How Can I Help? Understanding Your Spiritual Gift

How Can I Help? Understanding Your Spiritual Gift

INTRODUCTION

Opening Illustration

Encanto

Encanto tells the story of the Madrigal family,

who live in a magical house in a hidden village in Colombia.

Each member of the Madrigal family receives a unique magical gift when they come of age,

such as super strength,

the ability to heal with food,

controlling the weather,

The magic that grants these gifts comes from a special candle.

Mirabel, the main character,

is the only member of her family who did not receive a magical gift during her ceremony.

This leaves her feeling left out and inadequate compared to her gifted relatives.

As the story progresses, Mirabel becomes aware that the magic of the family’s house (the *casita*)

and the family’s gifts are in danger.

Even though she believes she has no special abilities,

Mirabel sets out to figure out why the magic is fading and how she can help,

In the end, Mirabel learns that her true gift isn’t a magical power

but rather her ability to bring her family together.

She embodies the heart of the Madrigals

and plays a crucial role in healing the rifts within her family and restoring the magic.

Transition to Sermon

This morning we aregoing to be talking about spiritual gifts.

Maybe you have had similar feelings to Mirabel.

Maybe you feel like you don’t have a gift…

or you don’t know what your gift is…

or if you know what it is

you feel like your gift isn’t as good/useful as someone else’s…

Whatever doubt you are facing,

it causes you to NOT serve the church!

The result is that the church AND you suffer.

The church suffers because it is not benefiting from the gift of the Spirit you have… AND

You suffer because you don’t grow through the use of your gift.

What is the purpose of spiritual gifts?

To NOT use your spiritual gifts,

is to NOT understand why we are given them.

The purpose of spiritual gifts is to

help Christ’s church grow into maturity…

into the fullness of God.

God cares so much about His church,

that He gives His children specific gifts,

to help it grow into the image of Christ.

Transition

This is what Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand.

They had questions about spiritual gifts,

and his desire was to teach them.

Maybe you have questions about spiritual gifts as well.

We are very blessed to have this teaching from Paul to instruct us as well!

Scripture Announcement

1 Corinthians 12:1—11.

Scripture Introduction

We have been going through 1 Corinthians,

which is a letter that Paul wrote to a church he started in the city of Corinth.

Paul had many things to correct in this church,

because they had allowed worldly thinking to trickle into the church.

Last week Jonah taught us how the Corinthians had even messed up the Lord’s Supper!

What was supposed to be a solemn reminder of Christ’s selfless sacrifice,

turned into a selfish display of drunkenness and division!

As we go through today’s passage,

we will see Paul correcting their fleshly thinking that focuses on self,

and helps them to see how they are to put others first, and serve one another.

Billboard

What we’re going to see this morning is that:

If You Have the Spirit:

You Have a Master

You Have Power

You Have a Gift

Prayer for Illumination

God…

Re-Announce & Read Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 ESV

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

The first thing we see today is…

1. If You Have the Spirit: You Have a Master

Before we were Christians,

we lived for ourselves,

building our own kingdoms.

But the moment we received the Holy Spirit,

we received new hearts…

and a new master.

Now we understand that Jesus is Lord,

and desire to live for Him.

EXPLAIN

That’s because,

Now that you have the Spirit…

a. You are no longer of this world

1 Corinthians 12:2 ESV

2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.

Before the Corinthians came to know the true God,

they were led astray to mute idols.

We have already learned from Paul that idols are not gods at all,

so they can’t instruct or teach anyone.

The Corinthians had been led astray to worshiping these false gods that they thought were real…

but now, after having their eyes opened,

they came to know Christ!

Now that they had the Spirit,

they had a new master!

and were no longer of this world...

We also see that if you have the Spirit…

b. You are no longer your own

1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV

3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

It seems the Corinthians were confusing their worship of Christ,

with the worship they offered to idols.

One of the highest forms of worship in pagan worship,

was a supposed supernatural interaction with a deity.

To accomplish this, they used

chants,

ceremonies, and

drunkenness.

This would lead to speaking in tongues which Paul addresses in this letter.

The Corinthians prized speaking in tongues,

but it seems that it led some to go as far as saying,

“Jesus is accursed!”

Paul makes it clear that someone who has the Spirit would never say that!

A person who has the Spirit recognizes “Jesus is Lord”!

They are no longer their own.

Summary

This then, is how we distinguish between believers and non-believers:

If you have the Spirit…

The Spirit in you testifies that Jesus is Lord.

And if Jesus is Lord...

then you are no longer of this world…

and you are no longer your own...

Jesus is your master!

ILLUSTRATE

Garasene Demoniac — (Luke 8:26—39)

Once, during Jesus’ ministry,

he came to the country of the Garasenes,

and met a demon-possessed man.

The demons in him were so powerful,

he could not even be bound with chains.

This man was in such extreme bondage,

and we don’t know how he got into this situation…

but in an amazing display of power,

Jesus cast out the demons into a herd of pigs,

and the man was free!

