Power Up
Transcript
So excited about what God wants to do in our homes and in our hearts this morning. Hey, let's pray together and let's jump into God's word. Jesus, we do praise you. We thank you, God, because we don't take this opportunity to spend time with you for granted.
Lord Jesus, thank you. That we can approach the throne room of God. Thank you. That because of your sacrifice, we can offer sacrifices of praise. And father, today, as we talk about your Holy Spirit, as we talk about the giftedness that you have placed inside of us.
Lord, I pray that our hearts would be open, our ears would be open to hear in Lord Jesus, you would speak to us in a powerful way. God, I prayed that we would be different because of your word, God, not the words that come out of my mouth, but because of your word.
Oh, God, Jesus, we love you and we praise you in Jesus. It's in your name. We pray a man. So I love playing Mario as a kid. In fact, I still like playing Mario. Now, my favorite part was hitting those special blocks to see what kind of power up I could get to help me through the level
. Maybe it was a fire flower so I could shoot fire. Maybe it was a leaf so I could fly through the level regardless of what it was, though. The power that was available was always the right tool that I needed to get through the level or through the specific situation that I was in.
Thankfully, I have found that our God also has given us tools or what I like to call power ups that help us navigate the circumstances of life. In fact, God has given us very special gifts that actually build his church, advance his kingdom and minister to his children.
The problem, however, is that too many Christians are walking through this life. Powerless. They don't know who they are in Christ and they don't understand what God has placed inside of them. I want you to look at this scripture with me for a moment.
Luke, for 14, this is after Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. It says, Jesus return to Galilee, filled with the holy spirits power. You see, God did not intend for us to just suffer through this life.
He wanted you to have purpose and he wanted to give you his power. He placed us on planet Earth to be his ambassadors, and he has equipped us for every good work that he has planned for us through the power of his Holy Spirit.
Listen, Fran, you can love Jesus and you can be a Christian. And you cannot have an overcoming life, did you realize that you can continue to struggle over and over with the same junk? You can go to church or go to a small group or go to a conference and get on a spiritual high.
And then you can go back to the same old struggle. If you don't have power, we need God's power to live this life. So today we're starting a brand new series called Power Up. And what I want to do this morning is I want to lay a foundation as we seek to understand the spiritual gifts, or some
people call them the gifts of the Holy Spirit that God has given us. And we're going to talk about these over the next few weeks. But before we go any further, I need you to recognize that your life is not a mistake.
Your life is not a mistake. Listen to what Psalm 139 says. You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous.
How will I know it? You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Friends, you may feel like a mistake. Your parents may have told you you were a mistake. You may have a life that is full of mistakes that you have made, but you are not a mistake.
Because that's the truth of God's word. In fact, the Bible teaches us that God has a purpose for your life. I want you to look at a conversation that took place in the Old Testament between God and the Prophet Jeremiah.
We see it in Jeremih, one versus five through seven. I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb, before you were born. I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations, that's God speaking.
Oh, sovereign Lord Jeremiah said, I can't speak for you. I'm too young. And the Lord replied, Don't say I'm too young for you. Must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. You see, God had preplanned before.
Jeremiah was can see that Jeremiah would be a prophet to the nations. And if that is what God had planned for Jeremiah all of those years ago. I wonder what he has preplan for you and preplan for me now.
I'm not talking about one specific thing or one specific event. And if we miss, the opportunity is gone. I think that we often see life and our choices like a tightrope. We have to walk this thin line. And if we fall off, we've done for we've messed up our entire life.
We messed up our entire future. I don't think it works like that. I believe that living life as a follower of Jesus Christ is more like playing on a playground than walking on a tightrope. God gives us clear boundaries because he doesn't want us to get hurt and he doesn't want us to hurt other people.
But God also gives us huge freedoms. He gives us the opportunity to make choices like sliding down the slide versus swinging on the swing. God is interested in the big picture of our lives. And that big picture is our relationship with him and what we are doing with the gifting that he has placed inside of us.
Ephesians two, 10 four. We are God's workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You see, God has equipped every Christian with one or more of his specific spiritual gifts that he wants us to use to impact the world around us.
So you may be asking yourself, OK, Jason, what are spiritual gifts, if you're taking notes, write this down A spiritual gift is a special supernatural ability that God gives to each of his children so that together we can advance his purposes in the world.
Listen to that. Again, a spiritual gift is a special supernatural ability that God gives to each of his children so that together we can advance his purposes in the world. Listen to what Paul tells the church at Corinth in First Corinthians 12.
This is verse one and then versus four through seven. Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the spirit gives us. I don't want you to misunderstand this verse four. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit is the source of them all.
There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways. But it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
See, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth explaining there are many different gifts, and over the next few weeks we're going to study all of them were going to be in First Corinthians 12. We're going to be in Romans 12.
We're going to be in a Ephesians four to see how many gifts there really are. But I believe the point that Paul was trying to make here is that all of the gifts come from God. God gives them as he wants to, and no gift is better than another.
