Mission Sent
Thanks so much for your time as you hear from Mission Sent in Florida. Our mission is to Serve Others, Share the Gospel of Jesus, and Live our Lives on Mission! Let's make the world better one Mission at a time.
Mission Sent
The Call to Use Your Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts aren't optional—they're essential for a functioning church community. In this challenging exploration of Romans 12, we confront the uncomfortable reality that 80% of church work typically falls on just 20% of the congregation, creating an unsustainable imbalance that hinders both individual growth and collective impact.
When believers don't exercise their spiritual gifts, someone else must shoulder that responsibility. As the metaphor goes—if you're a "stubbed toe" not working properly, the entire body suffers from your inaction. Every gift, whether visible like prophecy or behind-the-scenes like serving, holds equal importance in God's design. The car needs both its engine and transmission to function properly, just as the church requires every spiritual gift working in harmony.
We particularly examine the gift of prophecy, commonly misunderstood as merely predicting the future. Biblical prophecy is fundamentally about speaking God's truth to build up, encourage, and console others. Whenever you share Scripture with someone, you're functioning as a prophet—regardless of your platform size or audience reach.
The phrase "in proportion to our faith" reminds us that we're each called to specific contexts. Your responsibility might be to influence your family, workplace, or a small group rather than thousands. The question isn't about the size of your platform but your faithfulness to use what God has given you within your sphere of influence.
Are you making time for what truly matters? How we allocate our time reveals our priorities. If we can find time to eat, work, and pursue hobbies, we can certainly make time to serve with our spiritual gifts. The question isn't capability but willingness.
Will you commit to discovering and using your spiritual gifts to strengthen the body of Christ? The health of our community depends on each member actively contributing their unique gifting.
So, other than that, we are jumping back into Romans 12. And, like we talked about last week, we're going to start jumping into different specific spiritual blessings, or gifting, not blessings. Now, what I want to warn and kind of caution all of us about is, as we're going through spiritual gifts, it is very, very easy for you to do certain things. Number one it's very easy to sit here and go, oh, is this my gifting? Okay, and you should be doing that. You should be sitting here, going, hold on, is this a gifting that I have that God has given me for the body, all right. Number two it's very easy to go that's not my gifting and then just kind of tune everything else out. Now, what I want you to understand is every spiritual gift is important in its own right, in its own way, and it matters. So, even if you're sitting here going no, no, no, no, no. I know this isn't what God has blessed me with in spiritual gifting. It's important because I'm going to show you today why we need each and every one of them. Plus, we're going to start looking at a specific gifting. But these gifts pertain to all of us because, like we looked at last week, we all have different things that we bring to the table. And right now, I'm going to tell you right now, we need to start challenging ourselves, because some of us have well, let me rephrase that Not some of us. If you are sitting in here today and you are going, I am a disciple of Jesus, I'm a follower of Jesus, I am a Christian. I need you to understand something. Then you have spiritual gifting, and if you're not using that spiritual gifting, just like we looked at last week, you are a big toe, you are that stubbed toe that is no longer working anymore and you are hurting the rest of the body by not using your gifting, and it is a very selfish way to live out your Christian faith. So, with that being said, I'm going to pray and then we're going to jump into it. Father, thank you so much for your word and as I preach through it this morning, god, I ask and I pray that it not be my words that people are hearing, but yours. I ask, father, that I am just a tool you use to speak to your people. Father, I ask and I pray that, by the power of your spirit, we are transformed from the inside out so that we may be better servants of you, father. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen, all right. So we're going to kick off in verse 6 of Romans 12.
Speaker 1:Paul says this having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, all right, oh, faith All right, oh, all right. So as we jump into this, we're not going to look at the gift of prophecy just yet. We're going to get there and I can already see some of you going like, yep, that's my gift. And right there, like I am the prophet, all right One. We're going to talk about that in a second. But but to understand Paul, paul says having gifts that differ.
