Stop judging yourself by your past or feelings, and instead embrace the truth that you are God's handiwork created for good works. You are qualified by the grace of Jesus to stand as a minister of the gospel right where you are today. Take this moment to commit your life to the mission He has prepared for you.
Welcome to the Real Church podcast. Our mission is for you to know the love of Jesus and live out your God given purpose. Now join us and listen in to the latest message from pastor David John Phillips.
Welcome once again to Real Church online. My name is David John Phillips. I had the honor of being the pastor here. And and once again, I guarantee you plug in right now. "Lean in a little bit", and you're gonna walk away from today encouraged and with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you.
Today, we're continuing a series that we started last week titled Gifted. Now, last week, we talked about the gifts from the Father. The Bible says that every **good and perfect gift* comes from the Father, our heaven* the Father of heavenly lights. So every good and perfect gift, not saying every gift that we think is good, but every good and perfect gift comes from him. Not only that, it says if if we as sons and daughters of the king ask for the Holy Spirit, he's faithful to give us his spirit, the the the best gift of all that empowers us to live out what he's purposed for us in our lives.
Today, we're continuing the gifted series talking about the gifts of Christ. The gifts of Christ to his church. And then next week, we'll we'll continue with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, starts talking about the the different gifts of the Holy Spirit, it's gonna be amazing. I'm excited. So make sure to tune in next week as well.
But today, the gifts of *Christ*. And I I want you to know too that today's gonna be a special type of service, and you're gonna have to understand what I mean by by listening all the way through. But it's gonna be a commissioning service. And what do I mean by commissioning? What is it exactly does it mean to commission?
We break apart the word. You have com, which is the prefix, and then the the root word is mission. Com, the the the prefix means with. So like with mission or together on mission. Right?
You're you're commissioned by by someone to go with the *authority* invested in them, to be on mission together, to carry out that mission. I was a a a submarine officer, and I was commissioned by the president of The United States. I actually swore an oath, and and this was the oath. I just wanna read it to you. It says, I, David John Phillips, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the constitution of The United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That I take this obligation freely and without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which I am about to enter. So help me, God. Now keep that in the back of your mind. Like, that what I I I swore to do or affirm to do as a submarine officer for the United States Navy.
Because it's very similar what we're gonna talk about today. Let's start in a v Ephesians-4. In *Ephesians-4* and verse 1. It says this, as a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the *calling* you have received. But wait a second, pastor.
I haven't received a calling. I don't know what you're talking about. Yes. You have. You have absolutely received a calling.
And if we go back in Ephesians-2:10, it says, for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. Let's just start that verse over because something I wanna point out, it says in the beginning, for we are God's handiwork. You are God's handiwork. So quit looking in the mirror. Quit thinking about yourself as if you're not.
Like, every time you look in the mirror and say, well, I don't feel like God's handiwork. I'm And you judge yourself based on your past, or based on what other people have said about you, or based on what you haven't done, or or or you just don't think that you've done enough, or you're not like quite quite like this guy, you're not quite like this girl. Look, you are God's handiwork. God specifically designed you for amazing good works that you should walk in them. You're created in God's image.
So every time that you down yourself, you're downing God's handiwork. You're downing the very image of God. So stop it and know and begin to receive the love that God has for you. He's designed you for a purpose. But then it says specifically in the NIV, it says, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do.
The ESV says, prepared in advance that you should walk in them. You should. It it's it's, in the in the original text, it's subjunctive, meaning it's there's a possibility that you will, not that you absolutely will walk in them. What is it that prevents us from walking in the good works that God has prepared for us in advance to do? I think a lot of times we don't receive his grace.
Like, what is grace? Favor. Undeserved, unmerited favor. We don't receive the grace that he's given us in order to walk in those works because we think we don't deserve it. And in and of our self, you're right.
You don't deserve it. But Jesus paid the price for you. So stop calling yourself unworthy and and say, woah. Wait. Jesus died for me.
He's he made me a brand new creation. He forgave me my past. He purchased my past. I am no longer the result of my past. I am his future, and he's empowering me.
