06/05/2022 - Part 3 - Our Reasonable Service /Gifted for Service to the Glory of God - My Reasonable Response

Grace Place Atlanta COGBF 4700 Mitchell Street Forest Park, GA 30297 Website: atlantacogbf.org Email: info@atlantacogbf.org Phone: (404) 241-6781 Wayne D. Mack, Pastor / Pastor Wayne D. Mack Sermon Notes June 4, 2022 Gifted for Service to the Glory of God Our Reasonable Service – My Reasonable Response Part 3 Romans 12: 3-8 and 2 Kings 5: 1-19 Serve God with Spiritual Gifts 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 1 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. This morning, we’re returning to our mini-series from the Book of Romans, Chapter 12 -- after a brief pause last week to address from a biblical perspective so much of the senselessness going on in our world today. We’ve entitled our Romans 12 series “Our Reasonable Service – My Reasonable Response”. [Representative Church]. Today, I want to continue teaching along the lines of our being “Gifted for Service to the Glory of God” and how important our need to be sober minded is relative to the spiritual gifts we possess. Just to refresh your memories, the 12th Chapter of Romans is what the Apostle Paul said is and should be every Christian Believer’s reasonable response to all the goodness, love, mercies, and grace that God secured for us in the first 11 Chapters of the Book of Romans. If you were to read the first 11 Chapters, you would come away amazed and awed at everything God has done to make us His own. Therefore, this 12th Chapter [and the remaining four chapters to Chapter 16] is 2 Paul’s instructions on how Born-Again Believers should respond to God’s mercies. So, Paul begins by saying to us, here’s what you should do to show honor and respect to what God has done to save every Believer: “. . . present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In principle, Paul is saying: Embracing what God has done for you is the best thing you can do for Him. It is the best response you can give to Him in return for what He has done for you as it relates to chapters 1-11. [Don’t become so conformed or shaped by culture that you fit into it without even giving a thought to what God has done for you. Instead, focus your attention on God and He’ll change you from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.] Now, let me turn your attention to what I want to emphasize today – the importance of soberness as addressed in verses 3 through 8. In a previous lesson, I drilled home the dangers of a believer “thinking more highly of themselves than they ought -- or said another way: “Thinking of themselves more highly or above what God considers safe or sober”. 3 This morning, I want to ratchet up your understanding on the close connection between soberness and spiritual giftings as it relates to our ability as a body of Believers to represent God as model Christians and a model church. First, let’s reaffirm our definition of two words: Sober or Soberness and Intoxication: Biblically defined, Sober or Soberness is defined as clear-headed, sensible, and habitually temperate. It describes a person who has calm and dispassionate judgment and is not desirous of great things or high estate but is free from extravagance or excess. Such a person is guided by sound reason and is sane and rational. Intoxication is defined as a state in which a person's normal capacity to act or reason is inhibited by alcohol, drugs, or ego. Generally, an intoxicated person is incapable of acting as an ordinary prudent and cautious person would act under similar conditions. What’s the important connection? We are told by the Apostle in verse three (3) that “everyone who is among you, [that is, in the fellowship] not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” In view of all the blessings God has bestowed upon each one of us, Paul is warning us to never think you, nor I are better than we really are. We are told to be honest in our evaluation of ourselves, measuring ourselves only by the faith God has given us – not by the flesh, nor the level of giftedness we have received from God. 4 Thinking yourself to be more highly than you ought is dangerous because it disregards God [totally leaves Him out] and everything good He has freely given to you to make you as bearable, valuable, and as useful as you are in His service. Thinking yourself to be more highly than you ought to, removes God from your daily life. That’s because to think more highly of yourself than you ought to place you above where God has placed you . . . you’re out of order and mentally, that’s out of God’s hand. Mind you, not out of His reach, but out of His hand. It's a sign of a mind conformed or shaped by the world, instead of transformed and renewed daily by the power of God’s Word. When this is the case, you are taking credit for everything good and everything God-inspired in your life. It is important that you and I not not misinterpret ourselves as people who are bringing this level of goodness to God. But understand that it is God who brings it all to us. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. When a Believer thinks more highly of themselves than they ought to, it is a sign that they have ignored God and that they are taking all the credit for their giftedness. How ought Believers to think of themselves? In a word, SOBERLY — that is, clear-headed, sensibly, habitually temperate and, guided by sound reason and sane and rational judgment. 