You Are A Church Builder

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1529. Today's Devo is called you are a church builder. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Good morning everybody and happy Thursday. I pray that these Devos have just blessed you this week. And last Tuesday, I think it was, or this past Tuesday, I asked you to put in the comments the Bible color that you are reading from. Because this week we're going through all of Acts. This month we're going through all of Acts. So if your Bible is out in front of you, comment the color of your Bible. It's just fun. It's just something that will get the comments going because we love your comments and we love to hear from you. We love just interacting with you guys every week. So let us know. Today I am reading from Acts 11:22, 24, and let me give you guys some backstory. The church in Jerusalem had heard that there were some problems going on in Antioch, so they sent Barnabas to go check out this church. Verse 22. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Let me actually continue in verse 25. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Come on. And this is what I want to focus on today. Encouragement strengthens the church. And every growing movement needs encouragers. So what we see here is that Barnabas goes to investigate this church in Antioch, and he could have criticized what he saw, but instead, Scripture says that he was glad and that he encouraged the believers to remain faithful. And then he goes beyond that and he goes to Saul. He sees that there's a need at this church. He reports back a positive word, and then he finds Saul to come to Antioch to preach for an entire year to teach the church this is what I love about this passage of scripture. Encouragement is one of the most powerful ministries in the church. Let's be honest. It's easy to fall into a pattern of criticizing our church. It's sometimes even easy to fall into a pattern of criticizing our pastors. But the one way that we can fight those thoughts and words of criticism is to go to our church and ask them, how can I help? Where can I serve? And do you want the church to hear your opinions? Because I know plenty of people in my church that have they are made up of opinions. They want to tell us that they didn't like the song that we sang this past Sunday. They want to tell me that we needed to dress a little nicer. They want to tell me that they didn't like one of our posts on Instagram. I've seen it all. I've been working at church my entire life. And the truth is I love my opinion people. Because those same people that come and tell me a small note of criticism, I guess you can say are the same ones there early on a Sunday morning serving. They're the same ones there late on a Sunday afternoon picking up the trash in the lobby. And when I see that that person is dedicated to serving our church, when I see that they are willing to push past their schedules to stay and and take care of the church body, then I want to hear their opinions and I want to hear their ideas to help us get stronger and to help us get better. The ones that come with just opinions and no solutions. I do question do you love this place? Do you have a heart for this place? Or do you just want to find the flaws? Because every single Christian is needs to have a love for the church. Jesus said upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And we are all called as believers to serve our church, to build our church. And it comes from a place of loving our church. I'm a pastor's daughter. I've been born and raised in the church. And I know that the only way I'm going to keep serving my church with joy and gladness is if it comes from a place of love. I have to love this building. I have to love my pastors. I have to love the people here. And if there's ever a moment where I get a little critical, where I can become a little opinionated, it is because I'm losing my love for the place. And we as Christians are called to love. We're called to build this place. We're called to encourage this place and it starts with the words, how can I help? You have tremendous gifts. God has given you special, unique talents, so use them to build your church. The church is a body and you make up that body. You are the hand and feet of Jesus and you do that by using your gifts. If you're a teacher, teach at the church. If you're a grand organizer, help them organize at the church. If you're an event coordinator and you can tell people what to do, help out your church by being an event coordinator. If you're a creative, if you love to draw, if you love to take pictures, if you love to make videos, step in and create for your church. Not everyone is called to lead from the front, but every believer can strengthen others through encouragement and faithfulness. All you gotta do is come to church this Sunday morning and say, how can I help? How can I pray for you? How can I serve you this week? What can I do to just bring joy? And that is living out the calling that all of us have as believers. Let's pray. God, we just thank you for the churches that you have brought us to. God, sometimes the most powerful ministry that we have is helping others stay faithful. So, God, I pray that you will start to set up supernatural encounters with other people in our church to encourage them to stay faithful. God, allow us to see our value in the church. That if we've been going to the same church for a little while and we're questioning what is what, where am I good here? Where am I used here? I pray that this very week they will start to feel that affirmation that they are exactly where they need to be, that their church needs them, their church depends on them, their church loves them. And I pray that their heart will be stirred up in love for their own church. That they will have a newfound passion, a newfound joy for the church that they attend so that they will recognize their ability, their calling to encourage the church that they are called to and to encourage others to stay faithful and true to your word. And in Jesus name, we all pray. Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.