Latest / Citipointe Church Caboolture / We To I | Ps Gary

Transcript

We To I | Ps Gary · Citipointe Church Caboolture

0:02
Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast.
0:04
Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to
0:07
take hold of. So we hope this message inspires
0:10
you and build your faith that it helps you have more of a God
0:13
perspective for your day. Enjoy.
0:18
Always say it's great to come back, good to be invited the
0:21
first time, even better to be invited back.
0:23
So thank you, pastors, for opening the platform to us.
0:28
It's so, so, so good. You know, I drove in the
0:31
driveway this morning and Terry mentioned, saw the big sign on
0:36
the, on the, on the, on the banner out there City Point
0:41
Church where you matter. What a great thought, What a
0:47
great thought. You know, the world doesn't
0:48
always tell us that we matter, but I just want to speak into
0:52
that a little bit this morning. So thank you for painting that
0:54
up there this for me this week just as I drove in where you
0:58
matter. How many people you know your
1:02
pastor up here this morning. We use the word transformation
1:06
about a dozen times. I think I was trying to count
1:09
them. How many know that's the journey
1:10
that God's got us on when we when we come to know Jesus over
1:15
40 years for me and I'm still being transformed.
1:20
Anybody graduated from the school of transformation yet?
1:23
I mean, God always is doing that next step in our lives, isn't
1:27
he? But but you know, I, I, I just
1:30
pray this morning you'd stay maybe open to some thoughts that
1:34
God could transform some thinking in our our lives today.
1:39
I, I've read the Bible a lot and I'm amazed that every time I
1:43
pick it up, there's something new to learn about what God
1:47
wants to do in our lives. Hey, how many know that the
1:51
greatest thing God could ever do for our lives is to reveal Jesus
1:58
to us to save us? How many?
2:00
Maybe you're in this place today and you don't know Jesus.
2:03
I pray that by the end of this service you and Jesus are
2:07
connected in a life giving relationship because of what He
2:11
has done for you. He did that for me.
2:14
He did it 2000 years ago. I experienced it about 40 years
2:19
ago and I still never cease to be amazed at the magnitude.
2:24
If He could save me, He can save you.
2:28
How many people are grateful for your salvation?
2:30
Such a great salvation. Never let it, never let the,
2:36
the, the, the impact of that leave you.
2:40
You know who deserved it, who did anything to earn it.
2:48
Not one of us. The wonder of God.
2:52
How many know that if he did nothing else for us, saving us
2:57
would have been abundantly more than we ever could have asked
3:01
for, ever could have thought for, ever could have deserved.
3:07
But this morning I want to share some thoughts with you that will
3:12
show you that he did more than just save you.
3:17
He did abundantly more than just save you.
3:20
He called you, he could. You know, I'm not saved just for
3:26
heaven. I'm called to make a difference
3:30
on the planet here. I'm called he, he, you know I, I
3:35
walked in this morning. You know, I'm well, there's a
3:37
lot of reasons. I'm in my happy place, but I
3:40
walked in this morning. As I walked through the door, I
3:44
saw this couple that Dan and Anne O'farrell over there.
3:47
I don't know if you've met them yet.
3:49
We go back a long way. Hey out.
3:51
We got the same haircut. I mean, we go back a lot yet.
3:56
Dan and I served in ministry for a long time together a long time
4:02
ago. And here's the thing.
4:04
Here's my point about mentioning that the Kingdom of God is so
4:09
rich because of the people that God has connected us to.
4:15
If it wasn't for Jesus, I never would have met then.
4:18
And then if it wasn't for Jesus, I never would have met Brian
4:22
Mel. If it wasn't for Jesus bringing
4:24
me not only into his Kingdom, but to be part of his body, that
4:30
we would be part, you know that you're not here.
4:33
And the reason I started to say this morning that you matter is
4:36
you're not here by accident. God didn't only bring you into
4:39
the Kingdom for heaven, He brought you into the Kingdom
4:43
into his body for purpose in this age.
4:48
Who's with me this morning? There are things on your life
4:51
that God has brought you into his body to function in.
4:57
And I want to share a little bit about that this morning.
