Every Member Loves the Church

That’s it? Being ungrateful with a gift

Church division:

Support of your favorite politician

Abortion

Free will vs. Calvinism

LGBTQ+ issues

Get a shot or wear a mask

Evolution

Halloween or Christmas

The Church is a gift

Dark Blue and Orange are important when you are in the Chicago area. Purple and Gold are important when you are in the Baltimore area. There is one set of colors that is not good in either place – Royal Blue and White.

This begs the question: What is your team color?

Now, I am not really talking about football here. I am talking about the need for each of us to realize that we each need to:

Appreciate the church - GET IN THE SPIRIT

Go team Go!

Have you ever seen someone who was embarrassed to support their favorite team? Not a true fan! They could be 0-10, but a true fan will love their team, cheer their team and support their team to the bitter end?

1 Peter 4:10 - Each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Gift = This is the only use of the Greek word charisma in the NT outside of Paul’s writings

It your job to recognize that the Holy Spirit is the same in your hero as the same as in you. You have a gift and you are the gift!

It may be a gift of singing, or teaching, or being able to play a musical instrument. It may be the capacity to preach, or even mow lawns, wash windows, paint—whatever! But you can be sure of this: God has given you a special gift.

But God has heard the excuses before. How do I know? Well, its in the story of Moses. When we think of Moses, we usually think of a man who is a great leader, a great spokesperson, and a spiritual giant. Moses, however, used a series of excuses to get out of what God was calling him to do.

Excuse #1 – I feel UNWORTHY!

Exodus 3:10-11 (NIV) - So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

God’s Response – Exodus 3:12 (NIV) - And God said, “I will be with you!”

2) Excuse #2 – I consider myself to be UNBELIEVABLE!

Exodus 4:1 (NIV) - Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

God’s Response (#2) – “You leave it up to me to display the power of the message – you just deliver the message!”

3) Excuse #3 – I don’t have WHAT IT TAKES!

Exodus 4:10 (NIV) - Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

Exodus 4:11-12 (NIV) - The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

4) Excuse #4 – I feel INADEQUATE!

Exodus 4:13 (NIV) - But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

DESPAIR is just like today - it is the usual response to group gatherings today. What is their protocol?

Remember, this is AFTER God proved to Moses over and over again that he ought not to feel inadequate…that God Himself was with him every step of the way!

Exodus 4:14 (NIV) - Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses...

But God still used Moses and gave Moses a sidekick named Aaron to help him. God used Moses to lead His people out of Pharaoh’s group and to the Promised Land!

God has heard the excuses before and still commands you to use whatever gift each of you has received.

Appreciate the church - GET IN THE SPIRIT

Appreciate the church - GET ON THE FIELD

If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you are gifted. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power!

Can you imagine what it would look like for members of the Chicago Bears to go up and sit in the stands in their full gear and begin watching the game and cheering on the others? That would be a ridiculous sight!

Players belong on the field! Christians belong on the field! We were not designed to be spectators, be were designed to be participators!

1 Peter 4:10 - Each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Bird watching - boring, useless information, cataloged book, hang out with old people

That’s how people describe Christianity that doesn’t serve

Each person here should be giving at least 1 hour a week to serve.

Excuses:

I don’t have enough time

No one really cares if I do it

I’ve been hurt before when I got involved

Sunday is my only me day

A doll came out 9-10 yrs ago called “Mr. Wonderful.” He’s every woman’s dream man. Just press his hand, and he says 1 of 16 wonderful sayings that every woman would love to hear: “You take the remote, as long as I'm with you, I don't care what we watch.” “Why don't we go the mall, didn't you want some shoes?” “You know Honey, why don't you just relax and let me make dinner tonight?” Mr. Wonderful. (By the way, there’s a Mrs. Wonderful doll too.)

I wish at times that God had just made us all with buttons, so that all you have to do is push the right button and we do what we’re supposed to do.

God didn’t - because He wants something deeper.

He wants your heart involved. That is why I call each of you to serve in a ministry at least once a week for at least one hour a week.

I believe that we will take to the field, when we realize that God’s reputation is at stake as well. The world may not be laughing at our God out in an open way, but they are watching whether you take His team seriously or not. They already know that you wear God’s colors, but they want to know if you believe that wearing the colors of God are honorable and noble to you. Do you take it seriously by giving your time and energy to God’s noble causes. The world is watching to see if you are on the field taking your faith seriously.

Peter knows what is at stake when he tells you to “serve one another”. He wants you on the team in the field and in the Spirit.

Appreciate the church - GET IN THE SPIRIT

Appreciate the church - GET ON THE FIELD

Appreciate the church - GET ON THE TEAM

It is time to put on the jersey!

1 Peter 4:10 - Each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Varied grace - like light hitting and creating a prism - boom!

But we are talking about some words that need clarification:

Steward - A manager that the owner puts in charge

Grace - a free gift

Jesus has given us each grace

Create you

Loved you

Watched you sin

Still died for you to pay for your sin

Rose from the dead to give you life

Now offers you a choice - accept this free gift or reject it.

I want you to realize two things:

1. Each part is important to the team.

A man was rebuilding the engine to his lawn mower, and when he finished, he had one small part left over, and he couldn’t remember where it went. He started the engine and it ran great, so he figured that the part was useless—until he tried to stop the lawn mower, and it wouldn’t stop! Even the smallest, seemingly least important part of the body of Christ is important.

I believe in leftovers - some are still eating from Thanksgiving!

When I say that you need to get on the team, you can’t leave anything on the playfield! No left over parts of you need to be unused.

This means, that as a teammate, Peter is saying that your gifts are sufficient to make this team work and they are different from mine. A team needs more than a quarterback. The kicker can do what the linebacker can’t. A tight end can do what a cornerback can’t. We all have different gifts, and when we put them together we have a strong team.

2. The team is important to each part.

A young man was hired to paint his local church. He knew he could make his money stretch just a bit more by thinning the paint a bit. As he was finishing the job one morning the skies opened with a great rain and the boy was disheartened. The minister happened to be walking by and the boy asked, pastor, what do I do. The pastor promptly replied, well you must repaint and thin no more.

If your attitude towards church has been sour - it is time to repent.

The Church is the only answer to this world and it is God’s gift to you!

In fact, Peter wants us to experience the team the way God intends for us. In the verses just before the Scripture we read today, Peter describes the kind of community that God wants us to have:

A. A loving community

1 Peter 4:8a (NIV) "Above all, love each other deeply,"

B. A forgiving community

1 Peter 4:8b (NIV) "because love covers over a multitude of sins."

C. A welcoming community

1 Peter 4:9 (NIV) "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."

Your heart is like a piece of coal - God’s love is the fire!

This is the essence of what Peter it talking about today:

GET ON THE TEAM – fall in love with Christ

GET ON THE FIELD – play like Jesus wants you to - love!

GET IN THE SPIRIT – fall in love with Jesus’ Church again!