas of faithful service you will discover what you enjoy doing. God hasn't invested faith in you in order to make you miserable. On the contrary, God wants you to find joy in serving and also, He wants you to give joy to others in the body as you serve.

The key indicator of where you are gifted, in addition to what is fun for you is this - where are you fruitful? What gets better when you help? What grows when you get involved? What positive changes do you affect when you serve in that area? What do you do that makes the Body healthier? Spiritual gifts bear spiritual fruit, therefore, find out where the fruit is and then serve faithfully in that area!

Would you put a guy at quarterback if he can't throw a football? Would you put a player at receiver if he couldn't catch a football? Of course not! You place him in a position where he can execute and make the team successful. The same is true in the church!

Community is the result of every believer serving God and each other humbly with the spiritual gift God has invested in them! The result is a happy, healthy and helpful church that overcomes evil with the good work God accomplishes through the faithful exercise of their gifts!

Do you know your spiritual gift? 

If so, are you using it faithfully in your church? 

If not, are you serving to discover where you will be fruitful?

January 9, 2017

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:3-8

If you ever participated in any sort of organized sport you no doubt have heard a coach say, "There is no "I" in team!" From a spelling perspective that is correct but really, the writer of Romans begs to differ.

Think about it, a team consists of a group of individuals who voluntarily come together to accomplish a purpose. Let's talk about what distinguishes a team from a group, or from a crowd, or even a mob.

Unless individual people come together there can be no teams, that's just common sense. But also, if those individuals who DO come together DON'T surrender their individuality it will only be a team in name. This portion of Chapter 12 denotes a change in emphasis because in the first two verses the writer is addressing His team - the Church. He is casting the vision of what they must look like in order to be winners. But with verse three he begins to address individual believers and how they can discover their places on the team. Do you know where you fit on the team? Would you like to? I will explore that with you during the week. But for now, let's think about what distinguishes a team from other groups.

First, a team has a purpose. In yesterday's message I mentioned that the purpose of God's team is to overcome evil in the world. Jesus detailed how that should happen in His Sermon on the Mount. You should check that out! But, one of the things that separates a team from any other group is a common purpose. And, of course, you need individuals who are committed to that purpose.

Second, a team has plan. A purpose is no good without a plan to implement it. These verses begin to lay out the plan for accomplishing God's purpose. That plan involves individuals taking responsibility to overcome the evil in their own life so they can defeat evil in their own team. The plan also involves individuals subordinating themselves to team unity. It also requires the team members to discover their place on the team and play that position.

Third, a team has positions. You don't have to know much about sports or teams to know that not every player plays the same position. There is only one quarterback on a football team and one pitcher on a baseball team. And when the quarterback or the pitcher throws the ball their has to be someone in position to catch the ball. On an effective team the players know and accept their position. Do you know your position on your team?

Fourth, a team has principles. A mob has mayhem. A crowd has strangers. A team has members who have volunteered for a position and are committed to execute the game plan for their position AND all the players submit to a set of principles that guide that team. Their principles tell the members what is expected of them in their personal lives, at their position, to the coaches, to the other players, to their practices and during the games. Also included in the principles is the accountability and consequences for violating the principles. Do you know the principles for your team?

The fifth and final characteristic of a team that I will mention is practice. A team has practice times when they come together to strengthen the team by working on their plan, strengthening their positions and building team unity. For the church, those practices could be Sunday worship, small group sessions, discipleship groups, ministry teams, outreaches, or training seminars. Practice is essential to the development of an effective team! Does your team practice? Do you go to practice?

So, these are some of the important marks of a successful team. By no means are these all the characteristics of a team, but these are significant ones. These certainly ought to help define a local church and the individuals who are members of that team.

Please allow me to close with this thought regarding the church as a team. I believe that healthy local churches are the only hope for our world. A healthy local church is one that understands and incorporated these team characteristics. And, these vitally important teams upon which the hope of the world rests, are manned by individual volunteers!

Will you volunteer to change your world? 

Will you gladly and humbly accept the responsibility of bringing the hope of holiness to a dying world? 

Will you submit to the purpose, participate in the plan, find your position, show up from practice and play according to the principles?

January 8, 2017

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

Fitting into God's purpose has great significance for time and eternity!

Step one is to consecrate your ego to God. Let Him become your source of significance. Allow His Word to define your reality and His will to decide your priorities.

The next step after you consecrate the ego is to conquer the evil.

How can you overcome the evil around you if you have not conquered the evil within you? And how can you conquer the evil within you if you yourself are evil? And how can you fit into God's purpose if you are evil? Those are pertinent questions that demand answers.

Romans 12:2 gives the answer - "offer your body as a living sacrifice".

So, how do we truly present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice? In a nutshell, we must die to our prior selves. This concept is wonderfully presented in this anonymous poem…

When you are forgotten, neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting or hurt with the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ; That is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence;

That is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did;

That is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, and offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God;

That is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or record your own good works or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown;

That is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances;

That is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit, inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart;

That is dying to self.

When you give God your ego and you lay your evil nature on the altar before God, He will know you mean business and will do some serious business in your soul. He can cleanse the self-centeredness and the evil desires out of your heart. When you offer your will to Him and promise to do as He wills things will change for the better! God, through the blood of Jesus and by the fullness of the Spirit will cleanse you from sin!

Have you died to self? 

Are you a living sacrifice? 

What are you waiting for?

 Why not today?