Today, I want to talk to you about giving yourself to God's work. A lot of people think serving God is optional, and that's unfortunate. What makes it really unfortunate is when people who follow Jesus Christ say, "working for God is optional." Now, nobody ever comes out and says that, but what people do is they basically don't work for God. They end up doing their own thing and they end up saying, "well, I go to church and that's work for God." There's some truth to that, but here's what I want to say: You should spend your life finding ways to work for God.

Why should you work for God? Well, He pays well. He has great rewards, a great benefits package. He's a kind boss. Doing His work is thrilling if you really love Him. I get that because of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the very last verse in the chapter, where the Apostle Paul says this: "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." What does that mean, "not in vain"? It means it's not useless. I already told you all the benefits, but here's what I want to say. Give yourself to the work of the Lord.

You might say, "Vince, what does that mean? What does that look like?"

1. Here's the first. Whenever you're at work, model your faith. When you're at home, if you're the parent, if you're the child, whatever you are, model your faith by playing your right part in the family.

2. Here's another one: serve God at church. It's amazing to me how Christians who profess a faith in Jesus Christ, year after year after year, do nothing to lift a finger to serve God in the church. I find that disturbing. This text says, always abound in the work of the Lord, always finding ways to do God's work. You can do God's work at home, at work in church, in so many different places, but He wants you to abound in it, not dip your toe in it. He wants you to get involved in His work. Whether that's working in the church or working with people who are not yet followers of Jesus Christ to help them, whatever it is. Get to work for God. Always be at work for God. Find your way. There's so many ways. God has a way for you.

Ephesians 2:10 says that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. He's got a plan. You just have to do it. You may not know the plan. Just begin to do God's work wherever you are at, the best you can. And guess what? You'll be in God's plan. He'll work it out. He'll open doors for you. He'll create opportunities for you.

Are you abounding in the work of the Lord? He wants you to be because He loves you. He knows it's fulfilling to work for Him. Nothing in life is greater, and that's kind of why I got into the ministry full time from engineering. Working in ministry is so satisfying because I love working for God. It's not always easy, but it's always rewarding and it's always fulfilling. Are you abounding in the work of the Lord? You don't have to be a full-time pastor to do that. No, all you have to be is available. Availability is so important. God cares more about your availability than your ability. He'll give you the ability. You just make yourself available. I hope you'll find a way to abound in the work of the Lord today and every day of your life.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you so much for the reminder, to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in your work and that is not in vain. Help all of us to find your work, to pursue it and to live it. Help us to get to work for you because you are a kind boss. You have great rewards stored for us and heaven when we do. Thank you so much, in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, it's an absolute privilege to work for God. Are you at work for him? I hope so. Thanks and have a great day.

Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining me for this Thursday edition of Life Lifters. This week, we're talking about what I think is a very interesting subject: spiritual gifts. It's amazing that in 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul talks to the Corinthians, saying, "I do not want you to be ignorant." Truthfully, today a lot of people are ignorant about spiritual gifts. So, we're answering five of the most foundational, important questions about spiritual gifts. So far, we've answered three of them. First, what are they? They are supernatural abilities to do unique tasks. Second, who gives them to us? The answer is the Holy Spirit gives them to us. Third, when do we get them? We receive them the moment we become Christians.

Today, I want to answer the fourth question, which is, Where do we use our spiritual gifts? There is a certain sense in which you could say we use them everywhere, and you would be right. But the Bible seems to focus our use of spiritual gifts in two primary areas. We use them primarily in the church and around the world. The Bible talks more frequently about using your spiritual gifts in the church than anywhere else. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 (TLB) Paul says, "The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church." God has given you spiritual gifts to help the church. We live in a day in which things have changed, largely due to the 2020 pandemic, and a lot more people are watching church online. I have mixed feelings about that. In one sense, if watching church online is something you're going to do over nothing at all, then it beats that. Also, watching online is great if you're sick, or if you're out of town or something, but I think there's something better. One of the reasons why God wants you in church in person is because you can't encourage and be encouraged unless you're with people. There's a reason why solitary confinement is one of the worst things you could do to a human being. We need each other. But the other reason it's better to be in church in person is because you can't use your gifts in your pajamas. Or, you can't use your gifts just watching online. You have to be with people to help people. There's no impact without contact. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts to use in the church.

 

You know, in this church, we have about 25 ministries. When we're at full strength, we have over half of our average attendance involved in serving somewhere. It's a beautiful thing to see. And you love it when you find the right place to serve. I wish 100% of our attenders served, but it isn't always 100%. Here's the thing, you can't be fulfilled unless you're using your gifts in the church. Now, the Bible does not exclusively say that spiritual gifts are used in the church. Although they are used in the church more often than not, the second place you use them is in the world. I get that from Matthew 28:19. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." In other words, go out into the world. Go to different parts of our city, different parts of our state, different parts of our country, different parts of our world, and find people to serve with your gifts. You do this mainly to bring glory to God and bring attention to the good news of Jesus Christ. That's the second place. But even then, you use your gifts in the world, usually through the church. As a church, we've sent people to Ukraine, to Mozambique, to Nicaragua, other parts of our country, New York City, and to other places in our own city. You go to different places to serve and minister, and that's where use your gifts. But the church is often the vehicle in which you accomplish that. So here's my point: God has given you gifts to use in the church and in the world. Are you using them in the church? If not, you're being disobedient to what the Scriptures say. Are you using them in the world? I encourage you to do that as well. But gifts are given to you, not to be admired, but to be administered in the world. And we need them here at Lakeshore Community Church. If you don't attend this church, your church needs them too. Will you use them?

Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for giving us gifts. Help us to use them in the church, and to help the church. Help us know where we should use the gifts, the unique gifts you've given us. And help us to use them in the world to make disciples. Help us not forsake them, take them for granted, or underappreciate them, for we only appreciate them when we apply them. I thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen.