The Incredibles Gospel Story - Why Can't the World Stay Saved?

Last week we started a series on the movie The Incredibles.

And we discerned that Super Heroes have reasons for their secret identities.  They need them to remain anonymous in the world – they need them for their sanity.

But we also learned last week, though we try, none of us can have a secret identity – God knows everything about me – He knows every detail of my life, even my thoughts and my motives.

Yet in God’s eyes, we are Super’s, if we will simply quit trying to hide from Him and others.

What God wants from us is this:  To humbly admit to our sins, to repent and walk away from them, and then to share when it will help others to overcome.  And when we live in the open, when we expose what's on the inside, we become the Super Hero that God desires.

Now this week, Mr. Incredible expresses some frustration to the interviewer.  He told the interviewer “He wished the world could sometimes stay saved – just for a little bit.”  Though he expressed himself jokingly, you could hear the urgency in his voice.  You could hear that he needed a break from having to save the world all the time.  It was as if he were saying, “World, just let me have a day off!  Would you stop messing up, just for a day?  Please, I am tired of cleaning up your mess!"

Sometimes he wished he could just have the simple life, relax a little, and settle down.

Well, as I watched that part of the clip, I heard God speaking.  I heard God saying, “You know what JD?  I have the same feelings as Mr. Incredible.  I wish I could have a break from saving this messed up world – just for a little bit.  I am tired of cleaning up their messes.  Just when I think I’ve got it cleaned up, they go and mess it up again.  UGGHH!”

But just as Mr. Incredible continues to rescue and clean up the messes of the world despite his feelings, so does God.  And this is the good news we want to look at today.

Let’s go back in time and set the stage for God’s Super Hero interventions.

First, there’s Noah.  After Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, things didn’t get any better.  Their oldest son Cain killed his younger brother Abel; giving mankind its first murder.  As time went on, things got worse.  So worse, that every inclination of mankind’s thoughts was only evil all of the time.  In other words, there was total depravity.

How did the Lord feel about this?

Genesis 6: 6-8 states, "The Lord was grieved that he had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain.  So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth - men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them.'  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."

Now remember God’s intent in creating man and woman in His likeness was to have relationship with them and to have them choose what is right.  And the fact that His creation was totally rebellious helps you to see why His heart grieved so badly – why it caused Him so much pain. So God intervenes and prunes his creation using Noah as the instrument of regeneration for the earth.

Second, there’s the Tower of Babel.  It didn’t take long for Noah’s offspring to revert back to the depravity the people displayed before the flood.  In fact it didn’t take long before Noah, after building an altar and sacrificing burnt offerings to God, was found drunk and lying naked in his tent by his three sons.

So Noah’s descendants became proud and egotistical over time.  How many people were on the earth at this time?  I don’t know.  But what I do know is that the people were unified and decided that they would build a tower from the earth to the heavens to show their dominance over God’s creation – to show their dominance over the God who had saved them.

So what did God do about it?
Genesis 11: 5-8 says, "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.  The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'  So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city."

I can only imagine what God (in three) must have been feeling.  I think I could hear God saying just like Mr. Incredible, “I wish the world could just stay saved!  For a little bit.”  

But God knew this was only the beginning and that He must come up with another redemptive way to save the world.

Well, that’s where the Israelites come into the picture.  Abraham, their father, was given a covenant from God: 1)  He will have a son, 2)  His descendants will be as numerous as the stars and they’ll become a great nation, 3)  His descendant will possess a land of milk and honey, and 4)  All the peoples on earth will be blessed through him.

But before any of this could take place, the Israelites had to spend 400 years in Egypt where they would be enslaved and mistreated.

They just left Egypt and were wandering in the desert for 40 years.  They had seen it all.  They had seen God part the Red Sea so they could cross on dry ground. They had seen God lead and protect them as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud of smoke by day.  They had seen water come from rocks to quench their thirst. They had seen God provide them manna and quail to eat.  And they were still wearing the same sandals that were on their feet when they left Egypt.

They had seen miracle, after miracle, after miracle, yet they still complained, still murmured against the Lord (“we would have been better off to remain in Egypt as slaves than to wander in this wilderness and die”).  And worse yet, they built an idol, a golden calf, to worship as the god that had done all these things for them.

How fed up was God with their actions?
Deuteronomy 9: 13-14 declares, "And the Lord said to me (Moses), 'I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!  Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven.  And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.'"

Fortunately for the Israelites, Moses didn’t take God up on His test.  No, Moses passed the test by interceding on their behalf for forty days and nights asking God not to destroy His people.

But I can hear God asking himself in frustration, “What in the world do I need to do to get these people to believe in me?  When are they going to stop relying upon themselves?........  What if I send them my son?

Now Jesus comes into the picture to redeem the House of Israel. He preaches with authority.  He heals the lame, the blind, the deaf, and the sick. He removes the demons from people’s lives so that their spiritual sickness and torment could be healed.  He forgives sins and tells the sinner to go and sin no more.  He teaches love, not hate.  He teaches peace, not vengeance.  He teaches mercy, not cruelty.  But many still didn’t believe.  He was not their picture of what a Messiah should be.

So Jesus, in sorrow, says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  Look, your house is left to you desolate.  I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"  Luke 13: 34-35

Jesus knew that many Jews then, and into the future, were missing their opportunity at salvation, and it hurt his soul.  These were His people.  They were His blood.  You can hear Him saying to Himself as He weeps for His beloved Jerusalem, “Why won’t they believe Me?  Why won’t they accept Me as their salvation?”

So if there is one Big Idea to take from this, it is:  God Continues to Save.

But God will not and cannot save those who don’t want to be saved.  In order to be saved you have to grab hold of the Lifeline He offers - His Son Jesus.

You know, Mr. Incredible asked a great question, “Why can’t the world stay saved?” And the answer is as simple as the lie humankind bought into thousands of years ago –
1)      You can be like God;
2)      You can be self-sufficient;
3)      You don’t need to be saved.

But the good news is still as true as this thought:  Just as Mr. Incredible continued to save the people of his world when they were in trouble, so does God.

Thank God, He doesn’t want the simple life; that He doesn’t want to relax or take a break from this messed up world we have created.  And most importantly, thank God that in His frustration with you and me, He doesn’t stop loving us and continues to save us from ourselves.

Hear the good news, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5: 8-11

God continues to save – save in many different ways!  If you haven’t grabbed onto the Lifeline, Jesus, for eternal salvation, or you haven’t grabbed onto the Lifeline, Jesus, for strength to overcome the struggles of this life that are trying to pull you under, today is the day to grab hold.  After all, who wants to drown?

The Incredibles Gospel Story - Secret ID's

Ever been a time in your life where you did something in secret?  You did what you did because you wanted no one to know.  You did what you did in secret because you were ashamed of what you were doing.  You were just hoping no one would find out because if he/she did, you knew the consequence of having your secret exposed.  Or maybe, you did what you did in secret because you didn’t want the honor and fame that would result if found out.  In either case, there have been times in your life, and in my life, where we have had to hide, good or bad parts of our identity for fear of the exposure it would bring.

Well that’s what the Super’s were dealing with in their everyday lives.  It’s pretty obvious that the Super’s needed their secret identities to keep them safe and out of the public’s eye.  They needed their secret identities to relieve some of the pressure of trying to be super all of the time.

The public only knew them as Super Heroes.  But when out of costume, they were just another person walking the street or a colleague at work.  They didn’t want their identities to be revealed.

Well, that’s true of all of us.  There are some things in our lives that we have no problem sharing with others.  Usually, these are the good, positive things that happen in our lives.

But we all have secrets.  Secrets we want no one to discover:  secrets that, if exposed, will reveal our true identities.

Just like Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone didn’t want their identities to be exposed for good reasons, there are some things, some secrets that people never need to know about you.  They don’t need to know every thought that passes through your mind, good or bad.  They don’t need to know about every mistake that you have made or that you will make.  But what they need to know is the Super Hero in you.  

And though we can’t leap buildings with a single bound, nor run as fast as a speeding bullet, we can all have the one characteristic that God looks for in a super hero.  And this characteristic is threefold: ADMIT, REPENT, & SHARE.

God is looking for us to humbly admit our sins, repent and walk away from them, and then share our story when it can help someone else overcome the same temptation or struggle we have faced.

