GOD'S UNIQUE INVESTMENT - ME

GOD'S UNIQUE INVESTMENT - ME 1 Corinthians 12:4-27 June 10,  2001 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Roy and Larry are brothers-in-law, and they exchange gifts every Christmas. The "gifts" are really the same gift every year-just in different wrapping. Years ago, Roy's mother gave him a pair of moleskin pants. They proved to be quite uncomfortable and Larry teased Roy about the gift. So, the next Christmas Roy sent them to Larry, wrapped in a 3-foot long, 1 inch in diameter, tube. The next year Larry returned the gift mashed into a 7-inch square and wrapped in baling wire. For years now the two have sent the same trousers back and forth with this rule-whoever damages the pants has to keep them. They have been sent in a wooden crate banded with steel, a 2-lb coffee can soldered shut and placed in a 5-gallon container filled with concrete and reinforcing rods. Then there was the time they were "wrapped" in a 225-lb. Homemade steel ashtray (Roy retrieved them with a cutting torch, but they remained undamaged). And there was the 600-lb. safe that was welded shut. One of the more recent creative maneuvers included the delivery of the trouser-treasure wrapped in an automobile that had been compacted into a 3-foot cube. The pants were tucked away in the glove compartment of the 1974 Gremlin. No news yet as to whether they were successfully retrieved, but Roy promised he would get them out undamaged. This morning I'd like to present a teaching on gifts that are even more interesting than moleskin pants. They're also easier to unwrap-and, you don't have to wait until Christmas. The New Testament teaches that each person who comes to faith in Christ is given a gift (or gifts), which are super-natural capacities for Christian service. The gifts are unique in kind and in measure to each believer. The purpose of the gifts is to enable Christians to contribute to the health of the body of Christ, the church, through the faithful and loving use of their variegated gifts. The teaching on gifts appears at several places in the New Testament (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4, for example), but the passage we will concern ourselves with this morning is 1 Corinthians 12. We will tighten our focus a bit to verses 4-27. Verses 4-11 - Divine Blend of Unity and Diversity "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different  kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues (languages), and to still another the interpretation of tongues (languages). All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." These "gifts" ("graces" in the Greek, CHARISMS/CHARISMATA-that's right, if you're a Christian you are a Charismatic!) are either abilities and talents that God gave you at birth or during your life sometime. At the time you are redeemed into the family of God through Jesus, He spiritually energizes those gifts and "redeems them as well, and He starts putting them to work for His Kingdom through your faithful obedience. Others get brand new, original gifts such as some of these mentioned in our passage when they come to Christ. Clearly the apostle is at pains to make this point-that there is diversity and unity in God's design for the church. Only God can make unity and diversity co-exist simultaneously. And the way He does it is to create a kind of essential interactivity among the members of the body. He has made us each dependent on one another. In our sinfulness we humans tend to make either of two opposite mistakes when we are in community with one another. We try to be independent ["I don't need anyone else"] (which is too much stress on diversity), or dependent, with an unhealthy reliance on others to do things for me that I ought to be doing for myself (which usually overstresses the unity aspect of community). What is healthy in individuals is what author Stephen Covey calls "interdependence". I believe this principle strikes close to what God wants in His new society, the church-a recognition that we do, in fact, need each other, but that we also need to carry our own weight. This translates into each gifted believer using his/her own gift to serve the needs of the others in community. When this happens by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit, there is a divine blending of unity and diversity. In this scenario every activity affirms the unique contribution of the individual and what s/he has to offer, and simultaneously feeds the overall unity of the body. We will not stop to analyze each of the gifts Paul mentions in this passage (that is a study of its own), but I would like to point out three important truths about this list which also apply to the other "gifts lists" in the New Testament. 