often includes making shifts making healthy shifts to god's perspective and god's direction and so today the theme is finding your place in that sound simple on one level but we all know it can get complicated finding your place some people will say i have no idea what my place is or i knew what it was ten years ago i'm not so sure today five years ago something happened to me and i'm still kind of wounded and i'm  not sure in my invited do i have a place i'm not even sure what my gifts are or i kind of know but i need some specifics so finding your place involves shifts on so many different levels and let's not miss the shifts that god wants to do in our thinking and in our attitude and in our opportunities as well so today's text is first corinthians chapter twelve so please open your bible if you brought one hand held bibles great to have a copy and then also some of you on your phones you can turn there if you need a bible please let us know we had we loved to set you up with your own bible but were in first corinthians which is in the new testament right hand side of the bible and keep going past luke and john in acts and romans and you'll get to first now the body is not made up of one part but many if the foot should say because i am not a hand i do not belong to the body it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body and if the ear should say because i'm not an eye i do not belong to the body it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body if the whole body were an eye where would the sense of hearing be if the whole body were an ear where would the sense of smell be but in fact god has a arranged the parts in the body every one of them just as he wanted them to be if they were all one part where would the body be as it is there are many parts but one body over twenty times in the bible the metaphor for the church and a church family is a physical body in so this metaphor just keeps coming again and again because god really wants us to understand it and one of the shifts right away from these verses is that we are all an important part of god's family and we all have an important work in his plan so god invites us into his family and he gives us an important work to do in that all of us i believe that at my core that all of us are important and all of us are to be involved in god's special work amazing in so that's the potential you say what's the potential in grace community church that is the potential when that happens god's power is unleased in amazing ways there are not tears here it's not like oh we have the super spiritual and then we have the pretty spiritual and then we have the not so important then we have to barely get in the door you know that is not it folks but sometimes we think that way but it is a level ground where we are all part of god's family we are all invited in special ways into his work so you can tell him kind of fired up about that so here's the first principle be an expert on who you are and god's good design be an expert on who you are god is given you three things that you should note one is given your personality a man and second he's given you abilities  father in law's a townies got abilities with a chainsaw ok that's abilities got to give a shout out to the father in law right when he's in town so he's got some abilities some you have different abilities when it comes to you know math or you have different abilities if you drove a car here today that's an ability so he's given you abilities second he's given you spiritual gifts spiritual gifts those three things do you know what the strengths of your personality are do you know what the rough edges are do you know what your it's probably a longer list than you realize do you know what your spiritual gifts are it surprises me how many people let's say in their forty's or fifty's or of followed jesus for thirty or forty years don't really know who they are in these areas they're not an expert they don't know god wants us to know exactly the good ways that he is wired to you instill be an expert on that don't just go through life without thinking about it so what does that mean let's focus on the spiritual gifts that third part because i think for a lot of people that may be the most vague so in the same chapter look at verse four and this is what we read there are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit there are different kinds of service but the same lord there are different kinds of working but the same god works all of them in all man now to each one the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good that's an important phrase right there for the common good i'm also going to read first peter chapter four verse ten it says this each one each person should use whatever a gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering god's grace in its various forms so what are spiritual gifts basically the holy spirit gives you a gift in this gift this kind of energizing i mean it's exciting to use and you're going to help other people for the common good and when you use that gift you're four first peter chapter four you're going to see different gifts listed first corinthians twelve i'm going to read in verse twenty seven it says this now you are the body of christ and each one of you is a part of it in the church god has ok he's appointed apostles people who started a lot of new things profits people who kind of sensed what's coming up or spoke truth teachers workers of miracles those having the gifts of healings those able to help others the gift of helps behind the scenes service those with gifts of administration amen praise the lord not my gift appreciate people who have it those and speaking in different kind of tongues so those are a taste of some of the gifts this is