Heart Of the Artist Part 7

Heart Of the Artist Part 7:

Romans 12:10 NIV 
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

What does it mean to be a Team Player:

·        Putting the Church’s mission above our own agenda.

The goal is to grow together in Christ. We want to create unity in the

body of Christ by continuing to build upon a strong foundation of believers

who desire community and do life together.

Philippians 2:2 NIV

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love,

being one in spirit and purpose.

Ways to build unity in the Church or on a ministry team:

·        Commit to resolve relational conflict. 

·        Unity is important to God and a powerful testimony to His presence.

·        Unity is a powerful witness to the un-churched.

·        Resolving relational conflict must be done in a Biblical way. (Whoever knows goes) Step one: Go directly to the person with whom you are in conflict with and talk it out. Restore your broken relationships. Caution, do not gossip! Do not talk behind someone’s back.

·        Encourage and support your ministry teammates.

·        Build each other up.

·        Cultivate a life-giving and supportive environment.

·        Cooperation over competition.

·        Be in total submission to God.

·        Put our gifts completely in God’s hands and trust Him with how they are used.

·        Serve with a cheerful heart.

·        Bring a healthy self to the team. (Physical and spiritual)

(Pray, regular devotion time, confessing and renouncing sin, read and study the bible)

·        Make sure God gets the glory. (look at your own motivation)

·        Use your spiritual gifts to minister to others on the team.

·        Ask what can I give, not what can I get out of this.

Hebrews 10:24 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

·        Everyone’s role on the team has value.

·        A Team player submits to authority.

Hebrews 13:17 NIV

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men

who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden,

for that would be of no advantage to you.

·        Each artist should take responsibility of the development of their gifts 

      and the nurturing of their souls. Deal with the sin in your life.

·        Live for the approval of God not of others.

·        Listen to God.

Church should be a place where developing a strong and unified community of  is a priority. This means setting aside our own personal agenda to focus on the mission God has given our team. In order to help us refocus on the things of God we need to pray as well as daily read, reflect and apply God’s Word to our lives. The greatest problem we face as followers of Jesus is constant distraction from the 

world around us. The subtle draw of our focus on things other than God’s 

purpose for our lives can hamper our mission as well as our relationship with 

God. The Bible tells us this about loving the world:

1 John 2:15 MSG

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important— has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out— but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

For a musician there is always the temptation to appeal to the secular world 

to gauge our level of relevance. However, in God’s eyes those who worship 

in spirit and truth are certainly drawn to a higher calling.

John 4:23 NIV 
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Jesus has called us to share His message of Hope and salvation to world.

One of the best ways we can do this is to be unified in this mission:

The Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Mark 16:15 NIV

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Ephesians 4:3 NLT

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV 
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

God has equipped each one of us with spiritual gifts to build up His kingdom.

I pray we will use these gifts to glorify God and lead others to the one who

offers salvation. With a team of devoted followers and with a heart for the lost,

we can accomplish our mission by setting aside our personal desires in favor

of those inspired by the Holy Spirit. As God has graciously given us a new life,

we can in turn offer that new life to those who God has placed in our path.

  

Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets,

the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip

God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of

God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and

complete standard of Christ.

1 Peter 3:15 NIV 
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an

answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you

 have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Personal Questions to Ponder and to be challenged by:

Do I encourage and support my ministry teammates?

Do I look for opportunities to build others up?

Do I help cultivate a life-giving and supportive environment?

Do I believe in cooperation over competition?

Do I strive to live in total submission to God?

Do I put my gifts and talents completely in God’s hands and trust Him with how they are used?

Do I serve with a cheerful heart?

Do I bring a healthy self to the team? (Physical and spiritual)

Do I Pray, have regular devotion time, confess and renounce sin, read and study the bible?

Do I make sure God gets the glory for work done in His name?

Do I use my spiritual gifts to minister to others on the team?

Do think it is important to have a giving heart, and not desire something in return for my service to God?

Do I regularly submit to authority?

Do I take responsibility for the development of my gifts and the nurturing of my souls?

Am I dealing with the sin in my life?

Am I living for the approval of God not of others?

Do I desire to be obedient to God and surrender my will for His?

Blessings………………..Dave