Sermon Tone Analysis

In the King’s Service

Please open your Bibles to 1 Cor.

12

We’ve been talking for some time now about spiritual gifts – we’re going to wrap it up this morning.

This sermon is kind of a review, but overall it’s a “What do we do now” sermon.

I remind us, that the Objective of Spiritual gifts is what?

To serve.

When I say that our objective is to serve, it means there are some questions that each one of use should be asking.

The question I ask depends on what group I’m in.

If I’m in the “already serving” group, then I ask, “God, am I still doing what you want me to do.”

If the answer is yes, then, “God bless me.”

If the answer is no, then “God lead me.”

But if I’m in the “no serving” group,” then I need to ask a lot of questions, one of which is “How and where can I serve?”

In other words,

Because the objective is to serve, each of us should be in a continuous state of Divine evaluation.

“O God, search my heart and direct my steps.”

King David didn’t start out as a king.

He began as a son and a brother, then a shepherd, then the king’s servant, then a military leader, then a fugitive and then king.

See, God’s call on our lives as servants can change, and often do, if we allow Him to direct our steps.

Of course, the steps to becoming an effective servant are:

1. Crown Christ as Lord

2. Think like the Lord

3. Live Like the Lord

4. Anticipate the Lord.

Lastly, if we put all that together, I must …

5. Work with the Lord

Scripture calls us coworkers with Christ.

Jesus calls us, not to go and serve, but to go and serve alongside Him.

Turn to 1 Cor.

12.

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, understand that the church was still in it’s infancy.

The Church was roughly 25-years old.

People were coming out of very pagan and sexually charged society.

In it’s time, Corinth was well known in the Roman world for it’s decadence and moral depravity.

In many ways, we can compare Corinth with Portland.

Portland known globally for its immorality.

So who made up the Church?

That’s who Paul is wrote to - and to these same people, Paul also wrote

The people who were formerly sinners in all kinds of grotesque ways can now be empowered by the Spirit of God to do spiritual things.

Let that sink in.

It doesn’t matter what your past was, if you are in Christ and washed by the blood you can be filled with the Spirit of God for holiness and to do supernatural things.

“Gifts of the Spirit” in verse 1 is actually one word in the Greek - pneumatikōn – meaning spiritual things.

I mention that because I think Paul is making a very important connection – that as we navigate life,

The natural coincides with the supernatural.

(or above natural).

We can get so busy and wrapped up in our own lives that we can easily forget that there is a spiritual component to life that goes way beyond just prayer and attending church.

There are spiritual things at work every day all around us – good and evil.

And God says, “I want to empower you to engage the supernatural.

So don’t get too distracted by your former sinful life or by the business of life.”

I think this is what Paul implies in the next 2 verses.

Here’s my loose interpretation – “If you believed in spiritual things before coming to Christ, how much more should you believe in spiritual things now that you follow Christ!”

In a sense, Paul is saying, “Look, the supernatural is real!

And here’s something you need to know -

Because the supernatural is real, God really empowers His people with real supernatural abilities.”

Next 3 verses

Paul is trying to be as clear as possible - supernatural abilities (i.e.

spiritual gifts) are God-empowered.

God is the source.

Not natural talent, skills, human effort or anything we can take credit for.

Here’s a question to start pondering if you haven’t already -

If I am NOT the source of spiritual abilities, and God IS the source of spiritual abilities, what is happening around me that is spiritual?

In other words, as I serve, are there any supernatural results?

For example, anybody can lay hands on someone and pray for healing.

And for most of us, we pray, hope for healing and wait.

However, the one who has a supernatural gift of healing will have different results.

That person is not just hoping for a healing, but they are being empowered and employed by God to heal another person.

God is manifesting Himself through that person to heal another, and there will be a supernatural result.

Make sense?

When we talk about

Spiritual gifts - manifestation is the key.

Look,

What God puts in He expects to come out.

What God puts into me, He expects that it will come out of me.

If God puts in love, He expects me to love.

If God puts in forgiveness, He expects me to forgive.

If God puts in a spiritual gift, He expects me to use it.

Input - output - manifestation.

Pay attention to that in the following verses:

Now, each of those gifts are supernatural.

God puts in and empowers the person to serve in such a way that the result is something that no human can take credit for.

Before we move, I want to make a few things clear.

A) Spiritual Abilities are on Loan.

One of Rush Limbaugh’s mottoes is “Talent on loan from God.” Whether you like him or not, he understood where his abilities came from.

That’s the idea of spiritual gifts - they’re on loan which means we are called to be stewards – to properly manage what God has let us borrow.

B) Spiritual Abilities are the Norm.

The absence of the manifestation of spiritual gifts or abilities is not the norm.

I know some of you are concerned - what is Chad saying.

Stick with me …

Spiritual gifts are not for hooping and hollering.

They’re not for jumping over chairs or throwing people against the wall - they’re for serving and as I stated at the beginning of the sermon, we are to work with the Lord, not against Him - and God is a God so order, not chaos.

So, understand that

1) Spiritual Gifts are Really Really Good.

Not sure how else to put that, but listen to 1 Cor.

12:7 again -

- for what is best and advantageous to the Church.

The manifestation of the Spirit is to make people better and to bring people together - that’s what common good means.

Doesn’t that sound really, really good - especially in our world!

2) Spiritual Gifts Should Edify the Church.

Edify means to build up.

Look at

A lot of people think that speaking in tongues would be cool - “Wish I could speak in tongues.”

If that’s your attitude - your motive is wrong.