Luke 8:35 tells us…

Luke 8:35 ESV

35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

The man begged to follow Jesus,

but Jesus told him to go home and tell others what God had done for him.

So he went and proclaimed in the whole city all that Jesus had done for him.

APPLY

Before we came to Christ,

we were in bondage to sin.

we were led astray to sin through the world, our flesh, and the devil.

But now that we have experienced the power of Jesus,

we have been freed/saved!

Now, through the Holy Spirit,

we recognize Jesus is our Lord…

He is our Master!

We should desire to sit at His feet,

and learn from Him!

We do this through coming to His Word daily,

and the Spirit will transform us through His Word,

into the image of our Saviour!

Then He sends us out as His witnesses to the world,

telling them what Christ has done for us!

When we have the Holy Spirit,

we recognize Christ as Lord and Master,

and this is what distinguishes believers from non-believers.

This is the starting point for Paul before he talks about spiritual gifts,

because a person who doesn’t have the Spirit,

can’t have a gift from the Spirit.

Since we have been given a new heart through the Spirit,

we are no longer of this world...

we are no longer our own…

We now recognize Jesus is Lord and Master,

and our desire is to glorify Him!

The next thing we see is…

2. If You Have the Spirit: You Have Power

Paul has already laid the foundation

that we first need to understand IF YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT!

If you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and your Master,

then you have His Spirit.

Now that you have His Spirit,

you must recognize that He has given you power through His Spirit.

EXPLAIN

But what you need to know first is…

a. Your power is from God

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 ESV

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

Paul here teaches the Corinthians that there are:

many different kinds of gifts…

many different types of service…

many different activities…

but it is the same God who empowers them all.

Notice that Paul mentions each member of the Trinity:

the Spirit…

the Lord (meaning Jesus)…and

God (meaning the Father).

God’s Church is going to be full of people who have His Spirit,

and therefore have His power,

but that power is from God!

You can not take credit for it.

This shows us that this power we have from the Holy Spirit is not:

Natural talents or abilities…

This is supernatural power from God.

Next, Paul shows that…

b. Your power is for others

1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Rather than seeing that their power was for the good of others,

the Corinthians were selfishly using their power ONLY for themselves.

So, instead of everyone benefiting from the gifts of the Spirit,

it led to division in the church!

They were supposed function like a body,

each part working together for the good of the whole.

But instead, there was division!

This led to some feeling less valuable because of their gift…

while others boasted in their gift and felt they had no need of others.

Summary

But Paul wanted them to understand, and us as well:

If you have the Spirit: You have power.

But that power is:

from God; and

for others.

ILLUSTRATE

In the book of Acts we learn about Simon who is a Sorcerer.

He was a magician who amazed people for a long time with his magic.

After hearing the gospel from Philip,

he believed in Jesus,

and followed Philip everywhere.

One day, he saw the Holy Spirit poured out on people

through the laying on of the hands of the apostles.

Simon said in Acts 8:19-24

Acts 8:19–24 (ESV)

19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

It seems that Simon had a repentant heart,

but we don’t know any more about what happened to Simon.

But we learn from Peter’s rebuke that he had a sinful attitude in his heart…

a desire to use the power of God for selfishness.

There’s actually a word based on his name: simony,

“using religion as a means of profit.”

APPLY

We must beware of this temptation for ourselves as well…

using the power and gifts of God for selfish gain.

This is a common thing in our day…

as soon as we recognize we have a marketable product/skill,

we begin to think of ways to earn money from it.

That is not bad in and of itself,

but when we begin to use religion as a way to fuel our greed,

it is sin!

We must recognize that if we have the Spirit,

we have power that is:

from God,

and for others!

We can take no credit for the power we have since it is from God… and

Our power is not for our benefit, but the benefit of others, namely, the church.

How does our power benefit the Church?

Ephesians 4:11–13 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

The goal is for the church to grow more like Christ!

That is what brings glory to Christ, our Master!

And that is the goal of the Spirit…

to bring glory to Jesus, the Son!

John 16:13–14 ESV

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Summary

The Spirit longs to glorify Christ,

and so He empowers us

so that the church becomes more like Jesus,

which glorifies the Father!

So you must seek to find ways to use the power that you have,

to grow Christ’s church into maturity!

Next we see that…

3. If You Have the Spirit: You Have a Gift

Those who have Christ’s Spirit,

recognize that He is their Lord and Master.

They have received power from Him through His Spirit,

and use that power to grow His Church.

And the way they do that,

is through unique gifts they have been given through the Spirit.

EXPLAIN

As Paul begins to list some of these gifts,

he emphasizes two principles:

a. The Spirit gets the glory

Paul is going to list some of the gifts,

but listen to the emphasis on the Spirit…

1 Corinthians 12:8–10 ESV

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Paul doesn’t go into detail about what these gifts are,

but simply names some of them.

But what he is making abundantly clear is:

the Spirit is the one who empowers the gifts,

so the Spirit gets the glory.

