[ By Pastor Marcus Ellington ]
[ This message was recorded on June 18th, 2021, episode 1 for our 2021 Summer Camp, One Body. One Family. One Mission ]
I am
A Child of God
He speaks to me
And I hear His voice
So, I open my heart
To hear God speak
Through His word today
- Romans 12:3-8 (NLT) - Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
- Example:
Have you ever met a person who always wants to know what is going on?
They are always asking questions to get more information.Who, What, when, why, and how, even when it has nothing to do with them?
We would call that personAs an adjective: showing too much curiosity about other people's affairs.Example: Nosy neighbors who always want to see and know what is going on in your house.Synonyms: prying, inquisitive, curious, busybody, probing, spying, eavesdropping, intrusive,
snooping, snoopyAs a verb: pry into something.
What do you tell a NOSY person to do? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESSThere is no room for comparison. The time is short, we need everyone, we need every gift. We need One body fully functioning with Jesus Christ as the Head if we want to see the world take notice and a great awakening happen in our lifetime!Many of us have substituted the call of God on our lives for secular careers
- You’ve decided to be a:
lawyer - pay is great, prestige is great. But God gave you your particular gift to be an apologist and vigorously defend and uphold the faith. You can be a lawyer and defend people, but let’s not forget the priority is never money, the priority is the king and His
Kingdom!Doctor – pay is great, prestige is great. But God gave you His Spirit so that you can lay hands on the sick and see them recover. You can be a doctor, but don’t forget that it’s not simply your education, training, and knowledge of the human body, but the power of God demonstrated through your submission the will of God for your life!Venture Capitalist – pay is great, the prestige is great, But God wants to give you divine insight on where to invest capital to generate profit and fund missionaries and church plants all over the world. You can be a venture capitalist, but don’t forget that the ability to identify where to invest in to turn- Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) - And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 6:12-13 - Do not let sin control the way you live; [a] do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.2 Corinthians 5:17 – This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!Romans 12:2 – (Because of this) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.- 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 - The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
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