Christmas Gifts
Notes
Transcript
I want to talk this morning about what we call spiritual gifts. There is enough info about them in the Bible to preach for 4 weeks, but I want to show you from Scripture the most concise verse about spiritual gifts yet one that packs a great deal into it.
Turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians 12. There are a few major passages that talk about these gifts, but this is one of the fullest. I am going to read quite a few verses to set the stage and then we will settle in on only one verse to give us our framework. Sound good?
Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person.
A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:
to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit,
to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.
One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ.
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
Indeed, the body is not one part but many.
If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.
And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted.
PRAY
This book of the Bible was originally a letter that Paul had penned for the church in a city called Corinth. There were many issues in this church family; one of which must have been disunity around serving in the church. I would argue that this is still an issue in churches around the globe today! Paul wanted to get a few things clear with these early followers of Jesus. We don’t have time to look at every part of this passage, but there is one verse in particular that really sums up some major pieces of what we call spiritual gifts. It is verse 7.
A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:
It’s in this verse that we see three points that are crucial for our understanding of spiritual gifts.
1. Gifts are given to all believers.
1. Gifts are given to all believers.
I think this is something not everyone understands. “Well, I just don’t have anything good to bring to the church. I can’t do anything to help.” God’s Word says you do! Paul just told the church at Corinth that each Christian was given a gift! There is no believer who was left out.
But I don’t feel like I have a gift! Paul would, in his opening dialogue in another letter now called Romans, seem to connect the usefulness of the gift tied to our faith. Our faith in God to use us for his Glory activates and causes the effect of our gifts on others. So, I would first ask you, “Are you trusting in God for your salvation and to use you for his purpose?” I’m not asking “Have you ever trusted in God?” My question is “Do you, right now, trust in God?” If so, then I have good news, there has to be evidence of your spiritual gifts at work.
So, how do I know what my gifts are? How does God seem to use you to impact others? In chapter 1 of Romans that I referenced just a moment ago, Paul said He was excited about getting to come and use his spiritual gift to encourage the church! What was Paul’s gift? That’s less important than the knowledge that God uses those who trust Him by faith to impact others.
Let us all recognize that we do have gifts to serve.
Let’s look back to 1 Cor. 12:7 to see point 2.
2. Gifts are given by God.
2. Gifts are given by God.
A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:
I know. I know. This may seem like a DUH moment. But don’t ever take anything God is involved in lightly. Look at the way Paul words this:
“Each is given a manifestation of the Spirit.” The term manifestation is intense here! It can mean a number of things, but it seems to have the biblical meaning of something intangible brought tangible. Essentially, the Spirit of God that you know to be invisible is made visible in this gift. God not only resides in you if you are Christian, He desires to live out of you! That’s spiritual gifting!
God has placed his Spirit in you not to make you feel good or give you warm fuzzies during a worship song. And not just to convict you of sin when you mess up. God gave us His Holy Spirit so that the invisible power of God would be made visible in us!
Let me give you an example. Paul tells us in Romans 8:11 that it was the Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead. The invisible power of God was made visible in that incredible moment! The power of God that flung planets into orbit and built the molecular structure raised Jesus from the dead.
I think I get that. I recognize that God chose to intervene in that situation and the most powerful moment in human history came about solely by God’s power.
But let’s read it Romans 8:11.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.
The same power that raised Jesus from the grave lives in us! Do you recognize that? Let that sink in!
This amount of power is absolutely unfathomable! Yet, He lives in us! SON! If that doesn’t get you fired up, your flame’s gone out. I can’t help you!
As I thought about that this week, I thought about how arrogant I have been much of my life. I walk around every day of my life, many times, too busy to speak truth to someone, too busy to encourage someone, too busy to share Christ with someone. The power of God desires to work effectively through my actions and I hinder it.
Let that rest on your mind. What arrogance?! If that power is in us, it will find its way out! It has to! That’s why the prophet Jeremiah said of his own gift from God, “His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” Jeremiah had been given the task of prophesying and he said he couldn’t hold it in! How can that not be true of us today!
