The Gifts that Keep on Giving | Sunday Message

Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners.

I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you. If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. So we're in the book of Acts, and I want you to turn in your Bible to two passages with me. Acts chapter 2 and Romans chapter 12.

Acts 2 and Romans 12. And the title of my message is, The Gifts That Keep On Giving. Question. Have you ever received a gift that, well, you just did not like?

It's kind of hard to fake it, isn't it? You know, you open it up. Maybe it's in a really nice box, and it's something you really don't want at all. And you go, oh wow.

Thank you so much. And you're already thinking, where do they buy it so I can return it? And then there are the people that give you clothes.

Can I offer a word of recommendation? Don't give clothes to people. Because they may not like what you chose. And then there are the people that give you the clothes and ask you when you're going to wear what it is they gave you.

Because they gave you this incredibly ugly shirt, and they want to know when are you going to wear the ugly shirt. And then of course there's the fruitcake. What is the deal with fruitcakes? First of all, they taste horrible. Number two, why do people give those out as a gift?

And number three, I have a theory. There's only one fruitcake in existence. Question. Have you ever seen two fruitcakes next to each other?

You have not. Because there's only one, and we just keep recirculating it. And that brings me to re-gifting. Re-gifting is when you receive a gift, you can't return it, and therefore you re-gift it. You give it to someone else. I got this for you. The thing with the fruitcake, you could give it ten years later.

It's basically the same thing. But the key is don't re-gift and end up giving it to the person who gave it to you in the first place. So anyway, I'm using this as sort of a springboard to talk about a different kind of gift. I want to talk to you about the spiritual gifts. The gifts of the Spirit that God gives to us when we're filled with the Holy Spirit. We're going through the book of Acts together, and the book of Acts is about the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of ordinary people just like you and just like me.

Ordinary people that were able to do extraordinary things because they had a power beyond themselves. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. And when you're filled with the Spirit, and every Christian should be filled with the Spirit again and again and again, as I pointed out, you should just get up in the morning and before your feet hit the ground say, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit today. Because Ephesians 5 says, be being filled with the Holy Spirit. And in the Greek that's a command, and secondly it speaks of something that is continuous.

And thirdly, it's addressed to all people. That's not just a prayer for a preacher to pray, that's a prayer for a mother to pray. Maybe the mother even needs to pray it more with all of your responsibilities that you have. That's a prayer a father needs to pray. That's a prayer an elderly person needs to pray. That's a prayer a young person needs to pray.

Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Now when you've done that, God has supernatural gifts that He wants to give to you. He wants you to discover those gifts. He wants you to cultivate those gifts. And then He wants you to use those gifts and whatever gift God gives to you will be just the right gift. Just the perfect gift.

You will not want to re-gift it. You will discover how awesome it is. This is something we should not neglect. This is something we should be seeking after. In fact we're told in 1 Corinthians 14, earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. Then Paul reminds us of 1 Corinthians 1.7, don't lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. Therefore, as Christians, we should have a real interest in what are the gifts that God has given to me. God wants us to know about this because Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, 1, concerning spiritual gifts I would not have you ignorant.

In other words, you need to know about this. You need to find your gifts and you need to then use their gifts. Now here's the problem. We've seen excess and abuse of the spiritual gifts.

Let me just say this. The supernatural gifts that God wants to give to a Christian are not toys to play with, they're tools to build with, and they're weapons to fight with. But sometimes people take these gifts and they sort of apply them in bizarre ways. We've all seen it, probably some preacher on television, and he usually talks like this. I don't know why. And he'll say something like, I'm just receiving the Spirit.

Yay! I say unto thee, her sleeves just. OK, that has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. That person is just weird. And then we see these preachers, oh they lay hands on people and the people fall over, they're rolling around on the ground, they're screaming and yelling, and then the preacher says, this is the Holy Spirit.