We need all of these gifts in order to advance the kingdom and live purpose driven lives. Now, towards the end of First Corinthians 12, Paul uses the human body as an example by reminding us that one body is made up of different parts.
Each part has a role. Each part has a function that I cannot do with the ear can do. The ear cannot do with the foot. Can do. They need each other? And he concludes by telling the readers in verse twenty seven.
All of you together are Christ's body. And each of you is a part of it. And this sentiment remains the same today church. All of you together are Christ's body. And if we are going to reach a divided world, we must be a unified church.
So, Jason. Tell me more about the spiritual gifts. Help me understand them better. To help you understand them better. I want to start by teaching you what spiritual gifts are not so if you're taking notes. Write these down.
Spiritual gifts are not your personality. I've had the privilege to study human behavior and personality over the years. And it is amazing how God has made each of us so incredibly unique. But your personality are not your spiritual gifts and your spiritual gifts are not your personality.
Because spiritual gifts are super natural. Your spiritual gifts are not your natural talents or abilities. Some of you are talented speakers. Some of you are talented athletes. Some of you are incredibly talented with numbers or with people. And God put that in you.
But those are not your spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts are not the spiritual disciplines. You see, there are disciplines that we can incorporate into our lives that help us become more like Jesus. Things like Bible study and prayer and meditation and serving in worship.
And those are important. We need those to become more and more like Jesus. But those are not the spiritual gifts. In the spiritual gifts are not the fruit of the spirit or character traits. Sometimes we might say, oh, that person is a person of peace, they're a peaceful person, or maybe they've got a lot of joy or
a lot of love. Those are important things. But those are not the gifts of the spirit. There's a difference between the gifts and the fruit, the fruit or love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. Those are things that we should all exemplify.
Those are things that the spirit wants to cultivate inside of all of us. And he wants to cultivate all of those, not just one or two. Spiritual gifts are more specific. Their supernatural abilities that God has placed inside of you, so if this is what they're not, it is vital to understand what they are.
Not only understand what they are, but why we have these gifts and how to use them in a God honoring way. Why, Jason? Why is this important? Because we live in a world that desperately needs to know Jesus Christ.
And we all have super natural spiritual gifts. So that each of us can play a unique role in God's plan to impact our generation. You see, not only does your life matter, not only are you not a mistake.
Not only do you have purpose. But God placed you in this time access. God placed you in this generation. Some of you. You're upset. You're upset because you're in this generation. You're upset because you're having to see everything that you have to see.
You're having to deal with everything that you're having to deal with. You're having to live in a world that seems like it is falling apart. They've got placed you here on purpose. And he put something inside of you that you can use to make an impact in this world.
This world needs you. So maybe you're saying to yourself, OK, Jason, I'm big in the spiritual gifts stuff, I want to operate in God's power. I want to walk in my purpose. Jason, you have gotten my attention. What do you want me to do?
There are three things that I want to ask you to do over our next four to five weeks together. But please, now we are going to cover a lot of information over this month. So I need you to be patient.
And I need you to understand that these messages are going to build on each other week after week and we're going to try to cover everything that we can about the gifts of the spirit. But it's so much we're going to have to break it up over several Sundays.
So these are three things I want to ask you to do over these next few weeks together first. I want to ask you to discover your gifts. Romans 12 six says We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us.
What I want to do towards the end of this series is I want to give you the opportunity to discover what your spiritual gifts are and want you to know who you are. You will never do what God has called you to do unless you know who you are.
Know how he created, you know your purpose and know what he has given you. You've got to discover it. And that's going to take a little work, that's going to take a little searching. But I want you to discover your gifts.
Now I want you to number two, develop your gifts. First, Timothy, one six says For this reason, I'll remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you. You're going to need to study God's word for yourself.
You're going to need to learn for yourself. There's no way you can get everything that you need to know about spiritual gifts over the next few weeks. So I'm asking you to dig in, to lean in. We're going to give you resources.
We're going to give you things that you can use. And I'm going to need you to do a little homework on your own to spend time in prayer, asking God to help you to develop these gifts. And I need you to understand that God gifted you a certain way for a certain reason.
He gifted other people certain ways, for certain reasons. So we don't need to be jealous of other people's gifts. We need to know who we are and develop who we are. So we can do what God called and created us to do.
And then number three, I want to ask you to use your gifts. First, Peter Forten says God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.
You've got to use what God has given you. Not for yourself. You see, we can use these gifts and we can use them in the flesh. But that's selfish, that's not what God gave us these gifts, he gave us these gifts so that we could use them to minister to other people so that we could bring the
kingdom of God to this earth. So that we can build the church so that we can reach people so that they can experience the power and presence of Jesus Christ. And I to ask you to begin to make a difference.
The church needs you. Your local church needs you, we need you. But the global church needs you now more than ever. We need believers who are passionate about Jesus. Who know who they are? Who are ready and willing to make an impact in this world.