2 Corinthians 4: 1-2a states, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.”

The apostle Paul was dealing with false teachers and grumblings that were creeping into the church in Corinth.  So what we just read was part of his correction to the church.  He wanted them to see that his life and his words were nothing but the truth.   He wanted them to see that what he had taught them was the pathway they should follow.  And this passage is still relevant to you and me today.

If we desire to be a super hero, a man or woman after God’s heart, we must renounce (not be part of) the secret and shameful ways of this world, we must tell the truth, and we must not falsify the word of God.

Mr. Incredible asked the rhetorical question in his interview, “Who wants the pressure of being super all of the time?"  And that’s very profound – one that we honestly need to ask ourselves.

Persons who hide their secrets from others find themselves under a lot of pressure to keep these secrets hidden.  They also find themselves trying to be “super” all of the time.  Pretending was fun when we were kids because it was pretend.  But as adults, when it’s reality, it catches up with us sooner or later.  And when it does, we usually crack.

The late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey told a story about some airline baggage handlers who retrieved an animal carrier from the luggage bay of an airliner.  As they removed the carrier, they made a gruesome discovery – the dog inside was dead.  The baggage handlers panicked.  They thought there might be lawsuits, and they might even lose their jobs.

They told the woman passenger that her dog had been sent to another destination by mistake.  It was not at all uncommon for baggage to be sent to the wrong city.  They promised her they would find her dog and have it delivered to her.  With that assurance, the woman went home.

The baggage handlers then buried the woman’s pet.  Afterward they set out to find another dog to replace the animal that had died.  Finally, they found a dog that was a dead ringer for this woman’s pet.  They put the substitute dog in the animal carrier and sent it to the woman’s address.  

The woman took one look at the dog and exclaimed, “That’s not my dog!”  “My dog is dead” she told them.  “I was bringing it home for burial.”

Their rationale and judgment were spoiled because of their assumption that the dog had died under their watch.  Honestly, do you think they could have gotten away with this plot of switching dogs?  After all, if the owner didn’t know that the dog was dead, she would have realized something was wrong when the dog wouldn’t come when its name was called.

Secrets always have a way of being exposed.  I can only imagine these baggage handlers trying to talk their way out of this one.  They had one option at this point – to come clean – which is what they should have done in the first place.

You know, sometimes our secret identities are found out immediately, and sometimes they can be kept secret from others for a lifetime.  In fact I read a headline one time on the internet that said, The Best Way to Lie and Not Get Caught.  (Please don’t go look that one up).  But even though we may be able to keep our secret identities from other human beings, we can never keep them from God.

Psalm 44: 20-21 says, “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?”

Jeremiah 23: 24 states, “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord.

Can we keep our secrets hidden?  No, because God knows everything about me.

Did King David think that no one would ever find out that he had Uriah killed in battle so that no one would suspect that he had an affair with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba?  Did the prophet Jonah think that he would escape from God’s calling to preach to the ruthless Ninevites by jumping on a ship heading in the other direction?  Did the prophet Elijah think he could hide in a cave feeling sorry for himself because he felt he was the only righteous one left after he had just defeated the gods of Baal in a duel of the gods?

And the answer is yes.  They thought they could get away with it.  But in each example, God revealed their secrets.

God used the prophet Nathan to tell a story about a king taking and slaughtering a poor man’s only lamb to help David see that his secret was known.  God used a horrific storm to reveal that Jonah was the one causing it and needed to be cast into the sea for the storm to calm.  And God used a gentle whisper rather than powerful winds, an earthquake, and a fire to help Elijah see that he was called by God and that there was still 7000 righteous living in Israel.

You know, the Super Heroes may be able to keep their secret identities.  The public may think they know their identities, but there is always some question.  But with God, there is no question.  He knows exactly who they are, and He knows exactly who we are.

Psalm 90: 8 says, “You (God) have set our iniquities (mistakes) before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.”

There is no way for us to escape.  God knows our thoughts and our motives.  He knows if they are pure or dishonest.  Most of all, He knows if we have truly repented of our sins.

We can fool others into believing that we’re earthly super heroes.  We can also fool ourselves into believing that the sinful things we are doing are okay.  But we can never fool God.  And He is the one who counts.

Secret Identities – don’t be fooled!  They’re not really secret.

Difference between Heaven and Hell

I recently found this short story while looking for a story to drive home an area of culture that God wants to see in His Church.  