No it isn't. It's weird people doing weird things. The gifts of the Spirit are practical. It's practical power that God gives to you. Acts 1-8 says you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be a complete weirdo.

No it doesn't say that. It says you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be a witness for me. Again, practical power. Power with a purpose.

But because of the abuse and the excesses in the area of the gifts of the Spirit, some people recoil from them and say, if that's the Holy Spirit, I want nothing to do with it. But that's a mistake because you're going to end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. By the way, did anyone ever throw a baby out with bathwater?

I actually looked it up. Like where did that weird expression come from? So back in the days of the Old West, you know they'd heat up the tub with the water and the whole family would use it, which seems counterproductive to me because after maybe the eighth member of your family has been in the tub, it seems like you're going to get dirty of being in the water. I guess the baby was the last and then they threw out the water. Oh, don't lose the baby. Well, the idea of that expression is, you know, don't throw it all away because there's something here that God wants us to have. 1 Timothy 4.14 says, don't neglect the spiritual gift that is in you.

Or as another translation puts it, keep your gift dusted off and in use. So Paul is talking about our place in the church where we use our gifts together. Last time we discovered what the church is all about in our message that was titled, Better Together. You may go back and watch that to learn more about your place in the church.

But listen to this. The church exists for three purposes. Number one, the exaltation of God. Number two, the edification of the saints. And thirdly, the evangelization of the world.

Or another way to put it, upward, inward, outward. See, the church is here to glorify God. Now for that fact, you're here to glorify God. I'm here to glorify God. So we're here to exalt God. Then we're here for the edification of the saints.

The saints are inward. We build one another up. We encourage one another.

I'll talk about that more in this message. And finally, the evangelization of the world. And this early church was successful because listen, every person did their part. A unified church is a powerful witness to a divided world. And our world is so divided. We are divided over politics.

We are divided over mask wearing. We are divided over vaccines. We are divided over so many things even among believers. And we need to be unified. Again, a unified church is a powerful witness to a divided world.

We really are better together. And that is why the devil wants to divide us. Because he knows when we're divided we're not nearly as effective as we are when we're unified together. There's a story that is told about a visitor who came to see the great city of Sparta. And the king of Sparta was boasting to the visitor about the great walls that protected Sparta.

The visitor looked around and did not see any walls at all. And then the king of Sparta responded, I see in Sparta every man is a brick. And then the king pointed to the army of Sparta and said, these are the walls of Sparta. Take away point, we all have a part to play in the work that God wants to do. So let's go to our text. It's Romans chapter 12. And I'm going to read a few verses.

Paul writes, I have given to each of you this warning. You are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith that God has given us. Here's my first point. You're not all that and a bag of chips.

Yes, that's an actual sermon point. You're not all that and a bag of chips. Ever heard that expression? Some people think they are. They just think they're the cat's meow.

Where did that expression come from? But the idea is they're just so amazing. They're more gifted than anybody else. They know more than anyone else. And in fact these people who think that way usually aren't even close to what they think they really are. Arrogant people love to tell you how well educated they are, how talented they are, how successful they are, how much money they make, what kind of car they drive. And whatever story you tell, they want to top your story. And on and on it goes.

But here's what I've discovered. The most gifted people are usually the most humble people. I think of my friend Darryl Strawberry. What a great guy he is. And this guy is a living icon. And I was with him recently and we did a little interview.

It's going to be a part of a movie we're coming out with next year that's called Fame. And we're going to explore the emptiness of fame. And I talked to some iconic figures like Alice Cooper, Darryl Strawberry, and others. So I was hanging around Angel Stadium with Darryl. And there's people working there. So we're walking around and it's just us and the stadium and our film crew. And there are people working there and there's Darryl Strawberry. I mean this is a baseball stadium. Darryl played in that stadium and he took time for every person. He's so friendly, so humble.

How you doing? Good to talk to you. And he even uses his fame and his platform as an opportunity to minister to people. I thought that's an amazing thing. But then there are people that are so arrogant and so demanding. And I look at them and I say, dude, you're not even talented enough to be demanding. You know they think they're so great they're actually not really that good.

