Text Passages: Ephesians 4:16 and 1 Peter 4:10.
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
- “joined and held together” – a picture of the unity and harmony of the body.
- “grows and builds” – the health of the body.
- “In love” – the spirit of the body.
- These things happen as “each part” does its work.
- God’s special delivery through you makes this happen.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
- God’s grace has an infinite variety of flavors and manifestations.
- There is no church like Valley Brook anywhere on the planet and that is because there is no other church on the planet made up of the individuals who make up Valley Brook.
If the Lord has placed it on your heart to be here, He wants Your effect to be shared here as long as He has you here.
Main Idea: You don’t need permission to give you.
The passages are referring to who you are in Christ, not your ministry in any particular church. You have been given directions by the Most-High God to be a good steward of the grace God has deposited in you.
What’s in it for you? What is the incentive for you to give you?
- This is your church home, and you can make it a nicer place to be
- Acts 20:35 It’s more blessed to give than to receive. Proverbs 11:25 He who refreshes others will be refreshed.
- It pleases the Lord. Because of Christ we never need to fear God’s condemnation or wrath. But He has left us with the ability to put a smile on His face and to warm His heart. As Paul said, we have as our ambition to be pleasing to Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).
- God will not forget. Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
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