GIVEN A GIFT

Introduction

-{Romans 12}

-We are blessed to have Sofree with us today. Not only is it exciting for personal reason, and it’s not only the beautiful music and worship. But here you have a group of young ladies to whom God has given a gift, and they are using that gift to serve God and His church, and to glorify His name. Most of these ladies probably won’t be going into some sort of vocational ministry, but they will still use what God has given them in whatever way that God leads.

-It is a reminder to us all that God has gifted each of us in some way not to be couch potatoes, but to do something with what we have been given so that the name of Jesus Christ and the gospel message would be made known. Sofree and you and I have been created by the Creator a certain way and given the gifts and talents that we have been given for a particular reason.

-I think of what God told Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

-The same goes for all of His people—before you were even created God had His plan in place, and after you came to faith in Jesus Christ He equipped you for that plan.

-So, in light of us seeing God’s gifting on display, I want to study what Paul says about this gifting in Romans 12 and remind us that God has equipped every Christian with a unique gift to serve Him and His people.

Romans 12:3–8 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 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.

-{pray}

-Quickly this morning I want to consider three lessons about our gifting:

1) Our attitude toward our gift (v. 3)

-In v. 3 Paul reminds us about the origin of our gift and this in turn determines the attitude that we have toward our gift. He tells us that it is by God’s grace that has been given to us that we receive the gifting. This is how God deals with humanity—grace—unmerited favor. Just like salvation in Jesus Christ is by grace, so is the gift that He gives for His service. Our gift is not necessarily something we chose, but it was given by God’s grace.

-God is a God of grace. Humanity in its sin does not deserve any good from God, but God graciously reaches out to humanity. By God’s grace He so loved the world that He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for sin, and raised Him from the dead to give us eternal life, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And then, although God does not need humanity for anything, He graciously gifts His people to join Him in the work of making His Son known which in turn expands His kingdom on earth.

-That being the case, Paul says that since you have been given a gift by grace, you ought not to think more highly of yourself—you ought not get arrogant with the gift that you have been given. Yes, there are some gifts that are more visible than others, but that doesn’t make your gift any more important than others. Just because you can sing beautifully or teach eloquently doesn’t mean that you are more important in God’s scheme of things than the person who quietly ministers to the poor in some run-down part of town.

-Paul calls us to a sober judgment—meaning keep your head about it. Think about yourself reasonably. You are gifted the way you are gifted by God’s grace, not because God held you to be more important than others. So, as we use the gifts God gives us, we do so with great humility and awe and wonder that God would use us for anything at all. Next, Paul talks about:

2) God’s purpose for our gift (vv. 4-5)

-In vv. 4-5 Paul says that our gifting makes us a part of a greater whole. Here and elsewhere he uses the analogy of the body. Just like a human body is made up of many different parts, so too is the church, God’s people, made up of different members—and that would be us. And just as the different parts of the body have different functions, so do the different parts of God’s church.

-But, just like the different parts of the body function for the good and service of the whole body, so too do the different members of the church serve and function for the good and service of the church. Just like the different parts of the body don’t function apart from the one another, neither does the church.

-Peter in 1 Peter 4 tells us to use whatever gifts we receive to serve others as faithful stewards of the grace God has given us. According to Paul in Ephesians 4, we are given gifts to equip the saints for ministry to being about unity and maturity in the body of Christ.

-So, God’s purpose of our gifts is to serve one another in love, contributing to the growth and unity of the church. And not just that, but also using our gifts to honor and worship Him, reflecting His character through our unique abilities. And finally, I want to talk about:

3) The application of our gifts (vv. 6-8)

-Paul says in v. 6 since everyone has a gift according to the grace that God has given us, they are to use them, whatever they might be. Here and elsewhere Paul lists various gifts that God might give, but none of the lists are necessarily exhaustive. Nowhere in those lists do they speak about music, but you cannot deny the gifting that these young ladies have. And so, ultimately, what you want to do is match your gifting with a ministry passion that God has placed in your heart, and serve Him by serving His church.

-Of course, the question is often asked how do you find your gifting. There are the spiritual gift tests that you can take. but, I found an author who had a different take on it. He feels that it is a matter of some reflection on how you might react to certain situations—what is your natural bent—so he puts it in story form:

Suppose you are driving down the freeway behind a pickup truck that had a family of five inside and cages of chickens in the bed of the truck. All of a sudden the truck swerves out of control, runs off the road into the ditch, and flips over. The cages fly out the back and break open, so chickens are everywhere. You and a bunch of others pull over to offer help. Now, what is it you are most likely to do and engage in when you assist—this might give an idea of how you have been gifted.

-This at first might sound kind of silly, but consider how he further describes the scenario. You are to ask yourself what would be the first thing that you would do? Are you the person who would immediately take charge? Then maybe your gift is leadership. Are you the person who would listen to the leader’s idea and then organize and oversee the details? Maybe your gift is administration. Are you the person who would focus immediately on the needs of the people? Maybe your gift is helps or mercy. Are you the person who realizes that since the effort is going to take a while, you want to help the helpers, giving the rescue team what they need? Maybe your gift is hospitality. Are you the person to figure out what went wrong and then try to help other people avoid the same thing? Maybe your gift is teaching or prophecy. Are you the person who just walks up and starts to help in whatever way possible? Maybe your gift is service~~~~This exercise in self-reflection might assist you in figuring out how God has wired you.

-But in this scenario you see that various people with various gifts work together toward a common goal, and that is what the church is all about. You have a contribution to give with your gift, and with that gift you have been wired a certain way So, for example, my gifts are teaching and prophecy. I will take God’s word, tell you what it says, and what it means for us right now. My gift is not leadership, I am not a visionary. It’s not that I don’t lead, because that’s obviously part of my job. My gift is not mercy; it is not that I don’t care, but my first thought is not coming alongside and nursing someone physically or spiritually. But I am bent a certain way, teaching God’s Word.

Conclusion

-And you are gifted a certain way as well, and you ought to seek how put your gift to practice with a heart of humility and faith. And so three quick applications:

(1) We seek to serve, using our gifts to glorify God and help others; (2) We value and respect the gifts of others as together we serve God’s purposes; (3) We come to see that using our gifts for God gives us a purpose bigger than ourselves

-Christian, come to the altar and pray that God opens the door for you to use your gift. Or consider joining the church as an outlet for your gift.

-But if you are not a Christian, you have not received God’s gift of grace. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ...