Jesus And Us, Part 1: Spiritual Contributors w/Pastor Bob Canter

Devotional

Day 1: Food You Know Nothing About

Jesus sat wearied by the well when His disciples returned with lunch. They urged Him to eat, confused when He spoke of food they couldn’t see. His eyes lingered on the Samaritan woman walking toward town, her jar left behind. “My food,” He said, “is to do the will of Him who sent me.” While they measured nourishment by bread, Jesus measured it by obedience. [01:00:59]

The Messiah prioritized eternal purpose over temporal cravings. He let physical hunger fade beside the joy of a soul stepping into freedom. God designed His children to feast not on comfort but on surrendered action—to find fullness in pouring out.

How often do you confuse God’s will with your wants? When your soul feels empty, do you reach for distractions or divine purpose? What hunger in your life might God be redirecting toward His work?

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
(John 4:34, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to shift your cravings from consumption to obedience.
Challenge: Skip one meal today. Use that time to pray for someone facing spiritual hunger.

Day 2: City on a Hill, Light in the Dark

Jesus called His followers “the light of the world”—not a flicker to hide, but a beacon. First-century cities built on hills couldn’t be camouflaged. Their lamps lit courtyards, not closets. The disciples’ good works weren’t for church bulletin applause but to make outsiders wonder: What God inspires such love? [01:19:24]

Light exposes and guides. When the church serves expecting nothing, it dismantles the world’s “what’s in it for me?” calculus. Our kindness, generosity, and joy become billboards for grace.

You sit in seats others bought, walk floors others cleaned. Will you pay it forward or hoard the light? Where can you intentionally shine Christ’s love today so others ask why?

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
(Matthew 5:14, ESV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve hidden your faith. Beg God for boldness.
Challenge: Compliment three strangers today, mentioning God’s kindness as your reason.

Day 3: Your Gift, His Work

The Romans 12 list of gifts—prophecy, serving, teaching—reads like a toolbox for building up the church. Paul assumes every believer has a role. The teacher unpacks truth, the giver fuels ministry, the encourager strengthens weary hands. But a gift unused rusts. A body falters when limbs refuse to move. [01:13:34]

God distributes skills not for our clout but His kingdom. The church thrives when members work like the disciples did—not debating who brought the bread but breaking it together.

What tool has God placed in your hands? What excuse have you tolerated that keeps your gift shelved?

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
(Romans 12:6, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three people whose gifts have blessed you. Name them aloud.
Challenge: Text two church members today, naming a gift you see in them.

Day 4: Hold the Pickles, Hold the Selfishness

The Burger King slogan “Have it your way” birthed a generation of church shoppers. They critique music styles, sermon lengths, and coffee quality. Meanwhile, Jesus models a contributor’s heart—He didn’t demand a throne but carried a towel, washing grime from disciples’ feet. [56:12]

Consumer Christians treat church like a buffet, piling plates but never stirring pots. Contributors ask, “Who needs my seat? My time? My skills?” They know the church grows when members sweat, not spectate.

When did you last serve without being asked? What preference are you clinging to that blocks your usefulness?

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.”
(1 Peter 4:10, ESV)

Prayer: Repent for times you’ve treated church as a service provider.
Challenge: Volunteer for one church cleanup or setup task this week. Arrive 30 minutes early.

Day 5: Divine Encounters, Daily Bread

Jesus saw the woman at the well as a daughter, not a disruption. He noticed Zacchaeus in the tree, Matthew at the tax booth, Peter’s empty nets. His “food” was seizing divine appointments—moments others dismissed as interruptions. [01:21:33]

God still sends holy collisions: the neighbor crying in her yard, the coworker facing divorce, the teen scrolling despair. Contributors stay alert, ready to pivot from plans. Consumers check watches and walk past.

What kingdom moments have you missed by rushing? Who has God already placed in your path that needs your “yes” today?

“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
(Galatians 6:10, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to interrupt your routine with someone needing hope.
Challenge: Carry $10 cash. Give it to the first person who mentions a struggle.

Sermon Summary

The contrast between spiritual consumerism and spiritual contribution sits right on the table. The have it your way mindset that shaped fast food now tries to shape church life, turning people into church shoppers and critics who want things tailored to their taste. Jesus cuts against all that. In John 4 he names his nourishment. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. The text puts hunger next to mission and shows where real fullness comes from. The woman at the well becomes a doorway to Samaria, and the movement is outward, not inward.

The church’s identity stands firm. The church is not a building. The people of God are the church, and the church exists for the world. That line undercuts the customer is king instinct and reframes Sunday as preparation for service, not a weekly taste test of songs and sermons. Tagore’s insight, even from outside the faith, simply recognizes how the world works. Service turns out to be joy. If that is true in general grace, it proves truer still under the yoke of Jesus.

The call then lands close to home. A simple scale exposes whether a person mostly consumes or actually contributes. Seats, classrooms, coffee, and care do not appear from nowhere. Someone pays, plans, sets up, and cleans. If a person only benefits without giving, that number sits low, and the Spirit is inviting a change of heart, not to punish, but to set free.

Romans 12 lays out gifts that are meant for use. Prophecy speaks truth, service meets needs, teaching clarifies, encouragement steadies, giving fuels the work, leadership orders it, and mercy softens it. That dinner table picture makes the point with a laugh and a nudge. Different gifts lean in differently, but every gift moves toward the mess, not away from it. The body builds itself up when each part does its work.

