Finding Your Place in God's Work

Strength is often hidden, and what you don’t see may be what matters most. This definitely applies to the local church. Much of what holds us together isn’t visible on the surface, but it bears weight and absorbs pressure. It keeps the entire structure standing. Today, I want us to realize that your faithfulness—especially the unseen kind—is not small, secondary, or wasted. God is building something strong. Where has God placed you in the structure? And how is your faithfulness helping to hold the whole body together?

1. See Yourself Clearly

   1. Romans 12:3: For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

      1. We must think sensibly - seeing ourselves as God sees us.

      2. God has measured faith to each one - to place us where we are needed.

   2. Seeing Yourself Clearly Means Seeing One Another Clearly

      1. Romans 12:4: Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function,

         1. Paul quickly moves from how we see ourselves to how we see one another.

         2. Our work happens in a body: connected, dependent, and shared.

      2. It is a carefully designed structure where each part contributes to the strength of the whole.

   3. If you belong to Christ, you belong to the body.

      1. Romans 12:5: in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

      2. You don’t have to carry the whole structure, just carry the part God entrusted to you.

      3. Romans 12:8: showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

2. Faithfulness Shows Up in Action, Not Just Intention

   1. Romans 12:6-8: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

      1. What God has placed in your hands is meant to be exercised, not admired.

   2. Your work in the Lord is never in vain.

      1. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

      2. Long after people forget, God does not.

   3. Now, back to verse 6:

      1. Romans 12:6b: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith;

         1. “according to the proportion.”

         2. staying within what God has entrusted you; carrying your share of the load responsibly; serving with trust instead of strain.

      2. Be faithful with what you’ve been given, and trust God with the results.

3. As We Close…

   1. This morning’s message isn’t about doing more—it’s about belonging fully.

   2. And belonging begins with Jesus. Have you given your life to Christ?