5:00
I've got a clip. I'm going to show you a clip,
5:02
right? I watched too many movies.
5:04
And when I watched this one a little while ago, it just spoke
5:07
to me. And there's a, there's a line in
5:09
it that I want you to maybe try and pick up on where I might be
5:13
going this morning. But I'll give you a little bit
5:15
of a background to this clip. It's a movie called The Boys in
5:18
the Boat. Anybody ever heard of the movie?
5:21
None of you. There's not one up the back.
5:23
There's heard heard of the movie.
5:24
No one has ever really heard of the movie.
5:26
It didn't didn't make any big box office hits.
5:29
But here's the deal. It's the story of a rowing crew
5:33
of eight prior to the Olympic Games in the 1930's, the Berlin
5:38
games. And this crew is post
5:40
depression, pre war. And this crew gets thrown
5:43
together. Now they weren't grow great
5:46
rowers, they were thrown together.
5:48
They came together because if they got in the rowing crew,
5:51
they got their tuition at university paid right?
5:53
So there's no great motive to be great in it.
5:55
But they get thrown together and the stories being told by one of
5:59
the guys in the boat to his grandson who's now learning to
6:04
row. Have a look at it Only goes for
6:06
a minute and see if you pick up where I might be going this
6:10
morning. Hey grandpa, you think someday I
6:16
could row crew? Well, you gotta keep at it.
6:24
Did you like rowing 8 men crew? 8.
6:28
Yeah. We were never right.
6:35
We will walk. To get it.
7:25
We were never 8. We were one.
7:31
What if you're ready to be a bit idealistic with me this morning?
7:38
What if the Church of Jesus Christ learned that we were
7:45
never 8, but we are one? What could we achieve if we
7:55
understood who we really are as the one body of Christ?
8:05
I'm going to unpack that a little bit for you this morning
8:08
because I don't think we get it. How many people are open to be
8:11
transformed in their thinking a little bit this morning in this
8:15
journey of what it might? You know, I often say this, you
8:19
know, you know, if I asked you what's the Lord's Prayer, most
8:22
of you would quote Matthew chapter 6, our Father who art in
8:26
heaven. And I get that.
8:27
But really, that's not the Lord's Prayer.
8:29
That's the Lord teaching us to pray.
8:32
The Lord's Prayer is really found in John 17, That they may
8:38
be 1 as you and I, Father, are one, I in them, and you and me,
8:44
that they may be one in you. Passage of Scripture you've no
8:51
doubt heard many times before Romans chapter 12 verses one and
8:55
two. I beseech you therefore,
8:56
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
9:00
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
9:04
reasonable service. Who's heard that before?
9:07
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
9:11
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and
9:15
acceptable and perfect will of God.
9:18
I've already said this morning, this journey with Jesus is a
9:22
journey of transformation. How many know we come to Christ
9:26
with the thinking of the world, We come to Christ with the ways
9:30
of the world and the journey in walking with Christ and part of
9:33
his body is that we would be not conformed to the way the world
9:38
does things, but the way God does things.
9:41
How many? That's a big journey for a lot
9:42
of us. Hey, that's why after 40 years,
9:45
there's still some thinking I got to get rid of us, still some
9:47
things that I need transformed in my life.
9:50
But here's the deal. Paul sets this up and he says to
9:54
the to the people in Rome, to the church in Rome, we need to
9:57
be transformed by the renewal viewing of our mind.
9:59
And if you look in your Bibles, there is in most of your Bibles,
10:02
there will be a gap before between verses 2 and verse 3,
10:05
like there's a change of topic. I'm starting to question whether
10:10
there is an actual change of topic because I believe Paul
10:13
just keeps running through. And if you have a look at verse
10:16
three and three and onwards with me, the very next, next thing
10:22
Paul says after saying be, don't be conformed.
10:25
He says, For I say, through the grace given to me, humor me, say
10:31
grace. I'm going to come back to that
10:33
through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you,
10:37
not to think more highly of himself that he ought to think,
10:41
but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of
10:45
faith. For as we have many members in
10:48
one body, but all the members don't have the same function.
10:54
So we being many, you may have read this 1000 times.
11:00
We being many are one body in Christ and individually members
11:10
of one another. You know that's why you matter.