If there is nothing else you hear today. I want you to hear this. Your life will be more fulfilled. I mean, your potential will be realized. The more you exercise and understand the unique gifts that God has given you.
Do you want a fulfilling life? Do you want to look back and not have any regrets? Do you want to live a life full of potential being everything that God has called you to be? It starts here. It starts with what God put inside of you.
But in order to access these gifts, in order to use them. There is even a greater gift that you need to receive first. And that is God's gift of salvation. A free gift that he has given us through his son, Jesus Christ.
You see every one of us, we are born sinners. We are born separated from God. We say things and think things and do things that dishonor and disobey God. And because of that, our relationship with him is broken.
We are separated, and we are destined for a very real eternity in hell. But God loves you and God loved you so much, he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sin.
Jesus took the punishment that we deserved on himself. Jesus experienced hell so that we wouldn't have to. Jesus died so that we can live. He willingly gave himself up to die all across. He spilled his blood so that you and I could be forgiven and set free.
But Jesus didn't stay dead. He rose again from the grave to prove to everyone that he was exactly who he said he was, the son of God in the flesh. The one with the power to forgive, the one who showed great mercy and great grace.
The one who showed. Unconditional love. Jesus loves you. And he has a gift of salvation for you, if you will, place your faith in him, if you will place your trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross.
The Bible says that you will be saved. You will be rescued from sin. You will be rescued from hell. And you will be given eternal life with God in heaven. And right now, while you're on this earth. God will give you the gift of his spirit.
To walk with you, to guide you, to lead you, to give you peace, to give you joy. And he will never leave you. He will never abandon you. It does not mean life will be perfect, but it will be fulfilled and it will be blessed because you get to do life with God.
And I want to give you the opportunity today to receive that free gift. By placing your faith, your trust in Jesus Christ today. If you're watching, if you're listening and you know that you need that free gift of salvation, I invite you to pray this prayer along with me today.
Dear God, I've been going my own direction with my life. I've been making my own decisions. Honestly, God have been trying to be you. I've been trying to be in control of every detail in every moment, but I realize that I'm a sinner separated from you.
And I need to be saved. And that savior is your son, Jesus. God, I believe that Jesus died on a cross for me. And I believe he rose again from the grave so that I could be forgiven and set free.
God, I'm asking you to apply what Jesus did on the cross to my life today. Thank you, Jesus, for my second chance, for my fresh start. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for purpose. And thank you for my brand new life today.
Jesus, you are my Lord and I love you and I'm going to follow you for the rest of my life in Jesus. It's in your name, I pray. Amen. Now, if that is you, I want to say congratulations.
The Bible says all of heaven is celebrating right now and we are celebrating along with heaven, the decision you made to follow Jesus. But I want to ask you, please don't change the channel. Please don't turn this video off without letting us know, because we want to reach out to you this week.
We want to pray for you by name. And we want to give you resources that help you grow in your faith. Your faith doesn't stop today. It starts today. And we want to help you become more like Jesus Christ.
So you can go to our website and fill out the digital cornette card, or if you're online, the link is in the post above or the comments below. Reach out and let us know. And if you're watching and you don't have a church home, can I just be the first person to say welcome home?
I would love the honor of being your pastor and we would love to be your church family. Now, at the end of every service, we dedicate time to worship in prayer. And today is no different. And so in just a moment, we're going to worship together one last time corporately today.
And we're going to focus on prayer. And so if you're watching, if you're listening and there's something going on in your life, a situation of circumstance, you say, Jason, I just need you to pray for me, it would be our honor.
If you're online, you can put your prayer requests in the comments below if it's private. You can reach out on our prayer card on the website. In our prayer team is on standby to lift your name up to Jesus.
But I also want to remind you and challenge you and encourage you in this 21 days of prayer and pray no matter what's going on. No matter what's happening, no matter how you feel. Take time to stop. And praise Jesus, maybe it's as simple as saying thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus. That's OK. That's one of the most powerful prayers that you can pray. It's thank you, Jesus. Let's pray together. And if you need specific prayer, don't hesitate to let us know. Jesus, again, we love you, we glorify you, we magnify you, we bless your name and we praise you, and I thank you, God, for
everyone who can hear the sound of my voice. God, I know people are going through tough situations and circumstances. And God, I just ask you through the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would pour out mercy and that you would pour out grace and you would pour out peace and joy and provision.
Oh, God, father, I pray that you would meet people right where they're at, that they would experience your power and your presence in their lives right now. God, I pray that over the next few weeks together that God, we will understand and recognize the gifts you have activated inside of us, God, that we would understand that we
are uniquely made, that we are wonderfully made, that we are masterpieces, not mass produced by God. We are works of art that you have made for a reason and for a purpose. And Lord Jesus, I pray that you would give us more power, more purpose, more presence.
So God that we could be everything you have called and created us to be Jesus. We love you and we honor you. And it's in your name. We pray. And everybody said amen.
Have you ever wondered if your life has purpose? Do you struggle with the same hurts, hang ups and destructive habits over and over again?
