What's in Your Hand?

[pgjohnson]

Time is such a precious thing and I think it’s so important that we treat our time as a gift from God and be good stewards of it. Which is why I am posing this question to you; what’s in your hand? What has God given you and what are you doing with it? You know we’ve been doing small groups now for over a year and they are going so great. And the reason we started these small groups was because I knew we had to do church differently if we were going to have an impact in this community. And I knew if we were going to have an impact on the community it would take more than just the staff and me, it’s going to take you too! Ephesians 4:11 says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” What the Bible is saying there is that my job as your pastor is to equip you for the work of the ministry. That doesn’t mean every single person is called to full time ministry and should quit their jobs and head off to Bible College and devote the rest of their lives to working in a ministry. But according to Matthew 28, you are called to make disciples. Whether it be in your workplace or in your family or wherever God has placed you, the Bible says in Matthew 5 that, “You are the light of the world…:” and to not hide your light but rather “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” I think to often we get comfortable and even complacent in our walk with God and forget that the whole purpose of being a Christian is to build the church. And let me say this, building the church is not just getting people ‘saved’, its turning them into disciples. Just getting people saved doesn’t build the church. All that it does is gets them to heaven. As I say every Sunday in the altar call, until they turn the decision of salvation in to a commitment to serve God, then their lives won’t change. My brothers and sisters it is time to step up and build the church. This isn’t about me, this isn’t about my staff, this isn’t even about Faith Center Church, it’s about the Kingdom of God and what we as Christians are going to do to build it. Which brings me back to my question of what’s in your hand? God has placed dreams and desires and hobbies and talents and gifts in every single one of you. And that’s the reason we set up these small groups the way we did; because we realized everybody is unique and we wanted to give you the opportunity to take something you already love to do, and use it as a tool to build the Kingdom of God.

A perfect example of this is my person of the week, Britta Janeaux, whom I mentioned on Sunday, has been coming to our church for about a year or so and after coming for a little while, she got a hold of the vision of small groups and just took off running with it and at her last meeting had over 30 people show up!! And here’s the best part…it wasn’t just all Faith Center people there. She didn’t just invite Faith Center people, she reached out to people outside of the four walls of this church and THAT is what these small groups are all about. Going outside of the church and into the community where we can reach the lost, make disciples and build the church. Theresa and I are praying that God will show you how you can turn your talent or hobby or skill or whatever you have into a small group ministry where you can be used by God. You are called by God, but it’s up to you to walk in your calling. I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and out of your complacency and start a small group and let God use you. Let’s win this city and build the Kingdom together.

That’s all I got for you this week. I hope it challenged your thinking a little bit and inspired you and gave you confidence that no matter who you are or what you like to do, you can lead a small group and MAKE DISCIPLES!! You all have a great rest of your week and as always feel free to leave any questions or comments for me and I’ll get to them as my time allows. We love you and believe in you!

Blessings,