Speaker 1:We all have spiritual gifts or different spiritual gifts for a reason. Because if everybody in this room had the spiritual gifting of prophecy, for instance, how would our hospitality look like? Like, how would people feel when they walk in for the first time if there's not someone who has the gifting of hospitality? Think about it. If you know me and my family, you know that Debbie can immediately make you feel comfortable. I don't know if it's the high cheekbones or the fact that she smiles without showing her teeth. Whatever it may be like. Debbie is the one that people naturally want to go talk to. Very seldomly are people coming up to me going, hey, can we just talk Until, like, they get to know me and they go oh okay, he's not angry all the time, that is just naturally how he looks and I go. That's cool Because, see, we have different things that complement each other instead of things that are more important or less important.
Speaker 1:See, and a lot of us, that's what we do when we get a list of things, right, like, we're going to go through all of these different giftings. Here's what I want you to understand there is not one that is more important than any of the other ones. So, for example, if you we get done today and you're like you know what, josh, I really do think I have the spiritual gifting of prophecy, understand that that's not more important than the spiritual gift of, say, serving. Serving is just as important. If you're that person that works behind the scenes and you don't get all of the recognition, guess what? You're still just as important.
Speaker 1:Think about your car, for instance. What's more important for your car? Your engine or your transmission? Both right, because if you don't have one of them, your car ain't going anywhere, although most of us are way more familiar with, like, an engine than a transmission, because most of us we just we don't even really know what the transmission does, do we Like? If we're honest, however, we'll sit here and go oh man, I got a 12 valve, or I got a 350, or I have a, I'm doing an LS swap, and we think we know what these things mean, but we really don't, because engineers don't even know. You know how. I know that If you work on them, you will know that an engineer did not put this thing together. It was some kid with a crown that just made that car that he drew when he was three. But see spiritual giftings work the same way. Prophecy isn't necessarily more important than anything else. Now, why do we think certain giftings are more important? In just a little bit, we're going to get to first corinthians 14, and I'm just going to give you a little heads up.
Speaker 1:Right now, paul is trying to correct the, the church, the church at Corinth, and the understanding that tongues is not more important than anything else. In fact, paul says this I would rather speak five words that everybody can understand, opposed to 50,000 that no one can understand, but yet I'm telling you, there are a lot of Christians who sit here and go, but this is more important. Why? Because it's more visible and it makes me feel more important. See, I tell you guys this all the time. Right, I am not more important than any of you sitting out here. The only difference is I serve a different function in what I do, but my question is are you doing what you are supposed to be doing? The only difference is I serve a different function in what I do, but my question is are you doing what you are supposed to be doing? So we all bring something different to the table.
Speaker 1:And before Paul ever launches into this list of hey, here's spiritual giftings. He says this phrase having gifts that differ from one another, let us use them. This is where we go wrong. This right here, this is where we go wrong so often. Like I said, if you are in here and you are sitting here going, I am a Christian, you have a spiritual gifting and here's what the Bible would command you on that Use that, whatever it is. And I'm going to go ahead and tell you, like I don't know if you've ever been part of a different church or anything where you had, and they usually do it on, like the Wednesday nights, because those are like the sold out people, right? Like you guys that are doing the book study, you are way more holy than everybody else who just shows up on Sunday, okay. Now, that being said, what they do is they hand you this little questionnaire, right? And you just you go through and you circle all your answers, right? You just take this little quiz and then, at the end of the quiz, they go okay, if you got mostly A, then your spiritual gifting is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or if you got mostly B, then your spiritual gifting is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Here's what I want you to understand.
Speaker 1:Most people just like with anything else, like, like okay, if you're not a teacher, you may or may not understand this as well. If you are really good in math, like if math is your go-to subject, you're usually really good in science too, because math and science go together. In fact, it's very hard to do science without being really like strong in math. Now, on the flip side of that, if you're really good in ELA, like you're really good with, like, sitting down and writing and doing all the crap that no one like we speak English, why do we need to take 13 years of English? Some of us speak it better than others, but and I definitely don't fall into that category because I'm not an ELA kind of person but if you're really good in ELA, chances are you really like art and creativity too.