11:14
We are, we are, we are not, we are, we are many, but we are
11:19
one. There are 8 men in the boat, but
11:23
there is one crew. There is one goal, all the
11:27
people in the boat have a different function, but if they
11:31
don't play their role, the one misses out.
11:35
And the Bible here put how many think.
11:37
I'm starting to think that maybe this journey of transformation
11:45
is one of the aspects God is trying to take me on is to go
11:50
from a thinking of I to a thinking of we thinking about
11:58
how many know the world Actually, if you without Christ,
12:00
you better be thinking about you because you don't know who else
12:03
is looking after you, but he brings us into a body.
12:06
He says I'm looking after you now I'm bringing you into my
12:10
body. It's time for part of the
12:12
transformed thinking to go from thinking about me to thinking
12:17
about we as part of one body, many members.
12:24
Well, you matter. Now, how is a caveat here today,
12:29
right? Pastor Graham and Mel did not
12:33
ask me to come here to get you to do more work.
12:37
That might be good, but that's not why I'm here.
12:39
I'm here to help you understand you matter.
12:43
I'm here to help you understand that when you got saved, not
12:45
only did you get saved for heaven, you got bought into His
12:49
body by Him. You had no choice in that.
12:53
You have a choice as to whether you function in that which He's
12:56
called you to function in, but you are in.
13:00
I'm the only one excited about that.
13:03
You are in. You're not in to take up space.
13:08
You're not here to take it to fill a Pew.
13:11
You're not here just to give a few bucks.
13:14
You're in to function where He has called you to function.
13:21
Have a listen to 1 Corinthians 12 and we're going to go over
13:24
there in a minute. There are two sister passages,
13:27
Romans 12/1. Corinthians 12/1 of the verses
13:30
says by 1 Spirit you are baptized into one body where the
13:37
Jews, Greek slaves, free black, white, Gold Coast, Moray field
13:42
bullshit. Doesn't matter where you're
13:43
from, you're in. I had the great privilege about
13:46
3 or 4 weeks ago. I went to Malaysia for Inc.
13:50
We had an all Asia conference. We had people from about 11
13:54
nations around around Asia where Inc is represented.
14:00
And I was the only one that only spoke one language.
14:02
You know, we all had everything had to be English because there
14:05
was a few of us Aussies that only spoke English and not that
14:09
very well either. But what a great kaleidoscope of
14:14
people. I look across this room, I can't
14:17
see you all because it's dark, but I'm imagining all the
14:20
kaleidoscope of backgrounds and people and graces and giftings
14:25
that God's brought together to be part of 1 And I go, wow,
14:31
that's a miracle. That is a miracle. 1 spirit all
14:36
being made to drink of 1 spirit. And he goes on and he says this
14:43
you better, you better hurry me up because I could be here all
14:45
day on this. This is my favorite subject at
14:47
the moment. OK, in write in verse 6, having
14:50
them gifts, I asked you before to say graces.
14:54
Paul says according to I say through the grace given to me.
14:58
And then he says having them gifts, say gifts differing
15:05
according to the grace say grace that is that is given to us.
15:09
Let us use them of prophecy. Let us prophecy in proportion to
15:12
our faith if or ministry. Let us use it in ministering.
15:16
Who who teaches in teaching, exhorts in exhortation, who
15:19
gives with liberality, who leads with diligence, who his toes
15:23
mercy with cheerfulness. And here's my opinion.
15:26
I think if Paul was to list all of the gifts that God's put in
15:30
people, he'd still be writing today.
15:32
He just wanted to make a point. He just said here all these
15:35
things that that God has given. Now, the reason I ask you to say
15:39
gift and grace is they're the same word in this passage, and
15:43
they're a word called charism. We get the word charismatic from
15:50
it. OK, It's a charism.
15:53
Paul is saying that God has handed out charisms, gifts to
16:02
his body. I'm starting to actually believe
16:06
I got some gifts. Paul said this, but the the
16:09
first verse he says according to the grace given to me, I'm
16:12
writing to you. In other words, what he's
16:14
literally saying is I've been given the charism, the gifting,
16:18
the calling of an apostle. I'm using it to write to you.
