Stewardship Devotional Day 3
Experiencing God Reality #3 – God invites you to become involved with Him in His work

                A key component of stewardship is how God carries out His purposes in the world today. As you study the scriptures, you will find emphasis placed on the ministry of the local church. Everything that God does in this dispensation of time flows through His church. Therefore, the work that God invites you to be a part of is the work of the local church.

                1 Corinthians 12:18 is found in the context of Paul’s writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church at Corinth. He is teaching on the subject of spiritual gifts and how every believer is given a gift to be used for the edifying of the church. Verse 18 says, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” Every member of the church is important and valuable. Why? Because God has placed them there. God is sovereign and He directs our steps. He works through the circumstances of our lives to lead us where He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do. Therefore, you are a part of the church you attend because God has placed you there. Since He has placed you there, then He has a reason for you being there. That reason is tied to the time, talents, and treasures, He has given you to steward for His Kingdom purposes. That reason is also tied to the spiritual gifts He has given you to be used for the edification of the church. There is no way around this. It is impossible to be in the center of God’s will and plan for your life without being a part of a local church. Whatever shape or form the church takes in your present location (even an underground church in a foreign land); you cannot divorce yourself from the local church. It is through the local church that God carries out His purposes in our world today, therefore, to be a part of His work, you must be a part of His church. This is why the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:25, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.”

                God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. What is God’s work today? The life and ministry of the local church. To be a good steward, you must get in on what God is doing. You must be involved in His work. How involved are you in the life and ministry of the church? Are you a faithful steward that is involved in God’s work.