Gifted for Others

Welcome

Last week we began a new series called BETTER TOGETHER and in our first message, Trekking Together and we learned that …

Slide We is better than Me.

That God created us for connection and that when we are doing life together it is better, safer and more rewarding when you have others in your life to share it with and to be there for and for you to be there for them.

This morning we are going to discover a very important truth that will help each of us better understand why we are so valuable in God’s eyes and His church. God has put something in you that is beyond amazing, it is supernatural but what you have is not for you. It is for others.

You may be thinking, who me? I’m just here for the coffee, conversation, free childcare, check the box. What do I have to offer? What gift has God put in me? Well just look around this room. Is there anyone that has helped you in any way grow closer to the Lord? Has anyone helped you understand God better? Has anyone listened to you, prayed for you, walked with you? Has anyone helped you feel welcomed, helped you get connected, given to you in any way to facilitate your spiritual growth or development?

We all have been impacted by each other, in small ways and big ways through the gifts that God has given us. Okay, I get it … but has anyone been impacted by me?

The question we all need to ask is …

Slide How does God bless others through you?

Words, actions, prayers?

The question isn’t as much where do I fit, but rather how do I function.

God has gifted me to bless others. God has gifted you to bless others. Sometimes we can take a spiritual gift test, but most of the time, people will tell you what it is that they see in you.

And what is in you, is the Holy Spirit working as a part of something bigger than you.

Slide You are gifted for others!

I am pretty handy when it comes to some things. I can change a light bulb, clean the garage, the fish pond in the back yard, batteries in the smoke alarms. But there have been a few times when I have had to up my game.

Gail wanted me to change the shower head and fixtures in our shower. It wasn’t long after I stripped this and broke that … I heard the voice of God (or maybe Gail) why don’t you call a plumber. Amazing idea, someone with the tools, knowledge, experience, and flat out ability to fix the problem.

Don’t you love the way that people are different. Different gifts, abilities, experiences and passions. I have been blessed by the spiritual gifts, talents and passions of others in so many ways. And likewise others tell me how they are blessed through my spiritual gifts.

Because here is the bottom line or big idea this morning.

Slide What you have is what we need!

What you have, given to you by God for His glory is what everyone in this room needs. Paul writes in Romans 12 …

Slide For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: Romans 12:4–6a

Paul writes about these gifts in several of his letters, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians … why? Because he doesn’t want you to not know something incredible … that the Holy Spirit in you is not only changing you, conforming you to the image of Christ but he has given you a gift in which we are called to bless others.

Now many people stick their proverbial fingers in their ears and say la la la la la la. Because they don’t want to know the truth of their calling and giftedness because then, well you and I are responsible to use it for the building up of the body. You might say that for believers Ignorance is not bliss!

Slide Ignorance is not bliss!

To not know something so important to our growth and the blessing of others around us is unimaginable. Paul writes to the church at Corinth …

Slide Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 1 Corinthians 12:1

Some translations say ignorant! Which basically means uneducated or uninformed.

So let’s dive into this for a few moments and hopefully … your eyes will be opened, your heart will believe and your hands will live into this truth that what you have is what we need!

So Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthian church about the variety of gifts and how they bless others. After all …

Slide Variety is the spice of life!

This is a proverbial saying that came out of the late 18th century; originally as a quotation from the English poet William Cowper (1731–1800) in The Task (1785): ‘Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor.’

Look at what Paul writes beginning in verse 4 …

Slide Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Different gifts used in different ways to serve others and even different moments or occasions when those gifts are used in powerful ways that are unexpected. And here is the kicker … it is all for the common good.

Slide It is all about the common good!

Paul says …

Slide To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7

You are a blessing to others. Your gift when it is used, deployed in the service of others … it is good!

Slide What’s your gift?

Romans 12 - Exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, service, teaching

1 Corinthians 12 - Administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healings, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, tongues interpretation, wisdom

Ephesians 4 - Apostle, evangelism, pastor, prophecy, teaching

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ … Ephesians 4:11-12

Misc. Passages and gifts – celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, missionary, voluntary poverty, worship/music, artistry

So …

Slide You have an important part to play no matter what you think or say.

