SPREADING THE WORD! Part 3

Use Your Gift!

Jesus called out to them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people! And they left their nets at once and followed Him. Matthew 4:19 (NLT)

Calling....check! Authority....check! Attitude....check?

You have received the call... given the authority...Now, how will you respond? Will you respond by following God at once? Will you submit to His will to function as part of Christ's body?

Do you spend time thinking about how God will use you to build His kingdom? Ever wonder what your role is in the body of "the Church"? No, not the physical church...Christ's body- "the Church!".

One way that God uses us to spread the Good News is through spiritual gifts and natural abilities. God gives each Christian a spiritual gift for the purpose of building the church. He uses the gifts of each person to bless not ourselves but to bless others. God makes us stewards over our abilities and gifts....we in turn are to use them to give glory to God.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help others.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NLT)

For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

Romans 11:36 (NLT)

We all have a functioning role in the body of Christ....it could be the use of our natural ability or a gift given to us through the Spirit of God....with one purpose....building the kingdom.

So, how will you respond to the call of using your gifts for God? If we are honest with ourselves, many of us do not instinctively follow Him at once. We may question our qualifications to do the work God is calling us to do....we may think that what we have to do is small compared to others....we may even think that work is just to hard! Some of us just run from the call, saying, "Lord , please! Anyone but me.....

If any of this sounds familiar, then you fall in line with others before you: Moses made excuses (Exodus 3:11; 4:11), Jeremiah thought he was too young (Jeremiah 1:6) and we all know the story of Jonah- he just ran (Jonah 1:1-9).

Your attitude counts! How will you respond? Will you make excuses or will you say yes to the call!

Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to these people? Who will go for us? I said, "Here I am. Send me."

Isaiah 6:8

God has work for each us to do. He does not require a fancy degree or a particular blood line. All He wants is a willing attitude and a humble heart. He will take care of the rest.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gifts and abilities that you give to us, according to your will and purpose. Help us to be faithful stewards over them and use them to glorify You in the building of Your kingdom. In Jesus' Name. AMEN.