what's important to know the gifts are from god they're good they're intentionally in carefully distributed it's not by accident you have received gifts from the lord  spiritual gift and it's there's a diversity with the gifts do we understand everything about the distribution of the gifts now now i mean i can predict with our children you know which one has this gift in that gift you know before they're born it's  god's to sort out but them don't try to control the gifts and box people when some parents are trying so hard to force their kids one direction and their spiritual gift is going this direction instead of forcing or control understand everything fan the flame fan the flame with the next generation fan the flame with your friends fan the flames of firm build up encourage people in their gifts in that it should be exciting thing to use these gifts if eason's chapter two verse ten just another shift for we are all god's workmanship created in christ jesus to carry out the good works which god has prepared already for us to do if you know as you look forward in life right now there are opportunities that god has prepared for you today tomorrow this week next week he's gone ahead of you he's prepared them for you and they're personal there for you and they're laid out what a god what a gift that's a shift in our thinking in so i just want to say it is an absolute privilege it is a privilege yes there's some responsibility the bible says you know to whom much is given much is required so there's a responsibility with the gifts we've been given no question but it is a privilege in my you know over twenty years of ministry sadly too often i see different people and they might be pastors they might be other people instead it's like resentment i to do this or people walking around like i'm all that you know and i'm god's gift to everybody you know and is full of themselves and there's a whole range in there or you know like they just have a chip on the shoulder resentment will no one else is going to do it i'm going to do it and in these things build up that is not the biblically it is such a privilege it if god gives you health if god gives you abilities and spiritual gifts which excited god what are you going to do today i mean i mean that's in my car no more i'm just getting the praise on loud sometimes on my phone is still hands free if you just put the phone on your shoulder and strap the seat belt over that and turn it  hypothetically speaking just just pray for me all right but but i mean the praises go in the car and this is like god what are you going to do today we get to do this today what a gift in so let's give back the text drop down to verse twenty one we read this i cannot say to the hand i don't need you in the head cannot say to the feet i don't need you on the contrary those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor in the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty the principle here god provides for your weaknesses and the honors those who are overlooked honors those there's a danger in this passage already the danger is isolation isolation can happen two ways one is pride i if you took your literal eye and removed it from your body i'm sorry the route from your body would still be effective would it still be as useful no you don't remove it from the body in some people are trying to be a silo on their own in their pride their you know they're isolated it's not good the other one the danger people get so discouraged in they think what contribution could i make what difference could i make you know i'm just a liver all i do is detox if i things nobody even like liver are you kidding me we are so so pride discouragement they take away from the unity in the body that god so clearly lays out in his word so those are some dangers but i want to say this some people have just been wounded some people have been  some people are not sure and maybe a little insecure part of the healing process and one of the markers of health is that i want to get connected i don't want to stay isolated i'm ready this is important i'm healing i'm moving forward and that is awesome when god does that god honors those who seem inferior can you imagine in our church if someone said well all i do is hold the babies in the nursery it's not really that important it's not important all are you kidding me like you're holding babies you know most the people in there love the babies are probably praying for the baby's mom and dad get to be together you know how physically demanding it is with a little one in the home they get to sit together that's got my first day man right there in mom and dad get to sit together in church without a baby's needs for one hour mom and dad just got  together why because you're holding the baby you know so the wall i do is stacked yours i mean the service is getting ready i put the chairs it's nothing are you kidding me we're all sitting here right now because behind the scenes you're not going to know who they are they are indispensable in a church body in the list could go on and on god honors them we honor them in acts chapter six there are a widows who are being overlooked in god loves the widows in some people say let's serve the widows and they seem like ok they're just waiting tables and there's other people who are going out to minister the word and focus on prayer and we have this way of seeing it that like oh the people who you know are out there sharing the word are a level and people who wait the tables are being level and that's not bible in so instead the weirdos are honored there is so valuable that people are awaiting the tables on the widows same honor in the people that are up to go share the word even more same honor in out of that do you see how much we need