Rom 12-What God Has Given Us
| Investing What God Has Given Us! Romans 12:4-8
March 2, 2008(NLT) 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.6God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.(NIV) 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. PRAYIntro:What, would you say, is the most memorable gift that you have ever received? What made it so memorable? What did you do with it?1. Defining the gifts2. Discovering and Using the gifts 1. Defining the gifts☞ Spiritual Gifts vs. natural talents or abilitiesA spiritual gift is usually defined in terms of something that accompanies our salvation and was not present before we were born again & baptized with the Holy Spirit (briefly explain baptism of the HS)This is not a particularly helpful distinction.All abilities are gifts from God and it is irrelevant whether they were given before or after we embraced Jesus Christ. The point is that they have been entrusted to us by God & we will, one day, have to give an account for how we have used them. ☞ Gifts – supernatural vs. natural / The miraculous and the non-miraculous giftsGod gives many gifts to His children…Natural Gifts (common grace): Ø Gifts which are given to all people to one degree or another…LifeTalents and abilitiesCommon GraceFamily & FriendsProvision…Supernatural gifts (saving grace): Ø Gifts which are given only to those whom God calls to be His own, and yet to ALL those whom He calls – saving grace, saving faith, regeneration, etc.Romans 8:9 (NIV) – …If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Ø Gifts which are given only to specific people & which are not attributable natural human development – Tongues, supernatural healing, the ability to cast out demons, other miracles, etc. ☞ The “Sign” Gifts vs. Ongoing GiftsØ The “sign” gifts:The “sign” gifts were supernatural gifts which were given to prove that God was at work and that this was not merely the effort of some deluded men. These gifts were crucial components in the initial establishment of the church. – Tongues, supernatural healing, the ability to cast out demons, other miracles, etc.These gifts were not ongoing as we see in the fact that Paul had the ability to heal sick people, and yet he had not been able to heal himself or Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25-30).While these gifts MAY be given to some today, it is highly unlikely that people in this country, in particular, have these gifts as they claim. The problem with these gifts today is that they quickly replace Christ as the object of our desire – rather than desiring Christ, we desire to be healed– rather than desiring to know God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures, we desire some NEW word which speaks to my specific circumstances…– rather than trusting GOD to do what we do not understand, we place the emphasis on US and whether or not WE have enough faith…– rather than worshipping GOD we begin to worship the EXPERIENCE… Ø The ongoing gifts:The ongoing gifts are gifts which God has given for the purpose of building His Church. These are the gifts which Paul speaks of in our text this morning: prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, & showing mercy.We could add to that list gifts like: music, craftsmanship, working with youth, counseling, etc.We often speak of a “gifted” athlete or a “gifted” musician, or a “gifted” speaker…It is unnecessary and counter-productive for us to differentiate between those gifts which were given to us before which were given AFTER we embraced Christ. The point is that they WERE given to us. They ARE gifts.As to whether or not these gifts are SUPERnatural, or merely natural…The point is that WHATEVER gifts God gives / entrusts to us are to be used to build His church, to bring HIM glory…I think we can safely say that when we are filled with the HS, ANY gifts which He has given us, whether they were there before we were filled with the HS or not, are going to be ENHANCED, or strengthened by the HS when we use them as God intended them to be used. 2. Discovering and Using the giftsThe crucial qualifier, in terms of our context this morning: The gifts God gives to His redeedmed and adopted children are given to build the BODY of Christ, not for our own personal glory or pleasure, or whatever…The goal: the building of the BODY of ChristEph. 4:11-13 (NIV)11It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.1 Peter 4:10 (NCV) – Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.1 Cor. 12:7 (NLT) – A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. How do I know what my giftedness is? | | What if I don’t have any gifts?1 Cor. 12:7 (NLT) – A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.Some ways to discern our giftedness:☞ Understand and appreciate the gifts that EACH and every one of us has been given…Ø As people made in the image of God (redeemed or not)Ø As redeemed people filled with the HS☞ Don’t try to separate gifts which you had before you believed from those you might have received SINCE you believed.☞ Don’t compare YOUR giftedness with others… There is almost ALWAYS someone better…☞ Be willing to attempt things OTHER people think you could or should do…☞ Be aware of the burdens God lays on your heart…(If you see a need… If you have a desire…)Our business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. Thomas Carlyle ☞ Be willing to accept and believe the affirmations of others…☞ Be willing to accept the fact that you might have been given gifts which are different from what you would have chosen…☞ Always remember that the goal in every gift is the glory of God in the building up of His Church…☞ Gifts, like so many other things in life, are strengthened through use & atrophy through non-useSome ways to blur or hide our giftedness:☞ Insist on doing what others rarely affirm you in or ask you to do… (teaching, singing, leading…)☞ Allow the fear of failure to keep you from attempting new things…☞ Keep focused on what’s in it for you – in terms of affirmation or any other return…☞ Narrowly define what God’s gifts have to look like…☞ Allow past failures to convince you that you have nothing to contribute…☞ Focus on your INABILITIES rather than on God’s ALL-sufficiency…☞ Be quick to take offense when anyone criticizes you…☞ Be too busy to volunteer… (rationalize and justify your failure to contribute to the needs of the body…)☞ Focus on what you can NOT do…☞ Allow the fact that others are neglecting what YOU are doing to rob you of the joy of serving… The relationship between faith and giftsv. 6 – We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.God does not treat each of us the same. He deals with each of us uniquely. By faith we need to believe certain truths:1. Life, itself, and every good thing in it are gifts from God for which I will one day give an account.2. The fact that I can say, from the depth of my heart, that “Jesus is Lord” is clear evidence that God has filled me with His Holy Spirit.3. Every ability that I have, whether I can see evidence of it before I believed or not, is entrusted to me for HIS glory and for the building up of His Church.4. If I am, indeed, a child of God, redeemed and justified by the finished work of Jesus Christ and therefore filled with the Holy Spirit, then I do have something important to contribute to the growth of the Church…5. God takes the meager efforts of fallen, sinful people like you and me and does amazing things through us… if only we are willing…The presence of Christ brings us his power and ability to use our limited resources in his limitless ways. Rebecca Manley PippertGod does not ask about our ability or our inability, but our availability. Source Unknown I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And what I can do, I ought to do. And what I ought to do, by the Grace of God, I shall do. Edward Everett Hale A message for another time (or as there is time…):Prophesy (The Message: Preaching), service, (helps)teaching, encouraging, (exhortation)contributing to the needs of others, (giving / riches – NOTE v. 8 NLT If you have money, share it generously)leadership, showing mercy (kindness). The Message: If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Summary / Review:All gifts are entrusted to us by God and He expects those of us who are His to use them for Him.We identify our giftedness by serving. Spiritual Gifts are discovered and developed in the context of the Church. A Truth to Remember: All good things are from God, entrusted to us for a time and are to be used to glorify Him. A Challenge to Consider:Are you using what God has given you to build His church? One thing I heard this morning was… |