Many Gifts

Not a Preacher

Today, I stand before you as a person that feels out of place. I feel like I do not belong in this position preaching before you. I think about all of the different ministries out there. There are those that have a healing ministry where thousands of people are healed at every service. There are people that are able to schedule and use people’s abilities to build massive structures and programs that meet needs across the world. There are also those who know exactly what to say when it is needed to ensure the smallest child or the oldest person in the room is comforted in grief.

All of these gifts are amazing and it makes me as a person feel out of place when I am placed next to them. I just simply do not have the gifting that these other people have. The world around me tells me that in order for me to be a leader, I should be able to do all the things the people do under me but better. They should be able to ask my advice and I know exactly what needs to happen without having questions myself.

I feel like the world is constantly evaluating me as compared to those like John Maxwell. Every person must lead like John Maxwell, preach like Billy Graham, and raise the dead or I am just not good enough.

With all of these requirements I just feel like I do not fit into the body well. I feel out of place, weak, or even not really a believer.

Many of you know that I am a missionary. Well one of the tasks of a missionary is to go to the States every four years and ask churches and individuals to support the ministry. In this role I am tasked to go to meeting after meeting with other leaders in the church. I am asked to stand up in front of everyone and say in just one sentence why Pastors should support your ministry. I remember standing in Oklahoma and I ended up being in a line of about 20 other missionaries. I was the last one in line. I thought I knew what I was going to say before I got in line but then person by person they gave their sentence. They went through all these amazing ministries around the world and I was standing in awe in all that was happening in the Kingdom around the world. When it got to me I felt completely blank. I thought to myself all of these ministries are so deserving so how could I put myself above all of them by telling how much better my ministry was. What came out of my mouth was this. God asked me to go to Thailand to make disciples. What else was I supposed to say? There were people rescuing others out of sex trafficking. There were people that had ministries for healing. There were those that had ministries to cast out demons. There were ministries where people were getting educated, feed, and clothed who had not access to these things before.

How could I rank myself against all of these different people? How could I honor myself when all of these other people were doing so much more compared to me?

Our Ministry

Think about the ministry here. Pastor Tevita is loved by all of you. He has taken this church that was struggling to the point that it is now. There are different ministries in operation. This church is growing and maturing and so are each of you. Over in the Thai service of this church people are getting healed after the healing evangelist came. The church has many different people coming every week. A Chinese service was even just started here. I see the musicians and how skilled they are at singing.

There are so many different people doing different things and sometimes we all feel out of place. We feel our own ministry is not of much value. We can look at other churches around the city that have big screens and completely full seats. We can see other church movements that are not fighting and do not have any struggles. Maybe you have thought maybe I should just got to one of those churches. Maybe if I am just sitting in another church what they are doing is surely more than I am doing now.

We all have the temptation to rank ourselves according to what measurements the world uses. How many people are in your church? How many people got saved this week? How many people spoke in tongues this week? How many people were healed this week? How many demons were cast out this week? After all everything needs a specific measurement for there to be any kind of success.

Do we matter at all?

Bible

What does the Bible have to say about all of this and what does it mean to us?

Please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 NIV

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

1 Corinthians 12:14–19 NIV

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?

1 Corinthians 12:20–26 NIV

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 NIV

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

Corinth and the Roman World

There are a couple of important cultural aspects that need to be considered to understand what Paul is talking about here. Many have argued that Paul is attempting to rank different spiritual gifts and thereby show that tongues are the least important and some say that there is no ranking. The issue becomes clear once you understand the cultural context that the scripture was written in.

Places of Honor

The first understanding is that Corinth is a Roman city. This city was colonized and had become on of the most important cities in Rome for merchants. This importance will be later discussed but what needs to be understood first is the social structures of Roman culture. Social structures were built up wealth. At this time an emerging middle class started to come up so the positions that had long been help by the wealthiest were challenged. This led to constant status fighting and disagreements. The reason for this was that at events and specifically at banquets people would work to be in honored positions so they could would receive the best portion of the food. The host of the event would be ensured a position of honor and the more wealthy individuals would be invited because they deserved more honor than others. We will call this places of honor culture.

Headship

The second understanding was that due to their wealth they believed that they understood a bigger picture of what happened in the city. They believed they held more knowledge and this knowledge gave them influence. They believed that all others should give them their due because they were in the best position to advance what was needed for all people. If they had what they needed everyone else in turn would receive more of what they needed. They believed being the head was the place of greatest honor because it could see everything that the body needed and should do. We will call this headship.

Ignoring the Poor

Due to both of these other understandings the people believed that a combination of wealth, education, and status all added together to form a persons worth. If a person was lacking in one of these areas then that person was seen to be weaker. This meant that their work could be cast aside as less valuable than other work. Those with less value were people without titles and were the lower classes of society. There were those that were very rich and those that were really poor and only a few that were starting to make up a middle class. This all led to ignoring the needs of others so that your own needs would be met. We will call this ignoring the poor.

Surrounding Scripture

Any reading should take these basic concerns into the picture so as to understand what Paul was addressing. One more aspect needs to be brought into focus and that is what Paul’s previous points were. Paul was addressing an issue were people were being abused at the Lord’s Table and not being allowed to eat so that the rich would be feed first. Another issue was that certain people in the church were focused on tongues because they believed it was angelic language that showed their superior understanding to those who had not received these tongues. The poor were being abused and the gift of tongues was being overly focused on so that people could have personal gain in status positions in the church.