I have a gift from God and I cannot hold it in! What a difference in mentality! I hear too many folks complaining about “having to serve” in certain ways and Jeremiah says, “If I didn’t do this, my heart would explode!” WOW! That’s the power of God in heart, a manifestation of the Spirit, the resurrecting power of God making his abode in a mortal vessel.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins, yes. Jesus died so that we could be made right with God, yes. But Jesus also died so that we could be empowered by the Spirit of God. Because our power and gifts come from God, there is no boasting! Just like our salvation, God did it! He saved us. And he also empowered us. We cannot find ourselves feeling like we are more important than we actually are.
Let us recognize that these gifts that we all have are given by an all-powerful God through His own presence in our hearts and lives!
Back in 12:7 we see the final part of this story.
3. Gifts are given for a purpose.
3. Gifts are given for a purpose.
A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:
Each has been given the manifestation of the Spirit, for the profit of all or “common good.”
This is what is so beautiful. Paul says, “Your gift is not your own.” It’s not to be used for your good. It’s for the benefit of others that God has gifted you.
Ephesians 4 talks about a few of the ways that God has gifted his followers. Then he says that they are used for two things: unity of the faith and maturity in Christ. When we use our gifts in the church, we are actually building God’s church!
Let’s slow this down here and talk about it. If you are a member of this church or have been attending for a long time, and are not serving here, first off, you are being disobedient to God. God has gifted you with His power and specific supernatural effectiveness to do ministry in His name! Second, you are hurting yourself! To serve God in the way he has gifted you is a beautiful thing that brings intimacy and closeness with God that all the sermons and worship music in the world can’t replicate! And I think many people understand these two. But listen, thirdly, if you are not serving in this church, you are hurting all of us! We need you! We need you to use the gift of hospitality that you’ve been given to make people feel welcome. We need you to use your gift of administration to help organize some ministries here. We need you to use whatever gift God has given you here at Lindsay Lane East!
Paul often uses the analogy of a body when he speaks about spiritual gifts. Every part of the body he says has a different function. The heart makes a great heart but a terrible foot. Our fingers are incredible at picking things up but they are not so good at sending response signals through our body like the brain. Do you see it? Every part has a role.
And when is the body at its healthiest?
When every part is pulling its weight, right? Personally, I don’t want my body functioning at 50%, 70%, even 90%. I want 100%! Don’t you? Well guess what? So does God! That’s why he gives everyone gifts through the power of the Holy Spirit. He wants us as a local church to be functioning at our highest efficiency. He doesn’t save anyone without giving them gifts through his spirit. And he doesn’t give anyone gifts with the intention of them staying in the box! (hold up game)
Listen, this is not to beat you up! This is a door of opportunity. Today, you can take a first step towards serving. It’s our job as a church staff to help equip you for the work of ministry. And we have an incredibly lady here at East who actually specializes in this. Mrs. May is our volunteer coordinator. Together with her, we would love to help you find where God has equipped you to serve others here at East!
So, here’s my promise. Today if God has stirred in your heart to begin serving in the church for the body of Christ, we want to help! As soon as the service is over, May will be out in the lobby to talk with you. If you have plans and can’t hang around, stop by there and ask for a “Service Application.” May will have those as well. Fill it out and bring it back next Sunday or email it to me heath@lindsaylane.org and I will forward it to May.
We will follow up with you as quick as we can. We want to do it prayerfully and confidently.
This morning, I pray you have heard God’s Word and are willing to respond to it.
For those of you who have served in the past, get it going again! Don’t let Covid keep you from serving any longer. Contact the team leader who you were serving under and let them know you are ready to get after it! If you don’t remember who to contact, talk to me or May.
You may also want to officially join this church family. You can talk with me during this last song or one of our decision counselors. You can also talk to us also about moving your membership from one of our other campuses officially to East. That is super simple! Either way, let us know if you would like to join this church.
And lastly, if you are not a Christian, you haven’t yet been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. But today, you can turn from your sin and turn to God, believing fully that he is the only one who can save you from sin, and you will be saved and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
If you need to take any of these steps today, please do.