It's in there...
We have started a new sermon series in this new year entitled, Proclamation. We are asking ourselves, as followers of Jesus, two very important questions that need to be answered if we are to have a “fresh start” in 2022.
What are you proclaiming to others with your life?
Are your proclamations consistent with your beliefs as a follower of Jesus?
We proclaim our position, our point-of view and our passions everyday. We communicate and proclaim things all the time, with our words, our actions, our wallets, our relationships, etc. Why then do we struggle so much to proclaim the “good news” of Jesus to those who are on the outside, looking away or looking for help or looking for answers?
Recent statistics reveal that only 10% of American Christians make an attempt to share their faith in God with someone else, and 1% of American Christians have discipled someone.
Somethings wrong… right? We are proclaiming something other than Jesus and His “good news” plan to those we meet every day.
For the next two weeks, we will be studying 1 Corinthians 12 and learning what we can and should proclaim to others. The chapter is all about discovering and using your “spiritual gift” for the benefit of others and determining how to maintain unity within the “body of Christ” through our diversity. Stay tuned as we unpack the truth from God’s Word.
If you have some time, mediate on these key verses for this weekend.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NLT)… 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
We must proclaim to the world that we serve ONE God who shares Himself with us in various forms; He works in different ways in our life. He gives us different opportunities to serve and He gives us various gifts to use to serve others.
According to verse 7, we all have a gift that we should be using to serve others. No one is permitted to stand on the sidelines and watch, critique or complain. If you follow Jesus, and you are not using your “gift”, you need to start in this new year. The Lord is calling you to advance His Kingdom agenda in this world… an agenda to serve and love others as He has taught us to do.
That “gift” is in there… in all of us! Now would be the time to discover it and start using it for Jesus. Are you in?
More on this on Sunday… I hope you will join us!