The Gifts that Keep on Giving
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Give the Gifts
Give the Gifts
YouVersion: The Gifts that Keep on Giving
1 Corinthians 12:1-7, 11
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
Paul WAS talking about the carnal before this
Do this, don’t do that...
Things that WE do!
Then he turns the corner here to talk about the opposite
Original text doesn’t even say “gifts”
Paul just says NOW CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL
That doesn’t mean it’s wrong…
Other place do call these things gifts
The point is, it’s bigger than just a gift God gives you
It’s a look at how the Spirit works through us
It’s a broader spiritual view
He says “I don’t want you to be ignorant!”
Sometimes with God we assume people know stuff
Sometimes we think we ourselves know stuff
But we’re ignorant!
Rob driving a girl - I hate that place
Look at all that pollution!
That’s just steam
It’s recycled so it GOOD for the environment...
Oh, never mind...
Paul didn’t want the Corinthians to be uniformed about spiritual gifts
I don’t want us to be uniformed either!
Hence the series...
2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
This is why it’s a problem!
All the Corinthians believed they had a knowledge of the spiritual
Oh yeah, I was a pagan! I know all about spirituality...
They didn’t! You can’t assume Jesus is the same!
We still have that problem today..
We make assumptions about God without understanding Him
We assume being a Christian means being nice to people
We assume all religions are the same
We assume miracles are impossible
We assume God’s feelings for you are based on your actions
We shouldn’t assume we know all about spiritual gifts either
Then Paul says this:
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Paul lays down a guideline here - it all comes back to Jesus!
It’s a question we should always ask when we’re confused...
If the result of what you’re talking about is against the cause of Christ - it’s not good!
If the result is for the cause of Christ - it has to be good!
BE CAREFUL HERE!
Some might say, “Hey! Let’s go kill some Muslims for Christ!”
That would be for Jesus’ cause, right?
No… Think about the Crusades of the 11th - 13th centuries
People still criticize the church for that 800 years later...
Tell me, did that really help Jesus’ cause? NO!
Jesus tells us to share the gospel, not to murder
See, that’s that ignorance thing we talked about...
Okay, that’s a little extreme… I don’t want to murder anyone!
Fine, but the point stands
Jesus’ cause begins with being obedient
He says, BE BAPTIZED - so do that
He says, LOVE YOUR ENEMY - so do that
He says to TRUST HIM - so do that
So let’s get into the meat of the message!
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Here are the 5 takeaways from todays message
1. Spiritual Gifts Come from God
1. Spiritual Gifts Come from God
First, we should identify what it is
I’ll tell you what it’s not...
It’s NOT the fruits of the spirit
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Fruits of the spirit are about your spiritual character
Gifts of the spirit are about you spiritual capability
The word gifts is the Greek word charisma
Google it - you think it means an attractive personality
It does...
But it ALSO means, “a divinely conferred power or talent
That’s why churches that focus on spiritual gifts (specifically miraculous ones) are called, charismatic
V.4 and 6 tell us it’s God...
It’s important not to FOCUS on these gifts
I may have talked about my friend before
Guys arguing over prophecies, healings, etc at breakfast
Wow, there’s a lot of ME and I in you conversation
I thought these gifts came from God...
And they do, so we shouldn’t brag about our gifts like we earned them!
That’s like winning $100,000 on a lottery ticket and calling yourself a self-made man
Um, you’re a Powerball made man...
I mean, I’m happy for you...
But that doesn’t mean you’re better!
So the gifts come from God.. what else?
2. Every Christian Has a Spiritual Gift
2. Every Christian Has a Spiritual Gift
V.7 says TO EACH is given the manifestation of the Spirit
It’s like Oprah!
You have a spiritual gift!
And you have a spiritual gift!
Everybody gets spiritual gift!
That doesn’t mean you know what it is...
But Paul makes it clear, if you believe in God, you have a gift!
For some, our gifts are easy to spot
For others, it can be harder to see
That doesn’t mean it’s not there
Ever see Forrest Gump?
He starts off with his legs in braces
Then the bullies throw rocks and what happened?
Run Forrest Run!
That running helped him play for Alabama, run across the country and save Lt. Dan!
It was hidden, but there all along
There’s a test you can take to help you find it
Paper copies by the bulletins
Or you can get an app
Linked on the YouVersion app + website
Which brings us to the next point
How can it be hard to see your gift?
3. There are Many Different Gifts
3. There are Many Different Gifts
V.4, 5 and 6 all use the word “VARIETIES”
Football is a great way to illustrate
Many players have different talents
So many different types of people
Richard Sligh (Raiders: 1967) is 7’0” tall
“Soapy” Shapiro (Stapleton’s: 1929) was 5’1”
DeForest Buckner (Colts: Current) hands are 11.75 inches
Will Fuller (Texans: Current) hands are 8 1/4” - 1/2”
Aaron Gibson (Lions, Cowboys, Bears: 1999-2004) weighed 410 lbs.