each other that's the one that the shift when it happens how much we truly need each other how much we are blessed by each other without even realizing it you've been blessed by many people today just in your experience here without even realizing it we're blessing each other we need each other and we resist and that's the beauty that's the beauty of god's plan is that we're not supposed to be isolated independent we need each other we need each other and then when we serve out of a secure place not serving like ok if i serve more than god loves me more and i serve harder th god loves me more and if i do it perfectly god really loves me not out of that place but of the place of i am so loved by god i am in his family he's given gifts and then humbly wow out of an overflow of love for people out of an overflow of gratitude for god out of an overflow of everything he's given like we get to see wow what a privilege invited to see him that's a shift you say well what about our weaknesses because we all have  in a lot of times our weaknesses become the barriers and we say i'll never serve god so what about our weakness is god's provision in two ways number one god will send someone else along who complements you who complements you mark an fifteen and barnabas mark just messed up big time on a missionary trip the apostle paul had kind of like taking his name off the list of people who go on the next missionary trip and in marks when they're hurting like oh no i'm not sure you know could i really do mystic trips i blew that one apostle paul is not happy with me right now i don't know if i'll ever go again barnabas comes in with a gift of encouragement what did martin need some encouragement he comes in he says let's go to cyprus and they go to cyprus together mark would not be going to cyprus unless god brought alongside barnabas and they go to cyprus together you've got some cyprus is in your life some places that alone you never would have gone to but god has brought some one alongside of you to encourage you to compliment you and together you can go to cyprus in the awesome things for god so in our weaknesses sometimes you know it's said you know in church staff you know  you bring people in who are in your weakness so that together you can do things and move forward so in our weaknesses god provides people complement us your spouse complimenting you in many ways so you can go forward together  and then here's a second one sometimes god will just do it in spite of your weakness god will just do great things where you are weak and where i'm weak in exit just chapter four vers ten moses had a conversation with god about his weakness he said lord i have never been eloquent neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant and i am slow of speech and ton most basically saying god i'm not a talker and you are asking me to talk to pharaoh and i don't talk well ever had that conversation with god and so what does god say the lord said to him here's a question who gave you your mouth who gave man his mouth who gives woman her mouth in god's eyes now go i will help you speak and i will teach you what to say i know moses speaking isn't natural for you but moses i gave you your mouth and you know what you listen to me i'm in it teach you what to say and i'm going to speak through you and through your weakness so that everyone will know this is a moses this is god working through the weakness the weaknesses the platform the set up it's all for reliance bruce wilkinson in the he wrote this he said i felt nothing like a leader is supposed to feel he said i felt so weak i decided to seek the counsel of a trusted older man john mitchell who was in his eighty's he had been a spiritual father to thousands and i told him what i thought god was calling me to do and then i confessed my problem i was still trying to describe my crisis in some detail when he broke in son that feeling that you were running from is called dependence a man it means you're walking with the lord jesus and he paused to let me take in his words and then he continued actually the second you're not feeling dependent is the second you've backed away from truly living by faith and then bruce adds it's a frightening utterly exhilarating truth isn't it is god's chosen blessed sons and daughters we are expected to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed unless god steps in so take a minute to prayerfully try to comprehend how contrary that truth is to everything you would humanly choose were forced to cry out just like jabe is cried out oh god that your hand would be with me talking to some from our church you've been serving jesus for decades and i said what are you learning right now what are you learning and he said reliance reliance full reliance on the lord so that's what we see in this passage let's let's wrap up first corinthians twelve dropdown verse twenty five say this so that there should be no division in the body but that its parts should have equal concern for each other if one part suffers every part suffers with it if one part is honored every part rejoices with it here's the principal think through why you are part of a church family why are you part of a church family we read there should be no division in the church family there should be rejoicing together when one rejoice wrote celebrate with how do you much do you celebrate with other people and their blessings in one part suffers we suffer with the other part in other words you know when someone's you know hurting how concerned are we in that such a shift because in our me first culture people step into churches in a church shop and they church visit and they sit around with their personal checklist of what's in it for me in here's my list what's in it they'd check enough boxes for me thanks for watching our program today and i want to let you know about our web site activate life died or you can send us your prayer requests we are honored to pray for you we also have daily devotions and other resources you can sign up for and if you want to support us financially you can do that through the website now or get back to the teaching as we get into god's word to go and i think if we're going to be like jesus follow jesus serve jesus is it going to be cushy i wouldn't expect it there might be c serving with all your heart two bodies as we think about this today you have a physical body you are made in the image of god you god in your mother's womb you together you are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image your body is a temporary place where you dwell you you know are dwelling in this temporary body but this body is incredibly wired with such intelligence in and gifting in so take care of your body use your body for god's glory but most people if you ask them you know how many bodies you have they're going to say one here's my body will you're going to get a perfect resurrected body in heaven ok but there's another body to think about and it's the body of christ in so how does your physical body your gifts and abilities relate to this greater body which is god's family and are you thinking about the two bodies now jesus laid down his physical body for the greater good and created his body of people his family we also at times are going to lay down and sacrifice for the greater good but even the cross jesus that sacrifice it was a good sacrifice in what i want to say is what is truly best for you and that might include sacrifices is ultimately what's truly best for the body but if we are selfish then the greater body suffers but for connected the greater body is built up so be thinking in that shift to b god's given you one physical incredible take care of it use it well keep in mind the common good and the greater body and how the two are strongly connected in god's wiring and we're close with this  story that inspires me in it's from judges chapter six and gideon was someone who tried tell god i have no place i have no place in god's that gideon you do have a place you do i mean help you find your place gideon and then gideon you know the whole group was attacked by the media knights they killed people they killed the animals and they destroyed all the crops the midianites you say we don't have a lot of many nights running around no but there is a devil who tries to steal kill and destroy and i think we can see the effects of the work of the devil and the demons so god steps in and there's thirty two thousand but you know god does he said ok these thirty two thousand not all of them their heart's not in it in so it's a down to ten thousand because some of them they'd rather just be home really to be honest ahead of his visit now so ten thousand in then god looks at that it's actually within these ten thousand there's a lot of flaky stuff going on here there's a lot of ones will get distracted and stuff and it goes down to three hundred it's interesting sometimes i think yeah we can have the should we think we had god you know he's fine with mediocre he's fine with mediocre in god saying actually you know i'm looking for whole heart i'm looking for the whole heart and soul the three hundred or the whole heart and what they end up having to do is not that difficult overall i mean they just have to get up there and hold up the light and play the trumpet at night and that's really i mean it's some torches and it's some trumpets and i'm not talking talking man gianni or something fancy i mean it's just you know they just blast a trumpet do the torch and all the enemy get scared and i just think isn't that the journey for us it's so often our hearts more than the task in when our hearts are fully in it then we realize wow you know i can i guess i can last a trumpet i guess i can light the torch in god wins the victory but these are the words he says the median and this is what i to get he and related to the midianites and this is what i want to close with he says to get ian who thinks he has no place he says gideon i will be with you he says to get in gideon i am sending you and he says to get in gideon go in the strength that i give you go in the strength that i give you  take home is that god's will is that we inspire each other and we grow together we inspire each other we grow together let's pray father god thank you for our time to reimagine to shift to make healthy shifts to realize how you've wired us to realize how much we need each other to realize how our physical bodies are connected to this greater body to have hope in vision for what you want to do and we pray that we listen close drawn near to you and as we abide you would make our steps clear and god may we also just lift up anyone here who's been so courageous to come but doesn't know you yet jesus that even today could be a start of a relationship with you it's not one based on duty in accomplishing and performing but it's one based on grace and undeserved gift it's been achieved through the sacrifice on the cross and your resurrected body jesus and today if you've never done it decide for the first time to follow jesus and be in his family for ever and then  be a joy to serve him as you grow in your faith and may we all inspire each other we pray in your name lord amen it's true i think today and i want to let you know about our web site activate life that org there are so many free resources to help you grow in your faith and if you've been blessed during the teaching please send us an e mail if you want to learn more about jesus we'd love to hear from you again our web site is active a life that org and we'll see