5 Why is soberness so important? Because there are some important things that must be realized if Believers are to find themselves on the same page as God and gain His approval as good and faithful servants serving a church that God can be proud of. Here’s why I believe Paul stressed soberness so strongly. It is because according to the first 11 Chapters of Romans, God literally has given the Saints a piece of heaven, a slice of divinity. And, when you’ve been given something that sacred, precious, and valuable -- you need to be as sober and as clearheaded as possible to handle it responsibly. No one would give a drunk man the keys to their car. No mother would give her baby to an intoxicated person, let alone a stranger. She herself would have to be drunk to do so. The only sure way to comprehend what God has done for His children, that is, where He has placed each one of us in the Body, and all the blessings He has bestowed upon us – is to be sober. An intoxicated person can’t process or grasp what God had done for them. Why not? Because they are full of self and resist seeing God’s divine plan for them and the rest of the members that make up the Body of Christ. How a man or woman thinks is how he or she sees and responds; how he or she treats people. Their self-centered perception is their narrow, selfish reality. There’s no place in the Body for that. 6 Another important aspect of soberness is that it leads us to acknowledge that it is God who has dealt to each one a measure of faith and that measure or distribution of faith allows us to be somebody great in Him and even amongst the Saints and friends. Don’t get it crossed up, anything that is good and God-worthy came from God, and not we ourselves. (Philippians 2 . . . think on these things). Better yet, we need to be reminded that every member has the same thing, because it is God who has dealt to each one of us a measure of faith. What this means is, God has given every believer the precise and correct measure of the spiritual gifting to carry out our assignment and to fulfill our role in the body of Christ. [ADDED NOTE: An expanded word on “Not thinking MORE Highly of Self; Ok to think well of yourself, even highly of self but only from a position and context that honors and glorifies God; [not higher than what God allows or what is acceptable by God and the Holy Spirit. To think more highly than you ought to cause you to perform as a person who is drunk. A person who is drunk is well intoxicated. In the case that Paul addresses MORE Highly is related to being self-intoxicated – full of self. When one is full of self, he or she is a disruption and a distraction to the body of Christ. That person absolutely stinks and is a repulsion to those who are in harmony with the Spirit. Worse, those who are intoxicated with thinking 7 more highly of themselves are out of alignment with God. Even God can’t use you. How dare you choose to operate like a flathead screwdriver when the Lord has made you a Phillip’s Head. You are totally out of alignment. It is the equivalent of God making you an ear, but you are all MOUTH. When we think of ourselves more highly of ourselves than we ought, in all reality, we can’t be used of the Lord. And the real reason behind that is that we’re being used of the devil. I believe the pandemic pause of 2 years is on the one hand going to bless the saints; however, on the other hand, it’s going to wreak havoc. Here’s how: On the positive side, I believe many of the people of God are going to find contentment with God and godliness. Meaning, I believe the pandemic pause will cause many of the saints to become more sober about the times, the church, and their spiritual and natural lives – in general. On the flip side, I believe the pandemic pause has made people more restless and less satisfied with their spiritual walk. That is both good and bad. The good is the pandemic pause has caused people to examine their walk and relationship with God. As a result, many people have made changes for the better. They have followed the leading of the Holy Spirit – whether seeking a closer walk with God or finding a fellowship where they are being fed and led to be more for God in terms of being available for ministry and more like Romans 12. 8 On the downside, the pandemic pause is wreaking havoc on the saints as Satan is using the pandemic pause to cause people to flounder around looking for something “better” rather than looking at themselves, then letting God have His way in their lives. I believe God is holding every Saint accountable for their own behavior in this season. No one else can be blamed for where you stand, or what you’re feeling, or who you think is the cause of your void, or of your feeling of disconnect, or abandonment. God is not going to allow me or you to blame Him, or His church, or His leaders or others. What is certain is that every person is going to be held accountable for their own actions. So, here’s where strong application to soberness comes to the forefront: Listen to verse 4: 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Soberness is needed in the Body of Christ and in God’s house because it is made up of so many moving parts called members. An intoxicated member of the Body will wreak havoc in God’s house – like a bull in a China shop. Soberness is demanded because it keeps us focused on the important things at hand – mainly our individual, important roles. 