WHY AM I HERE?

This week we’ll resume our Bible study on Wed night at 7:00 pm here at the church. Our study is going to be on spiritual gifts.

You may have been in church for years and have never known what your spiritual gift was, so you did what others asked you to do, or you filled in where needed or you got in where you fit in. But in reality what you were doing was not a fit for you at all.

Perhaps you did at church what you did at work, but it was a constant struggle and you found yourself working very hard just to make it come together.

Then you looked at others and it seemed like it was so easy for them. Like everything they did went so smoothly and you found yourself being envious of them. It’s ok to admit that, but the question is what are you going to do to rectify those emotions and your struggle?

If you’d like to find the answer to the question and the title of today’s message, join us beginning this Wed at 7 pm. The study will be on zoom as well, you can go to our website at www.lovechristianctr.org to get the log in information. There’s a handout that goes with the study, if you’d like the handout send us a message by whatever forum you may be watching and we’ll make sure you get the information.

Let’s talk about spiritual gifts. Turn with me in your Bibles to

1 Cor 12:1-11 - NRSV - Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

There’s a question most people find themselves asking at some point in their lives. That question is, “Why am I here” or sometimes the question is, “Why was I born”?

When you don’t know the God of the Universe and even when you do, there are times we get lost, and confused about what it is we’re supposed to be doing and where we’re supposed to be going. We ask ourselves

What job am I supposed to have?

Should I start my own business?

What church should I be in?

Who am I supposed to marry?

Am I supposed to marry?

Should I have kids?

How many kids should I have

our questions can be endless.

All the questions we have should be prayed about, in fact, in 1 Thes. we are instructed to pray without ceasing. Lay your questions, problems, concerns before the Lord and patiently wait for an answer. Major life questions are certainly not questions that should be answered by society, a psychic, sometimes not your parents, and not even by your own well thought out timeline of life.

This coming from the person who was going to see the world at someone else’s expense, marry at 27, have two kids, a boy named Marcus Allen and a girl named Diana Nicolette. In reality she got married at 19, had two sons, one at age 20, the other at 22, named Edward Lee III and James Allen, but she did see a lot of the world and is still going. Praise the Lord.

My first plan was all BS, before salvation and before learning that God had and still has the perfect plan for my life.

The answer to the question, why am I here, comes in a song I love sung by Martha Munizzi that says, “I was created to make His praise glorious.”

At the beginning of the day, at the end of the day and every moment in between we were created to make God’s praise glorious. It’s amazing how your life can change when you change your focus from a self-centered focus to a God-centered focus.

How do we make God’s praise glorious you ask? We do that by living every day to the fullest, by walking, talking, living, and operating in our calling; by utilizing our spiritual gifts to the glory of God.

Today’s message title is, “Why Am I Here?”

Pastor Ed touched on spiritual gifts just briefly last week, and this week we are going to dive into the deep end of the pool.

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church to water what he had planted. The Gospel must be watered, that’s why we keep coming to church so what you read in your alone time with the Lord can be watered.

He wrote the letter to correct some incorrect teachings that had infiltrated the congregation. We have to be careful who’s allowed to stand before the people and you have to study the Word of God for yourself. We may not preach every Sunday on what’s going on in your life. The curtain was torn from the top to the bottom to give you direct access to God.

Paul also wrote to encourage them to continue in the new knowledge they had received. When you’re used to doing something a certain way, it’s sometimes hard to change direction, even if you were going in the wrong direction. It’s a matter of having to train your brain to do something different.

And heaven help you, literally, if it’s something you were taught by someone you love and or very much respect, such as a parent, family friend, or mentor. To learn that the person you received advice from was advice contrary to the will of God for your life can be difficult. But here’s what you need to realize, they gave you the best advice they knew to give based on their experiences, but, they’re not God. They can’t see into your future unless God gives them the vision in a prophecy and even then, you pray about that too.

So the church at Corinth has this letter and as we come to the 12th chapter, Paul is speaking to them about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are necessary for the body of Christ and the church to succeed.

Let’s begin with this—all the gifts are needed and they’re all important, no matter how much the person or the gift is seen or not. The performance of some gifts are more out front than others; the fact that no one sees it doesn’t mean it’s less important. In fact, those things no one sees or thinks about may be the most important at times.

Don’t believe me? Go to the bathroom and there not be any toilet paper because no one went to the store. Or no paper towels or soap to wash your hands. At that point in time, I’d say you’d be more interested in who does the shopping than you would be in who’s standing up here preaching.