Speaker 1:Spiritual giftings work the same way. You may have one that is like your primary thing, like this is what you're really good with, but I can promise you you have other ones that fall in with that too, like understand, and you'll see it a little bit later. But if you could go, prophecy is my spiritual gifting, chances are. Teaching is one of your giftings too, because they go hand in hand with each other, where, if you're really sitting here and going hey, you know what serving is my spiritual gifting hospitality will probably fall in with that too. So you get what's a complement of these giftings that all go together and it makes you valuable in way more than one area. But just because you're not the one that's up here that everyone gets to see doesn't make you any less important. That is why Paul is sitting here going. We have these gifts. You need to use them.
Speaker 1:I know not everyone in here works construction, but not using your spiritual gift is the same thing as having all the pieces of heavy equipment that you could possibly think of. Same thing as having all the pieces of heavy equipment that you could possibly think of, but yet walking out to a field and going, get the horse and the plow and let's go. There's a reason why farmers today use combines to harvest their food. You know why? Because you can harvest a ton more food with a combine than you can with a horse. At one point, yeah, a horse was the pinnacle of technology. Now, instead of talking about how many acres did you do today, it's how many hecta acres did we do today? This works the same exact way when we are all using our giftings. How much easier is the work Like when everybody pitches in? How much easier is the work? Because this is where the church goes wrong.
Speaker 1:According to, and the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, 80% of the work done in a church is done by only 20% of the congregation of that church. And you know what this rule? It applies to almost every area of business. See, I get it, but understand this when you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, someone else has to do it, because it has to get done. Like, think about it, just to put together a Sunday service, just to put together, hey, you're going to show up for an hour and a half.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of things that have to come together. For starters, this room, monday through Friday, is a classroom. It doesn't look like this Monday through Friday because I don't trust a bunch of teenagers to sit in chairs that we had to, like, drive to the other side of what felt like the earth to get, because they're gonna tear it up. That's why they get these nice hard plastic benches because, again, I'm not here for your comfort, you're here to learn, but someone has to break all this stuff down. Someone has to pick up all the trash. Someone has to break all this stuff down. Someone has to pick up all the trash. Someone has to vacuum the rooms.
Speaker 1:I spend a lot of hours a week sitting down and researching and typing and putting everything together. On what I'm going to say on Sunday, I'll tell you. I know sometimes you may sit here and go. He just gets up there and shoots from the hip. I promise you that never happens. It is at least 15 to 20 hours, depending on the text that I'm actually preaching through, that I'll spend working on this throughout the week.
Speaker 1:Then someone has to create all of the slides and everything that we're using. Someone has to sit down and go here's a script for all of the announcements that are coming up. That's why I don't know if you noticed this or not, but some weeks you get the same announcement video Because someone didn't have time to do all of that during the week. See, and that's just for today. Someone has to set up the coffee and everything. Someone has, like. People have to do this stuff and when you're just showing up at like 855 and walking in, you get to experience all of that.
Speaker 1:But understand, someone put a lot of work in to get to that point and 80% of that work was done by 20% of the people in this room. What would happen if 100% of the work was done and let's just set the bar a little lower by 80% of the people in this room? How much more could we accomplish? How much more effective for reaching the loss, for seeking and saving the loss, could we be if, instead of operating at an 80-20, we operated even at a 50-50?, 50-50. How much do we actually care about the mission that Jesus left behind to seek and save what is lost, to redeem creation for himself and to glorify himself. How much do we really care about that?
Speaker 1:Because, again, you make time for what you want to make time for Everything you want to do. Guess what? You do it. It's very easy to sit here and go. I don't have time. You don't understand how busy my week is, and I've told you guys this a couple of times before I get it. And if you want to compare schedules, I'll do it with you. But you always make time for what you want to do. You know how I know this. Raise your hand if you went a couple of days this week without eating. None of us. Oh, you made time to eat, right? Why? Because I'm hungry and I have to eat. How many of us went to work? We made time for that, didn't we? Well, yes, this week we were off. You are correct. Poor example how many of us got in a boat and went out fishing this week? We make time for what we want to make time for. The question is, what are you willing to make time for? Because Paul is sitting here going. You have gifts. Use your gift, because if you're not, someone else has to fill in for you. Here's a prime example.