The short story validates that Heaven and Hell will be occupied by people, but there is one unique difference between these people that we often overlook when thinking about these places of eternity.

Let's let the story show us what that difference is.

"A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell.  The Lord said to the man, 'come, I will show you hell.'  They entered the room where a group of hungry people sat around a huge pot of cooking stew.  Everyone in the room was starving.  Each person held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths.  The suffering was terrible. 

'Come now, I will show you heaven' the Lord said.  They entered a room identical to the first, the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons.  But here everyone was happy and well nourished. 

'I don't understand' said the man.  'Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room?  Everything is the same.'  'Here', said the Lord, 'they have learned to SERVE each other.''

The difference between the people of Heaven versus the people of Hell is simply Heaven is made up of people who care about one another enough to serve the other.  And God is not waiting for us to get to Heaven to start serving.  Instead He is watching us now to see if we are practicing this ever important trait that will be seen in all those in Heaven.

So what are you waiting for?  Humble yourself today and begin serving others.  This will be your Heaven on earth.

Obeying Christ's Teachings

Hoping you are enjoying the weather (the warmth of the sunshine - feels like Spring doesn't it?)  Question is:  How long will it stay this way?  We shall find out.

I wrote that last week in an update I sent out to the church.  Well, obviously it didn't last very long as temps got a lot colder and even today we have been dealing with sleet and snow.  I just find it amusing how things can change so quickly:))))))))

And that leads me into my thought for today.  

Just found out on Sunday that our church was told by a business in the warehouse complex that we were using their dumpster for our trash.  Needless to say, this surprised me as we had had difficulty with this same situation back when we were remodeling The House during the summer months.

So when confronted the first time about our misuse of the dumpsters, I determined to find out what dumpster is used for the site (you see you can only go on what someone else tells you).  And in asking, I was told that we were to use the green dumpster on the concrete pad sitting beside the orange dumpster.  And that is what we have done over the past months.

Well due to the latest confrontation , I once again had to ask some questions, not as ammunition to use against the business, but rather to find out the truth (we don't want to be doing something wrong and give this business or anyone else the impression that the Church can do whatever it wants without any consideration for others).

And what I found out is that the green dumpster is not the site dumpster; it is the orange dumpster.  We have been using the wrong dumpster for months:((((((

So what do we (I) do?  Well, first I humbly must go to this business and apologize for the church's actions - that we had gotten our lines of communication with Rental Properties mixed up regarding the site dumpster.  Second, I will willingly offer to this business restitution for our usage.  And third, we will use the ORANGE dumpster for our trash - hopefully this is right this time.

Change can occur even when the routine of what we are doing seems right and true.  There are times we are doing things wrong - sometimes knowingly, other times unknowingly.  In either case, just because we are doing something over and over again, and their seems to be no consequence to what we are doing, does not make it right and true.  You see, we have to be open to hearing what the Spirit is saying to us internally and through others.  Then we have to humble ourselves and seek the truth.  And if the truth means change, then we must seek forgiveness and do the right thing.

It would be so easy for me to simply let the misunderstanding that has occurred fade away with time - just use the correct dumpster and nothing else will be said.  But that is not what Jesus has taught and commands me to do.  He has taught, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift." (Matt 5: 23-24)

If the Church is to be the Church that Christ is calling it to be, then it has to do the tough things because Christ commands it to.  You see, our gift, if done God's way, will be a blessing to Him and will bring us His favor.  But, if we give our gift our way, God is not honored.

So, take some time today to reflect on the things you are doing in life - some may be routine - and ask if God is asking you to change.  If He is, then honor Him in making the change by doing it His way, not yours.

Time to start blogging again

Wow!  There's a part of blogging that is fun and exciting because it allows one the opportunity to express what God is doing in one's life.  Yet there is also a part of blogging that takes away from the excitement, and it is "finding the time" to blog.  And this is where I have found myself over the past months:  "How do I fit blogging into the ever increasing time constraints placed on my shoulders due to trying to develop disciples for Christ's Church?"  So to answer this question, I am hearing in the back of my mind, "Just get-r-done!"