Paul makes this very clear … what you have been given, little or a lot in terms of giftedness it matters! Paul writes …

Slide For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 1 Corinthians 12:14-15

And you thought body shaming was something new! Right here is the Paul’s rather humorous look at our self-flagellation. The sin of comparison is always a problem. If I just could sing like them, then I would worship God. If I had their ability to speak then I would not stop talking about the love of God. If I had their capacity to serve and help others, I would be there in heartbeat. If I had their financial ability to give I would be even more generous than they are … Paul goes on …

Slide And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 1 Corinthians 12:16

Just because you don’t think you have value doesn’t make it so. We are not the same and God has given you gifts that He has not given me. And what you have … is what we need. Because if we were all the same we actually would be deficient as a body. Paul continues …

Slide If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 1 Corinthians 12:17

But God is the architect of this beautiful creation called the church, his body … He has chosen you and gifted you and called you.

Slide But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20

But, alas … there are so many of us that are distracted, overwhelmed, feeling defeated. We struggle to believe the truth of our value, of our created function given and sustained by grace so we dismiss ourselves as irrelevant and we also dismiss others value if we over inflate our own sense of worth and purpose within the body, both lead to a paralyzing impact.

Slide Arrogance and self-sufficiency are paralyzing to the body!

There is the temptation to see your gift as better or more important or to even look down on others. Paul says …

Slide The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21

It is hard to believe, but it is true, you are an important part of the body and you have a role to play. We are not to think more highly of ourselves, think less of others, but rather to love in humility one another and serve, care for and honor one another. Paul writes…

Slide that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

The older I get I recognize how pain in one part of my body impacts the rest of bodies function and wellbeing. I can’t ignore one part that’s hurting.

Then Paul says something that is so true, yet often not realized.

Slide Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Together and individual – there are two forces at work, we exist both in community, the together force and as a fully formed, unique individual child of God. the individuality force.

Slide Why is this important?

It’s important because we live in world that wants to make it all about you and me, the individual or and against the group, the community, the larger church. And yet right here in scripture we see that these two forces are not either or, but rather both and.

Because we know and are learning from God’s word that …

Slide Because we are Better Together!

As we use our gifts they become the unique way in which the spirit loves the body of Christ, the lost neighbor, the hurting friend … Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, setting up one the most famous chapters in the New Testament, if not the bible …

Slide But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 Corinthians 12:31

Then Paul gives us 1 Corinthians 13 on what love looks like. Why? Because …

Slide The gift is not as important as the love with which it is offered!

The most excellent way to use our gifts in the body of Christ is through love. When we love God and love others … we want to do what is in their best interests not ours.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13

To use your spiritual gift for the glory of God and the building up and blessing of the body is the most loving thing you can do. It is to say, I care about you, I love my Lord and His church!

Slide So what do you need to do?

1. Slide Discover your gift. – ask someone, “How do you see God using me to bless you and others? Also, you can take an online test, at giftstest.com/test

2. Slide Develop your gift. – when you find what your gift is or if you already know your gift then seek out others with that gift. Work on understanding your gift and its value to the body.

3. Slide Deploy your gift. – find a place in the body to serve, to use your gift.

This morning there is a card on your seat. Take that card and let’s walk through this together.

Slide Can you imagine if everyone knew their gift, grew their gift and used their gift to love the body of Christ? Right here at Redeemer!

Redeemer would be a strong body able to be used by God to do the mission He has called you to do … to joyfully follow Jesus and help others do the same.

In just a minute we will have a time prayer at the tables around the room following the benediction – Don’t leave here without sharing a need, a decision, laying down a burden – this is the practice of putting into practice the belief that we are better together.

Pray – Song - The Lord is My Salvation

You can drop your card off at one of the tables, the information desk or just leave it on your chair and some will come by and pick it up.

Benediction

I invite you to receive these words as we depart …

Send us Your Holy Spirit, that we might have wisdom for the journey. Help us to develop and share our gifts as good stewards, that we may use them in love and service in your Kingdom. As the Apostle Peter wrote …

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10–11