Speaker 1:Think about our camping trip last week. It was a really nice time. Could it have been better? 100%, you want to know how it could have been better. I'll even throw myself under the bus on this one If someone else planned it, because you know what I'm not good at Sitting down and thinking through all of the details.
Speaker 1:That's why it was this hey, bring what you want to eat, because I'm not going to sit here and try to figure out what everybody else wants to eat, because I spent the majority of my time going. Okay, at this time. Where do I want to fish? Because that's what was important to me. Basically, I went hey, we're going to go camping, I'm going to go fishing. If you want, you are more than welcome to come along with me. That's not planning an event. That is me going. Here's what I'm going to, and if you want to do it with me, come on. That's why it seems so chopped up and everything, because that's not my gifting to sit down and go.
Speaker 1:Okay, let me think through this event. What are the things we're going to need? We didn't even have toilet paper till the ride out. And the only reason I brought that was because the girls came with us, because normally, if it's just me and JT on the boat, we don't use toilet paper. Why? Because we don't have to. We're boys. And for those of you that are like, well, how do you that doesn't normally happen out there Like that's a we have. We have to go back to the dock real fast, okay.
Speaker 1:But that being said, could it have gone better? Yes, if someone who actually is an event planner would have sat down, I'll tell you. A couple of weeks ago, on a Wednesday night, um, some of the ladies surprised everybody by bringing in a charcuterie board. Now, that being said, I wasn't even 100 sure what a charcuterie board was and it took me a while to even learn how to say the word. So if I would have planned out, hey, I'm bringing in food for people to eat, it wouldn't have been these like amazing, like slices of meats and cheese and olives and vegetables and stuff like that. I'd have been like hey, we ordered a pizza, can someone pick it up on their way in? Why? Because how hard was that? I got a pepperoni and a cheese here. You make your choice. Like, figure it out. That's because that's not who I am. That's not how I operate. In fact.
Speaker 1:Listen to what the disciples, or the apostles, say in Acts 6. In Acts 6, too, it says this and the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Here's what's going on. A little back story for this the church is exploding. In the book of Acts, in fact, the day of Pentecost, peter gets up and preaches a sermon that is basically this you are a black-hearted, wretched sinner. You killed Jesus. This is all your fault. And at the end of it, 3,000 people went hey, what must I do to be saved? The end of it, 3,000 people went hey, what must I do to be saved? I sit here and try to preach the same sermon and everyone's like you come off way too mean. Now, that being said, what is happening is the church is sitting here, exploding.
Speaker 1:Well then, as you grow, your problems grow, like there are things like when we used to meet at my house and it was only a handful of us in my living room. There were things we never even thought of that we have to deal with now. Like, think about it, if the toilet at my house got clogged, that's on me right. Like it's my house, I got to fix it. We had to shut down school the other day because the toilet got clogged here and it went okay. Am I responsible for fixing this? Or like, does the landlord have to fix it? Like, whose responsibility is this? Like, do we have to pay for a plumber to come out? Like, what has to happen here and I go? There were things that we just didn't have to think about when we were meeting in our living room. I didn't put together a whole presentation, like maybe three times, because we were talking about something like that I wanted to like have slides for and I wanted to feel like a professional or something like that. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Now, as we grow, things change right. Like now it's like, okay, who's leading the children's ministry? Like I told you the other day, we're like in prayer, going, god, we need you to send someone so that we can have a youth ministry. Who's going to sing? Like you have problems that you don't have?
Speaker 1:Well, the church was exploding here and the widows were sitting here going, hey, there's no one here to serve us. Like they would come together, they would eat, they would be at tables and they would go. There's no one here to serve us. We kind of just get like thrown to the back of the room. And if you go all the way to James, what does it say? That pure religion is what? Taking care of the orphans and the widows. And so in the book of Acts, the widows bring up this problem and they go. There's no one here to serve us. And the apostles go hey, here's the deal. They bring together the full number of disciples. In other words, they go to the whole church and they go here's the deal. We need someone to step up and serve in this area.