But they tend to be the more arrogant people and that's ridiculous. Oh but I'm so important. Listen to this.

Cemeteries are full of indispensable people. You're not indispensable. You're not as important as you think you are. You're not all that in a bag of chips.

So here's what Paul is actually saying. Be honest in your evaluation of yourself. Be balanced. Be sensible. Be realistic. He's saying don't think you're better than you are. But he's also saying don't think you're worse than you are. Think.

Think realistically. And if God has given to you a spiritual gift it's not humble to deny that gift. I'll take it a step further. It's an act of disobedience to not acknowledge that gift. There's a lot of fake humility that people have. You know people say I'm so humble. I'm so humble I don't even say humble. I drop the H. I'm just humble.

No you're again just being strange ok. If God has given you a gift discover the gift and use the gift. So basically Paul is saying be realistic as you look at yourself.

Point number two. Whatever gift you have it's been given to you by God. Whatever gift you have it's been given to you by God. Romans 12 five says, So notice that we're members of a body.

The church is compared to a body. And just as you have a human body each part of your body plays a part. Your ears have a role.

Your eyes have a role. Your fingers. Your toes. Your internal organs. Everything has a part to play. As Paul says, he says if the body was a giant eye how would we hear?

If the body were a giant ear how would we see? And I think that was a humorous illustration. Every part of the body matters. We all have a part to play in the body of Christ. So we are different and these gifts are given to us by the grace of God.

Coming back to a point I already made. If God has given you a gift it is irresponsible to not use it. James 4 17 says, So pray that God would show you what your supernatural gifts are and then begin to use them. And I will identify a few for you in a moment.

Number three. We all have a part to play in the church with our spiritual gifts. We all have a part to play.

We are the walls of Sparta. We are part of the church. And so Paul says in Romans 12 4, Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function so it is with the body of Christ. We are many parts of one body and we all belong to each other. Again we are better together. We can get so much done when we work together. We can get so much done when we pray together. One of the things we encourage people to do as the Crusade approaches is pray. Pray for people that they know that aren't yet Christians. And not only that but get other Christians to join you in prayer for those people you are praying for. Because Jesus said when two or more are gathered together in my name I am there in the midst of them. And He said if two of you will agree as touching anything it will be done of your Father in Heaven. And when you are praying for the salvation of a lost person, listen, you are praying according to the will of God.

Because the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So pray together with other believers. But we are not all the same. We have different make ups. Different gifting. Some are more outgoing by nature. Some are more reserved. Some are more big picture. Some are more detail oriented. But every one of us matters. So let's read some of the gifts of the Spirit.

And by the way there are other lists that you can look at later. For instance if you go to 1 Corinthians 12 and also over to Ephesians 4 other gifts of the Spirit are identified. Let me say one thing before we read these verses. There is a difference between natural talent and a spiritual gift. Now God gives us all certain talents. And that is a great thing too. That is a gift from the Lord. I am talking about a supernatural gifting God will give to you as a Christian who has been filled with the Holy Spirit.

So I just wanted to make that distinction. Romans 12 verse 6. Paul writes, 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. Prophecy means to speak for another.

Literal translation. Sometimes it is predicting the future though it is not limited to that. It is an insight into what God is doing. Then Paul continues on and he says, As He has given you a gifting to speak then speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, or the gift of exhortation will be encouraging. If your gift is giving, then give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take that responsibility seriously. If you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. So practical don't you think?

Certain terms bubble up. Do it generously. Do it gladly. Take this responsibility seriously. And that brings us to the spiritual gift of serving. If you are called to serve others and serve them well. It is interesting this gift is right next to the spiritual gift of prophecy.

Now someone who would prophesy or would speak prophetically would draw a lot of attention. Like wow that is a special gift. But right next to that gift is this gift of serving.

