YOUR SPACE IN GOD'S PLACE

There was a boy who accidentally swallowed a quarter. The mom yells

“HELP!!! My son swallowed a quarter!”

An older man calmly walks over. He picks the boy up. Grabs him by the ankles. And he shakes him until five quarters come out of his mouth.The mom says

“Wow! That was amazing! How did you get all that money out of him?”

The older man says

“Maam, I’ve been the treasurer of First Baptist Church for 32 years!”

That must be a very good treasurer!

An important part of God’s plan to bless us with fruitfulness is in the context of our church.

In 1 Peter chapter 4:10-11 (NIV) it says:

10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

This passages is all about serving God when times are tough. With the persecution from Rome, Peter was saying to the Christians then, “We might not be here much longer. We’re living in the last days. So while we’re waiting for Jesus to come back, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all else, love one another deeply. Show hospitality! Be there for each other!”

Then he tells this in verse ten, “As long as we’re still here on this earth, keep on using your gifts.”

I appreciate this text because it gives us at least four principles about how to develop our talents and spiritual gifts in the church. I will chop the four principles and spread it over the next succeeding days for easy reading.

First, The Principle of Personal Involvement.

When you are asked: “Who are the real ministers in this church?” Peter’s response is: “EVERYONE! EACH ONE should use whatever gift he has to minister to others.” Everyone who believes in Christ has something they can do to make people’s lives a little bit better.

But sometimes we get discouraged because other people have gifts that we wish we had. We might say,"Oh, I wish I knew the Bible as well as Tommy. He can rattle off Bible verses like it’s no one’s business, and I can barely find the table of contents! Oh God, help me in this area!"

Or we might say, "I wish I could be handy like Jim. He can fix cars. He can fix houses. He can fix leaky pipes. The only thing I know how to fix is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh God, help me to be more like Jim!"

Or we say, "I wish I could be a people person like Gaye. She’s always sings well. She’s always the life of the party. When I get around people, I get so frazzled I barely remember how to say ’Hello." Oh God, help me to be more like Gaye."

Too many of us think "I’m not special. I’m not smart. I can’t serve the Lord.” But the Bible says “Yes you can!” Romans 12:6 says that "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." God blesses each of us differently so that each one of us can play a special role in His kingdom.

How many of you have heard the name “Susan Boyle?” She was a contestant last month on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Her life dream is to sing a song on TV. And people in the audience were laughing at her, probably because she’s older and heavyset and doesn’t look like a typical pop singer. But when the music started, she sang:

“I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.”

And the crowd that was against her at first went wild! One of judges said “I gotta say that I was expecting you to fall on your face. But listening to you sing was a privilege! That was awesome!”

What I love about it is that even though people were discouraging her, she still got out there and used her talent and gift! She didn’t let criticism or nervousness get in the way of doing what she was destined to do!

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