"You're Equipped for Kingdom Work" | May 17, 2026 | Dave Mills and Amy Alexander

There's something profoundly liberating about serving a God who declares that your past doesn't determine your future. You don't have to spend your days looking over your shoulder at what was while trying to figure out what's ahead. This truth has the power to transform not just your Sundays, but your Mondays too - and every day in between.

The Scoop of Grace

Imagine walking into an old-fashioned country store and watching someone scoop beans from a barrel. Not just one bean, but a generous scoop - enough to actually make something substantial. This is the picture the Apostle Paul paints in Ephesians when he writes, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4:7).

The Greek word for "measure" here is metron - literally, a scoop. And here's the remarkable truth: Jesus didn't give you just one bean. He gave you a scoop of grace, a unique mixture of His own capacities designed specifically for you.

Not for the person sitting next to you in church. Not for that ministry leader you admire. For you.

Five Flavors of Heaven

When Jesus ascended, He didn't leave us empty-handed. Like an ancient king returning from battle, distributing spoils to the people lining the streets, Jesus gave gifts to His people. Ephesians 4:11-12 describes these gifts: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ."

These aren't just church titles or positions reserved for professional ministers. They're capacities of Christ Himself, mixed uniquely in your scoop of grace for your Monday through Friday.

The Pioneer (apostle) is the one who extends the mission, creates things that don't exist, builds networks and systems. In the marketplace, this is the entrepreneur, the intrapreneur starting new initiatives within companies, the person who gets excited when something new begins.

The Aligner (prophet) cares deeply about purpose and meaning, ensuring the ship reaches its intended destination. This is the person focused on justice, spotting gaps in the market, championing overlooked people groups, and keeping organizations true to their values.

The Champion (evangelist) carries good news, tells stories, and helps disconnected people join families, brands, teams, and causes. These are your salespeople, brand messengers, HR recruiters - anyone who wins people to something bigger than themselves.

The Shepherd genuinely cares about people and relationships. Before talking about work, they ask about your mom's surgery. They create protection and health within teams and families, prioritizing the human element in every situation.

The Teacher creates sustainability through process, building on-ramps for learning and growth. They ensure longevity for what the pioneer started, helping people mature and organizations thrive over time.

You have all of these in your scoop, in varying measures. The question is: will you explore what's there?

From Shiny Truck to Muddy Adventure

Remember the Valley Guys of 1980s California with their pristine four-wheel-drive trucks - all the equipment, perfectly clean, never taken off-road? Some even bought tubes of mud at the auto parts store to make it look like they'd been adventuring.

Many of us live like those trucks. We have all this equipment - gifts, graces, the Holy Spirit Himself - but we keep everything clean and safe, never venturing off the paved road of routine.

Jesus invites us to get messy. To grind some beans. To take risks. To try things that might not work perfectly the first time.

Making a mess isn't disobedience - it's part of how we discover what's in our scoop of grace.

The Food Truck That Fell From the Sky

Consider the journey of one couple who started serving food from a tent. They applied to seven or eight markets; only one accepted them because they weren't mobile. They knew a food truck was the next step.

The husband, no stranger to hard work in the restaurant business, created spreadsheets and savings plans. "We'll get a truck in God's good timing," he said, "after we work hard and save."

His wife had a different imagination: "What if God wanted to drop a food truck from the sky?"

It became their inside joke. Until the husband's brother called one day. Their parents were retiring from their brick-and-mortar restaurant - something no one thought would happen. The brother was taking over that location, which meant he had to give his food truck to them.

Technically, it didn't fall from the sky. But only God could bypass all those spreadsheets and plans to harvest seed they hadn't planted.

The Holy Spirit's Role in Your Monday

When Jesus ascended, He didn't leave us as orphans. Ten days later, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came with the sound of violent wind and tongues of fire, enabling ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Three thousand people came to Jesus that day because the Spirit empowered the disciples to speak in languages they'd never learned.

The Holy Spirit is still here, still active, still whispering in your heart about what's next. He does two crucial things:

First, He guides you in developing and exploring your scoop of grace. This isn't a self-help program where you identify your gifts and create a checklist. The Holy Spirit prompts you to take steps, spend time with certain people, minister to someone, take a risk. He's been prompting that idea you've carried for years.

Second, He fills you with God's imagination. He aligns your vision with God's plan to renew all things. You don't have to manufacture this - God is already at work, and He's inviting you to participate.

Three Keys to Walking in Your Gifts

Walk in authority. Stop disqualifying yourself. There's always someone better, but that's not the point. Because of Jesus in you, you are seated at the right hand of the Father. You are a son or daughter of the Creator, a sibling of King Jesus. Walk like it.

Lean in. It's going to take a lifetime to explore what's in your scoop. Start cracking beans. Brew some coffee wrong. Try things. The only way forward is to begin.

Do it in community. Ephesians 4:16 says the body "grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work," held together by ligaments. You cannot mature in isolation. Ligaments hold things together, provide leverage, and create healthy tension that prevents overextension. If you want to grow in shepherding, hang out with shepherds. If you want to pioneer, connect with pioneers. The gifts are better caught than taught.

Heaven Is Coming Down

Here's the vision that changes everything: Heaven isn't just a future destination in the clouds. Revelation tells us that heaven is coming down to earth. God is in the business of renewing all things, restoring creation to its original purpose.

What if the bridge you build today remains for eternity? What if the relationship you're working to reconcile has eternal significance? What if the painting you create inspires worship in the new temple forever?

Your Monday through Friday work isn't just a means to an end. It's not just about collecting a paycheck or even just about leading people to Jesus - though that's vitally important. God's imagination is bigger. The little parts of Jesus we're carrying in us have eternal purpose.

Lift Up Your Eyes

Jesus said in John 4, "Lift up your eyes... the harvest is white." Stop looking only at the daily tasks, the fires to put out, the problems to solve. Look up. The kingdom is at work. People all around you are searching for Jesus, even if they don't know it yet.

You have permission to make a mess. To start something in a tent. To ask "what if?" To believe that God might want to drop something from the sky that bypasses all your carefully laid plans.

The kingdom business is not business as usual. It's becoming a small working model of heaven in every circle where you live - your workplace, your home, your neighborhood, your family.

You have a scoop of grace. The Holy Spirit is ready to guide you. The harvest is waiting.

What will you do with Monday?