Speaker 1:This is actually where we get the word deacon from. Like, I don't know about you, but if you're someone who aspires to a title, you're like oh, I want to be a deacon, just so I can feel like I have authority. Do you know what the word deacon actually means? Servant? It comes from the word doulos, which means slave Understand. As a pastor, that's your role. You're a servant. You are here to serve others the way that Jesus served us.
Speaker 1:And so the disciples go. Hey, it is not right that we have to give up preaching the word of God so that we can go do this. Remember, like I told you, when you don't do what you're supposed to do, someone else has to stand up and do your job, because it still has to get done. Now, when I first read through this, or the first time I read through this, I was like that's kind of messed up of the disciples. Right, why can't you go serve the table and then preach? Isn't that what we're called to do, right? Aren't all of us called to be servants, just as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve? And then I went oh no, I get it, because when other people aren't pulling their weight, you can't do yours effectively.
Speaker 1:If your role is to sit here and preach, as someone whose role is to do that, you don't realize the amount of work. This, right here, is the easy part. Just standing up here and preaching is super easy. It's everything that came before this. And the disciples, the apostles, are sitting here, going.
Speaker 1:We can't properly do what we're called to do because what we're being taken away to do, because we're not standing up and doing what we're supposed to do and this is the problem in most churches, that we are consumers, when you are called to be producers. We are not meant to just sit here and consume. I am not here for your entertainment like. I am not here so that when you leave you have this like warm, fuzzy feeling. I am here to preach the word of god, so that we can be transformed from one degree of glory to the next to look more like Jesus. That is what we gather for, and I go, and when we, when one of us hurts, all of us hurts. So Paul says we have these gifts. Let us use our gifting Now. Let's jump into the gifting of prophecy gifts. Let us use our gifting Now. Let's jump into the gifting of prophecy.
Speaker 1:In verse 6, he ends with if prophecy in proportion to our faith. Now, now comes the fun part. Right, because now we're going to actually go over the gifting of prophecy. I want to correct a couple of things before I know no one in here is like you know what? Like this is my gifting. Like I stand up and I go.
Speaker 1:Thus saith the Lord, here is what is about to happen, and although being able to foretell the future is part of what we see in biblical prophecy, that is not what it means to be a prophet. In fact, I'll go ahead and tell you, anytime we see it in the New Testament, you know what you don't see. Well, not anytime, because there are a couple of times in Acts where we do get a foretelling of the future, but for the most part, when we see it, you know what you don't see A foretelling of the future. In fact, even if we look at it in the Old Testament if you look at 1 Kings 18, you see this showdown with the prophet Elijah against the 450 prophets of Baal. You know what Elijah does not do. He does not foretell. This is what's going to happen. He sits here and goes hey, how long are you going to waver between these two opinions? If the Lord is God, then follow him. But if Baal is God, we'll follow him. And there were 450 prophets of Baal, and this is a song. So if I'm not careful, I'll just like start singing the whole song. But that being said, he doesn't go. Here's what's going to happen. He goes hey, we're going to put this to the test. Here's the. I'm done with this. I'm done with going back and forth with this. We're going to figure this out once and for all.
Speaker 1:Then we get to the book of Jonah. Anybody familiar with that? What is Jonah A prophet when Jonah's going to Nineveh? Is he sitting here, going, hey, here's what the future is? No, what's he going to Nineveh for? To sit here and go? Hey, if y'all don't straighten up, god's wrath will come and he will slaughter all of you. Now God even told Jonah look, you go, tell them this message and when they repent, tell them I will forgive them. This is why Jonah didn't want to go, because Jonah knew here's what God is going to do.
Speaker 1:But see, that is the office of prophet, and the office of prophet to to work in prophecy. Here's what you're doing. You are speaking for God. God tells you hey, you go say this. God tells you hey, you go say this. And when you go say it, you are a prophet at that point. So if you have ever in your life, if you've ever in your life, when the Bible says, what is the Bible? The word of God, as soon as the words the Bible says came out of your mouth, guess what you are doing right now. You are prophesying. You are now a prophet, and that's what when Paul is talking about here, that is what Paul is getting at. He's not sitting here, going.
