Spiritual Gifts part 1
Using your gifts to serve others
One of the most influential Christians who lived in 1700 and early 1800’s is John Newton, the writer of “Amazing Grace.” His own evaluation of himself was, “a wretch who was once lost but then was found, saved by amazing grace.” God’s grace began in Newton’s life through his mother, who died when John was a child, but not before she had given him some Christian training. Like most young people he gave up his mother’s Christian teaching and surrendered to a life of bondage that led him to be abused, become a servant on a slave ship and eventually the captain of his own ship that also carried slaves. While living a life that had given up Christian convictions, God allowed him to experience His grace once more, no doubt because of the prayers of his mother. While steering his ship through a violent storm, John Newton experienced what he called his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, “I prayed, ‘Lord, have mercy upon us.’” God answered that prayer and as he sat in his cabin John became convinced it was God’s grace that got them through. For the rest of his life he observed May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to God’s directions. During his days as a sailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects. After serious health problems he quit sailing and finally ended up where he could become a disciple of Christ through teachings of George Whitefield, evangelistic preacher and leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. He also became influenced by the Biblical teachings of John Wesley. The “Grace Living” of these two great men of God inspired John Newton to learn Greek and Hebrew. After persistence, John became an ordained preacher of the Word of God. Many were influenced by his teaching and writings about the Word of God, by his speaking in the local church and holding meetings in other places. He started weekly prayer meetings and became the author of over 280 Hymns. Hymns that speak for the Word of God through songs like, “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” and one of his favourites, “Amazing Grace.” John preached until the last year of his life even though by this time in his life he was blind. John Newton knew the grace of God upon his life and he extended “Gracious Living” by exercising his Spiritual gifts diligently.
He is an inspiration for us to use our Spiritual Gifts for the kingdom of God.
Ironically even our current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urges us to use our spiritual gifts wherever God has given them. The Leader of the opposition calls us to examine the bible to understand our place in Australia.
A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, should not be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere. If the churches are barred from participating in the great debates about the values that ultimately underpin our society, our economy and our polity, then we have reached a very strange place indeed. (Kevin, Rudd Prime Minister of Australia 2006)
"Everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation That includes, most importantly, the Bible." (Tony Abbot, Leader of the Opposition 2009)
It is fair to day that life is not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfilment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like ‘What do I want to be?’ ‘What should I do with my life?’ ‘What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future?’ But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our
life’s purpose. (from Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, 2002)
Read 1 Peter 4:7-11
16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:16
“Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”
Bertrand Russell, British atheist (1872 – 1970)
Contrary to what many popular books, movies, and seminars tell you, you won’t discover your life’s meaning by looking within yourself. You’ve probably tried that already. You didn’t create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If I handed you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn’t know its purpose. A year ago I bought a new phone. It does not look like a phone and has no buttons like a traditional phone. I was only able to figure out it was a phone because I was told by the manufacturer it was a phone.
At conversion - God fits us into the Body of believers.
He puts us in a community with all believers, and we share a common life in Christ.
This is what the LORD says— …: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17
We are not meant to be passive participants - e.g. "Silent partners"
God intends all Christians to be active participants and has assigned each one of us a function in the Christian community. No exceptions
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.
Romans 12:4-6a
Just as each of us has one body with many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
Gifts are to be used to serve others and for the common good of the entire Body.
1Corinthians 12:7 - Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
Our church exists to inspire people to wholeheartedly follow Jesus Christ.
- this is where the fellowship of our spiritual gifts come into play
We are accustomed to thinking of fellowship as Christian social activity or the sharing of spiritual truths. But the fellowship of our spiritual gifts is the using of them for the benefit of the rest of the
Body and the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.
Seven Principles of Spiritual Gifts
1) Purpose is to serve others and glorify God.
2) Every Christian has a gift and every gift is important.
3) Gifts are given by God
4) Every gift is given by God’s grace
5) All gifts must be developed and exercised
6) The effective use of every gift is dependent on faith in Christ
7) Only love will give true value to our gifts
1) Purpose is to serve others and glorify God.
10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11
Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold (American author 1900 – 1980)
Our gifts are given to us, by God, to bless other people.
There is no place for wanting to be in the lime light. Always wanting recognition. If you are always wanting recognition you simply show yourself as someone who is always needing affirmation. Those people who constantly need their egos propped up are tiring, and bad Christian example.
It is those people that thank you, without needing anything in return, they are the likeable people. They are the ones that you know God is working through. They are also the ones that are attractive and you want to be around. Those people that help you, but always need thanks are draining and tiring.
Some gifts are more public by nature. e.g. worship leading. But those who go out the back to lead children’s church are truly examples of what Christ is like.
The key is to remember the purpose of all gifts: serve others & glorify God.
2) Every Christian has a gift and every gift is important.