Nobody can take any credit for the gift they have,

because they did nothing to get it.

Spiritual gifs are NOT natural talents/abilities.

We cannot twist God’s arm into giving us different gifts,

like Simon the Sorcerer.

We have the gift we have because…

b. The Spirit gets to choose

1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

God the Holy Spirit,

equally God with God the Son, and God the Father,

uses His wisdom to choose who gets what gift.

It is His sovereign will to make that decision,

and you can do nothing to choose it.

We are all saved into one body, Christ’s church,

and yet each one of us is given a gift by the Spirit,

for the upbuilding and growth of the church.

The fact that the Spirit chooses all the gifts,

shows that there should be unity,

as all the gifts are used together in harmony,

for the good of everyone!

Summary

If you have the Spirit, you have a gift… and

The Spirit gets the glory… because…

The Spirit gets to choose who gets what gift.

ILLUSTRATE

Peter Being Concerned About John

After Jesus’ resurrection,

Peter went to go fishing, and 6 other disciples followed him.

But they didn’t catch anything!

Then Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side,

but they didn’t know it was him.

So they cast the net on the other side of the boat,

and they could barely haul it in!

After bringing in the catch, they sat down and ate breakfast together.

During breakfast, Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him.

Each time Peter responds yes, and

each time Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep.

As the conversation went on,

Jesus predicted Peter’s death, and said, “Follow me”.

Peter then turned and looked at John… and…

John 21:21–22 ESV

21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Summary

Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry about him!

It’s none of your business what I call Him to do!

You just focus on yourself!”

APPLY

Maybe you’re fixated on others,

and what God has called them to do.

Maybe you think others have the good gifts,

and you wish you had the gift they had.

Don’t worry about how God has gifted others,

and what He has called them to!

That’s between them and God!

You only need to worry about yourself,

and in what way Jesus is calling YOU to follow Him.

Maybe you think you have the best gift,

and you’re tempted to boast in yourself,

and feel like you don’t need others.

You need to recognize that there is nothing good in you that merited you receiving that gift.

It was the will of the Spirit to give it to you…

give Him the glory,

and seek to steward it faithfully to the glory of Christ your Master!

All of the gifts are given by the Spirit,

and He has a purpose in how He distributes them.

You should be thankful for the gifts He has given others,

since you benefit from them!

But you must also be intentional to learn how the Spirit has gifted YOU,

so that you can benefit others!

OVERVIEW OF GIFTS:

Now as far as the gifts go,

Paul mentions two basic categories of gifts:

Teaching gifts; and

Serving gifts.

WISDOM

Understanding God’s Word and how to apply it to daily life.

KNOWLEDGE

Deep insight into the Word of God that doesn’t come from human understanding.

FAITH

A deep trust in God that is exercised in persistent prayer.

HEALING/MIRACLES/TONGUES

Some believe these gifts still exist today,

while others believe that these gifts were uniquely given to the early church,

to validate that Christ the Messiah was with them.

I believe that God can and does do healing and miracles today through prayer of faith,

but lean towards those unique gifts being for that season.

We just learned that it is the Spirit who gives the gifts as He chooses,

and if He gave us someone with those gifts, WE WOULD ALL GLADLY WELCOME IT!

PROPHECY

The gift of preaching and teaching God’s Word.

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SPIRITS

The gift to be able to discern between good and bad spirits.

Summary

If you have the Spirit… you have a gift!

Seek to know what it is,

so that you can use it to benefit the church!

CONCLUSION

Closing Illustration

Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews is the star of the Toronto Maple Leafs,

and is set to make 16.7 Million dollars this year.

He is one of the highest paid players in the NHL,

and for good reason!

The Leafs are willing to pay so much for him because of his special talent.

Do you know what his special talent is?

Sitting on the bench!

He sits like nobody you’ve ever seen in your life before!

And he keeps spots warm for the other players,

so that when they sit down their bums aren’t cold.

Transition

Now, if you think there’s no way that can be true,

you’re absolutely right!

I made it up!

Obviously no sports team would pay a player millions of dollars,

to have him sit there and do nothing.

A team pays their players all that money

in hopes that they will contribute to helping the team win!

What about you?

Well what I would suggest to you this morning is,

that it would be just as ridiculous, if not more,

for Jesus to save you,

and give you the power and gifting of His Holy Spirit,

only to allow you to sit on the bench!

Christ has given each one of us a unique gift for the growth of His church.

That means that if we don’t use our gift,

the church is missing out on something it needs,

since the Spirit used His wisdom to determine what gifts to give you.

Closing Application

Pray for the Spirit to give you wisdom to know your gift!

Ask others to help you identify your gift!

Look for opportunities to serve the church through your gift!

Try one to see if your passionate…

and if not, try something else!

Commit to finding a way to serve the body through your gift,

so that the church can grow into the fullness of Christ!

Gospel

Maybe you haven’t trusted Jesus as Your Saviour.