Epiphany - 3 - Celebrating Gifts of the Spirit

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 NIV

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Standard

No Special Music this month

Opening Prayer:

O God, you spoke your word and revealed your good news in Jesus, the Christ. Fill all creation with that word again, so that by proclaiming your joyful promises to all nations and singing of your glorious hope to all peoples, we may become one living body, your incarnate presence on the earth. Amen.

Celebrating Gifts of the Spirit

Getting God’s Attention

How do you get God to pay attention to you?

People have been asking variations of that question since the very beginning. We all start small and struggle, feeling insignificant and distant from God. When we face challenges that seem bigger than us, we wonder what it takes to get Him to notice us and help us through these tough times. Then, there are moments when we make poor choices, even when we know better, and like Adam and Eve, we try to hide from Him. Even then, we seek to understand how to get God’s attention so we can avoid those mistakes.

The Bible is filled with passages where the prophets, psalmists, and even God Himself tell us that we cannot hide from Him. We always have His attention. However, those who do not know God are unaware of this truth, and too often, we allow them to influence what we believe about God.

One belief we adopt from the world is that everything revolves around Sunday morning in our faith. If you want to show God that you love Him or hear from Him in any way, you must be in church on Sunday morning. What happens the rest of the week may matter to some extent, but not nearly as much. This creates extra pressure on all of us to ensure we get Sunday morning right. We often don’t know how we’re supposed to feel about Sunday morning. After our hour or two of worship, should we feel like our batteries have been supercharged and we’re ready to take on the world? Or are we supposed to feel like we’ve sacrificially given of ourselves and are completely depleted, ready for a long nap? Does God have different expectations of us based on our personalities, ages, and roles on Sunday morning? Focusing too much on one moment each week leaves us with many questions and confusion, which can turn into drama.

Every church has its own family drama and its own way of handling it, both good and bad. Sometimes, we only hear the tip of the iceberg concerning that drama from other churches, and maybe even from our own. However, the roots often run much deeper and spread further than any of us can comprehend. The Christians in Corinth were like typical churches with their usual drama. Yet, it had gone on for too long and started to create a toxic environment within the church. Therefore, Paul dedicated much of this letter to addressing those issues and pointing out where the roots of these problems lay within the beliefs of the Corinthians.

One of those issues was their complete focus on the weekly worship service and how they could showcase the power of God to impress each other with their spiritual talents and abilities. Paul reminded them that it is God who grants us spiritual gifts, which are meant to be used in His service at all times.

Learning Your Gifts

With a distorted view of how, when, and where spiritual gifts should be used, you won’t have a very good chance of using them correctly. So, Paul starts by explaining what those gifts are. He identifies several gifts in this letter, including wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, spiritual discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. This isn’t an exhaustive list, as he leaves out some gifts and roles that he discusses in his letters to the Ephesians. Instead, this list includes gifts that were likely used in their worship services and that would have garnered greater respect in the pagan world.

As a fairly new church, many were primarily focused on activities that would help them gain popularity in the community, attract respected members, secure political influence, and acquire more funds to operate. Some gifts associated with administration, caring for others, and stewardship are not mentioned here because they are less flashy. In Corinth pagan temples were where people went to socialize, enjoy food and drink, conduct business deals and watch the priests and priestesses put on a show. These first Christian's saw their pagan temples as competitors and tried to outdo them in all this performance.

I’m a bit surprised they left casting out demons off this list. That was always a spectacle when Jesus or his disciples did it, consistently impressing the crowds. Sometimes, it got him in trouble with the government when it liberated people from bondage to their slaveholders as well as from that demonic influence. However, I think there was another reason. Paul could cast out demons and followed the example of Jesus and the disciples, rarely doing so in a worship service. Typically, that was done outside or in a person‘s home, and it was always approached with care to preserve the victim’s dignity. I bet those Christians in Corinth tried to do it once or twice during a church service and were humbled when God did not show up to grant them the power they wanted to make a spectacle out of one of His hurting children. All of those gifts Paul mentioned can be faked for an hour, or two, or three, but when they are, they don’t amount to anything more than putting on a show.

On the other hand, you and I can go just about anywhere in town and encounter two or three languages that we don’t speak ourselves. As we expand our understanding of spiritual gifts beyond Sunday morning in a church building, we begin to see opportunities to use those gifts to share the truth and love of Jesus and build up the body of believers, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit wherever we go. He can give us a divine ability to communicate in other languages as we witness to and perhaps even learn from others about their faith in Jesus, who may not speak our language.

First, we need to identify our gifts. There are hundreds of tests available to help you begin your journey, and these can be beneficial when combined with prayer and a deepening relationship with Christ. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, and our spiritual gifts can grow and change with us as God molds us to be more like Jesus. If you’re unsure where to start or feel stuck, reach out to Bekah, me, or one of your spiritual mentors. Part of our role is to assist you in identifying those gifts and growing in them.