So every gift is important. Paul tells the reader he doesn’t want them to be uniformed. Information is power. He says when they were pagans they were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.

Today we would say when you were in the world, you were led astray by the glitz and the glamour of fame and fortune, by the promise of beauty and weight loss, by women desiring you, and men lusting after you, and fast cars and power.

There are idols that don’t speak and some that do. There are those who want people to put them on a pedestal, to worship them, to idolize them, to cheer for them, shout theirnames and give them their money. Beware, pray for spiritual discernment, read your Bible, meditate and pray that God shows you how to separate the wolves from the true shepherds.

The first thing that Paul says and that you need to know, is that no one who speaks by the Spirit of God will ever curse Jesus. You will not find anyone who is speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit telling you that Jesus is not the Son of God, that he didn’t die for your sins, or that he was just a prophet. Anyone who attempts to make Jesus less than the second in the Godhead, less than God in the flesh, is not speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The next thing to know is no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus asked the disciples the question who do men say that I am and Peter answered with, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus’ response was, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

So we have established it is the Holy Spirit who reveals knowledge to you.

Now let’s talk about why you’re here and what God has given you.

Holy Spirit gives a variety of gifts, He has given you the spiritual gift you have, and we all have at least one.

The Lord gives a variety of services.

And there are a variety of activities, all activated by God.

It is the same Holy Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God, who gives these gifts, services and activities so there should be no competition among the saints.

Paul says your gift must be activated, which means it’s lying dormant until God activates it. It’s like yeast; left in its original state, it just looks like tiny little seeds, and flour just looks like a white powder. Even if you place the yeast in the flour and mix it together nothing would happen. But if you pour warm water in the mixture and let it sit for a couple of hours, a chemical reaction takes place and causes the now dough to rise and when you bake it you get bread or rolls.

Your gift needs to be activated by God to become useful to the kingdom of God. Your gift was given to you to help someone else. It’s not about us, when our focus is outward God will take care of us.

So let’s talk about some gifts. Verse eight lists the gift of wisdom. The gift of wisdom is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know the mind of the Holy Spirit in such a way as best to receive insight into how given knowledge may best be applied to specific needs arising in the Body of Christ.

Solomon prayed for wisdom in how to lead God’s people. Wisdom is knowing how to apply the God-given knowledge you have to the appropriate situation to help your brother or sister.

Let’s go back to Solomon. When two new mothers were in a dispute about who’s baby had died and who’s was still alive, Solomon said to cut the living baby in half and give a half to each woman. One woman said ok, the other said let her have the baby. The true mother would give up her child to spare their life, that compassion revealed the real mother of the child and Solomon had the wisdom to know that.

In this same verse Paul lists the gift of knowledge. This gift is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discover, accumulate, analyze, and clarify information and ideas which are pertinent to the growth and well-being of the Body.

This is not knowing just random things, what God gives you the ability to discover or find, accumulate, or collect or remember, to analyze, which is to figure out what it means and clarify, to make it plain is information for the Body of Christ. Information that is going to help the Body move forward.

Then Paul lists the gift of faith. Now we all have a level of faith, but the gift of faith is the special ability that God gives to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God for His work.

This is much more than mustard seed faith, these are the people you want to be the prayer warriors in the church, because when they pray they are believing without question, without doubt that God will do what he says he will do.

Next, the gift of healing. The gift of healing is the special ability that God gives to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to cure illness and restore health apart from the use of natural means.

It’s when someone has the God-given ability to lay hands on someone and they are healed of whatever sickness, ailment or malady they may have.

Paul had handkerchiefs that when laid on the person could heal them and the Bible records that Peter’s shadow could heal people it fell on them. It wasn’t about Paul’s handkerchief or Peter’s shadow; it was about the anointing of God.

Then we have the working of miracles. The gift of miracles is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature.

Like when a tornado is coming, and the meteorologist is predicting with pinpoint accuracy the path and timing of the tornado and your house in the path. A miracle is when someone prays and the tornado changes direction a mile from your house. They have altered the course of nature.

The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely anointed utterance.

This is not about you getting a car, a house, or a spouse. What have you been earnestly seeking God for? He may send your answer through a prophet. Still, when someone speaks something over your life, you pray and ask God to reveal to you the timing, the plan and or the purpose. You still have to wait for God to move, for Him to go before you. The prophecy may be for you to get ready.

And the discernment of spirits. This is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know with assurance whether certain behavior purported to be of God is, in reality, divine, human, or satanic.

The person with this gift can sometimes see, just by looking, what or who a person is representing. It’s a very important gift to have in the body.

Then there is the much-disputed gift of various kinds of tongues. This is the special ability God gives to speak to God in a language they have never learned and/or to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely anointed utterance in a language they have never learned.

I’ve heard testimonies of people being oversees and desiring to witness to a local person, but they couldn’t speak the person’s language and the person couldn’t speak English. God anointed them to speak their language, to witness to them and the person received Christ.

It was a very distinct occurrence, he was given the ability to speak their language for a specific purpose, at the exact time it was needed to accomplish the mission God wanted accomplished.

Then there is the gift of the interpretation of tongues. This is the special ability God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to make known in the vernacular the message of one who speaks in tongues.

For a person to stand in a group of people and speak in tongues is out of order if there is no one to interpret what they’re saying.

The person speaking may also be the interpreter, but whether it’s the person speaking in tongues or someone else, the important thing is that the message be understood by the people it’s being spoken to.

In our spiritual gifts assessment there are other gifts, it would be a lot to attempt to list every gift God gives. What’s important to know and understand is (1) all the gifts are activated by the same Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit. And (2) He gives them to everyone individually as He chooses.

God decides who gets what gift. He made us, he knows all about us, he knows our likes and our dislikes, our strengths and our weaknesses, what gets us excited and what stresses us out. If God knows everything about us, don’t you think he also knows what gift is best for us?

Don’t waste time wishing for and envying someone else’s gift. Discover yours, walk in it, operate in it and watch God elevate you and bless the Body of Christ because of what you do.

What gift are you sitting on that is needed for the Body of Christ? What gift do you have that we need at Love Christian Center? The door is open and we’re looking for you to come in, God is waiting to activate your gift for the glory of God.

Why am I here?

You’re here because Christ died on a cross for your sins.

You’re here because God ordained your being before the world was created.

You’re here because there is a purpose to your life.

You’re here because someone needs you.

You’re here because you have a gift that the body of Christ needs to operate effectively and efficiently.

You’re here because God wants to bless others through you.

You’re here because God wants to bless you.

You’re here to praise God.

You’re here to make His praise glorious.

And how do you do that?

Step 1 — accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, allow him to be Lord of your life. It’s a simple prayer:

Lord God, I confess I’m a sinner, please forgive me. I repent now, Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you died for my sin and rose again. I ask you to come into my heart and be Lord of my life, in Your name I pray, Amen.

Salvation is that simple, there are no hoops to jump through, no incantations, just a simple prayer.

Step 2 — Get into a Bible believing, Bible teaching church so you can be taught not only what it is to be a disciple, but how to make disciples.

Christ’s last instruction to us before ascending to heaven was this,

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

A disciple is made, then taught, don’t forget the teaching part.

The teaching is important so you can rightly divide the word of truth.

It’s important so you can give a defense of why you believe what you believe.

It’s important so you don’t get misled by a little bit of truth mixed with a whole lot of lies.

It’s important so you’re not sifted like wheat.

It’s important so you’re not prey for the roaring lion looking to devour you.

It’s important so you can stand against the attacks that will come.

It’s important so you know that you know, that you know God loves you.

It’s important so you know God is Jehovah Jireh — your Provider. That when your month is longer than your money, he will provide. So you’ll know that my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

It’s important so you know God is Jehovah Nissi — the One who reigns over your life and nothing will come that he has not allowed and that there’s nothing he won’t carry you through.

It’s important so you know he is Jehovah Rapha — the Lord who heals. When you’re sick, when your mind is overwhelmed, when your heart is broken, he can mend any and everything you may be dealing with.

It’s important so you know he is Jehovah Shalom — the God of peace. How many need peace in their lives? God will give you peace that surpasses all understanding. You can be at peace when your world is turning upside, when everything seems to be falling apart around you, when the average person would have laid down and died, you’re standing strong.

It’s important so you know he’s Jehovah Rohi — our Shepherd. The 23rd Psalm tells us all about our Shepherd.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

The teaching is important. And

Step 3 — To discover the answer to the question Why Am I Here? is to allow God to activate the gift he has placed on the inside of you, not for your glory, but for the Body Christ and for his glorify.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

You are here for a purpose, one that goes so much further than what you may be seeing right now, we’d love to help you not just find it, but cultivate and mature it to the glory of God.

If that is your desire having already prayed a prayer of salvation, the doors of the church are open for membership.

If you’d like to have your gift activated, we’d love for you to join us, if you’re watching online contact us by tagging us on whatever platform you may be viewing this message or send us an email to [e-mail] and we will reach out to you.

Why am I here? You are here to make God’s praise glorious.