16:22
It's different to Peters, to James's, to John's, to everybody
16:25
else. It's mine because God gave it to
16:28
me for you. And I'm using it to write this
16:30
to you in the office that God's given me.
16:33
So it makes sense. And he says God has given
16:36
different charisms. The word charism is a Greek word
16:41
used in the New Testament for favor or gratuitous gift.
16:47
Charisms, or spiritual gifts are special abilities given to all
16:52
Christians by the Holy Spirit to give them power both to
16:57
represent Christ and to be a channel of God's goodness for
17:01
people. How many?
17:03
If this morning you're going to leave this place, then I'm
17:06
charism. You didn't even know what the
17:08
word meant when you came in here this morning.
17:10
You're going to go and you're going to say I am charismed, I
17:15
am gifted. Now, now, now a gift.
17:17
If you receive a gift, it's got nothing to do with you.
17:20
It was given to you. What you do with it is the all
17:23
important flame. And Paul goes on to say why God,
17:28
why Jesus, why God has charismed each and every one of us.
17:32
He says it's because of the love he has for his people.
17:36
He says let love be without hypocrisy, a bored of what is
17:39
evil? Cling to what is good, be kindly
17:42
affectionate to one another with brother, holy love in honour,
17:46
giving preference to one another.
17:49
Do you get a sense of Paul talking about 1 here?
17:53
We are not. We were never meant to be 8.
17:58
We are meant to be one. We are never meant to be
18:04
hundreds. We are meant to be one.
18:07
We are never meant to be all of the different millions in the
18:13
world. We're meant to be 1 What if we
18:17
understood? I just got this.
18:19
What this thought? It's a it's a mystery.
18:22
The poet Paul says in the book of Ephesians that the church is
18:25
a mystery. You know what's mysterious about
18:28
it? You're here.
18:31
Somehow God has somehow God has got you here.
18:37
Somehow God has graced you. This is a blowout.
18:44
This is one of the things we've got to be conformed from the old
18:46
way of thinking. God has graced you with things.
18:51
He has charismed you for function so that his body works.
18:59
The guy in the front of the boat has a different job to the guy
19:02
in the back of the boat, but their function is to make the
19:06
boat work. And you know what?
19:09
I'm starting to believe? Starting to believe that my
19:12
function and your function is to make the body work.
19:21
We were never 8. Oh God, forgive us for not
19:29
seeing ourselves as this. If we're meant to be 1, if we're
19:39
graced. I labour this because my
19:45
experience tells me that many, many people struggle to believe
19:50
that God's actually put something special on them.
19:55
The world has beaten them up. The world has lied to them.
20:00
The world has treated them as less than valuable.
20:03
I looked at that sign that Terry pointed to me this morning.
20:06
You matter because God has graced you.
20:09
You're not only matter for heaven.
20:11
God is God is gift. I look at these people up here
20:14
this morning singing. These little fellas and girls,
20:19
aren't they wonderful? I got to tell you something.
20:22
You need to thank God that it wasn't me up there this morning.
20:29
Yeah, that would not be graced. All right.
20:31
That would be painful. But here I see people expressing
20:38
to gift things on their life. Let's perhaps pretend for a
20:42
minute that this is somewhat true.
20:43
What are we to do with it? I've got three things that I
20:46
want us to maybe take home today, maybe wrestle with today.
20:51
First is the thought of this is that is that we're one.
20:55
We're one. The world the Western world
20:58
struggles to think is 1. We're one.
21:02
And let's suppose the Word of God is true.
21:06
Well, my interpretation of it is true, and you matter that you've
21:09
got to function. What then are we to do with what
21:14
God has placed on our lives? I want to flip over to that
21:18
sister passage in one Corinthians 12 this morning.
21:22
And some of them, some of us are a little bit confusing, but I'm
21:25
going to unpack it for you. Here's the first thought I've
21:28
got today. If God has gifted me grace to me
21:36
with something, I've got to take responsibility for it.
21:42
He gave it to me. You know in Matthew 25, the
21:47
parable, the talents, when God, Jesus tells the parable, when
21:50
God hands things out, he's looking for a return.
