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What It Means to Be the Hands and Feet of Christ: Serving Others Like Jesus · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. I am Tracy and
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  I will be your host this week. I'm so glad that
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  you tuned in. If you are new to Fostering Faith,
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  welcome. And we are walking in our faith journey
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  together. We don't have it all together. We are
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  not perfect, but we are doing this together.
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  And if you are a return listener, welcome back
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  home. And in this episode will be our last episode
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  of our Faith in Action May. And so what it means
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  to be the hands and feet of Christ. These are
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  phrases that Christians say a lot of times, I
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  want to be the hands of the feet of Jesus. That
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  sounds beautiful. That sounds spiritual and it
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  sounds inspiring. But what do we actually mean
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  by that? What is it? Do we actually understand
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  what it means? It means more than volunteering,
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  more than being nice, more than occasional giving,
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  more than helping out, more than attending church.
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  Being the hands of feet of Jesus means You show
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  up or God would show up. You love the way that
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  God would love. You serve the way that Jesus
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  would serve. You speak the way that Jesus would
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  speak. You move towards people the way that Jesus
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  would. You notice people the way that Jesus would.
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  You touch the needs like Jesus would. You sacrifice
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  comfort the way that Jesus did. And that isn't
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  theological. This is the whole assignment of
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  your life. Jesus didn't save you so you could
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  sit. He saved you so you can move. Hands and
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  feet are not decorative. They are functional.
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  They do something. They go someplace. They carry
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  something. They release something. And this week
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  is about embracing your calling to be a living,
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  breathing expression of Jesus here on earth.
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  And so Jesus' hands and feet were always moving
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  toward a need. Jesus never insulated himself.
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  He never hid from Moroccan people. He didn't
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  stay in a comfortable circle. He didn't elevate
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  himself above others. He didn't wait for people
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  to come to him. He went to them. And look at
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  Scripture. Who did he go to? He went to the sick,
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  the sinners, the poor, the hurting, the demon
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  possessed, overlooked, rejected, lonely, desperate,
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  and hungry. Jesus was always moving towards the
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  need, never away from it. If we were His hands
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  and feet, then our lives must look the same.
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  And so the hands of Jesus do three things. The
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  hands that heal. Jesus touched the leopards,
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  the children, the blind, the broken, the grieving.
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  Healing isn't always physical. Sometimes it's
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  emotional, relational, or spiritual. Your hands
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  can heal too. A hug. a meal, a note, a prayer,
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  a gentle touch, an encouraging word. Healing
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  flows through simple obedience. And so I actually
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  prayed for that. I wanted to be a healer. I just
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  wanted to, oh, your diabetes is gone. Oh, your
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  hypertension is gone. Oh, your cancer is gone.
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  And he said, I don't need that. I need spiritual
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  healing from you. And so he's not, everybody
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  has a physical ailment, but everyone has a spirit.
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  And so that was several years ago and it was
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  so encouraging to know that to be used by God
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  really is the best thing. And two, hands that
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  lift. Jesus lifted people out of shame, fear,
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  sin, confusion, hopelessness, isolation. You
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  lift people every time that you speak truth.
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  Offer encouragement. Remind someone who they
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  are in Christ. Stand where someone in the hard
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  season and bring hope whenever it's despair.
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  Whenever you defend someone who feels attacked,
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  your hands lift burdens that no one can see.
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  And three, hands that give. Jesus gave time,
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  compassion, attention, presence, miracles, teachings,
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  forgiveness in himself. Generous hands reflect
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  a generous savior. And when your hand gives,
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  Heaven touches earth. In the feet of Jesus, do
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  three things. Feet that go. Jesus didn't wait
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  for the crowds. He pursued them. Missional feet
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  walk into messy places. Awkward conversations.
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  Uncomfortable environments. Hurting homes. Hard
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  relationships. Spiritual battles. Opportunities
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  that God highlights. Your feet carry the gospel
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  wherever you're already going. And so feet that
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  follow. Jesus followed his Father's voice, not
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  convenience. Feet that follow. Obedience quickly,
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  trustfully, move when the Spirit moves, and stay
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  when the Spirit says stay, and walk by faith
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  and not by sight. Obedience is the movement of
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  your feet towards God's assignment. And feet
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  that stand. Sometimes being the feet of Jesus
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  doesn't mean moving. It means holding your ground.
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  Feet stand. When culture pushes, when lies swirl,
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  when storms hit, and when challenges arise, when
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  disagreement whispers, standing is as much obedience
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  as going. Being the hands of feet means that
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  you carry Jesus into every space. You don't wait
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  for church service or to be a minister. Your
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  life is ministry. You bring Jesus into that,
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  into your workplace, your school, your friendships,
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  your marriage, your parenting, your team, your
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  gym, your grocery store, your social media, your
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  community. Every environment is an opportunity
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  for kingdom impact. You're not just a teacher
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  or a nurse or a student, a mom, an employee,
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  anything. You are a representative of Jesus Christ.