Kind of a behind the scenes person. We sometimes think the people that are on the stage are the most important. They are not the most important. They are just using their gift. And the people behind the scenes are less important.

They are not less important. They are just using their gift. All of us are just using our gift to work together and bring glory to God because it is not about us.

It is about Him. And seeing what we can do to extend His kingdom. So the person who is called to serve just does it. You know they see a need. They meet the need. And not only do they meet the need, they meet the need joyfully. Others are called to teach the Word of God.

Verse 7. If you are a teacher, teach well. I love that. If you are a teacher, teach well. Do a good job. Don't do a shabby job. Don't just get up there if you are a teacher and wing it. You have to prepare.

You have to study. Paul says, study to show yourself approved unto God a workman that does not need to be ashamed as He rightly divides the word of truth. We read over in James 3, 1, brothers and sisters, don't become teachers in the church for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

So this is not something you should seek unless God has called you to do it. Because we are told over in 2 Timothy 2, 15, we need to handle the Word of God correctly. It's an awesome responsibility to stand up and speak for God. People have asked me what's it like to stand up there in a stadium in front of thousands of people and speak. That must be the ultimate ego booster.

Not really. First of all, it's spiritual warfare. The moment I step up there I feel the pressure on me. I once asked Billy Graham what he felt physically when he gave the invitation for people to come to Christ. And Billy told me, I feel like power is going out of me.

I understand that. It reminds me of the statement of Jesus when that woman touched the hem of His garment and He said, who touched me because power has gone out of me. It's a spiritual battle. And it's also an awesome responsibility that I take very seriously because I am standing up there and I am telling people what God says. I am telling people what the Bible says. So trust me when I tell you I step into that pulpit fully prepared wanting to declare the truth of the Word of God accurately, understandably, and lovingly. And this is something that it's a great privilege to do. But some people who are pastors or call themselves teachers somehow take the action packed amazing living Word of God and make it dull.

Why? Listening to them speak is like watching paint dry. And maybe watching paint dry is actually a little more entertaining. And look if you are that person maybe you need to discover maybe you are not called to be a teacher. Maybe you are not called to be a pastor. Maybe your gifting is to help people fall asleep while you talk. That could be productive.

No but seriously there is nothing wrong with having a different gift. You say, you know what I really don't find that when I speak it connects with people. I am going to find another way to serve the Lord. The main thing is if you are called to teach then teach well. Do a good job of it. The main thing you want to do is just find the gift that God has given you and develop it. Here is one way to find out what you are called to do. Volunteer for everything.

I am serious. So at your church they say, we need Sunday school teachers. Say, I am in. Hey we need people to help people park their cars. I will do that. Hey we need people to work over in this area.

I will do that. Well you say, what if I am not called? How are you going to find out until you try?

So you get out there and you try to find people, places to park, and you get everything confused and people are driving off the road. Maybe that is not your gifting. You go in the Sunday school class and after an hour they have you tied up.

Maybe that is not good. But then suddenly you discover, wow I have a gift over here. Sometimes discovering what your gift is, is by first discovering what your gift isn't.

I call it process of elimination. Years ago in the Jesus movement bands were forming every week. And so we were attending Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, which was like the epicenter of the Jesus movement in Southern California.

And these bands would form. And so I was at a home Bible study with a group of friends and a couple of them were very talented musicians. One played guitar and wrote a song.

And another was a flautist. Right? And they were doing this song and we are all singing along and I am kind of like keeping rhythm on the little dining room table. Not dining room.

Coffee table. So they said, let's form a band. So they came up with the name for the band. Next thing we knew we were at Calvary Chapel in a packed house and I am in a band.

And I am thinking, how did I get up here? I had a conga drum. So my friend who plays guitar sang this song.

My friend who plays the flute played his flute. And I am banging on a conga drum out of rhythm and I am thinking, I am not called to do this. You see.