21:54
If he's put something on your life, He wants us to take
21:59
responsibility for it. Have a listen to verses 12
22:02
through to 16. For us, the body is 1.
22:06
It has many members. Over and over Paul talks about
22:10
this. All the members of that one body
22:12
being many, are one body. So is Christ.
22:15
For by 1 Spirit we're baptized into one body.
22:18
Jews, Greek, slaves, free. We've all been made to drink
22:20
into the one Spirit. For in fact, the body is not one
22:25
member, but many. Paul's drawing the illustration
22:31
of our physical body. It says, for in fact, the body
22:35
is not one member, but many. If the foot should say because
22:37
I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the
22:41
body? And if the ears should say,
22:44
because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not
22:47
of the body? It seems a little bit confusing,
22:50
but what Paul is trying to, to, to, to establish here is that
22:55
everybody has something to offer when it comes to functioning in
23:01
the body of Christ. And the first thing he says
23:04
here, he says if, if, if, if you're afoot.
23:09
Just because you're not a hand doesn't mean you're not
23:13
important. I read something once and said
23:16
this, The fastest way to kill something is to compare it to
23:20
something else. We're all so very special, but
23:26
we're special in what God's called us to do, not to compare
23:30
ourselves to somebody else. I want to declare over your life
23:33
today that God has caused you to have certain functions and
23:38
giftings in the body of Christ. So stop comparing yourself to
23:42
someone else. You matter.
23:44
You matter to function in your charism.
23:50
You can't say I'm not like Grey. I don't deliver messages like
23:56
him. I mustn't be important.
23:58
I'm not part of the body or I'm not like the singers up here.
24:04
I could have got a complex this morning.
24:06
I Can't Sing like them. I'm not important.
24:10
No, I'm not important as a singer, but I'm sure important
24:13
in what I'm gifted and graced and charism to do in the hands
24:17
of God. That's my life.
24:24
The second thing I think Paul wants to point out here is if
24:28
you're a foot, be the foot because the body needs you.
24:40
The foot can't say I'm not a hands.
24:43
I don't count. Be the foot.
24:50
I've got a very I've got a real life illustration for you right
24:53
now. I I was practicing for running
24:57
marathons last week and I've strained my calf.
25:00
That first bit's a lie, all right?
25:06
The second bit, I did strain my calf last week.
25:09
It was not practicing. And I'm not telling you how I
25:11
did it because it's embarrassing, all right?
25:13
It's just embarrassing. But it was not.
25:15
Anyway, I got a sore calf. It's not working.
25:23
So you know what else is happening?
25:26
I now got a sore knee because my calf's not doing its job.
25:31
It's putting pressure on my knee.
25:34
And now because I'm my age, I've got a sore back because I'm
25:40
limping on my leg and it's throwing my back out.
25:45
If the foot doesn't do what the foot supposed to do, the whole
25:47
body doesn't work. Amen.
25:51
I'll take it a step further. My wife now has a pain in the
25:55
neck because I'm whinging about my back and my knee and my foot.
26:01
Everything's connected. There's a song about that.
26:04
No, I won't go into that. Do you get what I'm saying?
26:08
If the if the foot doesn't do what the foot's supposed to do,
26:12
if the grace on you, I've got another verse for you.
26:15
I better hurry up. I'll be here on Midday One Peter
26:18
410. I love this.
26:19
I love this. You've got to see this one,
26:22
Peter 410 four is each one. Now let me just let me just
26:25
unpack this for as each one. Anybody here not included in
26:30
that right. Each one.
26:32
OK, each one has received a charisma.
26:38
Thank you, Jesus, for the charisma of my life.
26:40
Just go and go and just thank him for what he's given you have
26:44
a listen to what Paul says. Minister it.
26:48
What are you supposed to do with the gift on your life?
26:51
Minister it to one another. I often say this Your gift will
26:58
fulfill you, but it's not for you, it's for other people.
27:06
Minister it as listen. Good stewards, good stewards of
27:16
the manifold grace of God, the word manifold.
27:21
This will blow your brain if you catch it.
27:24
The world manifold means many faces.
27:29
How many know God's grace has many faces?
27:33
Could you be one of them? Could you be a face of God's
27:39
grace to other people as you minister?