So wait, because I'm a mighty man or woman of God, because I'm in right standing with him, because I'm forgiven, I can walk in everything that he's called me to walk in based on his word, not based on my feelings. See, a lot of times, we don't walk in the *works* that he's prepared for us to walk in because a lack of faith, lack of trusting what his word says about us, a lack of belief, maybe a lack of knowledge, just ignorance, not knowing what his word says. Maybe a lack of willingness to follow his plan for our life, A lack of understanding of his love. Why? Because we sit in a lack of something instead of receiving his abundant provision of grace to carry out the things for he that he created for us to do.
I don't wanna have a lack mentality anymore. I wanna receive what he said about me, so I can walk in everything that he said for me as a son and daughter of the most high king, a co heir to receive everything that is Christ's, that is Jesus', is ours. Like, that is absolutely amazing. He's got amazing *works* prepared for you. And back to Ephesians-4:1.
It says, as a prisoner for the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling that you have received. You say, wait. Hold on, pastor. Wait. I I I see I have a calling.
He's he's given me these gifts. He's given me these talents. He's given these me these abilities. I don't know what they are yet, but I I see what you're saying. Like, he's got this stuff prepared for me, this calling, quote, unquote, for me that I should walk in.
These, remember the oath that I told you that I I I swore as a as an officer in the Navy? These these duties that he's prepared for me, that are good for me, that he's specifically purposed me for, that I should carry out to their fullest extent. I know he's got all that. I see it in scripture. You just pointed that out to me in scripture, but pastor, I don't know what my calling is.
Like, what is my calling? What is it that he's prepared for me to walk in? Could you tell me that please, pastor? On the other side of the camera, on the other side of the screen, could you tell me? Because I don't know, I've been searching my whole life and I have no idea.
I feel like I'm just in this "whirlpool of of life" going around in circles and and wondering what should I do next. Help me, pastor. What is it? Is that you? If it is, I'm glad you're listening.
Because I'm gonna give you some specifics about the calling that God has for your life right now wherever you are, so that you can walk in what you should walk in and experience the grace that God has given you. Because as you begin to walk in what God's purpose for your life, you experience more and more of his grace empowering you to live it out in every aspect of your life. So let's keep going. *Ephesians-4:1*. I'm just gonna read it again.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you Paul's urging him from prison to live a life worthy of the *calling* you have received. But that's that's Paul talking to the Ephesians, pastor. No. No. No.
Paul told told the churches to read this in all the churches. Right? This is for you as well. Says, be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with 1 another in love.
Why did he say that? Because we haven't all received the same calling. Like, we have different gifts and talents and abilities. We're we're different from 1 another. You ever you ever notice in your marriage how how, like, if you're married, then you know what I'm talking about.
Like, you married someone at first, they looked like you were completely compatible. I mean, it looked like, man, we're just right on the same page. But then, once you marry them, once you really get to know them, it's like, man, this person is so different from me, and that is by design. *God* put different people together. He he even put it into the universe, into science.
Opposites attract for a reason. Because we are made to work together. **differences unified** makes a better whole. Did you hear that? Differences unified make a better whole.
It says, be completely humble and gentle. Be patient bearing with 1 another in love. As we begin to unify as a church, as you understand the gifts and callings and talents that you have, and you realize that they're different from someone else, you're gonna have the the the the leaning and the desire to try to make them be like you. Stop it. You are created in the way that you are in order to use the gifts that God's given you for a specific reason, in order to help his kingdom, his church flourish, and you're to bless that other person that's different from you, that sees the world a a lot different than you, even if it's completely different.
You're like, I don't understand how you see the world that way. I don't get it, but I know you love Jesus, so I'm gonna unify. I'm gonna bear with you in love until I do understand and understand how to walk this thing out with you together. It's important. What does he he goes on to say, verse 3.
"Make every effort". Say every effort. Every. I'm done. I've tried hard.
You hadn't made every effort yet. Keep going. It's necessary. Unity in the body of Christ is so vital. Maybe you're thinking, wait, wait.
He I thought he's talking about the gifts of Christ given to me. I'm getting there. Just hold on. Bear with me. We're gonna get there.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. Why does it say unity of the spirit? Because you have the Holy Spirit in you. I have the Holy Spirit in me. So we're unified by that spirit, and that bond is deeper than any bond on earth.
Anyone. It's deeper than family bond. It's deeper than cultural bonds. It's deeper than the nation that you come from. It's deeper than blood.