1. This list is "representative" of all the variety of gifts the Holy Spirit gives to God's children. That is, there are thousands of different gifts, abilities, talents that are valid in the lives of believers that are not included in this or any of the biblical lists. God makes available a rich variety of different talents to get His work done. Every one is unique. Jesus calls His people the "salt of the earth". Did you know there are now 14,000 different industrial uses for salt? God uses His people in thousands of ways, too. 2. These that are mentioned in Paul's list are all valid gifts, even though some people would say they are no longer valid. There is no reason to suspect that "some" of these have somehow been permanently revoked by God. He can use any gift He wants to whenever He wants to. 3. Notice it is God who determines who gets what gifting. We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 14:1 that it is our privilege to ask God for gifts, and even to be specific, but it is He who "gives them to each one, just as he determines." (vs. 11) The Lord is not only the one who sovereignty gives gifts, but He also is the one who arranges the gifts in the body (see verse 18). I take this to mean that God oversees the operation of making sure that the right gift mix is in each church family to get the job done. Verses 12-24a - Divine Synergy Beyond the unity and diversity of gifts in the body, this passage will teach us also about how God wants the gifts to work together in His design. Paul uses the analogy of the human body with all of its parts to illustrate his favorite analogy of the church. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say,"Because I am not a hand. I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be 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 cease to be 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 arranged 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? 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. God's plan is for the body to serve itself perfectly in love, without rancor and jealousy between the parts, just as a normal, healthy, functioning human body does. This requires each part to complete its assigned role. This is divine synergy. In a grove of aspen trees there is synergy. The trees are connected by a system of common roots-each tree draws strength from the others. The grove is more than the sum of its individual parts. As in the human body, where billions of cells, each with unique roles to serve that body, work in concert with one another in a master plan to keep the body healthy and productive, to it is in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4 pictures Jesus as the "head" of that body, giving the directions and leadership to all the other parts of the body. When all the individual parts function well, doing their jobs, the body functions well and stays healthy. Ephesians 4:12-16 gives the end result of this kind of body health, with these kinds of phrases: God's people prepared (12) Body of Christ built up (12) "we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…" we "become mature," "no longer infants" "speaking the truth in love we will in all ways grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ" vs 16  - "From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. For this synergy ("working together") to take place, Paul says four things must happen: 1. Each member must know his part 2. Each must use his gift to contribute to the rest of the body 3. Each must be satisfied with his gift and not jealous or competitive with others 4. Each must regard the health of the body more important than his own comfort Jenny Thompson is the most decorated female American Olympic competitor. She has to her credit 10 Olympic medals (eight of them are gold). They are all in swimming events (more than any other swimmer in history). But some detractors Say she should not be ranked among the "greats" in Olympic sporting because all   Of her medals came in "team" events, not solo events. But Jenny is content with team success. That is most refreshing in our ego-driven culture. A "star" who gives it all (including the glory) for her team. We in the body of Christ are destined to do unimaginably great things. The Bible says that     "[He] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine by HIS power at work within US." (Ephesians 3:20) God wants to do awesome things through His church, but He will do it through a TEAM, not through one or two superstars. Doing things God's way means doing them as a body, with all the parts contributing. Herman Ostry's barn floor was under 29 inches of water because of a Rising creek. The Bruno, Nebraska, farmer invited a few friends to a Barn "raising" of a different sort. He needed to move his entire 17,000-pound barn to a new foundation more than 143 feet away. His son Mike devised a lattice work of steel tubing and nailed, bolted and welded it onto the inside of the barn as a temporary infrastructure. Hundreds of handles were attached to the infrastructure. After one practice lift, 344 volunteers slowly walked the barn up a slight incline, each supporting less than fifty pounds. In just three minutes, the barn was on its new foundation. The body of Christ can accomplish great things when we work as a team in His power. Verses 24b-27 - Mutual Ministry in the Body For a body of believers to work as a body, the individual members need to agree to a few common attitudes. Hear them in the next section of Paul's text: "But God has combined the members of the body and has given 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 12:24b-27) The individual parts of the body of Christ are more prepared to work as a team when there is a prevailing sense of mutual honor. To honor others I must learn humility-to prefer others above myself (Philippians 2). Then, and only then, am I ready to serve as a true team member. Then it is that I am ready to do whatever I am gifted and called upon to do. A