27:46
Are these people up here singing away looks like they like what
27:51
they're doing that's OK, but you know what they're doing using
27:56
the grace on their life is to minister to us is we worship
28:04
God. You don't want me doing that you
28:08
want them doing that Amen. Now I don't want to make a big
28:12
deal of platform because that's one little bit of what goes on.
28:15
But I'm here to say to you today, God's placed faces of his
28:20
grace in you that he wants other people to experience through you
28:28
because you matter. Guy by the name of David Benner
28:34
wrote lots of books. My favorite is called The Gift
28:37
of Being Yourself. And he says this being yourself
28:41
would make would not make any spiritual sense if your
28:44
uniqueness were not of immense value to God.
28:48
But each person is exactly that of inestimable value to God.
29:00
You matter because God's placed something on your life that He
29:06
wants you to steward for the good of His body.
29:12
I don't know if that's blown your minds yet, but that's just
29:17
.1. It's 1023, number two.
29:21
Number two, this is probably the biggest challenge for me.
29:24
This one I've got, I've just called it accepting limitation.
29:28
It goes on in verse 17, the whole, but if the whole body
29:30
were an eye, where would be the hearing?
29:32
If the whole birdie were here for the whole we're hearing,
29:35
where would be the smelling? Now God has set the members,
29:37
each one of them in the body. Listen to this next bit.
29:40
Just as He pleased, He pleased to put you with the gift of God
29:44
on your life into His body. If they were all one member,
29:49
where would the body be? But now, indeed, there are many
29:51
members, yet one body. You I cannot say to the hand.
29:54
I have no need of you. The first lot of with the foot
29:57
can't say because I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body.
30:01
Now he says the I can't say to the hand I have no need of you
30:06
nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you know much
30:10
rather than those members of the body which seem to be weaker are
30:12
necessary. Here's the deal.
30:14
The first point was you've got something on your life.
30:17
It's special to you. God wants you to steward it.
30:20
The second thing is get over it. Some of you people, you haven't
30:23
got everything. God wants us to learn to need
30:34
one another, to lean on others, to be interdependent with other
30:42
people. I can't say because I'm an oh, I
30:45
don't have a need of anybody else.
30:46
I'm learning. I have need of everybody.
30:49
One of the most humble things you can do is to understand what
30:53
you do have, but what you don't have and learn to rely on other
30:57
people who have what you don't bring into the body.
31:01
Hey, man, this is really big for me because because I've been
31:05
around a long time now, I'm not going to say how long you know
31:10
as you, as you're around for a long time, you can actually get
31:15
into the place where you can do lots of things, but they aren't
31:20
necessarily the things God's graced you to do.
31:25
And part of the challenge for me at the moment is learning to
31:28
say, I think someone else is more graced for that than I am.
31:34
I'm graced for this at this season in my life.
31:40
Do you get the bit of the transformation?
31:43
Picture God's saying, I want you to understand you got something,
31:47
but I want you to understand you don't have everything.
31:50
Don't think more highly of yourself than you ought.
31:53
We need to rely on each other. I've alluded to the fact that
32:01
the creative world is probably not my charism, but I needed to
32:09
come up with an illustration, so I did my best.
32:14
There's a there's an illustration up on the screen
32:17
now that's the best I could do. I come in here this morning and
32:23
I see all the splashy City Point paraphernalia and all the
32:27
screens. I got the biggest screens in the
32:28
world in these churches, you know, and I'm thinking all I can
32:32
do is a wall. And I'll tell you the truth, I
32:38
stole that from the Internet. But let's just say it's a good
32:45
illustration. Let's say the wall is what's
32:52
around is the body of Christ is what's around your world right
32:55
now. And did you see how I really was
32:57
clever and put a different colour brick in the middle?
33:00
I just excelled. I something you create them.
33:03
Guys, you're thinking, what is this going on about up here?
33:05
Anyway? I want you to do something for
33:07
me. I want to reflect for one
33:09
minute. Let's say you're the brick in
33:11
the middle. Think about your life in Christ
33:19
up till this point. Can you think of bricks that God
33:27
placed around your life to get you where you are today?