9 The Message Bible expresses it best; it says at verse 4 4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? One preacher described members who think of themselves more highly than they ought and who act independently of the Body as a Horror Show. Here’s what he meant: Bleeding ear; Pusey Eyeball; Torn Leg . . . . sitting in the pew is a scary sight. So, since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. Here [First], Paul talks about the natural, human body. Our natural bodies are made up of many, many parts, including organs, regional 10 anatomy, and systemic anatomy. Everybody part and organ is vital – some said to be more vital than others – but nonetheless – Vital. All together, these many parts, which could number into hundreds or thousands – make up one single human body. Our body parts can be referred as members. Members of the body. Me and you are made up of many, but all those members form one body. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12: 14 “For in fact the body is not one member but many.” Then, Paul shifts to addressing the spiritual body – the Body of Believers – the Body of Christ – The Church. The analogy is the same. Verse 5 says: “5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” NLT Says: “5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or 11 pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. Just as the natural body, God has sovereignly given the body of Christ a unified diversity. Though there be many members who make up the body of Christ- we are all still just One Unified Body. We are Christ’s hands, eyes, feet, mouth, heart, and ears in the body and in the world. We are members one of another! Any gifts we have are not for selfish us or display, but for the good of the body. No gift is self-sufficient, or and none is unnecessary. When we realize all this, we are then thinking soberly. If we can rise to this challenge GP, we can be a proud open-door church that God will use in these times and will trust to send people in search of Christ to. Paul now gives instructions for the use of certain spiritual gifts. The list isn’t an exhaustive one, but an example of how members of God’s church should put them to use. Before we dive in, let me ask: How many of you know what your spiritual gift is? How many of you would like to know? Standby! Listen to verse 6a . . . “6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:” 12 Three things we learn here about GIFTS: 1. Gifts differ; not everyone has the same gift and no one gift is the same. 2. Gifts are assigned according to the grace given to us. In other words, God’s grace (undeserved favor) deals out differing gifts to different people. And God gives the necessary strength or ability to use whatever gifts we have. 3. Gifts are to be USED! Verse 6 says “Let us use them”. Gifts are not to be sat on or gone untapped. Use your gift. If you have one, and you do, let’s figure out how to put it to USE – both here at GP and anywhere else in the Body of Christ it fits. So, we are responsible to use our God-given gifts as good stewards. 4. Bonus – Gifts not with repentance Paul now gives us seven examples of how and what God-given gifts at work looks like: “6-8 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. Keep a smile on your face. 13 6b . . . if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; We all know that a prophet is a spokesman for God in the way of declaring the mind of God or proclaiming, foretelling or forthtelling God’s truth. This should be done in proportion to one’s faith which means to the extent that God gives them faith. 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; Ministry here means service for the Lord. The person who has the gift of ministry has a servant-heart. He or she sees opportunities to be of service and seizes them. The key word in this verse is: Use It! Next, is he who teaches. A teacher is a person who is able to explain the word of God and apply it to the hearts of hearers. Verse 8, he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Exhortation is the gift of stirring up the Saints to desist from every form of evil and to press on to new achievements for Christ in holiness and in service. Giving is the divine endowment which inclines and empowers a person to be aware of needs and to help meet them. It includes the sacrificial 14 giving of a person’s resources and self to meet the needs of others. This gifted person should exercise this gift with liberality. Liberality means with simplicity, single-mindedness, and openhearted generosity. One last thing: Gifted giver who gives with a proper attitude doesn’t do so for thanks, and personal recognition, but to glorify God. Leading or one who Leads by God’s giftedness; this gift has mainly to do with the gift of administration. It means to guide and is used of the person who steers a ship. It is almost certainly connected with the work of elders and as well deacons in the local church. The key word here is leading with diligence. Shows mercy has to do with a person who is supernaturally gifted to actively show sympathy and sensitivity to those in suffering, in distress, and sorrow, and who has both the willingness and the resources to help lessen their afflictions. Those who have this gift should exercise it with CHEERFULNESS! Cheerfulness is the necessary medicine for those endowed with the gift of Showing Mercy. Each one of these gifts is just as important as the other. God has bestowed gifts upon the Saints so the local body can grow in a balance way. But each one of us must exercise our gift by faith. We may not see the result or effectiveness of our gift in ministry, but the Lord does and blesses it. 15 My challenge to the GP family is let us be intentional about seeking to know our spiritual gifts and to use them as living sacrifices in the service of our Lord – especially in these uncertain times where God wants to use available churches who only want to represent Him in Spirit and in Truth. I pray we desire to be that church. 16