Light language carries the mission beyond the walls. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Grace saves, not works, yet grace saves for works so that good deeds lead people to glorify the Father. Daily prayer for divine encounters tunes the eye to notice the moment and the heart to step into it. The call is simple and nonnegotiable. Not spiritual consumers, but spiritual contributors, serving in the church as the church, because Jesus fills his people as they pour out.

Key Takeaways

1. Consumerism starves; contribution feeds. Jesus ties fullness to obedience, not intake. His food is to do the Father’s will, and that turns ministry from drain into nourishment. A life aimed at pouring out will feel counterintuitive until it is tried; then it tastes like bread to the soul. Service does not just cost; it sustains. [61:24]
2. The church exists for the world. The church is a people, not a place, and their direction points outward. Sunday forms a people who will bless neighbors on Monday, not patrons who rate a program. When identity shifts from customer to church, purpose and joy line up. [60:02]
3. Gifts are assigned for use. Romans 12 assumes every believer carries grace-shaped tools that someone else needs. If a gift lies dormant, something God intends remains undone. The mix is diverse on purpose, so that truth, tenderness, order, generosity, clarity, and courage all show up when a mess hits the table. [72:54]
4. Let light be seen in deeds. Grace does the saving, but grace also gets busy. Public good works are not self-promotion; they are signposts that point beyond the self to the Father. Praying for divine encounters trains a reflex to notice and act when God opens a door. [80:33]
5. Dump the BK Christian mindset. Have it your way makes sense at a counter, not in a kingdom. Church shopping and constant demands shrink the soul because they put self at the center. A candid self-rating can become repentance in motion, moving a life from taking to giving. [56:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[52:00] - Series kickoff: Jesus and us
[55:53] - Have it your way culture
[56:54] - No BK Christians
[57:48] - Church shopping and demands
[60:02] - The church exists for the world
[60:59] - My food is to do the will
[62:19] - Service becomes joy
[66:41] - Rate yourself: consumer to contributor
[71:52] - Called to serve in his church
[72:54] - Romans 12 gifts in action
[74:41] - Dinner-table illustration of gifts
[78:52] - Called to serve as his church
[80:33] - Saved by grace for good works
[84:39] - Closing prayer and sendoff

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
John 4:31-34 (ESV)
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Romans 12:6-8 (ESV)
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)
14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Observation questions

In John 4:34, how does Jesus define his "food," and what does this contrast with?
What specific gifts are listed in Romans 12:6-8, and what actions are tied to each?
According to Matthew 5:14-16, what is the purpose of letting our "light shine" through good works?
The sermon mentions a "scale" from consumer to contributor ([01:06:41]). What examples were given of people who only benefit without contributing?

Interpretation questions

Why might Jesus use the metaphor of "food" to describe obedience to God’s will in John 4? How does this redefine what truly sustains us?
Romans 12 emphasizes diverse gifts for the church. Why would God design the body of Christ with such variety, and how do these gifts address "messes" in community life ([01:14:41])?
How does the call to be "light" in Matthew 5 challenge the idea of faith as a private or self-focused experience?
The sermon warns against treating Sunday gatherings as a "weekly taste test" ([01:00:02]). How does this mindset conflict with the church’s identity?

Application questions

On a scale of 1 (consumer) to 10 (contributor), where would you honestly place yourself? What specific step could move you one point higher this week?
Which gift from Romans 12:6-8 do you most identify with, and how could you actively use it to serve others in your community?
Think of a recent "divine encounter" where you had an opportunity to serve or share Christ. How did you respond, and what held you back (or motivated you) to act?
What practical habit (e.g., daily prayer, serving in a ministry, initiating conversations) could help you shift from a "what did I get?" to a "what can I give?" mindset?
The sermon compares the church to a "city on a hill" ([01:19:24]). What "good works" in your daily life (workplace, neighborhood, family) could visibly point others to God?
If you’ve ever struggled with "church shopping" or demanding things your way ([57:48]), what heart attitude might need to change to embrace your role as the church?

Sermon Clips

37s

“I mean, folks, after all God has done for you, if you really understand, remember we've talked about the gospel, we are more wicked, more flawed, more simple than we could begin to understand. Believe me, the death you know, you don't have to teach a kid to be selfish. We're all selfish. We're all self centered by our nature. And yet at the same time, god's forgiven us and he loves us more than we could ever even begin to grasp, more than we could ever hope. How then could we not be a contributor to be filled by doing god's work in the church and impacting the life of others.”

34s

“That's the whole point. So, this whole idea, we are called to be contributors, not consumers, It's absolutely nonnegotiable. It's not up for discussion. Our food, our spiritual nourishment, what can what sustains us is to do the work of the father and to accomplish his work. Because once again, the church doesn't exist for us. We are the church, and we exist for the world.”

34s

“If you're a Christian, god has given you gifts. You have a call, and god has set you apart to use those gifts to make a difference in the church and in the world. And in our culture, the challenge is that very often people don't even understand what the church is. So let me, first of all, start with a very important and basic point, and that is simply that the church is not, never has been, never will be a building. The church of the people of god. We don't go excuse me. We don't go to church. We are the church.”

31s

“Listen. In our relatively small church, we've got an a b team. We've got a music team. We've got Sunday school teams. We've got ushers and cleaners and painters and plumbers and construction people, people who teach, people who lead, people who understand our food is to do the will of him who sent us and to accomplish his work. People who are spiritual contributors, that's what fills them up because we are the church, and god calls every one of us to make a difference.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Christ Alive This sermon · AI assistant

What distinguishes a spiritual consumer from a contributor?

What fills and sustains Jesus spiritually?

How should the church relate to the world?