33:34
I can think of heaps of them, people that sometimes I didn't
33:39
think I needed them. Sometimes I think they were a
33:41
menace to my life because I was trying to correct my life or
33:45
instruct my life. But God in His grace put bricks.
33:51
You know, Peter tells us that we are living stones being made-up
33:54
into a living house for the glory of God.
33:58
Why don't you just spend 10 seconds thanking God for the
34:05
bricks that he put around your life?
34:09
We take it for granted sometimes.
34:12
And every time I think about this, I think, wow, in that
34:15
season you put those bricks. Here's the next thought.
34:22
Who have you called to be one of the bricks around people's
34:28
worlds to help them get to where God wants them to be, to take up
34:34
their role in the body of Christ?
34:39
Point number one, I've got special things.
34:43
Point #2 I don't have everything.
34:46
I've got to ask myself 3 questions.
34:50
One is, and this sounds arrogant, where am I powerful?
34:57
In other words, where does God use me?
35:01
We'll address that at the end #2 where am I weak?
35:06
What don't I have #3 who do I need?
35:16
Third Point, I'm going to go really quick, I hope.
35:21
What's the first one? Take responsibility.
35:26
What was the second one? Accept limitation.
35:30
And the third one, we need to celebrate diversity, but we need
35:38
to guard unity. Verse 24 but the presentable
35:44
parts have no need for God compose the body, having given
35:47
greater honor to the parts which which lacks it.
35:50
Have a listen to the next That there should be no schism, that
35:58
there should be no breaking downs, that there should be no
36:02
tearing down, that there should be no schism in the body, but
36:08
that the members should be, should have the same care for
36:11
one another. If one member suffers, all
36:14
suffer with it. If one is honoured, all rejoice
36:17
with it. Now you are the body of Christ
36:21
and members individually. What's Paul trying to say?
36:30
He's trying to say you're not supposed to be 8.
36:38
Protect the one. We've all got different graces
36:45
and functions and gifts, you know.
36:48
I know we make mistakes. I walk people through hurt in
36:53
the body of Christ. I understand.
36:56
You know what? You know why I believe that hurt
36:59
and pain and schisms and division in the body of Christ
37:03
is more painful than just about anywhere else.
37:06
There's a concept where God, Jesus is talking about marriage
37:09
and divorce and he says this, let no man separate that which
37:13
God has joined, who joined the body.
37:19
He did. He put us together.
37:23
And I don't make excuses for the pain.
37:25
I don't underestimate the significance of the pain.
37:30
But church, we've got to learn to get through that and become
37:33
one because that is what God has called his body to be.
37:39
And I got to say this, God, help me that as much as depends on
37:45
me, help me not separate that which you have joined.
37:52
Help me celebrate what everybody else has.
37:57
I'm not an eye, I'm a foot, I'm not an ear, I'm an eye.
38:01
I'm not whatever, not a singer, I'm a trainer.
38:06
Celebrate the diversity that God has handed out these wonderful
38:11
charisms to us. Celebrate it.
38:13
I'm so glad we are not all like me.
38:17
I'm glad you're not all like me, but God, the oneness of the
38:27
crew, because that's where we win in Jesus name.
38:34
You know, I'm learning that even with these graces, there are
38:38
seasons in my life. I just I I I've Gray asked me
38:42
how long I've been in eye and sea longer than most of these
38:48
people are alive. I can tell you that much.
38:51
But I'm learning that, you know, there was a season back there
38:53
where God used me this way. Now he's using me this way and
39:00
then and tomorrow he might use me another one.
39:02
He might, he might take the, the, the, the, the blend of what
39:06
he's placed in my life, but and then choose how to use it in
39:10
different seasons of my life. I see people in the body of
39:14
Christ that have been around a long time and they think they're
39:16
all good, that they think they're in their use by date.
39:21
No one's in a use by date. God still wants to use you
39:25
because he's gifted you. There are young people I'm I'm
39:29
watching the young people's and I'm thinking my God 12/13/11 I
39:35
don't know what graces I was blessed.
39:39
Have a listen to this. I was blessed by watching a
39:42
young boy here today worship God with all his heart.
39:46
I got I got I caught something from him because of what he was
39:50
doing with the grace upon his life.