Speaker 1:Hey, if you have the spiritual gifting to know what the future is going to happen, in fact, I will go out on a limb and say if you have spent any time in church, you already know the future. And some of you are shaking your head like no, I don't. I'm not saying you know what's going to happen tomorrow, but what's going to happen at the end of time. Jesus is coming back and he's going to happen at the end of time. Jesus is coming back and he's going to judge and the wicked are going to be cast into the lake of fire and there will be a new heaven and a new earth and he will dwell with his people and we will be his people and he will be our God. See, you already know the future.
Speaker 1:My question is is why are you not worried for those in your life about the future? Because there is coming a day where either you are going to go into the ground or Jesus is going to come back. But one of the two are going to happen and it's too late at that point. See, in Ephesians it says that every tongue shall confess and every knee shall bow right. Like it's going to happen, but it's better to call Jesus Lord now than judge later. See, and that's what a prophet does. A prophet sits here and goes here's what God has said I am coming, I'm coming to judge the wicked, I'm coming to judge all.
Speaker 1:In fact, like I told you earlier, we're going to look at 1 Corinthians 14, where Paul is sitting here and going hey, like I get it. You want the gifting of tongues because that makes you seem more spiritual. But listen to what he actually says in here. He says this, starting in verse 1. He says this, starting in verse 1, pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
Speaker 1:For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God, for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries of the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in tongues build up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Here's what he's saying. I get it Like. Here's the thing, and I'm not going to get into tongues right now, because that's a whole message by itself, right? However, if you are someone who speaks in tongue, that is awesome and do it and earnestly seek it. And I almost shot out with that, mr Allen, because that was the first thing that came to my mind. But here's the thing it wasn't given as a gift for the body, it was given as a gift for you. See, paul is sitting here going.
Speaker 1:You guys don't understand how important the gifting of prophecy is, because the gifting of prophecy is to build up one another. Why do we gather? We talk about this all the time? To equip the saints to do the work of the ministry out there. This Christian life isn't a one-day-a-week thing. It's not. Oh cool. I came and I sat and I listened for however long he went. Today Could be a really short message, could be a really long message who knows? It's like Russian roulette here. But this isn't what your life, this is not the pinnacle of what your life should be. This is just to equip us to go out there so that the rest of the week we can do the work of the ministry. Think about it. The sharing center. You guys heard me say in the announcements thank you so much.
Speaker 1:You have no idea how grateful I am for each and every one of you, because someone and again I don't like to call people, because some people get weird when you use their name, like up here, and they're like, oh, I didn't do it for that. And it's like, well, who cares, let's shame other people because you're doing what you're supposed to. I think that's a good thing, but this person probably would not like me doing. This Wednesday we were coming in for our book studies and this person caught us in the parking lot and they were like hey, I need help, there's a lot in the car that needs to come in. And they were not lying when you opened up the door. Like their entire back of their car was full of food for the sharing center.
Speaker 1:And it was so funny to me because my mom had just left, like maybe an hour before, from putting away the last batch of food that was in the sharing center and she had sent me a picture and she's like, hey, we finally ran out of shelf space. I need you to build more shelves. And I was like, cool, I'll get on that next week. And then, as soon as I get here, it's like, oh, where are we going to put all this food? And I go. That to me is a good problem to have, like I would much rather that problem than sitting here going like, hey guys, I need you to bring in food because we have hungry people that we are trying to feed. And yet I went in there and we're putting stuff on the table and I was like man, we're just not going to have enough room for all of this. That is a good problem, because that is that many more people we are going to be able to feed.