A. God has given a spiritual gift to every member of the Body.
Many have the attitude that they have no gifts. To say, "I don’t think I have a gift" is to say, "I don’t think I have a function in the Body of Christ." NT teaches different God has a job for every believer!!!
It is tempting to look at other people and compare ourselves. To blow things out of proportion.
Is the cinema more important than life?
Francois Truffaut
(French Director, Actor and Screen Writer 1932 – 1984)
15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
1Corinthians 12:15-18
In this passage Paul shoots down the common tendency to compare gifts with each other
Danger lies in secretly disregarding or belittling those with less noticeable gifts.
1Cor. 12:21 - The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!"
In our family, work or church life it is inappropriate to look down upon people. It is inappropriate to portray ourselves as the victim. When we look down upon other people’s faults, when we quietly judge them, we simply show how small, weak and petty we are.
Alternatively when we see people as big, gifted and powerful and portray ourselves as small, it says less about them than it does about us. Instead we should acknowledge that everyone in this room is gifted. We should not put ourselves down and we should not lord it over others.
In March of 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hincklev, Jr., and was hospitalized for several weeks. Government continued on.
On the other hand in 2008 garbage workers in Naples went on a two week strike. The situation got so bad that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi deployed several units of the Italian Army to clear away rubbish.
Who is more important the President or a garbage collector?
Who is more important in our church? The preacher, worship and multimedia guys, or about those people who practice hospitality and teach other people one on one the bible? It is those people who practice hospitality and teach others one on one the bible. It is the heart of our community.
In the body of Christ, insignificant people teaching others the bible is the heart of what we believe.
Remember, each gift is necessary and important to God
3) Gifts are given by God
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift that’s why they call it the present.
(Author Unknown)
1 Corinthians 12:11
11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 12:18
18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Read (Matthew 25: 14 - 29)
Once you recognise that every gift you have is from God you can work hard but not overestimate yourself.
4) Every gift is given by God’s grace
None of us deserves the abilities we have. They are given by God’s undeserved favour on us through Christ.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians.3:7-8)
God appoints our graces to be nurses to other men’s weaknesses.
Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887, American Preacher, Orator, Writer
Our gifts can be destructive if we look down on people, or if we look down on ourselves. But they can be such a blessing if we serve God with passion and show forgiveness and grace to the faults of others around us.
5) All gifts must be developed and exercised
Even though given by God’s grace--we are responsible to develop and exercise them.
5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:5-7
To be in good moral condition requires at least as much training as to be in good physical condition.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian
So what is your gift and how do you plan to refine it? For some it is children’s church, some hospitality, some discipleship, what training in the coming year are you going to receive?
Even timothy was accountable to a sovereign God for his development.
6) The effective use of every gift is dependent on faith in Christ
We should so work as if we were to be saved by our works; and so rely on Jesus Christ, as if we did no works.
Francis Asbury
English, Clergyman (1945 – 1816)
Through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1: 3)
Our church’s vision is to ‘Inspire people to wholeheartedly follow Jesus.’
To find your gift we need to pray.
Truly, without Christ, we can do nothing. This introduces humility and graciousness in working with others. When we work for Jesus we just do our best and we trust that others are doing their best. We forgive them when they fail and let us down, because it is not about us, it is about Jesus. In giving glory to Jesus I desire to do my best for him, but I also acknowledge I need to forgive and love others.
7) Only love will give true value to our gifts
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13
It’s not that love is exalted over these gifts and Christian but love gives them value and worth.
We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.
Anonymous
Illust-- draw a line of zeroes--value=0: then add a 1 to the front--changes value completely
Love must permeate and govern every aspect of our lives. Love is not to be exercised only in the use of our gifts and in the performance of our various Christian duties. Love is to be exercised in the home, or at the office, or in the classroom. Without love your ability to use the computer for multimedia, to play an instrument or teach someone means nothing.
Love is to be exercised all the time in the most mundane duties of life, not just when we are engaged in Christian work. On the other hand, the absence of love in the ordinary duties and relationships of life can undermine and destroy the effective use of our gifts.
Love must reign supreme in our hearts, or our gifts will be nothing more than a clanging gong or resounding cymbal as Paul put it.
Conclusion:
And so it is with all of us. 2010 has come upon us. In the coming year we must seek to diligently exercise the gifts that God has graciously given to us. We must do so with faith in Christ in order to make them fruitful. But in both the use of our spiritual gifts and the exercise of our Christian ministries, we must seek to grow in love toward one another. Otherwise, when the final chapter of our lives has been penned, we will have to write a final line: "I have gained nothing."
1) Purpose is to serve others and glorify God.
2) Every Christian has a gift and every gift is important.
3) Gifts are given by God
4) Every gift is given by God’s grace
5) All gifts must be developed and exercised
6) The effective use of every gift is dependent on faith in Christ
7) Only love will give true value to our gifts
Close in prayer
