God Says You Are Capable by Rick Warren

“It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began — to show his love and kindness to us through Christ” (2 Timothy 1:9 TLB).

God says you have been gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister. That doesn’t mean every Christian is a pastor, but you are a minister. Anytime you’re using your talents and gifts to help others, you’re ministering.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:9 that God “saved us . . . for his holy work” (TLB). You are saved to serve. Why did God save you? So you could serve him.

You may be thinking, “How do I know what my ministry is?” You look at your SHAPE — your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. You look at how God shaped you. God wants you to use your talents and gifts to help other people. Every time you do that, that’s called ministry — nothing fancy about it. It’s just helping others.

Can you minister in a sales office? Yes, you can. Can you minister as an accountant? Yes, you can. Can you minister driving a truck? Sure! Whenever you’re helping other people in his name, you’re ministering.

God says you’re necessary in the church. You’re an essential part of his family. Look at it this way: If I don’t use my talents, you get cheated. If you don’t use your talents, I get cheated. And either way, everybody else in the Body of Christ gets cheated.

We’re all important! We’re all needed to do our part as we fit together.

Talk It Over

Do you know what your SHAPE is — your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences that make you uniquely you?
How are you using your SHAPE to serve others in your church and your community?
Why do you think God designed it so that we need each other to fulfill our purpose?