A Transforming Word

The grace and love of God inspires repentance. For some of us, we may have grown up with a fear of God. We heard about His justice and vengeance, and we did not want to be on the receiving end of that. It may have been an effective way of instilling values, but in that kind of religion, it’s easy to miss the true heart of God. As Pastor Bill will remind us today, God is a God of grace and He went to extreme lengths to reach your heart and bring you into right relationship with Him through Jesus.

Jesus is fully aware of your weaknesses and imperfections. We see this demonstrated throughout the Gospels. He selected 12 imperfect, common men, with varying backgrounds and qualifications to follow Him. He knew what He was getting when He called them, and the same is true with you. As Pastor Bill will remind us in today’s message, Jesus has the strength and love to pull you out of your sinful, broken state. When you come to Him, He doesn’t expect perfection – His love makes you perfect.

Some house renovations begin on the exterior, with siding, painting, and maybe some replacing of windows. But a true reno requires some demolition of the inside of the house, tearing down what was, and rebuilding something completely new. Do you realize that when you desire to have a relationship with Jesus, that means that your heart will have to withstand “Demo Day?” Pastor Bill gets the point across today that significant changes will be made in your heart and your life, to follow hard after Jesus.

Maybe you’ve never thought that hard about what the difference is between someone who’s saved and someone who isn’t. But you can see it in how they live out their lives. Someone who’s going against God’s commands, willfully and defiantly living as they please - with no conscience about it being wrong, is not a follower of Jesus. When you follow someone, you get behind what they stand for, and what they hold to be true. So Pastor Bill wants to help you understand what that means today.

What a good exhortation from Pastor Bill today, as you’ll hear more about spiritual gifts, and how they should be used to benefit the church. Don’t be doing something for selfish gain or approval. All the things mentioned in today’s passage should be done in a way that produces order and unity within the body of believers. Pastor Bill has more to share on this, so open up your Bible and dig in to what God wants you to know. We hope you come away with a clearer idea of what God’s communicating to you!

God gives spiritual gifts to people. We each have our unique giftings that can be used within the church, and that’s a really great thing! But as soon as you start to think you’re, “all that,” and get wrapped up in what you’re doing, with more emphasis on that, than what God’s doing and has done, there’s a problem! There’s an imbalance in your thinking and in your motivation. Today, Pastor Bill encourages you to remember what it was about in the first place. It’s what Jesus did on the cross – that changes you forever!

Wouldn’t it be an encouragement, and even a faith-builder, for you to share something with another believer – before the situation fully plays out? Let them know you’re praying for them! Like, Pastor Bill mentioned, give them a call! You’ll hear some more examples in today’s message about how you may not even realize it, but your expression of faith regarding a person’s circumstance could do wonders in their life. God is listening, He’s working, and He’s moving in that other person’s faith…through you!

Any good football team knows that each person plays a role and is an important part of the team. I like Pastor Bill’s idea today of a football huddle – being given instructions, and then going out and doing what you’re meant to do. Think of spiritual gifts in a similar way! You each have a different role, and each person is important with the giftings they have - that may differ from the next. But to be a team, you each have to work together, to make things happen. Being unified in this goal is key to winning!

Some might be skeptical about hearing a “prophetic word” from another. But what if it really was a God-given word that was meant just for you? What if you’re a person who’s gifted with prophesy, but are too afraid to speak it? Today, Pastor Bill digs into the various spiritual gifts, and how they can and should be used. But too often, some might be afraid to use their spiritual gifting, because they’re more concerned of what others might think, rather than using the gift God gave them - for His glory.

When you look at a family and some hardships they’ve gone through, you come to a realization that they are still together, and still making it work, because they have chosen to love, no matter what. The parents may have struggled through some marital challenges, or they are parenting a child who has brought them through some trying waters. But their love for the Lord, and their love for each other - keeps them as a unit, regardless. Today, Pastor Bill further explains what this type of love looks like.