On February 12, 2023, Rodney closed Ada’s message to the Church with a clip of the Justice League intro. For those of you who have missed it, you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/live/e1dnilx6UNc?feature=share&t=5658
With so many challenges facing Lifespring, Rodney asked the Lord “What He wanted to say to Lifespring?”
Rodney got the Justice League: A group of superheroes walking out of the dark into the light.
What the Lord impressed upon him was that “we are superheroes for God walking out of the dark into the light and the light of Jesus is shining forth. In the face of darkness we walk forward as a family. When life gets rough we stand together and walk forward. We walk forward not because of who we are but because of the light that is in us. And when one falls down we pick them up and keep on walking. And we keep on advancing because the kingdom of God keeps on advancing. Superheroes don’t question whether they have superpowers or not, they just know.”
As I sat there trying not to think about how Gabe would look in spandex, God started to show me what superpowers Lifespring has.
At Lifespring we are blessed to have a family that is filled with people who share their gifts and talents on Sundays. Some of the gifts may be more obvious to see than others like the gift of music, teaching, and serving that is seen almost every Sunday. Other gifts like the gift of tech., sound and hospitality are behind the scenes but are very much felt, especially in their absence.
There are also Spiritual gifts like wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, and tongues that God distributes to each person as He determines (See 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV))
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)
However the gift I felt like the Lord wanted me to highlight to you Lifespring is the gift of Prayer. At first I thought to myself, this is not a gift let alone a superpower, rather it’s more like something we just do. Then I looked at what Google defines as a superpower.
A superpower refers to a special or extraordinary superhuman ability that is greater than what is considered normal.
Prayer is considered a special and extraordinary superhuman ability because we are able to draw on the power, love, strength, and many more superhuman abilities that come from God.
When you are born God has given you many gifts and talents that will serve you in your purpose, but when you become a Christian, through confessing your sins, believing that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead, and declare that Jesus is Lord over your life, you are given an ability to call on the name of Jesus that is greater than any other name. Christ in You is the source of your superpower.
Prayer has been Lifesprings superpower for years now. We’ve made prayer such a key component to our DNA at Lifespring that it has become normal. But I want you all to know that the world does not consider prayer normal. In fact, prayer is often the last resort when it comes to facing challenges and trials of many kinds. But when we are faced with challenge, trial and tribulation we respond with our superpower: Prayer.
We do Listening Prayer for direction on how to pray and what to do. We intercede on behalf of others when others can’t. We prophesy to strengthen, encourage and comfort those who need a word from God. We have been learning how to hone our superpower without even realizing it.
Lifespring, you don’t need to question whether you have this superpower or not. When I read James 5:13-16 (NIV), I think of how Lifespring has been using their superpower in this season we are in.
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:13-16 (NIV)
My encouragement to you Lifespring is to continue to walk in your purpose as a Kingdom Family and use your superpower to advance the Kingdom of God.
As spider man, a fictional superhero, once said “With great power comes great responsibility.”
And as Paul, a fellow superhero for God, once said in Ephesians 6:18 “18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”