It's deeper than race. It the bond of the Holy Spirit. If you and the kingdom and I and the kingdom, then we are connected by 1 spirit. Watch this. There is 1 body, verse 4, and 1 spirit, just as you were called to 1 hope when you were called.
1 Lord, 1 faith, 1 baptism, 1 God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. I I love using this verse to to to show something. Like, there is not a separate set of truths for the different denominations of Christianity. Like, that's dumb. There's not.
There's not a separate set of truths for the Baptists, a separate set of truths for the Pentecostals, separate set of truths for the Episcopalians, a separate set of truths for for this denomination and this denomination. There is "1 truth", and that 1 truth is Jesus Christ. Like, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Here's the truth. And guess what?
As we grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and who he's called us to be and our willingness to make every effort to unify, then we grow together as we're growing. We're not we're not dividing more. We're growing together, and more and more in the end times as we grow. We're gonna see more and more denominations begin to fall away. I'm not saying the people are falling away.
I'm just saying the divisions of the body of Christ are beginning to fall away, And we're gonna be unifying more and more on a macro, on a big, and a micro level. In churches, in cities, in communities, because that's Jesus' heart. *John-17*. Father, make them 1 as we are 1 so that the world may know. I've said it over and over.
I'm a say it again until it becomes your heart's cry. The most effective form of evangelism in the world is unity, not disunity. Disunity is Satan's ploy to prevent people, to prevent the world from knowing Jesus. So watch this. But to each 1 of us, verse 7, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
What are the gifts of Christ? They all come from his gift of grace. And grace is getting what you don't deserve. He gives you the grace to have a calling to carry out his will throughout the earth. We don't deserve that.
But yet, he paid the price to redeem us, to make us a brand new creation in him, so that he could use us as an amazing leader. Watch this. Verse 8. This is why it says, when he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower earthly regions?
He who descended is the very 1 who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe. That whole scripture, humble yourself and you will be lifted up. Jesus humbled himself to the very depths, died, and went to hell, conquered death, hell, and the grave. But then God raised him up and gave him the the father raised up the son and gave him authority over all of heaven and all of earth. But what did Jesus do then?
He take he takes that authority, and he gives gifts to his people. He's giving he's given out authority as a great leader in order to enable us and empower us to walk out his plan, his grand plan, but also his plan for us that he prepared in advance for us to do. You have a vital role in the plan of the creator of the universe. You have a vital role. And he's prepared it in advance that you should walk in it so that people can see him in and through you more clearly.
And so that people can see him in and through the local church and the global church because of your role. Some of you like me? Like, you're talking about, you know, those those evangelists and those, you know, those those TV preachers and stuff. No. I'm talking about you.
Every role is vital. Whether you're a "kneecap or a shin" or an arm in the body of Christ, Your role is vital. I can't move my leg without my kneecap cap in place. And if my kneecap's all upset because it ain't a thigh muscle, man, I'm My whole leg's messed up. My kneecap just decides I ain't gonna work today.
Like, I'm done. I'm jealous. Stop it. Your role in the body of Christ is vital to making the whole body work. And in these last days, people are letting all of the division fall away and all of the insecurities of, but I'm not this guy, but I'm not that guy.
No. They're letting all of that fall away. You are letting. Believe it or not, I'm speaking by faith over you. You're letting all of that fall away.
Because Christ had you are his handiwork. Handiwork created in his image to do the role and the task that is vital for the body of Christ to be able to "reach the world" for him. So let's talk about some of the specific gifts that he gave. Verse 11. It says, so Christ himself gave so 1, it's all through his grace, undeserved favor.
Verse 11, it says, so Christ himself gave here's some gifts. The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers. This is a gift of Christ to his body. The apostles, the prophets, the evangel the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers. Now I realize that there's a lot of different types of teaching on this thing.
Right? On this. There's some that don't believe that the apostles and the prophets are for today's church. Just to be straight up with you, I disagree. If that's you, I disagree.
Now, we can still unify based on Jesus. Right? And as we grow in him, truth will be made known. Right? And I'm okay with unifying doing ministry, but I wanna show you why I believe what I believe.
