Unlocking Your Spiritual Gifts

A friend of mine recently got a Tesla Model 3 electric car. It is a pretty impressive machine that in my opinion is the future of the automobile industry. I asked him what he liked and disliked about his car and he shared something very interesting with me. One feature he loved was the semi-autonomous driving feature, which allowed him a nearly driverless driving experience but he was only able to use the feature for a month on a trial basis. I thought that was interesting and asked if he had to go back to the dealership and have them uninstall the feature after the trial was over. The weird part is that he didn’t! The feature just expired after 30 days. The interesting part about Teslas, or at least his, is that they come with every feature already installed. If you want to access the feature all you have to do is pay for it and download the upgrade. So every Tesla comes “fully loaded” except if you want to use the feature you just need to pay for it and download the software that allows its access.

To me that was strange because I am used to accepting that my car is what it is from the day I purchase it. If I want a feature on my car, I would have had to either purchased it when I bought my car or have it physically installed afterwards. With the Tesla Model 3 however everything is already there and all you need is a software upgrade to access it! Recently I have been considering myself a bit like the Tesla in that I have within me the potential, but I must somehow unlock it.

Do you remember the story of Moses being confronted by God to free Israel from Egypt found in Exodus 3 & 4? God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush and tells him he has heard the cries of injustice of the Israelite people in Egypt and that he wants Moses to go and confront the Pharaoh. Moses however responds with a bunch of “buts”. Moses would say, “but, what it they don’t believe me” or “but, I don’t speak well, I stutter and don’t know what I’d stay.” Moses thought that surely there was a fully upgrade model that would be more suited for the task. What it took for Moses to realize his responsibility and ability to do what he was tasked with was the assurance from God that he was personally called to the task!

What is God calling you to? Have you been responding with a bunch of “buts”? What will it take for you to realize that within in you is unlocked potential for what you have been called to? I believe the answer is prayer. Prayer is our central means to connect with the heart of God. I believe it is in prayer we are changed. Much like the Tesla Model 3, God has already created within you what is needed to do what you are called to.

This Sunday our United Methodist Women will be leading both of our worship services and I am very excited about that. These ladies have unlocked their spiritual gifts and how to use them. I hope you will join me at both the 8:30 and 10:45 AM services as the UMW lead us in a time of worship.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church