Spiritual Gifts

Exercise is Good For the Body

I want 2 share with you this morning an urgent need. The church is the body of Christ but all of the parts of the body aren’t functioning. We are each 2 exercise our spiritual gift because every part of the body is essential.

Each one of you is an important part of this body. You each have a role to play & without each one practicing the gifts and talents God has given you the church will be crippled.

Q. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?  For me, I’ll never forget the Xmas I received a R R cowboy outfit.

Q. Now, what’s the best gift you’ve ever received from God? 

Most of us would probably say “salvation” – and indeed that’s true – our salvation in Christ is the greatest gift we could ever be given. But did you know that God gives more than just salvation to Christians?  

He gives gifts/talents to each Christian for a specific purpose.  These are known as “spiritual gifts”.

There are a variety=gifts listed in the N.T.. These are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s working in the lives of Xians.

As you entered this morning you were each given a part of a puzzle.  The church could be described as an enormous puzzle with many pieces.

When there are pieces missing or out of place the puzzle is incomplete and looks incomplete. It doesn’t matter if you are a flat edge piece, a square corner piece or an inner piece of the puzzle. 

We need each member practicing the gift God has given them to have a healthy church…. a complete puzzle!

Because the church needs every single one of you I encourage you to discover & practice using your spiritual gift.  We desperately need you! 

There’s a story about a wealthy man who was terminally ill….The third brain is from a Chicago Bear football player. But it would set you back a million dollars."  The man said, "A million dollars? Why so much for his brain?"  The doctor said, "It’s never been used."

Some Christians are like that football player. We have gifts that have never been used.

The Holy Spirit has supernaturally granted each Christian one or more gifts or divine talents for the edification of the body of Christ…to strengthen the church!

Discovering our talents or gifts from the Spirit is the first step. We can ask our friends, we can take all kinds of tests, but the best way to discover your gifts is through common sense.

Often we already know many of the gifts we possess but we lack the faith to practice using them for the Lord.  Sadly many people are waiting for God to confirm our suspicion.

What you enjoy doing is a clue. God knows us infinitely better than we even know ourselves.                          He gives spiritual gifts 2 each of us according 2 who we are & what he sees we would enjoy & be productive at.

As you entered this morning you were also given a bulletin insert listing a number of existing ministries & contact persons. Every member should be involved in at least one of these areas.

This morning’s scripture from 1 Cor. has much to say concerning spiritual gifts. Let’s consider the context.    The apostle Paul had come to the city of Corinth on his second missionary journey.

Corinth was a major cosmopolitan seaport city under Roman rule. The city was filled with pagan temples given over to idolatry and sexual immorality.

When Paul established a Christian church in this city, it was made up of people from every walk of life, who unfortunately brought many of their fleshy characteristics into the church.

After the church was established, Paul went to Ephesus & established another church.

While he was away he received a letter from the leaders of the Corinthian church asking him how they should deal with a variety of problems they were facing.

Paul responded to their many questions in this 1st letter to the church at Corinth.  In the 12th chapter he uses the human body as an illustration to show how important each member is for good health.

In a healthy human body, the various members cooperate with each other and even compensate for each other when a crisis occurs.  

The instant any part of the body says to any other part, “I don’t need you!” it begins to weaken and die and create problems for the whole body.

What is true of the physical body is also true of the Body of Christ and the local church body.                       When all of its members are not functioning the body is not at 100% and is weakened.

God did not equip you, and place you here by accident. You are needed in this church body.
Without you the church doesn’t function as God intended.  

If God equips a person to be an evangelist and they end up teaching instead because someone with the gift of teaching is not using the gift God has given him, the whole body suffers.

The church is not called or designed to be an organization. The church is an organism.  It’s made up of many parts, we need each other. You are important; you are needed in this church body.

My friend, God did not give you the gift you have, He did not equip you in order for you to sit on the sidelines. God has called & equipped you to serve. You have a ministry & a mission.

You are to serve in the Body. The ear cannot see and the eye cannot hear, yet each organ has an important ministry. Each member needs the other members.     No member can afford to become independent.

Different people have different gifts and different responsibilities in the church. It’s God Who has placed you here. It is He Who has equipped you in a special way to serve in a specific place.

God is sustaining & building this church, this local body of believers for a specific mission.   We aren’t here by accident, everyone has a role according to your gift!

No church is complete unless each member is functioning properly. When one of us suffers, we all suffer.     Our goal must be to play the part God has given us.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift they have received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

During experiments=the space shuttle Columbia, scientists discovered that there are 26 lakes underneath the Sahara desert. It’s tragic to think of the people who are starving & dying of thirst because these hidden resources have not yet been tapped.

In a similar way, there are a number of spiritual resources that lie untapped in our church and in our individual lives because we’ve simply not gone deep enough.

I’m asking each person to discover and then use the gift that the Holy Spirit has given. If you have questions about how to discover your gifts, please talk with me soon.

There are probably some who feel as did the writer of this poem I discovered this week:

"I have no voice for singing, I cannot make a speech,                                                                                             I have no gift for music, I know I cannot teach.

I am no good at leading, I cannot 'organize,'                                                                                                      And anything I write would never win a prize.

But at roll call at meetings, I always answer 'here.'                                                                                         When others are performing, I lend a listening ear.  

After the program's over, I praise its every part,                                                                                                  My words are not to flatter; I mean it from the heart.

It seems my only talent is neither big nor rare,                                                                                                     Just to listen and encourage and to fill a vacant chair.

But all the gifted people could not so brightly shine,                                                                                        Were it not for those who use a talent such as mine."

Spiritual exercise is good for the body of Christ….