Growing Your Gifts

Once you have identified some of your gifts, it's essential to grow in them. I’ve been preaching for over 20 years, often more than once a week during that period, and we all know I still have plenty of room to grow in that gift. Yes, it comes from God every time, and whenever I look at my tools, I try to figure out how to use them well. When I step into the pulpit, God does not cast me aside and take over my body like a puppet; He loves us too much to do that. There are countless possibilities for miscommunication between God‘s mind and yours, with me as the messenger in between. The Holy Spirit works through all of that every time, as God trusts me to do what I can with what He has provided. Because God has given me the priceless treasure of His word and people to share it with, I ensure that I grow that gift each year by reading books and taking courses on communicating better. I strive to keep my understanding of God‘s word alive and growing, studying and learning about it daily. That’s just one of the gifts God has given me. My most significant gifts rarely manifest on Sunday mornings, and I work to cultivate and be a good steward of them as well.  

One of the best ways to grow your gifts is to find someone who shares that gift and learn from them. Mentors and teachers aren’t only for Bible study at church; they also guide us in caring for others. They show us how to manage our finances and the material possessions God provides us, both in our homes and in the church. They teach us how to lead, communicate, educate, and organize and help us discern God‘s will.

Carlton Puryear was a hospital chaplain in Kentucky, and I remember one line he shared during an Emmaus talk about the Holy Spirit. He said, “God isn’t the only one who can open doors.” We need people to help us discern which voice is God’s and which is not... which door God is opening versus one opened by someone or something else.

We all need to keep growing in that gift. It’s not always about finding someone better than you. Often, it’s simply about finding someone who serves with that same gift in a different way and from whom you can learn. The moment we settle into our ways, we stop allowing the Holy Spirit to help us grow those gifts and lead us to use them to serve God.

One Lord/One Spirit

The point that Paul hammers home in this passage is that spiritual gifts do not belong to us; they belong to God. He uses them to work through imperfect people all the time—people who don’t have it all figured out yet or who don’t fully understand Him. There may be days when you and I fall into that category. And there are many gifts we can fake. We can fake hospitality just as we can pretend to speak in tongues, and it might even impress others, making them want to return and bring friends. However, you won’t witness true life transformation, nor will you see people entering into a lasting relationship with Jesus and growing in that relationship if what we do isn’t genuine and isn’t from God.

Just as with preaching, there are a million things that can go wrong between what God desires and the people He is trying to love through us. And there are 999,999 things over which we have no control. Those are in God‘s hands. The one thing we can control is ourselves. So our entire act of service—whether it’s speaking, singing, playing, fixing equipment, patching a hole, paying bills, counting money, recording minutes, keeping records, serving food and drinks, cleaning up after others, or changing diapers—everything we do involves surrendering our will to God.

This is not an exhaustive list of ways we serve God, nor of the gifts He gives us. Whatever the gifts we have, we do not use them for ourselves. We serve with them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We cannot use these gifts to serve another Lord, whether that be ourselves or anything else.

However, there’s one important gift I have not mentioned: the gift of prayer. Prayer is a gift that God provides us from the very beginning, and it is one we can grow in forever. It is a gift we can use when we are alone with God and one that we can share with others, whether they know Him or not. This gift connects all the other gifts like a power strip, keeping us linked with God, who empowers and guides them. We learn to pray and deepen our prayer life when we gather together to pray. Our honest prayers sometimes offer more truthful reflections of God than anything we preach or teach.

Our prayers have a unique way of bringing us all together and gently shaping us into Christ’s image when we set aside our pride and expectations of how our prayers should sound, focusing more on God than on those we think might be listening. Those kinds of prayers may lead us into uncomfortable territory and may bring us right up to the point of confession. In those chaotic moments, we can be tempted in our prayers to try to assert control over things we cannot manage. Prayer is not something that grants us more control; it is a gift that helps us surrender to the power of God and the will of God, which is far greater than ourselves.

If you want to know where to start identifying and growing in the spiritual gifts God has given you through the Holy Spirit, prayer is the best place to begin. Pray to God for guidance and ask someone to pray with you. Regardless of what He has given you or asked you to do, coming to Him and gathering with your brothers and sisters in prayer can help align your heart, ease your mind, and provide clarity for the path ahead. Most importantly, He prepares you to see and hear from God, who will lead you every step of the way afterward.

What gifts has God given you to serve Him, share His life with others, and build up His body, the Church?

What steps are you taking to grow in those gifts, and who are you learning from?

How is your prayer connected to your service? In what ways are you surrendering your service to the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, we know You see us today, and we want to have real faith in you. As you gather us together and empower us to serve you in ways far beyond what we could do on our own, we want to serve you in real ways. Don’t let us settle for a “fake it till you make it” faith or a “fake it till you make it” church. You’re worth more than that to us. Our challenges and doubts are real, and we have encountered stumbling blocks as we try to serve you, often relying on our own strength. But we know you are bigger, better, more powerful, and even more real than all the challenges we face. Even if we cannot see past 999,999 things that could go wrong, today, Lord, we give you the one thing we control. We give you ourselves in Jesus’ name. Amen.