LHH has completed some chapters in its book - the chapters of getting started, meeting in an elementary school, and meeting in homes.  All of which have developed the church to become more like the Savior we are following.  And now we find ourselves in the next chapter of our new home, which we are calling "The House," trying to find ways we can reach out to the community where God has moved us.  

God has steadily grown us in all chapters written.  Yet there always feels like, warranted or not, there is pressure to be bigger and to grow faster.  After all, we live in a world that says success is based on how much you have and we are bombarded with it everyday.  And in church circles, that means numbers of people, programs offered, monies received, and size of buildings.

But this seems so contradictory to everything we know about God and how nature clearly shows us that not all things seem fair or are fair.  In fact Jesus made it very clear that it is not the powerful who enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who are humble and meek.  Paul made it very clear that the Church is a Body made up of many parts, some parts more significant than others, yet all having great value to the Body.


Yet knowing this, I have still found myself thinking a lot lately on what God desires for His Church.  And questions such as:  1.  Does a church have to be large to say that they are effectively fulfilling the Great Commission?, 2.  What does a church really have to look like in order to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant" from God when it is all said and done?, 3.  Is there a lifespan to a church that makes it appear to have God's favor?,  etc

Yet, the more I think, the more I hear these words, "To be effective as a Church for the cause of Christ, you must only remain faithful."  

So how big a church is does not always represent its heart.  The church could have little love for Jesus, yet do things that draws people to attend.  On the other hand, there are big churches that have great love for Jesus and are seeing great multitudes.  So size doesn't represent the heart of a church.
  Right in my neck of the woods is a Hispanic Church Plant that meets in a small business space beside the Big Lots store.  They might have 30 chairs.  Yet, if they are touching souls for the cause of Christ, especially the Hispanic culture that have migrated to our area, then praise God for His little Church.  

And the more I think on these questions, the more I realize that God would prefer a thousand little 30 seat churches meeting in store fronts who are sharing the Gospel over just 1 large church of a 1000 in a community who is also sharing the Gospel.  I say this because the math speaks for itself:  1000 churches x 30 followers = 30000 followers.

So the conclusion I am getting is that LHH is a church that will and must reproduce many small churches in rural and small town areas.  The more churches LHH can produce, the greater impact for Christ that the Church can have on this community and its surrounding areas.  

But it takes an acceptance that big is not always better.  It takes a church, despite its size, who continues to value discipleship and the mission it is called to in sharing Jesus Christ.  And in the end it takes a church of small churches to all have the same vision and understanding of what God wants for them - "To Reach Up, To Reach In, and To Reach Out.

Anniversary Number 1

It was on this date, some 11 years ago, that life came to a screeching halt as we watched in disbelief what was happening in front of our very eyes.  We wondered, "Is this actually happening?  Is this real?  Alright, quit playing with our minds."  But when we knew it was true, we cried and we became angry.  We began to search for answers as to "Who did this?" and "Why?"  Obviously through the years that have passed, we have found some healing and life has somewhat returned to life as we knew it.  Yet, the pain is still there as we remember those who lost their lives that day due to the hatred of some.  We also vividly remember those who gave their lives to save others, and we thank them and their families for their sacrifice.

It was also on this date, just 1 year ago, that the life of a church began.  LifeHouse Church Hedgesville came into existence after God provided vision and dreams to JD and Caroline about the church He was looking to have brought to the Hedgesville area.  God also directed them to connect with LifeHouse Church East, our beloved friends in Hagerstown, where the vision and the dreams could be nurtured and given freedom to grow.  So with the blessing and favor of LHE, LHH was launched.

In LHH's year of existence, we have seen growth and God's blessing and favor.  Souls are being changed.  Lives are being discipled.  People are committing their lives to the only Savior, Jesus Christ, this world will ever know.  Their commitment is shown through their desire to give up selfish ambitions to hear God's voice and follow Him.  It's an exciting time in the life of LHH, and greater things are yet to come.

Yet, there has also been pain and struggle in this year's time.  LHH has had to think on the fly regarding decisions about its future.  LHH has had to go from meeting in a school for the first 10 months to meeting in homes these past 3.  But despite what seemed so uncertain, it has become clear that God is moving and the community of LHH is stronger for it.

We have clearly seen that God does work all things together for good, and we are looking forward to many more anniversaries.  But as we celebrate, we also ask for your prayers as many more decisions have to be made.  We know that our hardships are preparing us for the bounty of many more souls to be transformed into Christ's likeness for the Kingdom of God.