Speaker 1:And when I said we should shame those who aren't doing what they're supposed to, I actually meant that Because that is a form of building up. I don't mean shame in a bad way. So those of you in here who have a that have like problems with that word. I don't mean that like in a negative connotation, but I am not opposed as a parent to looking at my daughters and pitting them against each other to spur them up to do good. Hey, gabby, kayla said she could clean the room faster and better than you, and I hate to tell you this, but this is a biblical thing. This is why Paul says spur one another to do good works. Now, everyone always goes, yeah, but Jesus says don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Here's what that means. Don't put on social media hey, just dropped off all these groceries. I'm more holy than you. That's not at all what that means, but hear what it does mean.
Speaker 1:Spur one another on, outdo one another. We're going to get this in like six to eight months. Outdo it's later in the chapter, by the way. Outdo one another in honor. Think about that. How do you outdo someone with honor if you have no idea what they did? This is why we gather. This is why we come together together to spur one another on to go out there and do this.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing I. I was just watching. Who was it? It was michael knowles and and someone else, and they were. They were doing an interview. I forget who was interviewing them and they were talking. Talking about, like, the decline of the American church, and I don't know if you know this or not, but the American church has been on a decline for the past like 15 years, like I don't know why I went. Hey, this is what we should go open, because most people don't go into an industry in decline and go, let's open it. People don't go into an industry in decline and go, let's open it. But they were talking about a Pew Research study that just came out that shows that the decline is no longer in decline, it's plateaued out which they went? Hey, this is a great thing, because what was happening?
Speaker 1:If you guys are familiar, if you guys remember the rise of the religious nuns Not N-U-N-N-O-N-E-S People that had no affiliation to religion, people who had walked away from the church, people who had went hey, this is no longer what we believe in, those people. That demographic of people was on the rise, people like Christopher Hitchens, who had come out and made atheism look like a viable option, and people were leaving in droves and the church was on the decline. In fact, they were predicting by 2050 that they would be at like you know the intersection where the nuns and the decline were like, actually intersecting with each other that the nuns would become the majority at that point. But what we see now is that the church has at least finally stopped dying off. You know what comes next An explosion and an awakening. I told you guys at the ends of last year right, 2025, god's going to do something major, and I don't just necessarily mean with our body, because all of it is his church, every single person in the world who proclaims that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be is part of his church. And I really sit here and go. God's done with where we're at.
Speaker 1:You know, if you're a parent, sometimes you let your kids fall, right, so they learn how to get back up, to quote Thomas Wayne, I think God let his church fall. I think God went that's fine. We see it in Romans 1, right, god gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. I think God did that with his church. I think he went hey, you know what you want to keep whining, you know what? That's fine. Just go do whatever it is you want to go do. And when it doesn't work out, and when you fall, I'll be here. Now notice, when you do that to your children, when they come back, do you lower your standard at that point? No, you go, this is still the standard. Now come up to my standard. And then at some point in your child's life it clicks Like for me it was the army Like boot camp.
Speaker 1:Everything my parents said clicked in boot camp. You know why? Because I didn't have a choice to think for myself, because your drill sergeant, I hate to tell you does not care about your opinion and what you think. Now, from what I've been told, it's a little different nowadays, but back in 2004, it wasn't different. It was hey, we are getting you ready to go to Afghanistan, like that was it. That was the mission and everything clicked. That is what God is doing to his church right now and he's sitting here going. But you guys got to come up to where I'm calling you. That is what prophecy is Now.
Speaker 1:At the very end of that, he said in proportion to our faith. And I'm just going to take a little bit to understand what that means, because you're going to hear this phrase a lot in proportion to our faith. Here's what that means. Because you're going to hear this phrase a lot in proportion to our faith. Here's what that means. Faith is not what you believe. I know most of us that's what we grew up right. Oh, just say you believe. That's what faith is. That is not what the word pistousos actually means. It is putting into action what you say you believe. That's why Paul will say walk by. Well, that's not you sitting here going. I believe I can walk, is it no, it is literally walking by faith. So when it says in proportion to our faith. Understand this. Here's what he's saying and it has a double entendre.
Speaker 1:There are some people who sit here and go he's talking about. Keep it within the meaning of the gospel, like when you prophesy. That's what it's about. It's about Jesus, it's not about you. But the other meaning, and what I think is the most likely meaning, is this God has called you to a certain group.
