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"For we
are God's masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so that we can do the good things he planned for us long
ago."
God has wonderfully and uniquely made each
one of us. God never wastes anything. He has given you abilities,
interests, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences that
He intends you to use for His glory. By identifying and
understanding these factors you can discover God’s will for your
life.
You are uniquely designed to serve God by
serving others. That is called your ministry. Yes, that's right,
you have a ministry.
When God sat down to plan your creation and
launch you into eternity, He assigned to you a piece of His eternal
plan to accomplish. He decided to allow you the privilege to
partner with Him in His plans for eternity. Is that cool, or
what?
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God
also gave you a unique divine design to specifically equip you for
the mission He planned for you. Our divine design is comprised of
six distinct factors:
D=Desires
The word "desires" here describes the bundle of
motivations that God has placed in you. These motivations include
your passions, hopes, longings, and dreams. These are the things
that make you get excited, the things you love to do, and the
things that get you up in the morning.
E=Experiences
Each of us is shaped by our experiences. Some
experiences come as a result of our own choosing, but many were
outside of our control. We did not choose our family, where and how
we were born, or into what socioeconomic or spiritual backgrounds
we were placed. Yet, all of our experiences have made an impact on
our lives. God does not waste anything, so even our painful
experiences, like failure, disappointment, and hardships, can be
used by God to build us for His purposes.
S=Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities the
Holy Spirit gives us to fulfill His purpose in our lives. There are
over twenty spiritual gifts specifically described in the Bible.
Every believer gets at least one.
I=Individuality
The best way to look at our individuality is by
our temperament or personality. This is how we think, feel, and
act. Our personality influences every decision we make. It
determines how we deal with change and problem-solving issues. Our
personalities directly and significantly impact the way we interact
with other people.
G=God's Purposes
When we accept Christ into our lives we become a
new creation. We get a new lease on life, so to speak. We also get
a new purpose for living. We are no longer a free agent, a
wandering generality. We get our Kingdom mission. God invests a
great deal of resources into our new lives, and He places us in a
strategic part of His plan for His eternal Kingdom.
N=Natural Abilities
God has given each of us various talents and
skills. These are not to be confused with spiritual gifts, although
they are often inter-related. These abilities, or vocational
skills, are the things we have learned to facilitate our mission.
These skills usually start with a talent or a bent in a certain
area, but they must be developed and maintained to optimize them in
our life. Examples of these abilities could be playing musical
instruments, working with computers, administrative skills or
instructing others.
Our promise here at The Sycamore
Church is to help you discover and implement your divine
design into God's Kingdom. We believe you will never be completely
satisfied in life until you are fulfilling God's mission for your
life. And, we can and will help you do just that.
At The Sycamore Church, we believe that each one
of us should be actively engaged in ministry - a place of service
to others where we receive no compensation.
We actively agree with the Bible's position that,
" the world will know we are Christians by our
love."
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