Right? So let's just start with the apostles. Why do I believe that the apostles are still for today? And I'm I'm just gonna be brief about this so you can do some study and research instead of just believing what you've already heard and always heard. But go get in your word.
Right? You know there's 25 different, like, instances in the New Testament and 25 different people that are named as apostles? 25 different ones. And I'll just give you a couple that maybe you didn't think about. Timothy.
Timothy is named as an apostle with Paul. Timothy and Sylvanas or Timothy and Silas. And I know I'm a do a little teaching here, but Timothy. Now, if Timothy is Paul's protege and he's named as apostle, like the whole thought that only the 12 apostles that Jesus named and maybe Paul too are apostles, that goes out the window because, man, generations after Paul are named as apostles. Right?
And what does an apostle mean? It it it means a sent 1. Right? And I I see modern day apostles in in Galatians or Ephesians-2:20. It says, "built on the foundation" of the apostles and the prophets.
Talking about the church built on the foundation. It's like apostles, a lot of times, start things and mentor things and mentor people up. I have I know some modern day I would call them modern day apostles. They don't they don't claim the name. It's not about claiming the title.
And I I'm I'm not really I I don't I I just don't claim a title, whatever you call me. I'm I'm more about just walking in the function, walking in what God has told me to walk in. Right? And and letting that speak for itself. But like some modern day apostles, for instance, I would consider that would be a friend of mine, James Revelbrews, who he has started over 20,000 churches in the last 20 years.
I mean, over 20,000 churches in India and around India. And what he does is he he mentors these pastors. He leads these pastors. Not only did he start them, but just like Paul, he goes back to them, checks on them, and and and helps them to grow their churches and things. There there's a there's a who would I call a modern day apostle that I report to, doctor Phil Brassfield, who leads Destiny Ministries.
And and he leads a a group of, I don't know, 4 or 5, 600 pastors, something like that. But when I have a leadership thing that, man, I I need some instruction on or I need him to pray for me and stuff, I call doctor Phil Brasfield. You know? Like, there there are people with these apostolic gifts that lead pastors, and and that's kind of what we see in the church today, which is awesome. So if you disagree with me, okay, I still love you as a brother in Christ.
But number 2, the prophets. Oh, well well, prophets were for the Old Testament, brother. What are you talking about? No. In Acts, it's clear.
There there were prophets today. And I'm going through this for a reason because it matters for the local church today, and it matters for your specific calling and gifting. So please hang with me here for a second. Prophets. Just to give you a couple examples of prophets in Acts.
In Acts-11:27. *Acts-11:27*, it says, during this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 1 of them named Agabus stood up and through the spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. Right? There's some prophets and they weren't necessarily the Old Testament prophets named, but they were prophets that Christ raised up for a specific purpose.
And 1 of them's name was Agabus. Another example is Acts-15:32. And there's multiple examples all throughout Acts, but Acts-15 verse 32, Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. And really, that's the main role of prophets in the New Testament church is to encourage and strengthen the believers by hearing the will of God and and and and sharing it for their life and sharing, you know, the Holy Spirit shows us things yet to come. And and they stand in that office to do that for the local church, but they have an even greater role than just that.
We're gonna talk about that in a second. Evangelists. You know there's only 1 named evangelist in in the New Testament? Bible trivia. Who is it?
It's Philip. Philip is the 1 named evangelist in the New Testament. What is an evangelist? Well, we think of these evangelists who, you know, like Billy Graham or Reinhard Bonke who fill stadiums and even had up to 1000000 people in 1 place preaching the gospel and hundreds of thousands coming to know Jesus. I mean, amazing and wonderful.
And is that a role of the evangelist? Yes. And yet, even that is still not the main role of the evangelist. And you have the pastors and teachers, and a lot of people lump those together as 1, and and a lot of people don't. I I don't.
Pastors and teachers. And what is a pastor? A shepherd of like a flock. A pastor of a church. That's what we we see.
Almost everybody called a pastor today when maybe they're walking in another another gift that God has given them, but they they shepherd the church like a like a shepherd shepherds a flock of sheep. Right? Helping them to and moving them forward in Christ, really caring about each individual sheep, overwhelming compassion and love. And and they shepherd really as the under shepherd of the great shepherd because Jesus carries all of these roles. And then the teacher who's like just think about your teacher that love really love teaching in high school or junior high or in college, and man just knew the ins and outs of the subject, but gave it to you so that you could apply it to your life.
