Ephesians 5:18–21 (ESV) And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

We must give credit where credit is due when we see anything happen that is good. That credit goes to God because without Him, as Jesus said, we can do nothing.

John 15:5 (ESV) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

So we have to look at ourselves and whether we are pulling the load of submitting to the needs of others in the church body, looking for the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. On the other hand, we could be quenching the working of the Holy Spirit when we do nothing to pull the load or serve the needs of others.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 (ESV) Do not quench the Spirit.

Acts 7:51 (ESV) “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

Quenching or resisting the working of the spirit could very well be a sign that we have no part with God so it’s best to follow even the slightest working of the Holy Spirit and be ready to pull our load.

It was good to see the number of people from our church involved in serving the church body by participating in the work day at the church. Their extra effort made the workload lighter and many needed projects were accomplished. It makes you wonder why more people do not participate or why some never participate. I know we all have busy schedules. It’s a fact for 2010 but we all seem to find a way to do what we think is important. Cooperation in working together is a great draw for revival as the church connects in serving God in dependency and in response to Him.

After all, we are all slaves of Jesus Christ who have been chosen by Him, purchased by Him, instructed in His word, have our needs provided by Him, protected by Him, disciplined by Him, and even rewarded by Him. The next time you see the word “servant” in the Bible think of the word slave who serves his master, in this case our master is the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign who has told us in His word that the objective of each member of His body, the church, is to build up each other in love as each member does his and her part.

Ephesians 4:15 & 16 (ESV) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Work days are a great way to connect with other members and work together for the common good. Prayer meetings are another important way as is participation in the children’s ministries and other areas of service you hear about.

The point is as we anticipate God moving in our midst and bringing a great revival, let us prepare by praying and by serving the body as we serve each other and serve with each other;  pulling the load together.

Godspeed,
Pastor Bob
727-539-1434 (home) or 727-612-3976 (cell) or email: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it