Process of elimination. And sometimes by just trying you find out that is not what you are called to do. But then you might be shocked to find out it is what you are called to do. Another thing I would add, sometimes other people can tell you what your gift is. They might see something you don't know. It was Chuck Smith, the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, who first told an 18 year old Greg Laurie, I think God has called you to be an evangelist.

I thought, why would you think that? He saw something I didn't see myself. Having said that I am called to be an evangelist. It is a gift God gave me. I am also called to be a teacher. And I have had people ask me, well are you an evangelist who teaches or are you a teacher who evangelizes?

Well I am both actually. I am called to do both. I am thankful for that. You know when we first started doing our evangelistic events people wondered are you going to leave the pastorate and go be a full-time evangelist. I had the opportunity. Billy Graham said to me, Greg I think you should leave the pastorate and go into full-time evangelism and work with us.

Well that is kind of an amazing offer. The greatest evangelist of all time saying that to you. And I said to Billy, now Billy when you say something like that to me it is like Moses is talking to me.

He kind of smiled. I said, let me think about it and pray about it and get back to you. So a couple of weeks passed and I went back and told Billy, Billy I still feel called to be a pastor. See I do love to see people come forward in a crusade. But I really love to see people go forward in their faith and grow spiritually and discover their spiritual gifts and be used by God.

As the Apostle John said, I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in truth. It is so ironic that I am a teacher because I was the worst student. I wasn't the teacher's pet. I was the teacher's monster. Teachers didn't like me. In fact when I was in elementary school they tried to expel me multiple times.

And my mother came in with her attorney and said, you can't expel my son. So I stayed in class. But one teacher actually said publicly of me, I wasn't in the class at the time, she said, I would like to take Greg Laurie, bury him up to his neck in the sand in the blazing sun and let the ants eat him alive. Is that a good thing for a teacher to say?

So all the kids came out of the class, Greg guess what the teacher said about you? And I said, wow. And then I thought, that's kind of cool actually.

Well it wasn't really that cool. But I was a troublemaker. But then to think that God called me to teach I wasn't a good student.

I didn't like to read. But when I became a Christian I discovered the joy of reading and studying. And then I learned that I actually loved to learn and it was a gift that God gave to me. Frankly, if I were God I would not have called me to do that thing. But He gave me this gift. And if I don't use the gift that God has given me, that is irresponsible on my part. So here is another one God has given some. The gift of encouraging others. Look at verse 8. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. I love that.

Ok. If you are called to encourage others, sometimes called the gift of exhortation, well then be encouraging. You know I think that some people believe they actually have the spiritual gift of criticism. They always find things that are wrong. They're always nitpicking. They're always negative. They'll never affirm you.

They'll always say, well you didn't do this right. You mispronounced that word. You got this other thing wrong. You weren't on time.

You messed up. Always criticizing. Paul is saying if you have this gift of exhortation or encouragement then be encouraging. Well listen. When we exhort people, it's a word that means to encourage but it also means sometimes to criticize.

So just learn how to criticize. You know the Bible says speak the truth in love. So I'm going to tell you the truth. Maybe you won't like what I'm going to say to you.

But I'm going to say it to you because I love you and I care about you. Jesus modeled this for us perfectly in His words to the church of Ephesus. First He compliments them. Hey I know you guys work hard. I know you're discerning. I know you test those who say they are apostles and are not. So lots of compliments. But I have this against you.

You have left your first love so remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the first works quickly. See what Jesus did there. He started with affirmation. Then He got to His moment of critique. implement a compliment before you make the withdrawal of a criticism.

So start with a compliment when you can. That's called productive criticism not destructive criticism, which we have far too much of. We need people that teach and we need people that exhort. A teacher gives you the nuts and bolts of things. A teacher breaks down a text and they exposit it. They explain it in its original context and the original languages. What it meant in the original setting in that culture.