Knew the ins and outs of the word. There's many gifted in that, but some that walk in that office. But what are all of these for? Apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. What are what is what is all of this for?
Is it just so that they can have this title and and walk out this really cool thing that they do in their daily life? No. The main role of all of this is what? Let's keep reading. The main role of all of this I thought I was still on Ephesians.
*Ephesians-4*. Let's start again in verse 11. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers. Why? To equip his people for the *works* of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.
Another version says, to equip his people for the works of *ministry* so that the body of Christ may be built up. The literal Greek word there is, I think, or which is is a it it can be translated as service. It can be translated as as ministry. It's meaning a servant. So we asked in the very beginning, what is your calling?
If you're his people, if you're if you've received Jesus, your role is is to be a servant. Well, I don't wanna be a servant. Let me explain what that means. Your role is ministry. You are a minister of the gospel.
A lot of people think, well, it's the it's the pastor of the church's role to do ministry. It's my role to go and listen, and then go on about my day. No. If you've received Jesus, you're a minister of the gospel, and it's not my role to do ministry. It's my role as the leader of this church to equip you to do ministry in your daily life.
What does that look like? It looks like being a servant. Remember, that same word is defined not only as ministry, but also as servant. Jesus himself said, I didn't come to be served, but to serve. And what does it mean to lead?
If I'm leading this church, that means I'm the lead servant because Jesus said to lead is to serve. That means my role is to lay down my life in order to serve you so that you get the picture and then begin to lay down your life and serve those around you. And how do we do that? Well, we need to take a look at that word, servant. What does that mean?
And the the Greek word actually takes on the it brings to remembrance a "waiter or a waitress". Think about what a waiter or a waitress do does. As a waiter or a waitress serves people, they're giving them When they're thirsty, they give them something to drink. When they're hungry, they give them something to eat. Over and over until they have everything they need to go on about their daily life and their daily task nourished and full.
And you are a servant, meaning that you're a leader. You're called by God to minister, to lead those around you in your daily life by serving them, giving them exactly what they need to give them spiritual food and give them spiritual drink, to show them Jesus what is spiritual food. Jesus is the Jesus said, I am the bread of life. You need to serve those around you by giving out the bread of life, by giving out Jesus in your daily life. What is spiritual drink?
The Holy Spirit is the river of life flowing out of your belly. Serving people around you. That is your calling wherever you are. You don't have to be called in the quote unquote ministry to have a calling like full time like ministry at a church. No.
You're called in a ministry **right where you are**. Well, but I'm homeless. Great. Right where you are, be faithful to minister to the homeless community. That homeless community needs you.
They need what Jesus has put inside of you in order that maybe maybe you're called there right now for this moment in order to share Jesus because there's some homeless people. There's a movement in the homeless society that needs what God's put inside of you. And as you're faithful with a little, God will give you more. But but but you don't understand. They don't let me share Jesus at my job.
I'm a I'm a secular job. You know what? You are the love letter of Christ. By the way that you serve your boss, by the way that you go over and above, by the way that you you work as worship to God. It's going people are gonna see that and say, what's different?
When they ask, say, man, it's Jesus. Pray for them anyway. Love them anyway. Give out the manna from heaven, Jesus, that he's given to you day in and day out. You are called.
You are a minister of the gospel. That is your *calling commissioned by God*. Wherever you are and whatever you call me of those thing that the gifts that God has given to the church, I don't care. I just know my function is to lay my life down to help you to realize that your role is laying your life down to those around you in your daily life to give them what they need, and they need Jesus. The world around us needs Jesus.
Clearwater needs Jesus. Pinellas County needs Jesus. And you are called by God to be Jesus to them. To receive him in the morning before you go, and to give him out the rest of the day. That's your calling.
You don't have to question. I don't know my calling. Yes, you do. But but I feel I'm called to greater than this job. Well, that's great.
And maybe maybe God's gonna move you to greater, yourself. He wants to promote you, and he's only gonna promote you when you're faithful where you are, to be a minister where you are. We don't we don't need everybody's not an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, teacher. Man, we need people in the marketplace. We need people in businesses.