Brandon Banks (Redskins: 2010) was 149 lbs
Fast and agile
Strong and explosive
Catch, throw, kick, tackle...
There are so many attributes on a football team
It’s the same way for spirutal gifts
We are going to study 21 different spiritual gifts in this series
1 Cor 12, Rom 12, Eph 4
There are other spots that have some too
That’s a lot of gifts - maybe more!
We are going to break these down the next 4 weeks
Today we’ll just take a quick glance
People categorize gifts differently
We have 3 categories:
Miraculous Gifts
Gifts that show God’s power
Miracles, healings, tongues, etc.
2. Enabling Gifts
Gifts that give you a special ability (there’s a caveat so hold on)
Faith, discernment, knowledge, etc.
3. Team Gifts
Gifts that directly grow others
Serving, mercy, shepherding, etc.
The next point is this:
4. Our Gifts Edify the Church
4. Our Gifts Edify the Church
That means YOUR GIFT IS NOT FOR YOU!
V7 says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Not to feel better about yourself
Not to give you a higher status
Makes the church better!
Remember I said there’s a caveat about “enabling gifts?”
They enable you to do something good - for other people!
Your gift of faith is to encourage others
Your gift of wisdom is to impart that to others
It can help you also, but that’s not the primary!
Going back to the football team...
Your ability to block isn’t for you...
It’s to help out your running back
Your ability to catch isn’t for you...
It’s to receive from your quarterback
Your ability to rush isn’t for you...
It’s to keep the secondary’s window of coverage short
Football players lean on each other to win as a TEAM!
That’s how we need to approach our spiritual gifts!
It’s not, how do I get credit for my abilities...
Its, how can I use God’s gift for me to help HIS church?!
This idea is going to be the focus on our gifts for the coming weeks
How do each one of these gifts help the church...
Uncle Ben says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
If God has given you an ability, it is your responsibility to use it!
Know what else that means? We are suffering if you aren’t using your gift!
Think about this:
No band has had more of an impact than the Beatles
At one time they had all top 5 spots on the Billboard
And yet they broke up in 1970
Many accuse Yoko Ono
All 4 never collaborated again
John Lennon was murdered in 1980
Imagine the music the world would have if they set aside their egos even once in those 10 years
But it won’t happen
Imagine all the things the world missed because people in the church don’t use their gifts!
Imagine all the people...
Musicians, craftsman, leaders...
You might be thinking: “Now is my chance! I’ve been wanting to be the next great church singer!!”
Before we get ahead of ourselves, we have to read V. 11
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
This brings up our 5th point:
5. You Don’t Get to Choose Your Gift
5. You Don’t Get to Choose Your Gift
You may want a gift really badly… doesn’t mean you have it
See, the Holy Spirit chooses the gifts according to His will!
When I coached basketball, I had a guy named Hank
Chinese exchange student
He was about 6’3” - the tallest guy on JV
He was our most aggressive rebounder
He would always ask, “Coach, when do I get to play PG ?”
I would say Hank, not today!
I needed his gifts (his height and rebounding) at Center!
I already had another strong ball handler that could play point guard
Spiritual gifts are not the kind you can regift!
Dang it! Mercy?! I’m taking this back...
Serving?! No?! You don’t know me at all!
He gives you what He wants to give you
Here’s what we have to remember:
12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
Closing
Closing
Flight attendant says, can I get you something to drink?
The man says, “Yes, a Coke Please”
She pulls out a can of Coke
That can was loaded from a lift by the airline catering handler
The lift had a hydraulic cylinder installed on it this morning by a mechanic
The cylinder has been machined in a fabrication shop by a machinist
The machinist uses a CNC machine running on a computer program
The program was installed by a technician working for an IT company
The technician was trained by a very skilled engineer
An engineer who has been sent to train more technicians
He currently is on his way to Denver on an airplane
An airplane that has a flight attendant walking up to the engineer asking...
“Can I get you something to drink?”
Everyone in this story is important
They each have a different purpose
Some are seen as more valuable, some less
But here’s the thing… you take any one person out of that equation...
There’s no can of Coke
This is how the church works
We all have different gifts, they provide talents for different roles
We don’t choose that, God does
In the end, it all works together
You take any one gift out of the scenario, there’s no church
At least not the way God intends it...
Imagine a church with no mercy, no teaching, no wisdom or no servants...
It wouldn’t be much of a church
Maybe there’s someone here who doesn’t know God
Or hasn’t been seeking Him
The church is waiting for you, we’re waiting to be that much better
You just have to say YES to God...