young schoolboy was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother knew that he had set his heart on getting a part in the play, but she was worried he wouldn't be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded she drove to the school to pick him up. The boy rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. Then he said some words that should remain a lesson to us all: "I was chosen to clap and cheer!" When a people learn to honor one another there will be no division among them, jealousy will dry up and attitudes will completely shift from independence and dependence to interdependence. Another thing happens when a healthy mutual honor pervades a group. Suddenly each part starts feeling good about its role in the grand scheme. The individuals in a healthy church family will not think too highly of themselves ("I'm indispensable") or too little of themselves ("I'm not important to this group"). In 1981 two things happened that help illustrate this point. President Ronald was shot and put out of commission for weeks. But the government he had structured around himself was organized and mobilized so well, with each person stepping forward to do his job, that the Executive Branch went forward without a hitch. That same year the garbage collectors in Philadelphia went on strike,and they brought that great city to its knees. President Taft's family was evidently good at pushing their children to cut their own swath and to find a specialty of which they could be proud. When Martha Taft, the great-granddaughter of President Taft, was asked to introduce herself to her Cincinnati grade school class, she proudly said, "My great-grandfather was president of the United States. My grandfather was a United States senator. My daddy is ambassador to Ireland. And I am a brownie!" Here's the lesson of mutuality in the body of Christ: no one is MORE or LESS important than any other part of the body. All gifts and all people are equally valuable. Concluding Exhortation In closing I have three brief exhortations for you. 1. Celebrate your unique place in God's plan and be thankful for who you are in Him. So many feel as though they are nobodies. Listen, in Christ you can find your true identity-as a servant of the God who made you, a follower of the One who will judge you and a child of the One who loves you. God has not only saved you, Christian, He has conscripted you into the service of the Kingdom. That is a glorious privilege! Out of His great love for you He made you unique and perfect in His sight, destined for the good works He planned out for you to do. Chuck Swindoll tells the story of "Tom" who was bright, outgoing, gifted and well-liked. This is not unusual, BUT Tom had a large, bright, red birthmark that ran from one eye down across his nose and mouth, down his neck and onto his chest. It was very noticeable, of course, and immediately drew the attention of anyone who saw him. Some would even gasp thinking he was injured. "How did you overcome the emotional pain of your birthmark?" Swindoll asked him. He responded, "My dad always told me, right from the time I wall able to understand, 'Son, this mark is where an angel kissed you, because he wanted to mark you out just for your dad. You're very special to me, and whenever we're in a group of people, I always know right away where you are, and that you're mine.' My dad told me that so many times that I even began to feel sorry for all my friends who didn't have birthmarks." 2. Find and embrace your spiritual gifting How do you find your gift? a. Predilection - what do you really ENJOY doing for God? b. Affirmation - what do your trusted Christian friends tell you you do well? c. Anointing - what do you do that seems to be blessed and "easy" in God? d. Fruit - what brings positive results e. Spiritual Gifts analysis - placed last because it works best as a confirmation of what you already suspect. We will be taking these (on back table) and discussing them during cell groups this week and next week. You will find this to be an interesting and encouraging experience. 3. Put your gifts to work and do them well Read 1 Peter 4:10-11. Peter says whatever you do for the Lord in His Kingdom is worth doing WELL. Colossians 3:17 says "Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." The greatest encouragement Christians find as they begin to operate in their giftings is that in a loving body of Christians there is FREEDOM --freedom to try, freedom to fail and freedom to pursue your area of service to the exclusion of a lot of other buy-ness. I encourage you-and the Leadership Team here has been praying over this matter-to get yourself free from doing too much, and get about doing the will of God for you and this body. Our direction for anyone who is part of MECF is this: be involved in three things - Celebration (Sunday morning Worship and Word), Cell (the interactive fellowship and accountability of a small group) and Gift-Based Ministry (whatever God has uniquely gifted you to do, whether within the body here or elsewhere). We deliberately got rid of Sunday night and Wednesday night "services" in order to free God's people to serve (their families, their unsaved friends and their unique ministries in and outside the church). If everyone is serving, and serving well, then no one is hurting. Healthy body - Healthy ministry     [Back to Top]