We need people in the in in the different communities around the world willing to serve and willing to minister there. Willing to be the elbow or the kneecap or willing to be whatever part of the body it is, doing your function so that as a whole, we can do what God has called us to do. I'm reminded and thinking about the Navy. You know, there's different being commissioned as an officer, like I had a specific role that I was called to do my function. And overall, as as officers, our function is to "fight the ship".
It was to or the boat because it's submarine. Was called a boat. That's what we call submarines. But to fight the boat, like that that's our overall role, like to to be in charge of the operations. And then we had different tasks and abilities.
And I I just take the navigation people for example. Their role as as in the navigation community is to make sure that the boat gets to where it's supposed to go. But then you have the cooking community on the submarine. Their role is to feed everybody on the boat. The navigating community, if they said, man, I can't believe those cooks aren't doing what what we're doing.
I can't believe they should be doing what we're doing. If they did that, they would never have any food and the nourishment necessary to carry out their role. And if the cooks felt like, this isn't as glorious as the navigation, you know, community. I'm just I'm I'm just all discouraged. I ain't gonna do what, you know, what I'm called to do.
Then the whole boat can't function. We're all called to our different parts. You are called right where you are. Quit wishing that you were right here. Quit wishing that you were on the guitar or you were here or you were, you know, do no.
Do what God has called you to do right where you are and devote yourself and live a life, Ephesians-4:1, **worthy of the calling** you have received there, being a minister there, faithful with God what God's given you there. It's vital. Real church, it's called to reach the world for Jesus. But right now, we gotta reach the world we're at. And the only way we're gonna reach the world we're at is if you realize that you're valuable, that you're called by God, and it's time to "step up" where you are and start showing Jesus where you are.
Receiving the grace that he's given you. And part of that, if you're connected to this that church this church is connecting and hearing the examples that's shown here from the different leaders, being encouraged and equipped, and then going out and stepping up and leading in your daily life. So I I just wanna do I wanna do something. Like, I told you this is gonna be a commissioning service. And I just feel that there are people that are watching that haven't ministered to people in their daily lives in a long time.
Maybe you never have because you didn't feel qualified. You're not qualified based on what you have done or haven't done. You're qualified based on the fact that you've received Jesus. I wanna qualify you right now. By the authority invested in me from Jesus Christ, I wanna commission you as a minister of the gospel.
Right now. Just real briefly, I I I found myself ministering to some homeless guys day before yesterday. And 1 of them was a Jesus follower. And I told him, I looked him in the eyes, I said, look. I said, you're called right where you are to be a minister to the homeless community.
*God has specifically positioned you. There needs to be revival* in the community and it starts with you. I'm doing the same thing to you right now. If you're ready to step up, you're ready to receive your *commission* by God through me to join mission, co mission, like together on mission to reach Pinellas County for Jesus and to the ends of the earth. Well, I encourage you, let's stand together.
And I I wanna I want you to repeat, if you believe it, if you wanna be commissioned together, the mission of the gospel with real church, as a minister of the gospel right in your daily life. I'm come on. I'm serious. If if you're if you wanna just go ahead. Stand up.
If you're serious about this thing, if you've received Jesus, let's lift our hands together. And just say this after me. I rewrote the commissioning of the Navy. Say this. I, insert your name, David John Phillips.
Go ahead. I do solemnly affirm that I will stand as a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ in my daily life. That I will bear the true faith and allegiance to the kingdom of heaven. I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. And that I will faithfully discharge discharge the duties of my calling on which I'm entering as empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Let me pray for you. Father, I thank you for who you are. Lord, thank you that you love us. I thank you that you're here. Father, that I pray that everybody that prayed that prayer, Lord, you give them opportunity after opportunity to "lay their life down", to serve those around them.
And they they they don't even just give them the opportunity, they see it. And empower them by the Holy Spirit to live it out. Lord, I pray, Lord, that they're just filled with your presence right now. Lord God, that there's a greater a greater impact on their lives in everything that they do. Lord, that they begin to see people in their daily lives come to know you like never before because they're receiving you.
And they're getting they're not just receiving you, but they're giving out what you've given them. Ministers of the gospel. Thank you Jesus for the *revival* of what you're gonna do. In Jesus name. Amen.
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time.