And then they apply it. But an exhorter, a person with a gift of exhortation makes you want to do it. So think about it. You've gone to some messages and really insightful and you feel like you've learned a lot. But then there's a person with a gift of exhortation and after they've spoken you think man I want to do more of that. I want to pray more. I want to share the gospel more. I want to be a better wife.

I want to be a better husband etcetera. The word means to correct, motivate, encourage, and stimulate. Maybe God has given you the gift of exhortation.

Paul and Barnabas went to visit one of the churches in Acts 14 22. They confirmed the souls of the disciples exhorting them to continue in the faith that when we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Sometimes you've heard messages that help you to just keep pressing on. You know you're really discouraged.

You're really down. And that message just lifted you up. And it helped you to get your eyes back on the Lord again. These are all very important gifts. Now there's the gift of giving. A spiritual gift of giving. Romans 12 8, if your gift is giving then give generously.

Now let me say before I address this gift. Every believer should give of their finances to the Lord. This is clearly taught in Scripture.

In fact in the book of Malachi God says, test me in this says the Lord. Bring your tithes into the storehouse and watch what I will do because if you will do this I will open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that you cannot receive. But then He begins by saying, have you robbed God? And someone says, how have we robbed God? And He says, in your tithes and offerings.

Look. The money that God gives to you is from Him. The very breath you draw in your lungs is from Him. You should take a percentage. The word tithe means ten percent. You should take a percentage of your income and give it back to the kingdom of God. And when you do that you are laying up for yourself treasures in heaven.

And know this. God will never be your debtor and you cannot out give God. But that is not what Paul is talking about. He is talking about a person with a specific gift of giving. And he says, if you have the gift of giving be generous. Give with no thought of repayment.

You just give it. The story is told of Billy Graham in a church. And the offering was being received and the bag passed by and Billy dropped in fifty dollars. But he meant to drop in a five dollar bill.

And he was a little shocked but he couldn't take it back. And then he said to Ruth, oh well, at least it was for the Lord. I gave it to the Lord. And Ruth says, God's only giving you credit for five dollars because that's all you intended to give.

That's pretty funny. Be generous. Be a generous person. And by the way, you don't have to be wealthy to have the gift of giving.

Because it might be finances, it might be another area. You're just a giving person. You're the person that goes the extra mile. You're the person that notices another individual's need and you give to them. That's a beautiful gift. It's a spiritual gift. And if you have it, use that gift. And we're going to look at one more gift in this message.

The gift of showing kindness and mercy. See, we miss this one. We see the teacher. We see the preacher. We see the evangelist. We might even see the giver or the exhorter. But here's a person that works behind the scenes but oh my, what a valuable gift this is.

Romans 12 eight. If you have a gift for showing kindness, do it gladly. These are people who have a supernatural ability to show mercy and kindness to those who are in need. It might be showing compassion to a person who's older or maybe in a hospital bed. Listen, if you're in a hospital bed and you're discouraged and down, you don't necessarily need someone with the gift of teaching or evangelism. Maybe you do but really what you could use is someone with a gift of mercy. Someone who would sit down behind you and take you by the hand and say, I'm here for you and I'm praying for you. And that's a beautiful gift. I believe my wife has this gift.

She just has this way of connecting with people and caring and showing empathy and maybe you have that gift. So these are just some of the gifts of the Spirit. There are many more I did not talk about. All of them are important.

Remember I reminded you there is a complete list in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians chapter 4. Read over those gifts and say, Lord have you given me one of these gifts. Listen, here's what I'm encouraging you to do. Take a bold step of faith. Leave your comfort zone and volunteer for everything.

The main thing is just get out there and serve the Lord. I will do that. Let me try that. I'm willing to take a risk. Maybe you'll fail ok. But I would rather try and fail than never try at all. I like to call it failing forward. Which means I learn from my mistakes ok.

