Daily Devotional For Monday, July 7, 2025

Good morning Southside and I pray you all weathered Tropical Storm Chantel well. We did get a lot of rain, didn’t we? We are looking at what it means to follow Jesus. When you think of Southside, what do you see? Is it the buildings? Is it the location? Is it the programs? Is it the ministries? Or, is it the people? We live in the most blessed country in the world. Yet, so many others live in situations that are barely survivable. “

Over 700 million men, women and children survive on less than $2.15 per day (Another 3. 5 billion people (44% of the global population) remain poor by standards of economics. Meaning – these people live on $6.85 per day” (Source” World Food Bank.) Could you? Would you? These people live in poverty and slums where diseases and death is the norm of their lives. They live in countries where there are false religions and faiths enslaving them to their sinful nature and keeping them from life in Christ.

So, as the redeemed people of God, who have been radically transformed to abandon self for the Savior, to be His witness and not find ways to self-indulge themselves, we are to be banded together to fulfill the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Let’s say God sent you to one of these very poor countries. You have no building, no activities, no ministries and no programs – but you are to share the Gospel, where and how would you do it? Would you reach out to churches in America to send their best and brightest praise teams with all their equipment to sing in the market square? Would you appeal to some of America’s greatest preachers to come and preach alongside that praise team in that market square?

With millions and billions living in abject poverty without even the basic necessities to survive, would you make an appeal to churches in America to send money to build a church building in these towns? When you read the New Testament, it doesn’t tell us to build buildings or houses of worship because the church (the people) is the house of worship. We are never told to build a house of worship for people to come to us. We are told in the New Testament as the church, the house of worship, to go to them, giving our lives for the Lord for them. Now let that sink in for a moment.

And if we obey the New Testament, we would not ask for the best pastors and ministers from America to go to pastor, preach and minister to them either. Why? Because of Ephesians 4:11-12, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. (12) Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (NLT). The Bible teaches that the pastors are the administrators and the people are the ministers. They are to equip and prepare the members in their local church to minister to others. Do you believe that every single redeemed person has both the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit living in them? If you do, then you see where this is going. If you don’t, then you still feel it would be the responsibility of only the paid “professionals” to do this. 

The regular church member is to minister in 3 primary directions: 

1. First, they are to minister to the Lord in worship. They are taking what God has given them to praise and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Hebrews 13:15, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name” (NIV). Look at John 4:23-24, “Jesus said, ‘But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. (24) For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (NLT).
2. Second, they are to minister to other believers in their local church and around the world. We see this in Galatians 6:1, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (NIV). See also Hebrew 6:10, “For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers” (NLT).
3. Third, they are to minister to unbelievers. Look at Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. (14) “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. (15) No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. (16) In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (NLT).

This means the church is to minister in 3 ways to this lost and dying world. 

1. The whole church ministers to the people’s physical needs, not just the paid professionals. Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46. Here are verses 35-36, “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. (36) I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me” (NLT). Look at Matthew 10:42, “Jesus said, “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded” (NLT).
2. The whole church ministers to the people’s emotional needs, not just the paid professionals. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:14, And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (NIV).
3. The whole church ministers to people’s spiritual needs, not just the paid professionals.  Look at 2 Corinthians 5:18, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (NIV). Reconciliation is bringing two opposing sides, the lost and the redeemed, together to be unified in a goal bigger than themselves. The average church member is to personally reconcile lost people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Colossians 1:28-29, “He is the One we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (29) To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (NIV).

Do you see the point here? Why does the modern church bench the Holy Spirit in her many members and limit the work, power, and impact of the Holy Spirit to others through a few paid professionals? As we the church gather each week, we do so to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. That is to encourage and motivate us to minister to the needs of those in our local church, BUT, it is also to motivate us to go out in our community and the world empowered by the Holy Spirit to share Christ. We can do all of this based on 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 as well as 1 Corinthians 12:27. You can read the whole context of this in 1 Corinthians 12:1-30 yourself. Don’t just take my word for it; take the Lord’s. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus began to build His team of 12 men to do this exact thing. He said to them, “And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men’” (NASB). 

Assignment: Would the Lord say you are a fisher of people? Do you rely more on the paid professionals in your local church to do all the work, or are you intentionally out in ministry to help believers and to win the lost? The Bible lists some 18 or so spiritual gifts. If you do not know which spiritual gifts the Lord has given you and empowered you to use, you can go to this non-denominational tool to find out: Spiritual Gifts Test & Inventory. Our own denomination has 3 tools to help you with this as well. You can go to this site and utilize all 3 of them: Discovering & Using My Spiritual Gifts. If you have never done this, take some time to do this. I want to ask you the question I asked earlier in this devotion: Let’s say God sent you to one of these very poor countries. You have no building, no activities, no ministries and no programs – but you are to share the Gospel, where and how would you do it?

Scripture To Meditate On: Ephesians 4:11-12, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. (12) Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (NLT). 

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please use me to make a difference in the world I live to help other believers and reach the unbelievers. I am so sorry I have felt it was solely the responsibility of the paid professionals. Lord, I am going to find out my spiritual gifts and with Your help, use them for Your glory in this world. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly