This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).
Not every superhero has every super power.
The Justice League on Saturday morning cartoons back in the late 70’s was a combination of many of the popular superheroes of the day (Superman, Superwoman, Flash, Wonder Twins, and more). They came together in the Justice League for the purpose of overcoming evil and injustices perpetuated by the villans of the world. The goal was to utilize the strength of each superhero in combination with the strengths of other superheroes to overcome whatever challenge they were facing.
In amazing fashion in 30 minutes they would all come together and whatever threat the world was facing was overcome by the super team of superheroes.
Have you ever considered the Church to be a superteam of superheros?
When we realize that every person the Spirit brings to faith in Jesus is also one to whom the Spirit gives Spirit powers…Spiritual gifts. Yet the Spirit doesn’t give every person the same gifts or doesn’t give one person every gift. So he brings people together in his Church to combine our gifts together to do the work that God has given to us to do. Here’s how the Apostle Paul describes it:
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 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. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
The human body is an amazing machine designed and created by the Almighty God. There are parts of our body that we don’t even know we have until it hurts or fails. Most of our parts function millions of times a day without even having to think about it. Millions of cells have hundreds of parts and even each of those parts function together. Yet, each part has a unique “superpower” upon which all the other parts of the body depend on. If they are absent or fail to function the body suffers. When they all function together, the body does amazing things.
This is the picture of the Church which the Spirit of God uses to describe the body of Christ, the Church. Many parts…unique gifts…working together for the common good and the glory of God.
This is one of the reasons that we can’t do the Christian faith in isolation. We need the other parts of the body and the other parts of the body need us. Sure, one can have faith in Jesus and just have them and God as part of that relationship. However, God himself designed his Church to be made up of many individuals with many different gifts serving one common purpose.
So what does that mean for you?
The Spirit of God gave you gifts to be part of the team of the Church.
The Team of the Church has been given gifts to combine with yours to do the work of the Church.
So let this devotion be an encouragement, wherever you are.
If you are not part of a Christ-centered, Bible believing Christian church, let this be an encouragement that you are missing out on the blessing of other members of the body of Christ and they are missing out on the gifts God has given to you.
If you are part of a Christian church and have been more a consumer of the content and program of that church and being blessed by other active members of the body of Christ, let this devotion be an encouragement to become a contributor and be willing to use your gifts in service to the Lord and your church by getting involved.
If you are an attender at Crosspoint, we handed out a flier with opportunities to use your gifts in the ministry in Georgetown. Thank you to all who filled it out. Here is the link to that form that you can print out and email or take a picture and text/email back to us.
It isn’t about “getting people busy.” It is about using the gifts the Spirit has given to you and using them together with the rest of the team…your church…God’s church.
Apply: Prayerfully consider how to use your gifts more fully in the work of the Lord at your local church.
Prayer: Spirit of God, thank you for giving me gifts to use in the work of the Church. Forgive me for sitting on the sidelines. Empower me and guide me to the place in the Body you would have me use my gifts. AMEN.