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  You are an ambassador of Christ. You are a co
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  -worker. with Christ. And where you walk, He
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  walks. Who you touch, He touches. And what you
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  say, He can use. And how you love reveals His
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  heart. And so what does it practically look like
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  to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Your hands
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  and feet look like noticing a lonely kid, praying
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  for someone on the spot, buying coffee for a
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  stranger. sending an encouraging text message,
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  picking up groceries for a struggling family,
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  showing up early for church, serving without
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  being asked, supporting your pastor, checking
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  on your neighbors, forgiving people that irritate
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  you quickly, being patient with difficult people,
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  getting generously, stepping into someone's mess,
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  sitting with someone who is grieving, extending
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  grace over offense. and speaking truth with love.
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  Jesus rarely changed people with sermons. He
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  changed people with compassion. An enemy hates
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  disciples who move. If the enemy can't silence
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  you, he will immobilize you. He wants you overwhelmed,
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  distracted, insecure, tired, self -focused, too
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  busy, emotionally numb, spiritually empathetic,
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  and convinced it won't. matter. Because the moment
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  you begin moving like Jesus, he loses ground.
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  Hell cannot withstand a believer who obeys quickly,
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  loves deeply, and serves consistently, gives
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  sacrificially, and speaks boldly, and shows compassion
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  generously. The movement multiplies kingdom's
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  impact. And so we've said these things over and
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  over again this whole month about action. And
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  it's not about your money. It's about your time,
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  your talent, your patience, your kindness. These
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  are what moves heaven. This is how we reflect
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  Jesus. And so in our workbooks that we have on
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  Frostering Faith Media, what are some practical
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  ways that you can be the hands and feet of Jesus
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  this week? It may be one person, one place, one
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  need, one conversation, one act of service, one
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  step of obedience and one moment of compassion.
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  What is it that you can practically do this week
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  to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Sit with the
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  Holy Spirit and let him guide you and direct
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  you. What's one place that you can commit to
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  being the Jesus's hands and feet? What action
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  will you take? Cook a meal? Volunteer in the
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  ministry? Visit someone that's lonely? Bring
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  a Bible to a friend? Pray with someone directly?
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  Help a struggling student? by groceries for a
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  single parent, step into a hard conversation,
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  offer forgiveness, give generously, one action
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  can shift the entire atmosphere. And so as we
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  end this month of May, we hope that you have
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  taken these faith steps and put them into action
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  because we don't want to be just hearers of the
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  word. We want to be doers of the word. We want
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  to go out there and accru - and create disciples.
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  We want to go out there and be fishers of men
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  and not watchers of the aquarium. And so go out
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  there and you, where He put you, you were not
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  there by mistake. You were there by design, every
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  detail of your life. He has planned out. He knows
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  what you're going to do. He knows that the path
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  that you're going to take and He has put you
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  where you are for a reason. You were made. You
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  have purpose. You are beautifully and wonderfully
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  made exactly where you are. You are meant to
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  be where you're at right now. Your job is not
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  trivial. Your job is not insignificant. You are
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  where you are supposed to be. Whether you're
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  the president, whether you're the co -president,
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  the vice president, a janitor, a secretary, a
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  nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, wherever you're at,
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  there is nothing that is too big or too small
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  for your God to work on someone. So look around.
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  Where has God placed you? What is your ministry?
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  What is your battlefield? Where does He have
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  you? And so if this message encouraged you, we
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  ask that you share it, that you like it, that
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  you leave us a review that helps us grow, that
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  helps us spread our message. And so we would
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  love to pray for you this week. Dear Heavenly
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  Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you
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  so much for yesterday. Thank you that we get
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  to be your hands and feet. Thank you that you
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  are helping us see people the way that you do.
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  Thank you that you're giving us encouragement
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  to move. Thank you for the compassion to love
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  people. Thank you that we get to be obedient
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  and follow your lead. Thank you that we get to
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  be used by you. Thank you that we can be healed
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  through your word. Thank you that you're lifting
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  us up. Thank you that you give us peace. Thank
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  you that you are able to just use us in the mess
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  that we are in. Thank you that you make life
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  visible to us. Thank you that you are such an
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  expression of our heart. Thank you for all that
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  you do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen and amen.
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  We hope that this message encouraged you. We
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  hope that this message gets you up and gets you
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  going and your faith is in action. We love you
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  guys. We will see you guys next week as we are
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  going into the month of June over wisdom and
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  that's going to be the month of Proverbs. We'll
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  talk to you later. Have a great week. We love
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  you. Bye.