Hope in Action

1 Corinthians 12:4–20 ESV

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Since we came here last September, Zenetta and I have been sharing about the Season of Hope that this church has entered into.

We have sought to encourage and remind you that God has a plan for this church.

We have a purpose here in this community.

We are a family, called to work together to reach the lost, minister to the hurting, and disciple believers.

We firmly believe that as we do these things, God will cause this church to grow.

For those of you who have been in this church a long time, this has been a difficult journey.

Why has it taken so long for this church to grow?

Should we continue to keep trying, or are we deceiving ourselves that God wants this church here?

Is it time to pack up and find another church to belong to?

These are the questions that have gone through most of your heads.

I believe that, while the people of this church have always loved the Lord, it has not always been healthy.

Before you can plant a good crop, first you have to tear up the soil.

What this church has gone through in the past has been a refining process.

As hard as it has been, this process was necessary so that we would become totally dependent on God rather than our own strengths.

In the last few months, Zenetta and I have noticed a real growth in our congregation.

I am not talking about numbers.

I am seeing people who are hungry for more of God—not just for what God can do for them.

We are becoming a much healthier church.

As we have been growing in the Lord, I believe that God is taking us into the next part of our journey.

Lately, God has brought new faces into our family: people who are not just one-time visitors.

And I believe more are on their way.

I have heard about a small group of people who are spiritually searching and who seem to be watching us from a distance for now.

Every day, it seems God is bringing people into my path who have questions.

And as I said before, I believe this new walking path in our front yard was put here by God to literally bring people to our front door!

And now, it looks like the State of Missouri is lifting all the restrictions that were put on us before.

I don’t know what restrictions Perry County might still have, but it won’t be long until we have the opportunity to have more people in this building.

I strongly believe that we will see people coming once the restrictions are lifted.

This church needs to be ready.

I can’t say enough that we need to work as a body.

Even if I didn’t have another full-time job, I still am not capable to do everything that is needed for this church to grow.

If we are going to be ready to meet the needs of this community, we need workers, and we need a plan.

You know that my mission is to help people encounter Christ, engage in a Christian community, and embrace God’s call for their lives.

We need to figure out how to work together to accomplish these goals.

The only way we can do this is through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God has already given us all the tools we need to accomplish this work.

Each of us have unique talents—skills and qualities—that God wants to use to further his kingdom.

We also have a variety of spiritual gifts at our disposal that God has promised to give us in order to minister.

We just need to be bold to step forward in our gifts so that God can use us.

We want to increase our discipleship program.

That means we need to bolster our Sunday school program.

We need teachers.

We need a Sunday school director.

We need others to join our worship team.

Singers and instrumentalists.

We need people equipped to evangelize this community.

We need a coordinated prayer effort.

We already have small group of ladies who regularly meet to pray, but we can’t let it all fall on them!

If we are going to accomplish what God wants to do in this church, we all need to be praying!

Pray for wisdom and sensitivity to hear God’s voice and obey.

Also, pray that God would show each of us specific ways that we can serve this church.

God might call you to be a Sunday school teacher.

He might call you to work in the nursery.

He might call you to help with church maintenance or grounds keeping.

He might call you to be a prayer warrior.

He might call you to be a worship leader.

Or he might call you to do something we haven’t even considered before!

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

I am wrapping up this message right now, asking you begin praying.

Ask the Lord to show us how to navigate this next part of our journey as a church.

Ask the Lord to show you how you might uniquely be able to serve this body.

I am also asking each of you to consider fasting for the church.

I am going to let you and the Lord work out the details on that.

You might be led to do a traditional fast over a period of days.

You might be led to fast one day or one meal a week for some time.

Or maybe the Lord will prompt you to fast something else that hold value and takes up you time, like giving up the time you would normally spend on social media in order to pray and spend time with God.

Don’t do this because I asked you to. Only do it if the Lord prompts you to do so.

And I would like for each of you to stay in communication with me during this time.

Let me know what the Lord is saying to you.

If there are specific ways you feel led to serve, tell me.

If you don’t already have one, grab one of our church cards from the visitor’s station. The card has my phone number and the church email on it.