I won't do that again or next time I teach I'm going to prepare more as I step into that position of talking to people about Jesus or whatever it is. You have gifts that God has given to you. It might be a musical gift. It might be an artistic ability. You might be good at crunching numbers. You might be a great visionary but not very good with nuts and bolts. Then again you might be more of a detail person. Everyone has a role to play. These are the walls of Sparta said the king.

I could say for our ministry these are the walls of harvest. You have a role to play. You have something you can do. And we want you to find that gift, develop that gift, and use that gift.

Because there is so much to do. Because we believe Jesus is coming. And we believe our objective is to reach as many people with the gospel as we can until He comes. We want to reach this generation and we want to reach the next generation. We've been doing this for around 50 years. But we're not going to rest on our laurels.

We're not going to live in our past. We're going to keep pressing on and looking for fresh, innovative ways to reach our culture without compromising our essential message of the gospel and the teaching of the Bible. Again the Bible reminds us don't neglect the gift that is in you.

Or again keep your gift dusted off and in use. God will give you opportunities. Consider this. They're never too small for God to use.

Only too big. So if you'll come to the Lord and say, Lord I want to be used by You. Open a door of opportunity for me. Show me what my gifts are.

He will respond to you. You have a place in the church. See the church is a family.

And you have a seat at the table. No we're not a perfect family. We're a flawed family. You know you talk about dysfunction. It's like I came from a dysfunctional family. Now I'm the head of a dysfunctional family. We're all dysfunctional but hey I like to put the fun in dysfunction right. We all mess up. We all fall short.

We all make mistakes. But we're a family. And family sticks together. And family works together.

And family accomplishes great things together. You know before I was a Christian I wanted a family. My mom I've told you before was married in divorce seven times. She was a big drinker. She was gone most of the time.

Most evenings I was alone at home. But she left me some money to go buy some food. And there was a little coffee shop near our house.

And I always ordered the same thing. Hamburger, French fries, vanilla malt. Hamburger, French fries, vanilla malt. Sounds pretty good right?

It's pretty good until like the hundredth time you've had it. And I would tell my friends at school, oh yeah I don't have to sit down at the family table. I go out and eat. I get a hamburger, French fries, and a vanilla malt.

Wow you're so lucky man. We have to sit with our parents at the table and tell them how our day was. Well I had a friend in school and he had his family so he said, would you like to come over to our house for dinner? And I went over and you know they're all sitting at the table and everyone's talking together and I didn't even like the food. But I kept going to this guy's house for dinner.

You know why? As much as I liked a hamburger, vanilla malt, and French fries, I wanted a family. And he had something I didn't have. And the church is a family. And there's a place at the table for you. There's room there and to the point there's room at the cross for you. You see before you can find a place at the table you have to find your place at the cross and realize you're a sinner. You've broken God's commandments. You've fallen short of His standards but Jesus died on the cross for your sin and paid the price for every wrong you've ever done. And He rose again from the dead three days later and now He stands at the door of your life and He knocks and He says if you'll hear His voice and open the door He'll come in. You can come to Jesus right now.

Maybe you feel unloved, unappreciated, unnoticed. I want you to know that God loves you. God appreciates you.

And God notices you. There's a blessing that the priest would pronounce over the people of Israel. And the blessing went as follows. The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.

And that phrase lift up His countenance means He takes full notice of you. See God sees you. God is not mad at you. God is mad about you. He cares for you.

He sees you and He can't take His eyes off of you because He loves you so much. Would you like a relationship with God? Would you like to be forgiven of all of your sins? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?

If so I'm going to lead you in a simple prayer. And I would ask that you would just stop what you're doing wherever you are and just pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud. You can pray it quietly in your heart. But this is a prayer where you're asking Jesus Christ to come into your life to be your Savior and your Lord. If you want Jesus to come into your life, if you want to go to heaven when you die, if you want that hole in your heart filled, pray this prayer with me right now.

Let's pray. Pray these words Lord Jesus. I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to Harvest.org and to find out how to know God personally go to Harvest.org and click on Know God.