39:53
Amen. Never, never reduce what God's
40:00
placed on you to a place where you think it's insignificant.
40:05
You're always ministering to other people.
40:13
We were never hate. Is it a mystery?
40:23
I got older people looking at me thinking, Gary, I was going to
40:26
have a rest. Now you want me to do stuff?
40:27
No, I don't want you to do anything other than take what
40:30
God's given you and ask him how he wants you to minister.
40:34
That, you know, I know that some people, I watch them, I'll sit
40:39
down in a coffee shop, they'll have a coffee cup of coffee with
40:43
someone and they'll just be encouraging them the grace of
40:49
God over their life. And the person they're
40:52
ministering to walks out a different person.
40:58
I mean, my wife, she's got scared because whenever I
41:03
mention her name, she gets scared.
41:06
What's she going to say? Now she's got the gift of the
41:11
prophetic on her life. I watch her when she uses that
41:14
gift, not just from platforms, when she uses that gift, speaks
41:18
over people's lives. Something's draught, something
41:21
in their spirit comes alive and God's able to breathe on them.
41:29
How does He use you? Don't you stand with me this
41:34
morning. If you don't, we'll be here till
41:35
1:00. Seriously, City Point, thank you
41:42
for having us. Thank you for allowing to bring
41:46
a charism that God's placed on us and share it with you.
41:49
Mean that with all my heart. This is a journey I'm on.
41:53
I see too many people in the body of Christ, number one,
41:56
believe they don't have anything to bring because the world has
41:59
told them that they're not valuable.
42:04
They don't matter. I see other people thinking,
42:08
man, there's not not enough people doing work around here.
42:10
I've got to do everything because no one else is is is
42:14
doing what they should be doing. I want to release you today not
42:20
to stop doing, but to understand that you're not called to be
42:24
everything to the body of Christ.
42:27
You're supposed to be your thing and please church, never
42:38
separate that which God has baptized you into.
42:49
Gary, how do I know what I'm called to do?
42:52
Lots of ways we can. I'll tell you what good way is
42:55
internship and they didn't pay me to say that, but you'll find
43:00
out who you are. Another way is we've got
43:04
profiling and we can, you know, we can help you with that.
43:06
But he's, I just want to ask you 3 questions.
43:07
I want you to close your eyes with me today.
43:09
I want you to think about your brick.
43:16
I want you to think some of you thinking when I say this, you'll
43:23
think, oh, that'll be pride. No, it's not pride.
43:25
It's not pride to know where God's using you.
43:30
So a couple of questions. Where do you, where do you see
43:35
God use you most powerfully? You know, for some of us, it's
43:44
it's speaking on platforms. For some of us, it's the person
43:48
in the coffee shop. For some of us, it's gifts of
43:51
healing. For some of us, it's just you
43:52
know that God's help. God is using you when you're
43:55
just getting around people and helping them out.
43:58
Some of you is creative. It doesn't matter what it is.
44:01
None is greater than the other. Think about your life.
44:04
Where does God use you powerfully?
44:11
That's the key. Come on.
44:14
In the name of Jesus, Father God, I release people.
44:17
I give them permission to recognize where you use them
44:20
powerfully. It may not be publicly, but
44:23
where do you use them powerfully?
44:25
Where do they know that the supernatural power of God is
44:28
using them? Secondly, where do you, where do
44:34
you see fruit? See, I might think God uses me
44:37
powerfully to sing, but you will leave.
44:39
There's no fruit. Where do you see fruit?
44:43
And here's the last thing you could ask yourself in all
44:45
seriousness, what brings you most joy?
44:50
If I can, if I can help you discern where God uses you
44:57
powerfully, fruitfully, and joyfully, that is a key to the
45:03
charism on your life. And this is what I'm doing right
45:07
now. I'm giving you permission to
45:10
start to explore and walk in what that for some of you, it's
45:14
again for some of you you've laid it aside.
45:17
For some of you, for whatever reason, some legitimate, you put
45:20
it aside. I want to.
45:21
I'm giving you permission this morning to walk in the grace
45:24
that God's given you because the body of Christ is missing out if
45:28
you're not doing what God has called you to do in Jesus name.