Speaker 1:See, I'm going to tell you, not everyone in here is called to the assignment to pastor a church. However, you know what you are called to your family, your co-workers, your neighbors. Like if you were a father in here, I'm going to tell you right now, the Bible puts a lot of pressure on you because, ultimately, you know who's responsible for your children's growth spiritually you, not me, not the future youth pastor we hire. You are the one responsible for that. So when you stand before Jesus, cool, you be able to explain to him why your kid came out the way they did, because ultimately, as the father, you're the one called to lead. It ain't even your wife's responsibility, like I can't just chuck that one off on Debbie and go. Hey, look, says women teach the children, because at the end of the day, it says that you are the head of your household. You are the one responsible for that. Are the head of your household. You are the one responsible for that. That's why we took time to go through fighting shadows and give men an opportunity. See, in other words, we are not all called to a world stage. Here's the thing On social media, that is not prophecy. Okay, my, you know 15 people that are going to see my video that I put up on Instagram or Facebook and actually I'm not even going to put it up that Debbie puts up. That's not what I'm called to Like. That's just like icing on the cake.
Speaker 1:I think of someone like Joby Martin. Okay, if you don't know who he is, he's a pastor from up in Jacksonville. He literally goes all over the world doing exactly what I'm doing right now, just preaching the gospel. His church also has 40,000 people in weekly attendance. At one point was the fastest growing church in America. At one point was the fastest growing church in America. He's obviously called to preach to more people than I am, but is my responsibility any less than his? No, not at all. And that's what that proportion to our faith means.
Speaker 1:Don't get beat down because you're sitting here going. I don't have as many people to say this to Because, honestly, and as someone who has struggled with that a lot, like a whole lot. Here's what Paul is talking about. What if you only had one person to say this to? Like what if it's just you and your wife? Like what if it's just you and your wife? Like what if it's just you and your kid? What if it's just you and a student? What if it's just one person? God called you to tell them? Are you shrinking down from that responsibility by not telling them because it's not, you know, as glamorous of a stage for you and if you're sitting here going? No, no, listen to me very carefully, I struggle with this.
Speaker 1:If you were in the men's group, I told you a story years and years and years and years ago I was at a church planning conference and there was a guy speaking and he went hey, would you be okay if God called you to plant a church and you only had 20 people? But you knew that one person in that church was going on to go plant a church of 20,000 people. And honestly, in my wicked heart, I went no, I wouldn't be okay with that, god, why would you let someone else go plant this huge church, especially if they're just taking my teachings and now doing it for themselves and just repackaging it? And I went, oh, got some heart issues going on in here, got some like pride welling up in here. But understand, when you're talking about the gift of prophecy, you may only be called to 20 people. You may only be called to one person. You may not be called to be on the big stage, but are you going to be faithful to what you are called to in proportion to your faith?
Speaker 1:If god is sitting here, going, hey, the only thing your faith is going to allow you to do is 20 people. Are you going to be faithful to that or are you going to go? God, that's not a big enough stage for me. Do you not know who I'm is? See, because for a long time that's what I struggled with, because in my mind it looked different, and so for a long time I went. I'm not going to operate like that. But see, even though our numbers may be smaller, our responsibility to prophesy is the exact same.
Speaker 1:So, as we close today, the bible says if this is you, you are sitting here today and you are going. You know what god called me to go tell people about him, which peter would tell you that if you are a Christian, you are an ambassador. So just letting you know called all of us. Then do it. Your numbers may be smaller than the next person's Mine are smaller than other people but be faithful in what God has called you to and let God be God and let the Spirit be the Spirit and you just be faithful to that gifting of prophecy.
Speaker 1:So, father, I ask and I pray that, as we close today, those of us in here, father, that are knowing, uh-oh, I'm failing in this, father, I ask and I pray that you just put within us that fire to go do what you have called us to. That, god, the prophets in this room leave here today emboldened to go out there and say here's what God told me, to tell you. That, father, we join you on your mission of seeking and saving what is lost. That, father, we use our gifts and that, father, we don't shy away from them. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.