Diversity Brings Unity

The idea in the Corinthian church was that only one kind of gift was important. They believe tongues to have value because it helped them gain positions of honor. Their singular focus on tongues was the issue. Tongues are good when they are put in their proper place. The issue is when focus is given on one gifting then the body becomes a monstrosity. It becomes something repulsive to others because it is not operating in the way that it should. The body is made up of many parts. These many parts have different gifting. Paul is not arguing for diversity just so the body is diverse. He is arguing for the body to have diversity so that the full functions of the body are seen.

Indispensable

The second thought is that each member is indispensable. Each member has value because each member has been equipped by the Spirit for a specific purpose. There are parts of the body or gifting that people reject because it is not held in high honor. Some would look at the Pastor and say that is the position I want to be because honor is given to the person in front of everyone. They would not want to be the person that is running sound because it is thought of as a simple task. Pushing this even further some would reject certain spiritual gifts because it doesn’t make a flashy flyer. My wife showed me an advertisement that said Tips and Tricks for your healing ministry. Has anyone ever seen tips and tricks to get more money in the offering plate when you pass it around. Has anyone seen a flyer for tips and tricks on how to unclog a toilet after Sunday school? Every member of the body is needed to operate in the gift that the Spirit has given them. Paul is addressing this very thought. Members of the church were dishonored because they did not bring a lot of money to the church. Members where dishonored because they had not received the gift of tongues. They where dishonored because they did not hold a position of power. Paul rejects this and says that all members have value.

Obsessive Care

Paul goes into this idea of suffering. He makes the claim that if one member suffers than all suffer. How can this be true when some are eating all at a meal and some are going home hungry? It is true when one understands the role or position that each member of the body plays. Paul makes it very clear that all members of the body are needed to function in order for the body to operate in the proper way. If one part of the body is not working correctly than the body is sick. Paul works from the imagery that a person who is honored than the entire body is honored. This is to push the point that every person wants to be honored. Everyone was thinking about how they might be in a place of honor. They were obsessing over this. Paul is working to flip this idea were every member of the body obsesses over the care for other members of the body. Why is this important at all? This is important once a person understands the last point.

Christ as Head

This last point is that the many come together to form one body which is the body of Christ. The is a rejection of any idea that says ministry is done on ones own terms but instead it should be done with the understanding that we are all baptized in the one Spirit. The individual value is set aside and the individual identity apart from the body is set aside. We continue as American, Thai, Fijian, or African but that does not give us less or more value compared to others. The focus is that ministry is not ours but his. This is important because the value of each person is related to Christ. If one person is abused or mistreated than the person that does the mistreatment is in fact abusing Christ. We are all one body, Christ’s body and baptized into one Spirit, to do the one work which is Christ’s. A person must understand that when one member is honored Christ is honored, and when one member suffers Christ suffers. When a person causes suffering or abuses a person so they suffer they are in fact doing this to Christ.

What Do We Do?

When we feel like we do not belong we must remember that Christ has given us a place. We must remember that the Spirit has given us a gift. The Spirit empowers us for the ministry that he has given us. How should we live after learning this and understanding Paul’s teaching more.

Because Paul taught us this as truth, we must first stop comparing ourselves. We must stop competing in the church or even competing with other churches. We must all function in the gift that the Spirit has given us.

The church only grows and thrives when all members are functioning as they should. Growth is not measured by how many people we have in the church. Growth is not measured in how many people get saved. Growth is measured by the amount of people operating in the gift that the Spirit has given them.

This week Pastor Tevita is still going through recovery. He said when I went to visit him, “what did we do to deserve all of this love”? This is the answer to that question, not that he hasn’t done a lot, but the answer to that question is what has Christ done to deserve the love of one member of the body for another? Christ has done all for all. When one member suffers we all suffer because Christ suffers. If one member is honored Christ is honored. We rejoice together knowing that we honor Christ.

What Are You Doing?

Today the point is this: All believers must seek and function in the Spirit‑given gift so that the body of Christ can fully live out its mission.

This is a one point message to ensure that all have a clear understanding for the purpose that I am preaching today. What questions should you be asking yourself from this one point? Here are the questions.

Are you functioning in the gift that God has given you?

Have you sought the Spirit’s direction to know your place in the body?

This is the time for response. We are going to take some time this morning before the Lord to ask these two very simple questions. The church needs you - not just the pastors, not just the visible leaders, but you. Without your gift the body is incomplete. Without your gift you are neglecting Christ himself.

Today’s action plan is simple. I am a person that like clear directions so that I know what specifically I need to do. I don’t do well with statements like just spend more time reading your bible. Tell me a plan so I can follow through with it. We are going to specifically pray through these slides. You choose where to pray but we will all do this together because not one of us doesn’t need to know this.

One more note before we pray. When you get an answer tell Pastor Tevita. If you don’t get an answer pray and fast as often as you can until you do. Once you get an answer tell Pastor Tevita. While you wait for an answer ask Pastor Tevita what you can do until you receive an answer.

Seek the Spirit

Discover Your Gift

Step Into That Role