So thank you God for one year.  Thank you to all who have prayed and given to LHH.  May God's blessings be upon you and His Church.

In Christ,

Pastor JD

I've been thinking......

It's been such a long time since blogging.  How do you find time in the midst of real changes that have happened consistently over the past few months; both personally and in the church?  Thank God for His wisdom during this season and for His wonderful grace.  It amazes me how God is our provider, our redeemer, our ever-present help in time of need.  

I've been thinking a lot lately about the church and the gifts God grants through the Holy Spirit to her.  So I thought I'd take some time to write what has been on my mind and share with you God's intention for His gifts.

Often in our minds we have a picture of what church should look like, sound like, and even feel like.  But in my experience of life, church is often formulated on the opinions of man versus what God desires.  Think about it.  There are some who claim that all forms of apostolic gifts (manifestation of gifts from the Holy Spirit such as tongues, prophecy, discernment of spirits, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc) ceased in the first century church with the passing of the apostles.  They don't trust the unknown so therefore it can't be from God.  There are some who claim that all these forms of apostolic gifts are still evident and available and that the church is not full of the Spirit if these gifts don't prove evident each Sunday in a worship service.  They overly trust themselves and exert that those not having such gifts are not filled with the Holy Spirit and do not have proper faith.  

I, like the apostle Paul, believe that God is in the business of designing His church to meet the needs of the community in which He places it.  It would be unfair for me to say that either extreme is what God desires for LHH.  Instead, I have come to realize through experience and the study of God's Word that the manifestation of gifts are not for man's benefit, but so that God can use these gifts to bring glory to His name and draw people to Him.  

1 Corinthians 12 -14 give great evidence for what God desires of His Church.  Paul, inspired by God, wrote in chapter 12 verses 4 - 7, 10, "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 men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines."  

He then goes on and discusses the body - how it is made up of many parts - yet they work together for the full functioning of the body.  He concludes his thought on the body with verses 27 - 31, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles (those who walked with Jesus and witnessed His ministry and resurrection), second prophets (those who speak truthfully what God desires to be heard at that time), third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  But eagerly desire the greater gifts."  It's important to know that Paul was dealing with a church that was claiming to its members that some gifts were more important than others - that these gifts created positions of power and self-advantage; particularly that tongues outshines them all.  So he clarifies, "You think tongues is the most important?  Well, you're wrong!  Look where it falls in the list of importance."  

He goes on to address in chapter 13 that no matter what gifts persons have been given (from the gift of the "little toe" to the gift of the "brain" - insignificant to significant), if love is not evident, the gifts are futile and useless.  In fact he said, that where evidence of the gifts is ringing true, God can remove and still them.  But he then concluded that even though the manifestation gifts may cease in man's faith experience, faith, hope, and love will not.  He said, "And now these three remain (and will always remain - my words):  faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  

Finally, he says, "If you really want any of the spiritual gifts, if you eagerly desire a gift, desire the gift of prophecy - IT RANKS SECOND.  This is the gift that God can use for the edification and building up of His Church because it will be speaking the truth of God to those who need to hear it."  In verse 24 he summarizes why this gift is so important, "But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'"  

So often people think of prophecy as a word from God that speaks of future events.  And this is true.  The Bible is full of events that did happen and will happen.  Yet, in humility, God can use anyone at any time to state what needs to be stated to bring about the change that He is desiring in a person's life or in the life of the church.  Where prophecy goes awry is when self is involved - self-glorification, pride, or a sense of "Will this benefit me?"  Prophecy is the Word of God going forth to bring about conviction, encouragement, and change.

As a Church, we need to be open to God's leading.   We need to be open to what God desires to be lived out in us and through us.  We are to pray for one another and encourage one another to persevere in the faith.  After all, it's all about His Kingdom anyway.  But though I desire gifts that draw and attract people to me because of what my gift has to offer, I must be sure to take myself out of the picture so that I truly become the vessel God wants me to be.  I encourage you that if the Holy Spirit blesses you with a gift as He has determined to give it, feel blessed.  But beware, your blessing is only PART of the Body so allow it to function in its role within the Body.  Then you will truly be fulfilling your destiny in God.